Mathew entered the library and had to step back from the ruined area. It looked like a tornado had appeared in the large open building. Tables had random stacks of papers and books on them. White boards had random words or phrases on them with various handwriting. Several strings of red yarn connected certain points on them.

In the center was a group of people, all yelling loudly at each other. Mathew did notice the largest of them being Zack. Mathew decided to eavesdrop a little bit before making his appearance known to the seemingly crazy group.

“I don’t care what the damn books say. I’m telling you that a jump from Level 9 to Level 10 might as well be a five level jump! It’s not a linear gain in power, it’s exponential!” Zack said.

“And I’m saying, that makes no sense! What sane computer would put an exponential power scale into the universe? That just makes the strong stronger and the weak weaker! Nobody has time to go and grind out ten wolves daily for the experience. We should be able to level up like sane normal humans! I’ve been meditating for weeks! I am close to unlocking pure mana control, soon I’ll be the strongest on the base! I’m sure of it”

“Joey, the wolves do not care about your meditation, NOBODY HERE DOES! This isn’t a work of fiction, this is real life!”

Everyone started to pile onto Joey for his thoughts.

“Good, now that Joey has been demoted to goblin shit, let’s focus on what we are here for. To prepare for when the Tutorial phase ends in a few days. Any popular leads from the other parties?” A woman wearing her hair in a long braid said.

“The only other Dungeon we have details on is the dark green one three hours west. A random group found it today. Mr. Melton said my scouting team will leave in the morning to look it over.” Zack said “It’s ranked [Novice], so it could be a good spot to start grinding out early levels till we hit Level 10 safely for non-combative classes, or hybrid classes.”

Mathew found that bit of information interesting. An entire lower ranked Dungeon could be a great place for others to grow in power, including himself. Mathew thought about the possibility of finding a creature to bind as his familiar could be there.

“We need more data damn it. Why did the internet have to go down? If we have access to forum posts, or even a group chat, we could have this entire thing figured out in two days.” The braided girl said once again.

“What about the quest system General Payne asked us about. Has anyone found anything on that yet?” A small teenage boy asked.

Zack shook his head. “It’s the same as any other classic quest system as far as anyone else can find. We went over it yesterday when you were on guard duty.”

As Mathew was listening he heard another person enter behind him. A man with a patchy beard entered. He was slouched over due to the wounds on his body. His arm was missing below the elbow, and his leg was splinted.

Mathew has seen the same look this man bore. It was one of loss and anger. A quick glance at where he was looking told Mathew who his anger was toward. He didn’t even acknowledge Mathew.

Mathew didn’t stop him, but spoke only loud enough so the man could hear him, but not the people at the table. “What did they do?”

“They lied. Are you here to get revenge as well? Your hands look like they've been through the ringer.”

Mathew bobbed his head in thought. “Not revenge, answers. And yes, they have. Magical blow back, almost died.” Mathew needed to play this right. He noticed the gun holstered on the man's waist. He survived a giant wolf, he would feel pretty stupid to die to an emotional crazed man. To make matters worse, the man had his hand hovering just next to, ready to be drawn and fired.

“They promise you magic too huh? These kids think they know shit. Yet here they are, hiding in a library where those of us who fight are dying every day. Someone needs to show them the truth of reality. This isn’t a fucking game.”

“I agree, but do you think it will work? Will killing them change things?”

The injured man looked forward to the group. “It has to. For my son, I’ll do anything. He died thinking he was a superhero. Now I have nothing left. I’ll be damn sure they don’t either.”

Mathew stepped forward to stand next to the man. “Your goals are admirable, however these are not the only ones. There are others like them in the world. Are you going to let everyone suffer? Or are you willing to go further with your ambitions? Think about it, if you do this, what’s the next step?”

“They stop telling us where to put stats. Intelligence and Wisdom do jack shit when a wolf is eating your face. We need to be strong. We have guns for a damned reason, no point in using fucking fantasy magic. They-” He pointed at the group, who were now observant of the injured man. “They think people should put points in a certain way. My son listened to them, I didn’t. Look who's alive.”

Mathew nodded, “So you plan to teach them that lesson. Might makes right, right?”

He nodded grimly. “You get it. You’re a smart one.”

“I try to be my best. So what is after your lesson? You plan to go around teaching others the same lesson?”

“Damn right I am. Once I heal up, I’ll be sure nobody else’s kids die. We will grab our guns and rise up against these weaklings. Teach them that cold hard steel is the true way to survive this new world.”

“What happens if you fail?”

“Bah, I know a group of guys who feel the same. You can join in too. The more the merrier.”

Mathew glanced at the table, and saw them all either drawing wands or guns. Mathew held a hand out to Zack, showing they needed to stop. “I can’t let this guy go off on them. It will start an entire revolt, that would only be a disaster.”

“I can’t fail. They don’t have levels. They put their points in useless stats. I am far stronger than I ever was before. I lifted a whole car with just myself and another guy. TWO PEOPLE LIFTED A CAR. They all sit and read books. I bullied kids like these back in school, I should have bullied a few of them harsher, maybe my son would be alive.”

Mathew nodded, trying to appear in agreement with him. “It’s true, they do sit and only read books. However, what are you going to do about the guards?”

“They hate the nerds too. I doubt they will stop us.”

“What about General Payne? All the people under his command? He put these people here, if we do this, how will we stop him?”

The man was about to respond, but stopped. He was trying to think of an answer. “We can out gun ‘em. Like I said, lots of us are tired of this.”

“And if we lose?” Mathew used ‘we’ to show he was on his side. Showing he was not an enemy, but a possible friend. Not only did this move his thoughts to confide in Mathew, but to start thinking in terms of larger groups. After all, ‘we’ could be two people, or fifty.

“Others will see it. We tried to fight back and they mowed us down like cattle in a pen.”

Mathew shook his head. “We would be outnumbered. We might have guns, but what about the others? I am all for the plan, but we have to think further than right now. Remember, there are others depending upon us, upon you to show them how to really survive.”

Mathew put a hand on the man's shoulder, showing he cared. His other hand hovered near the gun, ready to grab it away from the crazed man if needed.

“I-I have to, for my son. If I fail this then I fail as a father.”

Mathew put on a fake smile. “Nonsense, if you fail this, that just means you were weaker than the ones you blame for your son's death.”

The shock and confusion on the man's face was all Mathew needed. He yanked the gun out of the holster, and pushed the man back. His injuries made it impossible for him to stop falling and soon landed on his back.

Everyone else in the room ran over to them, primarily Zack. “What the heck is going on.”

The injured man went to grab his gun, but realized Mathew was holding it. It was one of the larger handguns that used physical bullets. Mathew has seen one or two around the base, and several in Di’s shop.

Mathew didn’t point the gun at the man, just simply held it. “He was here to kill you, did you not hear the conversation? He was pretty loud.”

A few of the people inside who also did guard duty started to restrain the man, showing they put their points in stats other than Intelligence and Wisdom.

“No dude.” Zack said. “What you did. That last line was pure evil, why did you do that? He is just in a bad place mentally, you were doing a great job talking him down.”

Mathew held the gun up. “No I wasn’t, I was stalling. That type of man has nothing to lose. He confused his own fantasy for reality. He was about to realize I was questioning his reality and thus would have been a threat.”

Mathew put the gun in his bag, it was his now after all. “He is right about one thing, might make right. I was stronger, and smarter, thus I was right. Regardless, I just saved all of your lives.”

Zack frowned. “We could have handled it. I am a tank build for a reason.”

“I wonder what build his son had, I’m sure if he followed your example he would be alive today.” Mathew walked over to the table. Zack had his mouth slightly opened in shock.

Once the man was taken away by nearby guards, everyone looked at Mathew curiously. Who was this man who outwitted the mentally deranged and possible psychopath.

Zack sighed and gestured to him. “Everyone, that’s Mat.” He obviously decided to put aside what Mathew said to him.

“Wait, that’s Mathew? The guy who you said is the strongest mage on the base? He doesn’t look how I imagined him to be.” The braided hair girl said.

“I thought he was older.” Another voice said.

“Obviously he has an illusion. Where is the wizard hat?” Joey asked.

Everyone glared at Joey, until he shrunk away and looked down at the floor. Mathew looked at the table. On it were hand drawn stat sheets of various people. Lists of Abilities, Skills, and Spells. He even saw a few of his own listed, but had no idea if others had acquired them.

“Hello everyone. Yes, I am Mathew. I am sure my good friend Zack here talked well about me, just as he talked well about you all. As for my wizard hat, it’s at the dry cleaners.” He joked. Mathew took a seat, guestring for everyone else to do the same.

“I was hoping a few of you could answer my questions. I’m not as knowledgeable of fantasy, magic, or other such things as you all are. Is that alright with you all? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“You’re no bother at all!” The braided girl spoke up again. “We owe you a little bit for stopping that man. If he wasn’t noticed by you, who knew what could have happened?”