I Built This City Chapter 76: Chapter 76

Read chapter 76 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

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 abov