Ch 34

  Matt nearly jumped when the pathway behind them slammed shut, plunging the surroundings into an even deeper gloom. Despite his efforts to appear composed, Matt was deeply unsettled by the haunting sense that he should be dead. He felt as though he couldn't openly display his emotions without causing the others to crumble and lose hope. The worried look in Emily's eyes, which had greeted him upon waking, reminded him of his own mother's eyes whenever he returned home after getting into fights as a child. Those concerned looks had been more effective than anything else at keeping him out of trouble during his upbringing, prompting him to avoid confrontations rather than engage with people when they acted foolishly.

  Naturally, there were always boundaries that Matt didn't allow others to cross when he was around, and these boundaries had earned him the few friends he had during his youth. The issue, however, was that after graduation, all of them went their separate ways to pursue their own lives, and no one really sought out the guy who often declined invitations to activities outside of school. This had been acceptable to Matt, although he had to admit that his time with the women was rekindling memories of those days in some ways. It was also stirring up old feelings and generating questions in his mind as he repeatedly asked himself what he truly wanted.

  With these thoughts, Matt descended one step after another, the others following in silence as each lost themselves in their own thoughts. Their quiet deliberation came to an abrupt end when they reached the bottom of the stairs, where yet another tunnel yawned before them. Unlike the previous passage, lined with mounds of earth, this new path was only four feet wide and accompanied on either side by steadily flowing water. Concerned about what this could mean for their progress, Matt paused to consider their options. Before he could voice any thought, Greg broke the silence in less than five seconds.

  "If only I had ice magic, I could totally freeze the water and make this level easy," Greg mused aloud, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous dungeon.

  "How about you keep your mouth shut unless you have something useful to say," retorted Rose sharply, her eyes narrowing. "Don’t get me wrong, you did a good job calling out orders earlier, but don’t ruin that by being stupid now."

  Greg held up his hands defensively. "I am merely pointing out possible strategies for getting through the current challenge," he replied earnestly. "My hope was to spark a discussion on possible ways forward."

  "We just have to move forward," Matt stated bluntly, his authoritative tone leaving no room for debate. "There is no fancy tactic to this dungeon, it’s just survive the assault and succeed."

  Greg nodded in agreement and began issuing commands. "Alright, if that’s how we are going to do this, Matt, you stay up front. Emily, you should be right behind him. After that, let’s see, Eleanor, you should be next, followed by me, then Rose and Yumiko, with Zara guarding our rear. Stay as close to the center as we can. Matt, focus straight ahead. Emily, myself, and Rose will watch the left. Eleanor, Yumiko, and Zara focus on the right. That way, we will catch most things. Though, Zara will need to keep her ears on the rear and call out if anything comes from that way."

  Emily frowned slightly, considering the plan. "Why are you having the middle two and last two looking the same way and not alternating?" she asked, curiosity piqued. "Wouldn’t that work better?"

  "Yumiko and I are the only two with ranged attacks. So, I want us to watch opposite sides while still having a melee fighter between us," Greg explained. "It is less than ideal, but better than the alternatives in my mind."

  Matt could tell Emily wasn't fully convinced and wanted to respond, but it was Greg’s call. Clearing his throat, Matt decided to cut off any further arguments. "I put Greg in charge of the rest of you in battle for a reason. Emily, I am fine with you disagreeing, but doing more than you have will only create more issues for us. Now, I am going to move out, so follow along if you don’t want me to get too far ahead of the group, but give me at least a four-foot gap to work with between us."

  With that, Matt stepped forward, and the group cautiously advanced onto the narrow path. The dim lighting made it hard for him to distinguish whether the enveloping blackness was the solid wall of the tunnel or mere emptiness. If it weren’t for the steady, calming flow of water along the sides, he might have been unsure whether danger was lurking nearby. The stillness compounded his uncertainty—even the nature of the liquid remained a mystery. Nevertheless, Matt concentrated on maintaining his calm, steadily placing one foot in front of the other as he pushed onward toward a faint glow at the tunnel’s far end—a beacon reminiscent of the crystal ball from earlier, drawing them through the darkness.

  It happened when Matt finally confirmed that it was, indeed, another crystal ball. A cracking sound echoed from the ceiling above as dust and dirt rained down upon them. Thankfully, nothing larger than a golf ball struck the group, but the same could not be said about the water nearby. More than one human-sized boulder plummeted into the water, disturbing its surface, yet remarkably, not a drop splashed onto the path—an outcome that surprised Matt, as he believed the one-and-a-half-inch lip of the path shouldn’t have been enough to protect them from at least some splatter. However, before he could dwell on this oddity, Greg’s commanding orders snapped his focus back to the group.

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  “Make a run for the crystal ball!”

  The ensuing panic forced Matt to sprint forward to avoid creating a bottleneck, a decision he, in hindsight, realized was wise—until the first figure emerged from the water to block their path. Unlike the skeletons on the previous floor, this creature held a sword and shield. Its eyes glowed red, hinting at an intelligence that had been missing before. Armed only with two clubs and the small knife tucked into his belt loop, Matt knew he was at a disadvantage. Despite this, he did not hesitate as more figures rose from the dark waters beside them. Letting his instincts take over, Matt charged toward the nearest skeleton.

  In one swift motion, he lowered his right shoulder and swung the club in his left hand, diverting the threatening sword as he collided with the shield. Though his shoulder protested with sharp pain, his greater mass managed to send the skeleton toppling over. Without slowing down, Matt spun around to catch another skeleton by the head—a creature that had just begun pulling itself onto the land.

  Now facing the approaching horde, he took in the chaotic scene: skeletons armed with swords, shields, spears, bows, and even some decked out in full armor were closing in from all sides. It made the skirmish on the previous floor seem trivial as Matt struggled to formulate a plan to manage the overwhelming situation. Unfortunately, his tendency to freeze under pressure left him momentarily paralyzed with indecision. Thankfully, Greg had maintained his composure and bellowed further orders.

  “Everyone, get past Matt! Matt, once we’re clear, retreat while fighting until I signal you to stand and fight!”

  Figuring that he could speed things up, Matt grinned as he charged back toward his companions. He swung his clubs wildly yet surprisingly accurately, driven by the sole desire to free them from being surrounded by enemies. To the others, watching Matt weave seamlessly between them while liberating them from the clutches of the skeletal attackers felt surreal. It was more akin to a scene from an action movie or even a cartoon than actions fitting their understanding of reality. Still, none of them could deny that he moved past them rather than the other way around, as Greg continued to shout orders that Matt chose to ignore.

  Positioning himself between the skeletons and his allies, Matt lost sight of any goal beyond dealing with the nearest skeletal foe. In a rather ironic twist, he discovered that, despite the intelligence these skeletons possessed, they were actually easier to handle than the swarm above. They maintained enough distance between themselves to effectively wield their weapons, and Matt simply needed to keep another skeleton between himself and any archers. The path he initially worried might be a disadvantage turned out to be an advantage, transforming the confrontation into a series of one-on-one battles for the most part.

  Meanwhile, Greg was once more orchestrating the battle behind Matt as they reached the far end of the tunnel and assumed a defensive stance. Although there were far fewer skeletons this time, he felt the increased pressure from their being armed as he issued commands to hold them at bay. Unlike Matt, who had largely shut off his mind, the others were frantic, seeing the 20 or so skeletons now lying between them and Matt. This obstruction prevented them from assessing Matt’s situation, though Yumiko found herself focusing intently on any skeleton that turned away from their group after Greg ordered her to protect Matt’s back. This order ultimately saved Matt’s life, as even with his nearly supernatural abilities, he was not prepared to be attacked by enemies from all sides.

  As Matt continued pushing the army of skeletons back—dispatching one every ten seconds or so—he soon encountered the first of the fully armored figures. Instead of wielding a sword or any familiar weapon, this skeleton relied solely on the spikes adorning its gauntlets. In a split second, another danger revealed itself: after narrowly evading a powerful punch, Matt noticed two additional skeletons lurking behind the massive armored figure. Both carried large shields and brandished spears that lunged forward immediately after his dodge. Forced to act quickly, Matt used his club to sweep both spears aside, but in the fray the massive armored skeleton managed to graze his shoulder.

  Matters worsened as a subsequent punch came in; off balance, he had to take drastic action. Instead of regaining his safe distance, Matt fell backward to avoid the blow while rolling back onto his feet. In a moment of reckless instinct, he charged back in, dropping both clubs in the process. When another punch threatened him, he reached out and clutched the gauntlet, absorbing the impact against his chest. Unconcerned by the danger posed by the spears, he pulled the armored skeleton toward him as he retreated. This maneuver unbalanced the armored enemy, allowing Matt to dash forward low to the ground. Placing both hands just above the skeleton’s waistline, he pushed upward forcefully, sending it momentarily airborne before it crashed into the two shield-bearing skeletons behind it.

  With a resounding crash, Matt watched all three skeletons collapse. He quickly retrieved his clubs and sprang back into the melee. His movements were almost automatic—each swing, dodge, parry, and step flowed as if he were merely a passenger in his own body, only realizing his actions after they occurred. Yet, with every motion, fatigue tugged at him. The diminished number of foes did little to ease the burden, as each enemy required a significant amount of effort. It became painfully clear that he couldn’t simply overcome this fight on brute strength alone, no matter how powerful he felt compared to the skeletons. This realization weighed on him just as the second fully armored skeleton stepped forward, clearly challenging him to the next round of combat.