Ch 53
As Matt lay there, recovering from all the injuries that he took on from the new arrivals, he found himself becoming more and more accustomed to pain of all kinds. Despite the misery he endured from healing the burn wounds of everyone after the dungeon ordeal and being run through, there was a unique sensation to the pain of wounds left to fester. Reflecting on this and other thoughts during his convalescence apparently earned him another point in his mind stat. Although it remained his lowest stat, it had officially surpassed what any human would have had back on Earth. However, Matt didn’t feel any smarter because of it.
No, Matt believed that while logic and reasoning played a part in improving the stat, it was mental fortitude that truly made the difference. This realization led him to question precisely what the spirit and mind stats focused on. He felt wholly unsatisfied with Tempormr's explanation that they were connected to magic in some vague way. Both stats seemed divorced from his regeneration ability, which had improved his durability and stamina, not his spirit. It was only when he added the ability to heal others that spirit became involved, reinforcing his belief that his regeneration wasn't magic-based. This only strengthened the idea that his very biology had been fundamentally altered and would likely continue to change each time he reached a new rank in his species.
This led Matt to ponder what further changes he could expect as he continued to level up and rise. In particular, he wondered about skills, titles, and the path he wished to walk. He had always delayed choosing his next path until it was forced upon him, realizing now that by doing so, he was cheating himself out of valuable stat boosts. These boosts could very well mean the difference between victory and defeat in the battles that lay ahead. Sure, waiting might grant him additional choices based on his actions, increasing the number of options available to him, but he now understood the importance of timely decisions as well.
However, when he opened his eyes and realized that, for the first time in what felt like forever, no one was waiting to be healed, he decided it was time to change his approach. But first, he needed to assess what had transpired while he had been immersed in his duties. To his surprise, it turned out to be a simple matter—Eleanor was already seated beside him, waiting patiently. They quickly exchanged polite greetings before making their way to a secluded corner where they could speak in private.
"How long was I out?" Matt asked, his voice tinged with concern.
"Just over 30 hours," Eleanor replied, her deep frown deepening with worry.
"And what happened while I was out?" he pressed.
"Jaelyn did," she responded curtly.
"Jaelyn?" he echoed, confused.
"Yes, the woman you carried in. It turns out she was behind most of the other group’s successes because she’s a real disaster preparedness expert. Honestly, it seems like she has delved into all kinds of primitive living methods. In truth, the other group only seemed to be in trouble due to the goblin attacks. Now, she’s already discussing food security techniques and suggesting ways to address our short-term needs."
"Sounds promising, so why is she the first thing you’re mentioning?" Matt inquired, his brow furrowing.
"Emily pointed it out," Eleanor noted. "But Jaelyn has a way of putting herself at the center of everything without actually stepping up to lead."
"I still don't see the issue—isn't that what I'm doing?" Matt countered.
"No, you're cutting through obstacles, helping us level up while directing us to get things done. You actively decide what must occur and then figure out how it happens," Eleanor explained.
"If she knows how to handle things, what's the problem?" Matt asked, trying to understand.
"It's simple. Why focus on acquiring iron when all we really need is to build some basic walls at each gate and cover the opening in the main wall? If it weren’t for the fort taking all the wood and stone we gather, there would probably already be a wall at each point. You've just introduced 65 sheep and a lone shepherd into the mix as I try to maintain leadership, only to be undermined by a few seemingly harmless words."
"How did that happen?" Matt asked, leaning in closer.
"Yesterday, when we were supposed to be cutting trees to clear space inside, all she said was, 'Why not block each outer gate instead?' That comment swayed 65 people who argued that she was right and that making lasting repairs could wait. She single-handedly derailed our plans for gathering iron sand by remarking on the months it takes to prepare wood for quality charcoal. Now I’m stuck dealing with her followers, who are pushing us to focus on a dozen different ideas she’s suggested for us to sustain ourselves over the next year."
"Interesting. So, are you saying that her ideas are flawed right now?" Matt asked thoughtfully.
"Only in the sense that they detract from our ability to function as a unified force in order to tackle the greatest need—gathering the resources necessary to repair the fort," Eleanor clarified.
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"If the fort wasn't taking all the stone and wood, would you still consider that our top priority?" Matt queried.
Matt watched as Eleanor considered his question, her eyes narrowing as she responded. "No, converting the hides we have into clothing or armor would then take precedence."
"Is that on the list of tasks they're working on?" he asked.
"Yes, but that's an entirely different mess on its own—especially with that silver bowl of yours at the center of it all…"
Matt listened intently as Eleanor spoke about how Jaelyn had explained some crude, yet ingenious, methods for preserving monster skins. She described how, faced with a shortage of containers, she resorted to using the skins themselves. Her method involved taking the larger skins and lining shallow, dug-out holes in the ground with them. Once she secured the arrangement with hastily pounded wooden stakes, the next step was to fill them with the smaller skins and a tanning liquid. This is where the silver bowl that Matt had retrieved proved invaluable—it remained the sole vessel suitable for boiling water to extract tannic acids from the assorted materials they were experimenting with.
By the end of her detailed explanation, a smile crept across Matt’s face. It was clear that Jaelyn possessed more survival knowledge than even he did. In a way, she seemed to be the solution to the dilemma he faced about needing someone to take charge when he eventually left. However, despite this impressive expertise, Eleanor’s cautious tone whenever she spoke of Jaelyn left Matt with an uneasy feeling. With no straightforward answer forthcoming as to why Eleanor doubted her, Matt resolved that the only option was to speak with Jaelyn directly.
Finding her was not difficult. She was just outside the outer wall, where several fires burned steadily. Next to these flames were multiple ground holes filled with boiling water—heated by rocks strategically placed within them. As Matt observed the others tossing monster skins into the heated water, he frowned thoughtfully, piecing together the scene. Soon, he realized why they hadn’t been using the larger pits for extracting tannic acid: the earth itself would likely absorb it too readily. With that insight in mind, he approached Jaelyn, who had already taken notice of his presence and was making her way over.
“It’s good to see you up and about,” Jaelyn said warmly. “Before anything else, I want to thank you for saving me and the others. With all the knowledge I possess, much of it is useless if I can’t even identify the plants around us.”
“I just did what I felt needed to be done,” Matt replied modestly. “Still, I’ve heard that you’ve been quite busy around here.”
“Of course,” she answered, a hint of pride in her voice. “It falls to those of us who know how to share our skills. Initially, I thought you’d been struggling when I saw how little was accomplished, but after learning about your efforts since arriving, I understand you simply haven’t had the time. However, I must ask—why did you begin by teaching cordage?
“It was the easiest task, and I always find rope to be incredibly useful in survival situations. Admittedly, though, I never quite managed to build a proper shelter with it as I had planned.”
“So are you here to suggest that I should stop obstructing your plans to restore the fort?” Jaelyn questioned caution in her tone.
“What makes you say that?” Matt asked, genuinely curious.
“You know, aside from the palpable hostility I sense from the four women who are rumored to be your closest companions whenever I offer a suggestion. I can’t shake the feeling that they weren’t too pleased when they saw you carrying me in earlier.”
“Four?” Matt raised an eyebrow.
“Emily, Zara, Eleanor, and Yumiko. I’m particularly worried about Yumiko—she spends too much time patrolling from the top of the walls. She claims it’s to prevent monster attacks from catching us off guard, but half the time I suspect she’s itching to shoot me with an arrow when she is watching over us working down here.”
“Huh, I’ll have to look into that,” Matt replied with an awkward chuckle.
“Just checking,” Jaelyn added with a lighter tone, “but you’re not doing anything with any of them like Greg seems to hint you might be, are you?”
Matt paused as he watched Jaelyn, noting the carefree way she let her curly brown hair twist around her shoulders as if she were simply enjoying a light-hearted chat. Yet beneath that innocent air, Matt understood why the others felt uneasy around her. He knew that while Greg might tease him later, suggesting he could form a harem out of the four women Jaelyn had mentioned, he would never admit it outright. Instead, Greg would bemoan that Matt wasn’t taking full advantage of the situation—and he was convinced that Jaelyn was distorting the truth somehow, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
"I have no intentions of any romantic entanglements while we're stuck in this world," Matt said. "What happens once we’re back on Earth is anyone’s guess."
"Hmm, I see," Jaelyn replied thoughtfully. "Still, the way they treat me as if I’m a threat seems counterproductive to getting things moving here."
Matt raised an eyebrow. "About that, can you honestly say you’re not a threat?"
"Really, do I look like I could take on a big man like you?" she laughed lightly.
"Maybe so, especially since I never saw that dagger coming. Why did you choose a dagger, anyway?" he asked, his tone mingling curiosity with amusement.
"A good knife is one of the best survival tools out there," she countered. "Didn't you follow the same path? Greg mentioned that you fought mainly with daggers, if he remembered correctly."
"I took my first knife off a goblin I killed," Matt recalled, a slight edge in his voice. "I never really chose my weapon at the start of all this."
"You went for the path of the fist, then?" Jaelyn mused.
"No, I didn't choose anything at all. It was simply a tool for combat rather than survival—and I have serious doubts about what’s really behind all of this," he admitted.
"Interesting," she said with a smirk. "Now I’m even more eager to see why everyone raves about your fighting style. So, should I just keep going as I have been?"
"Yes, you can continue focusing on turning those monster hides into something usable," Matt agreed, "but the fort repairs need to happen too. At least repair it enough so that it no longer consumes every piece of wood and stone we find. And smelting iron must be a top priority as well."
"Do you really believe that smelting iron is worth our focus, considering we won’t be stuck in this world long enough to make a significant amount?" Jaelyn asked skeptically.
"Let’s agree to disagree on that," Matt replied, a hint of a challenge in his tone.
Before Jaelyn could launch into a counterargument, Matt's attention snapped to motion—a trio of goblins sprinting toward them from different directions. Each goblin was flanked by at least ten monsters. Whatever Jaelyn had intended to say was cut short as Yumiko's shout rang out from atop the wall, followed immediately by the clamor of Chaos.
