Ch 115
Leaving with Kal felt like a grave mistake to Matt, but abandoning her felt like an even greater danger. Yet, he couldn’t simply eliminate her to resolve the issue. No, Matt believed his only option was to endure the complications that her presence would inevitably cause. Fortunately, she proved to be somewhat useful and was willing to adapt to the needs of the group. Upon reaching level 10, she chose the path of the hidden dagger lover, expertly crafted for stealthy attacks in more ways than one. Poor Greg discovered this the hard way; she never hesitated to suddenly press her lips against his whenever he brought up anything even remotely related to harem themes.
As they returned to the safe room where they had fought the four from Godfrey Enterprises, it became evident that while none of Matt’s party had leveled up, Kal had surged forward, achieving level 12 and was quickly catching up to them, especially after they ventured into the area populated by level 17 creatures. Still, while the rest of the group battled the formidable level 17 monsters, Kal could do little more than hide, feigning her role of guarding Greg’s back. This was a position she had claimed for herself, declaring herself as Greg’s first wife, a title that Greg vehemently denied with every ounce of his being.
Unfortunately for Greg, the rest of the party, except for Matt, was more than happy to treat her as such, as it was the only form of teasing him about the situation that Matt wasn’t shutting down. This tactic proved effective in keeping Greg on his toes, as he only slipped up around twice a day by that point, and he seemed determined not to give Kal any excuses to kiss him. On the one occasion when he became overly frustrated, Matt had to warn him that such behavior wouldn’t be tolerated, and that was all he said on the matter. Despite this, a part of Matt felt like the bad guy for stepping in, as he knew he would have reacted far more harshly if any of the women were doing what Kal was to Greg. With this thought lingering in his mind, as they all settled in for the night, Matt decided it was time to have a conversation with everyone after they had finished their storytelling session for the night.
"Alright, the past few days have certainly been interesting. Kal, you're not Greg's first wife, although I suspect you may have been his first kiss. Moving forward, Greg, I'm going to give you three strikes before Kal is permitted to make a move on you each day, because I've appreciated not having to hear about it as often. However, Greg, if I get the impression you're using your free strikes just because you can, I'll let things revert to how they have been."
"No fair, I've been trying to be a good wife for my Greggy-poo," Kal protested, pouting slightly.
"Matt, I won't let you down, but could you please also tell her to stop snuggling up to me after I've gone to sleep?" Greg requested, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"Kal, let Greg sleep in peace or I'll leave you behind in one of these safe rooms," Matt warned, his tone firm yet playful.
"No fair, what have I done to deserve this?" Kal whined, crossing her arms in mock indignation.
Matt felt the urge to shout as he struggled to find the best way to explain things to the goblin woman, but Eleanor spoke up for him.
“It has nothing to do with what you did or didn’t do. Personally, I believe that Greg has either been controlling himself quite well or secretly enjoys the attention but won't admit it. Matt is correct that we’ve let things slide for too long, and now that we are back to what should be intense fighting, we need to refocus and eliminate distractions. By my count, it’s been over five months since we were integrated, meaning we have nearly half of our time remaining before we are sent back to Earth.”
“And that is exactly what I want to focus on,” Matt interjected firmly. “We’ve been concentrating on fighting foes only a few levels ahead of us recently, but I want to change that. D rank goes all the way to level 32, and I think that we already possess the stats of most level 32 monsters in this dungeon, thanks to the rigorous training we did before reaching level 17. Kal, you have a decision to make here. We can spend time between the level 16 area and the area we are in right now as you train fighting solo, or we can carry you as your level catches up to ours. Which path do you want to take?”
Kal frowned before turning to look at Greg, then asked him a question. "What do I need to do for you to accept me?"
"It doesn't work like that," Greg replied. "There needs to be a mutual attraction—"
"Then what would make me attractive to you?" Kal interrupted, her curiosity piqued.
"Growing about two feet, at least reaching this high on me," Greg said, raising his hands to the middle of his chest with a playful grin.
Currently, Kal stood just below his waist, and she frowned as she glanced at the point Greg's hand indicated. Turning to Emily, she spoke with determination, "Will you please mark how high that is for me, so that when I reach it, he can't say that I didn't?"
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"Sure, but do you have a way to do it?" Emily asked with a curious tone. "I mean, is it something like how you showed us healing works?"
"Yes, but this might just be a goblin thing," Kal explained. "There are advantages and disadvantages to being tall when you live underground. It is possible to grow taller, but not shorter, so if I'm going to surrender what I see as one of my advantages, then I want a promise."
"You won't even be able to come with me," Greg argued, raising an eyebrow. "Why are you so set on this?"
"Best option and it’s fun to tease you," Kal replied with a mischievous smile.
Greg simply blinked in confusion before turning his gaze to Matt, who merely shrugged in response.
“Fine, if you can accomplish three things, I’ll agree to your terms,” Greg declared, his voice firm. “First, you must reach this height,” he said, gesturing to an imaginary line above his head. “Second, you need to promise that you will never sleep with another man. And finally, you must find a way to ensure that any children we have won’t be goblins.”
“That last one seems a bit harsh,” Emily interjected, raising an eyebrow. “Also, who are you to dictate her love life when you plan to sleep with other women?”
“It’s the code of the harem story,” Greg replied, his tone resolute. “My dream isn’t to simply sleep with a multitude of women and be labeled a total sleazeball. What I aspire to is to be surrounded by fierce, sexy women who can take care of themselves and are devoted to one another as well as to me. I don’t intend to sleep with any women who aren’t willing to join my harem, as doing so would feel like a betrayal to them.”
“He sounds so noble at first, until you actually pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth,” Rose remarked, stifling a laugh as she shook her head. “Still, I’ve certainly heard much worse from men.”
“At least he has some kind of code,” Eleanor commented thoughtfully. “If he can actually find women willing to buy into his delusion, we shouldn’t be angry with him for it. But wanting to control what their children look like? Now that’s pushing it a bit far.”
"I just don’t want the issues that having goblin children is sure to bring," declared Greg. "I couldn't care less if they look like goblins, as long as they maintain good hygiene and aren't idiots."
"I can agree with Greg on limiting reproduction potential," chimed in Matt. "However, I think simply requiring a solution to be found before they have any kids would be more reasonable."
"I can agree to that," Kal added. "I'm sure there's a way to make that happen, but I want Greg's promise that he'll come for me if we get separated and I'm stuck here."
"Fine," Greg agreed. "Just please make sure I don’t feel like I have a child telling me she wants to marry me. I never enjoyed that particular trope."
"Alright, so are we spending time for Kal to train, or going straight to speed leveling?" Emily inquired, her curiosity piqued.
"Kal needs to train," Greg stated firmly. "If she's going to survive here after we're all sent elsewhere, it's the least we can do."
"Alright, we have a plan," Matt confirmed. "This means it will be a few more days before we all reach level 18 and can alter our path. So, I want everyone thinking about what they would like to add to their own path and—"
"What do you plan to add?" Emily asked, cutting in with genuine interest. "I mean, your path feels the weirdest to me."
"How so?" asked Matt, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "All I do is pick the best option—"
"For the moment," interrupted Emily, with a knowing look. "It's just things like regeneration and luck being options for you, while something like self-sacrifice isn't viewed as a reckless choice. What I'm saying is that the way all the aspects of your path blend together feels peculiar."
"You see this type of thing in games all the time," commented Greg, leaning back against the wall. "Someone notices that abilities not meant to be combined can lead to something unexpectedly powerful. Like being a gnomish cavalier and using charge abilities indoors because of a smaller mount."
"This isn't a game," Matt retorted, with a hint of impatience. "I'm not trying to find exploits or—"
"It operates a lot like some games I know," countered Greg, gesturing animatedly. "We've discussed this before, but I really think we should draw more inspiration from games, books, and all kinds of stories about what's possible. After all, with our skills boiling down to the essence of our paths, we need to be more imaginative."
"Then go ahead and do that," Matt retorted, crossing his arms. "Everyone should find their own ways to improve unless someone knows a sure-fire way to succeed."
"Matt, you need to not get frustrated when we discuss things like this," chided Emily gently. "We understand you don't have many references because of how you've lived your life. Still, asking us is a great way to gain valuable insights."
"Yeah, being lucky is a great superpower if it's powerful enough," agreed Greg. "There was even a scene in a movie where everything around a character with that power was death and destruction, but it was like they could just walk through all of it without a care in the world."
"I don’t think—"
"You don’t want to think," interrupted Emily. "Matt, your instincts are impressive, and watching you manipulate your body is something else, but several of us think you’re not using your skills to their full potential."
Matt glanced around, noticing that all eyes were on him. He wondered how the conversation had shifted to focus on him. He had just wanted to help Greg avoid Kal and figure out if Kal was willing to put in the effort to truly fit the spirit of Scattered Stars. Yet, somehow, the topic had turned on him, leaving him without a solid response as everyone seemed intent on convincing him of his shortcomings. With a resigned sigh, he replied.
"Look, I am just trying to keep things simple because I don’t want to juggle a dozen different abilities in the middle of combat. Manipulating my body, increasing my recovery speed when in a critical state, reflecting damage back onto my enemy, and negating attacks are enough for me."
"It’s enough for Matt, the guy standing alone, but not for Matt, the guy with a whole lot of people counting on him," stated Eleanor. "I think you need to realize that more than anything, and the next six months might be all the time that you have to do so."
