After dinner, Ashe returned to the gaming floor to resume his grind through the extreme dungeons.0

Before they parted, he created another high-level substitute for Lys. He couldn't help but ask why the previous one had vanished so early. Based on the mana he'd supplied, a construct of that caliber should have lasted a full day. Yet, by the afternoon, Ashe had already felt his connection to the first one sever.0

Lys maintained a look of pure innocence, claiming total ignorance. She insisted she hadn't worked the substitute hard at all. It had merely carried her around, sang a few songs, and held her books. Ashe wondered if using the two spirits together had somehow spiked the mana consumption, but he didn't dwell on it. He transferred command authority to Lys and watched her lead it away.0

The substitute, however, behaved strangely. Every few steps, it cast a lingering look back at Ashe, its eyes filled with the silent desperation of someone who had a thousand things to say and no voice to say them.1

But Ashe, his mind already racing toward Epic, missed the signals entirely. He was too preoccupied with a tactical dilemma. Should I switch roles?1

The original account owner had set the main role as a combat-type sorcerer, so Ashe had naturally followed suit. However,...0