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Malicious Sniping Stream (20)
Kagero: Shadow Live Twice.
The glowing letters faded, and the whole world went pitch-black as though a power outage had struck reality.
‘Feels just like the Star War intro.’
An unfamiliar sensation.
A body outside his control.
He didn’t need anyone to explain.
He had entered Story Mode.
“…Tell me. Who should I fight for?”
A damp, suffocating cave.
Was this shadowy figure—the one asking the question—the protagonist?
“Is a fellow ‘monster’ my ally?”
Kagero turned his head to the right.
“Or is it the ‘human’ who could give me an ideal life?”
Then he looked left.
…But neither side looked like him.
―Clang! Clash!
The cavern rang with sword strikes.
Kagero, the protagonist, hesitated.
Who should he side with?
“You damn shadow freak!!”
The choice wasn’t his.
A beast bellowed, dripping with murderous intent.
“How dare you betray us and side with humans?!”
Betrayal?
No—that wasn’t it.
This monster wasn’t avenging betrayal. It was venting rage.
After all, his race had always longed to mimic humans.
“S-spare me….”
“Disgusting human counterfeit! Shut your mouth and die!”
He bowed his head in desperation.
The axe didn’t stop.
Would he really die here, before he ever had the chance to live as a human?
―Thunk.
Kagero was fine.
Instead, the axe clattered uselessly to the ground.
“…Why?”
Had the enemy changed its mind? Spared him?
“Ughh… guh!”
Of course not.
This was a battlefield where only survival mattered.
―Shhk!
A blade pierced the beast’s heart from behind.
A human raider had struck the fatal blow.
“Damn it! Watch out, everyone—there’s a Doppelgänger here!”
“A Doppelgänger? Weren’t they extinct after the Dungeon Break?”
“Heh, trust the Hunter Association to botch the investigation. Stay sharp—don’t be fooled by a Doppelgänger!”
The monsters hated Kagero for resembling humans.
The humans hated Kagero for resembling them.
So who, exactly, could the last living Doppelgänger call his ally?
“Hah, look at this creep. Doesn’t even have a proper human face. Must still be a juvenile.”
“We can’t let her escape the dungeon. Block the exit—I’ll finish it.”
If survival meant following instinct…
Then he would follow the survival instincts of a Doppelgänger.
“I… I will survive!”
Kagero raised his fists against the humans.
‘Hmm. Compared to Star War, this story feels a bit flat.’
He could understand why people said it felt suffocating.
Shouldn’t the game be showing off Kagero’s abilities by now?
Why was he still just standing there, motionless, even with humans closing in?
Donation: StarWar9thRunNewbie – ₩1,000
“Yo, you trying to start the game with a death? lol”
“Wait, what?! I was supposed to be fighting already?!”
No warning, no cues—the opening cutscene just… ended.
―Whoosh!
Still, his reactions didn’t fail him.
He dodged the short sword, spun his body, and unleashed a roundhouse kick.
“Whoa!!”
“The streamer knows Taekwondo too?!”
“Dude’s basically a pro fighter, lol.”
―Thwack!
His heel connected squarely with the enemy’s vitals.
A perfect strike.
Yet the result felt chillingly wrong.
Donation: StarWar9thRunNewbie – ₩1,000
“Sure, you’re good at games… but this game? Too bad—you’re stuck as Kagero ^^”
“What the—?! That kick could split a watermelon in real life, but he just shrugged it off? Isn’t a game supposed to make you stronger than reality?!”
The humans pressed closer, leaving no room to breathe.
Arrows flew for his head.
An ice wall sealed his escape.
Way too hard.
Unreasonably hard.
‘This should still be the tutorial… did I miss something?’
Calm down. Know your body first.
He tapped on the ice wall, gauging Kagero’s strength.
And then froze.
“……Why the hell is this body so weak?! There’s no way to win with these stats!”
“Lmao he figured it out already!”
“Yep, welcome to Kagero.”
“You thought this was another Star War? Haha nope.”
No helpful NPCs.
No tutorial prompts.
Yet the enemies’ sweat and breath were rendered with such detail… why was the gameplay this cruel?
Donation: ㅇㅇ – ₩1,000
“Bro, isn’t this a sponsored stream? Can you really call it trash? LOL”
He laughed bitterly.
Call it trash? During an ad?
“…That’s why—for anyone thinking it’s trash—welcome to my first-run guide! I’ve gone in blind, no walkthroughs. Watch closely, it’ll help with not just Kagero but any Mystery Circle game!”
“LOL the streamer’s rapping to cover a slip-up.”
“Manager sweating bullets: ‘Streamer-san… this is an ad…’”
Crisis sharpened his mind.
If Kagero offered no clues, maybe he could borrow from Star War.
Same developer meant similar mechanics, right?
If the protagonist was a Doppelgänger, maybe the “Twin Zodiac” mimic system from Star War applied here.
Donation: CantPlaySoIBark – ₩1,000
“Pfft. If you clear this on your first try, I’ll burn my hand on a stove.”
“…I remember your ID now.”
He mirrored the enemy’s stance perfectly—footing, expression, sword angle—
and threw a punch.
Something clicked.
Their shadows overlapped in perfect symmetry.
Black waves surged into him.
[You have obtained the Shadow of A-Rank Hunter Park Maeng-ho!]
Kagero’s face morphed into that of a human male.
“Damn, he’s not a juvenile!”
“Don’t lose focus! The fake’s on the right!”
NPC dialogue handed him the hint on a silver platter.
“See that? If the NPCs say ‘don’t lose track,’ the gimmick is a mirror fight. Confuse them by blending in.”
He grappled with the man, rolling on the ground.
The enemies froze, unable to strike.
“Stop! We need to figure out which one’s real!”
“Maeng-ho! Answer us—”
“I’m the real one!!”
Kagero’s voice automatically mimicked Park Maeng-ho’s perfectly.
Story Mode seized control again.
The doppelgänger system even copied thoughts.
A perfect imitation.
Donation: CantPlaySoIBark – ₩10,000
“Holy crap… he actually did it first try?! Damn, you are a god gamer.”
“Thanks for the 10k! But uh… how are you typing after burning your hand?”
“LOL you remembered the guy’s ID mid-battle??”
The streamer banter was fun, but the story pressed forward.
Kagero’s copied skin began to flake away.
[You have lost the Shadow of A-Rank Hunter Park Maeng-ho.]
There was a time limit.
His human shell disintegrated.
“Now! Kill it from range!”
Once more, Kagero was just a shadow in human shape.
Terrified, he backed away—
But then heads rolled.
Not his.
A white flash swept past, beheading four humans in an instant.
A woman stood there, drenched in blood.
“Not human… but a Doppelgänger, huh.”
She staggered forward, a corpse barely standing, yet her strength dwarfed his.
Kagero fell to his knees.
“P-please spare me. I… I want to live.”
“A monster, begging? Pathetic.”
Dragging her white blade, she approached.
“But with that sorrowful face… how could I kill you?”
Kagero froze.
Sorrowful face?
He had no face—only shadow.
She cut down a sneaking human instead.
“Tell me, Doppelgänger… I’ve grown to hate humans today. What about you? Do you hate them too?”
He shook his head.
“So, you don’t? Then what is it you want?”
“…I want to be human.”
The woman smiled faintly.
“Not a bad answer.”
Kagero instinctively tried to mimic her form.
If he could copy the strongest human he’d ever seen… maybe he could live among them.
[Failed to obtain the Shadow of S-Rank Hunter Choi Seorin.]
Failure.
His gamble had crossed the line.
But instead of striking him down, she stroked his head gently.
“I said not to rush. If you truly want to be human, start with the life of a small beast. Humans judge only by the shell. As a beast, you’ll blend in.”
―Flash.
White light poured into his body.
“I’ve given you a gift. Carry my message. Tell them… forget me. Tell them to live a normal life, far from hunters.”
Her last strength spent, the woman collapsed.
Her power flowed into him.
[You have obtained a Shadow Fragment of S-Rank Hunter Choi Seorin.]
The Doppelgänger now bore the fragment of an S-rank’s might.
“…Seriously? They said this story was the worst? This is amazing!”
Pure gamer excitement slipped out.
“LOL just wait till you see the ending.”
He’d heard that before—Star War was also said to fall apart late-game.
But hadn’t he proven everyone wrong there?
“Alright, doubters. Go binge my Star War Hidden Route series. From bad end to world’s first happy end. Let’s do it again. Trust me—my stories always end in happy endings.”
