How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

BOOM!

The explosion roared through the sanctuary, a deafening echo that seemed to shake the very air around him. Riley stumbled back, his mind racing to process the chaos.

CLANG!!!

SHISHHH!

From every direction—front, back, left, right—deadly attacks rained down on him like an unrelenting storm.

Swords clashed, spells ignited, and the sheer force of it all was enough to make his ears ring.

He dodged.

He parried.

He blocked.

Yet, no matter how fast he moved or how precisely he countered, the attacks kept coming, an endless cascade of violence that gave him no time to breathe.

Every action felt like a desperate gamble, every moment a test of survival.

BOOM!

A fireball spell exploded behind him, engulfing the area in a fiery inferno.

The shockwave slammed into his back, and the heat was unbearable. Riley clenched his teeth, his muscles screaming as he felt the searing pain of his burnt skin.

"That mage..."

He forced his body to twist midair, regaining his balance just in time to avoid another attack streaking toward him from his right.

His sharp eyes locked onto the source of his frustration—the Mage Riley.

Standing at the center of the sanctuary, Mage Riley hadn't moved an inch since the battle began.

His posture was regal, his expression calm and haughty.

The ornate staff in his hands glowed faintly as he traced cryptic runes into the air, each one bursting into devastating spells that tore through the battlefield.

Riley's blood boiled at the sight.

"Hey, where are you looking?"

The taunting voice snapped him back to the present.

Instinctively, Riley ducked, his reflexes saving him from a crimson spear that grazed his forehead.

The sharp edge left a stinging trail of blood in its wake.

SHIIIING!

The spear-wielding version of himself grinned wickedly, twirling his weapon effortlessly.

"Wow~" he whistled, his tone mocking.

A Riley specializing in magic stood at the rear, calm and calculating, his staff radiating ominous power as he prepared one devastating spell after another.

At the forefront, another Riley, a spear specialist, moved with terrifying speed and precision, his weapon a blur of deadly intent.

Meanwhile, hidden within the shadows of the sanctuary, a third Riley—the archer—fired nearly imperceptible arrows that streaked through the air like whispers of death.

SWOOSH!

An arrow whizzed past Riley's ear, close enough to ruffle his hair.

He ducked and rolled instinctively, narrowly avoiding a lethal shot from behind.

Barely regaining his footing, he leapt backward to create distance between himself and the relentless spear-wielding Riley.

His mind raced as he assessed the situation, weighing his options in a fight that seemed utterly unwinnable.

The only thing keeping him alive was his S-rank strength stat, which allowed him to react just fast enough and hit just hard enough to avoid immediate defeat.

But even with that advantage, it felt like he was barely treading water against these relentless versions of himself.

Part of him couldn't help but wish he were fighting the clown-like Riley from before.

As annoying as that fight had been, it was nothing compared to this.

Three opponents, each a different aspect of himself, all working together like a well-coordinated team—it was pure hell.

Riley felt a flicker of relief, albeit a small one.

The attacks, while deadly, weren't targeting any major vital areas.

But whether that was because they were toying with him or for some other unknown reason, he didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

His focus shifted to the archer and the mage.

"If I'm going to end this, I'll need to take down one of them first," he thought, his eyes darting between their positions.

The mage was the greater threat overall, with his spells wreaking havoc on the battlefield, but reaching him meant getting past the spear-wielding Riley—a task that seemed nearly impossible.

The spear specialist was like a human wall, his movements fluid yet precise, blocking any attempt Riley made to break through.

The archer, on the other hand, was elusive and hard to track, but his position in the shadows made him slightly more vulnerable if Riley could pinpoint his location.

Gritting his teeth, Riley came to a decision.

'I'll deal with the archer first'

If he could take out the archer, he might have a chance to maneuver more freely and eventually reach the mage.

But even as the plan formed in his mind, he knew it was a long shot.

One wrong move, one hesitation, and this trial would be the last thing he ever faced.

Still, giving up wasn't an option.

"You're distracted again."

!!!

SHIT!

Riley barely managed to raise his blade in time to block the incoming spear strike.

CLANG!

The impact sent shockwaves through his arms, and though he avoided a direct hit, the spear's explosive aura grazed his shoulder.

The sheer force of it caused him to stumble backward violently, coughing up blood as the power of the strike overwhelmed his defenses.

His body slammed into one of the sanctuary's walls with a bone-jarring thud, leaving a deep crack in the stone.

Panting heavily, Riley forced his aching body to stay upright. His vision blurred for a moment, and he could feel blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"I knew it was a bit of a stretch forcing him to take on three of us," the spear-wielding Riley commented, his voice calm but laced with a hint of amusement.

Slowly, he began to close the distance, his spear resting casually over his shoulder as if he had all the time in the world.

"Well, if it weren't for the clown, things would've gone smoothly as pre-determined,"

"Why didn't you keep watch on him then?"

"Knowing his unpredictability, would you have even bothered?"

"Tsk. You got me on that," the spear wielding Riley admitted begrudgingly.

As the two other Riley's bickered back and forth, Riley, still pinned against the wall, let himself relax ever so slightly.

His lips twitched into the faintest hint of a small smile.

They were distracted

The few seconds of reprieve they were unwittingly granting him were enough for Riley to steady his breathing and channel what little energy he could muster.

Though the sanctuary's healing process was taking longer than usual, he didn't mind.

Every second counted, and he had fully activated most of his skills to compensate for his current disadvantage.

But then—

"Sleeping?"

A soft, almost mocking voice whispered directly into his ear, making his blood run cold.

"What?!" Riley's head snapped around, his instincts flaring, only to find another version of himself standing casually right next to him.

This Riley was distinctly different from the others.

Dressed in a green, hooded robe, this version had much longer golden hair that gave him an almost ethereal appearance.

His features were sharp but delicate, almost feminine, and the crossbow in his hands was a dead giveaway that this was the bow wielding Riley hiding in the shadows from the start.

"You—"

"Ah, so you're awake. I thought you'd passed out again. That would've been troublesome~"

Pointing his crossbow directly at Riley's head, the shadow Riley's blue eyes gleamed with a mix of amusement and frustration.
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Riley's heart pounded violently in his chest as the realization of just how dire the situation had become settled in.

"You're really making us pay more to balance causality," the shadow Riley said in a tone that was both mocking and oddly calm. "At this rate, all the preparations we've made will amount to nothing."

The weight of those words pressed down on Riley, but he didn't have the luxury of pondering their meaning.

His entire body was still reeling from the aftereffects of the spear-wielding Riley's brutal attacks.

Pain lanced through him with every small movement, and the burning sensation on his shoulder made it clear that he was running out of time.

There was no way he could dodge another incoming strike—not in his current state.

"Use your gifts if you want to survive," the shadow Riley continued, his voice low and deliberate. "We are you, and you are us. Beating us shouldn't be that difficult, no?"

The crossbow was raised higher, the arrow it held shimmering with a thick layer of green aura.

The energy surrounding it radiated a lethal promise, one that Riley knew he wouldn't be able to avoid.

Struggling to process the cryptic words, Riley felt his thoughts spiral.

Gifts?

The word echoed in Riley's mind, stirring something deep within him. And then it hit him—the realization of what he had been neglecting all along, the key to surviving this twisted trial.

He didn't hesitate.

[Skill: Empathic Pain (S)] → Activated!

SWIISHHH!!!

The sound of the arrow slicing through the air was deafening.

Its green aura trailed like a serpent's tail, leaving a streak of glowing light in its wake.

Riley barely managed to tilt his head to the side, the projectile grazing his right cheek and tearing a chunk of his ear in the process.

BOOOOM!!!

The arrow collided with the sanctuary's wall behind him, the impact so forceful that the entire structure trembled.

Chunks of debris rained down as dust filled the air. Riley stumbled but managed to land on the ground, coughing through the haze, his face contorted in pain.

And yet, despite the searing agony, a grin tugged at his lips.

Across the battlefield, all three versions of himself—mage Riley, spear-wielding Riley, and shadow Riley—jerked in unison.

Blood trickled down the sides of their heads as each clutched at the same mangled ear Riley had just lost.

The crossbow-wielding Riley lowered his weapon slightly, his blue eyes gleaming with a mix of surprise and approval.

"Well done."

Riley didn't waste a second savoring the compliment. He knew better than to let his guard down.

He immediately dropped into a defensive stance, his mana surging around him like a shield, ready to exploit the advantage he had just gained.