Chapter 189: Incident at the Tent Village 4
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The incident explained by the infuriated Ambrosio closely resembled what we had experienced.
A brazen group of adventurer robbers had attacked a cluster of stonemasons right on the temple knights' patrol route.
Instead of merely robbing, these robbers, with the skill of intermediate adventurers, brutally slaughtered the workers.
Arriving later, the temple knights, during the fight, realized they were doppelgangers.
One of the foolhardy female robbers, who charged at them despite seeing their pristine white armor, bore an uncanny resemblance to a waitress from a temporary inn selling soup in the tent village.
"Indeed, I wasn't mistaken after all."
"It seems Roland and his party also discovered something suspicious in the meantime."
The temple knights, who had captured all the robbers after calling for reinforcements, discussed a concerning issue.
One of the female robbers looked exactly like the inn waitress, raising fears for the safety of the tent village.
They suspected that the robbers had infiltrated the tent village, posing as civilians.
If the murderous robbers, who had killed all the stonemasons, were disguised in the tent village, the relatively weaker workers like masons and carpenters were at risk.
Hence, they hurried back to the market street of the tent village.
They found the same-looking woman busily preparing soup for the next day's business.
"The female knights checked, and it wasn't just the face that was identical. Even the positions of moles and minor skin blemishes were perfectly the same."
"So, it didn't use anything on their face or mimic it through magic?"
"Yes. After consulting with the brothers at the Magic Tower, we confirmed it wasn't a change brought about by magic."
The adventurer robber, donned in leather armor and wielding a sword, who had slaughtered the stonemasons, and the inn waitress, who had only ever held a knife for chopping soup ingredients, faced each other, identical in every physical aspect, causing immense confusion.
Amidst this, the doppelganger, capable only of replicating human appearance and not undead, remained unaffected even by divine energy, further complicating matters.
"So, that's why the temple knights are here this early in the morning."
"Yes. Given the situation... A monster that can mimic human appearance and speech. If such beings were to leave the tower and enter the city, it'd be chaos."
Certainly, if murderous robbers, resembling priests, nuns, temple knights, saints, and saintesses, were to brutally slaughter citizens, it would create a serious problem.
Not only would there be aftermath issues, but the political ramifications could be enormous.
If luck turns against us, the temple's faith could be shaken by citizens recognizing the faces.
And what if they didn't go around killing?
Capturing a female doppelganger in the slums, assuming the form of a nun or a saintess, would be a headache.
A murderer with the face of a saint, a prostitute with the face of a saintess.
Despite the game's conveniences for players, this world is still a medieval fantasy with a strong class system.
What if someone from the slums defiles the body of a woman revered as a saintess?
In this world's standards, annihilating them for the temple and Goddess's honor would be almost justified.
-LOL, identity theft by a monster.
-So, is the doppelganger undead? Asked that like 1697874 times.
-So, is this a side quest or the main quest?
-Isn't it a side quest of side quest related to the temple? Seems like it's linked to the safe zone.
"Ah, I know doppelgangers fuel wild imaginations, but please don't post such things in the chat. I have absolutely no interest in your bizarre fantasies... And 6 grandpa just confirmed that divine energy doesn't work on them, so why are you still asking?"
Han Se-ah casually chatters with the viewers, but the others, particularly our noble lady Katie from the north, seem deeply contemplative, furrowing her brows.
She must have realized the nuisance of replicating the faces of high-ranking individuals.
Perhaps the scariest aspect of these doppelgangers is not the challenge they pose in conquering the tower, but the potential political turmoil they could stir.
They're certainly monsters that cause trouble in various ways.
"Ugh, isn't the saintess supposed to be within the temple? Are these creatures randomly mimicking those who entered the tower, creations of the Demon King? Then, there might be ones that have copied us too?"
"Yes, that's right. In fact, the brothers who inspected the other floors overnight have encountered a creation of the Demon King resembling Sir Roland."
They refer to them as creations of the Demon King, probably since they didn't know the term 'doppelganger'.
The thought of one already mimicking me sent shivers down my spine, but luckily, it seems they haven't copied our abilities.
Indeed, Ambrosio is currently holding heads that are identical to his own and the copy of a saintess.
If born 5 and 6 were to appear as field mobs, the game would be unplayable.
Even in mobile games, doppelgangers on stages only copy appearances, not players' heavily invested specs, to avoid becoming insurmountable obstacles, right?
Dozens of temple knights, adorned in gleaming white armor, were questioning adventurers, with hundreds of priests and nuns supporting them.
Adding to this, Ambrosio, a proud 6 Monk, was leaping dozens of meters above the tent village.
Rumors spread swiftly from temple officials to adventurers and then to the civilians in the tent village's market street.
"Hey, did you hear about it?"
"Something about this morning"
"No wonder it was noisy last night."
While rumors of monsters disappearing were spreading, other baseless tales, such as monsters appearing and the temple conducting an urgent purge, or heinous criminals hiding in the tent village, were also circulating fast.
Fortunately, the story about the doppelgangers spread quickly, alerting people.
It seems several adventurers witnessed two identical girls standing bewildered in front of each other at a temporary inn in the tent village.
The temple, heated up to the point of declaring a holy war, announced it to the adventurers as well.
"Everyone entering the tower must receive a divine imprint! The temple knights at the gates and passageways will update it. Anyone without an imprint will be considered a creation of the Demon King and will be executed immediately! Remember! No matter how well the Demon King's creations mimic, they can't replicate divine energy!"
The usually calm voice, foregoing the usual 'brother' and 'sister' terms, now commanded authoritatively, indicating significant anger.
The temple's response was to mark the forearm with divine energy, identifying those without as imposters.
Some adventurers, failing to grasp the situation, grumbled about the tediousness of frequent updates.
However, when one voiced his discontent and was swiftly dragged away by a hammer-wielding temple knight, all complaints stopped.
The dragged-away adventurer probably didn't expect such a sensitive reaction from the temple knights.
Apparently, the saintess, hidden away in the miniature temple, has a surprisingly good reputation.
"The brothers should maintain their composure, despite their anger..."
"The temple's extremely hostile because the saintess was insulted."
The temple knights, who once dismissed the giant tree on the 35th floor as 'an evil that must be eradicated,' were now furiously condemning the doppelgangers mimicking the saintess as 'evil scum that must be painfully torn apart.'
Even the tender-hearted Irene, instead of worrying about the dragged-away adventurer, was more concerned about the temple knights.
"Sir Roland and Sister Irene, you don't need to receive the imprint. However, your companions, since they can't use divine energy..."
"Yes, I'll get it. Should I just extend my wrist?"
"Thank you for cooperating, Hanna. May the Goddess's blessing accompany you in your ascent of the tower. And earnestly, we hope you help us find these despicable scums."
Even murmuring to oneself could lead to being dragged to the temple for interrogation and beating.
Unless the intention was to entertain the viewers, there was no reason to confront the temple.
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Raei Translations
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At the entrance to the passage leading to the 36th floor, Han Se-ah promptly extended her right hand.
A temple knight, with a solemn voice, traced a holy symbol and emitted divine energy.
Following her, Katie and Grace also received divine imprints on their forearms before proceeding to the 36th floor.
"Is that the symbol of the Goddess Faith? It looks quite pretty up close."
-Streamer Han Se-ah/Controversy/Tattoo
-LOL, even so, making a controversy out of this is ridiculous
-A tattooed beauty, Han Se-ah, sigh~
-By that logic, wouldn't Katie become a tattooed minor?
-But the doppelgangers are kinda out of nowhere. Did Roland skip something on the 35th floor with his one-hit kill?
"...It does seem like it, doesn't it? There's no concrete evidence, just my theory, but remember the huge tree on the 35th floor spawning tentacles? Maybe this floor's gimmick is about a tree corrupting and spawning undead continuously. Tentacles from the tree, troll bombs, and now doppelgangers?
Or not, who knows."
[Tent Village Tent Thief Han Se-ah donated 10,000 Won!]
If right, 10,000 Won, otherwise a penalty?
"What penalty? If I wanted to I can just pocket the 10,000 Won, right? But hey, does that look like an adventurer heading to the 35th floor, or a wandering doppelganger?"
As Han Se-ah focused her camera towards one side, Grace readied her bow.
Last time there was a troll at the passage, and now it's a doppelganger party.
These doppelgangers are like those pale tentacles, using numbers to their advantage.
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