Otherworld TRPG Game Master - Chapter 272



Chapter 272 – The Ship of Theseus -2

Creak. Creak.

There was a ship once sailed by the hero Theseus.

The people of Athens, wishing to preserve the vessel that bore the hero’s legacy, repeatedly replaced each rotting plank with a new one.

Soon, only about 30% of the original planks that made up Theseus’s ship remained.

In a dumpster filled with discarded planks, the original pieces had somehow accumulated to 51%. Yet, no wise soul took that fact seriously.

Foolishly, people praised something that was no longer Theseus’s ship. But in the shadows, out of their sight, lay the undeniable truth.

No matter how someone cloaked the world in flowery language, that truth would remain unchanged.

—

After shattering the touching story of Oh Daesu and Kim Lulu with my own hands, I swept into the purple tower, my robe billowing behind me.

In the lobby, there was Yuna, the purple tower master, fidgeting anxiously and pacing back and forth, alongside the scarred senior whose face was pale and drooping as if burnt white.

In addition, a few others had managed to escape on their own.

Now, just how busy and urgent could things be that they rushed me so?

Was it truly so critical and dangerous that I had to tear apart that heartfelt love story with my own hands? Let’s hear an explanation!

“Where on earth have you been wandering around all day until now—”

“What’s going on?”

“Someone unleashed a ‘Mass Confusion’ in the tower. Most of the people are affected and causing a ruckus.”

“Excuse me?”

Did I hear that correctly?

‘Mass Confusion’ is a very straightforward illusion spell. It’s a technique that spreads an illusion that severely distorts a person’s mind over a wide area, and naturally… the tower has a manual to deal with such magic!

Isn’t the subject I teach at the academy ‘Countermeasures Against Illusion Magic’? The mages of the purple tower are well-versed in handling illusion magic, so they are equally adept at countering it.

Thus, the scarred senior’s words sounded akin to saying that a fire accident occurred due to ‘Flame Spear’ magic at the red tower. Or perhaps like saying a polar bear froze to death…

And so, the tension rose sharply.

“This is no ordinary serious matter!”

“Exactly! You should have come sooner, junior!”

If you want to trick veterans of illusion magic with illusion magic, your skills must be overwhelming. If this ‘Mass Confusion’ incident was merely an accident, that’s one thing, but if it was the work of some… malevolent mage, then it means their skills are considerable.

“What should I do? What can I do…?”

“Stay still, cute Yuna.”

“Uwaaah.”

I pressed down on Yuna’s pointed hat to cover her eyes. There was nothing she could do in this situation. She was a power-type, so her control was relatively lacking.

If I were to wake someone affected by illusion magic and accidentally erase their memories or mental barriers along with it, that would be a disaster. It’s better for me, who can handle delicate tasks, to take care of this.

“…Hmm.”

There was something that bothered me.

The scarred senior seemed to have somehow escaped this chaos. While her skills were certainly impressive, they were not on par with Akshin-chan. I hadn’t seen her around in the lobby.

Was Akshin-chan still guarding the Mima fragment collection? Or had she perhaps been subdued by an intruder? It was a bit concerning.

Well, if it seemed dangerous, she would have managed to escape on her own. She’s not the type to risk her life in loyalty to me, and if things were going awry, she would have evaded the constraints of the long-haired girl and dealt with it.

That’s why I had deliberately loosened her leash.

To dispel the ominous feeling that kept nagging at me from the back of my mind, I asked Yuna for backup.

“Please have the tower master come up in about five minutes. I’ll take care of things while I clean up.”

“⋯⋯Yes!”

This should be good enough.

I began to ascend the tower, rubbing my hands together. It was time for the main event.

—

What remains when you strip intelligence from a human? Only the primal instincts of a beast.

In the wake of the massive chaos that had thrown everything into disarray, the interior of the tower had transformed into a small savanna where various creatures vied to expand their territories.

“Follow the shorts! Follow the shorts! Dress them in shorts and put bow ties on them, and increase the pool of candidates for the great Princess Luche’s boyfriend!”

“Draw the hit reduction field! Paint the entire world with hypnotic patterns to create a reality where nothing can miss!”

A seasoned sorceress with thick glasses, six years into her tenure, had delved deeply into her “Hologram” magic. She had a boyfriend made of illusions.

And a promising sorcerer, three years in, who provided Yuna with crispy delights through sugar-coated magic.

The two were locked in a fierce battle, one trying to dress their opponent in shorts while the other sketched strange symbols, alongside sorcerers turned soldiers by the brainwashing magic of a confused mage.

I was genuinely curious about how this battle would unfold and who would emerge victorious. However, I had no luxury of time to watch this commotion. I needed to check on the Evil God-chan.

“That’s as far as you go.”

“──It has appeared! The creator of Butler Shota, the one who knows all, light of the Mage Tower!”

“The shadow manipulating the tower master from behind, a bizarre entity, a mad sorcerer who knows only half of a human’s heart has returned! Stand back!”

If they were going to serve me another round of this, I couldn’t just ignore it.

“Oh? Even under the influence of ‘Massive Chaos,’ you recognize my brilliance? Do you remember this black hair and red eyes?”

“Oh, divine one, please show us your ultimate form once more!”

“Please, Mage Tower Master, exert some control! How long will you let others destroy their research?”

“Very well. Since you ask, I shall show you the fringes of illusion magic’s pinnacle.”

I nodded my head as if conducting, realigning my magical power.

My computational ability had diminished significantly compared to the past. However, the process of breaking down and reassembling was not without meaning, and I had accumulated a wealth of concentrated experience.

I could draw inspiration from elements like the intricacies of fire magic or the bizarre techniques I learned while being manipulated by a dark sorcerer with artifacts.

Beyond calculation.

With inspiration, some actions flow naturally without conscious thought.

The essence of fire magic lay in its explosive power. The refreshing and exhilarating sensation of unleashing it. There was no reason to think illusion magic couldn’t be just as thrilling.

Swoosh!

“『Illusion Harpoon Barrage』.”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh──!

Hundreds of translucent arrows align around me. With a light gesture, they shoot off in all directions like heat-seeking missiles. It’s an all-out bombardment.

“Uaaah! The crazy wizard is using fire magic!”

“aaah! aaah!”

They whined, but what looked like attack magic was actually just an illusion spell. The embedded ammunition was sleep.

The seniors and juniors who had been screaming that I was going to die soon fell into a deep slumber. I brushed my hands off in the now eerily quiet center of the tower. Mission clear.

I scanned the surroundings. Clothes scattered haphazardly, and the twisted patterns drawn by that Mel-whatever’s army were sprawled across the walls and floor without restraint.

Cleaning this up is going to be a hassle.

“……?”

As I stared at the patterns, a slight dizziness washed over me, and I blinked. It was a bit disconcerting. Just how skilled was that Mel-whatever…?

With a sense of unease, I made my way upstairs. There were still plenty of wizards to tidy up and floors to clear.

—

I reached just before the top floor of the tower, shaking off the remnants of chaos.

I was certain that the collection of Mima fragments was stored at the very top, in Yuna’s laboratory. If that’s the case, could the elusive Akshin-chan be there as well?

“Hmm…”

Having subdued the confused wizards one by one, the strange discomfort only grew stronger.

Piecing together the scattered information, it was clear that the “large-scale chaos” was no accident. There had to be a perpetrator who cast the spell.

However.

This was someone with the illusion magic skills to plunge the entire tower into chaos. They must have come here for something, yet there were no signs of missing research equipment or valuables. Not even a single corpse.

Now, the only things I hadn’t checked in the tower were Akshin-chan and the Mima fragments.

But both of them are items that are rather ambiguous to target from the outside…?

Only a minuscule number of people knew about Akshin-chan’s secrets and powers, and even the black magic group opposing me had no knowledge of it. The succubus queen who found out was also eliminated.

As for the Mima fragments, it was even more so. Without someone informing me of my situation, how could anyone recognize their value? It was suspicious how many black mages possessed them, though…

Miz is a danger.

With my vigilance and magical power heightened, I reached the top floor of the tower.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, I saw a large magic circle that seemed intended for storing something. And there was Akshin-chan, wearing a subtle expression.

She didn’t seem injured, which put my mind at ease.

“……You’re here?”

“Yeah, Dad’s here. It seems like someone committed a terror attack in the tower; what happened? And… where are the fragments?”

The magic circle was empty. The Mima fragments were gone. I couldn’t even sense them.

Akshin-chan spoke calmly.

“I returned it.”

“…Returned it? To whom?”

Creak.

“──To me.”

With that splitting sound, my voice echoed right behind me.

I immediately commanded all my brain cells. Don’t miss the situation; analyze it, gather information, and come up with an answer. This is an extreme crisis.

Information received from the ‘Promise.’ My fragment is disappearing without a trace.

The fact that the demon lord, controlled by the ‘Long Orphan,’ has seemingly decided to betray me.

And that there are very few illusion mages capable of shaking the entire tower, among which I am included. Summarizing all of this.

Doppelgänger.

That much I could recall.

“The shadow cast at my feet.”

Kiiing──!

I felt the flow of magical power from behind. And that incantation, ‘Heartbreaking Arrow.’ A spell of illusion meant to kill.

Given the hatred, disgust, and threatening presence in their voice, the doppelgänger is hostile towards me. It’s unsettling.

Neither the Heart nor the Crow hated me, even if they had self-awareness. Because that’s me. So the possibility of my fragment becoming an enemy was something I hadn’t seriously considered.

Has some impurity mixed in? Or did someone… gather my fragments and create this?

It’s fine.

I was already in a state of heightened vigilance and magical power. I can respond. More than calculations, I rely on intuition. I draw my instincts and make a stroke.

I lift the brush of my heart and write in one sweeping motion. The shadow cast at my feet, the darkness peering through the closet gap, the solitude of the pitch-black night.

Invisible Arrow.

“‘Heartbreaking Arrow!’”

As I turned around, I shot a black arrow from my grasp.

Only then could I see the form of my doppelgänger. Black hair, bright red eyes. And that mocking, faint smile. It’s the same face, yet it’s an infuriating visage.

Jaw.

It seemed like it had been waiting, as it snatched the Heartbreaking Arrow with its right hand.

That’s not a spell that can be physically caught. It’s more like preparing a counter spell and binding it in mid-air. Was I predicted?

“I knew it. You know, when I’m cornered, I do something. I didn’t think it would be the Invisible Arrow… How did you do it? I don’t get it.”

“You… what the hell are you doing?”

“Are you really asking something so obvious? You’re a mad wizard, you fake. The darkness peering through the closet gap—”

Who says who is fake?

A pitch-black arrow begins to coalesce in his left hand. Without hesitation, I activated the temporary Cheonma module. I lowered my stance and struck at his solar plexus.

It was an incredibly sharp blow, but—

“Ah, I already took that.”

“What…?”

Thud, thud.

But as he reached out with a mysterious and grotesque motion, my attack scattered like mist, and my arms were swatted aside, exposing my chest. I lost in the battle of wits. I was overwhelmed.

This means… I was outmatched in computational power. Did the doppelgänger have the original Cheonma module that had fallen away?

I flicked my lips to cast a spell.

However, every attempt to shake his mind with another illusion spell was thwarted. Even when I tried to divide and disguise to shove in malicious information, the doppelgänger’s processing speed was simply too fast.

Instead, my own mind began to erode. I heard a ringing in my ears, and the image on my cornea split into two.

I realized. He… had consumed more fragments than I had.

The amount of fragments I absorbed was about 30%. But the doppelgänger, having absorbed even the collection of fragments stored in the Zatop, likely exceeded 50%. He was more ‘me’ than I was.

I think I understand how my enemies felt when facing me. This crazy b*stard doesn’t give me a moment to breathe. He simply binds my hands and feet and strikes me unilaterally.

Still, not yet.

There’s still a chance. He doesn’t know, but I possess information and techniques that only I am aware of. I strike at his blind spot. I unleash a serpent woven from illusions.

“『Academic Love’s Illusion (求愛幻巳)』!”

“What the hell is this…?”

Swoosh──!

A serpent that enhances control over illusion magic while simultaneously devouring illusions. With this, I dispelled the doppelgänger’s magic that was interfering with my 『Pashim Hyeonjeon』.

Thwack──!

And I drove it into his head.

The pitch-black arrow struck the doppelgänger’s temple directly, shattering and burrowing into his skull. For a moment, his eyes glazed over, and a trickle of blood ran from his nose.

I subdued him…

“…wouldn’t I?”

His clarity returned. This b*stard, even after taking the 『Pashim Hyeonjeon』, endured…?

“The loneliness of a pitch-black night.”

“……!”

“You take one too, 『Pashim Hyeonjeon (破心玄箭)』.”

Swoosh──

It is dark.

The doppelgänger’s arrow flickered in a shade darker and more unsettling than my own presence. The emotions that rose like a chill were doubts about existence and jealousy. They were its feelings.

Does it harbor such emotions──

Crisp.

The arrow of my presence pierced my head. I had devised a plan to reach the metaphor through a self-inflicted presence, but this was far more horrific than I had anticipated.

A quagmire of emotions, with no way out, dragged me down. Irid, Bennett, Tara, and many other players. Their screams tightened around my throat.

I lost control of my body. I crumbled.

—

Thud.

It felt like the doppelgänger’s foot was resting on the back of my head. I couldn’t be sure.

“…You b*stard, even as a fake, you’re still me. Even with about 30% of it, you’re pulling out all the stops.”

“Is it over?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Uh-huh. It’s over, Akshin-chan. Just wait a bit; I’ll extract the management code for ‘Gingoah’ soon. I’ll have you free in no time.”

“Free? What do you mean? The one holding the leash is just changing hands…”

A hand rested on my nape. Then came the sensation of being drawn in. It was absorbing my information. Was this how a crow felt?

The doppelgänger extracted information about ‘Gingoah’ from me. Now it had the right to unleash Akshin-chan into the world.

At that moment.

Without the sound of a door opening, a butterfly fluttered in.

The butterfly descended, taking on a human form. Its fingertips glimmered with a chilling light.

“…S-stop. Freeze.”

“…….”

Yuna. My insurance, asking for backup in five minutes, was shining through.

But it remained unfazed.

“Yuna, just wait a little longer. I’ll absorb the fake and finish this soon. This guy was the culprit. The one causing the ruckus at the magic tower.”

“…….”

“It seems the dark mages gathered pieces to create something similar to my clone. Unpleasantly… Luckily, Akshin-chan recognized me. Thanks to that, I’m still alive.”

Is that so? Is that how it is?

The doppelgänger and I shared identical appearances, and its composition was superior to mine. If we limited our thoughts to the physical form… it was true that it was closer to the ‘real’ me.

How could I distinguish between us? It was as if the same person had been split in two.

From its voice, I could sense a deep affection for Yuna. To me, it felt genuine, not feigned.

I’m feeling disgustingly unpleasant, and my head is pounding like crazy. Even if I were to die like this… the doppelgänger would surely think of Yuna and Yuri.

If that’s the case, then it’s fine. Even if it’s infuriating, I can accept it. Damn it.

But.

Surprisingly, Yuna firmly denied it.

“You are not him.”

“……… Why? No, really. Why?”

The doppelgänger asked as if he genuinely couldn’t understand. The hand that had climbed up to my nape was trembling. He even sounded damp, as if his voice was filled with tears.

Being denied by Yuna hurt like hell.

I was curious too. Why do you think that, Yuna…?

To this, Yuna replied.

“Because he likes happy endings. Step aside, fake. If you touch him again, I will kill you.”

“………”

I’m happy. It feels like I have the whole world.

Even though I’m sprawled out, hit by the harsh reality, with empty eyes just shedding tears, I feel so… alive. It feels like I’m flying.

But that’s, um.

It didn’t seem like a good action. If I were to be denied existence by Yuna… I would probably wander around half-crazy. It’s obvious.

“Think about it again, Yuna… It’s me. Right? Here, black hair. Red eyes. Can’t even remember my name, always winning in fights. The crazy wizard!”

“This is your last warning. Step aside.”

“………”

Especially if the doppelgänger had a rather aggressive attitude.

“……… Ah, I see.”

It wouldn’t be strange if I completely lost my mind.