Chapter 157 - (157) I'm No Hero

Geth stood a little ways from the entrance of the Dungeon. He leaned casually against a nearby tree.

Glancing at the sun's position, he could see that it was nearing noon. It had been a bit over an hour since he'd left the crowd.

'I wonder if any of them will show?'

While waiting, he summoned his Skeletons and allowed them to handle their Skill selections. The creatures looked at him gratefully, but it didn't seem that they intended on trying to speak.

Geth was a bit let down that he didn't get the chance to try and converse with his Skeleton Archer. His Tame had chosen its Class evolution and was instantly recalled.

Geth sent one of his selves to check its Attributes, but there was a notice on the panel. He pulled out the Taming Card only to discover it held the same statement.

***

Skeleton Archer is currently undergoing an evolutionary period.

Time until completion: 47 Hours 58 Minutes 29 Seconds

***

This was the first time that Geth had been made to wait for anything by the system. He recalled his Tames when he noticed a shadow move slightly near the Dungeon entry.

"I guessed that you would be one of them," Geth remarked casually.

Blade stepped out from behind the tree Geth was leaning on.

"Hahaha! Even with my Flash Step Skill, you had no issue following me. Your abilities are truly marvelous!"

Geth maintained his position and grinned.

"Will the others come?" He asked.

Blade shrugged, "That's hard to say. You never said what this meeting would be about."

Geth nodded and continued waiting in silence. Another ten minutes passed with no one else making an appearance.

Sigh

Geth glanced over at Blade. He could tell that the man had something on his mind but seemed too scared to say it.

"Go ahead. I'm not going to fault you for it. I don't think the way that others do."

Blade looked at him quizzically for a moment, "Why wouldn't you hate me for allowing Thorn to commit such atrocities?"

Geth shook his head, "I only did away with Thorn and his lackeys because I believed they posed a potential threat to my family in the future."

He turned to face Blade. He let his mask slip and looked at the man before continuing in a remarkably monotone voice. 

"I'm no hero. Though I may be praised that way in Valhalla, it's only due to circumstance that the citizens think that way.

I have done what I've done so far because I see it as the best way to protect my own interests. You were simply doing the same.

What good would it have done for you or the women to kill Thorn and his men? You would have died in the attempt, and nothing would have changed.

If you had miraculously succeeded, you would have had multiple mouths to feed. Your advancement in Levels would have almost certainly stagnated since you wouldn't have been in a strong party.

The only other possibility is that you failed and escaped. This would have left behind a hazardous loose end for you."

Blade looked at the stagnant face of the man before him. He couldn't pick up on a single trace of emotion. It scared him.

"You aren't normal, are you?" Blade asked a bit hesitantly.

"All things are relative. Anyway, your friends have arrived," Geth's mask slowly concealed his face as a light smile took shape.

"Creepy," Blade muttered. He looked toward the Dungeon entrance in expectancy.

Seven people left the Dungeon at once and walked towards them. Amongst them was Storm, which didn't surprise Geth in the least.

"Blade! What kind of lies has he been feeding you!?" An older man stormed out, yelling angrily.

Geth looked at the old man for a minute before recalling the face. It was the old football coach from when he was in school.

"You've got the wrong idea," Blade tried to diffuse the man's hostility.

"I know better than that! I've seen this man hospitalize three of my players and not even bat an eye!"

Blade glanced at Geth, recalling what he'd just seen and heard. 

"And you think it's a good idea to come out here and antagonize him without hearing what he has to say?"

The old man seemed to become more heated.

"We have the strength to do as we please! You can't expec-"

The old man stopped speaking as he felt a blade suddenly pressing against his throat. The man that he'd been speaking poorly of was nowhere to be seen.

He looked down to find Geth's hand gripping onto his own dagger that had been hidden in his waistband. Warm liquid ran lightly down his throat and began staining the collar of his robe.

"Where's that confidence you just had, old man?"

The entire group leaped back in surprise. Geth had just appeared there as if he'd materialized from thin air!

"Please don't kill him!"

An old woman cried and fell gently to her knees. He recognized her as well.

She was the head cafeteria lady. The woman disregarded the school's rules multiple times and made sure that any children without money in their account had the same lunch as the rest.

Geth removed the dagger from the old man's throat and allowed it to fall point first into the ground at his feet. Before the blade landed, Geth had already appeared in his initial spot, leaning against the tree.

The old man fell to his knees and grasped at his throat. An expression of sheer terror remained on his face.

"Now. Are you going to remain calm long enough for us to handle this discussion?"

The old man nodded, along with everyone else in the group.

"Very well, then let's move somewhere a bit more private."

Geth turned his back to the company and headed deeper into the forest. He didn't have to look back to know that they weren't too far behind him.

Sigh

'Maybe I went a bit overboard.'