Ch 125

  Matt found Rose waiting for him while the others slept, as it was their turn on watch. His mind was still preoccupied with the conversation he had just had with his brother, yet he couldn't help but smile upon seeing Rose. The way she returned his smile made it difficult for him to think clearly as she greeted him warmly.

  “I take it that you had a good talk with your brother then?” she inquired.

  “Yeah, I have a lot to think about, but nothing really to change about how we are doing things,” Matt replied, his thoughts still lingering on the exchange.

  “That’s good. Even if I know this can’t last, I am enjoying it while it does,” Rose said, her voice tinged with an unspoken wistfulness.

  Matt observed as Rose seemed to shrink slightly, trying to appear unbothered, something he might have ignored a week ago but now found impossible to dismiss. Frowning, he looked her in the eye and spoke as tenderly as he could.

  “I wish you wouldn’t assume you know how this is going to end,” he said softly.

  “But I do,” Rose sighed, her eyes reflecting a quiet resignation. “Even if you fall for me, I won’t let you choose me unless you still feel the same after dating the other four.”

  “Why tell me that now?” Matt asked, his curiosity piqued.

  “Because I can sense your confusion, and I’ve seen the looks you give me many times before,” Rose explained. “All relationships start well, but most sour over time. You have the look of someone experiencing the wonders of discovering love, not knowing the difference between lust and love. If I can help you learn that distinction, I’ll be content.”

  “Teach me what?” Matt questioned, leaning in slightly.

  “What lust is and how it is different from love,” Rose clarified, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. “Not that I have the best track record with love, but I know lust all too well. Even if it has been a few years now since I—” She trailed off, leaving the air thick with unspoken memories.

  "What do you feel towards me?" interrupted Matt, his eyes hardening to convey his seriousness. "Tell me, is what you feel for me just lust?"

  "No," admitted Rose quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "At least not like I have before, because to be frank, your appearance isn't all that attractive to me, and your personality could use a lot of work. While the others might not be willing to say it, only a few look at you and think you look appealing. Yumiko will likely try to get you to permanently lose the beard, but she'll probably tolerate it if you refuse."

  "I didn't ask about what the others think," retorted Matt with a frown, his brow furrowing. "I want to know what you think."

  "You're our hero, and what woman can honestly say she doesn't dream of falling in love with someone who is that for them?" Rose explained, her eyes meeting his with an intensity that made him pause. "It's why Apricity actually has the advantage right now. She knew you before all of this and was chasing you even then. She saw the gold within you when the rest of the world just saw a rock on the side of the road."

  Matt frowned, searching for the right words as he locked eyes with Rose, who smiled softly at him. This silent exchange continued for at least 20 seconds until Rose leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. Before he could react, she pulled him into a warm embrace, her mouth close to his ear as she continued to speak in a whisper.

  "Just knowing that my hero is attracted to me is enough," she murmured. "Ours isn't a love that is meant to be, but I will happily welcome it if you experience others and decide that it is what you want. Just know that the folly of heroes is often the women they love. Do not let me, or any other woman, cost you your life. Rather, find the one that enriches your life and makes you better."

  Matt felt the tears streaming down his face as Rose wept after speaking those words. He simply held her close until she regained her composure. By an unspoken agreement, they left much unsaid, but both understood that any chance of their relationship continuing after 16 days was over. However, Matt decided that this would be an opportunity to open himself up a little more, feeling that Rose had earned his trust, even if it was still fragile for the time being.

  The next two treks through the dungeon and subsequent rests passed uneventfully as they continued their journey. Matt remained lost in thought, contemplating both his conversation with his brother and Rose's words. However, his musings were abruptly interrupted when Apricity turned towards the direction they had come from, speaking frantically.

  "We have company! I don't know how long until they catch us, but every instinct I have is screaming at me to run. Yet, I know that won't make a difference."

  "It will if we execute it correctly," Matt responded confidently. "Apricity, remember the plan we all agreed was a terrible idea?"

  "You mean going back over areas where my ability prevented monsters from spawning, thus causing them to spawn?" she replied, her voice tinged with apprehension.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "Exactly," said Matt with a wide grin. "I've been pondering how I would handle the group we encountered if we had to face them again, and this is my strategy."

  "Won’t we just get caught up in the crossfire?" Emily asked hesitantly. "I mean—"

  "We’re going to make a run for a safe room," Matt interrupted, his voice firm. "Then, only Apricity and I, who I'll be carrying, will charge toward the danger as we attempt to gather a horde of monsters along the way."

  "Matt—" Rose began, concern etched on her face.

  "Rose, I have to do this, and Apricity is coming because I need her ability to summon extra monsters. She also has the skills necessary to find her way back to all of you."

  "You don’t plan on making it back," Apricity remarked, frowning deeply. "You're leaving us behind."

  "That's a possibility," Matt admitted with a sigh. "But I intend to try to make my way back if I can. If I don't, I want all of you to follow Apricity's guidance and survive. Besides, as long as I’m alive, I'll find you all again on Earth."

  "You don't have to—" Zara started, her voice trailing off as Matt raised his hand to stop her.

  "I know, but it seems I just can’t help myself from playing the hero," he said with a rueful smile.

  Matt had expected some pushback as he spoke, but instead, he was met with silence. Moments later, they were all following Apricity as they hurried through the dimly lit dungeon corridors. They hoped fervently that there was enough distance between them and their pursuers to reach the safe room and that there were enough monsters between them for Matt’s plan to succeed. Once there, Matt could tell that several members of the group had things they wanted to say, but he didn’t give them a chance. Without hesitation, he pulled Rose in for a kiss, which held more passion than any they had shared before. Ignoring the look of hurt on her face as she ran fingers through his hair, Matt scooped Apricity up in a princess carry and swiftly turned around.

  To say that the journey back the way they had come was seamless would have been blatantly false. More than once, Matt found himself healing a wound that Apricity sustained and dealing with more than one of his own injuries as he watched a quarter of his HP diminish. Yet, he persevered, making it through six monster-infested areas, pulling a total of 24 monsters in his wake. He soon spotted the group of five enemies who had nearly killed him once before. This time, however, it was he who was smiling, taking in their shocked expressions as they saw him charging toward them with a horde of monsters. The only problem was that he was trapped between his enemies and the monsters, and he needed to devise a way for Apricity to escape safely.

  Seeing only one real option, Matt waited until he was certain that the five opponents were in the monsters' line of sight before he fled right into the chaos they created. Just before he reached the front of the pack of monsters, he spun around to build momentum, much like an athlete preparing to throw a shot put, and skillfully tossed Apricity over most of the monsters' heads. Immediately after, Matt found himself dodging the initial attacks from the lead monsters that lunged at him as he moved closer to the group of five, each of whom wore grim expressions. Despite the danger, none of them attempted to flee, which, in Matt’s mind, was a troubling sign.

  In the end, Matt chose to weave through the monsters rather than confront the group of five, which resulted in him dodging desperately, as if his life depended on it. Meanwhile, he kept a vigilant eye on the five others, who seemed to make him feel terribly outmatched. It appeared to them that the monsters were no more threatening than a playful puppy. With single, decisive attacks, they dispatched the creatures one by one, and Matt began to regret his earlier decision to spare them. As he advanced, he intentionally intercepted an attack aimed at slaying a monster, which led to the loss of his arm. However, he swiftly regenerated it while his opponent lost his own. This, in turn, led to Matt being assaulted by a monster as he attempted to do the same to another member of the five. He was on the verge of positioning himself when the voice of the wolfman leader cut through the chaos.

  "Surrender, and you won't have to die. We'll even ignore the rest of your party."

  "Right, and why should I trust you?" Matt retorted, skepticism lacing his voice.

  "Our bosses want to meet you. Even if you kill me, all you'll achieve is having a B-ranked party sent after you, and then you'll really be in trouble, as they'll be even more furious than I am," the wolfman leader warned, his tone carrying a hint of menace.

  Matt wanted to scream out of sheer frustration, as he found himself out of position and unable to act while the wolfman leader refused to stand still during their exchange. Instead, the leader had charged into the chaos, intent on capturing Matt. Matt knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught, as his previous trick—making it easy to injure himself to reflect injuries back onto his opponent—wouldn't work this time. Somehow, his instincts screamed that the wolfman was ready for it.

  As his frustration mounted, Matt thought of Rose and how their already brief time together was being cut even shorter. He also lamented how the other four weren't even given a chance. Despite his mind urging him to fight on, to struggle and find a way out, Matt realized he had lost, and no amount of resistance could change that. Still, he wasn't willing to surrender easily. He pondered how to show his defiance, only to recognize that giving up might be the most frustrating thing for the wolfman. So, with a resigned sigh, Matt raised his hands and spoke with a tinge of bitterness, "Fine, you've beaten me."

  A moment later, Matt felt the man grab him by his pinky finger, pulling him out of the monsters’ ranks with surprising ease. From his new vantage point, Matt watched as the remaining three healthy members of the wolfman’s party efficiently dispatched the remaining monsters. Unfortunately for Matt, he gained no experience from the fight. He anxiously waited to see if he would survive what came next, as the wolfman leader, looking rather annoyed, addressed him.

  “Where’s the defiance that I was expecting?”

  “It’s simple,” Matt replied with a resigned tone. “I know when I am beaten, and you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have some way to counteract my abilities. Besides, it's clear to me that you could take down all of the monsters I brought by yourself if it came to that.”

  “True,” the wolfman leader acknowledged. “Still, I have to say, I’m impressed. If you had succeeded in taking our arms and legs again, even these weaklings could have eventually overwhelmed us. Now, are you going to behave as we make our escape, or do we need to do things the hard way?”

  “As long as you’ll give me a minute to send my party a message, I’ll behave,” Matt conceded.

  “Good. Just know, the better you listen, the better your odds of not being killed when my boss speaks with you.”

  Matt sighed as he opened the leadership messaging system. He quickly typed out a message about being captured but unharmed for the time being. After receiving assurance that, for now, the rest of his party would be left alone, he finished the message with this information and sent it off, trusting Emily to handle the rest.