Chương 59

Hunter Ellen The nice thing about winter was that even though not everyone in the village knew about the many Ellens, they weren't likely to see them either. The Treetop Inn was often busy in the evenings, in winter. During the day it was much, much quieter, and usually empty unless Pauley had a concern. This made the early morning trip the best possible time to visit, when bringing multiple Ellens. As much as Ellen was curious about this, she felt she should bring an expert…

and she didn't trust Scholar to handle it on her own. Ironic, considering that I was just lectured on trusting Ellens, she thought to herself. Lauren was in the common room with Village Ellen, and both looked up as Ellen slipped into the room and quickly shut the door once Scholar was inside. The Sanctuary effect was still present, Ellen noticed… that was good, but she wondered what it would do if Village Ellen decided she was an enemy.

"Well hello, girls," Lauren called out. She was much less apprehensive about seeing unfamiliar Ellens now, Ellen noted.

"Hunter, isn't it? And I'm not sure which one you are, I'm afraid. Have we met?" Scholar just smiled, and Ellen braced for the look of confusion on Lauren's face… only to be surprised in her own way.

"Not in this lifetime, Lauren," Scholar replied lightly.

"You can call me Scholar Ellen, if you want. I think the last time we met was… hmm. My first trip back to Merriweather. It has been a while! It's good to see you, you're looking well." Lauren's smile widened.

"Oh, thank you so much!" She glanced at the door.

"Sometimes people stop by early, so you won't both want to linger there I hope. Would you like to use the table in the back? I'm sure you both wouldn't be down here if you didn't have something important to do." Ellen blinked at Scholar, but quickly recovered as Lauren brought that up.

"Yes, please. Sorry… we have something a little private to discuss, but we'll try to be brief. I hope by the end of winter I can visit more freely."

"Pauley's made a lot of progress," Village Ellen noted.

"I think most of the villagers just needed to adjust to the idea of a dungeon nearby first. Nobody really knows what dungeons do, these days, so I think most are just blaming that." They made their way to the back, which was a sort of half-room with a curtain instead of a full door. Even here in the middle of nowhere, sometimes travelers wanted some privacy, so the Treetop had this place. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the occasional quiet chat.

As Ellen settled herself into a chair, she glanced at Scholar again.

"I admit, I'm surprised. I didn't know you could talk like that. You never do that around me or the others." Scholar tilted her head back at Ellen.

"Of course we don't, you are an Ellen, you understand… or we suppose you could understand if you tried. Lauren is only one, she would be confused. We like her and don't want to cause her trouble, so we pretend to be only one, like her." She covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a giggle.

"We got some experience for acting when we did that. We're surprised none of our selves have ever taken Performer."

"It was pretty high up the list when I chose my Class last time," Village Ellen said as she sat down across from the other two.

"I hope none of us ever have the opportunity to do that again, but I'm sure if more accidents happen, one of us might eventually do it." Ellen sighed.

"I suppose…" She turned her attention to Village Ellen, eyes darting to the pointless bandage on her hand where she'd been bitten… then up to the shoulder where the wolf had been torn up.

"How is your shoulder?" Village Ellen touched her shoulder lightly.

"It stopped bleeding by the time I got back to the inn, and it's healing up quickly. Still a little sore and stiff, but I think in another day or two it should be fine. No bones were broken so it's not that bad. That regeneration is a Perk, did you know? Werewolves have their own Perks." That was mildly surprising to Ellen, but she wasn't worried about it. The fact that Village Ellen was so amiable to speaking about her condition was a relief.

"I know you're wondering, Scholar, so I'll just tell you." Village Ellen glanced at Scholar with a smile." Lycanthropic Regeneration and Enhanced Senses were given to me right away, and then when I first changed I had a choice between four Perks for werewolves. The lycanthropy wanted me to choose Infection, which would spread the curse. Don't worry, I didn't choose that one. I don't want to spread this to anyone." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

"Interesting," Scholar murmured.

"You can tell what the urges want you to take? Have you ever had any difficulty resisting them? We weren't there, but our Scout self told us what we saw with her. You fought and then ran." Ellen raised a hand.

"That's what worried me. Why didn't you wait for me and Scout to arrive? We could have fought him for you. I thought you didn't like fighting." She knew the answer Scout had given, but hearing an explanation from Village would be much more reassuring. Village Ellen stared at Scholar for a second, but when Ellen didn't react to the strange way of speaking, she relaxed and shrugged… prompting a wince from her injured shoulder moving that way.

"I don't like fighting, but I didn't want to put you in danger for my problem," she answered.

"I knew a way I could take care of him, and if it didn't work you'd be there to back me up." She took a deep breath.

"And yes, I can tell what the curse wants me to do. The only thing I can't really seem to stop is um… actual instincts. I really enjoyed running through the forest that night. I sort of lost myself in being a wolf for a little while, but I could still think. I stayed away from any humans." Ellen leaned back in her seat.

"No urge to hunt? Even for food?" That question made Village Ellen blush.

"Um… the curse didn't really come into that. Maybe it would have if I'd found a human? But all I really felt was the desire for a nice plump hare or something. So I think there were urges but my Steady Mind didn't negate them if they were natural. I don't think I could eat a rabbit raw as a human." The addition of as a human was doing a lot of work there, but Ellen could tell her other self was embarrassed by what she'd done, so she didn't pry. Scholar seemed to have some level of tact as well.

"What did you pick, if not Infection when you had the chance? And why?"" Control Shift, so I can resist turning into a wolf if I start to panic," Village answered immediately." Infection is pretty rare, by the way. I saw it could rank up, so this one must have had more Perks. I don't know when I'll get more Perks or an Ability though." She waved her bandaged hand.

"If I'd taken it, I'd have had a one in a thousand chance to infect, and could only do it when I was injured and fully transformed into a wolf. So the one we fought must have had at least a few Perks devoted to Infection." Scholar nodded thoughtfully, and Ellen was sure she was trying to sort through everything she'd been told.

"Any changes in how you are as a human, aside from the regeneration?"

"My senses are sharper," Village Ellen answered immediately.

"Especially scent. I can probably tell any non-Ellen apart by scent alone from across the room. Even some Ellens… like you two, because Hunter spends so much time out in the forest compared to the rest." Ellen bit her lip in frustration.

"That's interesting, but my real worry is if you die, what about the duplicates? Fisher and Cobbler haven't shown any signs of lycanthropy, thankfully, so maybe yours wouldn't."

"I don't know," Village Ellen sighed, spreading her hands.

"Maybe I wouldn't revive at all. But at least I know a little bit more about how this works. I saw the messages right before I died, and I've been thinking about them a lot." Scholar lifted an eyebrow… and Ellen realized she was, as well. Quite a bit of distance was between herself and Scholar, but Ellen had to admit she was one of the Ellens who put the most thought into their situation. Maybe she was showing a little of the same side that had spawned Scholar. Village Ellen leaned back.

"It said that it had detected a Persona Death. I wondered about that... and I think I've figured it out. It assumed that I'd become a monster, so I'd stop being Ellen. Whatever Grandpa did, it must have accounted for that. So the System went through the whole process to make me all over again, including the mistake that makes two… and made Cobbler and Fisher."

"But you didn't die," Ellen finished for her. Village Ellen nodded.

"Yeah… and it said it had done the failsafe prematurely. My Steady Mind stabilized me, and that's also why I think I'll be okay. The System itself said that counting me as dead had been a mistake. That does also make me feel a little better about the idea that making multiples wasn't intended. If the System can make mistakes, and can recognize it, maybe we can fix it."

"We think that is what is happening, too," Scholar agreed.

"And the dungeon is growing because our deaths have caused the mana to shift. This also makes us wonder if the dungeons really are thinking beings. Maybe it understands that our deaths will cause more mana problems, which will let it grow. We think that is why it targets us." Ellen looked toward Scholar with a frown.

"Really? I thought you and the other three were going after it for revenge…" Scholar shrugged.

"That, too. But we also have some thoughts about what to do. That's why this self took the Delve Weaver Class. We can already tell that the dungeon is going to be much more than we thought at first. Edmund's report won't be very accurate." The comment made Village Ellen hesitate, then lean over to make sure Lauren wasn't listening in. As if it were a bigger secret than her lycanthropy…

"You should… all of us should be careful about picking these weird Classes we've been getting." The newly-minted werewolf fidgeted, her hands in her lap.

"Mine says something about how invaders must face the Townsaver, and I can't help noticing that I was the first one actually attacked, even when he targeted Camilla. I think… the System might be adjusting things so that our Class descriptions are accurate. I hope yours don't say anything strange." Ellen frowned as she looked toward Scholar.

"Mine is just about how I watch over the land… which is exactly what I want. But what is Delve Weaver about? That sounds a little ominous." Scholar shrugged.

"We aren't worried. The Delve Weaver is the only Class that let us work with our other selves toward our goal. We are not sure anyone has tried it before."

"Tried what?" Village Ellen asked, even as Ellen got a sinking feeling she knew. Scholar smiled.

"Amputate a piece of the dungeon."