Ch 77
It wasn’t until a full day after departing that Tana and her group finally returned to the fort. With them came Steve—now level 6 since Matt’s squad left—and three other warriors who’d escorted him back. They’d come not as reinforcements but simply to form his escort, for Steve had urgent business: he needed to sit down with Matt and Eleanor and compare notes on what each of them had learned. The first matter on the slate was Kal—specifically, the fragments of knowledge and theories she’d shared with Matt about how the system really worked—and Steve was convinced they’d only scratched the surface of their own innate abilities.
Matt shook his head. “I’ve told you everything she told me,” he said quietly. “I just don’t want you badgering Kal—”
“Matt, why won’t you let me press her for more?” Steve cut in, leaning forward so that the torchlight caught the worry lines at his temples. “You say she’s revealed all she knows. Why forbid me from digging deeper?”
Matt sighed and looked away. “What do you think she’ll do if she realizes her knowledge is valuable? She’ll exploit us—turn our questions into a leverage game. If you sit her down and start grilling her for secrets, she’ll figure out our weak points and use them to advance her own position. Do you want the fort overrun by goblins because we showed our hand too soon? No, just be satisfied that we’ve learned the secrets of healing magic and move on.”
Steve ran a hand through his hair. “What she shared isn’t true healing magic,” he pressed. “Not in the strict sense. It’s more like accelerating someone’s natural regeneration. Walking the Path of Healing lets you channel your own healing spirit into another person, maybe even bolster their stamina, but it’s crude. It leaves scars and it definitely can’t mend a near-fatal wound beyond what nature allows.”
Matt leaned forward, curiosity warring with caution. “How do you know it can’t heal such wounds?”
Steve’s expression darkened. “We tested it. One of our men came back with a bite wound to the thigh—a chunk of flesh gone the size of your palm. We tried the Path of Healing, and it couldn’t even regrow skin over the hole. I am supposed to be trying to convince you to break your vow and start healing people right now.”
Matt’s jaw tightened. “I’m not going back on my word, even if I agree that it’s stupid.”
“Then I’ll have to invoke Plan B,” Steve shrugged, folding his arms. “Tell everyone you left before Tana’s group arrived and rushed off to fight the goblins alone.”
Matt narrowed his eyes. “Is that what Jaelyn suggested?”
Steve nodded, tapping a skinny finger on a folded map. “She wants us to say you uncovered the trick behind the Path of Healing and sent Tana back to spread it among your chosen. To her, it’s perfect—she’s shaping you into a semi-divine leader, ready to tackle greater threats for the good of your followers. She’s already slipped snippets of it to the other group when they come to trade. If you don’t shut this down now, you’ll have half those in this area bowing to you—and some really awkward encounters waiting for you when you make it back to Earth.”
Matt suppressed a groan at Steve's words as he carefully considered his response.
"If I come back, it will likely lead to war, and then I'll end up leveling up to level 9 by killing people instead of goblins. That would mean leaving the goblin king for all of you to handle after I'm gone."
"We can deal with that—" Steve began.
"No," Matt interrupted. "You don't understand what I've learned from talking with Kal. Soon, he's going to make his move, rushing to gather experience from killing humans who reach level 5 and up, as it makes the most sense for him. The only reason he hasn't acted yet is likely due to the chaos I caused when the goblin women escaped and the fact that we have grouped together. Still, between the two large groups, which one do you think he'd target first?"
"I think you're overanalyzing things."
"Perhaps, but that should be a good enough story for you to use to prevent anyone from getting upset about me not returning to keep my promise and heal injuries."
"Fine, but can my group at least follow you until you actually make your assault on the goblin king? That way, I can spend some time talking with Kal and report that I witnessed you heading into the caves or wherever it is you're planning to go."
"I can agree to that if you will double back and let the fort know what you're doing, then just follow the trail that I'll make..."
A few more details were exchanged, and Steve agreed to double back to inform the fort before catching up with Matt’s group the following day. The key to this plan was that Matt’s group was moving slowly, concentrating on reaching just one more level. This milestone was achieved three days later, as nearly everyone joined Matt in reaching level 7, though he was still under 100 experience points from reaching level 8. Everyone who had leveled up and hadn’t yet chosen their third path did so at that time. This included several new abilities, which they all spent an additional day testing and perfecting before arriving at the entrance Kal claimed was closest to the goblin king’s likely hiding spot.
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"So, are we just going to rush in now?" asked Greg eagerly.
"No, we're just going to have a look at it," retorted Matt with a hint of sarcasm. "Yes, we're going to enter and kill goblins."
"It's not going to be easy down there," cautioned Elanor, her eyes scanning the entrance with concern. "From what Kal has said, the tunnels are quite narrow, so thrusting will be the only real option with our blades if we get caught before and between the living chambers. Overhead chops and slashes would be a bad idea in such cramped spaces."
"We'll just have to make do," replied Matt confidently. "Hopefully, my regeneration ability will come in handy down there."
"Well then, I'll be off," commented Steve, who had spent the past day and a half in deep discussion with Kal. "Kal, make sure to survive and return to establish that trade we were discussing yesterday. I believe the maps your group has been making will be well worth the tools you want us to craft."
"Yes, I also think we can work out more agreements between our groups," replied Kal, nodding in agreement.
"Let's just get this over with," urged Tana, her voice filled with determination. "The longer we stand here and talk, the more likely we are to have second thoughts."
"That's fine," said Matt, glancing at the group. "If anyone wants to leave, now is the perfect time to do so, because once we enter, that's it."
No one left, so Matt stepped forward and entered the cave hidden beneath a massive rock. It was the very tunnel used to transport women who hadn't reached level 5 for leveling, which explained why Kal knew its location. Thankfully, this also meant it was currently deserted, as even those women had been part of the escape Kal had orchestrated. Besides, the few women they had managed to retain were surely under lock and key now, secured for breeding.
As they entered the tunnel, the light nearly vanished. Kal pulled out a luminescent rock, its soft glow illuminating the narrow passageway as she led the way with Matt following closely behind her. With one hand, he was prepared to pull her back if a fight broke out, while his other hand gripped a knife tightly. Greg's hand rested on Matt's shoulder, and the rest of the group followed in a line, each walking with one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them. In this manner, they slowly and cautiously made their way deeper into the caves, maintaining silence and ensuring they stayed together whenever they encountered breaks in the path.
From what Kal had mentioned, unlike the other entrances to the goblin city, they would encounter no guards here, precisely because it was too much of a labyrinth. Instead, the path was entrusted only to a select few goblins, and only the women who traversed it ever had the opportunity to learn its secrets beyond them. Nevertheless, she cautioned them that they would still face a confrontation when they reached the end of the path. Sure enough, just as she had predicted, they arrived at a dead end that she insisted was merely designed to look that way. To demonstrate her point, she shone her light along the edges, revealing the slight crease where the stone didn't lay flat, hinting at a hidden passage.
This was the moment when Greg and Tana needed to step in. After discussing their options thoroughly, they all reached a consensus that the most effective strategy was to superheat the rock and hope it would explode. Recognizing the inherent danger of this plan, Matt positioned himself at the front, his back facing the rock, as Tana and Greg each extended a hand past him to unleash their magic. It took ten castings of their combined spells for the plan to succeed. Finally, with a loud boom and a resounding crack, the rock shattered. Matt winced as pain shot through him, feeling his back being pelted by rocks the size of golf balls, but the task was accomplished.
Not wanting to give their enemies any time to recover, Matt focused intently and healed both Tana’s and Greg’s arms, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain he felt as he pushed forward. As the rest of his group trailed behind him, they entered what appeared to be a prison. Oddly, it was completely empty; not a single guard was present. Matt began to worry that Kal might have been mistaken about the goblin king hiding in this area of the goblin settlement. His doubts persisted until four goblins suddenly came rushing in, their eyes bleary as if they had been rudely awakened by the sound of the stone breaking. Matt's party quickly dispatched them, earning a meager 2 experience points each. Despite the underwhelming reward, the message they received confirmed that the goblins had all been level 5, which was enough for Matt to brace for the possibility of encountering more adversaries. However, no additional goblins appeared. Glancing at Kal, it was evident that she had also anticipated a larger force, as her frown reflected her disappointment with the lackluster force they had faced.
In the end, they simply pressed forward and found that the tunnels were empty until they reached the point where they had been expecting to find the goblin king. Instead, they discovered around 50 goblins waiting for them, none of whom appeared strong enough to be the king of anything. A quick glance at Kal confirmed that the king wasn't among them, as she shook her head, and Matt just charged forward. The ensuing slaughter felt pitiful, and the 10 experience points that it earned Matt were a poor consolation prize. With a pair of the stronger goblins captured, Matt turned to Kal and spoke, his voice echoing slightly in the dimly lit, damp tunnel.
"I thought you were certain this was where he would go?"
"Perhaps things were worse for him than I anticipated, and another goblin has already killed him. Let me speak with the prisoners to see if they will reveal anything."
Matt frowned but didn't stop her. Unfortunately, the two goblins they had captured either genuinely didn't know anything or were unwilling to share, as neither provided any useful information. Even the threat of death couldn't compel them to say more than they didn't know what happened to the goblin king. It seemed that no one knew his fate after the goblin women escaped, and Matt felt like they were back at square one in their quest to find their target.
