“I’m thinking of doing Nurture,” Cherry said as she continued to think things over. “It will be good for the plants back in Blue Oaks, don’t you think?” She asked, about to press that selection.

“Now hold on a moment. Why not Thick Roots?” Mathew asked.

“Well, that’s a temporary bonus to things. Sure, it would be nice, but it’s only while I control them. Good for combat, but outside that useless. Nurture will allow me to grow more foods and maybe help make my own little shrine to Gaia.”

Mathew wanted her to pick something else. He reached out to stop Cherry from picking Nurture, but she flinched at his oncoming hand and slapped Biosuade instead. The selection flashed and the window vanished.

“Hey! What was that Mathew? You made me pick the wrong one!” Cherry started to yell.

“You should have thought it over more. Nurture isn’t a smart choice in keeping you alive. Didn’t you think your [Harvest] skill will be related to that eventually? It already gives you a bonus to what you yield, so the food problem isn’t a good reason.”

“But I could have done something for Gaia still! Make a proper shrine instead of that statue you have.”

Mathew wanted to tell her the real reason but knew he couldn’t. “Cherry, I didn’t mean to make you click the wrong one. What’s done is done.” He sighed, really not wanting to agitate her more than she already was.

“Honestly, that isn’t a bad choice either. She could change how things grow, creating stronger plants and giving them mutations…”

Mathew looked at Cherry who was staring at her menu, her hands clenched into fists. “If you think about it, Biosuade is better than Nurture. It’s not as fast, but you can help plants grow in different directions. You could convince plants to mutate into what you want them to become. Including stronger, but also different colors, sizes, and shapes.”

Cherry stared at Mathew, but then a realization came across her face, “oh…I didn’t think of it like that.”

“Nurture just allows you to keep things as they are, including the bad or useless. With Biosaude, plants grow at the same rate, but you should be able to fix problems and make them become what you want them to be.” Mathew continued.

“I see…”She said, not wanting to talk about it more.

Mathew could tell she was getting his point in picking before thinking things over. Just a minute later and they both realized they were wrong in their choices.

He looked at his own menu. Nothing of his had ranked up, but several had gained levels across many of his powers. He gained four whole levels from the continuous fights. With twelve extra stat points, he allocated them all in to Endurance, keeping that stat from falling behind again.

Name: Mathew McGonald

Race: Human [Apprentice]

Class: Summoner

Profession: Leader

Level: 58

Universal Currency: 551,000

Titles: Big 100, Child of Axiom, Classy, Dungeoneer VII, False Life, Forerunner, Hearth Crystal Owner, Lawyer, Pack Leader, Solo Delver III, Soloist, Survivor II, Warlock, Willful Power, World Quest Solo - 3rd Place

Axioms:

Glint of Bolster [Beginner], Glint of Cold [Beginner], Glint of Enforce [Beginner], Glint of Pattern [Beginner], Glint of Piercing [Apprentice], Glint of Resistance [Apprentice]

Strength:

450

Vitality:

417

Dexterity:

459

Endurance:

497

Intelligence:

727

Wisdom:

863

Unallotted Stat Points: 0

He was glad to see his four weaker stats were growing closer to 500. A part of him wondered if there was another title for reaching such a height similar to his [Big 100] title.

Then again, if stats continued upwards toward several digits long, he doubted it would get to that point.

Once he closed his menu, he looked over at Henderson and saw she was waiting on him. “Ready to go back home?” He asked her.

“Gods yes. I need a shower, real food, and above all a stiff fucking drink.” She smiled slightly at the luxuries she had missed the past couple of weeks.

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“I’m sure you can get all of that and then some. Your replacement has been doing well, but I’ll be glad to have you back full-time.” Mathew said as she started to walk out of the Dungeon.

“Good. I had to make a last-minute choice and he offered himself up. I was worried he might have had an angle, but if he has your approval, then that’s good enough for me.”

“You think that highly of me now do you?” Mathew asked, somewhat teasingly.

Henderson and Mathew left through the Dungeon portal, once nobody was left inside, it winked closed, forever gone as Mathew had chosen to absorb it into the Blue Oaks Hearth Crystal instead of risking it as an open and repeatable Dungeon.

“Mathew, you’ve gotten a lot better recently. I don’t know how things have been the last month, but you aren’t the asshole you were all those months ago. You are starting to become someone I can trust. Not only as someone who can lead our small slice of safety, but also as a friend, and someone I would trust to have my back.”

Henderson’s words had truth in them. Mathew felt a twinge of a smile on his face, “Well, I’m trying. We are nowhere near my goals of how things will become. I guess I should tell you I plan on ruling the world.”

A scoff came out of Henderson’s mouth, “Why am I not surprised? Are you going the evil dictator route, or do you plan on having people hold hands and sing songs until the bad aliens realize the magic of friendship?”

“Henderson, I am a lawyer and the son of a politician. There is only one way I plan to take over, and that is by a coup”

“You just plan to just steal the position from under everyone’s nose? That sounds like you are asking for a knife in your back.” She shook her head, “How the hell do you plan to pull that off?”

“Simple. I secure as many votes as I can through various acts. Buying them, persuasion, some forms of blackmail, empty or real promises, and if I have to, fight off anyone who directly opposes me.”

“Evil dictator. Well, I always wondered what it would be like to have someone evil rule the world. Slavery can’t be that bad if you are the slave master.” She joked.

“I’m not going to be evil. I’m not going to be a ‘nice guy’, the best lie is a dirty truth. Do you know how many times in court I told a judge my client committed a crime but got the charges dropped because of how I twisted the scenario? Don’t get me started on criminal court. They do that all the time and far more often with worse actions.”

Mathew noticed the forest scene was returning around them as they continued to walk away from where the parasites had destroyed everything. He silently hoped none of them were alive. If anywhere, they wouldn’t be able to spread much more. A small part of him wondered if they killed the boss by accident if there was one even. They took off at a slow run toward Blue Oaks.

“I guess your right, but there has to be a better way.”

“Do you think there are people out there who are willing to give up a chance at power?”

Henderson looked over at Mathew “Like how you aren’t?”

“Exactly. I’m not a hypocrite. I would be less trustworthy of those who just roll over than someone who eventually gives up. Humanity for years was stuck under those with a lucky head start in life. There were plenty who made it out of the slums. Dozens became rich and lived the last of their years in luxury. But it’s a small percentage. Now, with The System, and over three-fourths of the world dead, there is a chance for many to claim a spot at the top and prevent those who used to be at the top from reclaiming it out of spite.”

Their conversation was easy to hold, even while moving fast. Enhanced stats allowed for better hearing, and a simple run didn’t interrupt their speaking.

“Seems like you been thinking on this for a while.”

Mathew nodded, “Rich parents. Plus I was preparing for a huge stock market crash and a third world war for years before all of this happened. Things just changed slightly since magic, high-tech weaponry, and zombies are real now.”

“Why did you even do that? I didn’t take you as a doomsday prepper, just someone who is careful and doesn’t like unneeded risks.” She blinked and thought things over, “At least, you were. Why did you go into a parasite dungeon alone?”

“To your first question, I was the son of a rich and powerful family. The risk of a doomsday-level event was closer than you realize. Not to the scale of a world war, that was just me exaggerating. But another house market crash was due in another two years, and it was going to be so much worse. Add in the constant strains from the media pitting each other against one another, and constant finger-pointing to put the blame on, and you got a giant pot of shit-stirring. Don’t get me started on the other world powers, I didn’t know much, but what I did know wasn’t good.”

Mathew shook his head, “I hate politics, so I’m going to leave it there. As for the other part. I went into the dungeon expecting Agnox and another summon of mine to be able to handle everything. I underestimated the parasites' lack of pain and their ability to just get back up from having their head exploded.”

“That makes sense,” Henderson admitted. “I was an officer in the military, and I knew for a fact there was a lot of shady shit going on. What little I did know made me hate being in the military, but you can’t make change without being in the system to change it.”

“Then we bring our conversation full circle. There is a reason why I’m going for a world leader. Not only because I feel like having such a position will lead to opportunities to fix my soul, but also because I’m the only person I trust to do a good job. Not saying I will be perfect, but with magic, new technology, and some well-written contracts that are bound by one's very soul and magic, I think I can manage better than our old leaders.”

The conversation ended there. They ran in silence back to Blue Oaks until the edge of the wall being built was seen. “Damn, they got to work on the wall quickly. It looks done.”

“Not the only change. If you see any nine-foot-tall suits of armor, they are mine. Well…techynically they belong to Blue Oaks, but since I own Blue Oaks, they are mine.”

“Anything else I need to be aware of?” Henderson asked.

“Melton is on thin ice. Trying to start a religious squabble. I put that to a very fast end. The Volkar Dungeon was almost stolen, and Agnox and Jeffery killed the attackers. They didn’t think Agnox could understand them, so they blabbed a whole bunch about their other safe zone. Which we are still searching for. New trade center as well with another faction that is selling knowledge on how to change your race into theirs, someone else can explain it, it was a long-winded explanation.”

“Okay, for some reason I expected worse.”

Mathew looked over at Henderson. “Two more things. The first is I held another meeting, I got the people very rowdy, but someone kinda took things from me. Some woman came from the crowd and demanded we hold the leader of the safe zone that tried to steal from us in court to judge him. They want blood, and I plan to give it to them.”

“Who is the woman?” Henderson asked.

Mathew shrugged, “No clue. She isn’t known. No name. Just appeared two weeks after the World Dungeon ended, which was only a couple of days before I made my speech.”

“And the last thing?” She asked, looking at Mathew in his eyes.

Mathew just cupped his hand on her cheek and kissed her. As he pulled back he gave her a playful smile “If you want to meet for dinner, I have some wine we can share Susan. No need to hide behind someone else to say you like me. Just know there won’t be anything official between us. Only two friends sharing a meal, maybe some dessert.”