Ch 131
Matt frowned as he examined the beast-woman, who possessed orange tabby cat features. Her simple declaration seemed to rekindle the interest of some of the women around them. He wouldn't lie and claim that he expected anyone besides himself to willingly stand against those as powerful as Tempormr. Even he wavered at such a daunting thought, a part of him nearly driven to find a hole to hide in at the mere idea. Yet, Matt sensed that this fearful instinct was the same darkness that had enveloped him when he had narrowly escaped death in the Tomb of the Restless Defenders.
It was an instinct that compelled him to survive by remaining unnoticed and isolating himself from the world. This was much like how he had lived back on Earth, except now it drove him to ensure that neither Bob nor anyone else ever knew his whereabouts. To Matt's surprise, this realization made him frown, as he discovered a longing to have someone by his side. He actually desired a wife, a notion he had dismissed countless times as not being for him. Yet, he couldn’t deny that his brief relationship with Rose had left him wanting more. However, he didn’t even consider any of the women before him as potential partners, not even for a moment.
"Is that enough?" pressed the beast-woman with her striking orange tabby cat features, pulling Matt out of his thoughts. Her eyes glimmered with curiosity as she continued, "Fighting a few levels above oneself is considered an accomplishment to—"
"What level are you?" interrupted Matt, uninterested in the standards she was referencing.
"Five," she replied sharply. "Like all of us here, we are forbidden from advancing further until we have a mate who demands us to, and then we must follow the path they set."
"Would you dare fight a level 9 monster?" Matt inquired, his voice laced with intrigue.
"By myself?" she echoed, a hint of both defiance and trepidation in her voice.
Matt beamed as he noticed her moment of hesitation before he replied. "I killed my first level 9 foe less than an hour after reaching level 3. I won't ask any of you to meet that standard, but every one of my party members demonstrated they could fight a rank above them by level 16. I'm sure you all understand just how quickly stats increase exponentially between ranks and what that means. Anyone who wishes to join Scattered Stars must be prepared to push themselves to achieve this feat."
A lengthy silence ensued as the women exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of contemplation and determination. Finally, the one with orange tabby cat features stepped forward, her eyes meeting his with a steady gaze.
"I'm in," she declared with confidence. "You're not asking us for anything more than what you expect from your own party, so I don't think it's fair to complain."
"If you ever have the time to complain, you should use it to solve the issues instead," Matt retorted, his tone firm yet encouraging. "Another thing to note is that if you join Scattered Stars, you won't be able to use your father's influence for anything. You'll be no different from any other member, except you won't be required to return to my world when the system forces us all to return."
"Is that why you look at us as if we are insignificant?" asked the rabbit-woman who had ushered him in.
"No, it's because of what I learned from speaking with Naomi. To me, anyone who would simply accept being weak, as all of you have, seems hopeless. However, since my path is the Hope of the Hopeless, I feel almost compelled to offer you all a way out of your current lives, if you're willing to take it."
"That is... interesting," the rabbit-woman remarked after hesitating for a moment, unsure of what to say. "You see us as hopeless, despite who our father is. I'm not sure whether to feel insulted or impressed."
"Why should you feel either?" Matt questioned. "I am merely stating things as I perceive them. All I see is a room filled with women who have lived in their father's shadow their entire lives and have never truly understood what it means to struggle. I expect that most of you would break down and cry if pushed to succeed in the ways I intend to push anyone who decides to follow me."
Matt received no response after that, and deciding that he might as well sit while he waited, made his way over to the couch and settled down as if he owned the place. He wasn't sure why, but acting in any way other than overbearing at that moment felt like it would have been a mistake. He didn't even flinch when the one with orange tabby cat features plopped down next to him, her tail flicking lazily. Most of the women around him shifted uncomfortably, appearing to be locked in an internal debate over his offer. However, several of them turned and left immediately, having decided that his proposal wasn’t for them.
Truthfully, Matt held high hopes only for the one with orange tabby cat features and the white-haired rabbit woman, whose icy glare intensified the moment he sat. The rest were mired in too much indecision, though at least they seemed capable of considering their options, which was more than he felt he had observed from Naomi. Still, if this situation was indicative of the norm throughout the universe, Matt wasn't particularly eager to learn more, as he let his thoughts wonder.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
By the time the women's father returned, only twelve of the women remained, and it was clear to Matt, despite the man's alien rabbit-like facial features, that he was displeased. Still, the father didn't start to shout as he surveyed those who remained, giving each of them an approving nod before turning his attention to Matt. Not feeling like caring any longer, Matt simply returned his gaze, waiting for the horned rabbit-man to speak.
"Nothing," stated the rabbit-man with a tone of irritation. "You have nothing to say when I return after dealing with the unpleasantness that is of your making?"
"Not really, as I consider all of this unpleasantness a result of Godfrey Enterprises doing," retorted Matt, a hint of defiance in his voice. "Honestly, if your members hadn't attacked us, we would have left them alone and possibly even been willing to discuss working together without the need for threats. I could have even introduced you to Greg, who would likely have jumped at the chance to marry a few of your daughters. Instead, you forced me to use the only card I thought I had, without even knowing that you would need to beg my patron for protection afterward."
"I feel as if you need to be taught a lesson, but that can wait until after you speak with Tempormr. Now, follow me, and we can get this over with," the rabbit-man commanded, turning on his heel and expecting Matt to follow.
Matt almost felt like pushing back because he didn't appreciate the tone the rabbit-man was using, but he decided to let it go. He had already dismissed the man as a coward, too afraid of losing his power for Matt to bother with. The only redeeming quality was that the rabbit-man seemed to genuinely want a better life for his daughters than what Naomi had described as typical. Yet, as they departed from his accommodations, Matt noticed a change. The rabbit-man began to truly radiate an intimidating aura as he started speaking while they walked.
"I think you may have misjudged me based on how I acted with my daughters present," he began, his voice low and commanding. "My goal is still to see you embrace one of them, ensuring that whatever powerful bloodline you possess is passed on. As things progress, it's important for you to realize that many will seek the same outcome in less direct ways. Some may even try to force it upon you. However, I am confident they will all fail because, from what I've learned about you, your body is your weapon. Even now, I sense the danger in attempting to kill you. But remember, there is always a way to kill something; the system always ensures that, at the very least."
"Is this you threatening me?" Matt asked, clearly amused by the delivery.
"No, I'm warning you. Thanks to this, you'll find that much of the upper echelons of Godfrey Enterprises will be observing the conversation that's about to unfold. You also won't be returning to your party, no matter what you might want. Instead, you'll be expected to spend some time at several locations to gain a better understanding of how the universe operates, helping to prevent incidents like what you just did from happening again. That is unless you want us to simply hand you over to Radoznaormr and hope for the best, as more than a few voices are suggesting."
"I assume that if Tempormr refuses to cooperate with you, that will be my fate, then?" Matt inquired.
"Yes, so you should try to persuade the Roaming Time Sovern to cooperate or face the consequences of attracting the attention of the Ever Curious Sovern. Honestly, you had to catch the attention of the one apex S-rank that's always looking for things to meddle with. It's why simply handing you over could prove to be worse than us running for our lives, in my opinion."
"That is actually useful information," Matt commented thoughtfully. "So that's what Tempormr is better known as."
"No, those are their paths," the rabbit-man corrected. "It's also why having either of their attention is usually a bad thing. However, neither would typically risk what destroying an organization like Godfrey Enterprises would entail."
"Oh, and just what would that mean?" Matt probed further.
"It would mean 1,500 fewer S-ranks a year. Most of whom would perish before gaining a single level and selecting the final aspect of their path. Even fewer of us attempt to progress past the point where we can no longer gain experience from A-ranked monsters. After all, it's at that point where the true cutthroat existence begins, as you have those who can only grow stronger by eliminating S-ranks. Even now, I need to be prepared to face adversaries up to 50 levels above my own, due to my base experience having risen to 50 through my species evolving several times along my path to where I am now."
"Have I evolved?" Matt inquired, pondering how his species, a human hybrid, was currently perceived. "If so, what is my base experience value?"
"You have evolved," the Rabbit-man confirmed, recalling when Matt entered the compound. "As for your base experience, it is already the same as mine. This means that by the time you reach S rank, if you live to achieve it, you could easily be at the maximum base of 100. If that occurs, expect many to hunt you for experience, as even someone 100 levels above you can still gain an experience point."
Matt chuckled darkly in response. "You're telling me I'll have willing victims delivering themselves to me? I thought climbing levels when I reach your stage was going to be difficult."
"You truly don't place others in your sight," the Rabbit-man observed.
"Fighting for my life against those I should have no chance against has provided perspective," Matt explained. "My party was my downfall; I allowed myself to be captured for their safety. Even now, you use them against me. At least my move was successful, and they should be ignored if I can get Tempormr to assist."
The Rabbit-man remained silent as they reached a set of stairs leading downward. As they descended, he began giving Matt instructions.
"We are technically entering the dungeon now. This section has been repurposed into a teleportation facility, as dungeons are the easiest sources of power one can ask for. Once we pass through, we will arrive at a waystation before heading to the main headquarters of Godfrey Enterprises. Once there, you must show far better respect, or you'll likely find yourself locked in a room while they drain all the air from it. If you somehow survive that, well, it should make the Ever Curious Sovereign happier when we hand you over for him to deal with."
Matt held his tongue, sensing that testing those words was not in his best interest, yet he knew he couldn't act too meekly either.
