Ch 29
Two hours into their walk, Matt was already growing frustrated with how things were unfolding. Not only had they covered only about four miles in that time, but the encounters with the 20 monsters they'd faced so far had only netted him a mere 86 experience points. Meanwhile, Greg had accumulated 411 experience points from the same battles, and Zara had earned 309, putting both of them around halfway to reaching a new level. On the other hand, the 35 experience points Matt still needed seemed frustratingly out of reach, and grumblings were emerging from those not in the front seven, who were also eager for experience.
The issue lay in the current system: the front three engaged the monsters, and by the time the next four arrived, the fight was nearly over. Then, Matt, Greg, and Zara would take about 30 seconds to rest while Emily's group focused on harvesting anything worthwhile from the monsters. They would then hand off the gathered items to the main group upon catching up, who would distribute the load, using the crafted cordage to bind things together for easier carrying.
This method was causing an accordion effect and was the main reason they were hardly making any progress. Still, Matt would be satisfied if they managed to cover 20 miles before stopping, as it would hopefully move them beyond the goblins' range. Based on his judgment, they had been roughly ten miles from the estate he had escaped after evading the goblin women. On foot, 30 miles should be more than enough to avoid the worst of situations, but only if the female goblins headed in the opposite direction.
"I'm going to scout further ahead for a while," stated Matt. "The two of you should fall back to the other group while I do."
"Not going to happen," retorted Zara sharply. "Greg can fall back if he wants, but—"
"My plan is to lure about twenty monsters into following me all at once and then double back. If my previous experience holds, it should take roughly an hour. During that time, I expect the group to cover at least three miles before we repeat the tactic."
"I have orders not to let you run off on your own," Zara insisted, her tone serious. "Matt, you weren't here when things got really out of hand the last time we thought it was over."
"Being on my own is part of who I am," Matt replied defiantly.
"You're going to have to change that," Zara countered firmly. "Let's send Greg back, and the two of us can work on gathering about ten monsters to follow us before doubling back if you want."
"I need you to be level 3 before I can feel secure letting you handle that," Matt said matter-of-factly.
"Then you can just be patient and help me get there before we run off together," Zara shot back. Matt held in a groan at her words, the tension thick in the air. It was then that Greg decided it was the perfect moment to chime in.
"I don't want to be left out. I think we should wait until all of us are level 3," Greg said, attempting to assert his presence.
"You're useless," Zara snapped. "Your magic is like a weak gust of wind, and your hits with that club barely manage to push a monster back."
"Let's not do this," interjected Matt, trying to quell the rising conflict. "Besides, Greg could serve as bait if we took him with us. It wouldn't be any different from what we're doing now, except we'd be venturing farther ahead."
"Then let's just do that," Greg agreed, eager to be part of the plan. "At least until Zara and I reach level 3."
"Fine," replied Matt, deciding that a three-way split was better than a seven-way one for now. "Let's go and inform Emily about our plan so she can tell the others to focus on keeping a good pace while we concentrate on leveling up."
"That isn’t going to make the others happy," warned Zara, a note of concern in her voice.
"Which is why, once each of us is at level 3, we'll team up with two others and spread out to level them up to at least level 2 before rotating them out," Matt explained with a hint of optimism.
"Matt, do you really think Greg can cover for two level 1s?" Zara questioned, her skepticism evident.
"Fair point," Matt conceded. "We can assign him to run off to the side and focus solely on drawing monsters away from the main group."
"That still leaves my need to be with you as an issue," Zara argued.
"Then what would you suggest?" Matt asked, genuinely curious about her alternative.
"Greg goes right, and we go left, focusing on bringing monsters in for the slaughter," she proposed.
"Doesn't it bother either of you just how easy it is to kill these monsters?" Greg interjected, a hint of bewilderment in his voice. "I mean, you'd think that with our luck, someone would have died by now."
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"I am sure they have," stated Matt calmly. "Just not in our groups."
"Yeah, your group never split up, and ours had Matt," added Zara, her tone a blend of exasperation and curiosity. "I still wonder what happened to the other five guys."
"Let's not get onto that topic," Matt said abruptly, eyes scanning the surroundings. "We have incoming."
Not waiting for the others to respond, Matt charged forward at the four wolves that had just come into view and were already barreling toward them. These wolves looked close to what one might expect on Earth—except that their tails resembled a cat’s, ending in a hard, bone-like spike ball. If they were similar to the last group, three of them would be considered level 4 and the remaining one level 5, making these ideal opponents for Matt at this stage. Still, their spiked tails were dangerous; in the previous fight, he had taken two hits from them. Had it not been for his regeneration, he believed he would have been the unlucky one—though that was partly because he had been busy blocking attacks intended for Greg on both occasions.
This time, however, he had a different plan. As he charged in, he swiftly dodged the lead wolf’s snapping bite and thrust a horn taken from a horned rabbit deep into its side. With the initial attack completed, he had to act quickly: two wolves lunged at him simultaneously while the first wolf retreated slightly to lick its wound. Reacting on instinct, Matt leaped back to avoid the incoming strikes and then delivered a brutal kick to the face of the wolf on his right. This maneuver temporarily left him facing only one wolf for a brief moment—the remaining wolf seemed to be assessing the situation before making its move.
That pause was exactly what Matt needed. Seizing the moment, he lunged at the poised wolf, forcing it into an aggressive charge. This lunging motion was more a feint than a genuine attack, and Matt easily sidestepped its advance. In a swift maneuver, he grabbed the wolf’s tail near the spike and, with a quick pull and a precise slash of his knife, severed the tail. The wolf let out a pained howl as it struggled with the sudden loss. When the dismembered wolf lunged again, this time without hesitation, Matt had already repositioned himself to target the wolf he had just kicked. Unfortunately, the wolf had noticed its companion losing its tail and, unwilling to suffer the same fate, jumped aside to avoid experiencing a similar injury.
That evasive jump might have worked if not for Greg, who had timed his gust spell perfectly. The blast knocked the evading wolf off-balance just as Matt adjusted his attack. Moments later, another howl of pain pierced the air—a second tail had been lost, and Zara had engaged the first wolf that had lost its tail. Seeing an opening in the chaos, Matt charged directly at the injured wolf as the pack’s leader moved to intercept him. This had been Matt’s plan all along. With wild, determined swings of his knife, he forced the wolf to retreat, separating the leader from the other two now tailless wolves.
However, from the quick glances Matt exchanged with the chaos, it was clear that Greg was in over his head as he swung his club wildly. Although Zara was holding her own against her own wolf with remarkable resilience, she couldn’t spare the strength to help Greg as well. Matt knew he had roughly ten seconds before Greg would slip up and face a vicious bite—or even something worse. That window was far too short for Matt to neutralize the pack leader or wait for Emily’s group to arrive.
Thinking fast, Matt feinted an attack on the pack leader before quickly pivoting to target the wolf that Greg was battling. The wolf noticed the feint and dodged, but this evasive move left it momentarily exposed to a glancing blow from Greg’s club. Even though it was only a minor hit, it created the opening Matt needed; he followed up with a precise strike that drove a sharp rabbit horn deep into the wolf’s spine.
Without pausing, Matt spun around to intercept the pack leader mid-leap. Unfortunately, the agile wolf managed to bite down on Matt’s knife, forcing it aside as it collided with him. Reacting instantly, Matt released his grip on the knife and landed a powerful punch in the wolf’s throat. The blow was enough to dislodge the knife, allowing Matt to roll with it and force the pack leader onto its back.
A moment later, as Matt leaped to the side to evade a tail attack from the already-injured wolf, he found himself near one of the two severed tails lying on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly grabbed the tail and executed an overhead swing with all his might. The force of the blow caught the pack leader on its side as it rolled toward him, creating a massive gash as Matt yanked the spike ball back in a controlled, deadly motion. In a flurry of subsequent attacks, another swing led to the wolf losing an eye, followed by a series of wild, pained attacks as it howled in agony with every hit.
The relentless assault sent the remaining wolves into a state of frantic desperation. Greg’s wolf was already weakened, Zara’s was struggling as it attempted to disengage, and the last wolf could only manage to endure the unyielding onslaught. In the end, all four wolves fell just moments before Emily’s group arrived. As the experience messages began to pop up on his display, a relieved smile spread across Matt’s face, marking yet another hard-fought victory.
Monsters killed: three level 4 spiked tailed wolves.
Base experience multiplied by two.
Awarding 30 experience.
Current experience to next level 2995/3000.
Monsters killed: level 5 spiked tailed wolf alpha.
Base experience multiplied by three.
Awarding 30 experience.
Current experience to next level 3025/3000.
Experience has reached threshold prepare to level up!
Once more, Matt felt a wave of discomfort roll over his body as he gained more stats. A quick message displaying his updated stats flashed before his eyes again, briefly illuminating his surroundings with a digital glow.
Matthew Pierce.
Level 4
Strength: 23
Dexterity: 15
Durability: 21
Stamina: 23
Spirit: 14
Mind: 9
Species Human (G)
Bloodline: (Not evaluated at this level)
Path: Regeneration (Increase Durability by 30% and Stamina by 15%)
Titles: Integrated, Front runner of species (5% boost to all stats).
Skills: Auto translate, Minor regeneration.
He felt as though his mental stat was lagging behind when he took in his stats as a whole, but he simply smiled, appreciating how far he had come. Yet, at the same time, the achievement felt hollow compared to the satisfaction he experienced when he became a ranked G human. Still, he maintained his smile, aware that he was just one step away from reaching rank F. Even if "F" stood for failure, he was eager to discover how significant a leap forward achieving it would be.
