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He was standing at the center of the enemy’s trap. Having drones encompassing his lone figure—with artilleries that could bypass his defenses.

However, those weren’t the bulk of his problems.

His Trump Card—the Goliath—was frozen by a special bomb. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but its duration would suffice.

‘All that’s left…’ The Mastermind smiled, looking at his prey.

‘… Is to end this!’

****************

‘Everything has been for this moment!’

Paul’s fingers rubbed the trigger with absolute determination.

His resolve was as firm as a rock, and with the intention of achieving his first victory against the monster before him, the shot was fired.

>VWOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!!!<

The bullet was fired, generating a sonic leap as it whirred at its target.

Jeremy Lewis was certainly fast. However, now that he was surrounded by several enemies who could hurt him, his reaction time would be greatly shared among them.

Which was why—

>PRAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!<

—The Drones opened fire.

With the whirring bullet from Paul in transit, and the other projectiles aimed at the single target, Jeremy was sorely trapped!

“Shit!” The previously smug guy clicked his tongue.

He moved as fast as he could to evade the attacks that were a distance off, using Skills to deflect others; and finally closing the distance between himself and the source of the crisis.

‘Ah, I see…’ Paul’s eyes widened a bit, watching as his target neared him.

The Drones would recognize the fact that Paul—their creator—was in their line of fire—and cease their attacks, allowing Jeremy to reduce the number of enemies to watch out for.

Plus, running away in such a situation would do the Hoarder no good. The best way out of such a situation was through the eye of the storm.

That is—to the origin!

‘… As expected!’ Paul’s lips curled up in a smile.

He had anticipated this move. And it was because Jeremy moved exactly as he predicted that things had turned out so favorably.

‘CHECKMATE!’

Jeremy reached for Paul, but… as soon as he did that… all he could touch was air.

“W—wha—?!”

Before he could realize what had happened, a downpour of enchanted bullets descended upon Jeremy. Hundreds of projectiles sped toward him, chipping down the HP he possessed.

>FWUUUUSSSHHHH!<

Paul appeared a great distance from Jeremy, smiling in absolute confidence.

“Cheh, you—”

“This is farewell, at least for now…” Paul gave a condescending response.

Before Jeremy could leak out another statement, he noticed the adversary pointing at something that began manifesting on the ground beneath him.

It was a crystal, and it shone with a brilliant glow.

Any experienced Gifted would instantly recognize what it was.

“A—A RETURN STONE?!”

“Exactly. Goodbye… ‘partner.\'”

With a broad smile playing out on his face, Paul watched the brilliant light shine, covering the area where Jeremy stood. And then—

“NOOOOOOO!!!”

—it completely enveloped Jeremy’s body.

>SHIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!!<

In a flash of sharp illumination, the aggrieved Hoarder vanished from sight.

The air cleared afterward, and the Drones stopped their bombardment.

“Huu…” A heavy exhalation escaped from Paul’s lips.

He began walking to the last position where Jeremy stood. His stride was gentle and slow.

“Finally… it’s done…”

A bead of sweat fell from the side of his face as his smile grew larger.

“I did it… I beat him…”

It seemed unbelievable, but that was what had just played out.

The several months of preparation and efforts finally paid off in the little exchange he had with his nemesis.

Paul felt absolutely ecstatic.

‘I… won!’

He had been a bit doubtful about his competence, but he didn’t falter or hesitate in the moment of truth. With this, he had struck the first blow on his enemy.

“Even if he starts climbing the Tower, judging his speed, it will take about an hour before he catches up to me. Before that happens, I’ll increase my speed and clear the Tower before he does.”

Plus, even if Jeremy wanted to climb the Tower now, thanks to using a Return stone, he could no longer challenge the Hidden Floor within the Tower Of Conquerors.

In essence, it was already a loss for the Hoarder.

‘I’ll obtain the power of this Hidden Floor, and continue with my plans to crush him!’

Paul relished his thoughts. It felt good to simply imagine how he would emerge victorious in the coming challenges.

‘Lily should be nearly done with her tasks…’

With Jeremy gone, his summons would automatically vanish from the Tower Floors, so they would pose no problem.

That meant Lily was going to arrive at his location after taking the hostages to a safe location and showing them the footage of Jeremy’s ugly side.

Everything worked out perfectly.

‘She’ll catch up with me… so…’ Paul grinned, staring at the gaping Gate in front of him.

It was time to keep ascending the Tower. He needed to make optimal use of the moment, after all.

“Now, then… I should start getting serious, right no—”

“That should be my line, though…”

Paul froze in his tracks upon hearing a voice he didn’t expect.

‘U—uh…?!’

Out of the blue, a silhouette made its appearance, taking on the form of a human. Not just any human, but the person Paul despised the most.

‘H—how is this…?!’

The sweat that had vanished from Paul’s face began to reappear.

His eyeballs widened excessively to capture the sight of the person who manifested.

“You haven’t changed at all… still stuck in those fantasies of yours.” The person before him smiled.

He had a dark cloak that seemed like the very essence of darkness, and he was adorned in several items that seemed to put Paul’s equipment to shame.

Just by looking—not even using the Appraisal Skill—Paul could easily surmise that the difference in power between him and the manifested being was heaven and earth.

It was that profound.

“Y—you… h—how did you…? I just…?”

The man smiled at Paul’s ignorant confusion.

“That was simply a clone. A duplicate made to imitate less than half of my base stats, with only five usable Skills.”

The revelation was shocking—no, overwhelming!

“I placed it there because I was curious about what kind of scheme you devised.”

A shiver ran down Paul’s spine as he stared at the cool smile and condescending eyes of the clearly superior being.

“I have to say, though…”

A moment of silence swallowed the area, and then, as though waiting for the moment that the tension was at its peak, Jeremy Lewis gave his verdict.

“… You disappointed me.”