Mathew

"Like I said, the power left behind by The Night Stalker is letting me consolidate Territory Reinforcement. I can't know how long it will last until some other Alpha gets the courage to press this Territory," Mathew puffed out his breath and looked at the ceiling of the 'conference room.' How can I be so tense in a hot tub? "Best guess, a week."

"Let me get this straight," Amber drawled. "The default of this world is that people get taxed 95% of this energy they make? An' the rulers have access to all the skills and information about quests for everyone under them? An' people don't even get to know about it?"

"Not quite," Mathew replied. "That was the Eastern Knighthoods default. After I left them and became considered a traitor, the world default set it to 5%."

"So we are going to level faster? I mean, on top of our new Lord's generous largess." Ben added the last part as an afterthought with a snarky smile.

"Generous largess? Did you hurt yourself with that one?" Mathew poked back. He felt like they'd talked all this to death, but it was essential to make sure everyone got the details. If he shot Ben down hard enough maybe they could stay on topic.

Harper snorted and slapped the water in front of her.

"Hint, can we get a table for the conference room?" Harper asked with a grimace from splashing water into her own face.

Now that everyone had some breathing room and became more comfortable with each other, keeping on track for a meeting became a thankless task. Hopefully this was just a transient response to all the stress.

"Sorry," Mathew adopted a professional voice. "That's exactly right. Twenty times faster. From what I could tell, it seems that each level costs twice as much energy as the one before it. So either way, we will hit diminishing returns."

"Not quite," Grant spoke. "Growth from a level is exponential, so returns may stay reasonably close. Plus, there is a lot we don't know. Particularly about higher levels. Point being, we don't know enough. Tentative hypothesis at best."

Mathew felt as though they'd talked this whole subject to death. "Moving along. If we are going to succeed in Earth's quest, we will need to accumulate a lot more Alpha energy. That means we need more people and more Territory."

"Does that mean I'll be getting more guests?" Hint asked excitedly.

"That would be the hope," Grant grimaced.

"How many?" Hint asked.

"Probably four or five, not more than seven," Grant said. "Not unless our means improve."

"Seven... we have enough room for seven guests." Hint declared.

A smile touched Mathew's eyes. It was nice to have someone planning solutions to future problems.

"So we have food, shelter, a lot less looming doom. What should our priorities be?" Mathew asked. Then he braced himself for the jokes.

"Clothes. Much as I like red, white and blue, I'm gonna need more than one change of clothes. We got lots of bird leather and I'll be working it into clothes for everyone. Experience speaking, we don't want to live in leather indefinitely," Amber said the last with the first blush Mathew had ever seen on her.

"I don't need clothes," Mathew said.

"Much as I appreciate your exhibitionism." Amber waggled her eyebrows. "Adding some culture and civilization to your appearance would help people see the man you are on the inside. I'm afraid people would just see your naked body and judge you by what they see."

Mulling the thought over, Mathew had to admit there was some truth to it. He would have to try gaining the trust of strangers while looking like a bone monster. If Mathew was part of a rescue operation, that trust would have to be immediate and robust enough to draw them into the Hub. Or what he imagined would seem like a monster's lair if his looks primed the survivor's mind for that imagery.

People being scared of him for his looks wasn't new. Accepting he had the power to be a monster made it easier... still, a pang of disgruntlement reached his heart.

Mathew nodded his head. "I see your point. Before you spend that time on me, I'll see what I can do to make this look more like a suit of armor."

"If you want clothes, I know a guy who can weave actual cloth together," Ben said. "We just need some thread."

Amber spoke. "Them spiders seemed to have plenty. I could do with some silk." She hugged imaginary silk and smiled wistfully.

Grant shook his head. "Not an option. We already riled them up with getting the thread for your bow and Ben's net repairs."

"From my transition, there were these trees with fluffy seeds. Maybe we could process some of that for a textile?" Harper asked.

"I know you have extra clothes, but I don't want to wait for a new crop of trees to reach maturity for a new set of undies," Amber glowered.

Grant sighed. "There is the pragmatic option."

Ben winced.

I think I know where this is going. Mathew thought.

"The chronoshperes are here, and less than half of the people who come through are breathing. With a lot of sewing and washing, we'll have better cloth than anything we could make in short notice." Grant finished.

"I ain't big on robbing the dead... but if they don't need it no more," Amber shrugged. Seeing Harper's look, she continued. "Let me put it this way. If I was to kick the bucket and had what you needed, I'd rather you'll take it. I'm generous that way. No reason to disparage the departed and claim they ain't equally as generous."

Personally, Mathew had no problem with taking from the dead. Not in this case, at least. Living wills were entirely different than an event like this. "I don't have a problem with it, but I do wonder if it's a missed opportunity. Starting out the hard way with coarse plant fibers may net skill levels and perks that do wonders in the long run. But that's just me thinking, not like I get to itch from it."

"I'll look at what my survival books have on the subject," Harper said.

Everyone was quiet for a bit.

"Is that really all we have for priorities?" Mathew asked.

Grant nodded. "As you suggested, we need to expand Territory and population. But ultimately, we aren't in a position to do much of that. We still only have two stealth experts, and not to belittle our achievements, but so far, what we have accomplished is no-being-worth-the-effort."

"In case you don't remember that behemoth of a job we just finished butchering, we've offed two Alphas all ready," Mathew opened both arms across the rim of the hot tub.

"Conditions were in our favor," Grant spoke with a jovial condescension. It irritated Mathew but not so much that it took the impact of truth from his words. "Fully trapped and mental infighting for one, and partially trapped, ambushed and a developing infant for the other. Both we had time to study, prepare and plan a course attack. A, uh, more broad perspective of our position is that provided by the very planet we reside on."

Cognition spinning Mathew willed the message from the planet back up. It was still unique from the rest of the messages he received. Mathew read aloud the part Grant must have been referencing, "Bottom rung of the ladder."

"Just so," Grant smiled. "We have risen from being a larder of foodstuff to the most minor level of noteworthiness. It's an accomplishment that has eluded my grasp for torturous months. So please, don't let the perspective of scale take away any pride in what we've accomplished."

That wasn't what was bothering Mathew. A moment of remembering the Alpha Field Cat reminded him how far he still had to go. What bothered him was his emotional state. He was the laid back one. Why was this meeting bothering him?

Checking the influence of the Alpha spectrum and his Carrion Beast side individually and combined, he didn't find any answers. It was himself. Cognition drew him a vivid memory of his mother grooming him and his siblings for positions of power.

"When people accomplish a goal and feel stable, they let off the gas peddle," His mother poured tea from a blue kettle that matched her pantsuit. "Even CEOs and others with influence-" Her doublespeak term for politicians. "- This is a weakness. We will not be satisfied when we arrive at an accomplishment. We are only happy when we are hungry and on the hunt. Isn't that right, Dear-"

Mathew shook the memory out. His heart let out a great sigh. For all the riches her efforts commanded, she wouldn't find any of the wealth of satisfaction. Rejecting her powerful but misguided lifestyle was a struggle for the first time since he was a grown man. Right now, could he afford to let off the gas? Considering the emotional needs of his team, he couldn't afford not to. Always being on the hunt and taking a break overlapped and his decision was made. That didn't make him feel any better, though. Instead, it felt like he was pushing off deciding an important decision about the direction of his life.

Nothing to be done about it right now.

"Thank you, Grant," Mathew wedged a smile in his voice. "Ever the voice of encouragement. But you're right. So we should add getting stronger and having more and better weapons to our list of priorities. With that in mind, I'd like to start something. Teamwork on improving our skills and directions of growth."

Mathew continued. "We are behind the natives by so much history we can't even comprehend. The difference between each of us and the cavemen of Earth is history. On this planet, the natives have a comparable history we lack. Skills, perk trees, how the mechanics combine, the nature of magic, hell, probably a lot of subjects I don't even know to list. The same way a caveman wouldn't know to list internal combustion engines or electronics in things they don't know. So we need cooperation to have any chance at not falling behind too far."

Is this too heavy? Should I have waited to present the idea? Mathew worried. Still, he pressed on; he'd opened up the idea now he had to follow through and present all of it.

"Trusting each other with all our status information is sharing intel. Doing so can be seen as exposing a weakness. I see ignorance and single mindedness as a greater weakness. We need to see all angles to know our strengths and shortcomings. And more than that, we need to find combinations that are more than the sum of their parts. Skills and perks that feed into each other or cover for soft spots."

"Do we know if the natives here are going to be hostile?" Harper asked.

"We'd be foolish to assume anything otherwise," Grant said.

"Even the most charitable presumption that they won't just destroy us leaves us as cavemen refugees in the world of academics," Mathew said. "I, for one, don't want to be a refugee without marketable skills and abilities. Or given we don't know how flexible our growth will be, crippled refugees without the opportunity to grow a marketable skill."

Everyone was quiet for a while.

"All that is down the road anyway," Mathew tried to lighten the tone. "No need to borrow trouble. Just trying to future-proof our approach is all. So maybe next dinner chat we bring ideas for each other?"

"I like it. I'll have y'all fixed up in no time," Amber smirked.

Rolled eyes and a chuckle set the foundation for the rest of a relaxing evening. Mathew tried to recharge and loosen up, but he wasn't alone in his apartment anymore. Relaxing didn't come.

Ben joked about it, but Mathew was something now. Lord may not be the correct term, but as an official Knight with a Territory, he had power over the lives of others. Mathew had spent years staying away from the trappings of power. Maybe he could grow out of his position and pass along the weight to someone who wanted it?

It was a false hope, but he held on to it as he embraced the actions required to carry the weight. Establishing a culture of teamwork and strengthening each part of the Hive- Hub. Another reason he wanted to make those around him more powerful. In the event his mind failed, Mathew didn't want to be stronger than a concerted effort from his allies.

Still, he wouldn't take his foot off the gas to get stronger. There were truths to life; one rule that didn't change from Earth to here is that: power is real.

In fact, this rule was probably more impactful here, where various degrees of superhuman are the norm.

This first rule of life that power is real is broken down further. Some people simplified it. Those with power made the decisions. Or something like that. Those are the ideas those with the most power want people to believe. The more full truth is that 'the consequences of a decision are decided in proportion to the power of the decider.' When you were weaker than the strongest, this was key to everything you could grasp.

In fact, they were already relying on this rule. Not-worth-the-effort was their power. The influence wielded by the weaker side. If he couldn't keep himself and those around him safe, he'd do as much damage as he could on the way down. That threat would provide armor. Fickle armor but armor all the same. As much as his heart reveled in the dark idea of a blaze of glory, in practice, he wanted to avoid it. Their unvarnished goal was to get stronger and become the one deciding what was and wasn't worth the trouble.

The 'how' of gaining power faster in this world was difficult for Mathew to fully understand. Survival seemed to be the primary process for leveling up. As time marched on, he'd gain power. How to do it faster though, that was the conundrum.

Thinking through his options, he settled on two things under his control. Skills and equipment. Right now, his ability to bring his magic to bear was hurting from the loss of Ripper. The thought of crafting a new living weapon felt like a twisting knife in his gut. It felt like giving up and putting a nail in Ripper's coffin. He knew it didn't make sense and chalked it up to his Carrion Beast side. Still, the feelings were real; this wasn't a fight he had to have with himself yet.

So his focus went to skills. Having room to design an intentional skill gave Mathew an intimidating feeling of responsibility. Until now, he knew that he really couldn't have done better. A flash of Amber, amputated hand and guts fluttering out behind her in free fall. He knew that he couldn't have done better. The system abduction came at him so fast he didn't have much time and energy to think things through.

Clare's caustic resolution and Pa's motto of "embrace the suck" demanded that he carry the weight and move forward. They were compelling. In a way the worry of making the wrong decision was a victory in itself. Mathew put on as much of a wry smile as he could. Isn't that what all victories paid out? More authority and all the accountability and responsibility that goes with it.

Having settled the distractions, he focused on specifics. Mathew's defense was a strength he could double down on. Doing so would give him time to learn from his mistakes. And mistakes would happen. Having a plan that incorporated imperfections was smart. Smart plans would save lives.

I will have to do more than just be a good chew toy. Mathew thought.

Looking over the skills he already had, they were... slow. Digestion was probably his best direct attack and it wasn't always fast enough. Outside of special cases like the Glass Beasts and liquid digestion. Conditional Ambush was reactive. Their situation required a vanguard, and while he was durable, he was also ignorable.

Mathew idly thought of being an irritating shit to everyone, and when they complain or ask why, tell them he's trying for a taunt skill.

Even if he had a taunt skill, Mathew would want to back it up with an alternative. A forceful deterrent. If he developed a taunt, he'd be stacking into mental influence. Hoping his opponents wouldn't be resistant.

Huh... how do you develop a skill on purpose?

After living for an eventful week, he noticed a weird spread of skills. Biological functions like digestion and healing bone became skills. While others had skills based on skillsets, like Harper's Hiking skill or Building skill. Some skills were gained by innocuous actions, while others resulted from repeated effort.

Maybe Grant would have some insight into how skill acquisition worked. Was there even a way to develop a specific build?

Mathew shook his head. It didn't matter. He didn't need Leterum to give him supernatural Skills to develop mundane skills or equipment to tie down enemies and protect his own. Grant was right about the difficulty of the life and death struggle they were in. Even as a human Alpha, Mathew had no doubt he'd need a team to expand their Territory and make room for civilization.

Not just a team to go into life and death struggles with. People he would live every day with. Those he'd grow even closer with. The weight pressed on his heart. Mathew was the progenitor of his own Knighthood. When people died or lost their limbs, it would be under his banner and support his mission. He wished that no one would be hurt or die at his side. Realistically, it was an impossible dream. This whole situation wasn't what he wanted, but Mathew would be damned if he wasn't going to do his best to accomplish the impossible. Clenching his gauntlets into fists he glared at the whole world. He'd broken fate before he'd keep doing it as much as it took to keep everyone alive and whole.