Ch 137

  As Matt rushed forward, he found himself cursing just how low his stats were, feeling as though the world was frozen while he took in the massive form of the shark. Beyond its enormous size, it also displayed unexpected colorations, with its top blending seamlessly with the color of the sand and its underside being a darker brown. However, what stood out more to Matt were the thousands of small, razor-sharp blades that lined its body from head to tail, each one appearing to move like a saw blade. It was those blades that had caused most of the damage to Zara, who narrowly avoided the shark’s gaping maw as it dove down at her. In a swift motion, Bob rushed in and dragged her back to safety, while Matt was in awe of the creature's terrifying design and ferocity.

  As Bob stopped by Matt, he witnessed Greg’s magic strike the shark, accompanied by an arrow from Yumiko. Neither of these attacks seemed to have much effect as the shark disappeared beneath the sand. Meanwhile, Matt focused on healing Zara, but he struggled with transferring her wound to himself due to his limited surface area. As he healed, he began to shrink, which almost caused him to stop. Nevertheless, he persevered and found himself returning to his three-inch form as he gazed at Zara’s restored face. This moment reminded him of the first time he had healed anyone, as Zara had been in the greatest need back then, her body covered in burns. It also brought back memories of the kiss she had given him, a thought he couldn’t shake after the earlier conversation with Rose.

  Still, Matt pushed those thoughts out of his mind and worked desperately to weave his essences, focusing primarily on his hope, luck, and fate essences to will his party to victory. Simultaneously, he attempted to twist fate to ensure the sharks would lose, as he worried about their ability to handle the five massive sharks. However, as he felt the ground beneath them solidify, with Greg grunting from the strain of channeling his magic into the earth, Matt reassessed the situation. Suddenly, the five sharks were pushed away, and Greg resumed calling out orders with renewed vigor.

  "Focus on one mound and get it to jump!" he commanded, his voice cutting through the tension.

  "Got it," Eleanor called out confidently. "Rose, pull me back after I strike!"

  "On it," replied Rose with determination as Eleanor dashed forward, her steps quick and precise, and struck the mound with force. The coordinated effort of the team was a testament to their trust in each other's abilities.

  Once more, the shark that had attacked Zara leapt out, and Rose quickly pulled Eleanor back as the ground beneath the creature became solid. The shark faceplanted on the hardened surface, giving Zara the chance to stand. She exchanged a complicated look with Matt before joining the other two women in attacking the formidable predator. Not that the shark made things easy; it flailed around wildly, attempting to hit them and return to the safety of the sand. However, it managed to do so only after being thoroughly bloodied by the women's relentless attacks. Its movements were significantly slower than those of the other three mounds, giving the women the advantage to launch another swift assault.

  Initially, Matt had believed that everything was going to proceed smoothly. However, as the wounded shark leaped, the other four followed suit, diving into the solid ground that Greg was tirelessly maintaining. This exertion was enough to make Greg groan, but his magic remained steadfast as they ignored the four healthy sharks and concentrated all their efforts on the injured one. Matt frowned, disliking the sensation of helplessness as he struggled to find a way to assist them. With his skills significantly weakened and his stats drastically low, he felt a wave of hopelessness wash over him. He could have managed with a reduction to 50%, or even 25%, but being at just 1% made him feel utterly ineffectual. Beyond healing, which would apparently diminish his mass despite all his efforts, he found himself lacking in utility.

  In the end, after repeated struggles, they managed to kill the sharks, sustaining only minor injuries beyond the initial wound Zara received. As the ground transitioned back to sand, Greg sat down to catch his breath, and it became evident that they were taking an extended break. This time, Matt found himself frowning as he settled down to eat while communicating with Bob, finding himself too small to vocalize once again. Additionally, he sensed that Rose wasn’t quite ready to resume their unfinished conversation just yet.

  “Why did you get smaller from healing?” Bob inquired curiously.

  “It seems that is how that ability was weakened in this body,” Matt mentally grumbled as he took a bite of the meat Bob had brought him. “I really need to bulk up.”

  “Or you could stay small and just ride on my back. Who knows, maybe being so small will have some advantages,” Bob suggested.

  “Like what, fitting into small places?” Matt replied skeptically.

  “Yes, like the bugs that always annoyed me back home,” Bob responded with a hint of amusement.

  “I mean, that might not be the worst idea as far as sneaking around on the surface, but right now I need size,” Matt mused, contemplating the potential benefits.

  “Why would you want to go back where those who want to kill you are?” Bob asked, concerned.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Why should I leave them alone?” Matt countered, his expression determined.

  “What can you do to them?” Bob pressed further.

  “Confuse them, as I don’t know if this body will return to Earth when the time comes,” Matt replied with a frown. “If I can make them think that I am still here, it could cause them to have questions about the how.”

  “They would know the moment they see your information. Emily can’t be the only one to have such abilities,” Bob pointed out logically.

  “I know, but I was thinking that if I could figure out a way to make them see my real stats instead of this puppet’s stats, it could work. Sure, there are a ton of things that I’ll need to do, but if I can invite people to Scattered Stars with this body and take control of this world—”

  “Who are you and what have you done with the guy who used to feed me fish guts and happily live off the land?” Bob interjected, half-jokingly, sensing Matt’s ambitious shift.

  Matt paused, contemplating when he had first considered the idea of conquering something and why he felt compelled to do so. He recognized that it was his instincts driving him in that direction, but he questioned when they had started feeling this way and whether it was truly his instincts or the result of outside influence. After all, he had spent considerable time around others who might have possessed an ability like Jaelyn's, subtly twisting his priorities.

  "I don't know," Matt replied, frowning thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if my instincts have been tampered with or if there's a reason I can't see, but that's what I think needs to be done."

  "Well, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't," stated Bob firmly. "Sure, if you want to sneak in and persuade the women meant to join Scattered Stars to actually join, that makes sense."

  "But not orchestrating a full takeover of a world," Matt concluded. "It seems I need to consider several things."

  "You just focus on that and leave the fighting in this dungeon to us. If you can bring us a bit of luck and provide some healing, that's great, but even I can tell that fighting isn't your forte right now."

  "Yeah, you're probably right," Matt admitted.

  "I know I'm right," Bob commented jokingly. "Just like I knew you'd feed me after you didn't kick me out when I showed up as a kitten."

  "You don't remember that far back," Matt retorted. "I bet you don't recall anything about life without me."

  "True, but I don't have to," Bob replied. "I know what happened, and that's enough for me to understand why I stayed."

  "So, what are you going to do when you find yourself standing on two legs?" Matt asked, frowning as he tried to envision Bob as a beast-man. "I mean, I don't really think you could still call yourself a pet at that point."

  "Steal all the females that show interest in you," quipped Bob with a mischievous grin. "No, I think that if I can avoid such a transformation, I will. After all, I don’t think anyone will want to rub my belly or scratch behind my ears if my form changed."

  "Good to know that you have your priorities in order," chuckled Matt, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Though, you’ll need to get others to do it, as now that we can talk like this, it feels weird to do that."

  "I am aware," Bob replied, nodding. "It’s why part of me hopes Greg convinces you and the five women here to work something out."

  "No," stated Matt firmly, his tone leaving no room for debate. "That isn’t something I could handle, and no amount of pestering will get me to budge on it."

  "I would have agreed before you displayed your current ability," retorted Bob, raising an eyebrow. "I can hear Greg thinking over the possibilities now. Trust me when I say that he is going to try and find a way for him to produce a similar effect. Plus, he is sure to want to get you to use it for many different purposes."

  "I didn’t think that you were such a deep thinker," commented Matt, surprised. "I always figured you cared more about fun and relaxation than the how and why."

  "I always had you around until the start of all this," Bob confessed, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Then I found myself alone in our home as the drive to devour came over me. That is what is happening back home right now; everything is fighting to be the top beast, and I am sure that they won’t take kindly to us when we return. It will be interesting to see if people even have a chance to survive, depending on what comes out on top."

  "It won’t matter," replied Matt with determination. "If they can’t cooperate with tens of thousands of others that share their vision, they will be doomed."

  "Unless they’re A ranked and everything else is C ranked and below," cautioned Bob, his voice laced with concern. "It’s that kind of scenario that we should worry about more than any other."

  Matt really didn’t know what to say to that as he continued to eat, and Bob seemed to be finished talking as he shifted to napping. Thankfully, nothing significant occurred over the next few hours as Apricity used her abilities, and Matt managed to regain most of the mass he had lost from healing Zara. Still, he kept eating as they set off and promised himself that he would wait until he was at least three feet tall before attempting to heal anything again. They had only moved about 100 feet before they found themselves facing their next group of adversaries. This time, it was giant sand stingrays, which led to a battle similar to the one with the sand sharks. Matt stayed out of the way, focusing on trying to increase everyone’s luck and twist fate in their favor.

  As they continued their journey towards the water, several more skirmishes erupted, each encounter becoming more intense as they encountered increasing resistance. By the time they were just a few hundred yards from their destination, Matt had impressively grown to a full two feet in height. At this point, Greg decided it was time for another break. They had just vanquished a group of flying swordfish, and several among them were tending to wounds inflicted by the swordfish's sharp bills. Fortunately, defeating the ten-foot-long meniscus became somewhat easier as the swordfish, having succeeded in their attacks, presented themselves as easy targets. Although, their attempts to fly away with someone impaled on their swords had proven to be particularly troublesome.

  Not being able to heal anyone had been difficult for Matt, though there was also something he discovered during the fight that he was pondering how to address. After all, at no point did any of the fish target him, and upon reflection, he realized that he had not been targeted even once throughout the entire confrontation. If that truly was the case, then theoretically, he should be able to scout without fear while the others recovered. However, there was just one problem: he knew that even though this wasn't his real body, convincing the others to allow him to venture out alone wasn't going to be an easy task.