Chương 98: (B2.34)

34) Stage Ellen Ellen wasn't sure what this new "dungeon" Ellen would do once her secret was laid out like that. For that matter, she was still trying to figure out why Whisper hadn't just played along and revealed it in private, instead of laying the fact out there right away. Machinations like that were her job, so Ellen figured she had some reason for the reveal. Would the dungeon run away? Fight? Vanish in a puff of mana?

A dungeon-born creation outside of the dungeon rarely lasted very long unless something stabilized it… and she'd never heard of an intelligent one leaving the dungeon short of a dungeon break. Since a dungeon break would have created a national emergency, she was pretty sure that hadn't happened. And Dungeon Ellen—as Ellen decided to call her—did none of those things.

"Ahahaha!" The dungeon girl laughed, rubbing the back of her head. Her spear vanished into motes of mana that sank into her body, and she gave a curious smile to the three people before her.

"Yeah, you got me. I thought it'd be at least a few hours before I was caught! I guess that shows how little I still know! What gave me away? I'm not really the dungeon, but I was made by it."

"You're wearing what the first Adventurer wore when they died," Whisper said with arms crossed.

"And you've been wandering around for a while, but you revealed yourself now. Why?" Anroll had looked ready to argue, at first, but when Dungeon had readily revealed she was who Whisper claimed, he'd shut his mouth and grasped his spear. He didn't say anything, he only glanced between the three girls that looked like his niece, watching things play out. For the moment. Ellen scratched her head.

"If you're not really the dungeon… what are you? A rogue monster? Why are you following us?" She belatedly realized she'd just repeated Whisper's question, but that couldn't be helped. Ellen was still trying to catch up.

"Why don't we walk as we talk? I'm pretty eager to get back to the village or whatever it is," Dungeon explained quickly.

"There's a lot of stuff I don't know, either. I'm not the dungeon, but I was born from it and yeah, I'm kind of a rogue monster I guess? You'll have to tell me, I don't know what I am and I don't know all the stuff you know." Anroll cleared his throat.

"I'll keep an eye on her, but we really shouldn't stand in the middle of the road while talking. Let's get going and maybe you can explain all this in a way I can understand. You girls have been doing things so quickly I can't keep up." Dungeon seemed willing to go along with this compromise, walking forward past Anroll so he could keep an eye on her. He turned and kept his attention on the new girl, while Whisper trailed after him. It was a safe enough formation.

Ellen hurried to catch up and walk next to Whisper, where she belonged. The weight of her knives felt comfortable in her tunic and at her belt. And in her boots. And at her sleeves. Really, Ellen just felt better having lots of knives on her person these days. No more assassinations under her watch!

"Were you the one who hired the people to kill us?" Whisper asked immediately.

"I didn't know a dungeon knew how to do any of that stuff. I guess they really are smart." The smile on Dungeon's face faltered into a grimace, but she quickly recovered.

"Ehhh… I'm not sure I'd call it smart. It thinks and plans but it does it much differently than you or I. I'm basically human in how I think, now… I'm not sure why, but I think I picked up the personality of you Greylans? Or Ellens as you call yourselves? It's my first time having a personality, it's a little new to me."

"How does that even work?" Anroll asked.

"How did you manage to get my niece's personality in the first place? Where did you get it from?" Dungeon turned around and walked backwards, allowing her to shrug and spread her hands.

"Don't ask me. I don't mind sharing what I know, but I know less than you think. If you're hoping to have a big insight into the dungeon, you're probably going to be disappointed." She tapped her temple with a finger.

"I only remember small bits and pieces from when I worked for Greylan's Legacy." Ellen noticed that Dungeon Ellen had no trouble keeping pace with the group even while walking backwards. She frowned, remembering how the girl had not been out of breath after catching up to them. The obvious conclusion was that she wasn't like them… either higher in Level, or something else.

"You aren't human, are you?" Whisper asked before Ellen could form the question.

"I mean, not even talking about your origins, you're not really the same as us even if you do talk like us." If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Another shrug, and Dungeon Ellen turned around to walk forward again.

"Probably not. I've never been human, so I don't know what it's like. I do know I don't want to die, and I think the best way to do that is to stop hurting people? I'm pretty sure I could survive a long time if I killed one or two of you, but I'd probably end up working for the dungeon again if I did that."

"Back up a little in the conversation," Anroll grunted.

"I'm still trying to figure something out. You're… a dungeon monster that isn't part of a break, but could leave the dungeon? So you went rogue, I get it, but why do you look like Ellen? Why make an Ellen in the dungeon, and why did you go rogue?"

"So many questions!" Dungeon laughed.

"I don't know everything, I just said! But you have this weird idea of how things worked. I was created to leave the dungeon." She spun around, walking backwards again.

"That's really hard. It takes a lot of Dungeon Points, but every time a Greylan dies near the dungeon, it gets a lot of free points." She frowned and pointed at Whisper.

"I mean when an Ellen dies. I guess you're a Greylan too, sir." Her finger shifted to point to Anroll.

"But the dungeon calls the Ellens by the name Greylans." Dungeon gestured to herself then.

"It doesn't think much like I do now, so it's hard to remember the details. The big thing is I'm here because I was supposed to be its scout outside, and to do stuff to make it stronger. Like making sure Ellens died." Ellen glanced to the side toward Whisper, meeting her sister-self's eyes. Whisper just shrugged and gestured for Ellen to keep looking forward. Anroll was keeping his own attention on Dungeon Ellen, who didn't stop talking.

"It had a lot of extra power that it needed to spend or it would lose, so here I am," Dungeon continued.

"I remember that much. And that I went to Merriweather to do this. That's where I learned how to think like a human, I… think. It's a little murky."

"Wait," Anroll held up a hand.

"So you don't remember it but that's how you learned how to be human? What were you at the time? Did you look like this? Why involve the Theocracy?" With a heavy sigh, Dungeon shook her head.

"I don't know. Look, I'm not even sure what the dungeon knows, I just know it's dangerous… a lot more dangerous than you all think. It's hiding how dangerous it is because it knows things are going to get bad. Figuring out a way to stop it is one of the reasons I want to be with you."

"What are the others?" Ellen asked immediately, her knives itching. She wasn't sure how she could feel her knives itching, but that's what it felt like to her. Dungeon held up a hand with two fingers on it.

"For one thing I am still pretty confused about how humans act. I just know a lot of stuff but I think some of it isn't right. Since I look like you, I'd get caught right away in Merriweather I bet. But up near the dungeon, there are a lot of Ellens, and everyone expects a lot of Ellens! One more acting a little weird is probably not a surprise?"

"Makes sense," Anroll grunted, still gripping his spear tightly. For now, Dungeon was giving information, but Ellen had no doubt Anroll would kill her if she got dangerous.

"The other reason is mana," Dungeon continued.

"Being a rogue dungeon monster needs mana. Being one that is human needs a lot more. There's a lot more mana near the dungeon, so I don't have to eat as often, and I can probably get what I need from the land. Probably. I think." Whisper nodded, rubbing her chin. Ellen let out a sigh of relief at seeing this… Whisper could figure it out. She was the smart one, maybe even smarter than Bookkeeper. Except really she was just as smart as any of them.

Ellen guessed Whisper just liked thinking more than most Ellens, so she got good at it. Anroll asked the obvious question, then.

"Do you have to kill people for mana?" Surprisingly, the girl stumbled before righting herself.

"What? No! I mean… I could I guess? I don't think it helps anything unless it's an Ellen, and that's only because they cause a mana surge. I can eat it from the air but that isn't enough. I'll just have get some from people and animals, but it doesn't hurt them. I think. I'm still pretty full from the dungeon shoving so much into me at once." Ellen frowned, "So you're the one who arranged for our death?" The question was a little delayed, she knew. This was all pretty strange even for her, after all.

It took a bit to process.

"Sort of?" Dungeon relaxed a little now that her moment of confusion had passed, her stiffened walk settling into an easy stride.

"I did it while I was under the dungeon's control. Now I'm not, and I can be my own monster. Except I'm basically you, or um, one of you, so maybe monster doesn't count. I don't have your memories but I do remember some of the things the dungeon sees, so… you know as well as I do how this works." These carefree answers made Ellen frown to herself. She resolved to keep a careful eye on this new Ellen, but she wasn't bloodthirsty and didn't want to just kill her.

Something about the whole situation made her skin crawl. It was weird to see someone that looked like her but wasn't an Ellen.

"So you're a special monster the dungeon created," Anroll muttered.

"And then after doing your job… you're now free of the dungeon? You're a rogue monster outside of the dungeon with an independent mind? The Academy would love to study you…" Whisper swatted at Anroll's side.

"She may not be an Ellen, but until she does something bad we shouldn't be thinking like that! They'd probably take her apart or something!" She frowned.

"Does something bad… again… I guess she did kill us."

"That wasn't really me!" Dungeon Ellen insisted.

"Look, I just want to live, I'll be quiet and help out around your town or whatever. Truce, okay? I've got a lot of basic ideas of how I'm supposed to act but there are still some things about you humans that confuse me. Like bathrooms. And what's this about an Academy?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Anroll reassured.

"The Academy is way back in the capital. They'll probably be interested in the dungeon but it's not like they'll have a major presence in the town." Ellen smiled.

"Yeah, just stick with us. You'll be fine!" Dungeon smiled back, glancing over her shoulder.

"Thanks, that's a relief." And thus the journey back to Onroc began.