Chapter 14: "Tarnished" vs Heroic Spirits

"Tsk, he got away."

Through the system, Liu Yuan confirmed that the attacker hadn't died. But it wasn't a big problem; this counterattack would make them think twice about attacking again.

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? Always bring a mana potion, you know?"

"Who would've thought we'd encounter something like this. Hey? Boss? What brings you here?"

"I won't let anything happen to you until your card is empty."

Fujimaru Kaede sighed helplessly, spreading her hands. "This Money-minded boss."

"If I don't make money, am I a fool? Alright, you're safe now, I'm going back."

"Wait a minute!!"

"What's up?"

Fujimaru Kaede asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Boss, did you see anyone else when you arrived? A girl with pink hair, a boy with black hair, and about forty people wearing strange clothes?"

"I haven't seen those last few, but they're over there. But I think we might be in trouble..."

While speaking, Liu Yuan adjusted his weapon equipment. Unlike in reality, he didn't have many chances to experiment here. He took out the famous sword "Moonveil" with his right hand and the rock lance with his left, then shook the Spirit-Summoning bell.

"Boss? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Enemies all around. Let's go!"

Surrounded by dozens of skeleton monsters, with two tall figures approaching from both sides, it was clear they were here to kill them.

"Boss?"

When Fujimaru Kaede was puzzled, a teardrop fell to the ground. A few seconds later, an exact gray replica of Liu Yuan appeared in front of her.

"What's this? What's going on?"

"This is a spirit ash is called 'Mimic Tear'."

"Ah?"

Fujimaru Kaede was dumbfounded. She knew about spirit ashes and had used them often.

Lone Wolves and the Jellyfish were her most frequently used Spirit ashes. But Spirit ashes turning into people? And they could wield weapons? She was completely baffled.

"What are you looking at? You'll get one in the future too. Summon your Spirit ashes."

"Oh, okay."

At this moment, Fujimaru Kaede noticed something like tombstone markings here, which meant she could use the soul-summoning bell within this area.

With the lineup of three wolves and Big Brother Mimic, the two seemingly outnumbered individuals instantly became a formidable team.

"Wow! So cool."

At this point, Fujimaru Kaede had already taken out her shield and greatsword, preparing to use her "Old Cold Legs". When she saw the Mimic Tears continuously using Transient Moonlight, she almost drooled.

So cool, really cool. Of all the battle Ash of Wars she had obtained so far, "Old Cold Legs" looked the coolest, while the others didn't seem as impressive.

"Do you like it? After we open the shop tomorrow, I'll tell you where it is. It's just a simple boss fight. Two bosses, you can choose one!"

Two shadowy heroic spirits appeared, one was the Berserker Heracles, and the other was the Rider Darius. Both were top-tier heroic spirits. Even if Liu Yuan wasn't here, Fujimaru Kaede would still have had a tough time dealing with the surrounding enemies and the red light from above.

Tarnished could handle 1v2 against bosses with proficiency, but it was obvious that Fujimaru Kaede was still a newbie. She could handle one, but not two.

"I..."

"Forget it, you follow Big Brother Mimic and your three wolves to deal with that black guy. Leave this one to me."

Liu Yuan decided to deal with the seemingly complicated Darius. This enemy had enough intelligence, and his eyes told Liu Yuan that he was definitely a formidable opponent like the Fell Omen.

Meanwhile, Heracles had already engaged Big Brother Mimic, and with Fujimaru Kaede's three wolves, he felt that Fujimaru Kaede didn't face much difficulty in winning.

"Thanks, 1v1, I'm someone who can defeat even the Margit Sensei!"

Fujimaru Kaede wasn't just wandering around these days; after adding some stats, she attempted to challenge the Margit the Fell Omen. This projection of a demigod was powerful, but she managed to defeat it with her counters and longsword.

In Fujimaru Kaede's eyes, Heracles was as massive as the Fell Omen. However, compared to the Fell Omen, this berserker didn't give her much pressure because...

Her three wolves hadn't even made a move yet, and Heracles swung his weapon recklessly. In comparison to Big Brother Mimic, the fighting power of the three wolves was much weaker, and they hadn't engaged in combat yet before being annihilated.

On the other hand, Big Brother Mimic, a master of Liu Yuan's cautious approach, retreated when Fujimaru Kaede approached, holding a sword in his right hand and a staff in his left, hiding in the shadows and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Heracles, completely berserk, had only one thought: to kill! Kill! Kill! Kill everything in front of him. If it weren't for Liu Yuan and Fujimaru Kaede, he would have had a battle with Darius, but now both of them were focusing on their respective opponents.

Heracles's combat lacked any technique; he relied solely on his immense muscles. One hit wasn't enough; he would hit twice, thrice, hundreds of times. With just his physical strength and Noble Phantasm's Twelve Labors, he could kill most heroic spirits.

But this one is just a shadow, a poor imitation of the Heroic Spirit.

However, when he swung his weapon for the first time, Fujimaru Kaede didn't try to dodge. She knew that this strike could be deflected.

Deflectiom, with sufficient stamina, all physical attacks could be deflected.

Compared to the insane giant hammer of the Fell Omen and his hidden cards, Heracles's mindless attacks swings gave her a good feeling of it being easily blocked.

I can do it! I can do it!

This was her first time facing a life-threatening situation. In the game, she could multitask, think, and even respawn if she died. But in reality, she didn't have the luxury of making mistakes.

Her body responded to her needs; the calm and battle experience she had when fighting

Margit-sensei made her believe in herself. She also believed in her weapon, and...

"Clang!"

At the moment when the massive weapon was about to hit Fujimaru Kaede's face, she successfully deflected it.

At the same time, Big Brother Mimic seized the opportunity and summoned a meteorite, following up with the Moon Blade in the gap.

Three times of weakening caused Heracles to be "Guard Broken" instantly.

"Execution!"

The greatsword pierced Heracles's body, and at the same time, Big Brother Mimic immediately switched skills.

Carian Greatsword!

The huge blue magic sword gathered power and swung. As the execution ended, the sword formed by the staff cut his body in half.

"Roar!!!"

Heracles began to rage; his continued fighting allowed him to continue the battle, but without magic, his full-screen physical attacks were once again blocked by Fujimaru Kaede. Big Brother Mimic followed up with the Rock Sling and the Transient Moonlight once again.

Back and forth several times, Fujimaru Kaede felt that her stamina was starting to fall behind.

Unlike in the game where stamina was represented by a bar, in reality, blocking just one attack almost consumed her own stamina.

Just one moment of distraction, and she saw the huge weapon coming towards her face.

"Oh no, I'm done for."

However, just when she thought she was done for, Big Brother Mimic next to her raised the Jellyfish Shield in front of her.

Block, Deflect, follow up with the Transient Moonlight.

"Watch out!"

"???"

In that moment, her mind was full of question marks, but she knew it wasn't the time to be distracted. Taking down the Shadow Heroic spirit in front of her was the top priority.

Taking advantage of Big Brother Mimic's heavy attacks, she charged up her heavy attack. Heracles, who was already off guard broken again was completely thrown off, and she seized the opportunity to stab him with her greatsword.

Execution.

This time, the execution made Heracles's body emit a dark purple light, and he disappeared.

As he completely disappeared, Fujimaru Kaede sat down on the ground.

"Heh, I thought he'd be tougher than this."

Fujimaru Kaede panted, feeling her hands trembling.

Experiencing the full force of Shadow Heracles's blow face-on was terrifying, but fortunately, she won.

A glow also appeared on Big Brother Mimic's body. The summoned spirit ashes would disappear with the enemy's disappearance.

With no enemies around now, this Mimic Tear lost its effect; it was time to dissipate.

But before dissipating, Big Brother Mimic kindly gave Fujimaru Kaede a thumbs-up.