Ch 47

  The next two days passed without significant changes, except for Zara reaching level 4 and everyone else achieving at least level 2. Meanwhile, Matt felt no closer to discovering how to access the administrator features that he knew he should possess. Each night was spent in darkness, as Matt was cautious not to attract unwanted attention to their location until they could repair the wall. Despite this, he had approved plans for clearing the forest near the walls, agreeing that the towering trees provided too easy access to the top of the outer walls.

  Alongside the leveling progress, the steady accumulation of stones that could be thrown atop the wall was coming along well. Matt had even revealed his spatial storage to the group, dumping several piles of his own stones atop the walls. Most of these had come from his single trip back to the riverbed, where he gathered water using the time-freezing bag. To his surprise, as long as he was simply adding more water, he could fill the bag to its limit without any issues. It was quite enlightening to witness the space inside seemingly expand before his eyes as it filled up.

  Regarding the hunk of meat that had been in the bag from the start, Matt tossed it away at some random point in the forest. Although he doubted it was harmful, and it might even have been something special, he was uneasy about eating anything obtained from a dungeon filled with undead. Fortunately, they were more than capable of sustaining themselves with the rabbits and boars that Matt kept attracting back to the fort. However, an undercurrent of tension was steadily worsening with each passing day. As the fourth day since they completed the dungeon arrived, Matt finally decided that he needed to involve someone else in figuring out what he was missing.

  So, after grabbing a generous portion of boar meat that had been cooked in the early morning—before the sun was high but late enough that the glow from the fire wouldn't act as a beacon—Matt discreetly pulled Greg aside. He was careful not to attract any unnecessary attention as he began discussing everything he had tried and sought out any ideas Greg might have. Greg furrowed his brow, deep in thought, before speaking.

  "I think you might be right about needing a key hidden within the fort or dungeon. The problem is that you can't go back into the dungeon, and no one has found anything significant anywhere besides the tomb in the fort."

  "I know that. Don't you have any idea based on all those stories you're always going on about?" Matt pressed, his voice tinged with urgency.

  "Hey now, those stories would have never been half as good if the solution was predictable. Still, it is almost always something that the protagonist overlooks. Like when they bump into someone and apologize, only to later learn that the person meant to bump into them and did something to them. It’s almost always something small that seems obvious once explained but remains hidden even to the reader most of the time."

  "You mean like the author didn’t even mention that the characters bumped into each other at all before the big reveal?" Matt asked, trying to grasp the concept.

  "No, no, never like that," Greg replied with a shake of his head. "It’s just that the scene works best when it’s hidden in an event where the main character is trying to get through a crowd, only to get jostled about. Then they mention the main character running into a few other characters they've met up to that point. The best is when you think that the character is a possible love interest, sure to join the harem so you—"

  "Greg," Matt interrupted firmly. "I don’t need you to get sidetracked."

  "Sorry," Greg apologized, refocusing his thoughts. "But sometimes the best option is to change things up, and the answer will just come to you. So, how about you find something new to focus on as you draw monsters back here, and I'll bounce a few ideas around in my head today."

  Matt felt disappointed, thinking that maybe Greg would eventually point out what he was missing. However, that never happened. As he ate his meal, his mind wandered to his plans for the rest of the day, only to return, once again, to thoughts of the goblins. He knew they were biding their time, planning to target any humans nearby sooner rather than later. Plus, he still had no idea what had become of the goblin women after his escape. Either way, Matt had a nagging feeling that if he didn’t act soon, he would regret it. So, he decided to ask Greg for his opinion on the matter.

  “What are your thoughts on the goblins?” Matt asked.

  “I wish a group of them would show up here and attack,” Greg replied, his tone laced with frustration. “It would finally make Steve and the others take the threat seriously.”

  “Are you saying that they aren’t attacking at all?” Matt pressed.

  “Not since you convinced all of us to flee,” Greg explained, sighing heavily. “Now they think you were exaggerating the danger, and meanwhile, the lack of water here is becoming an even bigger issue. Sure, that bag you brought back filled with water is keeping us afloat for now, but with the well-building attempts failing, some are beginning to feel it’s just another way for you to control us.”

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  “What? I don’t even demand anything from them,” Matt retorted.

  “No, it’s not about demands. You just keep disappearing day after day, only confiding in Eleanor and occasionally one of the other five who were locked up with you in the dungeon,” Greg continued, adding a note of exasperation. “It makes them believe that you’re planning to keep the seven of us at the top, even as the rest slowly slide into second-class status here. Things might really come to a head if they all reach level 3 while we’re still at level 4, and then they might push to catch up before any of us hits level 5.”

  “Great, well that’s not going to happen,” Matt muttered. “Spread the word that once six of you hit level 5, I’m sending out four of you to scout for other groups to recruit. At the same time, I’ve decided to change strategy today. Let everyone know that I plan to bring back a group of 18 to 30 monsters at once and that I’ll be fighting alongside all of you. We’ll call it training for handling larger groups, so they’re ready when I decide it’s time to deal with the goblins.”

  “Cool. Yumiko and I will take charge of the level 2s on the wall while the others position themselves just inside the outer defenses. If everything goes well, we should be able to drop rocks on them and secure an easy win,” Greg replied.

  “You should also expect me to bring back some flying monsters,” warned Matt. “I’ve been careful about luring them back, but with such a large group planned, it’s almost certain a few of them will show up too.”

  “That might complicate wall defense, but I think with my wind magic, Yumiko’s bow, and the few other archers we have, we should be fine,” Greg said.

  “I trust you to handle what needs to be done on the wall,” Matt concluded, “and I’ll have Emily take command on the ground.”

  With a nod, Matt felt that they had a plan. Within thirty minutes, the idea had been spread throughout the camp with the understanding that the primary objective was to move quickly and locate additional allies. However, Steve had made sure to delay progress by dissecting every detail of the plan and objecting to being placed under Greg’s command. This dissent caused further complications that Matt was eager to avoid, so he declared that anyone unwilling to follow Greg’s orders could join the ground forces under Emily’s leadership.

  In the end, Steve and four others chose to remain behind, while Matt simply shook his head and ran off in search of monsters to lure back. He was relieved to be out of the midst of potential drama, convinced that trouble would erupt in his absence. Sure enough, back at the fort, Eleanor was busy trying to handle Steve’s outburst as he began venting his frustrations less than five minutes after Matt had disappeared from view.

  “I never agreed to hand over all control to your group—let alone to Matt,” Steve declared angrily. “I think we’ve been lied to from the very start, and I’m tired of him dictating how things should run.”

  “You see me discussing strategies with him every night,” Zara countered evenly.

  “Maybe so, but he just decided this morning to change the rules altogether. My group was supposed to get another day of hard work, and now we’re going to fall at least a full day behind everyone else. It feels like he doesn’t even want me to be on equal footing with anyone,” Steve fumed.

  “He doesn’t care about your exact standing as long as you’re prepared to fight,” Zara retorted. “Complaining about this is pointless. Sometimes one of us wakes up with a new idea, but the difference is that Matt has the authority to get us all on board.”

  “And what right does he have?” Steve pressed, his tone laced with defiance.

  “You’ll understand after you see him in action today,” Rose interjected. “Honestly, I wish he would return with closer to fifty monsters at a time so we could really put our skills to the test down here.”

  “I’m well aware of his ability to handle multiple enemies—the first night he-” Steve began.

  “No, you only have a limited notion of what he’s capable of,” Rose cut him off. “You haven’t seen him take on more than fifty monsters by himself or face down dozens of exploding skeletons nearly single-handedly. I thought watching him handle a horde of goblins was impressive, but knowing he’s grown even stronger since I last saw him in combat makes me wonder what else he’s capable of.”

  “You’re all just infatuated with him,” scoffed Steve. “It’s no wonder none of you challenge Greg’s insinuations—you know they’re true.”

  “No, we simply recognize that despite his flaws, he has a talent for assessing situations mid-battle,” Eleanor stated firmly. “We’ve accepted that any feelings we might have for Matt won’t be reciprocated before we survive this world and make it back to Earth. And once we do, who knows what challenges we’ll have to face just to find him?”

  “Sure,” grumbled Steve. “But I still feel ignored, and that means those I lead are being overlooked too.”

  "Noted," Emily commented coldly. "Now get back in position. We don't know how long it will take for Matt to return, but when he does, we need to be ready to deal with the first clash immediately, or they will break through. If that happens, we are sure to have a very hard fight on our hands, as it will mean that those on the walls will have a harder time finding targets."

  Steve looked insulted, but he bit back his retort, shifting back to the gap just past Zara. He stood slightly behind her, while Eleanor took position on the other side with Rose in the middle. Emily had arranged the three women up front, with the four level twos who refused to follow Greg three feet further back, offset in such a way that they could cover the gaps between each woman as well as the ones toward the walls. Emily positioned herself in the center back, five feet behind the second line, poised to jump in and assist should any point of the formation become overwhelmed.

  They waited in tense silence, every muscle coiled, until roughly 45 minutes after Matt had left. Greg's voice suddenly rang out, alerting them to a group of around half a dozen birds flying toward them. Instantly, everyone braced for combat, eyes wide with anticipation. Just 30 seconds later, they spotted Matt emerging at the edge of the woods, a horde of monsters trailing behind him. The sight was overwhelming, as Matt was clearly pursued by far more monsters than planned. He was running towards them, his gait uneven, clearly limping, and the gravity of their situation became painfully clear.