Four Split Personalities

[Shadow Shift]

Growth active skill

Mastering Requirements: Possess at least one high-tier melee profession, sin value > 5

Consumption/Limitation: 150 physical strength value, 5% current health points

Effect: Creates a controllable shadow clone with 80% of caster’s basic attributes, 200% movement speed, and 1 health point, with a basic duration of 2 seconds. Each additional second consumes 8% of maximum physical strength value. The shadow clone can perform normal attacks and use the one-time skills [Annihilation] and [Swift Wind], with a cooldown of 15 minutes.

Trait 1: The user can freely switch the main perspective and consciousness between the original body/shadow clone. The uncontrolled party takes 20% more damage, has a 35% increased chance of being critically hit, and their resistance is reduced by 50%.

Trait 2: The shadow clone without consciousness can only carry out two commands: attack and move to a specified location, and cannot use skills autonomously.

Trait 3: Any negative effects suffered by the shadow clone cannot be reflected onto the original body in any form.

Trait 4: Before all shadow clones disappear, the user can actively create up to three shadow clones, each consuming 150 physical strength value, 5% current health points, with a duration of 2 seconds. Additional consumption is calculated independently.

[Remark: I bet you felt cool when you first saw the skill description above. But now that you’re reading this remark... do you still feel cool?]

...

It must be said, this remark full of malice isn’t actually wrong about anything. After all, for players who have at least obtained one advanced stage profession, whether it’s the seven characters ’growth active skill’ or the following verbose trait explanation, they all give the sense of ’omg, this skill is so epic.’ However, after reading it carefully, you’ll find that the skill isn’t as wonderful as it seems, appearing to be the kind that if you don’t delve into it, you surely can’t play well with it; even if you study it seriously, you may not necessarily play it well; and if you work hard to study it, you always feel like you’ll be screwed over, but ignoring it would be a pity.

It’s just freaking annoying...

At least West Gate Fire finds it annoying, but helpless against how truly cool the skill was, and having not many high-tier skills after acquiring the Swordsman profession, he really took the time to practice it for quite a while, and thought he had achieved some minor success.

So he started to use it.

The moment the shadow clone separated from West Gate Fire’s body, he switched his perspective over, then immediately activated [Swift Wind], further increasing his movement speed on top of the 200% base. In an instant, he skimmed to the side of Anthony Dubs, and with a horizontal sweep of the sword, a chilly [Annihilation] quietly surfaced like a waning moon.

Immediately—

A flash of cold light!

Blood splatters everywhere!

The shadow clone, looking identical to West Gate Fire, surprisingly bore a fresh wound on its chest and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"What?!"

West Gate Fire almost popped his eyes out; he had not noticed any reaction from Anthony Dubs when ’possessing’ the shadow clone. His [Annihilation] was only halfway through when he felt a pain in his chest, and by the time he came back to his senses, his consciousness had already returned to his original body.

[The enemy has help!]

Confident in his own ability, West Gate Fire almost instinctively made a judgment in the instant he widened his eyes, then with a thought, he performed an unexpected forward roll, narrowly dodging the silent sword light from behind!

Buzz!

Only after the opponent’s attack had ended, and West Gate Fire’s hair had been sliced off by a fraction, did he hear a faint slashing sound, immediately countering with two slashes of his sword behind him.

This move, [Sword Intention Fluctuation], was the skill West Gate Fire had used before to blast away the demon rift of Pars through the air. Its damage, speed, and attack range were all top-notch. If it was a common intermediate professional, taking this attack head-on would mean death or severe injury. Had he not been startled by the opponent’s vicious and swift sneak attack, he wouldn’t have rushed to use this skill in desperation.

But...

A burst of dazzling red light suddenly lit up behind West Gate Fire. He turned his head to see that the attacker was not dodging or evading, and the large sword with two rows of spikes in his hand seemed to extend a blade edge condensed from some kind of Qi force. Then came a series of dizzyingly fast slashes that produced dozens of red sword blooms like a furiously blooming red lotus, harshly clashing with his two [Sword Intention Fluctuation] strikes. Although they were constantly being shattered, they seemed endless, constantly blossoming from various angles, whittling away at the ever-weakening Sword Intention.

One step, two steps, three steps...

With each red lotus-like sword light smashed, the man silently stepped back. Finally, by the third step, West Gate Fire’s [Sword Intention Fluctuation] had eventually dwindled, soon to be swallowed by the fourth round of blooming red lotus sword lights, rapidly dissipating into the air.

[Knight’s Technique - Tiger Spear] + [Knight Skill - Angry Red Lotus]!

"Leave this to me."

The red glow on the Corona Slash Sword faded, and the Half Dragon Knight, who instantly eliminated the shadow clone with [Gale] and repelled West Gate Fire, smiled at Anthony Dubs: "You guys go help contain the other bandits."

Dubs, who was not one to dawdle, nodded immediately upon hearing this and rushed towards the bandits who had pressed up against the adventurers and civil servants, not saying another superfluous word.