190 Road of reveals
“I don’t really understand what you are trying to imply,” Leila said. Her voice was soft… but her squinted eyes and tightened jaws made it clear she wasn’t simply refuting Mathew’s claim based on logic.
She refused to accept it with every fiber of her being.
“You guys wanted me to share my thoughts but that means I need some time to explain them,” Mathew bounced back only to pick up the pace of his steps. “And my suggestion is based on one of the most common yet most hated mechanics used in games.”
Mathew said his piece and then turned silent, expecting someone to chime in and read his intent.
Yet, seconds passed and soon the silence kept for over a minute. And as there were no signs of any of the girls catching Mat’s drift, he heaved a deep sigh before standing down and turning around.
“Have you ever heard the phrase level scaling?” Mathew asked, turning his eyes from one girl to the next all the way to when he looked at Norbert.
“It still exists?” Norbert suddenly asked, his eyes widening as a look of understanding flourished on his face.
“Not directly, no,” Mathew replied with a shake of his head. “Most of the developers took notice of how angry it made the players. But that doesn’t mean the idea itself is gone.”
“How about you guys explain what the hell are you talking about?” Leila took a step forward while locking her arms on her chest and raising her chin so that she could look at Mathew along the line of her nose.
“Level scaling. A system where the strength of every opponent you meet in the game is decided by their base statistics and then raised by how strong your own character is,” Mathew explained the general concept. “In short words, level scaling made games more challenging as you would never reach the point where some enemies are of no significance.”
The explanation was simple. And the reason why players hated such a system was even simpler. After all, games were ultimately just a tool to escape reality, the reality that made people feel powerless, conflicted, and confused.
And there is only one thing that could happen once the developers took away the easiest way for players to feel fulfilled and powerful in the games.
“But you say that system doesn’t exist anymore, didn’t you?” Nadia pointed out, joining the discussion.
She had a strangely uncomfortable look on her face.
‘Is she mad?’ Mathew asked himself, unable to figure out the girl’s feelings through the tiny hints present on her face. ‘Well, that’s not something I have the time to figure out right now,’ he then decided only to turn his attention back from his thoughts and to the girl.
“The strict level scaling is gone for years now. But a lot of games are constructed around the idea that defeating the boss puts you in an area with stronger opponents,” Mathew finally explained the crux of what he wanted to teach the rest of his group.
He then opened up his arms, pointing with each of his hands at a different group of zombies wandering off in the distance.
“Can’t you see it?” Mathew then asked. He then lowered his head and turned around, refusing to face anyone. “By dealing with that army of zombies from before, we likely raised the level of this area. If we do it again, I don’t think people will be able to contend with the normal zombies anymore.”
‘And that means, if we want to actually establish the three fortresses, it will likely mean killing off all the survivors still left in the city,’ he thought. ‘But there is no way I can tell them that, is there?’
“How can you be so sure it’s not a natural growth?” Daria finally joined the discussion herself with a pretty solid argument. “I mean, it’s true that we got rid of that damned zombie leader… But aren’t you just trying to find a connection between two things that might be completely separate?”
“No, he isn’t,” Nadia said, taking on the burden of replying to Daria’s suggestion. “Because he can see the difference between how the zombies grow in strength now and how they did before,” she stated only to drop her hands down on her hips and lock her eyes on the back of Mathew’s head.
“What are you talking about?” Leila asked, squinting her eyes as she stopped in her tracks.
“Don’t you think it’s the right time to tell them?” Nadia then asked, still keeping her eyes on the back of Mat’s head.
“And I bet you think it is,” Mathew whispered in his response to Nadia’s suggestion. And yet, he still refused to turn back and look at the girls. “Two days ago I died. Yet, instead of moving on to whatever awaits people after their death, I came back to a time two hours before the apocalypse started.”
The city was weirdly silent. With most of its inhabitants gone, there were no people to make the noises one could usually hear in the streets. And now, with Nadia staying silent and the rest of Mathew’s group too shocked to utter a word, the silence somehow became even deeper.
“So that’s why you baited the force to come to the school,” Norbert muttered after taking a moment to digest the news. “I only have one question, then,” he added, raising his eyes and looking right at the back of Mathew’s head. Yet, right as he opened his mouth to pose his question, his eyes moved over to Nadia’s face.
“Why speak about it now?”
Once again, silence took over the area around the group. Yet, contrary to Mathew, Nadia wasn’t in the mood to keep it going.
“Because we want to know the real reason why you are coming with us,” she revealed with a shake of her arms. “Is it for your sister?” she suggested, only to then shake her head sideways. “It might be, but I don’t think it’s true. She is safe in the school compound, after all.”
Nadia took a deep breath.
“The truth is, I believe I know why you tagged along,” she revealed, turning around on her heel and taking two steps forward to stand right before the officer. “I need to hear the truth from your mouth, though.”
For the third and hopefully last time, the group turned as silent as the rest of the city was. In this short period of time, Norbert looked down on the street, hiding his expression. He then swallowed his saliva before raising his face back up.
“I need to get stronger if I want to protect her,” Norbert said. “And I don’t think I can get any stronger by sitting on my ass and following Daniel’s wishes.”
“That’s good,” Mathew spoke out, finally breaking the silent treatment he gave to everyone after saying his last piece.
“Because it weakens Daniel’s position?” Norbert asked, taking on a slightly combative mode. “I will have you know it won’t…”
“Not even close,” Mathew cut into Norbert’s words. He then turned around and looked the man in the eye with a dead-pan expression all over his face. “It’s because we are also hoping to get stronger. And your sister is an indispensable element of that wish.”