CHAPTER 59: MALCOLM’S GRATITUDE

The medical crates vanished from his inventory as he handed them to Malcolm. The settlement leader’s eyes widened when the last crate materialized before him. It was filled to the brim with antibiotics, surgical kits, and bandages.

"You didn’t have to carry them all back yourself." Malcolm hoisted the crate onto a nearby table.

"I wanted to see your face," Reidar said, wiping sweat from his brow and giving Malcolm a huge grin. "By the way, the Behemoth’s dead."

Malcolm chuckled, looking at his status screen. "Knew that an hour ago. I’ve got a notification the moment you killed it."

"There’s more stuff at the hospital," Reidar said. "You’d better send someone to secure it before anyone else gets there."

"Will do after we are done here."

They remained silent for two seconds. "Anyway, can you tell me how this whole settlement leader thing works?"

Malcolm nodded.

"As settlement leader, I get different rewards than you. Fewer survival points, more settlement resources."

He gestured around the store, packed with supplies he’d earned through quests—even though his job was mostly about coordinating everyone else, and that was no simple task.

"So you get quests that benefit the settlement, not you personally."

"Not exactly. I can still take normal quests, but I basically avoid them. I don’t have the time." Malcolm then turned toward the medical supplies.

"Still, you did us a huge favor. These supplies will keep our infirmary stocked for months." He grinned.

"Don’t mention it. It was the right thing to do."

"Indeed, but I don’t think people will have your same train of thoughts. I bet they would not care in the future. Not that I don’t get it... Survival and all of that."

Reidar then paused. He turned to Malcolm. "Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving."

Malcolm’s smile vanished. "Well... Not that I didn’t expect it. You made it clear enough when you arrived."

"What, you want me here?"

"What did you think — that I was scared you would take control of the settlement? Be my guest! Keeping this many people safe is no joke!"

Reidar studied Malcolm’s face. The tightness around his eyes, the way his hands lingered on the medical supplies as if they were sacred relics.

It really looks like he cares about people... Maybe I misjudged him...

"You have been here for less than a week... Are you sure you would rather not rest a little more before leaving?"

Reidar looked around. Sunlight filtered through dirty windows, catching on floating particles as it fell across shelves loaded with scavenged items: worn clothes, cracked dishes, corroded implements, and piles of paperback books with warped pages.

For a second, Reidar considered it. Here, there were people; there were supplies. It would be a good place to start a new life.

But then his gaze drifted to a dusty picture frame half-hidden under boxes of bandages. The faded figures were smiling. It tugged at something deep inside him. It reminded him of his wife and son, back before everything fell apart.

"My parents are in Creamont," he said. "My wife and son are in Kingsgate." Reidar kept his voice steady. "Every day I stay here is another day they’re in danger."

Malcolm didn’t actually feel good asking Reidar to stay, given what Reidar had just said. But he still had to ask it for the good of the settlement.

"You made a lot. Anyway. I can’t thank you enough. You’ve made us stronger. Safer. We can actually hope for a tomorrow now."

Reidar nodded.

"Group Rally will help you a lot. And that Settlement Token. It’ll help even more. You’ll have stronger fighters and a safe place to fall back on. You just need to figure out how to hunt. Believe me when I say that you don’t need me around anymore."

"The medical supplies are just the beginning," he said. "With the monster nests cleared, you can expand." He paused. "Be careful, though, because the Behemoths won’t be the last strong monsters you will face."

Reidar had seen George reunite with Marie and seen parents embrace rescued children. His own family had no one like Malcolm to keep them safe.

"Malcolm." Reidar turned toward the door. "I’ve set you up to succeed. Now it’s your turn."

Malcolm could do nothing more at that point but give him a grim nod. "If you really want to leave," Malcolm said.

"Then you should go buy a regional map from the vendor. It will expand your map and will make you able to see the entire region." He paused. "However, even the map needs proficiency. The more you explore, the more it will increase, and when you do, at least based on what the vendor said, you should be able to see all the living creatures and resources in the area, plus any changes that occur."

"Pretty damn useful!"

"Pretty damn useful... We bought one of the maps, but they are expensive, and we hadn’t gotten out of the town, so its proficiency is still at 0."

"You’ve done well here. Malcolm."

Malcolm’s shoulders relaxed. "I hope you are right..."

The faint lines around Malcolm’s eyes deepened as he nodded, perhaps recalling the weight of five hundred lives resting on decisions made by someone who, despite having been trained, had no idea what to do given the peculiarity of the situation.

Reidar knew what Malcolm was feeling. He himself shouldered responsibility for a handful of survivors, and even that short time left an aftertaste.

Leadership meant taking decisions that could have led to people’s deaths, which was something Reidar wasn’t too keen to go through. That was why he wanted to go alone.

"Thanks for the kind words... You’ve got the Vendor to visit before you go. Keth’moran had new stock yesterday."

"Good to hear then."

"Don’t let him overcharge you." Malcolm forced a grin.

"No chance." Reidar turned for the stairs.

Malcolm watched him go. Without Reidar’s power, every future threat would be harder, every decision heavier.

Reidar then left the room. There was nothing more he could do there anyway.