Chương 76: (B2.12)

12) Edmund Briar This was the second run with the so-called Fighter Ellen instead of Scout Ellen, and their fourth run since arriving. Edmund could see why Scout thought highly of Fighter now. The girl was fierce and determined, not to mention her strange class gave her a natural regeneration that shocked even Vincent. She was capable, dependable, tough, and a better defender than anyone he'd ever worked with. Edmund vastly preferred Scout.

Scout was engaging, and would answer their questions with enough elaboration to give context. She was helpful and would often refer to earlier times she had worked with the Briar Thorns. When they rested or paused for a little bit, Scout usually would not start a conversation, but would rapidly become involved in one if she was addressed or if one with something interesting to her started nearby. With Fighter, they got none of that.

Fighter was all business and would answer questions bluntly and without elaboration unless asked. Despite being a clone of the friendlier version, Edmund got the distinct impression that Fighter was only with them out of some kind of obligation, rather than because she wanted to explore the dungeon. He couldn't complain about her efficiency though. The spear thrust finished off the centipede with a chittering squeal from the giant insect, and Fighter just flicked the tip clean and wiped it on the corpse.

The gash on her thigh was already sealing up, showing off her phenomenal regeneration. Edmund had seen some warriors who specialized in defense do this sort of thing, but they were always Tier 3 or higher. Fighter Ellen was barely into the second Tier and already matching that.

"Do you think you're up for trying the boss? I don't want to annoy you if it's a problem. We won't do well if you aren't working well with us." Edmund made the offer anyway, though he was hoping she'd say yes. The second floor gave enough experience to give him some progress, but he was so close to the next Level that an actual boss victory would push him over to Level 20. Then he'd only be one away from Tier 3. Edmund doubted he could get to Tier 3 with just this floor, though.

The much tougher enemies of the third or fourth floor would be needed, and he'd have to prepare for that. The third floor of a dungeon was almost always a spike in difficulty compared to the first two, and couldn't be approached naively. Fighter was still silent while Edmund thought, but the frown on her face was slight and thoughtful, not angry. It only took a few moments for her to nod slightly and give an answer.

"We… I think I could do that," she finally replied with a slow measure to her speech. It had taken her a little more practice to stop using the plural in reference to herself, which creeped out Edmund somewhat.

"We haven't tried to fight the boss yet. We could probably beat it, but we are trying to be more careful and avoid any losses until we know we are strong enough." She glanced at Miriam and Vincent, who were busy trying to pry out the poison glands of two of the centipedes.

"You are all much higher Level than my other selves, so if you think we can handle it, we should try. I am not sure if it is still just a bigger centipede or not. The dungeon has gotten much bigger since my uncle ran through it to test."

"We will have to keep on our toes," Miriam agreed without looking up from her task.

"Are you sure you want to, though? You don't seem very happy to be with us." Of course Miriam would notice the same thing Edmund had. Her and Vincent were far more perceptive than he was. He sighed quietly. Fighter shook her head.

"I don't mind. I like you, I just don't want to get too attached. Scout has an easy time getting back into the habit with the rest of my sisters, but it's much harder for me once I've fallen out of coordination with them."

"One of these days I'll have to watch you working with your sisters to see how this looks," Edmund muttered.

"From the sound of it, it lets you take on things well above your Level. This floor should be a lot tougher for you, but you've been here how many times?" The redhead nodded back to him.

"We stopped counting, but we're all aware that we can only survive because we work together so well. Village is the only one who might be able to fight on your level, and she's too nice to put in the dungeon." Another assumption that Village Ellen was just the strongest, Edmund noted. Vincent had claimed the same, and every "Ellen" that they'd spoken to about it just took it for granted. Another vaguely creepy assumption that he wasn't sure how to interpret.

"Right," he muttered.

"Well, let's give it a try. You're hard to kill at least, so maybe it will go fine even if we mess up. Let's try not to mess up, though. I know there are more of you, but I don't want to risk any deaths." Fighter nodded, turning toward the passage.

"Merchant is dead," she said casually, as if it were like she was describing a cool breeze in the tunnel.

"Her replacement must be in Merriweather, we… I don't see her in the area. I know you are going to Merriweather tomorrow, I'd like all of you to be alive too, just in case something needs to be done about it." All three of the non-Ellens looked at one another, with Miriam's usual grouchy expression replaced with worry. Edmund bit his lip and turned back to Fighter Ellen, clearing his throat. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"You… don't seem too worried about it," he noted cautiously.

"I am worried," Fighter said, turning and frowning back at him.

"It should have been just a normal trip to the city. Did she fall off the cart? Did something kill her? I don't know and I want to make sure it isn't something we all have to worry about. But I can't do anything about it right now except finish the dungeon. Merchant's replacement will probably want to hear what kind of loot it gives now that the dungeon is stronger." Edmund opened his mouth to argue about the sort of "worry" that Fighter Ellen was showing… but he stopped himself.

Whatever her issues, she was right that this wasn't the time. If they waited around too long the boss might come to them. It was also bad manners to wait around in a dungeon, since that would prevent the floor from respawning. The other group had already left to train their new skills, but it wasn't a good idea to get into the habit of loitering. The raised eyebrow Miriam gave him was enough. He knew they'd have a lot to discuss on the trip back to Merriweather.

Every time they interacted with Ellen, things just got more and more strange. They'd cleared the entire second floor once they figured out a good strategy for the centipedes, and that made for good filler experience. This left them free to map out the entirety of the floor… which they had done the previous trip down. They knew exactly where the boss room was, and Scout had evasively mentioned she learned everything she needed to learn as well.

With Fighter, they had someone aside from Edmund who could take a hit, and despite her lower level the redhead was just fine with stepping into the chamber first. When she motioned that it was clear for the moment, Edmund and the others slowly filed in. He stumbled and almost fell as he stepped inside the chamber, which had a noticeable rounded dip to make it vaguely egg-shaped.

"This is pretty strange," he muttered, easing his sword from the scabbard. He didn't see any enemies, only the opening that sloped downward to the next floor. The lack of enemies didn't surprise him, though. The centipedes tended to burst from the walls or other surroundings, and Edmund wouldn't be surprised if this did the same. What did surprise him was the round opening rippling and flowing like water at the edges the moment Vincent stepped through.

The rock sealed itself shut, smoothing over as if the entrance had never been there. Vincent leapt forward as it did this, sliding down the slight slope to join Edmund and Miriam, with Fighter Ellen just ahead of them.

"TRAP ROOM!" Edmund yelled. It was a giant centipede for the boss. That's what burst from the upper side of the egg-shaped room, launching toward Fighter Ellen as usual. The girl was great bait, but the problem with the monsters taking that bait was that she was always ready for it. She'd already rolled out of the way, letting the centipede's mandibles pass her by without even coming close.

Edmund noticed that the monster didn't "burrow" so much as it passed through the stone like water, leaving a slight ripple behind but no actual hole. He didn't have much chance to think about it, because he was already dashing forward as the monster dove through the floor, its tail revealing two sharp pincers as it passed by Ellen. Fighter Ellen had her spear up to block even before Edmund could shout a warning, and the tail connected with a loud clack against the hardened wood.

He saw a flare of light, and then spots erupted in his vision with the sound of an explosion, barely able to make out Fighter being flung across the room. He put an extra surge of Stamina into his Deadly Slash Ability in that moment, and felt it bite into the centipede's body with surprising ease. Ichor sprayed outward as his swing cleaved through completely, slicing the giant monster in half at the midsection. It was startlingly easy. Then he understood why it was easy.

The front half of the centipede vanished into the stone, but not before he saw a replacement tail growing out of it. The back half flipped and writhed for a moment before a new head, barely visible in his spotty vision, burst from the bleeding body and curled down to burrow into the stone as well.

"Don't cut it!" Miriam yelled out.

"I figured that out!" Edmund shouted back, stumbling away with his eyes tearing up and blurring. How does anyone fight an enemy that can split when you kill it? Vincent grabbed hold of Edmund and whispered, and the Dazzled condition faded, giving Edmund a precious few moments of clarity. Miriam launched three balls of light in a triangular pattern up above, illuminating the room more clearly to prevent any further surprise attacks.

Fighter Ellen had already tossed aside her broken spear, the haft shattered, and drawn a long knife as her backup. As usual, the next attack went for her as well, and despite the warning she ducked low under the centipede's lunge at her head and split it in half. The two halves went different directions, one burrowing once more while the other snapped right for Edmund.

With a curse, Edmund brought his sword down and managed to sever a mandible while parrying the lunge, hurling the much shorter centipede to the side. The other mandible scored along his bracer, barely missing the elbow joint and nicking it to bring a line of fire to his senses from the poisoned cut. He used Basic Footwork to scramble backward, his sweat from so many Abilities used in a row now matting his brow and trickling down his nose and cheek. Heavy breaths panted for air while he looked about…

only to find that Fighter Ellen had, in fact, killed the largest remaining one, her knife embedded hilt-deep in its eye. As she struggled to yank the blade free, Ellen was forced to throw herself to the ground, grunting and rolling. Edmund saw blood smearing along the ground as the girl rolled, the two remaining centipedes both bursting from the walls to intersect where she once was." Greater Fire Burst!"

With the scent of scorched insect, Miriam's desperate attack caught both of the centipedes, incinerating their heads to leave the burnt husks tumbling to the ground. Destroying the heads seemed to have done it… making it a winnable fight. EXPERIENCE AWARDED: Defeated a threat For defeating a [Giant Greylan Splittepede], you have gained 42, 000 Experience. An additional bonus of 42, 000 Experience has been applied from the dungeon aura. FIRST TIME AWARD: Killed a Greylan Splittepede.

For performing this activity for the first time, you have gained 40, 000 Experience. That would be more than enough for Ellen to go up a Level, he knew. More importantly… he was now only a few thousand from his own Level 20. They'd done it. Edmund slumped to the ground, exhausted.