Ch 28

  Matt was jolted awake as he felt a body pressed against his own, causing him to leap up, only to find Greg laughing uproariously. Around them, several others were struggling to contain their laughter, including Zara and Emily. On the bright side, Eleanor appeared to be unaware of the commotion as she stomped over, which reassured Matt that at least she wasn’t part of the prank. Zara spoke up, her voice tinged with amusement.

  “Well, that confirms that you’re definitely straight.”

  “Not sure what you’re getting at,” Matt retorted quickly, before he could stop himself.

  “Simple,” Zara continued, “you had no issues when Emily cuddled up to you on that first night, but you wake up and escape the moment Greg is the one next to you.”

  “Your logic is flawed, and Greg, all she is doing is trying to get me to not want to train you up,” Matt replied, shaking his head.

  “Hold on, she said that—” Greg began, but Zara cut him off.

  “I said nothing,” Zara interjected smoothly. “Except for telling him the best way to wake you up.”

  “Right,” Matt responded just as Eleanor arrived. “If I’m being woken up, I take it we’re about to get moving.”

  “Yes,” Eleanor replied. “Today is going to be a long one, and we want you and two others to take point so we can gain some experience as we go.”

  “Split 18 ways,” Matt retorted skeptically. “That would mean each one will hardly do anything to make a dent—”

  “I am well aware of that,” Eleanor interrupted firmly. “I’m talking about the need for us to gain experience as a group working together.”

  “Oh, yeah, that makes some sense,” Matt conceded.

  “I call dibs on one of the slots with you,” Greg chimed in eagerly.

  “That’s not how—” Matt started.

  “And I’ll take the other one,” Zara stated, cutting Matt off mid-sentence. “Unless you have a reason not to let us go with you and force someone else to go.”

  “Any other volunteers?” Matt asked, hopeful for at least one more participant, but no one raised a hand. “Great, looks like you win this round. Just don’t come crying to me when you realize you made a mistake.”

  “I’m not worried,” Zara replied confidently as she turned to leave. “You should hurry and eat before all the boar is gone.”

  Matt sighed as he turned to Eleanor and motioned for her to follow him toward what appeared to be the remains of the boar, cooked on pieces of bark. Once he had grabbed a piece of bark with what seemed like enough food to fill him, Matt turned to Eleanor and spoke.

  "How about you fill me in on what has been decided while I eat?"

  "Fine," Eleanor replied, her voice steady. "The plan is to head away from the goblin settlement and hope for the best."

  "What about any other groups like ours who are back in that direction?" Matt inquired, his brow furrowed with concern.

  "We need to prioritize our own safety first," Eleanor explained, her tone firm. "Plus, as you pointed out, leveling up with too large of a group will be difficult. Honestly, 24 feels like the right number at this point, as it will allow us to send out four groups of three in four different directions and leave half the group at camp each day. That way, we each get every other day off at camp and can focus on leveling on the days we leave camp. While we suspected it, it seems that monsters really do avoid any groups of four or more, especially after discussing it more with Steve."

  "I take it he's still asleep," Matt said, glancing around the camp.

  "Yes," Eleanor nodded. "He stayed up just long enough to eat the first round of boar that was done. So, once you’re done eating, we’ll get him up and get moving."

  "I guess that means I have no say in the plan," Matt remarked, a hint of resignation in his voice.

  "You pointed to me as the leader, and now you get to show that you’ll listen to me. Otherwise, this isn’t going to work," Eleanor said, her eyes meeting his with determination.

  "Do I have to worry about you using that every time there’s something that you know I don’t want to do?" Matt questioned, a slight edge to his voice.

  "No, only when it is something that I judge is needed for the group as a whole to survive," Eleanor assured him.

  "Not hearing much of a difference," Matt muttered, taking a bite of his meal.

  "Do you disagree with my judgment on this one?" Eleanor asked calmly.

  "No," Matt admitted after a moment of thought.

  "Then let’s wait for when you disagree with what I am asking of you to have this argument," Eleanor suggested with a gentle smile.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  "Fine," Matt sighed, "now I’m going to hurry and eat as I think about what today is going to be like."

  With that, Eleanor departed, leaving Matt to ponder what he would be facing with Greg and Zara by his side. He wasn’t entirely convinced that this was their best option, but he couldn’t be bothered with tryouts or any other complications. Even if he suspected that Zara was deliberately using Greg’s avoidance to ensure no one else would join his group, at least both of them were willing to fight. Greg, striving to become powerful enough that women would overlook his peculiarities, and Zara, who was determined to be the one he took with him—even if he hadn’t really chosen either.

  “This is a real snafu,” Matt muttered softly, careful that none of the others would hear him.

  “Yes, it is,” replied Tempormr coolly.

  “Now you decide to speak? Where were you when I needed to maneuver past all the goblin women?” Matt snapped.

  “I told you—others have a hand in directing the path that the goblins will follow,” Tempormr replied calmly.

  “Right, so what do you want now?” Matt asked, his tone laced with impatience.

  “You need to head in a slightly more northern direction based on your estimates than the path your leaders have set. A deviation of only about 15 degrees will yield significantly better results for your group.”

  “Why is that?” Matt pressed.

  “What do you have to offer in exchange for me revealing the surprise?” Tempormr questioned.

  “Do you mean for me actually going there, or is this another one of your situations where you act like a god and I just have to have blind faith because you know that I—”

  “Don’t finish that thought,” Tempormr interrupted. “Matt, I have told you before that I am no god—only a being who has reached what is considered the current peak and aspires to climb even higher.”

  “Great, so you’re just going to leave me hanging?” Matt asked, his frustration mounting.

  “No, I am not. But if you don’t listen now, you will only have yourself to blame when the opportunity slips away and you come to learn what it was later,” Tempormr warned.

  Matt held back a retort as he took his second-to-last bite of food, his mind whirring as he chewed thoughtfully. Finally, he finished and, before taking his final bite and standing up, he replied with only two words: “Screw it.”

  With resolve, he rose and made his way over to Eleanor, who was in the midst of discussing plans with a few others. Before she could even finish speaking, he began, “If I’m in front, I want to choose our direction. I propose that we have a group of four trailing a few hundred yards behind us, a backup that Zara and Greg can fall back on if I deem it necessary.”

  “Matt, I thought you were satisfied with the plan as it was,” Eleanor countered.

  “I am, but the question is—do you trust me?” he asked, determination and a hint of challenge in his voice.

  Matt observed as Eleanor cast a long, intense look his way while the others she had been conversing with watched on. It seemed like she was testing him by getting him to agree to the plan as it stood, while he was eager to prove that she trusted him. After a moment longer than Matt would have preferred, she finally responded.

  "What direction do you want us to head in?"

  "Almost the same, just 15 degrees or so further north," Matt replied, his voice steady. "Call it a hunch, but my gut tells me we’d be better off going that way."

  "That’s not too drastic," Eleanor conceded. "Fine, and I agree that having a group acting as a buffer between our teams might be a good idea. But who would be in that group?"

  "Yumiko and three others she chooses," Matt suggested, "as they’ll likely be the ones to level up the most."

  "I was supposed to handle the rear guard," Yumiko interjected, her tone firm. "We were just discussing what to expect when you interrupted us."

  "Then have Zara fall back and—"

  "I’ll take the lead on it," Emily cut in, her eyes gleaming with determination. "I need to work on leveling up if I want to gain the ability to walk the path I’ve chosen."

  "And what path is that?" Matt inquired, curiosity piqued.

  "Support magic, mainly healing," Emily explained. "It’s a skill that will be essential. It will also allow me to be useful without engaging directly in combat, but I feel I need to learn how to manage battles. It’s a role that lets me keep an eye on the situation as a whole, if done right."

  "Just don’t forget you’ll still need to know how to fight for when things go very wrong," Matt advised, nodding in agreement. "But I’m fine with Emily taking the lead on that."

  "That settles it," Eleanor declared decisively. "We’ll have seven up front, four in the rear, and eight in the middle. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to wake up Steve so we can make the necessary adjustments and figure out who will be in the four that are behind you."

  Matt nodded as he made his way over to Greg, who was busy swinging one of the goblin clubs clumsily. “Don’t wear yourself out before we even get started,” Matt called out.

  “I’ll be good,” Greg retorted with a mischievous grin. “I just want to make sure I can use this and my wand at the same time.”

  “Speaking of magic, is there anything I should know about it before I start ordering you around?” Matt asked, his tone trying to hold in his laughter.

  “Yeah, don’t ask me to cast it more than once every ten minutes. It’ll just fail, and if I push it too hard, I might pass out for at least five minutes,” Greg explained, his expression on of frustration as he emphasized his limitations.

  “Got it—it sounds pretty useless,” Matt replied, skepticism lacing his words.

  “I refuse to believe that. It’s just like in those tabletop RPGs where the most powerful classes start off weak. They only become formidable once they’ve leveled up and gained their spells or abilities,” Greg argued passionately, his voice rising with the fervor of a true believer. “Eventually, when I hit level 5, you’ll see that my magic isn’t useless at all.”

  “I’ll give you until level 5 to prove me wrong,” Matt challenged, a smirk tugging at his lips.

  “No, my bet is that it won’t be worth anything until I reach E rank. After all, F stands for failure, right?” Greg countered with a laugh, his tone both self-deprecating and determined.

  “And what happens when you hit E rank and it’s still useless?” Matt pressed, arching an eyebrow.

  Greg beamed. “Then I just keep pushing and refining it,” he declared confidently.

  “Is that your answer to everything—that you just keep pushing until things work out?” Matt asked, intrigued by the unwavering optimism in Greg’s approach.

  “Absolutely! That’s how any true protagonist rises to the top. When everyone else would give up, they persist, no matter what conventional wisdom dictates. They toss all the doubts aside and follow a path that resonates with them, pouring everything they have into it!”

  Greg’s passionate declaration struck a chord with Matt. For a moment, he wondered if perhaps the best course was to ignore Tempormr’s cautionary advice and carve out a path of his own—a path that felt inherently right. Ever since arriving in this strange new world, an inner certainty had steadily grown within him, defying every warning about tampering with fate.

  “Earth to Matt, come in Matt—can you hear me?!” came Greg’s voice interrupted his reverie.

  “Yes, you don’t need to get in my face like that,” Matt replied annoyed as he snapped back into the moment.

  “Sorry,” Greg said with a shrug. “You were standing there like a statue, and it looks like it’s time to get moving.”

  “Right, let’s find Zara and get going,” Matt concluded, tucking his reflections on Greg’s relentless spirit away for later contemplation. After all, the idea of pursuing his own convictions carried vast implications for everything he had planned.