Chapter 11

Chapter 11

There were five of me now because, in the chaos of everything, Id done my math wrong. The realization had come to me, not because of a careful re-reading of [Never Alone], but from an attempt to clone myself further.

Skill: [Never Alone]

Even working alone, it never hurts to have another set of eyes. Better yet when theyre yours. You are able to replicate yourself to a certain degree and capacity.

- Max Copies: (WIS + WIL + CHA) / 10

- Copies have halved STR, CON, DEX, and AGI.

- All other attributes are retained.

The math amounted to four copies. Id been including my original self in that total but I wasnt a copy. That meant there was room for another. But, the monikers had begun to confuse me. Referring to myself, internally, as First was what had led to the initial misunderstanding.

I took my original self out of the system. So that there were only the four copiesthe clones. First, Second, Third, Fourth and, of course, Evahn himselfme.

I questioned something, though. I had tried, hadnt I? To clone myself again, before I knew the limit.

I remembered it clearly, after creating Third, I had asked myself to do it again. I wasnt able to. Had I really been ignorant as to not try again? All that time? Was there a limitation on the number I could create at once?

You couldve had an extra set of hands that entire time, First said to me. You couldve saved him.

[Notice]: You have leveled up: Level 9.

Nothing accompanied the message. It felt empty. I wasnt deserving of anything but that. This new circumstance was twisting who I was and there was nothing I could do to combat it. What part of me remained, which part twisted, and what was lost?

I couldnt say.

I found signs of survivors on the second day of traveling. I was moving faster than them, I knew. It only made sense given my ability to coordinate information and terrain. It was the remains of a camp, a fire had been burning between crevasse of the large roots too thick and wet to catch fire themselves.

There were muddy prints on the ground I recognized as shoes. That simple sight allowed hope to blossom again. People were alive, just like me. That thought alone comforted me but I prepared for the worst.

This apocalypse had changed me, brought out the worst in me, I hesitated to think what it might do to others. It chilled me.

On the third day, I managed to hunt a bird. The meat was enough to make my tongue water but I knew nothing of what was edible or not. I ripped the organs out, started a fire, and experienced the delicacy through a clone.

Meat, I never thought I would miss it so much. My clone, identical to myself, felt no side effects. I turned to the branches above, the shore, with great interest, tracking the locations where Id seen those birds the most. It was no wonder the reptiles ate them so vigorously.

They were delicious.

I shared the bounty with my original self the next time and it was heaven. A small luxury eaten with berries and fruit, the meal was so simple yet so perfect.

On the fourth day, I found them. A campfire, around twenty people or so, and a handful of others watching the perimeter. A lot of people had that dead look in their eyes, staring at the fire. Everyone was muddy, wet, and looked miserable.

I almost went down in person. Instead, after a moments hesitation, a clone went down in my place.