Traveling through the game world, starting out as a third-rate villain

The terrain of this dungeon starts out as a cave, with a structure similar to the maze type we explored last time.

Unlike the maze, the terrain of this copy will change. Since this is an artificial copy, this practical course involves adapting to different scenes.

If you ask management why they set up such a test, the answer is simple: "We never know what kind of replicas will appear in the future. It is better to be prepared in advance than to know nothing."

The eight members of the team walked into the cave, everyone on alert. The formation was classic, with the warriors in front as the vanguard, the mages and assistants in the middle, and finally us rangers in the back.

The guy named Leon cast a few glances at me from time to time, obviously annoyed by my initial attitude. His eyes were full of superiority and contempt.

'His muscles are underdeveloped and he shows signs of potion overuse. He takes supplemental potions mainly to stay in this academy and cope with the expectations of the outside world. His clothes are clean and tidy, and he is a person who cares about his image. It can be inferred that he goes home once a week. Judging from his equipment, he seems to be from a middle-class family, possibly the child of a low-to-mid-level guild member.'

The analysis was completed in a few seconds, and I turned my attention to the front. Since he was not an important character, his ranking was not high, and he was not a key figure in the game. There was no need to waste more time.

We reached a fork in the road and the group paused briefly while everyone evaluated their options.

Four roads diverge, each of which seems to offer a different challenge or surprise. This is to be expected, as each road has its own difficulty. However, one road is much easier than the others, and with my keen eyesight, I can easily tell which road it is.

Thanks to [Shadow], my eyes are completely unaffected by darkness.

After analyzing these options, I turned to Irina. Although she didn't say anything, her eyes were full of expectation. It seemed that she wanted to see if I had the judgment and decisiveness to lead us in the right direction.

However, she had an expectant look in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. Since she didn't want to communicate, I didn't plan to speak either.

"Leon, what do you think?" Byron walked over to us and asked his ranger. Because rangers usually have good perception, they are usually assigned to reconnaissance missions.

"I have no idea."

However, not every ranger can see the direction in this place as clearly as I can. And the days I trained in the Forest of Time made my personal skills become exceptional.

"I see." Byron nodded, then turned to Irina. "Do you have any ideas, Irina? If you have any, we can follow your lead."

When he said this, he naturally implied in his heart that Irina was the leader and she would take responsibility.

Although that person's eyes were still on me and she was still expecting me, I still didn't speak until she asked me.

The stare between Irina and me lasted for a few seconds, and the atmosphere became tense. I could sense her irritation, but I stood firm, refusing to give in to her unspoken expectations.

I knew she wanted me to take the lead, but her arrogance kept me from doing it.

Finally, she broke the silence, her tone a little more angry than I expected. "What do you think? Can your eyes see in the dark, or does it only work on women?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in her words, obviously referring to the rumors about me, because some people said that I would go to brothels when I had free time, and it seemed that she had heard some of them.

Obviously, she was upset with me and didn't like being left out, but the world doesn't work according to personal emotions.

“If you can’t think for yourself, I don’t recommend you to be a leader.” I wasn’t about to back down. I was tired of being back to square one because of a silly rumor.

Byron seemed to have sensed the tense atmosphere, and he gave me an obvious sneer.

"What do you expect from a guy who's in last place? Trash is trash."

Byron was an expert at trying to belittle me and curry favor with Irina, taking advantage of the situation to belittle my abilities and to assert his own superiority by labeling me as “last place.”

"If you guys don't know yet, I have a great option here."

Irina was caught in this battle of self-esteem and hesitated for a moment. She looked at me and then at Byron. I could see that she was hesitating whether to choose to believe me or to follow Byron, but her self-esteem would not allow her to do so.

'This is your last chance.'

I watched her, waiting for her decision. Would she choose self-respect, or take the easy way out?

This was a critical moment in my life in determining how I would view her in the future.

"We'll take your word for it," she said, with some frustration in her tone. "Lead the way."

Ultimately, she chose the wrong path.

Without hesitation, Byron straightened his chest and confidently chose the right path. "Trust me, Irina, I have a feeling about this path. Everyone follow me."

'You wasted your chance, don't beg me later.'

And so we started our journey again, and I could see a smug smile on Byron's face, as if he had done something great.

"You chose the most difficult path. As expected, you can't leave the decision to a supporting role."

I shook my head, said nothing, and followed the team. Anyway, with my current abilities, I can definitely deal with the monsters in this place, although it will be a little difficult.

We walked on the right path, and Byron kept trying to impress Irina. He kept telling stories of his past exploits and experiences, each one an attempt to attract her attention and admiration.

However, Irina had no interest in this, her mind was still focused on the current task.

There are lizard-type monsters on this path that are slippery but not difficult to deal with. Moreover, they were low-level monsters, and the eight-man team did not encounter much difficulty. I didn't even move my hands.

Since Byron and his team wanted to impress Irina, they were the ones who basically dealt with these minor annoyances.

However, as we continued to move forward, the depressing atmosphere of the dungeon became increasingly thicker, and each time we encountered a monster, the atmosphere became even heavier.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The walls seemed to begin closing in on us, and a heavy silence fell over the team. The occasional sound of dripping water echoed in the air, and the eerie atmosphere amplified the tension.

It wasn't just a psychological change, the atmosphere of oxygen and magic around us changed as well.

'Fire attribute environment. '

Thanks to my enhanced magical sensitivity, I can feel the different magics around me more clearly.

Byron began to feel uneasy as well, but he tried to maintain a confident appearance.

His tall tales lost their luster, their bravado fading with each step deeper into the dungeon.

Irina also remained silent. She obviously also felt the strong magic ahead.

With my eyesight, I saw a red light spreading ahead.

'The first strong enemy has arrived. '

Since the monster we encountered was lizard-type and the environment was fire-attributed, I could guess what kind of monster was ahead even without seeing it directly.

'Lava dragon lizard. '

It is a low-level fourth-order monster with considerable strength. It may well be the key to triggering a change in the atmosphere of the artificial copy.

Atmosphere changes are random phenomena that occur in the dungeon, and they will change the landscape of the dungeon. This mechanism is controlled by the copy administrator, and only manual copies have this special mechanism.

Even though these changes are supposed to be random, given the time we traveled, it can be inferred that after destroying this monster, the atmosphere of the dungeon will change, which is the fundamental reason for this test.

"This feeling..." Irina muttered in a low voice, looking a little annoyed. For her, a fire mage, she must have realized that she was in an environment full of fire magic.

Most people might think that when circumstances match the attributes mastered by the mage, it will work in their favor, but this is not the case.

Monsters here evolve based on this mana, which means they have resistance in this regard.

For example, the Time Keeper won't be affected too much by time-related skills, since it evolves from that kind of mana itself.

This rule is one of the most common in dungeons, and it applies to monsters with strong defense. If the monster itself is offensive, it won't be that difficult to deal with, but it's hard to find monsters with low defense.

Of course, I could have informed the team right now, but why would I?

I've given her so many chances, but she refused. I don't want to be rejected. Every time I put in effort, it all ends up being in vain.

As we advanced, the air grew hotter and hotter, and the strong smell of fire indicated that we were approaching the lava dragon lizard. I continued to observe in silence, allowing the tension in the team to grow.

Irina's irritation was obvious, but I remained steadfast in not interfering. Since she was a mage specializing in fire magic, she had a strong resistance to flames and therefore did not sweat like the others.

“It’s fucking hot!”

Byron's team members were also sweating and losing a lot of water from their bodies.

'They even started showing signs of dehydration. '

"Why is it so damn hot?"

"Everyone calm down."

Seeing the state of the team, Byron tried to take the lead and hide his uneasiness.

He kept looking at Irina, checking her reaction. Since he was the one who led us here, he naturally knew that he would be responsible for what happened next. I saw his face turn pale when he saw Irina’s annoyed expression.

"Where is this place?"

Finally, we arrived at where the lava dragon lizards lived.

I entered a large room and was hit by a strong heat.

"Prepare for battle."