Chapter 200:After birthday (1)

Chapter 200: 200:After birthday (1)

Quietly putting Erin to bed. Raymond watched over her a bit longer, making sure she was actually sleeping this time instead if pretending.

Once he had confirmed that, he quietly left the room again. Seeing Ellen seated in the living room. The few faint silver rays of light Illuminating her.

"Yesterday was certainly something wasn’t it?"

"It really was, I don’t think I’ll forget it as long as I live."

It was extremely early in the day, early enough that the sun hadn’t even risen yet.

He sat down next to her, unsurprised as he felt her slowly rest her head onto his shoulder.

The two of them sat like that for a while. Simply soaking in each others presence.

After a couple more minutes, he told her. "I have a gift for you."

It was a gift that he had been preparing for a while actually. With the help of his female clone.

He quietly pulled out an elegant velvet box from one of his storage dimensions. Handing it to Ellen, who had remained quiet the whole time.

Opening it up, she found a small ring. Resembling the branches of a tree, made out of countless gold threads interlocking and weaving together. Even with her naked eye, she could see just how insanely detailed and impressive the craftsmanship that was required to make this ring.

Engravings pulsed in an amber light, a color that she recognized clearly.

"This is..."

"It’s a artifact ring. It syncs with your attunement and resonates with it as long as it’s powered. Enhancing your attacks. I also made it as inconspicuous as I could so it’s extremely hard to detect. "

This was definitely one of the hardest things Raymond had ever made in his life. With his current weakened state, it was only just barely possible thanks to the help of his possibility clone and his past experience with creating his own staff.

He asked her, "D-do you like it?"

She lifted her head off of him, turning to him and tenderly placing her arms around him.

"I love it."

"...I’m glad."

***

Later that day...

"Hey Ellen...where exactly are you taking me?"

"Just follow."

Raymond kept his mouth quiet. Still, even as he was dragged by her. His eyes were kept firmly on her hold on him.

In her excitement to show him whatever it was. She didn’t even seem to notice or care about the fact that well...she was holding his hand. Raymond could even feel the mana from the ring he had created. Her other hand holding a wrapped box.

"C-can you at least me go first?"

"No."

She shut him down completely, seemingly not noticing as a faint blush spread on Raymond’s face.

Of course her reason for doing so was in order to make sure Raymond couldn’t run away. But for Raymond who was completely unaware of where he was currently being dragged to. All he could think about was her soft, delicate hand holding his firmly. Squeezing tightly in order to make sure he didn’t let go accidentally. His blood rushing through his body as he struggled to keep himself in check.

Truly a mystery how the standards for what would make him embarrassed was always changing.

Before long, with Ellen continuing to drag Raymond behind her. The two of them finally reached their destination. A location that Raymond recognized very well.

"...isn’t this my training room?"

"Yes."

He asked just to be sure he wasn’t remembering incorrectly, receiving a positive reply.

Instantly panic set in. Every past thought immediately being thrown out the window.

His clone was still in there!

"Why did you drag me here? There’s nothing in there after all!"

As he said this, he tried desperately to escape her hold. Leaning backwards and even pulling with his other hand, with his feet planted firmly into the ground. He exerted every muscle in his body as he tried to escape her suddenly iron-like grip.

It was important to note that Raymond was actually considered very strong for a mage thanks to his race as Perfect Human. He had the strength comparable to a normal E-rank warrior after undergoing their first tempering. Plus the fact he was an entire level above Ellen should have made him at least able to resist her even if barely.

Compared to Ellen however, the current force he was exhibiting was probably the same as what she felt from Erin. When they were play fighting. Setting aside her regression, she was still a monstrous genius in the world of Terra. Within the same rank, there was no one else that could compare to her in terms of pure strength. Cador might be able to, but that was kind of cheating since he wasn’t exactly human.

In her eyes, his struggle was basically nothing.

She smiled, "What’s wrong? I thought there was nothing in there~?"

"Haha. I think I forgot something at home. Let me just go get it real quick!"

This demon!

Try as he might, her body didn’t even budge in the slightest.

Her grin only seemed to widen at his struggle, "I think you also forgot something inside though? Why don’t we go look for it right now?"

It’s over...

Raymond could already tell by that devilish grin. She already knew, she was just playing with him.

To think he had been such a fool, getting embarrassed about her holding his hand. When really, there was a much bigger problem coming up! He had been focused on the tree that he didn’t even notice the forest was on fire!

He sighed, ceasing his useless struggle. "How long have you known?"

"A while. Let’s go inside first shall we?"

Normally if Ellen tried to walk here, it would have already triggered the alarms to the clone inside and she would get the signal to hide or run. But clearly she had already seen through it, or maybe her footsteps were very conveniently dodging every single trip.

"I’m back~!"

Inside, quietly sipping a cup of coffee and scrolling through her phone. Raelynn felt a shiver run down her spine at the entrance. Turning her head only to immediately see Ellen, followed by the original. One with an excited expression and one with a bitter expression.

Within seconds, the two of them found themselves kneeling on the ground before her. While she sat on his chair like a throne.

"Wow. This is even better then I imagined. Raymond, are you sure you won’t consider becoming like her?"

"Never."

"Are you sure? Your clone seems quite willing. It is you after all~"

Raymond had never been more sure of anything else in his entire life.

"You look so cute as a girl though...I’m really sad you know? How could you have hidden this from me?"

The two of them dug their palms into their body. This current embarrassment was the exact reason why they didn’t want to reveal this to her in the first place!

"Can I take a picture? Honestly I’ve got a whole makeover planned for you already Raelynn, do you want a more cutesy look or a more cold intimidating look?"

"...first of all why is her name Raelynn, and secondly. What is wrong with you?"

Raymond raised an eyebrow at the name. Something he was very sure was granted to his clone without her permission.

"I’ll start with the hair. You can’t just have hair like that and do nothing with it."

She gave her the flattest stare that she could muster, "I’d rather fight Zachary a hundred times over."

"Cute outfits? I think you would look great in a skirt."

"Absolutely not."

"Matching accessories..."

"No."

Despite Raelynn’s disapproval, Ellen continued anyways.

The two of them looked at each other, naturally since they were each other. Just a simple glance was enough to communicate.

’Escape?’

’Not worth it.’

’I see...then we die together.’

’That’s only you. I won’t exist by next year.’

Her voice interrupted the eye to eye mental conversation, "Why so quiet all of a sudden? I was only joking you know."

She said she was joking, but given the way that she stared at Raelynn. Even Raymond was starting to feel bad for her. Because those were definitely not the eyes of someone joking about cute outfits and matching accessories.

"...I’m contemplating ending my existence."

"Your existence already ends soon. At least endure this with me together."

Ellen raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean her existence is going to end soon?"

Raymond struggled to explain it to her, "Well. She’s a clone from a future possibility. If the cannon event that caused her timeline doesn’t happen, then the timeline disappears and she stops existing."

"You’re telling me I can’t see this ever again?!"

While saying that, Ellen casually pet and prodded Raelynn. Who had a completely still reaction the whole time.

"Isn’t there a way you could make her stay? Our group has so little girls..."

Their group (if you included Cador who was a wolf) literally had a perfect gender split but whatever.

"I mean. There’s not really a point in doing so."

"Exactly. My existence is meaningless."

The conversation suddenly spiraled into a very pessimistic rabbit hole.

"I’m only here because original is too lazy anyways."

"You’re only here because I created you."

"Did I ask to be created?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Now normally, Raymond got along very well with his clones. Whether it was true clones or possibilities, they were all Raymond. They understood themselves and each other very well. None of that, clone trying to kill and take over as the original nonsense. Except for some possibilities but those were rare.

The fact that they started arguing now was a sign of Ellen’s influence at work. Unintentional or not.

"It’s just a few spells what’s so hard about that?"

"Then do it yourself!"

"You’re from the future! You’ve recovered more anyways!"

Ellen stuck her hands out, preventing the two from lunging at each other and wrestling on the ground. Another unfortunate sign of Ellen’s insidious influence at work. As a sane and sensible person, Raymond always talked through issues with his clones after all.

"Calm down you two, I came here in order to give you two your gifts anyways. No fighting. "

"Gifts?"

She clarified, "For your birthday."

"I’m not even a real person. Just give it to the original."

She wagged her finger, "Now don’t be like that. You two already made me this ring didn’t you?"

"That’s to make up for last year. "

"Exactly, so consider these your make up for last year as well then."

Both Raymond and Raelynn turned to each other, skeptical looks in their eyes.

Even Ellen felt a bit wronged at this, sure she may have done...a few things to Raymond purely out of entertainment. But she really had to put in a lot of effort for this one!

"How sad our life is...if we had recovered more of our strength we could probably escape."

Raymond sniffed a tear, the fakeness deeply appalling.

"Isn’t Raelynn already stronger then you? You can create a clone that’s stronger then you already. Why can’t you just like...transform your self into the clone or something?"

"Well..."

Both Raymond and Raelynn paused, slowly mulling it over in their heads.

Wait a minute.

A spell that let Raymond transform into his possibilities?

Normally Raymond doubted he would ever need a spell like that. After all, he already had the superior version known as Borrow Future Strength. He didn’t need a spell that let him directly borrow the strength from his possibility clones.

But with his current weakened state, and the fact his old skills were all still unavailable to him. This idea was suddenly gaining a lot of merit.

The main problem was that possibility clones, and just utilizing the possibility futures in the first place was down right unreliable. The infinite nature of the future made them varied to the point that luck determined the outcome. He could summon possibility clones he had already summoned in the past. But the fact that after enough time passed, they would be unable to be summoned again made it a hassle.

"That way I get to keep her, and you get to be stronger. A win-win for all of us!"

At this point, she wasn’t even thinking of Raelynn as a person anymore. Her mind was already churning out several fun ideas, ideas that would make her shiver once she heard them.

Rarlynn felt herself get broken out of the state of inspiration. Feeling a shiver go down her spine.

’Wait a second, if we really do create that spell. That means I would basically have to continue living even after my cannon event passed and hasn’t occurred...’

She couldn’t help but feel that Ellen’s eyes suddenly seemed to become a lot more scary. Her past threats resurfacing in her memory.

’Cute outfits...matching accessories...’

"No...!"