100\% Drop Rate: My Special Ability is Perfect Replication

"We’re not heroes," Faust said straight back. "Not like Drege. Not like the heroes the system makes."

Vi studied him for a long time. Her long, pale fingers ran over the armrest of the throne slowly.

"Oh, I see you now. Faust? You showed Drekar a hard time. You are good."

’How does she do that?’

’Appraise. Schema Replication.’

[Name: Vicius(Villain)]

[Level: 10]

[Combat Power: 1500]

[Schema: An Eye for an Eye(Supreme)]

[Schema Abilities: Unending Feud, Revenge Counter]

[Unending Feud(Supreme): Every attack or action against you can be repaid. You can apply the Blood Feud Effect to any target. Every blood debt you pay heals you, depending on how big the debt was.]

[Revenge Counter: Take all damage dealt against you, multiply it and send it back.]

’Level ten... and that Schema. It’s what I expected—’

[The Blood Feud effect has been placed on you!]

"What?" Faust murmured.

"You just did something to me without my consent," Vi answered. "Now I can repay that by.... Oh. You can see the Schemas of others, I see."

Faust’s blood turned cold.

Vi tapped the throne softly. "You have five different Schemas already... amazing. Even the greatest Gold rank Players might just have three or four."

Nirvana glanced between Faust and Vi, utterly lost on what was even happening right now. She summoned her staff. She knew a fight was coming.

Vi tilted her head toward Nirvana. Despite being blind, she saw a lot more than both of them. Like Drekar, she was too loose and devoid of passion.

They had been stuck here for too long.

But Drekar had regained his passion during their fight; Faust had no doubt it would be the same for Vi. The assassin had called her a fighter like Faust, after all.

Vi turned back to him, and Nirvana did the same. They both expected him to strike first for different reasons.

But Faust decided to do something a bit unexpected first.

’Instance Replication!’

Zen’s water dragon was replicated in the middle of flight, imbued with Annihilation.

Faust pointed it at the roof. Right at the golden, ticking magic circle floating above them.

Vi’s hand shot out immediately as she used a skill to stop the water dragon from destroying the circle.

’Shadow Step.’

He instantly appeared by her throne, stabbing down with his dagger. He didn’t expect to destroy the magic circle in the first place.

His attack was a distraction.

But a metal hand appeared out of mid-air and caught his wrist.

Vi flicked her outstretched hand, and the water dragon Faust sent at her magic circle turned left and smashed through the crumbling walls of the castle.

"Nirvana isn’t the only one that can call her minions from anywhere," Vi said softly.

A Puppet knight captain appeared from nothing and tried to hold Faust down, probably so Vi could do something.

’Instance Replication.’

He repeated his Shadow Step to escape back to Nirvana’s side.

Vi watched him with a strange, dreamy smile. The bandages around her eyes crinkled.

"I can see it all. You’ve been a fighter since you lost her, haven’t you?"

A sickening feeling filled Faust at those words. He forced himself to remain calm and walk around Vi and her throne. Puppet knights were appearing from mid-air.

Three Knight captains and six Puppet Mages.

Nirvana summoned some of her ghosts. She had been using them to slow down the captains and mages down where they fought Drekar.

’Thalia must have messaged her about the disappearances.’

[Nirvana: Drekar is forcing his way up here. They can’t hold him much longer. How are we beating her?]

[Red God: Don’t attack her. Stop the Knights. We break the magic circle we win.]

Faust brushed his wet hair from his face casually, pretending to just be watching Vi.

Vi looked between them, sensing something through her Schema. How? They hadn’t attacked her in any way yet. Is even plotting against her considered an attack?

"You didn’t ask how I know your past?" she noted.

"It’s irrelevant," Faust said back.

"You have seen my memories, learnt my secrets. That is an attack, because it violates my autonomy. So to repay that, I’ve seen your memories, learnt your secrets."

Faust stopped and just stared. "There’s no peace with Schema users. Tch."

"Only anything Supreme and above can do things like this. When my Schema was Platinum-grade, I couldn’t target intangible things."

"Why are you telling us all this?" Nirvana cut in. "We’re here to kill you."

Vi paused and turned up, letting the rain wash over her face. Lightning flashed and illuminated her somber expression.

"You’re right. I should be scared of losing. If I can’t destroy your Novice Village, I’ll never return to my homeland."

"But it’s been so long." Vi laughed; it was an amicable sound. "When I first sensed you in this castle, I started clearing my voice and practicing what to say. I’m your first Villain after all; I remember my first."

"We Villains are desperate people. In the stories, the heroes have more to lose than the villains. That makes them stronger. But the system makes us all desperate."

Magic began to swirl around Vi; strands of silver, purple, and blue light formed around her. A giant glowing octopus formed over her, casting a threatening light over them.

"Maybe I just don’t care about losing anymore."

Everything moved at once.

Faust shot back, while Nirvana spread her hands out and summoned black fire into her hands.

There was no time to ponder the new ability as Vi struck, too.

The Puppet knights rushed at Faust, but he ignored them. Their weapons bounced off him with heavy thuds that slowed him down, but Faust spun and lashed out with three fast kicks that sent the captains flying.

The mages sent beams of condensed golden light at him, but he stepped into Narrow Path to escape. He stepped out in front of Vi. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Heavy Fireball!’

Light flooded the throne room. Raindrops hissed and steamed against the ball of fire erupting in front of Faust. Force and heat rolled off the fireball like a jet engine. The sounds it made were deafening.

He released the attack and jumped back.

The magic jellyfish floating over Vi swung down on the fireball. A loud suction sound came from its tentacles as it sucked the fireball away.

Faust gaped at the thing. Its tentacles were glowing with fiery veins. It had the spell trapped in it.

"This is my favorite spell fusion," Vi said. "It might have been smarter to take another skill that fit the style I had in mind. But I have fond memories of this one. Being trapped for so long without it sounded horrible."

She stretched out a hand, and frost exploded in front of her. It drew everything around it in. Rain swirled around the ball of ice like it had a magnetic field.

Vi grinned. "I also like this spell because it allows me to use my Schema without taking direct hits."

And so she shot a giant ice ball at him, while the jellyfish returned Faust’s fireball.