Making a Proposal

As soon as Kirou logged in, he realized that he was back in the hut created by his clones. Before he could even get off of the bed, he noticed that he had a few unread messages from the system. This surprised Kirou as he didn't recall seeing those messages before he logged out earlier. Since he had the time, Kirou decided to check out the messages that he received.

[System: Due to your repeated actions of trying to manipulate your mental energy, this action has been recognized by the 'System' and a skill has been generated.]

[Generating skill.....]

[Skill Generated: Shadow Clone: Mind Transfer]

Skill: Shadow Clone: Mind Transfer

Skill Level: 1/5

Rank: C (A)

Cost: 50MP or 50EP

Skill Creator/Generator: Kirou

Description: This skill was accidentally created by Player [Kirou] while he was trying to locate and send a message to his distant shadow clones. This skill allows the user to transfer his mind into the body of a shadow clone, experiencing everything from the clone's perspective and controlling the clone's body just as if he was controlling his own.

While the user's mind is in the body of the shadow, all of his stats will be limited to that of the clone and the death of the clone's body will result in the forceful ejection of the user's mind back to his own body, along with a 5-minute debuff that caps all stats at 50%. Other limitations of this skill include the mind transfer can only be done with a clone that's within 50 meters of the user, the shadow clone can only last for twenty minutes of the user's occupation before it is forcefully dismissed and the user's body will be left in a defenseless state.

Also, should the user's body die while his mind is in the body of the clone, the user can willingly accept a 5-hour debuff from the 'System' for all stats being reduced to 5% for the activating of the passive skill: Shadow Substitute.

Shadow Substitute: This skill allows the user's body to trade places with a shadow clone in life and death. The user's body will suffer a 95% stat debuff for 5 hours but it will be able to 'cheat' death once in this manner. This skill has a cooldown time of 24 hours.

The use of this skill is HIGHLY cautioned.

Looking at the skill he unintentionally obtained, Kirou's eyes were currently bulging out of their sockets. He never expected that him trying to communicate with his clones earlier would result in the creation of such a skill. Hell, this skill gave him much more than what he was originally trying to achieve.

This skill has given Kirou yet another means of securing himself in case of trouble. Although the skill came with quite a few drawbacks and limitations, the fact that Kirou was given the use of the skill <Shadow Substitute> once every 24 hours in case of emergencies, Kirou could act even more unbridled in his gaming, should he decide to act up in such a manner.

Shaking his head free of such playful thoughts, Kirou decided to look over the skill once more before closing the system menu. He's already experienced the use of this skill before he logged out so he knows what he needs to do when he wants to use the skill again.

With the issue of his new skill now settled, Kirou decided it was time to leave the stone hut. The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of the three women sitting by the lake with one of them holding a fishing rod. He could see that they were enjoying themselves with just waiting for something to bite. Turning his head slightly, Kirou noticed Mistaken Fox munching on a snack while looking in the direction of the ladies.

Since the scene looked so peaceful and everyone seemed to be on their break for the moment, Kirou decided to retreat into the hut without disturbing the atmosphere. He would allow them some time to rest before he made his presence known.

*******

Roughly half an hour later, Moon Lily finally gave up on catching anything. To say that she wasn't patient or just lacked the skill to fish would be incorrect, seeing that she was currently using a rare fishing rod. That said, the fish in the underground lake refused to take the bait and it took the poor girl a whole hour of this before she finally gave up.

Seeing that Moon Lily gave up, both Reya and Navi were between laughter and tears on how they should feel about the entire situation. Although they weren't as emotionally invested in the act as Moon Lily, they too were quite interested in seeing her fish something up. As for Mistaken Fox, he had long since stopped munching on his snacks and was now leaning back on the walls of the stone hut, dozing off.

At this time, Kirou opened the door to the hut once more, this time attracting some attention to himself. Kirou looked at the three women that were now walking in his direction and gave them a casual smile before turning towards the napping Mistaken Fox. He then went over to the sleeping mage and tapped him on the shoulder, prompting him to jump to his feet.

With the girls now standing by the hut and Mistaken Fox being awake, Kirou decided that it was time to get down to business. Kirou took out his usual table, but this time there five chairs, one for everyone present. After setting up the table, Kirou removed a tea set from his inventory and set down a cup before everyone before starting to brew some tea.

Brewing the tea took a few minutes but the other four players waited in silence while occasionally staring at the various fish in the underground lake. After he finished the brewing, Kirou filled everyone's cup before taking a seat at the table himself. The other four watched as Kirou took a sip of his tea.

When Kirou removed the cup from his lips, he stared at the four players before him as he spoke up, "I've got a proposition for everyone here."

Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. Before he did so, however, he gestured for everyone to sample the tea before them. They each took a sip of the tea, surprise coloring their faces as they experienced the tea's exquisite taste. A smile formed on Kirou's face as he saw this.

With everyone now a bit more relaxed and enjoying their tea, Kirou decided to speak up, "Now that everyone's more relaxed, I'll begin with my proposal."

This time, everyone was mildly taking small sips of their tea while staring in Kirou's direction. Kirou just took another sip of his own before placing his cup back on the table.

"Besides Moon Lily who already has the quest, how would the rest of you like to join me in getting revenge for the guys up top?" As Kirou spoke, there was a playful expression on Kirou's face.

While Reya, Navi, and Mistaken Fox were curious about this quest, Moon Lily practically slammed her cup on the table, nearly spilling its contents as she spoke up, "Hold on, you've already found their hideout? It hasn't even been a full day yet in reality, yet you've already managed to locate those traitors? How did you manage to pull that off?"

Although her actions were a bit rude and slightly messy, none of the other members at the table reacted negatively to it as they could understand her reason for acting like this. As for Kirou himself, he still had his casual expression on his face as he took another sip of his tea.

Moon Lily realized that her actions were a bit inappropriate and formed an apologetic expression on her face. The rest of the members at the table just passed off the issue with a chuckle before turning to face Kirou. There was a faint blush on Moon Lily's face at this but Kirou decided to go easy on her.

"As Moon Lily has so eloquently pointed out with her series of questions," said Kirou with a playful expression on his face (Okay, so he wasn't going to go easy on her *shrugs*). The blush on Moon Lily's face grew in size and intensity at his words but she wisely chose to keep quiet as Kirou continued, "... the quest requires us to kill the ones that betrayed the Phantom Palace's new residents. The mission is already mostly done since I've already found their location and scouted the area."

When Kirou said this, Moon Lily was showing a very shocked expression on her face. She was highly tempted to speak out loud once again, but she resisted the urge with every fiber of her being as she could see the playful smile on Kirou's face threatening to grow wider.

As for the other three players at the table, each of their original curious expressions has now morphed into something else. Both Navi and Reya had adopted expressions of understanding while staring at Moon Lily. As for Mistaken Fox, his was a face full of excitement at the prospect of being able to see Kirou's skill from up close once more.

Kirou could see the various emotions flashing on their faces but he didn't say anything as he just finished his cup of tea. Seeing that practically everyone's cup could use a top-up, Kirou rose from his seat and refilled everyone's cup. After making sure that all five cups had sufficient tea, Kirou took his seat once more.

Taking a sip of his tea and enjoying the taste on his tongue, Kirou released a contented sigh before speaking, "Anyways, the mission itself requires us to siege their new hideout but considering how well-fortified the entire structure is, I'd rather not waste my time and energy on such an action when I can just infiltrate their base and destroy it from the inside. What do you guys say to that?"

When the rest heard those words, an excited expression formed on their faces. Even the usually calm and composed Navi had eyes filled with excitement. That said, Navi wouldn't be considered the calm and composed one in the group if she agreed to Kirou proposal just like that.

As if to prove this point, Navi spoke up, "While this proposal does sound nice, Mr. Wolf, I would like to have a bit more information. Specifically, I would like to know what your plan is and what we'd need to do before agreeing to your proposal."

Both Reya and Mistaken Fox nodded their heads at Navi's words. Even Moon Lily off to the side, trying her best to not attract Kirou's attention, was nodding her head at Navi's words.

Seeing everyone reacting like this, a smile formed on Kirou's face as he spoke up, "I don't mind sharing my plan since I'll need all of you to fully commit to it for it to work as I intend. For that plan to work, I'll need you guys to distract those bandits for a bit while I sneak in."

After saying those words, Kirou took out his leather book and sketched the bandit's base, including the immediate area surrounding the base. When the sketch was complete, Kirou showed it to the rest while pointing out two locations.

When he was sure everyone was looking, he spoke up, "You guys will attract all of the bandits into defending their base from the front while I sneak in from the back. Once I've securely made my way inside their base, I'll give you guys a signal, prompting you guys to back off and attack from a distance. While the bandits will be trying their best to give chase, I'll deal with them from behind."

Hearing those words, the group nodded their heads in understanding. In fact, they were silently already in agreement with Kirou's proposal at the moment. Even Navi had no complaints as she could see this plan playing out. That being said, not everyone could understand the plan as is.

It was at this point that moon Lily decided to speak up, "And what do we do in the case that they find out that you're in their base and they turn back to deal with you?"

At those words, everyone else at the table looked at Moon Lily with a strange expression. Although she had seen Kirou's skill when he originally took down the squad she was in and the large group of bandits that Bandit Warrior Jackson had led to deal with him, she attributed the first to him getting the jump on the squad by taking out the mage first and the second by him having enough time to set a trap for them. She didn't think it had anything to do with his skill.

As for Kirou, when he heard her words, there was a playful smile on his as he spoke, "Although such a situation wouldn't be ideal, if it truly does occur, I'll be able to take care of the rest on my own." There was a bit of mirth in Kirou's eyes as he said those words to Moon Lily.