I felt a hint of the mighty force before it was redirected to my doppleganger, which exploded into motes of purple light under the onslaught of raw power.

  Congratulations, Lucas! Mimic has captured Tidelash Coup. Time remaining to re-cast the spell: 15 seconds.

  I spun as the announcements scrolled down the side of my vision, moving fast enough to catch a face full of exploding stone as the wall behind me erupted inward. A midnight-black harpoon with a wickedly-barbed point pierced the wall and slammed into my chest with such brutal force that it drove right through my Colossus Mantel and pierced a full inch into my chest.

  The impact hurled me backward, ripping out a chunk of flesh and armor as my body yanked off of the barbed tip of the harpoon. I shot away like I’d been fired from my own cannon and smashed through 8 separate stone walls before crashing to a halt in the 9th.

  Healing power flooded in from my Tesla Coil bracelet, easing the bruising and the vicious wound. That could have gone way worse. If not for my doppleganger absorbing that sneak strike, Nextharos could have done serious damage.

  My armor creaked as it started to self repair, and I noted that my orange bar of KEG energy had grown to 10 times its previous size. Even with my Colossus Mantle absorbing 40% of incoming damage and converting it into that pure kinetic energy, Nextharos had hit me hard enough to punch right through the legendary armor. This guy was seriously tough.

  I didn’t take time to read the description of the spell I’d captured, but it had to be awesome if Nextharos used it as his opener. As much as I wanted to use Bands of Despair, I could only keep 1. I made the new spell my mimicked temporary spell. The full description scrolled past, confirming that was the right choice.

  Tidelash Coup. Legendary. This devastating strike, perfected by Nextharos in hundreds of clashes with mighty undersea predators, has become his preferred opener to shift the tide of battle to him from the opening thrust.

  Unleash a concussive mixture of void, light, and death mana that pierces through nearly all defenses to deal massive amounts of both physical and spiritual damage that resists healing and corrupts the target’s ability to use their own mana and abilities.

  Note: Due to your class benefits, uses remaining increased to 4.

  My first legendary spell. Perfect.

  Just as I heaved myself to my feet, a figure stepped through the hole I’d smashed through that last wall. He was as tall as Tydrion, but far more muscular. He wore armor made from large scales that was such a deep blue it was almost black, and he carried that long, black harpoon I’d gotten such a good look at a few seconds ago.

  Count Nextharos Riptide, the Shadow Current, level 99. A member of Queen Marisara’s court, this powerful nymph lord is a fierce competitor in the dangerous game of deep-sea monster hunting. His famously dangerous kills and perfectly choreographed battles have won him fame and riches Count Tyrdion could only dream of.

  Of course, Tydrion never knew that a spy in his house passed on all of his meticulous research, which was how Nextharos always seemed to know when and where to strike to steal so many of his kills. Nextharos’s greatest dream is to take over Tydrion’s lands and, more importantly, win for himself the coveted Deep Tide Seal of Conquest.

  So he knew about Tydrion’s Seal, the one that Tydrion had hoped would lift him to rule by Marisara’s side when she returned triumphant from the game. That explained part of the intense rivalry between the two.

  Nextharos had the same superhuman good looks and perfect skin as Tydrion, but his hair was a shaggy main of bright pink, as if he dyed it with coral. He carried that harpoon with the easy familiarity of a weapon’s master, and he approached with a confident swagger. When he spoke, his voice was a deep, smooth baritone.

  “I’m impressed, little Tydrion. You survived my full-powered back-stab and upgraded your armor to withstand my harpoon. You really have been preparing for this moment. Too bad you’re such an easy sop to read and manipulate. You are totally outclassed, and you know it.”

  He’d found Nigel, spotted me through my invisibility, and yet he couldn’t see through the illusion created by the Mast of Eternal Identity.

  Despite yearning to summon my blades, I instead extracted Tydrion’s signature weapon, Leviathan’s Grasp, still in its naginata-style polearm form. The 7-foot weapon’s light weight made it extremely easy to wield. I’d still prefer my blades, but the sight of the weapon would reinforce the illusion that I was Tydrion.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Ever the coward, Nextharos. You know I’m on a mission for our queen.”

  He scoffed. “She approves of results and strength. When I return with the prize . . .” His voice trailed off and he frowned, glancing back to the main hall again. Then he laughed with glee as he clearly figured out something.

  “No wonder you risked redirecting my strike against your precious prize. That wasn’t him at all, was it? Where did you hide him?”

  “That kind of information you have to earn.”

  “So you wish to prolong the pain? I am happy to oblige, but if you tell me now, I’ll promise to kill you quickly.”

  What a textbook villain. He even used the most common lie.

  “Here is my counter offer. Kneel to me and swear fealty to my house, and I will allow you to retain your head and your lands.”

  That made him laugh out loud with obvious delight. “So you’re ready to finally challenge me, then?”

  “That’s why I let you find me.”

  Another laugh. “Of course you did, but tell me this before we begin the fun. You are the first to find an artifact that could conceal your lifeblood from my tracking ability, so why employ such weak stealth?”

  I shrugged. “Some secrets are never known.”

  “We shall see.”

  I focused on my Atreides title that allowed me to transform our fight into a duel with his titles and holdings on the line. I hadn’t used it before, so wasn’t sure how it worked.

  Nextharos’s confident grin turned to surprise. “What is this? You can’t assign a duel without my consent.”

  “You’re asking a lot of questions, little Nextharos. Have you realized yet that you’re out of your league?”

  He scowled. “Fine, you wish to make a mockery of an honorable duel, just as you spurned my offer to let you serve me? You will pay the price for your misplace arrogance, Tydrion.”

  “Wrong again,” I said and triggered his own spell back at him.

  Tidelash Coup warped the air between us with a twisting black lance of pure power, laced with tendrils of blazing white light. Nextharos only had time for half a wide-eyed gasp before the spell slammed into his chest.

  A blinding flash of blue light exploded around Nextharos and the impact catapulted him back through all 8 of the walls he’d made me crash through earlier. He finally tumbled to a stop in the center of the mansion’s huge entrance.

  I followed, replacing the polearm with Dawnfire and Echo. Nextharos leaped nimbly to his feet as I entered the room, his harpoon at the ready.

  “How did you do that?”

  “Another How question,” I said, making a tisking sound and shaking my head. “That’s becoming a bad habit.

  He started to snap a reply, but then spotted my blades. His anger turned to confidence once more and he laughed. Once. “Ah, very clever human. No wonder I could not track Tydrion’s heartbeat. He no longer has one. You set a trap as clever as one of my own.” His voice grew cold and his expression hardened. “Except you are dealing with me, not useless Tydrion.”

  Nextharos was too clever by half. I shrugged and let my disguise fade. “Surprise number 3.”

  My Broadside Cannon appeared in front of me, the huge, bronze cannon pointing straight at Nextharos. I didn’t even bother making a quip, but fired the cannon before it was even fully settled to the ground.

  It roared thunder and belched flame as the explosive round erupted from the huge maw of the weapon and shot at Nextharos. Impressive, but far too slow. Nextharos smoothly side-stepped and hefted his sleek, midnight black harpoon. For the first time, I noticed faint bioluminescent veins pulsing down its length and Identify triggered.

  Oblivion’s Kiss. Legendary. The signature weapon of Count Nextharos Riptide, this deadly harpoon always finds its mark. Imbued with multiple abilities, including Unerring Pursuit. Even the mightiest titans of the Abyssal Trench have learned to fear it.

  “You are entirely out of your league, human,” Nextharos sneered and hurled the harpoon at me. He was fast, and the harpoon crossed the distance in a blink.

  I side-stepped, but it altered course, remaining fixed straight at my heart. I managed to get Dawnfire up in time to deflect the deadly, barbed tip to the side in a cascade of orange and blue sparks. The harpoon disappeared, returning to Nextharos’s hand.

  Not great. I activated Energy Ward. That would help me deflect his future strikes, but I couldn’t let him keep hurling that thing at me from a distance. With my high Agility boosted by my Dual Wield and Swordsman abilities, I crossed the distance to Nextharos almost as fast as his harpoon had.

  My speed caught him by surprise, but as Dawnfire swept toward his face, he phased through it, reappearing an eyeblink later and thrusting for my throat.

  Energy Ward partially deflected the deadly barbed point, and I got Echo up in time to knock it just past my face with a loud screeching of metal against metal. Power flowed into me as Energy Ward drained life force and mana from my opponent, while the damage rebound made him stumble.

  I followed up fast, my blades blurring with speed as I attacked with every bit of skill I could muster. Showers of multicolored sparks exploded all around us as our weapons met, then met again in a flurry of striking, dodging, and fast footwork.

  Nextharos was insanely fast and he stayed on the defensive, which negated the rebound damage from Energy Ward. It only countered incoming attacks. I had never noticed that loophole, but Nextharos somehow intuitively understood the danger.

  Not that playing defense would save him as Energy Ward kept draining more energy. As fast as he was, he wasn’t a dueling master like Sixel. He was a hunter who liked to strike from the shadows, not a brawler, and I slipped his guard with Echo, pouring in more mana until the silvery steel glowed with power.

  I had him. He was off-balance, his harpoon out of position as Echo flashed in at his side to deliver a mighty blow.

  Nextharos phased through the blow again, using the instant he was incorporeal to reset his harpoon and thrust it at my stomach.

  I triggered Phantom Step, phasing through the blow just as he had. The move clearly caught him by surprise and he stumbled, but threw himself sideways to avoid my sweeping blades as I returned to the material world.

  He rolled back to his feet laughing. “No wonder little Tydrion fell to your blades. Resourceful and quick. What a pleasant surprise.”

  I fired a couple of exploding blades from Stiletto Quiver, followed by a couple of my new ethereal knives. As expected, he phased again to avoid the exploding blades, but the ethereal knives tore through his torso with little golden bursts of magic.

  Nextharos changed back to corporeal, clutching at his chest. That hurt the arrogant bastard. Before he could recover, I lunged in again, battering his fancy armor with my blades. Dawnfire left a red-hot gash across his chestplate, while Echo clanged heavily into his side, unleashing a blast of pure convergence mana, then echoing the hit again, then doubling it all again.

  The rapid multi-strike didn’t break through his armor, but still hurled Nextharos off his feet and across the room to smash through yet another stone wall. Half the surrounding structure collapsed around us in a rolling cascade of rumbling stone.