Ch 122

  Day after day passed as Matt led his party further and further from where they had encountered the level 40 group that must have been just passing through the area. However, the path ahead of them was anything but easy. Although they were gaining levels quickly, with Matt reaching level 21 by the time they found themselves in a level 24 area—or "floors," as the locals called them—challenges abounded. More than one group of locals decided to cause trouble, and it wasn’t just Matt who began to miss the solitude they had experienced upon first arriving. This feeling of unease only intensified when it seemed as though a bounty had been placed on their heads, with most groups attacking on sight or attempting to catch them off guard.

  Thankfully, Matt's skill at finding the best solution in each situation was improving, and Apricity's ability to avoid the areas of greatest danger seemed to be holding steady. However, Matt insisted that they only stop for a few hours in a safe room to rest. They had started to do this every chance they got, leading them to stop what felt like three or four times more often. Still, this allowed them to split turns more evenly while staying awake on watch. That wasn't to say that all of their breaks were without incident; half of them resulted in fights, and Matt began to grow desensitized to the violence. The once nerve-wracking encounters were becoming routine, as the cold acceptance of their harsh reality settled in.

  That was an uncomfortable truth that Matt had been harboring ever since he took his first life on the world with the goblins. It wasn’t that he felt guilty about what he had done or why he did it; he understood his reasons and agreed with them. However, there was still a toll to having done it, a toll he had managed to bear. Now, however, it was growing, and he could see it weighing on all of them as they had, by that point, killed over 30 individuals in the dungeon. Even though they weren’t humans, in his mind, they were still people. As soon as something could use language and reason in a way he could understand, what else could they be? With such thoughts swirling in his mind, Matt began speaking when they reached another safe room for a brief respite.

  “I think more than sleep, we all need to get the carnage behind us and before us off our chests,” he suggested, his voice tinged with fatigue and a hint of desperation.

  “I don’t think it really matters at this point,” stated Greg, exhaustion clear in his eyes as he leaned heavily against the cold stone wall. “Unless we want to just make things harder on ourselves moving forward.”

  “What happened to you being all for full-on slaughter?” retorted Emily, before realizing her tone and comment were poorly timed. She bit her lip, regretful. “Sorry, I just never thought I would take part in so much death.”

  “Yeah, reading about it or playing a game that features it is different from the experience,” replied Greg, his voice somber. “No one prepares you for seeing the terror in the eyes of your opponent when they realize they’ve made a mistake in fighting you. I just wish I knew what has them all willing to risk death by attacking us.”

  "It's the party we left alive," stated Matt. "I'm willing to bet they have access to a system similar to our messaging system. All they would need to do is send a single message to someone who could broadcast it to those in the dungeon, ordering them to kill us. Heck, it could be that the whole of Godfrey Enterprises is after my head at this point, and each time we kill someone, they close in on our general location."

  "That sounds like we're already dead," commented Rose, visibly deflating. "I mean, we can't expect you to handle another C-rank party, and heaven help us if someone B-ranked shows up."

  "I am worried that I'm drawing danger toward us," admitted Matt, having dwelled on it for days. "My defier of fate title—"

  "Nothing," Zara interrupted forcefully. "As far as I'm concerned, we're all dead without you, both in the past and moving forward. If you want us to stop making advances or trying to get you to check us out, then fine, I'll give that up, but you're not going off on your own."

  "No, keep bending over where I can watch," replied Matt with a smile. "I'll admit that while I have no intent to touch, watching has been helping me avoid thinking too much about this topic. My worry is if all of you can handle the growing toll that this constant killing is creating."

  "I could use some cuddling," commented Apricity, giving Matt a pleading look. "I actually think most of us could. Maybe we could start giving any of us that want a turn—"

  "You can cuddle with each other," stated Eleanor firmly. "I'll even volunteer to cuddle with anyone except Greg and Kal, but the only one Matt should be cuddling with is Bob."

  "Can't we bend the rules slightly?" asked Rose. "I'll even settle for just having him between two of us as he puts an arm around us."

  The room fell into a heavy silence as everyone's attention turned to Matt. He understood that he needed to confront this issue head-on. With a sigh, he locked eyes with Rose and began to speak. "I can't. I already worry about the feelings that arise just from us looking at each other. Eleanor is right to oppose anything that might deepen the emotional connections between us. If you don't want me to revert to only speaking with her, you need to respect that. I'll admit that I made a mistake by indulging Apricity when I first arrived, and I won't try to justify it. Still, can any of you honestly say that you wouldn't be upset if you saw me holding another woman, even in a casual manner?"

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  "That was poorly worded," Eleanor interjected before anyone else could respond. "Matt isn't interested in any arrangement where any of you share him in any way. Just as he has promised not to leave before we return to Earth, we should respect that this means he must ensure we can all work together harmoniously until then. After all, can any of you truly say there wouldn't be issues if he started a relationship with anyone here and now, forcing you to watch? I'd like to believe you could handle it without much trouble, but I suspect that whoever he was with might need to sleep with one eye open."

  The room fell into silence as Eleanor finished speaking, and they exchanged glances until finally, Kal broke the quiet.

  “You're all too timid,” Kal declared, her voice rising with intensity. “You're too worried about what each of you wants and making things work. Sometimes you just have to go for what you want and deal with the issues later. That's why I almost have Greg secured while the rest of you fail to even take a step forward. Compete if you must, be used, use each other, do whatever it takes to get what you want and don't apologize for it. Stop being soft and stop worrying about tomorrow when you may only have today!”

  “Finally, one of you makes some sense,” Bob commented in Matt’s mind. “No, just don’t make me watch when you finally start mating.”

  “We don’t live like goblins do,” Matt stated, responding to both Kal and Bob. “If we did, I would have already slept with every woman here. That isn’t who I am, and I don’t think any of you want a physical relationship without an emotional one. If you think you do, I believe you're lying to yourself.”

  “Coward,” Kal scoffed, eyes narrowing. “You don’t deserve any women.”

  “You're right, I don’t,” Matt agreed, his voice calm and steady. “I never asked for the attention I'm getting, yet here it is.”

  “That’s what you get when you swoop in and play the hero,” Greg retorted, crossing his arms. “If you want them to stop, then just be a real jerk and do what Kal is alluding to.”

  Matt shot Greg a look that silently urged him to stay out of the conversation, yet Greg merely chuckled softly before pressing on.

  "Honestly, I believe you need to stop holding yourself to the standards you grew up with, but I've told you that more times than I care to count. So instead, I'll just suggest that you pick someone at random, try entering a relationship, and see how long it lasts," he said with a wry smile.

  "No—" Matt began to protest.

  "Actually, at this point, I think you should," Eleanor interjected, cutting Matt off before he could really get started. "I mean, I think the stress of it would ensure that it was doomed to fail."

  "Or it could forge something more solid than any relationship has the right to be," Greg countered, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, if anyone wants a lasting relationship with him, they need to be ready to stand by him as he fights his battles. Especially since, even if he doesn’t want to admit it, he is better off when he has others standing beside him."

  Matt sighed, clearly exasperated. "How did we go from me being concerned about everyone dealing with the number of people we're killing to pushing me to date someone? I don't see how this ends any way but in disaster. Especially when—"

  "If you're worried about them sabotaging each other or becoming a toxic ex, don't," Eleanor interrupted again. "I'll personally make sure any such individuals are removed, as they'd be putting all of us in danger if they were that petty."

  "Is this really happening?" Emily asked somewhat hesitantly, her eyes darting between the others. "I mean, Matt, are you willing to let us try it?"

  "What happens if I decide that I want to end the relationship?" Matt inquired, a note of apprehension in his voice. "Based on past experiences, I can't see that going well for me."

  "That's a fair point," Eleanor acknowledged thoughtfully. "I suggest we give each of them 16 days, timed by the cooldown on the leader’s calls. Once all five have had their turn—"

  "I can then bury my face in my hands and try to hide as they expect me to choose one, like some terrible reality TV show," Matt interrupted, his tone tinged with frustration. "I really don’t see this ending well."

  "Well, most of us believe we’ll never get the chance to see if it will be anything at all," Zara countered, her voice brimming with determination. "I agree it's not ideal, but if we each get a chance to see if we can work things out, I'm up for it. Once we each have a turn, you don't have to pick any of us, and we can continue waiting until we get back to Earth."

  "Fine," Matt conceded, feeling as if his options were slipping away. "But I want to be clear that I have no intention of going above and beyond in anything. Outside the safe rooms, it's 100% business, and inside them, it's nothing more than talking—I'll allow cuddling."

  "What about kissing?" Rose chimed in, curiosity lacing her words. "Will you at least kiss us on the cheek if not on the lips?"

  "No, at least not right away," Matt stated firmly, his resolve unyielding. "I’m not going to force anything. If something feels right, I'll act on it, but I don’t foresee much of that happening with just 16 days before it's all over."

  "Way to point out the flaw," agreed Apricity. "See, that's the problem. We all know it will just be 16 days of Matt going through the motions. And if we do get him to fall for us, how is he supposed to handle dating the next one in line? No, we need to be able to play for the whole prize if this is going to work. I propose that if one of us gets Matt to say he wants to keep dating us on day 16, then he never has to move on to the next one in line."

  "We are trying to avoid a fight to go first," stated Emily, her voice carrying a hint of frustration. "With what you're saying, the later your turn, the less likely—"

  "I'll go third," Apricity interrupted decisively. "The rest of you can figure out the rest of the order."

  "No," replied Emily, a bit of anger in her voice, her eyes narrowing slightly. "We need to agree on such—"

  "I'm good with it," Zara chimed in, her tone calm and collected. "She's right, Matt having to move on will never work. I just look at it like we have 16 days to convince Matt he wants to be with us. I know that if you go before me and he wants to be with you, I don't want to date him while he's holding onto such feelings."

  "Fine," Emily relented, letting out a small sigh before turning back to Matt, who had been quietly observing the discussion. "Now, how do we decide the order?"