Chương 91: (B2.27)

27) Hunter Ellen"How long do you plan on being gone?" Caleb asked, glancing at the sky. The drab grey of the clouds above threatened eventual rain, though the air didn't feel like an oncoming storm. The young hunter was just worried.

"Not sure, depends on how often we can hitch a ride. Maybe a month? Cobbler isn't really built for long walks any more, but she should still be in good shape I think," Ellen answered, looking over to her other self. The quieter Ellen was still finishing up her packing, ignoring the many glances that the adventurers gathered nearby were giving her. Caleb scratched the back of his head and nodded.

"Well… just try to be careful. You saved my life, and I'd like the same you coming back." Ellen smiled lightly.

"I'll do my best. Thanks, Caleb." The young hunter had been very happy to learn that his savior was sort of still alive, and made sure to greet Ellen every time she was in the village. Unlike Jack, his gratitude was simple and genuine, rather than mixed in with a crush. Either that, or he was hiding his crush well. Which was kind of a pity. Caleb was much more Ellen's type than Jack was. Not that she was on the market for any such thing…

Ellen was pretty sure she wouldn't do well living with anyone but another Ellen, and even that was just tolerable instead of annoying. Either she just thought differently from people who married, or she just hadn't found "the one" yet. Then again, Village Ellen reveled in being around people, so maybe the solitude problem was unique to being the Hunter Ellen.

"I'm ready!" Cobbler called at last. She shouldered her pack, handling it with surprising ease for a girl who mostly stayed indoors. It was loaded up heavily, since she was carrying the tent and many of the other camping supplies. Ellen's own pack wasn't small, but she kept it lighter despite her greater fitness. If they ran into trouble on the road, she wanted to be able to move quickly. The trip to Merriweather had always been uneventful before this, but merchants kept guards for a reason.

Normally she wouldn't even risk it, but she'd just hit Level 13, and her new Ability gave her a lot more confidence. A chorus of farewells sounded from the village, and Ellen turned to give a wave back. She liked her solitude, but she didn't hate people… she could understand why Village loved the place. She'd hurry back. Just one day. The trip to Merriweather was usually two days or so on foot, so Ellen knew they'd have to spend the night.

She had expected to have some trouble on the trip if they didn't find a caravan to travel with, but not until they'd passed Merriweather. The plan had been to go to the city and meet up with the new Ellens, Stage and Whisper, to arrange for a caravan toward the capital. It was the safest way to travel even if it was slower than the two of them just striking out on their own. Unfortunately, Ellen's Awareness Perk didn't explicitly say there was or was not an ambush up ahead, only that it was more likely.

It readily identified places that were good for it, like the gentle bend in the wooded road, but that was pretty normal. It also let her notice the lack of birds up ahead, but that could have been for a number of reasons. That's one reason why Awareness was never a sure thing to prevent an ambush. It was a good thing that Ellen hadn't taken the spell package in her Ability choices.

She'd been offered a bundle of druid-like spells from her Landkeeper Class, which explained why it needed Mana Manipulation as a prerequisite. She'd been tempted, but the way she preferred to work, Ellen instead chose another Ability. Abilities were more powerful and intricate than spells, but since she'd have gotten four instead of one, she'd almost chosen the spells. The Ability was just too good to pass up, however.

ABILITY: Commune with Land Cost: 20 Mana + 12 Mana per minute Effect: Interrogates the mana of the immediate area, the size of which is dependent upon the user's Affinity Attribute. Provides awareness of the presence of animals and plants and their type, along with their approximate locations. Identification of animals and plants, and how long the Ability must be maintained to identify them, varies dependent upon the user's own knowledge of the local flora and fauna.

It also gives a general idea of the terrain in the area, with longer observation further increasing clarity. As usual, the description of the Ability was a little more vague than she'd like, but Scholar Ellen had gathered that these strange Perks and Abilities had never been claimed before, or claimed so rarely that they had few users. She had put forth the idea that the more users an Ability had, the more refined its description would be. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform.

Support original creators! Ellen didn't care about that, though. All she cared about was getting Cobbler to walk along the road far enough to trigger the ambush. Her other self was already nearly around the bend, and Ellen still hadn't caught sight of the two humans flanking the road. She was running out of time. Unlike the other Ellens, she'd become much more cautious. Every time her Awareness warned her of a possible problem, she'd triggered Commune and held it for a minute or two while walking.

This was the third time she'd spotted a possible ambush, but it was the first time her Ability had picked up humans. Three on the road, and two more flanking on one side of the road, leaving the other open to retreat by any merchants they stopped. A retreat that would send those fleeing into rough, increasingly marshy terrain—ideal to be picked off. She paused. Cobbler was nearly within speaking distance to the trio on the road, but Ellen had finally spotted the archers. Both of them were close together…

which wasn't ideal for her. Their attention was on the road, ready to support the three bandits waiting there, but they were near enough to one another that the moment one was injured or fell to the ground, the other would notice something was wrong. Ellen didn't like it, but she'd have to take a risk. She nocked an arrow and took aim.

More experienced archer-based Classes would eventually gain Abilities that let them take down multiple targets with ease, but Ellen doubted she'd get those any time before Tier 4, at best. A dedicated Archer might get them earlier, but not her. The only lucky break she saw was that these bandits were clearly not that much higher Level than her. They might still be Tier 2 like her. A quick draw and release sent the arrow hissing toward her target.

She didn't need to kill him, but she went for the kill shot anyway, at least for this first one. Long practice hunting deer paid off in her first human target, as the arrowhead punctured the back of the neck and erupted from the throat. Aside from a faint gurgle, the man made no other reaction… she must have gotten an instant kill. The man's partner a few yards away heard the body hit the ground, jerking his head around.

The spring foliage wasn't thick yet, but it still obscured Ellen enough that she was able to draw a second shot, more hurried than the first. The bandit barely saw her in time to jerk back, so her shot nearly missed. The arrow lodged deep into his shoulder instead of a more lethal hit, prompting a cry of pain from the archer. He dropped his bow, fumbling for the knife at his side with his good arm. A moment later, he froze and lifted the arm, finally spotting Ellen.

She was nearly ten yards away, and armed with a bow, uphill from where he crouched. Going from a crouch to a run and closing the distance to attack while wounded would be a death sentence, and he knew it. Reluctantly, the man sat down and tucked his arms behind his head. Cobbler Ellen Ellen wasn't thrilled about being bait, but she trusted Hunter. Of all of the Ellens, Hunter and Village were the ones she trusted the most… they just felt like Ellen to her.

So different from one another, yet somehow more true to Ellen than even herself. She was pretty sure she'd never have gotten so into boots and shoes if she hadn't been given the freedom to just do whatever she wanted. Of course, both relied on shoes, which made Ellen the most important Ellen, in her opinion. Just not the one closest to the original. More Ellens should be grounded in what was really important instead of chasing these weird Classes.

The world already had plenty of ways for people to expand beyond their Class.

"That'll be far enough!" a voice called out as Ellen rounded the bend. She'd expected this, so she stopped and slid her pack off her shoulders with a sigh of relief. She wasn't having trouble keeping the pace, but the heavy pack was still nice to set down for a while. Hopefully these bandits wouldn't be stupid and she could actually take this opportunity to rest.

"Hello there!" she called out, her eyes darting to the three figures. Just as Hunter had warned her about. Three rough-looking men, haphazardly shaven and shabbily dressed stood in the road ahead. Two of them were just large and unarmed, though she saw knives at their belts. Regular hunting and utility knives, that's all they were, but not something to discount. The leader of the three was marginally more prepared for violence.

He wore a leather breastplate matched with bracers, but they were in poor condition, and he had no leg armor at all. Ellen's brief time as an adventurer—or rather, the original Ellen's memories of such—allowed her to quickly identify the short sword at the man's side as a decently-made weapon that was probably in bad condition, but one never knew. His boots were almost worn through and clearly needed a few patches and probably new soles, but Ellen wasn't going to offer that service.

Such bad bootkeeping is what told her his weapons were likely in no better condition. Before the leader could continue with his threats, a loud scream echoed from the side of the road, causing all three of the men to pause and glance toward the forest. It had been a man's scream, Ellen noted. She knew she could count on Hunter.

"Did you need something?" she called out.

"It sounds like your friends in the forest met my sister. She's a hunter, you know. I'm no expert, but being downhill from an archer sounds like a bad place to be, right? It's my sister who does all that fighting stuff." The leader and his two men all three glanced toward the forest again, but before they could say anything, a weak voice called out, "She got Tal, boss. And I'm hurt!" Ellen winced.

Her other selves—some of them—had made peace with the fact that they'd have to kill humans from time to time, but she'd hoped being a normal craftsperson she'd avoid dealing with it. The world just didn't want her to live a normal life, did it? She drew her knife, holding it like she'd been trained back when she'd wanted to be an adventurer.

"If you'll just step aside and let us pass, we'll call it here," she offered.

"Nobody wants more blood on their hands if they can help it, right?" Bandits didn't actually want to fight. It was dangerous and risky, which is why they relied on positioning and intimidation so much. Even if bandits didn't want to fight, a typical merchant wanted one less, especially when at a disadvantage like this. The tables were turned thanks to the coverage Hunter offered, that's all. The leader sighed and motioned for his men to step aside. Ellen smiled. For now, she'd avoided a fight.

Hopefully her luck would hold all the way home.