Mathew left Mark’s tent. He followed his older brother to where he would be able to meet with his other two brothers.

Jonathan was less welcoming. After a few questions, and informing him that Payne was still alive, he was slightly in a better mood. “Good, I can kill the fucker myself. If you see him again, send him my way. He’s mine.”

Mathew could feel the hostility rolling off of Jon. It was obvious he did not want Mathew here.“I almost killed him myself as well. Yet the group he is with is too many. I didn’t want to risk it.”

“Bah, I won’t need to worry about numbers.” Jonathan said with a smirk. “I have some nice powers. Primarily that of stealth and subterfuge. Amazing what a God can give you.”

Matthew looked at his brother. “You took a God’s offer?” Mathew didn’t expect any of them to accept an offer from a God. Maybe Adam. Mark was another possibility, but for sure not Jonathan.

“Fuck yea I did. Power in exchange for a fake promise of loyalty? Easiest exchange of a deal I have ever done. Some small bitch named Numa visited me. The perks are worth it.” Jonathan said with a laugh. As if he won something.

“Now, what are the odds we both were visited by Numa? I wonder what Mark and Adam picked if anyone when it came to the Gods.”

“Anyways Matty, don’t think you are getting off scot free.” Jonathan said. “I’m still going to kick your ass, but at a later date. Mark has one good point. And it’s that we can use a mostly trustworthy ally. Can’t leave the important work to the lesser folks.”

Adam was almost as emotional as Mark. However it was through the voice of a Doctor. “You aren't eating enough food. You are way too thin. What’s your Constitution score? Are you keeping it up? I know plenty of magic focused people who still have less than twenty in that state and are still not as skinny as you are.”

Adam wanted to further examine Mathew, but he refused. “I can’t let him see my damaged soul, or worse, more about me.”

“I have my own doctor. A Garcia.”

“Wait, Dr. Garcia? Spanish woman? Has two huskies?”

“You know her?” Mathew asked. “Small world…yet somehow it seems larger.”

“I know of her, yes. I’ve done one or two surgeries with her. Just a friendly college. She knows her medical work. If she’s been examining you, then I’ll trust her. You’ve been following her medical advice, yes?”

Mathew inwardly sighed that he got lucky. “Mostly. When it matters. When I had to fight off an army of undead, I chose victory over a little bodily harm.”

Mark nodded at that. “Spoken like a true McGonald.”

Adam just hummed. “Still, be more careful. Benjamin was killed somehow. There could be more threats other than Dungeons or Medical ones out there.”

“Now that we are all here, there are other things to discuss. Primarily finding the next floor boss.”

Mathew chose to sit and listen. There was no reason to reveal his entire hand of knowledge. Not yet.

“Our scouting groups have only found three more dungeons, and a handful of Challenges. There are a few I want to send groups to. Primarily the Crafting Challenge. It seems good to have people rotate through it to reap maximum benefits.”

Jonathan raised a hand, “As for your boss problem, we’ve yet to find any. If the pattern continues from the last floor, they would be loud and obvious. We’ve been here for over a week. Which leads us to a few conclusions.”

With a sigh, the dark clothed brother pulled out a notebook and used it as reference. “Either the floor bosses have yet to appear due to a time restraint, or something hasn't been triggered to have them appear. Beth and our research team think it's the former. We are here, in the World Quest, for two months, and not even halfway through the first month. It would be odd to let everyone rush to the third floor. The System likes people to fight and die. So it forces us to sit around and grow bored.”

Jon’s voice grew in disappointment, as if it was an annoying problem to have. “That then turns into people wanting to kill others for their own earned rewards, or increase the chances a random monster kills them.”

Mathew was surprised at the insight Jonathan’s team had. It made sense to him as well.

Mark sighed. “Let me guess. We will need at least one more monster hoard?”

“The group has money on no more than three. They think once the first month is over, the bosses will appear.”

“Tomorrow, start reinforcing the base. I want zero casualties this time. Adam, can you lead a group to the challenges tomorrow? I am running a team through the Golem Dungeon that is nearby. With Jonathan running base operations, you are the only one left.”

Adam shook his head. “No can do. I have a slew of patients to care for, and an Axiom to rank up. I want it to be Beginner rank before the next System Event. I still don’t think it will be another hoard. That’s just lazy writing.”

Mark cursed. He glanced at Mathew for only a moment.

“Nope. We are not letting Mathew have control of an entire team this early!” Jonathan half shouted.

“Oh why not Jon? He’s been wandering the World Quest this whole time alone pretty much. Right Mathew? Other than the floor boss I imagine.”

“Mostly alone.” Mathew agreed. “Agnox is a real person, right? He counts, so I’m not technically alone. Jeffery for sure counts. Wisps? Eh, they aren't really alive.”

“See? Let the kid have someone to protect his back for once.” Mark argued.

“I refuse to agree to it.” Jon crossed his arms. “Adam, you agree with me, no?”

Adam just scratched at his face. Mathew noticed his hair had turned more gray since he last saw the second eldest brother. Meanwhile Mark still had a head full of brown hair. Jonathan’s hair was still dark as their mothers. “I hate to agree, but Mathew has no leadership experience. Let alone with our own people. It would be unfair.”

“Actually, Mathew does. He’s-”

Mathew cleared his throat. “Can I speak?” Nobody said anything to counter him. However Jonatahn rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to lead any of your groups. They are your people, and I have zero stake in their lives. However, I am fine joining and ensuring nothing goes wrong. I want to go into the Challenge as well.”

“Mat, come on, don’t let them not know.” Mark said sarcastically.

“Not know what?” Jon asked.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Mathew rolled his eyes. “Fine, Mark is going to tell you anyway. I'm the leader of Blue Oaks. So, to say I have no leadership experience is entirely wrong. In fact, I probably have as much if not more experience than you and Adam. Mark, less so.”

Adam smiled slightly, while Jon grew confused. “You? In charge of a safe zone? Impossible. Who did you kill this time to steal their shit?”

“General Payne, an annoying ex gang member, and a bald mage.”

“How many Hearth Crystals do you have?” Adam asked. “It’s curious to see you alone if you are in charge of an entire zone.”

Mathew didn’t directly answer the first question. “I didn’t understand what it meant by group or solo. I didn’t have a preplanned group, so I selected solo when I entered the World Quest. I got separated from my main group, have yet to find them.”

All three brothers blinked.

“Wait, so you have been here, alone?” Mark asked. “How did you survive the hoard, or the Floor Boss?”

Mathew stood up with a stretch. “Like you three. I am Apprentice rank for a reason. I didn’t do it completely alone however. Not even Zachary Mann could have survived the hoard without help, or a significant environmental advantage. I, on the other hand, made some new friends.”

“Now, I believe Beth can lead a group, yes? You trust her enough I assume. I can join her, keep your people safe from monsters while you three go and do your own missions. This benefits me enough that I’ll help. Don’t expect me to do this often though.”

----------------------------------------

Mathew almost snuck away in the night. He was tempted to leave his family behind for good. Yet, there was a sense of belonging he had missed. His childhood memories came flooding back to him, and he yearned to have those mostly happy times back.

After a long night's rest, he woke up and joined everyone for breakfast. That included Beth, Abby, and Adam’s wife, Rebecca. They never had kids. Mark was the only one out of them all to have kids.

Technically Benjamin had his adopted children, but there was no telling what happened to them.

Mark brought Mathew to the side before everyone went off to do their respective duties. “Do me a favor and keep Beth safe. She constantly has it in her head she is far stronger than she really is. Every time we have spared, she has lost. She is going to try and prove something with you. Her class, while mostly supportive, can fight. So if push comes to shove, let her take point and you can attack at range. That spell you used was pretty strong. I know someone who would love to study it when you all come back.”

Mark gave Mathew a slap on the shoulder. “Also, don’t be afraid to do the Challenge yourself. There is no punishment for failure. You have infinite tries as well until you either say you are finished or walk out. There is a technical time limit, which is the supplies you bring in with you via food and water.”

Mathew just nodded. “I’ll keep her safe, don’t worry.”

Bethany was ecstatic to be with her uncle once again. The group they lead was filled with mostly crafters. The green armbands they all wore made their roles obvious. With Mat and Beth leading another ten guards to keep them all safe.

“Okay, now that Dad is gone, you have to tell me what you’ve been up to. He and Grandma never liked to talk about you, before life turned into a video game. Mom just said you were alive and that’s enough to worry about.”

Mathew scratched at his face. Jeffery was walking beside him, which gave him some level of mental comfort. “Not much. I finished my law degree, became a lawyer, and lived a lavish life. Once The System came, that all went away.”

Beth nodded toward Mathew’s hands. “I can only imagine. For us, the start was really bad. I showed up, and was really scared. Dad took charge like he always does. I was the one who figured out most things. The fact that Dungeons were real people and creatures was a bit of a surprise. The stories I’ve read were filled with dozens of supposed theories, and it was easy to test most of them out.”

“You sound like a friend of mine. Zack, with a K, not the one guy on top of the leaderboard.”

“Let me guess. Super nerd who joined a group to test the limits of The System? Started with focusing on his level and stats and later moved to other applications like crafting?”

“You hit the nail on the head.” Mathew said with a shake of his head and a slight smile.

“Most nerds did that. We all read stories and knew how to go for the most broken builds. I went for a supportive tank myself. Can’t die if you can outheal the enemies' damage.”

“So that’s why he wanted to be a tank. He just claimed to want to save peoples lives.”

Beth shrugged, “He probably did. What’s the best way to save lives when you can take all the damage for them? What about you, why did you decide to be a mage?”

“Circumstances. Fighting in close combat didn’t suit me. Plus at the time, there weren’t many spell casters. I was using my uniqueness to my advantage.”

“Uncle J did the same thing. He is only creepier with his profession and his divine powers. I was disappointed when a God didn’t show up for me. I’ve been keeping up with Dad in levels due to my usefulness. Mom has a utility class. So she’s super behind in levels.”

Mathew looked around, “Makes sense to me. I have a question. What is your Dad’s class? I saw him using two blades, and moved very fast.”

“Oooo, sorry, I don’t actually know.” Beth winced. “Just don’t fight him in a duel. That’s where he excels. He keeps his secrets…well secret. Can’t let enemies know your class, otherwise they can build up a strategy to kill you.”

“Like yesterday?”

“That guy was a chump. Dad was showing off as well. He really doesn’t like killing people for no reason. Uncle J on the other hand…”

Mathew rolled his eyes. “Yea, Jon is still the hot head he’s always been. Just with super powers.”

Beth pointed down the path they were walking. “The Challenge is just a bit further ahead. Once we get there, we will be doing five at a time. That’s the most people who can enter. It’s a Challenge where only one person has their own little instance. So no cheating with having other people with you. So far the rewards have been decent. The best one was someone who made a beginner tier item. He received an upgrade to a skill and a bunch of resources!”

“Only one at a time? What about Jeffery? Think he can come in with me?” Mathew nodded to his red furred summon.

“No clue. We only have a couple animal tamers, but they aren't crafters. Are you a crafter as well as a mage?”

Mathew shrugged, “I can give it a shot can’t I? Worst case I just submit a poor unranked item and walk out with no rewards. Best case I get something out of it.”

“Just what Dad said…” Beth said with a huff. “Do me a favor Uncle Matty, don’t be like him. Ever since he gained power he’s…changed. Not in a bad way, but it’s obvious he has a lot on his shoulders. He acts like he has to be the one to save the world or something.”

“I hope I don’t change either Beth. If anything, I feel like I’ve been allowed to be more of who I actually am. Don’t you?”