Shatei Kyokufuri Yumi-Ojisan

When my vision returned to normal, we were back in the Mirrorstone Cave.
As for the Mirror Ghost that was the reason we had gotten lost in the mirror world, it floated in the air as if to confirm that we had returned, and then it vanished.
So it was more of a gimmick than an enemy monster.
A device to take players to the mirror world after they finished exploring the cave, and an exit when they returned.

“Phew… Being chased by that invincible woman… I thought it was going to be a lot of effort for nothing, but it seems like it wasn’t the case!”

Nekoko had opened her status window and was looking through it.
People who were used to games would always check their status and items when something happened.
In my case, I was just satisfied with clearing an event or quest, and often didn’t check the rewards until later.
Well, that was my style, and I was fine with it.

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“Yes! I have a new Grow Card…! Uh, but why is it a Bloody Mary card!?”

It was normal to get cards that were related to their location, but in her case, it wasn’t very desirable.
As for me…

“I got a Grow Card as well.
Uhh… Mirror Alice Reflection.”

The card had two blonde girls depicted on it.
I immediately checked to see what effect they had.

◆ Mirror Alice Reflection
Creates a clone of the player.
You can order it to move or perform simple actions, but it has no attack ability.
Disappears upon taking damage or when you create a new clone.

Th-this is a decoy skill…!
You would look like a real professional if you could use this kind of skill.
And since I was a sniper who would normally want to hide his location, I could make good use of it.
I’ll equip and test it right away then.

“Decoy.
Come out!”

And then a clone that looked just like me appeared.
The face and equipment were modeled after you on the moment you activated the skill.
So if you changed your equipment afterward, it would not be reflected on the decoy.

As for actions, it could aim with the bow, raise both arms, wave its hand, crouch, etcetera.
It was very simple stuff.
You could also make it walk or dash, but it would get stuck on obstacles.
And it could not do anything so complicated as move out of the way.

Hmmm.
Now that I thought about it…using a decoy might be a bad idea for me.
For better or worse, too many people knew my face.

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So if I let my decoy walk around, people will know that I am in the area, and will be on their guard for ranged attacks.
Currently, the best way to use it would be…to confuse the enemy only once I’ve been discovered.
It could be effective if I made it run in the opposite direction that I wanted to run away in.

Heh…hehehe…

It wasn’t the sound of Alice laughing…
It was Nekoko.

“You’re looking at the effects of your new equipment right in front of me.
Aren’t you afraid of being exposed?”

“Well, I was just too curious.”

“It’s not a bad trait.
And I admire players that stubbornly persist in their playstyle… You remind me of this older lady who I respect so much.
I guess you really are a ‘gamer.’”

“A gamer… I never really thought about it.”

But considering how much I had been playing after quitting my job, society would likely call me a gamer.
Or perhaps they would call me something much worse…
As grim thoughts entered my mind, I received something from Nekoko.

“A friend request…?”

“Just so you don’t misunderstand me, this doesn’t mean we’re going to be buddies and form a party.
If anything, it’s a…a suggestion that might help us continue to be free and stick to our styles…”

Hmm…I don’t understand.
But it sounded nice enough.
And so I would react accordingly.

“I’m listening…”

I said in a low, hard-boiled voice… But she ignored me.
Well, perhaps it wasn’t surprising, given her age…
And so I decided to listen to her normally.