The fog covered clearing was eerily silent. We were the ones that filled the place with sound, but I felt as if every breath we took was too loud. Like when we first entered the Dungeon, I couldn’t see more than a couple feet in front of us. With a giant creature out to shishkabob us out there, it was nerve racking.

Every once in a while we would see vague pillars of stone rising up into the sky. I flinched every time they seemed to fizzle into view inside the fog, thinking that maybe the centipede was nearby. It was when we finally realized they were the same stone pillars that I calmed my beating heart. We never could tell how high they went up due to the fog, but they were definitely high up.

Below, gravel and sand gave way to us underfoot. I felt myself sink in on softer spots of sand, and tried to stick to more solid portions of footing. Very quickly, I realized that around the stone pillars had the least amount of soft sand.

“We’ll set a trap here.” I said, looking around.

The area was surrounded by stone pillars, creating a sort of arena. Fog filtered in between the pillars as they were shrouded into vague cylindrical outlines. I tapped a foot on the ground, and hummed to myself as I felt solid rock beneath a thin layer of sand. It was definitely better than just sand. Further in the fog, I could make out the shapes of still standing and fallen pillars, giving the impression of some destroyed ancient egyptian temple.

“Where should we set it?” Yasuda asked.

I shrugged awkwardly, glancing around. It was my first time being a leader in… well, anything, so I was rather confused about what needed to happen. Sure, I had ideas, but that didn’t mean I could pull out a watertight plan immediately. In fact, my plan was pretty much the opposite of watertight.

“Where do you think would be good?” I asked back, taking a look at the pillars around us. “How about there? You think we can knock them over onto the creature?”

Yasuda hummed before saying, “Normally, it would be too fast, but we could probably get it here. Would it be wrong to assume that you have no experience in setting traps?”

“Yes, I have literally no uh, experience… Can you guys just do it? Like put them between the pillars or something?”

“Hah, of course the Gaijin is dumb, too. Were you born with gold robes, huh? Do we need to wipe your ass as well, your majesty?”

I ignored Wakao’s snide remarks. His insults didn’t really hit hard since I barely had an idea on what he was talking about. If anything, his words were a bit of insight into how it would be to interact with some of the people who actively disliked outsiders. Though, I doubted that I would talk with those people often. Unless it was a situation like now.

They set the traps around the arena while I stood in the middle and got ready to attract a giant, killer centipede. No pressure, really.

I settled down and began feeling Life Energy flowing through me. When I first merged with the skill [Presence Correction], everything felt like it clicked. First, I used Life Energy as a way to supercharge my body, making it stronger and faster. It was only until I used Minamoto’s Shikigami that I realized how inefficient using Life Energy was like that. Skills and techniques were the correct way to utilize Life Energy, and it only really made sense when I actually had one.

[Presence Correction] was more than just making me more noticeable or more stealthy based on what I wanted. It was a physical thing that I felt in me. In the back of my head, I felt a tickle of acknowledgement as Life Energy flowed to and from whatever it was. The best way I could describe it was like a gateway that changed Life Energy into whatever the skill said it could do as it flowed out from my soul.

“I need someone to explain this better.” I grumbled to myself, feeling the Life Energy flow. There was a little snap I felt at the back of my head before I felt the skill take effect.

The effects were instantaneous. I stood straighter, more confident, as if there were no thoughts that my plan could go wrong. [Presence Correction] was in effect, making me more like a leader to everyone’s perception. I had only now realized that it included my own in there as well.

I quickly shut off the flow of Life Energy into the skill, and suddenly I felt the confidence leave me. I shuddered as the memories of the experience felt so foriegn in my head. It worked, but maybe a bit too well. I had half a mind to just try my plan without it, but I knew that the skill might mean the plan’s chances of success would increase.

The artificial confidence flooded my veins, and I slowly went over the plan in my head. I estimated that I could keep this skill up for thirty minutes at most. Accounting for the Life Energy that I needed to expend to run away and fight the centipede, that time would need to be cut further in half.

“Gaij- David, we’re ready.” Yasuda corrected himself, and I felt his gaze fail to meet mine. [Presence Correction] really made it seem like he thought of me as a leader in full.

“Good. Let’s kill the bastard.” I said.

Currently, I am strong. Definitely not the strongest of the group, but to everyone who looked at me, I would probably look stronger than I actually was. The distinction was based on the characteristics of the Face Stealer Centipede. For a creature who fought groups of people and could copy the stats of the enemies, targeting the strongest person was just simple reasoning.

For that reason, my [Presence Correction] currently made it seem like I was the strongest in the group. Like without me, the group would crumble into pieces. The perfect bait for a sadistic creature like we were hunting.

I stood unmoving as I watched the fog swirl around us in a constant flux. It took every instinct in me not to flinch at every sound around us, and I tried not to focus on the fact that fog obscured most of our vision. Sweat weighed down the back of my shirt, painfully sliding over the cuts along my body. The smaller ones had dried and scabbed over but the larger ones were just beginning to heal. They were more painful than debilitating.

After what felt like an hour or two of waiting, I was beginning to think about the merits of trying to navigate the fog clearing. Sure, there was a giant centipede hunting for us, but on the good chance my plan failed horribly, having another way out was never a bad thing. I just feared it was a sort of ‘good idea in my head’ type of idea.

Then, as I was debating the pros and cons of ditching this ambush, we heard it. A low, raspy voice echoed out through the fog, grating against my ears at its very sound. I felt the hairs on my arms and legs stand up as I listened in. Adrenaline pumped through my body along the constant beat of my heart.

“C- Come out-ut-ut… C- come out-t-t wherever y-you are…” The same sentence repeated over and over again long before we heard the creature appear.

I looked over to see Takamori, the Exorcist, praying with his eyes darting around the area. He and Yasuda were perched on top of a fallen pillar, allowing them a higher vantage point. While I couldn’t see them, Wakao and Shinohara were hanging up on two pillars. They had somehow strung themselves up there with a series of ropes, and were going to drop down on my orders, bringing the trap pillars with them. Honestly, I would’ve liked Yasuda up there instead of Wakao, but the calmer Samurai was needed so that Takamori didn’t fall into a panic attack.

My hands tightened around the hilts of the extra swords the Samurai trio had lent me. There were four in total; some from themselves and others from their fallen friends. They had saids it was a bit of bad luck to carry them on me, but my safety was tantamount to our plan’s success.

I jumped a little when I heard the soft scratching of the centipede’s legs on stone. There was no sign of the creature’s silhouette in front of me, and I knew that there wasn’t much stone flooring in our surrounding area. Exhaling heavily, I focused all my attention on my back, trying to see if I could suddenly develop the ability to see the back of my head.

“Left!” Yasuda’s voice broke my thoughts, and I reacted without looking, jumping right in an instant.

Something rushed right next to my ear, leaving only the sound of whistling air and something skittering on the stone floor. For the first time, I laid my eyes on the creature, and I felt my heart stop beating for a second.

It was… terrifying. Which was a word I was growing used to calling pretty much everything I encountered. The Face Stealer Centipede certainly earned its name. I was staring straight into a replica of my own face. Blue eyes looked back at me, but a disturbing grin split my white cheeks wide enough that I could see the back of my molars.

However, that was the only thing it copied from my visage. Below my face was a maw of teeth that went far back into an unending throat; two large scythe-like chelicerae from where green saliva flowed down and sizzled as it touched the floor. My eyes narrowed, noticing that my eyes were the only thing on its large head as it quickly transitioned to bone-bleached segmented carapace. Its body that looked the size of a man was held aloft by hundreds of leg-sized spikes that skittered and sparked against the stone surrounding us.

WIthout missing a beat, I unsheathed a sword. I pointed it at the creature with an uncharacteristic smirk. It was an action pushed by [Presence Correction], but I let it happen, feeling waves of courage supporting my actions.

“Come at me.” I said, not meaning it in the slightest.

My masterful baiting worked. I hurriedly pumped Life Energy into my arms, swatting one of the chelicerae away as the centipede lunged for me. Before I knew it, I positioned my body right next to its head, and my idea held true.

“It’s only eyes are the ones on my face!” I yelled out, hacking down on one of its nearby legs. The sword shattered instantly, and I stared down to realize that the saliva on its chelicerae had corroded the blade long before I could swing it.

Tossing the useless hilt, I scrambled backwards as the giant centipede curled in on itself, trying to bite my head off again. I sucked in a deep breath as I felt some hairs on my head being pulled. It twisted itself around making it seem like it was tying a knot with its body, but instead, it kept moving and continuously charged at me much faster than I could run away. Slowly, I was realizing that just because we had the same stats didn’t mean that we were the same.

“Spell ready!” Yasuda’s voice rang out, and I briefly glanced over to see Takamori holding a flaming piece of paper. The Exorcist pointed it out at the centipede and a small flaming man rushed out of the paper, exploding against the centipede’s carapace but doing little other than blackening the spot it hit.

I watched as my copied face briefly turned to look at the two on the opposite side before it refocused back on me. My tongue caught the back of my throat as I watched the centipede begin to rush at me while moving its body in an ‘S’ shape. It hadn’t been this intelligent before, right? It was just mindlessly charging me before. Suddenly, a more worrying thought hit me.

“Shit… Change tactics, Yasuda! Bring some of Takamori’s extra Shikigami and start attacking its backside!” I yelled out, running through the planned out route we had before.

The area we had chosen was probably some sort of ruined temple as it had quite a bit of fallen pillars. Perfect for ducking and dodging away from the corrosive mandibles of a bloodthirsty centipede.

I ducked under a fallen pillar, glancing behind me to see the centipede scaled over it like the obstacle was flat ground. Its legs scratched against the floor as it ran up a slightly elevated piece of land faster than I could actively plan for it. Soon, it was parallel and looking down at me with very similar blue eyes. I took a hard left, feeling it snap its mandibles closed right next to my ears.

My knees skimmed against the sand and stone as I slid under another fallen pillar. The sounds of scritching legs were the only thing ringing in my ears as I forced more Life Energy into my legs in order to not fall behind its pursuit. Jumping over more pillars, I looked ahead to see two large pillars still standing as a sort of doorway up ahead.

I leaped over a hidden rope, skidding against the ground and spinning around in one movement. Yasuda dropped down next to me, but both of our attention was on the giant centipede crossing close behind me. My earlier fears were proven correct when the monster slowed down, turning its massive head to point downwards as I caught sight of the rope below. Its head turned back up and my eyes locked with the copy’s. I hated the way that it made my face grin even wider, tearing the fake skin like ripping wet paper.

“Bring them down now!” I yelled, but the centipede was already twisting around and running away. Yet, even if the plan didn’t work out as well as we wanted it to, Wakao and Shinohara dropped the two pillars faster than I thought they could.

The pillars fell in cylindrical sections, crashing into the ground with resounding thuds. The ground shook, and I saw Yasuda finally crack a smile as the centipede’s ear-piercing screech slammed into our ears. I hesitated as I saw the centipede writhe around under the weight of the stone falling on it, but it didn’t matter even if I did move. The centipede resolutely ripped off the sections that were trapped, hurriedly scurrying off into the fog surrounding us. For a second, I could have sworn that two, glowing blue eyes were glaring at me from the fog.

Wakao and Shinohara gave out loud yells as they hit the ground and rolled, bleeding off their falls. The two had the widest smiles on their faces, and I likened them to kids in a candy store as they bumped each other’s fists together.

“Hah! Serves the damn bastard right!” Wakao jeered, spitting in the direction the centipede ran off in.

“That felt fucking good!” Shinohara cheered, shooting me a grin. “You ain’t too bad for a Gaijin! If we get out of this, let me buy you a drink. Let me tell you-”

“I’m gonna stop you there.” I quieted the two down, and ignored how Wakao scowled at me. “We hurt it, but if you think we’re done, then please help me by digging some graves.”

“Huh? What’re you talking about? I thought you wanted a compliment, Gaijin? We just need to do that again. You think Face Stealer Centipedes are that smart? They’re just insects in the end.” Wakao said, and I gave him an appraising gaze. So, it wasn’t because the centipede was originally intelligent, but because this one was different.

“Do you still want the Shikigami, David?” Yasuda chimed in.

I nodded, and took the bag carrying the Shikigami from the man. Opening it, I carefully counted them and split them up between the four of us. Thankfully, with the earlier success, they were much more accepting of my actions. “I don’t know about Face Stealer Centipedes in general, but I like to consider the option that this enemy is actively learning while fighting us.”

Yasuda’s face paled, quickly catching on to what I was talking about. “Back when it… that makes things much more difficult.”

“B- but that makes no sense! Face Stealers only copy stats, faces and experiences. They can’t really learn more than that!” Wakao stuttered out, looking around in a panic. Shinohara too was eyeing the fog around us like the centipede was about to spring out.

I frowned, trying to put the pieces together. My attention was grabbed by the sounds of hundreds of legs skittering against stone. Everyone’s eyes shot up and saw the silhouette of the massive centipede moving just far enough that we couldn’t see its details. Takamori, who had been silent nearby, had finally hit his breaking point. The man collapsed on the ground, whispering to himself.

Yasuda and I eyed each other before the man took a knee and tried to calm his friend. Wakao and Shinohara finally fully believed what I had said earlier, and both of them were now looking at me for further instructions. I sighed inwardly. How did I end up being a leader in this situation? I swear there’s some irony in this somewhere.

“For now, we need to-” I cut myself off, finding the fog around the centipede’s silhouette being tinted a light green. A shock went through my spine, and I stared at it for a second. “Get everyone onto a pillar! Get off the ground now!”

The soldiers didn’t need to be told twice. They were already moving before my command finished, using the rest of our rope as a sort of rig to hold us to the stone pillars. We picked ones that were fairly close by and tried to have one person per pillar before ascending. Yasuda was helping Takamori up the pillar next to mine, but he was too slow. The green tinted fog moved faster than I considered and Yasuda had to scurry up Takamori’s pillar.

I winced when the man yelled halfway up the pillar. One of his hands held his right foot, and I could see his shoe and parts of his pants melting into the man’s foot. Deep, irritated scars steamed as the soldier hurried to tear off any clothing near the wounds so they wouldn’t melt into his flesh.

Sucking in a deep breath, I gazed fearfully at the green clouds that were beginning to surround our pillars. There was no escaping now. Everyone slowly inched up our pillars, and Takamori desperately tried to pull up Yasuda.

As if on cue, the skittering of hundreds of legs clued me on the approaching centipede. It moved slowly through the green tinted fog as if gloating. I briefly felt its gaze on me as it moved towards Yasuda and Takamori’s pillar. A pit of dread filled me as I watched it. Not because I was worried for the two of them, but because-

[Amaterasu watches to see if you will uphold your promise]

This damn promise. I guess watching them die from the safety of my own pillar might count, but what the hell am I supposed to do?! Can’t I uphold my promise from over here? The damn centipede turned out to be much smarter than me, and while I didn’t really care about that, that only made it much harder to fight against.

“Dammit… What do you want from me?” I complained, watching as the centipede lazily circled the pillar opposite of mine.

[Amaterasu watches your decision]

“What am I supposed to do here? I’m just a weakling? Do you think I am some kind of protagonist who will rise to occasion? People don’t just do that!” The centipede slowly found purchase on the pillar. It’s legs dug into the stone pillar, and it coiled around the pillar. Takamori’s pleas for help fell like knives on my ears.

[Amaterasu sneers at your words]

“Dammit… dammit… I’m just a normal guy! Cut me some slack. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to go back-” I found Yasuda’s eyes locking with mine. There were no words between us, but I could tell that the man accepted his fate. Then, he forced a pained smile, mouthing words I couldn’t understand.

Before I knew it, I had Takamori’s Shikigami in my hands. Flames curled around the paper, and I felt my Life Energy flow through them. As that happened, I felt [Presence Correction] activate alongside it, and the flames grew larger. I stared at it. They weren’t actually larger, but my skill made them seem more imposing and dangerous. Dangerous enough that the centipede paused to look over at me.

I found its eyes and flicked it off. “Damn it! I may be a loser, a lazy ass, a leech, and whatever you call it, but- but, I want to be a protagonist! I don’t want to go back to that disappointing room where I sit in my own self-pity! I don’t have to be some protagonist, but I want to at least be something more than I really am!”

[You have satisfied all conditions for Class Advancement]

[Amaterasu covers her face in embarrassment, but she peeks through her fingers to watch]

“Just do it, Gaijin!” Wakao yelled beside me, already igniting a Shikigami of his own.

“I’d rather die tired, then just wait for death to come! Are you not going to live up to your words, Yasuda?!” Shinohara yelled while already shooting a man-shaped projectile of fire at the centipede. The creature arched up its back, catching the fire before it touched the green tinted fog.

My eyes sparkled at this. My hand swung down and the large conflagration attached to my Shikigami followed. Without giving a second for anyone to react, the fire touched the green, and suddenly I was deaf. I felt the explosion more than I heard it. It rattled my chest and momentarily, a sea of flames stretched across the floor.

My hearing came back as I blinked the bright spots out of my eyes, and the centipede’s screeching was music to my ears. I found it on the ground, writhing as black smoke swirled out from its torn up backside. I tried not to think about how exactly it formed its poisonous gasses, and found Wakao and Shinohara happily peppering the writhing beast with their own given Shikigami. Takamori seemed to have overcome his fear and was cackling maniacally as he formed a human-sized mannequin of fire and dug its fiery fingers into the carapace of the centipede.

They were really… crazy people.

However, I felt… actually, I didn’t feel all that different. All I did was say stupid things and make an explosion. If I was going to be honest, I felt like I wanted to curl up into a hole and die of embarrassment.

“Ahhh! Why did I say that?!” I screamed, and felt my pillar shift. My panic quickly became fear as my shelter tilted and began falling towards the centipede. I swung myself around to put the stone between me and the monster, and rode the pillar straight down on the creature. Briefly, my panicked gaze met its hateful eyes before the pillar crashed down into its body.

A cloud of dust and sand flew up into the air on impact. Spikes of pain shot through my arms and chest as they caught the heaviest portions of the fall. I blinked the tears out of my eyes, and hurriedly rolled out of the way as a large, grey scythe cut down on my position. The centipede’s chelicerae dug into the stone, hissing as it dissolved the nearby area.

I thanked every god out there as I saw what predicament it had found itself in. The falling pillar had trapped enough sections of its body to where it could only writhe underneath the weight futilely. It’s head had the largest range of movement, but that only meant that it could swivel around to try to attack me.

I took a few steps backwards, staying a comfortable distance as I pulled out another Shikigami. There was no hesitation as I sent the fire to explode on its face. It screamed and tried to escape, but the pillar kept it pinned. Finally, I found realization on the features that mirrored mine. We locked eyes before the five of us began pelting it with Takamori’s fire Shikigami.

[Amaterasu cheers alongside your accomplishment]

Despite its body being locked, it took another thirty minutes of pelting it before it finally died. I almost didn’t even know it happened when it did. However, when it stopped moving and struggling, I finally fell on my butt, feeling absolutely drained of Life Energy. Wakao and Shinohara had more energy as they rushed the dead monster, stabbing its head repeatedly with tears in their eyes. If it didn’t have my face still, I would have found the scene slightly touching.

Takamori, on the other hand, seemed to have lost a few screws or something as he began cackling like crazy as he stared at the monster. Finally, I found Yasuda’s eyes on mine. He had a smile, and I realized that he had definitely heard exactly what was going on when I was having my typical shounen moment. I found it hard to meet his gaze.

But, that didn’t mean I found it hard not to smile. Despite how cringeworthy it was, I had meant what I said. I wanted nothing more than to be some protagonist. To save people. Be someone. I wanted it all. And that just made me realize just how lucky I had gotten in this one instance.

I took a shuddering breath. “I- I should’ve bought a lottery ticket with this luck…”

[Mask of Flesh(F)]

I blinked at the notification that appeared in front of me. Shinohara waved a marble in front of my face, and I just stared at it. We all did.

“I think my luck stat is a physical force at this point.” I really needed to get on that lottery ticket.