txolops Chapter 177: The First Reflection
Chapter 177: The First Reflection
"You have already seen me fight, but if you require an explanation, then I shall give one. Most of my abilities are related to blood."
Adam paused briefly before shaking his head.
"Actually, rather than blood, it’s more accurate to say that they’re related to people."
"Since we’re a team, I won’t hide the fact that I possess a wide variety of abilities. Of course, just like everyone else here, I have no intention of revealing every single detail. So while I’ll explain the general idea behind my powers, I won’t be going too deeply into them."
His tone was calm, and his words weren’t secretly malicious either.
Adam had already noticed something during everyone’s introductions...
None of them had truly explained their abilities in detail.
Kurou had spoken about shadows, but never described the limits of his powers.
Salvia and Mallory had only given broad explanations of what they could do.
Even Seo-jun had simply summarized his abilities as shamanism and spirit-related arts.
If they had truly wanted to reveal everything, they could have simply displayed their skill descriptions for everyone to see, just as Cael had once done with his A-rank skill.
Of course, Adam did not mind.
It was only natural for people to protect themselves.
Trust was important, but trust and caution were not opposites. Even among teammates, everyone carried secrets they wished to keep hidden.
Adam was no different as there were abilities he could never reveal unless absolutely necessary.
Besides, his goal here was not to tell them everything about himself.
All he needed to do was ensure that these future powerhouses of humanity survived the Eighth Floor and lived long enough to become the people he remembered.
Adam then gestured toward the small girl standing beside him.
"And this is Guin."
His voice was calm as he looked at the others.
"She may be young, but I’ll personally make up for what she lacks. As for her lack of combat experience, that’s my responsibility to handle."
Adam paused briefly before continuing.
"Do not underestimate her. She’s an A-tier skill user. More importantly, her abilities are extremely useful when it comes to defense."
His gaze briefly glanced towards Salvia.
"If anything goes wrong, she will be one of the people protecting our healer."
Hearing Adam speak so highly of her, Guin’s face immediately became red.
She could only lower her head and nod shyly.
Her hand tightened around Adam’s as she avoided everyone’s gaze.
The adults around her all seemed experienced and capable. Compared to them, she was still just a child...
Part of her was afraid they would be disappointed after learning that someone so young had joined their party.
Fortunately, nobody voiced any complaints.
After that, the group spent a few more minutes discussing their preferred fighting styles, positioning, and how they would react to different situations during battle.
Under the System’s constant urging, the party was quickly finalized.
A moment later, several notifications appeared before everyone’s eyes.
[All Parties Have Been Formed.]
[Party Requirements Verified.]
[Preparing Reflection Trial.]
[Separating Parties...]
[Transferring Participants.]
The moment the final notification appeared, the small room began to distort.
The walls seemed to stretch apart while faint cracks spread across the walls that surrounded them.
The tiny room they occupied began diverging into countless separate layers, each one drifting farther away from the others.
As the walls stretched and divided them, Adam briefly saw images of the other parties get infinitely further away from them...
Then those images rapidly faded.
The colors around them blurred together before dissolving into an endless sea of reflections.
A strange pulling sensation enveloped everyone’s bodies.
The next moment, their surroundings vanished completely as the System transferred each party into a different dimension of the Eighth Floor.
The first thing everyone did after arriving was observe their surroundings...
The room they found themselves in was enormous.
It resembled a traditional Japanese hall, but on a scale far beyond what should have been possible.
Rows of polished wooden pillars stretched into the distance, supporting a high ceiling decorated with hanging lanterns, ceremonial banners, and countless ornaments crafted from bronze, jade, and lacquered wood.
The floor beneath them was smooth and reflective, almost like a mirror hidden beneath dark polished timber.
Elegant furniture was scattered throughout the room. Low tables, weapon racks, folding screens, and antique cabinets lined the edges of the hall.
Yet despite how luxurious everything appeared, there was an unsettling emptiness to the place.
If one were to ask Adam, he’d say this was most certainly a place specifically designed for battle.
The far ends of the hall faded into darkness, making it impossible to tell where the room truly ended.
Kurou was the first to break the awkward silence that was permeating between them.
"Haha... the reflections we’re fighting are supposed to go from weakest to strongest, right?"
He scratched the back of his head and let out a sigh.
"Well, I guess it’s already obvious who we’re fighting first. Kind of a shame though... I guess I’m the weakest person here, huh?"
A grin appeared on his face but nobody really laughed.
Not because they disliked the joke, but because everyone was too focused on their surroundings.
Kurou quickly realized this and simply shrugged.
It seems that the atmosphere of this group did not need someone trying to "lighten" the mood.
Seeing that nobody intended to continue the conversation, he silently adjusted his stance.
The others did the same.
Almost immediately, the entire party entered a state of readiness.
A moment later, a notification appeared before their eyes.
[First Reflection Selected.]
[Current Target: Chaser of Obscurity.]
The moment the familiar Stream Name appeared, Kurou’s lips twitched.
"...Ah."
The hall suddenly grew colder... And from the darkness at the far edge of the room, footsteps slowly echoed.
Step. Step. Step.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
The man looked almost identical to Kurou.
His black hair was longer and flowed behind him freely, reaching well past his waist.
His features resembled Kurou’s, but where Kurou appeared approachable and relaxed, this man seemed carved from stone.
His skin was darker, more bronze in tone, and his face was sharper and more defined.
Most unsettling of all were his eyes.
There was no warmth within them. In fact, it felt like what was in front of them had no humanity at all.
In his hand rested a pitch-black blade that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
As he stepped forward, the shadows beneath the furniture, beneath the pillars, and even beneath the party’s feet began to stir.
Darkness slowly gathered around him as the shadows themselves seemed to want to be closer to him.
No words were exchanged during the brief contact that they saw each other.
The moment the Reflection appeared, its body suddenly dissolved into absolute darkness.
Its figure collapsed into a pool of shadows before sinking into the floor and disappearing completely.
Kurou’s expression immediately changed.
Recognizing the skill, he reacted quickly!
The shadows around his own body surged upward and wrapped around him like a cloak. Within moments, his body also began transforming into darkness.
Although his transformation was slightly slower, his reaction was fast enough to keep up.
The battle had begun!!!
Adam’s eyes narrowed in observation as he immediately warned his party members.
"Don’t go near the corners! Ensure that you stay where the light can reach you!
Don’t give him more shadows to work with!"
His voice echoed throughout the hall as everyone immediately adjusted their positions.
Salvia and Mallory moved closer together.
Seo-jun quietly stepped nearer to the center of the room while keeping several talismans ready between his fingers.
Guin also moved away from the darker sections of the hall, remaining close enough for Adam to protect her if necessary.
Within the sea of shadows beneath the floor, a fierce battle was already taking place.
To ordinary eyes, nothing could be seen.
However, Adam was different.
Through the vision granted by [Authority of Disconnection], he could vaguely perceive the movements occurring inside the darkness.
Kurou and his Reflection were constantly clashing beneath the surface.
Their blades collided as the shadows around constantly changed shapes.
Even with the naked eye, one could vaguely tell that "something" was violently moving within the darknness.
Figures appeared and vanished in an instant.
It was immediately obvious who held the advantage.
The Reflection...
The darkness itself seemed to favor it!
The surrounding shadows willingly gathered around the Reflection, strengthening it while resisting Kurou’s control.
As though the entire environment had already chosen a side.
Seeing this, Adam raised a hand.
[Authority of Disconnection.]
He attempted to sever the connection between the Reflection and the shadows supporting it.
Invisible cuts spread through the darkness.
Large portions of shadow were separated and scattered apart.
Yet Adam quickly frowned.
The skill was working, but not as effectively as he expected.
Whenever he tried to target the Reflection directly, the creature’s body would immediately blend into the surrounding darkness.
Its physique had become something strange... to a point that it barely resembled a human anymore.
Even identifying its exact location was difficult.
At the same time, a series of notifications suddenly appeared before Adam’s eyes.
[A Viewer from a Universe of Gardens has joined your stream.]
[A Viewer from a Universe of Extreme Benevolence has joined your stream.]
[A Viewer from a Universe of Endless Machinery has joined your stream.]
[A Viewer from a Universe of Crystal Seas has joined your stream.]
[Lover of Good Things is curiously looking around.]
[The Most Basic Architect is looking at the fight in boredom.]