Chương 31

Healer Ellen Days of preparation and arguing had finally led to success for Ellen. Now, here in the darkness of the tunnel with only the flickering torch to keep the trio of Ellens company, she had to admit it was pretty scary. She did one last check of her condition as they passed into the dungeon proper. A quick dismissal of the dungeon announcement—and its requisite first time bonuses—gave way to the familiar sight of her status.

ATTRIBUTES Strength: 8 Agility: 8 Endurance: 8 Willpower: 8 Affinity: 9 Perception: 8 SKILL ENHANCERS STAMINA: 80/80 MANA: 83/83 CLASS: Tender 7 EXPERIENCE: 11, 430/16, 000 (8380 banked) PERKS Mana Manipulation (CC) ABILITIES This was her secret. The information she hadn't yet shared with any of the other Ellens. None had asked specifically what Perk she had selected, only her Class. She told that truthfully. The fact that she had Mana Manipulation available before a Class that normally had it was strange.

She'd heard of such things happening, but they were always exceptional circumstances and usually a result of multiple Class changes. She needed to know more about how this had happened. More importantly, she'd won them over with the arguments about the dungeon. Ellen had been truthful in what she'd argued with her other selves. Using the dungeon for themselves while they had the chance, before the influx of adventurers, was just a good idea. Even Hunter Ellen had seen the value in it, if reluctantly.

The problem had been the sudden lack of a front-line combatant.

"Are you sure this will work?" Hunter Ellen asked warily. Even with the new leather armor and bracers that Merchant Ellen had brought back, the Hunter was being careful. She was the most cautious of all of them, despite her constant outings in the forest by herself. Here, she was much more vulnerable… especially using the spear and knife instead of her bow. If a spider managed to bite her in an unarmored part of her body, even Ellen would have difficulty saving them.

"No," Apprentice Ellen admitted.

"It should, but we have to try it sometime for real, right? If it doesn't, run back up the tunnel as fast as you can. Even if it doesn't kill them, it should slow them down enough for all of us to get away." Ellen knew Apprentice had a reputation with the others for getting into trouble, but she also knew that Apprentice really just wanted to be useful as fast as possible. Casters had a rough time doing that, when they didn't get spells until Level 12.

Until then, they were forced to crudely shove mana around to get simple effects. It was both wasteful and limited. Hunter Ellen had only reluctantly agreed to this strategy because she thought it would work, and even she had to admit it would be useful. As the highest Level among all the Ellens, she had the most difficulty reaching the next Level.

It would normally take months to go from 9 to 10, but with a dungeon nearby and giving bonus experience against any Ellen, she could reach Level 11 before the end of winter. Every Ellen, including Hunter herself, wanted that. A true Tier 2 Class would be a proud moment for any of them, and while none of them said it, everyone was curious what the options would be. Ellen herself definitely wanted a high level Ellen around. And if they all died in the dungeon, it was just the first room.

The new Ellens could retrieve their equipment just fine. They'd lose their highest Level Ellen, but gain two more with a vast amount of banked experience. The Ellens as a whole would only get stronger from this. Of course, she didn't want any of them to die. She had chosen to be Healer Ellen, not Conniving Ellen. She would do her best to keep all three of the Ellens here alive, counting herself. Logically, she just didn't see what the big deal was if one of them died.

She discouraged Apprentice from taking stupid risks, because the longer they waited the more knowledge they carried to their descendants, but she understood why Apprentice didn't care. They had the same thought process, after all. Hunter Ellen hissed a soft warning as they approached. Her own lantern at her hip—a nicer shuttered one that didn't glare backward, illuminating forward only—showed the yawning opening of the first chamber.

Ellen moved closer, just behind Apprentice Ellen to back her up for their maneuver that would not normally be possible with a single Apprentice. At first, nothing moved as the trio crept forward at a slow and agonizing pace. Ellen placed a hand on Apprentice's arm, feeling the tremor beneath it. Her sister-self had many of the same thoughts, but far more anticipation of everything. She knew why, and that was a shared secret that she didn't think even the other, older Ellens could understand.

The older Ellens still thought of themselves as separate Ellens, not one Ellen in different bodies. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Apprentice calmed and took a slow breath, unheard over the faint sputter of the torch she held.

"They're coming!" Hunter's whispered words startled Ellen out of her thoughts. Ellen had suspected this would happen, of course. The single-minded determination that the monsters had targeted her with meant that they wouldn't simply wait in their home chambers to attack, they would scamper out if they detected them. She wasn't sure why they were so obsessed with her, but she wasn't about to ignore it and be caught unprepared like her previous self. They had no Briar Thorns to bail them out this time.

"I'll take the one on the left. Five?" Ellen blinked. Hunter's count was correct, but that was more than had been present before. Was the dungeon growing that fast?

"Apprentice!" Ellen hissed, seeing the spiders skittering toward the trio. Four were clustered together on the right, with one rapidly approaching on the left side of the tunnel instead. A near-perfect arrangement for their plan. The spider on the left was closer, coming in fast. Hunter swung the spear about, neatly thrusting forward to skewer it at the join of thorax and abdomen.

The single-minded purpose of the spiders in rushing them was to their detriment here, as their attempts to dodge were clumsy and delayed. It was as if their obsession fought against their own natural instincts. One down, four to go. Everyone assumed Apprentice was impulsive—and she was. Yet she waited this time. Waited for Ellen to give a squeeze to her arm, the signal to start. She felt Apprentice draw upon the mana around them, forcing it through her body and toward the torch. Ellen joined her.

It was a Cross-Class Perk, so not as efficient, but she forced herself to reach out and push the mana through the torch just like her sister-self did. Aside from the first few moments, the entire fight was eerily silent, with none of the Ellens feeling the need to say anything more now. They knew the plan and would trust one another. A billowing roil of flame burst out, enveloping the clustered four spiders scrambling toward the three redheads in mana-bolstered flame.

Without a proper spell, the improvised fireball wouldn't last long… but these creatures were weak and cooked easily, once exposed. The flame filled most of the tunnel, a backwash of heat rushing over Ellen as she tried to hold her concentration. Kill notifications rolled in. EXPERIENCE AWARDED: Defeated a threat (x3) For defeating a [Large Greylan Spider] (x3), you have gained 150 Experience. An additional bonus of 150 Experience has been applied from the dungeon aura.

An additional bonus of 150 Experience has been applied from the Bloodline Rival Trait. An additional bonus of 900 Experience has been applied from banked Experience. FIRST TIME AWARD: Killed a Greylan Spider. For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 100 Experience. An additional bonus of 200 Experience has been applied from banked Experience. FIRST TIME AWARD: Killed a threat in combat For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 200 Experience.

An additional bonus of 400 Experience has been applied from banked Experience. FIRST TIME AWARD: Killed two enemies in one attack. For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 500 Experience. An additional bonus of 1000 Experience has been applied from banked Experience. FIRST TIME AWARD: Killed three enemies in one attack. For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 1500 Experience. An additional bonus of 3000 Experience has been applied from banked Experience. LEVEL UP!

You have reached Level 8. Ellen almost stopped and stared at the ridiculous amount of experience that she'd gotten. The System had treated it as a mutual kill instead of an assist, which was a blessing for her in this case, but it still showed the power that all of these modifiers could give them. The dungeon aura, the Bloodline Rival Trait, their banked experience. When combined it could let them climb into the upper Levels within one trip, if they were careful. Wait… three?

All of these thoughts went through Ellen's head in an instant, but not fast enough to cry a warning to Hunter Ellen about the singed spider leaping from the remnants of the fireball. The fanged beast was once again going for the head—throat or face, she wasn't sure—giving Ellen a flashback to her previous life. Hunter was better prepared than she'd been, though. The skilled huntress whipped her spear up to block… only to have it snag the tip at the ceiling with a loud scrape, halting the block.

Unlike how Ellen might have stumbled at that, Hunter merely released it and continue the motion, swatting the incoming spider out of the air with the small, crude buckler she'd made out of hide and wood. The spider bounced off the wall and tumbled to the floor of the tunnel, still alive and relatively unharmed. Ellen didn't even think. Her title might be 'Healer' but her predecessor practiced daily with the spear, and she knew how to use one.

She snatched it up before it could even hit the floor, turned, and thrust. It was a well-practiced thrust. The form was almost perfect for a simple, beginner attack. Ellen still felt how slow it was, how sluggishly her body moved when she asked it to do this. She knew the motions, but as Healer Ellen she had never practiced them. Her muscles were right… but the body wasn't ready. That didn't matter as the spear tip punctured the abdomen and left the spider twitching, pinned to the dungeon tunnel's floor.

Finally, Ellen let herself listen. She heard her own panting breaths, the similar noises from the two beside her. No words were spoken for a long moment, until she finally yanked the spear free and handed it to Hunter. She dismissed the kill notification with a slow exhale.

"Um… that was over half my mana," Apprentice said suddenly.

"I know this isn't like me but… I say we don't try to take on the stoat and just retreat."

"I agree," Hunter muttered. She flicked the bulk of the ichor off the spear tip and looked down the tunnel, as if expecting another group of spiders to swarm upward.

"Were there more spiders this time? The dungeon must have gained a Level or something. Whatever it is dungeons do." Nobody knew, exactly, except that dungeons would often grow more powerful over time. They'd add more monsters, then eventually more floors, or expand the existing floors. The amount of mana they used had to be huge to do those things, but most presumed that they gained some from adventurers dying in the dungeon.

"If the dungeon did this with one death… how fast is it going to grow?" Apprentice Ellen scratched her head as she voiced the thought everyone was thinking.

"I don't know," Hunter muttered.

"But let's get out of here before it has any more surprises. You've proven your point, Healer, but I don't think we can stand to do this very often without a more balanced party." Apprentice frowned.

"Aww. Spoilsport." Hunter just smirked.

"Someone has to be Responsible Ellen."