Ch 83
Matt stood approximately ten feet away from the safe room where he, Apricity, and Bob had appeared, vigilantly waiting for something to attack. Despite making noise several times, nothing responded, leaving Apricity and Bob lingering just a few feet from the safe room, ready to retreat swiftly if necessary. A part of Matt felt the urge to venture further away, sensing that the safe room was situated in an area almost too secure. However, he knew that moving away would lead to Apricity insisting on accompanying him. Thus, when he finally detected movement in the dark tunnels, which seemed to hold only a fraction of the light compared to the safe room, he felt a slight relief.
Unfortunately, Matt couldn’t discern what the shadows were, as they were still too far away. However, they clearly moved around on four legs. The creatures seemed as wary of him as he was of them—until, quite suddenly, they were not. Before he knew it, there were two of them instead of one. They dashed forward, and Matt caught the glint of metal on the heads of what appeared to be starving rottweilers, with teeth that gleamed with the same metallic shine. Gripping two throwing knives, Matt had only a moment to adjust his aim from their heads to their bellies, waiting for the precise moment when they would leap to strike.
As a result, both knives found their mark, but Matt had to duck down swiftly before wrapping an arm around each monster's neck to restrain them. Despite his efforts, Matt was knocked over as the creatures struggled fiercely, their claws tearing through his clothing and scratching his skin. Nevertheless, he held them tightly with all his strength as Apricity screamed in alarm and Bob charged forward, veering to the side before leaping with a fierce growl onto one of the monsters.
With the monster Bob was attacking growing weaker, Matt felt confident in their situation. Sure enough, it was only a few seconds later that the creature went limp, allowing Matt to focus entirely on the remaining threat. Not that he needed to, as Bob seemed more than eager to finish it off as well. Matt then received the anticipated notification, signaling their victory.
Monsters killed: two level 9 steel hounds.
Base experience multiplied by one.
Awarding 10 experience.
Current experience to next level 8013/9000.
Although Matt only earned ten experience points, he was confident that both Bob and Apricity had gained significantly more. As he struggled to his feet, he began to drag the defeated monsters back into the safety of the room. During this effort, he noticed that Apricity appeared somewhat shaken by the way the battle had unfolded, and he realized that his current battered state wasn't providing much comfort. Nevertheless, he made an effort to smile reassuringly as he spoke to her, sensing that she hadn't fully grasped the need to retreat.
"Once we’re back in the safe room," he said, trying to keep his voice steady, "we can discuss any improvements to our strategy that come to mind."
As if just realizing she was staring, she nodded, and a moment later, she insisted that she would handle breaking down both monsters while Matt healed. Matt nodded but stayed close by, observing that every bone of the monsters appeared to be plated with metal on the side facing the skin, while the inner side was normal. Despite this, the fact that their teeth were entirely plated and designed for piercing and ripping flesh was ominous. However, it could be beneficial if they managed to extract them.
"What kind of fighting style did you end up favoring?" Matt inquired curiously.
"I didn’t really favor any," Apricity replied with a slight shrug. "I opted for a staff when given choices because it seemed the most logical. But, during the first fight, a monster tore it from my hands and ran off, taking my staff with it. After that, throwing rocks from the back line was about all I could manage. Honestly, if I hadn’t developed my ability to find a safe path, my group probably wouldn’t have tolerated me for long."
"Were you labeled a loner or something similar when you first arrived?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, we were called those who felt a call towards nature," Apricity explained. "But then we were dropped into an urban environment with not a single tree in sight and told to survive."
"Meanwhile, they send loners like myself into the middle of the woods with nothing but a few ruins around," Matt added with a chuckle. "And now we're in this bizarre cave system they call a dungeon, which is very different from the one I encountered before."
"You’ve been in a dungeon before?" Apricity asked, her interest piqued.
"Yeah," answered Matt. "But that one was just one floor of undead after another that had to be defeated before resetting, and this one is apparently an entire planet, and it doesn't sound like it resets if beaten."
"That makes sense," agreed Apricity. "It is likely just a general term for any place where monsters spawn out of seemingly nowhere," she replied. "From what I've observed, the monsters don't follow the normal rules of nature or biology, like with these bones."
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"Would you say Bob has started to become a monster?"
"No, but he was already almost domesticated before all of this, so who knows if the same can be said for most of the animals on Earth. I mean, most of the monsters I saw were like mutant versions of animals that you would expect to find in a city. Trust me, if you were there, you would miss the days when you avoided birds flying overhead because their poop was gross and not because it exploded on contact with the ground."
"High school might have been a bit more interesting if that had been the case back on Earth."
"What?" Apricity asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's right, you grew up in a small town," commented Matt. "Let's just say that when you have over a thousand kids tossing their trash from lunch, scavengers flock towards any scrap of food that gets thrown out. I doubt there was a single square inch of my school that hadn’t been hit by bird poop at some point during the school year."
"I think I just learned more about your childhood than you've ever shared in my previous attempts to get to know more about you, and all it took was the end of the world. Still, that sounds terrible, but it beats having to drive an hour to and from school every day. Plus, I'm sure you never had to worry about anything scarier than a raccoon bothering you while growing up."
"Have you seen where I chose to live? Besides, since when did you fear any animals?"
"Respect, not fear. A bear will do what it needs to survive, and if that means it sees you as a meal, well, if you can't get away, that's what you're going to be."
"Not without giving it a few scars to remember me by," retorted Matt with a smirk. "On that note, are you going to be okay when it’s your turn to start fighting?"
"I don’t know," the Apricity replied, a trace of uncertainty in her voice. "I definitely can’t pull off what you did in that last fight, and I'm stumped on what to choose now that I've leveled up to level 4. It's offering me a new path, but nothing feels right."
"You leveled up from that last fight?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Yeah," Apricity confirmed with a nod. "It was worth 210 experience points. I feel a bit guilty about taking—"
"Don't even finish that thought," Matt interjected. "You took 10 points from me, so it’s no big deal. So, what options are you considering?"
"Umm, okay," she hesitated, clearly weighing her choices. "I don’t really like any of the options it gave me, so I dismissed the message. I’m hoping it will offer something new at the next level. That’s why I’m really taking my time to analyze these dogs, taking note of how they differ from normal animals."
"You’re hoping for a path that will let you identify stuff?"
"Perhaps, but I would be more than satisfied with anything I deemed useful, considering that the best option I initially had was a nature guide. There was also the option of a spiritual guide, but that one sounds far too religious for my taste, and I doubt anyone still believes in that stuff after being whisked away from Earth."
"I’m not so sure," Matt countered thoughtfully. "From what Tempormr has mentioned, it seems like gods, similar to the ones we had on Earth, might have influenced many worlds before the system integrated them. I don't have all the details, but we could very well encounter those who believe these deities are real or who worship beings with power akin to Tempormr as gods. Then there’s the system itself; I’m certain many will see its defiance of the natural laws we know as evidence of its divinity."
"That sounds absolutely terrible," groaned Apricity, shaking her head in disbelief. "And I used to complain anytime a group of Mormons stayed at our lodge. They always seemed to want to convert me. Even if they were among the nicer guests, I didn’t appreciate their attempts to tell me that coffee was evil. I mean, most of them couldn’t even provide a decent reason beyond the fact that it was part of their health code."
"Most?" Matt interjected, raising an eyebrow.
"One of them spouted some nonsense about tannic acids," Apricity continued, rolling her eyes. "But it felt weak to me since those are in so many things, and I didn’t see any of them avoiding chocolate."
"Right," Matt nodded. "Let’s just agree that there are far more questions than answers and leave it at that."
"I can work with that," Apricity said, nodding thoughtfully. "But since we’re on the topic of what direction I should take my path, do you have any thoughts?"
"What stats does your guidance path boost?" Matt inquired.
"Spirit, then mind. Why?" Apricity replied, curious about his line of questioning.
"Because..."
Matt explained how training stats functioned—and why, according to Tempormr’s teachings, most people focused on boosting one attribute above all the others. He shared his own theories and the fragments of lore entrusted to him, but he refused to dictate Apricity’s path. That choice was hers alone. Even when she pressed him for specifics, he only shrugged, steering the conversation back to tactics for the next wave of monsters.
“You can’t expect me to just stand by while you get injured over and over,” Apricity protested, crossing her arms. “There has to be a better way to fight.”
“I’m sure there is,” Matt admitted, running a hand through his sweat-matted hair, “but until we get weapons and gear suited to it, I’ll have to put up with a little pain.”
“What happens if three of those creatures show up at once?”
“We fall back to the safe room.”
“There has to be another option.”
“When I think you and Bob can handle yourselves there, we’ll explore it,” he countered gently.
“Then I need more training.”
“And what kind of training do you have in mind?” His eyebrow twitched—he clearly thought sparring with her now would be reckless, given the beasts they’d already faced.
Apricity merely smiled and drew herself up. “I want to fight you while you hold back—only defend.”
“Fighting a person is different from fighting a monster,” Matt pointed out.
“Then simulate a monster’s attack. Tackle me, throw me off balance—whatever you think they’d do.”
He sighed before responding. “Granted, sparring with me might help you get used to wielding a weapon—but what you need most is to keep your head when you see fangs and claws.”
“I think confidence counts for more,” she countered, eyes bright. “If I know I can fend off an attack—and that you won’t go down under their onslaught—I won’t panic.”
Matt paused, considering. Finally he nodded. “Fine. Let’s find you a blade and do a bit of sparring before we lure in the next group.”
“Okay,” Apricity said, “but I want to add one rule to our match.”
He shook his head. “No. You can’t set conditions until you can force me to follow them.”
With that, Matt tossed her a short knife and peeled off his top—though it was already shredded in places. He assumed a ready stance, bare-chested and unarmed. Apricity caught the knife by its handle, weighing it in her palm. For a heartbeat she studied his posture, then lunged forward with a fierce, and slightly comical to Matt cry.
