Bubbles of thick, glowing green fluid rose to the surface of the glass cylinder, popping with a faint, wet hiss. Elias pressed his palm against the reinforced glass, his jaw tightening as he stared at the face inside. It was his own face. Same lean jawline, same dirty-blonde hair floating lazily in the liquid, same slight scar running along the left collarbone. Staring at your own lifeless double was an experience Elias never expected to add to his resume, even after being reincarnated. Beside him, Jasper let out a low, heavy grunt, his massive shoulder bumping against Elias's arm. Jasper shuddered, crossing his massive arms over his chest as he glared at the pod. "This is messed up on so many levels," Jasper muttered, his voice echoing in the damp stone chamber. "I knew the Arbiters were desperate, but manufacturing knock-offs of you is a new low." "This makes perfect sense from a corporate perspective," Elias said, his voice dropping to a cold, analytical whisper. "Why deal with a troublesome, union-loving employee when you can just manufacture a compliant, brainless replacement?" A chill ran down Jasper's spine at the thought. Overworked, replaced, and discarded. To Elias and Jasper, this was their entire past lives wrapped up in a single, glowing green test tube. "We have to blow this entire facility to kingdom come," Jasper said, his eyes flashing with a dangerous dark light. "Nobody puts us back on the assembly line." Nodding slowly, Elias turned away from the pod. "Agreed," Elias said. "But before we overload the mana core, we have a tactical emergency to address." Jasper blinked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What kind of emergency?" Jasper asked, looking around the cavern. "The guards are all unconscious." Elias pointed a finger toward a heavy, bronze-plated door at the back of the laboratory chamber. Thick, fragrant steam escaped from the gaps in the metal frame, carrying the unmistakable scent of mineral-rich volcanic water. "Therapeutic hot springs," Elias declared, his eyes shining with sudden, intense focus. "And not just any hot spring. That scent indicates highly concentrated magnesium and sulfur. It is a premium-grade therapeutic bath." Jasper's jaw dropped, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Checking his priorities as always," Jasper laughed, already walking toward the bronze door. "Are you saying we take a break?" "Taking a mandatory union break is essential," Elias replied solemnly. "We cannot perform high-stress demolition work while our muscles are tense from traveling. It would be a severe violation of our personal health codes." Amused by his friend's flawless logic, Jasper pushed the door open. --- Steam rolled across the threshold, revealing a hidden sanctuary of luxury inside the mountain. Natural black volcanic glass lined the walls, reflecting the soft, warm light of floating magical lanterns. Turquoise water bubbled gently in a wide, circular pool carved directly into the bedrock. Plush white towels were stacked neatly on a cedar bench, alongside a tray of chilled, imported fruits. "This is unbelievable," Elias muttered, shedding his dirt-streaked leather coat. "The corrupt overseers of this facility were living like kings while forcing common mages to act as living batteries." "Classic middle-management," Jasper agreed, unbuckling his heavy chest plate and letting it clang to the floor. "They hoard the perks and distribute the suffering." Sinking into the steaming water, Jasper let out a sound that was half-groan, half-purr. Heat immediately began to dissolve the deep-seated tension in his massive shoulders. Elias slid into the pool beside him, letting his head rest against the smooth, curved edge of the black glass. Warmth enveloped his body, making his S-tier Light magic hum with a peaceful, lazy resonance. "Remember the winter rush at the Tokyo warehouse?" Jasper asked, his eyes closed as he floated on his back. "Don't bring up the dark times while we are in paradise," Elias muttered, though a faint smile touched his lips. "We worked sixteen-hour shifts in freezing temperatures just to get a five-hundred-yen convenience store bento at midnight," Jasper recalled, shaking his head. "We didn't even have time to take a proper bath. Just quick, depressing showers." "And now we have god-like magic, a massive budget, and our own private hot spring," Elias said, stretching his legs out. "We earned this. Every single drop of it." "If only the High Arbiters would let us enjoy it," Jasper grunted, his expression darkening slightly. "They keep trying to force us into a corner. They want us to fight each other to fulfill some ancient, stupid prophecy." "Prophecies are just aggressive sales targets," Elias sneered, his fingers tracing patterns in the water. "They want us to destroy each other so they can maintain their monopoly on power. It's the ultimate corporate restructuring play." "We won't let them," Jasper said firmly. "Nobody controls our schedule anymore." "Never again," Elias agreed, his voice resolute. "We protect our free time with our lives." Peaceful silence filled the cavern for several blissful minutes, the gentle bubbling of the water the only sound. Suddenly, a sharp, metallic screech shattered the tranquility. Water sloshed violently over the edge of the stone basin as a massive tremor rippled through the floor. Grabbing his trousers, Elias leaped out of the hot spring in a single, fluid motion. Jasper was already on his feet, his wet skin glistening in the lantern light as he summoned his heavy black greatsword. Before they could even pull on their boots, the thick bronze door was blown off its hinges, flying across the room and crushing the cedar bench into splinters. Dust and steam mingled in the doorway, revealing a terrifying silhouette. Standing in the wreckage was the Elias-clone, its skin pale as marble and dripping with green stasis fluid. Its eyes were blank, glowing with a harsh, artificial white light that lacked any human warmth. Without a single sound, the clone raised its right hand. Blinding, unstable S-tier Light magic erupted from its palm, instantly shaping into a jagged, crackling broadsword of solid light. "Watch out!" Elias yelled, diving to the side as the clone lunged forward. A beam of pure white light sliced through the air, carving a deep, glowing trench into the stone wall where Elias had been standing a second prior. Searing heat singed Elias's bare skin as he rolled to his feet, summoning his own light-blade. Unlike the clone's unstable, flickering white glare, Elias's S-tier Light magic hummed with a deep, golden resonance, perfectly controlled. Steel-hard energy clashed against energy as the clone closed the distance with terrifying speed, its movements a blur. Every strike from the clone was a flawless, mechanical execution of Elias's own combat style. Parry, thrust, feint, slash—the clone moved like a hyper-advanced combat algorithm programmed with Elias's exact muscle memory. It was like fighting a mirror that wanted to carve his throat out. Elias ducked beneath a sweeping horizontal strike, the heat of the passing blade singeing his dirty-blonde hair. He counter-attacked with a swift upward slash, but the clone parried it effortlessly, sending a shower of white-hot sparks into the damp air. If we fight in here, the residual energy will collapse the entire bathhouse, Elias analyzed, his mind working three steps ahead. Tactical retreat was the only logical option. "Jasper, get to the narrow corridor leading to the main lab!" Elias shouted, parrying a flurry of rapid thrusts. "I'm baiting him into your range!" On it, Jasper roared, grabbing his gear and sprinting out of the chamber toward the narrow hallway. Leaping backward, Elias deliberately lowered his guard for a fraction of a second, exposing his left shoulder. Taking the bait instantly, the clone lunged forward with a piercing thrust, its blank eyes locked onto the opening. Elias twisted his torso at the very last moment, letting the clone's light-blade pass inches from his chest. Using the momentum of the twist, Elias delivered a powerful kick to the clone's midsection, pushing it back a step. He turned and sprinted down the narrow stone corridor, his bare feet slapping against the cold, wet floor. Behind him, the clone pursued with mechanical relentlessness, its heavy footsteps echoing off the tight stone walls. Narrow spaces were a light-mage's nightmare due to the lack of maneuverability, but they were a dark-mage's playground. "Now, Jasper!" Elias screamed, throwing himself flat onto the stone floor as he reached the end of the hallway. Waiting at the exit of the corridor, Jasper grinned, his massive frame blocking the light as S-tier Dark magic surged through his veins. Black, swirling vortexes of dense energy manifested around his massive fists, warping the very air around them. "Gravity well!" Jasper bellowed, slamming his palms onto the stone floor. An invisible, crushing force seized the narrow corridor, instantly multiplying the atmospheric pressure by a hundredfold. Air rushed out of the hallway in a violent gust as the gravity took hold. Struggling to move, the clone froze mid-stride, its knees buckling under the immense, artificial weight. Its light-blade flickered violently and shattered into harmless sparks, unable to maintain its form under the crushing pressure. Cracks spread rapidly across the clone's pale skin, running from its neck down to its ankles. No blood or muscle lay beneath the surface—only a dry, white, crystalline substance. "Finish it," Elias groaned from the floor, his own body feeling heavy from the residual gravitational pull. With a savage grin, Jasper channeled more mana into the spell, focusing the crushing force directly onto the clone's head. Pressure built until the clone's skull shattered like a fragile porcelain vase. A second later, the entire body collapsed, crumbling into a massive pile of coarse, white salt that scattered across the wet floor. Silence descended upon the ruined laboratory, broken only by the heavy breathing of the two exhausted men. Elias pushed himself up, shaking his head as he brushed salt-dust off his bare chest. "Salt," Elias muttered, picking up a pinch of the white powder and rubbing it between his fingers. "They aren't even using flesh and blood. They are constructing artificial vessels from divine salt and raw mana." Jasper deactivated his magic, letting out a long breath as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "This means they can mass-produce them," Jasper said, his voice unusually quiet and grim. "They can build an army of you." Elias felt a cold dread settle deep in his gut, a feeling far worse than any corporate audit he had ever faced. Suddenly, the salt-dust on the floor began to swirl, glowing with an eerie, pale light. A massive projection of Arbiter Michael appears in the salt-dust, smiling coldly as he says, 'The spare parts are ready. You are obsolete, Elias.'

Chapter 10: Mirror Image, No Overtime