Ch 45

  When Matt finally found the others, they were deep in a heated argument right in front of the tomb. All six of his dungeon mates had formed a barrier between Steve and half of those who hadn’t experienced the dungeon, and the tension crackled in the chill air as if a fight were imminent. As Matt approached, Steve locked his gaze on him and began stomping forward. With a swift, almost mocking gesture, Steve extended his finger as if he were about to poke Matt in the chest—until Matt cut in.

  "Keep your fingers to yourself if you want to keep them. And why the hell does it look like you’re leading others to their death?" Matt snapped.

  "You mean to a perfect place to level up," Steve retorted coolly. "You're holding back a guaranteed way for all of us to hit level three, yet you act like you're protecting us."

  "Have you even heard what we faced down there?" Matt demanded.

  "Yeah, a whole lot of skeletons that almost all went down with a single hit. None of you are even injured, other than a lack of hair" Steve shot back.

  At that, Matt kicked out with all his might, striking Steve in the shin. Steve crumpled to the ground with a scream of pain. Before anyone else could react, Matt dropped to the ground beside him, placing a steady hand on Steve as he absorbed the wound himself. Gritting his teeth, he took on the injury as the rest of the group looked on in shocked silence.

  "Shut up, your leg is already healed," Greg commented with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "Really, we told you that Matt picked up a healing skill after dealing with those nasty burns back there. But no, you wouldn’t listen—or wait for him to get back before you committed suicide."

  "Staying weak is suicide," Steve retorted bitterly. "We were supposed to level up today, but your group hogged them all and now—"

  "Yeah, we all hogged all the levels while nearly dying in there," Greg interjected. "If you had looked back before he healed us, you might reconsider being jealous. Honestly, we should have been dead by now, because he basically carried us through most of that dungeon. Sure, we all contributed, but he handled at least two-thirds—if not a full 75%—of what we faced down there. We all watched him get bathed in fire, run through by swords, and still keep fighting. So unless you have someone who can do the same for you, forget about it."

  It seemed that a few of those who had been with Steve were ready to back down after Greg’s cutting remark. But a freshly healed Steve, determined and defiant, had a better idea as he responded, "Then we just need to have Matt lead us through one group at a time."

  "No, even if I wanted to, I’m barred from repeating the dungeon because I cleared its final challenge," Matt replied firmly. "So until we find an actual healer to partner with a group that I believe can survive in this dungeon, it’s off limits to anyone who doesn’t want to die."

  "What right do you have to make that call?!" Steve shouted.

  "Fine!" Matt snapped back. "If you want to die, go ahead and find three others who are just as dumb to join you. Just know that I fully expect those who go in there to end up dead."

  As his words faded into a heavy silence over the group, he became aware of the healing in his fractured leg. Slowly, he rose and walked over to a shadowed corner of the inner fort, settling himself with his back firmly against the cool stone wall. There, amidst the dim light, he attempted to reassemble his scattered thoughts, reviewing the day's harrowing events and contemplating the problems now looming before him—the kind of issues he had always known the simplest solution for was to walk away, as he had so many times before.

  Before he could sink deeper into his brooding solitude, Eleanor emerged into view, her face etched with concern. Rather than verbalizing her thoughts aloud, she quietly sat down a few feet away. Though her lips remained sealed, her intense gaze demanded that Matt confront the very issues she had come to discuss. A flicker of defiance sparked within him, prompting him to return her look—a look meant to declare his disinterest in caring about anything at that precise moment. The fraught silence stretched on for several tense minutes until, with a resigned sigh, Matt conceded that addressing her was a necessary diversion if only to clear the air and return soon to his own troubled musings.

  “What is it this time?” he finally asked.

  Eleanor leaned in, her tone laced with both caution and challenge. “Just a simple question: what are you going to do when some of the women from Steve’s group try to seduce you—hoping their advances will secure protection from the monsters?”

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  “Is laughter a reasonable answer?” Matt countered, his tone edged with wry humor.

  “Only if you want to end up with a knife in you while you sleep,” Eleanor replied sharply, her eyes narrowing as she emphasized the danger.

  “Is it really that bad?” he pressed.

  “Yes, and I no longer possess the sway I had a few days ago when I warned our group not to make any advances on you out of fear that you might run off,” she reminded him.

  “That warning failed spectacularly,” Matt grunted in reply. “Still, how exactly do you expect me to handle it when the opportunity arises?”

  “Firmly, but with compassion,” she instructed, her voice softening just slightly.

  Matt arched an eyebrow. “What about our interactions makes you think I’m capable of treating unknown women with that kind of care?”

  Eleanor’s response was measured. “Simply tell them that you have no intentions for any kind of relationship—no fooling around with anyone here.”

  “And what if I claim that I already have a woman I’m focused on?” he countered coolly. “We can merely ensure that Zara, Yumiko, and Emily understand it’s only half true.”

  “Half true? I thought you claimed to have no such attachments,” Eleanor observed, a note of incredulity in her tone.

  “I don't, yet there's one person who matters enough to me that I'd go out of my way to seek her, if given the chance,” he explained.

  “Really? I see. So how do you want to stage this, so that the message is clear long before anyone makes a move?”

  “That’s simple,” Matt said with a weary smile. “Act discontented—walk away in a huff, then join the others and indulge in a little gossip.”

  Eleanor scoffed lightly. “You really don’t know how women work,” she retorted, though her expression softened as she considered his proposal. “Alright, I can build a strategy around that as a base. I just need a name and some clarity on who she is to you.”

  “Her name is Apricity,” he replied, his tone carrying a mix of wistfulness and determination. “She’s the daughter of the woman with whom I once bartered my gold for the supplies I needed while living on my own in the wilderness—which allowed me to only rarely venture into town. Apricity’s affection was once evident, but I shut those feelings down long ago. Yet, in all honesty, she was the only one I believed might, with persistent effort, convince me otherwise. At least, that was before we arrived here. Now, I refuse to consider anyone until we’re safely back on earth; and if someone from here managed to track me down while I was single, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of success.”

  Eleanor appeared momentarily shocked before she managed to respond.

  “You’re truly an idiot. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  Without waiting for him to respond, Eleanor stood up and prepared to leave. Before she did, she spoke once more.

  “Oh, and if anyone asks, I tried to convince you to take Steve and three others out for power leveling, but you refused to trust your back to them after what happened tonight. The compromise we came up with is to have the six of us that came with you split into three groups of two, and each group will take two of the others with us as you alternate drawing monsters to each of our groups.”

  Matt chuckled as she hurried away after saying that. He finally turned to his still unopened pack, deciding to see what he had gotten from the dungeon under the moonlight. As he undid the top, the first item he found was another pack. This one was flat and contained six throwing knives along with some straps that seemed designed to be worn on his leg. Smiling at what he considered a decent addition to his set of options, Matt set the knives aside and pulled out the next item. This time, Matt wanted to curse—it was a fire starter kit, complete with flint and steel.

  The more Matt pulled out of the pack, the more he felt like it was a joke. He knew that the others had received potions and other clearly magical gear. However, after the throwing knives, he was only finding survival equipment that he would have normally had on hand back on Earth. While all of these items would be of great use to the group, he felt like he was missing out on something extraordinary with each item he took out. Even the mess kit, which he would have killed for during the first few nights, failed to excite him as he set it aside and reached in one last time. This time, however, he was stumped. What he pulled out looked like a regular bag made from animal hide. That was until he opened it and found that a large piece of meat had suddenly appeared inside it.

  As best as he could determine, the meat appeared fresh, yet he couldn't quite decipher its origin while pondering what to do with it and how the unusual bag functioned. If this bag somehow carried an endless supply of meat, it would be incredible, though he doubted that was its true nature. Even so, if it were, he'd have to learn how to use it properly, a task made frustrating by the constant lack of instructions. Then, as if taking pity on him, Tempormr's voice resonated in his mind once more.

  "It is a time-freezing bag. It can only hold one item, no larger than a large human body, but whatever you place inside will remain frozen in time as long as the bag stays closed."

  "Can I put a living human in it?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

  "Yes," Tempormr replied, "but I would advise against it. The living will naturally resist any attempt to freeze them in time, and if they succeed, the bag would be destroyed."

  "Good to know," Matt responded, a grin spreading across his face. At the very least, the bag would make transporting a large boar for dinner significantly easier. Still, he sensed that he was just scratching the surface of the bag's potential. Regardless, he placed it back into his pack and began reorganizing it. He kept items he deemed essential, like rope and throwing knives, while the fire starter and mess kit could be shared with the group.

  Once everything was in order, Matt smiled as he closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake him, unconcerned with what the others were doing. He sensed that Yumiko and Zara were just out of sight, also succumbing to sleep, as he contemplated his next moves, determined to focus on surviving and reaching level 9.