Lord of Reclamation: I Can Unlock Abilities By Building Civilizations
Chapter 32: Clone Ability

Chapter 32: Clone Ability

Inside the house, Thane couldn’t care less about whatever noise Avril was making outside.

Right now, he was staring wide-eyed at the shadow on the ground.

Under the pale sunlight, Avril’s shadow slowly peeled away from the floor, rising like spilled ink and taking shape into a fuzzy human outline.

The dark shadow grew solid, copying Avril’s appearance down to the last detail.

Golden short hair, delicate features, a round face with that youthful glow, dusty clothes, fair skin that seemed to catch the light—even that tiny mole at the corner of her eye was perfectly replicated.

Within moments, another Avril stood before Thane, absolutely identical in every way.

The only difference showed when the shadow-Avril opened her eyes—there was something sly in her gaze that the real Avril didn’t have.

"Well, hello there, Baron Thane."

The new Avril smoothed down her clothes, gave a little curtsy, and bowed gracefully. "I’m Baron Avril’s sister, Vivian."

"You—!"

Thane looked back at Avril on the bed, his voice cracking with shock. "Shadow clone technique?!"

"Oh, I like that name!"

Avril beamed. "Baron Thane, mind if I borrow it?"

Really? Now you’re worried about what to call it?!

Thane stared at Avril, dropping his voice to a harsh whisper. "What in blazes are you?"

Not who—what.

"Hey now, Baron Thane, I’m human, not some thing like you’re making me out to be."

The shadow hopped up onto the table, crossing her legs and swinging them casually. "We’re witches. Those religious nuts also call folks like us ’daughters of misfortune.’ Ha! What a load of horseshit.

Who’s bringing misfortune to who, exactly?

Those bastards are the ones who got me killed twice. Twice!"

Thane looked between Vivian on the table and Avril on the bed. Despite looking exactly the same, they felt like completely different people.

He found it hard to believe Vivian, so he turned to Avril. She nodded.

"Yes, I’m a witch."

"Hold on just a minute."

Thane’s head was spinning.

"So you can split yourself into copies?"

Thane glanced at Avril—she still had her regular shadow beside her.

"How could I do that? I only get one, and only if I die first."

Before Avril could answer, Vivian cut her off.

"Don’t confuse him, Avril. Can you just speak with one body, please?"

Having two identical people chattering back and forth next to him was about to drive Thane out of his mind.

Avril nodded and reached toward Vivian on the table. The shadow-girl jumped down with an exasperated look.

"Just so we’re clear, she doesn’t control me. She’s the older sister, I’m the younger one. We’re not the same person!"

The moment Vivian finished speaking, she melted back into a black shadow and merged with Avril’s shadow, vanishing completely.

"What does she mean? Are there really two of you?"

"We share the same thoughts and feelings, but we have different personalities."

Avril’s brow furrowed slightly. "She insists she’s not me, but honestly? I think that’s just me talking.

I don’t really understand what’s happening either."

"Witch powers are something else entirely. Does this count as magic?" Thane let out a long breath.

Avril shook her head. "I couldn’t tell you if it’s magic or not. After mother died, I was all alone, and then Vivian just... started showing up.

I’ve never told a soul about this ability. You’re the second person to know."

"Who was the first?"

"Me."

Well, that made sense.

Thane steadied himself, gathered his scattered thoughts, and asked, "If you can only make one copy, then how did you escape?"

"My sister can only exist as one person, but after she dies, I can bring her back."

Avril explained, "But every time my sister dies, it takes longer before I can summon her again.

I remember the first time took a week.

This is the second time—I had to wait two whole weeks before I could even sense her again."

Thane nodded, putting the pieces together. "So she led your enemies away, and then you escaped?"

That would explain it. The rioters killed Vivian and left her body in the wilderness, which started all those rumors about Avril dying without a proper burial.

"Mm-hmm, you’re pretty sharp, Baron Thane."

"That’s one hell of an ability."

But thinking it through, Thane realized it seemed pretty useless except as a body double.

An assassin, maybe?

Thane studied Avril—her delicate looks were about as far from "deadly assassin" as you could get.

Then again, looks could be deceiving. "Have you learned any swordsmanship, Baron Avril?"

Just as he expected, Avril shook her head.

"Then what can you do?"

"I can tend flowers and herbs, spin thread, make clothes, embroider blankets, ride horses, and paint."

"Right, I see."

Thane wasn’t surprised—Avril was every inch the traditional noble lady.

That made perfect sense. After all, Avril had been shipped off here by her stepmother, unlike Thane who’d volunteered for this assignment.

In that case, Avril’s ability really didn’t seem all that useful.

"Wait, you said you and your shadow share thoughts?"

Something clicked in Thane’s mind, and he asked urgently, "Can she travel far from you? Like fifty miles away?"

"I’ve never tried, but there shouldn’t be any distance limit," Avril replied.

"We’ll have to test that properly when we get the chance."

A grin tugged at the corner of Thane’s mouth.

If they could share thoughts across any distance, Avril would basically be a walking, talking radio set.

Sure, it had serious limitations, but it would still be incredibly valuable in this day and age.

However, Thane kept those thoughts to himself and switched to casual conversation with Avril, learning about the Redgriffin Family and the Razor Plains.

He might have to deal with them down the road, so the more he knew, the better.

Avril asked some simple questions about Thane too.

In her mind, such a handsome and clever noble shouldn’t have ended up banished to this place.

It wasn’t exactly a state secret, so Thane didn’t hold back. He told her about being a bastard who’d volunteered to come to the Northern Borderlands to become a lord.

Of course, he definitely left out anything about his cheat abilities.

"I really admire you—you’re so brave!"

Avril looked at him with genuine respect. "If I’d had a choice, I never would have come here."

Thane smiled.

He hadn’t really had a choice before either.

Now, though, Thane was starting to think this place wasn’t half bad.

Far from prying eyes and politics, he could do whatever he wanted out here.

Knock knock knock—

A series of knocks interrupted their conversation.

Pamin’s voice called out.

"Sir, may I come in? Our salt is inside the house."

Thane glanced toward the far chair where the supply bag hung—the salt was in there.

"Sure, come on in."

Thane stood up and handed the bag to Pamin as he entered.

"Is the roasted meat ready?" Thane asked.

Pamin didn’t answer right away. After shooting a quick glance at Avril on the bed, he lowered his voice.

"Sir, there’s something that needs your personal attention."

"Alright."

Thane said goodbye to Avril, then followed Pamin outside, not stopping until they were a good thirty feet from the wooden house.

"What’s going on?"

Thane knew Pamin wouldn’t drag him away unless it was important.

"Come with me."

Pamin led Thane into the other wooden house and pointed to the white crystal ore on the ground.

"Earlier, when I asked little Susan for salt, she gave me this instead. I asked where she found it, and she told me at the bottom of the cliff behind the mountain."

"Everyone saw it, and since you were busy talking with Miss Avril, I sent a guard to take a look. He came back and confirmed it—we’ve got ourselves a salt mine."