Chapter 41

Chapter 41

A crowd had formed as people elbowed their way forward, pushing and shoving to get a better view. I took my places among the crowd, watching from different vantages. A group of armed men, swords, clubs, and other crude weaponry in hand.

A large man with scarred arms climbed above the roots, staring down at the masses as his group shouldered and suppressed the crowd. His eyes were dark and his face just as scarred. A jagged smile.

Welcome to the apocalypse! He boomed, his voice carrying farther than it shouldve. Starting today, anyone who wants to enter the [Sleepywood] does so only with my permission! Cries of outrage, scoffs, and grumbling. A man was beaten down and the speaker stared down at a quieted crowd.

Its not too late to join my group. If youve been approached before, Ill give you the rest of the day to come groveling back. Im going to be the one to lead you all out of these dark days! With the rewards we get from this Dungeon, Roothaven will be a shining beacon for other survivors! He smiled, a crazed glint in his eye. If youre with me.

Someone pushed through the crowd near to one of my clones. Whats happening?

I pulled my cloak down, recognizing him. Some crazy is claiming the Dungeon. One of my clones said, eyeing the speaker.

The man turned, blinking at me. Evahn?

I gave a small smile. Hey, Gary. Good to see you again. I nodded at the familiar face. Any idea who this is? Ive got an idea myself but Ive never actually seen him.

Gary took a moment to gather himself but then grumbled, focusing on the man speaking. Thats Blitz, no doubt. Hes been giving everyone here a hard time. He confirmed my suspicions. His group was supposed to set out and leave. I thought wed only have to endure their crap for a while longer before they did. Turns out they liked what they saw here.

Slimy bastard, I said, staring up at the man.

Theyve been shaking everyone down for food and other essentials, Gary explained, though I was already aware of some of the stuff going on around the camps.

Gary grimaced. Thats the other thing. Its certainly unfair but Blitz and his thugs have also demonstrated their strength. Theyve already been fending off those goblins and wolves poking at the edges of the clearing, a couple of other creatures too.

They think throwing their support behind him means protection. I said after a moment, following his logic.

Exactly. Theyre all high-level. Gary nodded. Then he looked back at me, reconsidering. Relatively high-level, that is. With everything going around the clearing, especially the Field Boss so fresh in everyones mind no one knows what to expect from the swamp, let alone the rest of the world.

I sighed as three other versions of me relaxed their weapons. More than those in the crowd, there were others hanging around the roots, even behind Blitz. A couple watched the entire procession.

Blitz wasnt exactly the ideal outcome but he wasnt the worst person that couldve appeared. Besides that, injuring him, let alone in front of so many people, wasnt conducive in assuaging anyones fears.

Gary looked at me. Well handle it. He said. The people wont take this sitting down. Everyones already realized the importance of the Dungeon. A couple of groups have already been showing off their rewards, not to mention the levels.

I wasnt planning on doing anything anyway. I shrugged. So long as people can take care of themselves, its not really my problem. Now, if he was going around killing people itd be a little different.

Didnt say you were, Gary said simply, watching Blitz step down.

I followed his gaze, watching the man. A couple of my clones were close enough to listen in on his thoughts, near the front of the crowd. There, the jostling was wilder, the shouting louder. But my mind could pierce it all and skim the surface of the mans thoughts.

He faced everyone without a trace of fear, smiling, smug. There was a depth in his eyes though as he looked over everyone.

We have to be stronger than this. Stronger than these weaklings. Look at them, too scared to step away from the crowd, cowed by a mere man. There are things worse than me that walk our world now.

I watched him go, unable to disagree.