Duo Leveling LITRPG | Post Apocalyptic | SYSTEM-Chapter 25 - The Grubby Impostor

Chapter 25 - The Grubby Impostor

"...What did you just say?"

Luke’s face twisted into a grimace as he replayed the words he had just heard. His mind, frozen for a moment, started working again—and the first thing that hit him was how ridiculous it all sounded.

"You’re telling me you, Grubby, are Kyle?"

And it wasn’t just Luke who reacted like that.

Around him, people started whispering too, their voices full of confusion and disbelief.

Their eyes weren’t filled with shock—They were filled with doubt.

Nobody could believe it. Nobody wanted to.

Why? Well, Luke knew the answer better than anyone.

"Pfft. Don’t make me laugh."

He narrowed his eyes like an angry goblin and stomped forward.

It wasn’t just that he was insulted— He was furious that someone dared to impersonate Kyle of all people.

"You think you can pretend to be Kyle looking like that?"

In Luke’s blazing eyes, Jhin’s outfit was plain as day— A ratty, dirt-smeared set of clothes.

He knew immediately.

Those were the ’Tattered Beggar’s Clothes Set’ you got from the tutorial rewards.

And judging by the countless tears and worn-out patches, this guy had been wearing those rags for a very long time.

Three whole months had passed since the game opened.

And he was still dressed like that?

That could only mean one thing: His level had to be rock-bottom.

’Even if you just kill a couple of trash mobs like wolves, you can at least pick up a wolf hide armor.’

Luke clenched his fists.

There was no mistaking it, this guy was a total newbie.

And now, a newbie was daring to impersonate Kyle.

’No way someone this grubby could be Kyle.’

Truth be told, Luke had been a long-time fan of Kyle.

Even back in Exodia 1, he had been so obsessed that he saved clips and highlights to rewatch over and over.

’Even Millie’s falling for it...’

He glared at Jhin’s shameless face.

The guy was so good at acting, you might almost believe him.

But Luke wasn’t about to be fooled.

’I’ll be the one to expose him.’

He stepped up, feeling a fierce sense of duty.

"You. What’s your level?"

"Thirty-seven," Jhin answered without a hint of hesitation.

For a moment, Luke froze.

Around him, the mood shifted again, people glancing at each other.

Luke scoffed.

"Thirty-seven? That’s all?"

As expected.

Nothing had changed.

His scowl deepened.

"What a pathetic piece of trash... Seriously.

You had nothing better to do, so now you’re pretending to be Kyle?"

"...What?"

"Kyle was ranked number one, you moron. Do you really think Kyle would only be level 37 when other rankers have already passed level 100?"

Jhin said nothing.

He simply looked up at Luke calmly, silently.

Riding the wave of anger, Luke threw in another jab.

"And Kyle isn’t even a Corelander ! You didn’t know that, did you, grubby boy?

If you’re gonna impersonate someone, at least do your homework first."

Even after all that, Jhin didn’t say a word.

He just stared back at Luke like he was barely worth his attention.

The silence stretched on.

Finally, Jhin opened his mouth.

"I don’t feed idiots."

"You little—! You filthy grubby bastard!"

After that little spat, they immediately set out for the hunt.

They didn’t split into parties or squads.

The enemy they were up against—Skeletons—could spawn up to fifty at once.

And even though they were weak versions, most of the players here were around level 40, so nobody could afford to go solo.

They bunched together, walking carefully, weapons ready.

Meanwhile, Jhin’s eyes darted around quickly, searching.

’Alleyway on the right.’

’Shops to the left.’

’Underneath the parked car.’

Every spot he checked—Skeletons popped out like clockwork It was almost like he could see the future.

He calmly led the group into an open cross roads—clear in all four directions.

From behind, Caleb shouted,

"Get ready for battle!!"

From every side, Skeletons poured in like a crashing tidal wave.

The ground rumbled under the sheer number of them, and dust clouds rose up, making it hard to see.

The battle broke out immediately.

"Don’t get separated! Two players per Skeleton!!"

Inside the raging dust cloud, the players fought fiercely.

Maybe it was because of the two nerfs in effect, but... The Skeletons were weaker than expected.

They fell faster than anyone had hoped.

The problem was... There were just so many of them.

Even so, once Millie really started unloading with her gun, Skeletons began dropping like flies.

Massive holes ripped through their ranks.

Just as Jhin was about to join the hunt with his sword—

"Get outta the way. What’s a level 37 even gonna do?"

"...?"

"Watch closely, grubby boy.

This is how real veterans do it."

Suddenly, Luke pushed past him, sword swinging in wide arcs.

His technique was sloppy, but aggressive.

With sheer brute force, he smashed through a Skeleton’s skull.

He actually managed to take one down all by himself.

Watching him, Jhin frowned.

’Is he... trying to steal my kills?’

But there was no real malice in Luke’s actions.

It brought back some memories, actually.

Back in high school—

’He wasn’t that bad a guy.’

In fact, when he ordered Jhin to fetch bread, he’d shove a fat 50,000 coin bill into his hand.

Now that Jhin thought about it...

Luke probably didn’t even know how much bread cost.

Sometimes, Jhin had volunteered to be his bread runner.

’Best part-time job ever: 49,000 coin in your pocket.’

He’d buy bread for 1,000 coin, pocket the rest.

Easy money.

Sure, Luke’s way of speaking was annoying, but...

At least he had some sense of honor.

Jhin watched him a moment longer, then shrugged and stepped back.

Ten years ago, this guy had made school a little less miserable.

Maybe he could let him have this one.

After all, today’s hunt wasn’t really about Jhin leveling up.

It was about helping the players of Stoneveil city Station grow stronger.

And Jhin would have plenty more chances to level up.

’Yeah. There’s something more important than leveling up right now.’

With that thought, Jhin changed his course.

[’Kimmy’ has consumed ’Rusty Longsword.’]

[Fullness increased by 0.1%.]

[’Kimmy’ has consumed ’BroKyleHelmet.’]