Mike emerged from the cave, dawning a new set of armor. With the abundance of materials at his disposal, he had fused several pieces of the carapace. An unexpected benefit of this was that the damage done to the materials was repaired by the process. He stood tall, feeling powerful, before hunching over and trying to resist the urge to kiss the dirt at his feet. The time he had spent underground had been draining, and all he needed, all he wanted in that moment was sleep.
He didn't even bother running, instead walking back to the camp at a standard walking pace. He quickly noticed a few changes since he was gone, with the main two being that the treeline had been cut back significantly, and the wall being complete. Mike walked through the gate, getting looks from the guards that were far from the scowls he usually earned. In their eyes, Mike saw concern, and worry. One of the guards ran to the town hall, Jonas sprinting out soon after, heading straight towards Mike.
“Where were you, what happened?” The settlement's leader asked, showcasing the same worry the guards had.
“I got lost in the spider's nest, and ended up clearing the thing. We now no longer need to worry about spiders during the raids.” Mike responded, never stopping his march to his home.
“We don't? Why?”
“I control it now.” Mike said, almost at his door. This drew confused looks from everyone present, replacing any concern they had held before.
“What?” Was all Jonas could muster as a response.
“I conquered it.” Mike closed the door, leaving all the questions outside along with the people that very clearly wanted a better explanation. He flopped in his bed, passing out before his head even hit the pillow.
___________
Mike had nearly 1000 points in his constitution, and it worked to rest his body. He was asleep for barely 2 hours before he awoke, feeling fully rested and refreshed. It was an odd feeling, knowing you were only asleep for a couple hours, when in reality it felt like a dozen. He rolled out of bed, his armor clanking against the ground as he landed.
“Probably should have taken that off first.” Mike muttered, before standing, opening his front door. Just a few feet to the right, he saw someone standing, looking bored. Mike prepared himself instantly for a sneak attack, but instead the man ran back to the town hall upon noticing him. “Of course they left someone to wait for me.”
Shortly after, Jonas once more ran over, speaking quickly enough that the recently awoken Mike could barely keep up.
“We need to talk, I would appreciate it if you would join me in the hall.”
Mike didn't respond, simply following the man, matching his sprinting pace with ease. They entered the hall, and several people were sitting around a table, apparently waiting for him. He sat in the only available chair, which was set right next to the head of the table. Jonas sat at the head of the table, and began talking.
“After the raid last night, I think we can all agree that those spiders needed to be dealt with. They were by far our biggest cause of casualties, and that is something we can not ignore.” That certainly woke Mike up, and brought him to full attention. How long had he been down there for a raid to happen, and how many had died? “Mike said the spider’s have been dealt with, but has yet to explain how.”
He gave Mike a look, clearly wanting him to explain. Mike realized at that moment, this would not be a short meeting. He explained all that had happened, from him leaving the settlement, to him returning. He went into detail, not knowing what the others would see as important and what would be seen as meaningless. After he had explained it all, the room was silent.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“So, it was you?” One of the men sitting at the end of the table said. “You made the raid harder, and got those people killed.” Mike was taken aback. His mind could not wrap around the logic this man had used to come to that conclusion.
“Why the hell would that be my fault?” He asked, trying to control the small amount of anger the question had brought out.
“You made everyone gain a level in their class. It wasn't like last time, when only the people who helped you leveled, but it was everyone. We lost so many to the raid last night, and you didn't even bother to show up and help fight it off.”
The small amount of anger Mike felt quickly swelled as the man spoke. But he put his anger aside, needing to know the damages done. “How many did we lose?”
Jonas responded this time. “We lost half a dozen to the first wave, before we knew just how bad it would be. After that, we had our archers and mages pick enemies off from atop the wall.”
Mike relaxed at that. Losing six people was bad, but they had made it sound like a tragedy had occurred. “That's not too bad.” He said, which clearly was not what the others in the room wanted to hear. Most people in the room seemed to understand that the first man was spouting nonsense, but they took his words now to mean that he didn't care about the dead.
“You heartless bastard.” One woman said, her hand squeezing the edge of the table. “Did their lives mean that little to you? Are you already riding high on the fact that they were weaker than you?”
Multiple people chimed in, giving similar opinions to what Mike had said. Jonas had a look of resignation, which Mike took to mean that he disagreed with them, but couldn't do much about it. Mike had enough of their shit, and cut them off before another voice could add to the chorus of hate. “Their deaths are not my fault. From what you have told me, it was those who had stayed outside the walls and tried to fight the wave head on that were killed. If they really went out there to fight the monsters, they should have had an understanding that they were putting themselves at risk.” He began making eye contact with everyone, making sure each of them was absorbing his words. “I'm not saying I don’t care, I’m just saying that ultimately, it was not a massive loss. As long as the settlement remains, we have won.”
Nobody responded to this for several seconds. After a moment of silence, one of the people calmly got up from the table, and left the building. Several others followed, leaving just 4 out of the 10 that had been there at the start of the meaning. Jonas sighed, dismissing the other four, leaving just Mike and him alone in the room.
“Listen-”
“You don't blame me too, do you?” Mike said, cutting off what the man was going to say.
“I do not. Unfortunately, the others are going to take a while longer to come around. You were right when you said that it wasn't a big loss, but it was still recent. This was the first time we have seen a group of people slaughtered, and for many it was their first time witnessing someone die. They are sensitive.”
Mike wanted to argue, but there was nobody nearby that would care anyways. He understood that most couldn't handle sudden change like he could, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Before the system had come around, his life had been so monotonous and boring that any change was a good one. When he was suddenly thrust into a world where killing happened frequently, his mind had seen the change as a good thing.
He hadn't realized it until now, but his entire perspective on death, and morals had slowly been slipping as he engrossed himself in the violence of fighting. He resolved then and there that he needed a hobby, when that would allow him to socialize, and talk with people. He needed to keep himself grounded to reality.
He left the building, emotions of all kinds stirring within him. He wandered the camp, before a tap on his back tore him from his thoughts. He looked back, seeing Lucas grinning his stupid grin.
“It's done.” The rogue said. Seeing the man instantly raised Mike's mood, and he followed him over to the wall.
“Wait, I thought we were going to see your new sculpture?” Mike asked, wondering why they were headed to leave the settlement.
“We are, look up.”
Mike turned his gaze to the sky, needing to block out the sun as he saw a sculpture sitting high atop the wall. It looked to be at least 10 feet tall, and was a perfect rendition of the most embarrassing moment of his life. Carved intricately from stone, was him. He was leaping over the wall, a terrified look on his face. This wouldn’t have been too bad, except for when Lucas brought him outside the wall, and he saw another portion of the sculpture only visible from outside the walls. A spider made from stone climbed the tower, chasing after the stone Mike. He gazed upon the edifice, identifying it.
Edifice of the Coward (Epic)
Carved from stone, and affixed to a mighty wall, this edifice represents the brave run made by Mike, who warned all of the incoming spider’s. Increases movement speeds for all allies within these walls by 5%
Mike looked at the rogue, once more contemplating his morals as he raised his hammer. “I'm gonna kill you.” He said, before rushing at the rogue, grabbing him, and throwing him into the forest with all his might.