The Diverging Paths We Choose

The first day of the trip went smoothly. Since all of us were above level ten, we dispatched of the monsters that approached the stagecoach with ease.

"Sir, to your right!"

Gash quickly picked up the habit of calling me "Sir." At first, I didn't really care as much. I thought of it as a nickname he gave me. But then he started doing a little too much.

If there were puddles, he would take off his coat and lay it down so I could cross. When food is ready, he makes sure that I get the first meal. He even blocks any hits I would take with his body. I'm pretty sure if I told him "die for me," he'd do it.

"Here's your meal, sir!"

"Thanks..." I received the bowl of soup.

Apparently when it comes to cooking in MFO, players are able to do it on expeditions as long as they know how to IRL. Both Aegis and Gash know how to cook, so everyone else gathered the materials while they worked together to make the meal. Everyone except for Roxline. "I was just told to be here for the ride. I'm not doing anything else." She said. Regardless, we did all this whilst not stopping for a moment.

"EFFICIENCY IS IMPORTANT! WE DON'T STOP FOR ANYTHING!" Hermes said.

Half of the squad ate in the stagecoach while the other guarded it outside. Gash made sure to sit directly next to me. Roxline still had her eyes closed. I didn't think it was possible to sit in one spot for so long in this game. I began to draw the line when he began to try spoon feeding me.

"Alright! You need to calm down! I understand I'm your idol and everything, but it's getting out of hand."

"I'm sorry, sir. It's just that you're so amazing in everything you do! You're like a father-figure and role model to me."

"Heh. In that case, you should call Dad or daddy." Aegis joked while eating.

"D-daddy?!" Violet's face immediately flushed red and she covered it with her hands.

Gash looked at me, as if asking for permission to do so, and I instantly shot him down.

"No!"

"Ok..." Gash looked down at his soup with a saddened expression.

This is really getting ridiculous. Having someone idolize you and do everything for you isn't as fun as I thought. Plus the entire "Sir" thing bothers me as well. It's time to clear the air up about that.

"Listen, doing all of these things for me is very flattering, but keep in mind that we're both on the same team after the same goal. We're equals so-" Gash interrupted me by gasping loudly.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you saying that we should be friends!?" Gash got into my personal space as he asked.

"I mean, that's not where I was going with that, but sure, I guess." I avoided his exuberant gaze.

"AHHHHHHH! I'm so excited sir-I mean, Matthew!" Gash instantly opened up his menu and sent me an invite.

As I looked at the invite, I began to wonder about the friends I have so far: Lucia, Violet, Aegis, even Elizabeth. These people would probably at least be bummed out if I wanted to go on a suicide charge. That's what Faye meant when she said "Make friends that'll care about you like I do," right?

I accepted the invite and Gash started jumping around in excitement.

"I'M FRIENDS WITH MATTHEW!"

As he was jumping around the stagecoach, a large stomping sound could be heard from outside the carriage. Everyone ran outside to see what was happening and what stood before our carriage was an giant that towered above any tree. And right on the shoulder of that giant stood a cheery girl with long, curly pink hair that fell to her shoulders and back with a black baseball cap. She also wore a pink and white short sleeved jacket and blue jeans.

The Giant put its arm to the ground in an incline and the girl slid down it to greet us.

"Hey there! My name is Petal! I'm the guild leader of Co-live. As you can see, I'm a monster trainer! Is it okay if I ask you to stop and turn around?"

Turn around?! That's going to be a resounding "no" for me. Lucia needs us and to top it off, we need to get there before any other guild. As far as I'm concerned, the woman that stands before me is an enemy. The people that are combat ready are Gash, Aegis, Violet, and me. I would have to get Roxline to help with a little effort, but its still possible. With that, I'm certain we can take her. I put my hand on my labrys and Petal instantly got the message.

"Wait! I would really prefer avoiding a fight if possible."

"Well here's the problem with that..." Gash moved past the group and went face to face with her. "You're in our way. And anyone that's in our way gets killed!"

Gash drew his dual swords and went in to strike down Petal. Before his blade could make contact with her body, the giant she came with got to him first. It blocked his strike with its hand and immediately back-handed Gash. He went flying deep into the forest and out of sight.

Oh boy...I really hope he's alive. I just became friends with him, after all.

"Please, guys! I want to resolve this with as little violence as possible!"

"Why are you so adamant on standing in our way anyway?" Aegis asked.

"Because! Because...WE AT CO-LIVE BELIEVE IN FINDING ANOTHER WAY TO DEAL WITH THE DEMON THREAT!" She yelled at us.

"Another way?" Violet asked.

"Yes! We believe in settling our differences with the demons in a nonviolent manner."

"But they're literally programmed to hate us." Aegis said.

"They're not programmed to do anything! Because of the dynamic questing system, anything could happen! Even the main questline could be altered!"

"Dynamic questing system?" I asked.

"It's a feature in the game that involves a lot of code. Depending on how a party handles one quest, it could affect how other quest are done and even alter other parts of the game."

Now that I think about it, I think I've ran into that a couple of times already. When I was doing the magicrumb quest, I'm certain that if Violet or I did things differently at any point of that quest, things would've ended completely different and would've probably affected the kingdom differently. But to alter something as huge as the main questline...is that even possible?

"Listen, there's gotta be some reason you guys are doing this. Just let me know and I'll meet you halfway."

"I'm looking to contribute the most to this world's society by beating this game. Only then will a sinner like me be allowed to die. That's my purpose. To make my death valuable." I gave the guild leader a piercing stare down.

"Matthew..." Violet said.

"I...didn't know you felt like that." Aegis said

"What if I told you that your way of thinking has some holes in it? What if you're doing more harm to society than good?" Petal said.

"Harm? I'm getting rid of the demon threat! That's the entire reason why we're here-"

"BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DEMONS?! You'd be wiping away an entire race of people! You're basically committing genocide! I'll use an example! Say that there's two politicians that are both aiming for world peace. One wants to do it by ruling any opposition, while the other wants to do it through diplomacy. Which side would you pick!?"

"I would..."

Wait...which side WOULD I pick?

Does it matter which side? They both achieve the same result. But it DOES matter! If someone rules with an iron fist, there's a chance that the country will become an enemy of the world and be destroyed. But if the country chooses diplomacy, it may take entire lifetimes to achieve the end result and the country may even end up as a pushover! Both sides are possible, but can easily lead to failure! So how do I pick the best option?

Petal could see I was having a hard time and used the moment to her advantage by getting closer to me step by step. "You see? Life isn't all black and white..."

"Alright, I've heard enough. Let's take care of this chick and move on-" Aegis was immediately consumed by a slime that got the jump on him along with Violet. As they tried to struggle to break free, they made little to no progress on their efforts. Damn it! I let my guard down for a second and THIS happens?! She must've sent them out before she came in contact with us. I was watching her the entire time!

"I'll tell you what: you and your friends can go home right now, think it over, and then when you've reached a conclusion, then I'll acknowledge your viewpoint!" She patted me on the shoulder as she gave me a warm smile. It resembled Lucia's so much...

Man...I wonder what she would say right now? Or maybe it's a good thing that she's not here. This way, there's no bias in my decision.

All this time, I was doing what I did with complete conviction because I thought it was the right thing to do. I thought that because I was set on this path by someone like her, someone that seemed like she had everything in this world figured out, that I was certainly doing the right thing.

I facepalmed at my stupidity as I rattled my brain.

But what if that isn't the case?

"DEATHLY LUNGE!"

Before anybody could react. a figure came out of the woods and made an attack towards Petal. The figure was none other than Gash. The giant intercepted by trying to backhand him back into the forest, but Gash's attack to Petal was a feint. He got the giants hand right where he wanted it and twisted his body with speeds that made him successfully separate the giant's fingers and arm from its palm. He then kicked the separated palm away and sent it flying into a nearby tree.

The giant recoiled and let out a screech of pain as every piece of his severed hand hit the floor.

"TODD! You're gonna pay for that!" Petal looked at Gash with hatred in her eyes.

"I just don't get it...ARE YOU REALLY MATTHEW?!"

"Huh?"

"From the things I've heard, Matthew is a force to be reckoned with! He picks the easiest and quickest path for society's sake and if that leads to some heads rolling, so be it! He wouldn't second guess himself for a single moment! He'll walk the path he chose until the very end! That's the man that I became friends with today!" Gash lectured me with tears streaming down his face.

I kind of feel bad that I had to think about him being my friend. He's willing to cry for me. That should be enough, right Faye?

"hehehehehehehe...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I bursted into maniacal laughter. Petal had a look of bewilderment as Gash wiped his tears away and began beaming.

"I'll tell you what, Petal. Let's have a war right here and now! Wars are good for these things right?! They're a place where ideals get tested in the most brutal way possible! If you die here and now, then that means your ambitions were meant to be stomped out as early as possible. I would say the same thing happens to me, but I'm no vice leader or guild leader! I was just sold by a beauty's sweettalk!" I drew my weapon and pointed it at Petal.

Yeah...this feels more right. Screw all of the thinking. I shouldn't be second-guessing myself. If what she says is true and I'm picking the worst possible method to the demon threat, I'll just fight until I make it right. I won't allow myself to die until I make an immense positive impact on this world!

"Are you sure that's your answer?"

"I'm positive!" I gave a devilish smile as I asserted my ambition.

"Then...you're already a lost cause!" She reached into her pocket and threw out three crystals. By then though, Gash and I already had conveyed to each other through mere eye contact what we wanted to do. We already had our counterattack in mind!