Saria stood in complete darkness.

’Hmm...’

The castle had shifted once again, separating the three of them. And now, her Origin was no longer picking up ‌any mana signatures.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly began releasing mana through her feet. Controlling it with delicate precision, she spread it across the floor.

This was a technique she had developed after losing her duel against the boy from House Ravenshade.

Up until now, she had never even considered the possibility that a person could have no presence at all. Even those who tried to suppress it were not able to get rid of it completely.

But now that she realized that it was possible, as well as how vulnerable she was against such an opponent, she knew that she had to develop a countermeasure.

This was partly the reason she had agreed to join that stupid girl’s team. She wanted to test this technique in extreme situations and see if she could keep track of that boy.

The technique was not yet as good as she wanted it to be, but it was still pretty useful, nonetheless.

Slowly, the mana spread further and further. Everything it touched was converted into visual information by her Origin ability, making her capable of ’seeing’ her surroundings.

She was in an incredibly large room that had no windows or furniture. There was only a door at the other end.

’Considering that I can’t pick up on even the mana signature of the other two, it is clear that we are separated by more than just walls. I knew that this castle couldn’t have been simple.’

As she had predicted, the castle was capable of more than just remotely closing and opening doors. But this seemed like too much for a Grade Two fragment relic to be capable of.

’I need to get out of here first and then think about other things.’

She retracted her mana since it was draining her reserves quickly, but it was not a problem since she had already memorized the layout of the room.

Walking up to the door, she pulled the handle, but...

"As expected, it’s not opening."

If the goal had been to separate the three of them, then it was obvious that she wouldn’t be allowed to escape.

She channeled her mana and materialized a large platinum hammer in her hand. Moments later, her body was covered in silver energy along with the platinum armor.

She pulled the hammer back and got into a stance.

’If it won’t allow me to escape, then I just have to force my way through.’

But just as she was about to break down the door, her Origin ability picked up on something, making her turn around.

Behind her, something was rising from the ground.

It seemed to be some formless substance at first, but it slowly began taking a humanoid form. Soon, a girl about the same height and build as her was standing a few meters ahead. The girl’s hair was tied into a braid, just like hers, and she also seemed to have her eyes closed from what Saria could make out.

It didn’t take her long to realize that the girl was a copy of herself.

’Is this the thing that’s controlling the castle? No... There is something weird about it.’

It didn’t seem like a living being at all. It didn’t have any presence, just like the boy from House Ravenshade, but the difference was that she could see the mana contained inside its body, something that was not possible with living beings.

’A puppet? No, maybe it’s an extension of the room itself considering how it emerged.’

It looked as though it had separated itself from the floor.

As Saria was sizing that thing up, it suddenly materialized a platinum axe in its hand, one that was identical to the one she usually created.

Moments later, that thing suddenly released a silver energy and covered its entire body with it.

Saria’s eyes widened.

’That’s the third level of my infusion art!’

But how could that be possible? Leaving aside how it could use the platinum element, how could it know the third level of her infusion art?

That was something that nobody, aside from her, should’ve known.

Unlike most people, Saria hadn’t learned an already existing infusion art of the platinum element.

She had tried, but because the way she perceived the world was different from other people, learning other infusion arts, especially the combat technique, was hard. It felt awkward and unsuitable for her.

In the end, she had decided to create an infusion art that was uniquely suited for her.

But seeing that same infusion art being used by someone other than herself...

’A clone? And it also has my memories?’

Just as she had that thought, the clone lunged at her with its axe raised.

Saria was startled, but she still responded by side-stepping just enough to dodge the axe’s blow and counterattacked with her knee aimed at the thing’s chin.

But her knee was blocked by the axe’s handle just in time. At the same time, the thing kicked Saria’s other leg, making her lose balance.

But she twisted her body just in time and jumped back.

"Huff... Huff..."

Even though they had only exchanged a few blows, Saria felt as though she was fighting against herself.

’Just what the hell...’

The third level of her infusion art had two functions. The first function drastically boosted her physical abilities and the reaction time of her body.

As for the second function, the thick layer of silver energy covering her body acted like a zone. Anything that entered that zone was registered by her Origin ability, converting it into visual information.

This gave her a small window to sense and react to any attack before it landed. By this point, her body had become so adapted to this power that it acted on its own whenever her Origin ability detected an incoming attack, making her capable of responding to anything.

’But if the enemy also has this same ability...’

...Then that would just be a deadlock.

Gritting her teeth, Saria tossed away the platinum hammer as it slowly dissolved into wisps of mana. Moments later, she materialized thick platinum chains with weights attached to both ends.

Seeing her change her weapon, that thing also tossed aside the platinum axe and materialized a huge platinum greatsword that was half its own size.

This time, Saria charged first, not willing to give that thing the initiative. Spinning both ends of the chain, she swung them forward from both sides, trying to corner that thing.

But just as the chains were inched away from it, the thing jumped up and dodged. While in mid-air, it spun its body while holding the greatsword, cutting the chains.

Saria dashed forward, aiming to land a blow before its feet could land on the ground. But as she threw a punch aimed at its chest, that thing grabbed her hand at the last moment. Using it as a support, it spun its body and landed a kick at her face that was blocked by her hands at the last moment.

She was thrown back to the very end of the large room, rolling on the ground. But she quickly got up and got into a stance.

It really was a deadlock. Both of them were able to block each other’s attack at the right time, not being able to deliver any substantial damage.

In the end, the question was whether that thing could run out of stamina like her.