The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

Concentrating on his imitation, Ruvian thrust his wand forward, intent on landing a clean spell strike on his opponent. Yet at the final instant, his motion faltered.

He hesitated.

Noticing Ruvian had choked off his spell, the clone’s face darkened with wary confusion and so, he stopped, too, dragging in a rough breath.

After a moment of silence, the clone finally spoke.

"What the hell are you doing? Why did you stop?"

Ignoring the figure, Ruvian inspected his [Runeheart].

Mana Essence: [90/210]

He doesn’t have much mana left. Ruvian felt his body was getting heavier. His eyes were burning, too.

He couldn’t afford for this fight to drag on. If it did, they’d be reduced to trading blows with their bare hands. And in the worst-case scenario, if his clone still retained even a sliver of mana while he didn’t...

Then, that would put him in such a problematic predicament.

There would be no solution if it came to that. Which meant he needed another approach. Something devious to outsmart himself...

"Looks like I’m out of mana."

Ruvian forced himself a smile.

The clone mirrored him instantly.

"Ah, I see. You’re out of mana already. Makes sense.... Make sense. That’s too bad. Who would have guessed..."

Then, after a slow inhale, the clone calmly lifted his middle finger.

"Cut the bullshit. I know you’re lying. There’s no way you burned through your essence that fast. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re terrible at lying?"

Ruvian lightly scowled. "What? Can’t you ever trust yourself for once? I’m actually telling the truth here."

"You and your truth can go fuck yourself. Who do you take me for a fool? Griffer Noktz? I know you’ve still got half your reserve left. Lying to me won’t work."

’Seriously... Is my personality really this rotten?’

"Well, you sounded awfully certain about my mana reserve. Don’t tell me that’s your way of admitting we’ve got the same mana capacity. Aren’t you being a little too generous, handing that information to your enemy just like that?" Ruvian deviously smiled.

The clone snorted. "So that was your goal. Ha. You almost had me. Who knows? Maybe we do have the same capacity... or maybe we don’t."

Without another word, the clone began reciting an incantation and snapped his wand forward.

’At least I bought myself some time.’

Gritting his teeth, Ruvian twisted aside and dodged the incoming blast.

His body rolled across the watery floor, robes dragging through the slick surface, and he sprang back to his feet—his incantation had already finished, and mana was already gathering around the tip of his wand.

But later, what he saw surprised him. His clone was closing the distance between them at tremendous speed.

’Huh?’

Ruvian’s mind, sharpened by strain, immediately caught the cause. The clone had reinforced himself with [Body Enhancement] to gain that sudden burst of momentum.

Yet, what the clone did still struck him as reckless.

’Is this guy really a fool? Wait, am I a fool?’

Because... why did he risk himself by charging at him?

Ruvian was holding the advantage here. His spell was primed, and he could release his [Magic Missile] long before the clone could reach his striking range.

’What is he thinking!?’

Even as the question crossed his mind, Ruvian released the spell without hesitation. And so, by all logic, that should have ended the trial.

That should have killed his clone!

From that distance, with the shot fired at point-blank range, there was no realistic way for the clone to evade.

Even if he somehow managed to cast [Magic Barrier] in time, the defense would never match the penetrating force of Ruvian’s [Magic Missile].

This should be the end of it...

However, just a slight fraction before the energy blast hit the clone, Ruvian heard his imitation had finished muttering a chant.

"[True Authority]."

Ruvian’s eyes grew wide in shock. He had expected a violent contact of energy burning his clone’s flesh.

Yet somehow, the streak of light bent.

His [Magic Missile], already loose and screaming through the air, it veered at the last instant as though it had struck an invisible surface.

’That’s...’

The beam did not shatter or disperse. It curved, sliding along an unseen contour that wrapped the space before the clone’s body.

The spell stretched around that unseen boundary, its brilliance distorting for a second before the divided light drew back together and reformed beyond him, rejoining itself as if the interruption had never existed.

As the glow diminished, the silhouette within it became clear.

Ruvian saw his own figure emerge as the spell receded.

Realization settled in at the same time the clone began to chant his next attack.

’Shit...’

Ruvian did not need to hear the entire chant to recognize it. The structure of mana told him the same thing.

The spell being formed was [Magic Missile].

Retreating or bracing for defense would be a mistake at this distance. They stood far too close for caution to save him.

If he hesitated now, the next flash of light would bloom directly against his chest.

’I understand it now, is that what you’re trying to show me?’

Instead of yielding ground, Ruvian drew mana sharply into his lower body. The spell took form only around his legs, tightening along muscle and tendon, compressing his strength into motion.

With [Body Enhancement] driving through him, he thrust himself forward, closing the gap between himself and his clone in a sudden burst of speed.

Copying what his clone previously did, Ruvian closed the remaining distance in a single surge and seized his clone’s wrist, wrenching the arm upward toward the sky to throw off the forming spell.

The motion should have disrupted the casting and forced the magic to collapse...

Yet the instant their hands met, he sensed that the mana there was gone.

’Shit..’

Ruvian gritted his teeth as he realised that the clone had already cancelled the spell before the grab ever landed.

"Taking the bait like a good boy you are."

The cloned spat.

With a sharp twist of his shoulder, the imitation slipped his hand free and turned its body along a tight arc. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Then, shifting his stance, the clone stepped in closer and abandoned his spellwork entirely in favor of close quarters combat.

"Catch these." the clone said.

But Ruvian was quicker to react, as well.

He deflected the incoming strike with his forearm, redirected the force past his shoulder, and returned a counterblow of his own.

Their movement mirrored each other, fist against fist, technique matching technique, and timing with timing.

For a fractional second as their close combat continued, both of them shaped their mana into their muscle and bone, wrapping their body with [Body Enhancement].

The effect immediately followed.

Their hands blurred as they struck and parried, their footwork sharpened, moving cleanly across the water-like floor.

Both of them fought like a true martial artist.

The rhythm of their exchange quickened into a relentless cadence, identical in tempo and ruthlessness, neither yielding so much as an inch.

Later, at the same instant, as though guided by a single will, they pivoted, jumped, and unleashed a spinning kick.

Their legs swept through the air in mirrored arcs.

Boom!

As a result, the impact forced both bodies apart and carved a narrow stretch of distance between them once more.

Slightly slumping his body forward, Ruvian was panting heavily. All of his muscles were in pain. His bruises were all over the place.

But the same went for his clone.

Spitting out his saliva, Ruvian straightened his back once again. One hand was folded behind his back, and the other held forward.

Then, he pulled back those four fingers twice as if inviting his clone to come at him again.

For some inscrutable reason, Ruvian was slowly coming to understand the part of him that he was lacking...

"Get up, you fraud. We’re far from done."

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[Chapter 62: Trials of Confrontation (5)]