The Maze of Perception - Final Round
[Warning]
[All senses, memories, and reason can be copied and distorted. You must maintain your self-identity.]
[Beginning in 3…2…1.]
The three of them stood before the Stone Pillar, and suddenly its patterns swirled like a mind vortex, teleporting them somewhere new. When they opened their eyes, a silver-purple light emanated like a soul's mist.
A whispering voice—not from the system, not from a boss—but as if… coming from within them:
"Are you ready… to forget yourself to become strong?"
Ting!
[MEMORY SPECTER – LV. 20]
[Difficulty: Extremely High]
[Type: Unknown - Mental Form]
[System: Spiritual]
[Skills]
[Memory Reflection]
[Emotional Manifestation]
[Reality Swap]
Opening their eyes, they were faced with an overwhelming space. Before them was a giant reflective mirror temple. There were no stone walls or plaster ceilings, only thousands of mirrors enveloping the space, reflecting countless overlapping images, creating a feeling of endlessness and dizziness.
From the center of the illusion, a Specter gradually took form. Its body was like smoke, vague and constantly shifting, while its face continuously changed between the forms of Nghĩa, Nam, and Ái Hoa.
"Who are you? If you no longer have Memories, Reason, and Emotions…" The boss's voice echoed through the air, cold and challenging, reverberating in their minds.
Ting!
[Boss activated: Phase 1 – Perception Fragmentation]
A dazzling light suddenly erupted, swallowing all three of them and pulling them into a new illusion.
Ting!
[Passive Skill Activated]
[Conscious Shield] - Nam
[Steadfast Soul] - Hoa
Nam and Hoa woke up in an instant, their bodies trembling slightly, but their consciousness was held firm.
They immediately turned their heads to look at Nghĩa.
Suddenly, Nghĩa's eyes widened, his pupils giving off a strange purple glow. He froze in the middle of the hall—standing still, motionless, like a statue.
Ting!
[Player Nghĩa has been pulled into the deep layer of perception – Status: Separated Self]
"Brother!" Ái Hoa yelled, her voice full of worry.
"Oh No! Nghĩa got hit!" she said to Nam.
Nam, with a look of extreme panic, muttered: "Oh hell! This guy looks a hundred times scarier than the Boss. We can still run!"
"What are you talking about, man! Did your brain break in the last rounds?" Hoa yelled back in frustration, not believing her ears.
Nam mumbled in defense:
"Okay, fine, let's not run… but why are you yelling at me? He really does look scary…"
"Well, he..." Suddenly, Hoa paused for a moment, her eyes fixed on Nghĩa's motionless figure, where the purple eyes were glowing menacingly.
The Boss was furious to see the two of them awake and let out a shriek, launching a preemptive strike.
[Perception Manifestation] a thick, swirling mist of smoke like hungry tentacles tore through the space, heading straight for Nam.
"The Boss is attacking! Brother Nam, block it! I'll try to wake up Brother Nghĩa!" Hoa shrieked, her voice breathless in the tense atmosphere.
Without a second's hesitation, Nam slammed his new shield into the floor. A radiant, fan-shaped barrier solidly blocked the entire front line. It was the perfect combination of [Stone Pillar Shield] and [Defensive Pillar]—an unparalleled steel wall between life and death.
"I'll block the front! Hoa, you support from behind and wake Nghĩa up at all costs! I'll taunt the Boss to target me!" Nam growled, his determined eyes piercing through the thick defense.
Ái Hoa didn't hesitate, casting Healing Wave and Mental Shield. The two energy flows combined and intertwined, wrapping around her and her teammates, creating a fragile but resilient layer of protection.
"I'll try to wake Nghĩa up! Brother Nam, hold on!" Hoa's voice was full of determination, although her face was still etched with worry.
Then, without a hint of hesitation, Hoa raised her hand, and a dry, echoing slap landed hard on Nghĩa's cheek. The sound "SMACK!" rang out, horrifyingly loud in the tense battle space.
"WAKE UP!!!" she yelled, as if trying to tear through the hazy mist covering her teammate.
Ting!
[Player Nghĩa Attacked]
[Lost 160 HP]
Nam froze, his eyes wide as he stared at Hoa, his face as pale as a sheet.
"I was just kidding, but she actually did it, oh my god…" The thought flashed through his mind, carrying both horror and helplessness.
The Boss frantically changed form—at times it was the hauntingly bloody Lài, at times the weak, trembling version of Hoa, and at times it morphed into Nghĩa with his twisted, repulsive personality. But neither Nam nor Hoa wavered; their fighting spirit was a fierce flame burning brightly in the midst of the illusory storm.
INSIDE THE ILLUSION – NGHĨA
Nghĩa came to, finding himself in a strange room. Thousands of mirrors surrounded him, reflecting countless images, but none of them reflected his own figure. Instead, each mirror showed an image of Ái Hoa, his younger sister.
Ting!
[The Mirror of Truth]
Two Ái Hoas appeared in two opposite mirrors. One Ái Hoa had fallen, her clothes soaked with blood, weakly calling: "Brother… save me… it hurts so much…" At the same time, another Ái Hoa stood there, her eyes calm and looking straight at him, without any expression.
Without any hesitation, Nghĩa activated
[Shadow Step], lunging straight toward the injured Ái Hoa and attacking.
[You have chosen incorrectly]
[Difficulty is being raised]
The room swayed. This time, four Ái Hoas appeared at once in four mirrors, all with emotionless faces. He threw a dagger at a random mirror. The mirror shattered, but then, eight Ái Hoas stood in the mirrors, looking at him blankly.
Nghĩa was utterly confused. "If you choose wrong, you will be caught in an endless loop," a voice echoed in his head. He had to choose and analyze very carefully.
Nghĩa closed his eyes. Instead of trusting what he saw, he focused on sensing the mana around him. Suddenly, he glided past all eight mirrors, stabbing straight into a ninth replica—an image that was not directly visible, but reflected at an angle through a mirror.
The dagger pierced through the illusion. Immediately, the thousands of mirrors shattered into a hazy smoke of memories, swirling around him.
Ting!
[Player Nghĩa has completed the self-progress—returning to reality]
Nghĩa's entire body was drenched in a cold sweat, his eyes gradually regaining their familiar sharpness. He woke up with a start.
"Thanks for holding on." A voice rang out, steady and relieved.
"Huh? Why is my cheek so swollen?" Nghĩa mumbled, touching his cheek and feeling the stinging heat.
Nam leaned on his shield, panting, every muscle in his arm still trembling.
"A little later and I wouldn't have been able to hold on." He said, his voice hoarse.
Ái Hoa smiled faintly, a faint trail of blood trickling from the corner of her lips, but her eyes still sparkled with mischief.
"W-Who knows? I think the Boss hit you." She said, with a face that was unbelievably "innocent."
The Boss snarled, beginning to gather energy frantically. The thousands of mirrors around it spun wildly, creating a fierce vortex of illusions. A deep crimson light erupted, coiling like a death tornado, preparing for the final blow.
"Good job, everyone. This time, it's my turn!" Nghĩa's voice was no longer tired, but instead cold and decisive.
Assassin's Dance:
He activated [Stealth], his form dissolving into the darkness, like a formless phantom. Even the Boss only managed to sense a faint afterimage, unable to grasp his movements. The [Shadow Step] skill, combined with [Afterimage], was used simultaneously. The moment Stealth ended, Nghĩa had already appeared behind the Boss, his dagger glowing with a deadly purple light, ready for the +50% damage activation.
[Vitality Strike]! The stab was precise, going straight into the Boss's back. The dagger lightly touched its Core—where a faint, weak but mesmerizing purple light emanated.
"Your weakness is exposed…" Nghĩa whispered into the Unknown's ear like the murmur of death.
The Boss shrieked furiously, its cry echoing throughout the room. It turned around as if to tear the attacker apart. But Nghĩa had already vanished, leaving only a faint black smoke.
He reappeared behind it again, like a ghost of speed, using Vitality Strike to stab its neck. After that, he used Stealth combined with Shadow Step to constantly teleport around the Boss, like a passing breeze. And so, he appeared, attacked, then vanished—each time he appeared, a new weakness on the Boss's body was pierced. In less than 10 seconds from the start, the Boss was helpless, its body trembling, its weak points constantly being attacked, until it knelt down, its eyes full of horror and helplessness.
"It's over." Nghĩa said, his voice echoing in the terrifyingly quiet space.
"Shadow Annihilation!!!"
Nghĩa's entire body swirled into a fierce black vortex, sucking in all the light around it. The dagger glowed a brilliant purple, its light as blinding as a lightning bolt striking down.
"ZAP!"
The Boss's entire chest was completely pierced. A blue-purple light gushed from the wound, violent and blinding, then… shattered like crushed glass, dissolving into nothingness.
Ting!
[Boss Destroyed Successfully]
[Defeated Boss Memory Specter – Lv.20]
Level Up:
Nghĩa: Lv14 → Lv17
Nam: Lv12 → Lv16
Ái Hoa: Lv10 → Lv14
[Calculating Rewards…]
[Calculation Complete]
'Shadow Tyrant' Belt B+
* +10% Stealth duration, +5% movement speed in the dark.
'Empathic Crystal' Necklace B+
* +25 Spirit, +15 Mana, +10% healing skill efficiency.
* Passive: When healing a teammate below 30% HP → grants self 10% mana recovery.
'Calm Stone Seal' Helmet B+
* +40 Defense, +20% mental resistance.
Upgrade Stone x2
HP Potion x4
Mana Potion x3
Reflective Memory Stone – can copy a skill that has been seen.
Hoa and Nam let out a sigh of relief, then plopped down.
"See! I told you he was scarier than the Boss." Nam said to Hoa, gasping for breath.
She just shivered a little, then gave a bright smile:
"That's my brother! Hehe."
"Brother Nghĩa! Earlier, Nam said he wanted to leave you and run away!" She yelled to Nghĩa.
"Hey! You brat! I never said that." Nam was startled.
Nghĩa used Shadow Step to teleport to where Nam and Hoa were sitting, a wide smile on his face:
"It's okay. Next time we meet a strong Unknown, we'll just bait him into taking the hit, and then we'll both turn and run. Haha."
Laughter rang out again after a difficult battle. Their hands still didn't forget to pick up the items that dropped from the Boss.
"Hey! That necklace is mine. Nam, let go of it!" Hoa exclaimed when she saw Nam holding the 'Empathic Crystal' Necklace.
"Tch! Fine, I'll take this 'Calm Stone Seal' Helmet then." Nam made a loud clicking sound with his tongue, then picked up the helmet.
"And here's the 'Shadow Tyrant' Belt for you, Nghĩa!" – Nam yelled, holding up the belt.