I Built This City Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Read chapter 13 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Hunter Ellen At first, she’d almost missed it. Her Awareness Perk was far from perfect, and could pass things by if they were unremarkable enough. Ever since the mine, Ellen had tried to be more attentive without relying on the System, and here it had paid off. The brush was different, as if it had recently died, which is what prompted her investigation. “Another hole in the mountain? Is this an older mine?” Builder Ellen’s nervousness showed in her voice quavering near the end. She didn’t remember her previous self’s death—much like none of them ever remembered their last moments—but rushing into another mine had definitely given her mind some worries. Ellen shook her head. “No, and you shouldn’t come in here at all. It’s much more dangerous than the mine. You can take a step just inside if you want, or just stay out here. Adventurer Ellen should take a peek though.” The Ellen in question was leaning on the spear haft, looking doubtfully at the opening. Ellen didn’t blame her… it looked pretty mundane. A roughly human-sized opening, slightly taller than it was wide, which led into the mountain. The edges were fresh and rocky, as if the dirt had slid away or been torn off, exposing oddly smooth stone. The only hint that something was amiss was in the unnatural lack of tracks or disturbances at the entrance. None of them had Tracking , but even Adventurer Ellen noticed that after a few seconds of staring at the yawning mouth. Her eyes opened wider as the likely explanation dawned on her. “Are you serious?” The adventurer asked that in a hushed tone, almost giddy with excitement. “Take a step in and find out.” Ellen just had to grin back at her, while Builder Ellen continued to look bewildered. Eagerly, Adventurer Ellen hurried in, and Ellen had to step in behind her and grab her arm. “Woah! Don’t go too far, we should be careful! At least light your lantern!” As soon as she passed the threshold, she was greeted by the same message she’d seen earlier—the one that made Adventurer Ellen so excited. SYSTEM NOTICE You have entered [UNNAMED DUNGEON] . Reluctantly, Adventurer Ellen not only stopped, but backed up several steps to take a deep breath. By now, Builder Ellen had figured it out, and clasped her hands together under her face, which held a wide-eyed look of shock. “A dungeon? Here? And nobody knows about it?” The artisan bit her lip, then tucked a finger up to gnaw on her knuckle. Did they all still do that? Ellen had thought she’d kicked that habit years ago. “Pretty sure it’s new,” Ellen answered with a shrug. “It isn’t even named yet. I haven’t gone very far in since I didn’t have a torch or anything, but you do know what this means, right?” Adventurer Ellen clapped her hands together loudly. “I sure do! We can go on adventures right here without finding a new place to stay!” Ellen sighed and opened her mouth to explain, but Adventurer Ellen wasn’t done yet. “Also, just reporting a new dungeon is a huge reward! Who needs a tiny handful of marks when you can have crowns? This is worth more than months or even years of Bronze and Iron Tier jobs!” “Exactly.” Ellen nodded firmly, and she saw Builder Ellen was fanning herself and daydreaming… probably about actual crafting tools. “Don’t spend it all in your head, we need a lot of things here.“ Adventurer Ellen was undeterred, staring into the dark void of the mountain. “Do you think what Uncle Anroll said was true? That they haven’t had any new dungeons for thirty years?” “I mean… he may have been exaggerating, but you’re close enough to me to know my answer to that.” Ellen stifled her annoyance at that. It was true that the various Ellens had diverged a little, but they were just pursuing interests and hobbies now that they could distribute them. They were still fundamentally the same person, with the same history and loyalties. Probably. Adventurer Ellen was already trying to light a spark for the tinderbox so she could get her lantern lit. Builder Ellen naturally noticed t