I Built This City Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Read chapter 69 of I Built This City by ThePudding on NovelPedia.

Edmund Briar When Edmund had offered to let Ellen join the group way back when she was only Level 6, he had been honest about trying to help her get her Level up. As much as Miriam tended to scold him for it, his reason for asking her wasn't entirely because she was cute. He knew she was a bit young for him, so it hadn't been a serious consideration. Something about the way she had walked into the guild had made him think that she had potential, and they really had needed a fourth member of the party. He had not expected her to get so competitive by the end of winter. She wasn't on the level of him or the others yet, and had quite a way to go before she would be. Yet she knew the dungeon so well that the gap in their skills was much less apparent than it might have been otherwise. She moved with stealth and efficiency that wasn't just potential, but actual demonstrated talent. It was also completely different from when they had brought her along last time. He could see some of the similarities in how she moved, but there were so many differences as well. Not only was Ellen more confident, but she was also using a completely different style of fighting and exploration. It matched what she had said about her Class, but hearing her say it and seeing it in action were two different things. Edmund was pretty sure that the group as they were could at least explore a little of the second floor, but he also knew better than to try to argue with Ellen. She didn't want to do it, and her sister or clone or whatever they were probably wouldn't appreciate it if he tried to pressure her. There was always tomorrow. “We don't mind working with you,” Ellen said suddenly as they exited the dungeon. “You really should find a fourth member anyway. There's no single one of us that will want to split off and work exclusively with you. You helped us out though, so if you ever need a backup or to know something about the dungeon, just ask.” “Have you learned a lot about the dungeon?” Miriam asked curiously. An unlucky swipe from the floor boss had nicked her arm, and she was still nursing it at her side even after Vincent had healed it. It would be sore for a few hours, but fine by tomorrow. Ellen shrugged. “More than most. One of us is even a Scholar -derivative that specialized in dungeons. We know more about this dungeon than most. You helped us out, we remember. Well, most of us.” Edmund noticed she’d shifted to a plural speech again. She kept doing that, and it was a little weird, but she didn’t seem to notice. The whole clones thing was more Miriam’s field than his. The fact that each of them chose a different specialization was pretty odd to him. If he had another Edmund, he’d just be two Swordsman -Class adventurers. Probably. “Huh, where are your friends?” Edmund blinked as they stepped out to see the half-finished building near the entrance, but nobody working on it. He’d been looking forward to seeing the group of redheads at work, just for the novelty. Ellen—or Scout, Edmund reminded himself—shrugged lightly. “The other group will be here soon. Merchant is probably going to Merriweather soon, as well. So there should only be one Ellen… Village Ellen. The rest of us should stay hidden while adventurers are exploring the dungeon. At least until we reveal there are many of us, but we don’t know when that will be.” Miriam scowled, but she stepped forward to clear her throat to get Scout’s attention. “You should know that a lot of people know that a redheaded girl named Ellen owns the dungeon,” she warned. “That could attract the wrong kind of attention. Some people will doubtless try to manipulate you… or I guess Merchant into gaining leverage, maybe even blackmail or something.” “We know,” Scout sighed, waving a hand. “Even before winter set in, a few arrived. Village Ellen tells us about suspicious people all the time. We didn’t think keeping it a secret was a good idea… the dungeon is growing fast, it could have a dungeon break. Even the f