A.N. Damn, it's been a while since I touched this story. My writing style has changed significantly since then too. I'm handling a lot of fics at the moment.
This one probably comes third or fourth in terms of priority. In the two years I've been gone, I've had a lot of ideas boiling around in my head. I'm only barely getting them in writing now.
Anyway, enough waffling. Like I said, it's been a while so if this chapter is a little different to the others, I would hope it's because I've gotten better at writing.
---
(Steve POV)
There were very few things in life that could convince me that being electrocuted and dragged away from my computer and dumped into another universe had been a worthwhile experience. And while having the powers of a Minecraft administrator, being the strongest adventurer in the world, and owning a mansion that would put most royal palaces to shame were all pretty good reasons, I had to admit that the beautiful Amazon currently sleeping beside me was making a particularly strong argument for the whole reincarnation business.
Tiona was lying on her stomach, her face turned towards me and one arm thrown rather possessively across my chest. Her short black hair was scattered over the pillows, and the blanket had slipped down enough to expose her bare shoulders and most of her back. A rather pleased smile rested on her sleeping face, which was understandable considering what we'd been doing not half an hour ago. Apparently, the celebrations following our first successful day of business hadn't quite exhausted her enthusiasm, and she'd decided that her husband deserved a little extra attention before going to sleep.
Not that I was complaining, mind you. Far from it.
I gently brushed a few strands of hair away from her face, smiling when she made a contented little noise and snuggled closer to me. The woman could go from being an absolute menace on the battlefield to behaving like an oversized cat whenever she was feeling affectionate. And considering that she was now Level 6 and capable of casually pulverising a building with her bare hands, it was a rather amusing comparison to make.
Although I suppose comparing my wife to a cat would probably earn me a rather enthusiastic punch to the shoulder if she ever found out. Then again, she'd probably laugh about it. Tiona wasn't exactly the sort to take offence at a harmless joke, especially one coming from me.
I looked towards the large windows overlooking the grounds of Memphis Manor, where the moonlight illuminated the gardens and the magnificent buildings we'd constructed around the estate. From this height, I could see a fair portion of Orario stretching out into the distance, its streets dotted with the lights of taverns, inns and the occasional establishment whose services probably weren't appropriate for polite conversation.
And right at the centre of it all stood Babel, the gigantic tower marking the entrance to the Dungeon. It was still rather strange to think that I lived here now.
Not too long ago, I'd been sitting in front of my computer playing Minecraft, enjoying the luxury of being an antisocial bastard who didn't have to worry about anything more troublesome than whether my next building project required another few thousand blocks of quartz. Now I was the captain of the most powerful Familia in Orario, married to an Amazon, dating the Sword Princess, and responsible for managing a business enterprise that had just made enough money in a single day to buy several rather expensive houses.
Life was funny like that. Speaking of money...
"Twenty-seven million Valis." I murmured to myself, looking up at the ceiling with a grin. "Not bad for a bunch of blockheads."
And that was just the first day!
To be more precise, twenty-seven million was our total sales figure, not our final profit. Alex had made that distinction rather firmly when I'd started celebrating earlier, pointing out that there were wages, commissions, future operating expenses and various other things to consider. She'd even threatened to make me sit through an accounting lesson if I kept referring to the entire amount as money we'd earned.
Naturally, I'd informed her that I was the captain and therefore entitled to be financially irresponsible whenever I pleased. She'd replied by asking whether I wanted her to tell Ptah that we could afford to build him a statue shop.
I had promptly shut my mouth. Seriously, that woman knew exactly where to hit a man.
Nevertheless, even after taking everything into account, we'd made a ridiculous amount of money. The majority of our materials either came from the Minecraft world or could be obtained through our abilities, meaning our production costs were considerably lower than those of ordinary craftsmen.
Of course, that didn't mean everything was free. Enchantments required experience, potions required ingredients, and some of the more sophisticated creations needed materials that couldn't simply be conjured out of thin air without resorting to Creative Mode.
But compared to what the Guild charged for certain commodities? We were practically printing money.
A rather impressive achievement considering that most of us had spent the majority of our previous existence living inside a video game. I was particularly pleased with how well the enchanting shop had performed. There was something deeply satisfying about watching a veteran adventurer nearly have a heart attack after discovering that I could improve his weapon in a matter of minutes.
The looks on their faces had been priceless.
One fellow had spent nearly ten minutes examining his newly enchanted sword, convinced that there had to be some sort of elaborate ritual involved in the process. Another had asked whether I needed to pray to Ptah before performing the enchantment, which was a rather hilarious question considering that our patron spent most of his free time creating sculptures that looked like they'd been designed by someone suffering from a particularly aggressive fever.
I'd informed the man that no prayers were necessary. In hindsight, perhaps I should have asked him to offer one anyway. Ptah would probably have appreciated the attention. Then again, the last thing I needed was that little bastard becoming even more enthusiastic about his artistic ambitions.
The image of a market stall filled with Ptah's hideous statues was enough to make me shudder.
"What are you laughing at?" Tiona mumbled sleepily, her voice muffled against my shoulder.
I looked down and found her peering at me through half-open eyes, apparently having been disturbed by my rather undignified chuckling. Her expression was adorable, especially with how her hair was sticking to her cheek.
"Nothing important." I replied, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Just thinking about how much money we made today. Go back to sleep, sweetheart."
"Mmm." She hummed before tightening her arm around me. "You promised we wouldn't talk about work tonight."
"Technically, I wasn't talking about work. I was thinking about it. There's a difference."
"You're doing it again." She complained, although there wasn't much conviction behind her words. "You always start thinking about something, and then you get that funny look on your face. Like when you were figuring out how to make that giant lizard fit inside Ganesha's arena."
"Oi, that was an important engineering problem!" I protested. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to accommodate something the size of Godzilla without accidentally turning half the city into rubble? And besides, he'd already destroyed most of it by stepping in first."
Tiona giggled quietly before lifting herself up just enough to give me a kiss.
"You're such a weirdo." She said affectionately, settling back against me. "Just make sure you get some sleep. Ais said she wants to come over tomorrow, and you know she'll be upset if you're too tired to spend time with her."
"Wouldn't dream of it." I assured her, stroking her hair. "Besides, I don't exactly need as much sleep as ordinary people anymore."
"Then you can stay awake and cuddle me."
"Such tyranny! And here I thought mating an Amazon was supposed to be a rewarding experience."
She gave my chest a playful smack before closing her eyes again, a smile still lingering on her lips. I chuckled and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Within a couple of minutes, her breathing had settled into a slow, steady rhythm, and I was once again left alone with my thoughts.
The funny thing was that I actually did intend to get some sleep tonight.
Usually, whenever I found myself lying awake, it was because I was too busy thinking about some new project or experimenting with the possibilities offered by my powers. Tonight, however, I had no particular reason to stay awake.
We'd opened the bazaar, made a fortune, and celebrated with the rest of the Familia. The girls were happy, Ptah was happy, and even Alex had looked reasonably satisfied when she'd finished going over the accounts.
Zuri was still away in Warusa, but I wasn't particularly worried about him. The lad was perfectly capable of looking after himself, and unless the people responsible for enslaving the Hikuptah had somehow acquired the ability to summon a Wither, I rather doubted they possessed anything that could seriously threaten him.
Besides, he'd probably appreciate not having me hovering over his shoulder while he worked. For someone who was technically one of my creations, Zuri could be remarkably independent when he wanted to be.
Not that I minded. In fact, I was rather proud of him. But that reminded me of another little project I'd been putting off for a while now. The expedition.
Ah yes, the expedition into Minecraft. Now that was something worth thinking about.
Ever since I'd revealed the existence of the Minecraft dimensions to the members of the Craftsmen's League, there had been quite a bit of interest in organising an expedition. Which was perfectly understandable, considering that I'd essentially informed the most powerful adventurers in Orario that there was an entirely different world filled with unfamiliar monsters, valuable resources and opportunities to become stronger.
Naturally, the prospect had gone over rather well. Especially with Ottar. That giant bastard had practically looked ready to walk through the portal immediately after I'd finished explaining things. And considering that he'd only recently reached Level 8, I could understand why.
The man had spent years attempting to grow stronger, and then some overpowered idiot from another universe had appeared, beaten him senseless and handed him a legendary weapon as something of a consolation prize. I supposed that would motivate just about anyone.
Still, I wasn't particularly interested in throwing everyone into the deep end on their first visit. The Minecraft world might look comparatively harmless when viewed through the eyes of someone with Creative Mode, but the people of Gekai didn't have the benefit of knowing every little trick and mechanic.
More importantly, Minecraft wasn't exactly vanilla anymore. My original world had been modified so extensively that calling it Minecraft was starting to feel like false advertising.
There were creatures, structures, dimensions and entire systems that the original developers probably hadn't even considered when they first created the game. Some of them were harmless additions that made exploration more interesting, while others were the sort of things that made even experienced players reconsider whether they really needed whatever treasure was waiting on the other side of a doorway.
And because of that, I was going to have to be careful. Not for my sake, obviously.
I could probably survive being dropped into the middle of the Nether without any equipment and come out carrying enough resources to build a small country. But the other adventurers?
They were powerful, certainly, but there was a difference between being able to kill a Floor Boss and understanding the sort of bullshit that Minecraft could occasionally throw at you. I reached towards the bedside table and retrieved a small notebook from my inventory, along with a pencil.
Alex had been encouraging me to write down my plans rather than keeping everything inside my head, and although I suspected she mainly wanted written evidence of my stupidity whenever something went wrong, I had to admit that it was a fairly sensible suggestion.
I opened the notebook and began scribbling down a few ideas. First things first, we'd need to decide who was coming.
The obvious candidates were the executives of the Loki Familia, Ottar and perhaps a few of Freya's other prominent adventurers, along with representatives from Hephaestus and the other Familias that had signed the Crafters' Accords.
Finn would certainly want to participate, especially if there was a possibility of discovering resources that could benefit the Loki Familia. Riveria would be interested in studying the magical properties of the Minecraft world, Gareth would probably enjoy examining the ores and metals, and Tsubaki would undoubtedly become insufferable the moment she discovered the existence of Ancient Debris in the Nether which could be turned to Netherite.
Actually, scratch that. She'd become insufferable the moment she saw a diamond pickaxe. That woman was almost as obsessed with smithing as I was with gaming.
Ais would definitely be coming, and Tiona would probably threaten to murder me if I even suggested leaving her behind. Tione would follow Finn, Bete would come along because he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to prove himself, and Lefiya would probably join just to avoid being separated from the others.
Which meant that half the Loki Familia's executives would be wandering around my old Minecraft world.
Heh. I could already imagine their reactions.
The first time Bete got jumped by a Creeper would probably be one of the funniest moments of my life. Not that I intended to deliberately arrange such an encounter, of course.
That would be irresponsible...Extremely irresponsible.
...
I made a mental note to bring a camera.
Or rather, something with an equivalent recording function. There was absolutely no way I was missing an opportunity like that. The next question was how exactly I wanted to structure the expedition.
There wasn't much point in simply opening the portal, throwing everyone through it and telling them to have fun. Well, there was a point, but I doubted Finn would appreciate that sort of leadership, and Alex would probably spend the following week complaining about my inability to organise a proper expedition.
So, we'd do things the traditional way. A little resource gathering in the Overworld, followed by an expedition into the Nether, and then a trip to the End to fight the Ender Dragon before looting the outer islands.
A fairly normal Minecraft speedrun, all things considered. Well, normal if you ignored the fact that I was planning on bringing a small army of adventurers capable of destroying mountains.
The Overworld would be the easiest part. We already had established settlements, farms and a substantial amount of infrastructure there, so accommodation wouldn't be a problem. The others could spend some time getting accustomed to the environment while my companions and I explained the basics of Minecraft survival.
Mining would probably be the first major activity. I wanted the adventurers to experience gathering their own resources, crafting equipment and discovering how the enchanting system worked. Obviously, I could simply give everyone a complete set of enchanted Netherite equipment, but where was the fun in that?
Part of the appeal of Minecraft was starting with relatively little and gradually acquiring better tools. Although I supposed asking Ottar to spend an afternoon punching trees might be a little excessive. The man could probably uproot an entire forest with his bare hands if he felt like it.
Actually, that raised an interesting question. Would a Minecraft tree behave normally if an adventurer attempted to knock it down through brute force rather than using the block-breaking system?
Considering some of the strange interactions I'd already witnessed between Gekai's physical laws and Minecraft mechanics, it was entirely possible that the tree would simply break apart into individual blocks.
Either that, or the whole thing would fall over and crush whatever unfortunate idiot happened to be standing underneath it.
Hmm. Perhaps I should conduct a few experiments before letting the others loose.
I didn't particularly fancy explaining to Finn that one of his adventurers had been flattened by an oak tree because the captain of the Ptah Familia had forgotten to mention an important game mechanic.
Although the resulting expression on Loki's face might almost make it worthwhile. Almost.
I made another note.
Basic survival lessons. No unnecessary tree-related fatalities.
There. Professionalism at its finest.
Once everyone had become familiar with mining, crafting and the general environment, we could start visiting some of the more interesting structures scattered throughout the Overworld.
Villages would be an obvious destination. I rather wanted to see how the people of Gekai reacted to Minecraft villagers, particularly their tendency to stand around making strange noises while offering increasingly ridiculous trades.
I could just imagine Riveria attempting to engage one in a proper conversation.
...
"Hrrmm."
"Excuse me, could you explain the principles behind your enchanting process?"
"Hrrmm."
"Are you incapable of speaking the common tongue?"
"Hrrmm."
...
Hehehe. Oh, that would be glorious.
Then there were the temples, ruined portals, abandoned mineshafts and other structures. Plenty of opportunities for the adventurers to discover things without immediately having to fight for their lives.
Of course, we'd encounter monsters along the way. Zombies, skeletons, spiders, Creepers and the occasional Enderman would provide a decent introduction to Minecraft's hostile mobs. Although I suspected that the first few encounters would be rather disappointing for our more powerful participants. A normal zombie wasn't exactly going to survive an encounter with someone like Gareth.
Hell, even a relatively ordinary Level 2 adventurer would probably be able to dispatch one without much difficulty. But the point wasn't necessarily to provide a challenging fight. It was to familiarise everyone with the world's mechanics.
After all, the ability to kill a monster didn't automatically mean that you understood what it could do.
A Creeper didn't need to be particularly powerful to cause trouble if it managed to sneak up on someone carrying valuable equipment. And while skeletons weren't exactly the most dangerous enemies in existence, I suspected their habit of firing arrows at people from inconvenient distances would become rather irritating after a while.
Especially for Bete.
That fellow had a remarkable talent for becoming angry at things that weren't particularly interested in his opinion. I smiled to myself before turning the page.
Now, the Nether. That would be where things started getting interesting.
I'd already visited the dimension since arriving in Gekai, but there was a difference between popping in for a little reconnaissance and leading a large group of people through an environment where practically everything wanted to kill you.
The Nether wasn't particularly hospitable. An endless collection of burning landscapes, oceans of lava, hostile creatures and structures that looked like they'd been constructed by someone with a rather unhealthy obsession with the colour red.
Beautiful place, really. Perfect for a family holiday.
I could already imagine Tiona's reaction when she first saw the enormous lava lakes stretching across the landscape. Actually, she'd probably think they were amazing. The tomboy had the sort of enthusiasm that made her appreciate things most sensible people would consider a reason to turn around and go home.
Ais, on the other hand, would probably start asking whether there were any powerful monsters worth fighting.
And Ottar... Well, Ottar would be Ottar.
The man could probably stand in front of a Ghast and politely wait for it to attack before deciding whether the creature was worth his time. Though tanking the explosion with his face might enlighten him.
Still, there were plenty of useful resources to gather. Nether quartz, glowstone, ancient debris, blaze rods, magma cream and various other materials would be valuable additions to the League's collection. The smiths would undoubtedly be interested in ancient debris. I could already imagine Tsubaki's expression when she learned that an ancient material found buried beneath literal oceans of lava could be refined into something capable of improving diamond equipment.
She'd only gotten a simple peek at Netherite once during Ganesha's party and she would have been salivating if she were les improper.
She'd probably demand that we establish a permanent mining operation before the expedition was even halfway finished. Which wasn't actually a terrible idea. Netherite equipment would sell for an absolutely ridiculous amount of money in Orario, some day when they were worthy of it. Not that I intended to start flooding the market with it.
Some things were better kept exclusive, especially when they could potentially upset the balance of power between the Familias. I wasn't particularly concerned about someone becoming strong enough to threaten me, but I could do without the headaches that would follow if every reasonably wealthy adventurer suddenly acquired equipment superior to most of Hephaestus's creations.
The goddess would probably strangle me. And considering that I was trying to maintain a good relationship with the woman (Ptah's crush), that would be rather unfortunate.
Then there were the Piglins. Those fellows would be interesting. I'd have to warn everyone about wearing at least one piece of gold armour before approaching them, otherwise our first attempt at bartering might turn into a rather enthusiastic massacre. Although I doubted that the Piglins would pose much of a threat to our expedition, particularly with the people I intended to bring.
The Hoglins might provide a little entertainment. Watching a giant pig-shaped monster attempt to charge Gareth would certainly be amusing, especially considering that the dwarf could probably stop the thing with his shield.
The Ghasts would be even better. Large floating creatures that made noises resembling the cries of a particularly distressed baby before launching explosive fireballs at anyone unfortunate enough to attract their attention.
I wondered whether Lefiya would be able to resist the temptation to blast one out of the sky with her magic. Probably not, especially to prove something to me, the man who held her beloved Ais's affection.
And then there were the Nether Fortresses. Now those would be worth visiting. Blazes, Wither Skeletons, valuable loot and the possibility of establishing a reliable source of materials for brewing and enchanting. I definitely wanted the adventurers to experience a proper fortress raid.
Not because I thought they'd struggle, but because there was something inherently entertaining about exploring a dangerous structure filled with unfamiliar enemies while searching for treasure. It was practically the entire point of being an adventurer. Although perhaps I should avoid allowing everyone to wander off independently.
The last thing I needed was someone accidentally summoning a Wither because they'd found three skulls and thought arranging them on some soul sand would make an interesting decoration. I could imagine the resulting conversation.
...
"Steve, why is there a three-headed skeleton destroying the fortress?"
"Because some bastard apparently decided to conduct an arts-and-crafts project without reading the instructions."
"Can you stop it?"
"Of course I can stop it! That's not the bloody point!"
...
I sighed at the imaginary headache. Yes, supervision would definitely be necessary. Although, knowing my luck, I'd probably be the one responsible for accidentally creating the problem in the first place. I wasn't exactly famous for making sensible decisions when presented with an opportunity to do something ridiculous.
Once we'd finished exploring the Nether, it would be time for the final part of the expedition.
The End. Now that was going to be an experience. The End had always been one of my favourite dimensions, not necessarily because it was particularly beautiful, but because of the strange atmosphere surrounding it. An enormous island of pale End Stone, floating in a seemingly endless void beneath an alien sky.
Obsidian pillars rising from the ground, Endermen wandering about in their usual unsettling fashion, and a gigantic black dragon flying overhead. It was the sort of environment that practically screamed final boss. Which, of course, was exactly what it had originally been designed for.
The Ender Dragon.
I couldn't help smiling at the thought of introducing Orario's finest adventurers to Minecraft's most famous boss monster. The thing was, I had absolutely no idea how the dragon would compare to the monsters they were accustomed to fighting. In terms of sheer destructive ability, the higher-level adventurers would probably have little trouble dealing with an ordinary Ender Dragon.
Ottar could probably cut the poor creature in half if he managed to land a proper strike...nah. But the healing crystals, the strange properties of the End, and the necessity of dealing with a flying opponent would make the encounter rather interesting. Especially if I decided to sit back and let the others handle things themselves.
Which I absolutely intended to do. Not because I was lazy, obviously. I simply believed in giving my fellow adventurers the opportunity to experience personal achievement.
Yes. That sounded sufficiently noble. I could practically hear Alex laughing at me.
Of course, I'd need to make sure everyone understood the dangers of the void before we entered. Falling off the edge of the island was a particularly unpleasant way to discover that gravity still worked.
And while I could probably rescue someone before they disappeared into the darkness below, I'd rather avoid having to explain why one of Orario's strongest adventurers had managed to fall off the world.
That would be embarrassing. For them, obviously.
Not me. After defeating the dragon, we'd move on to the outer islands. Now there was where the real treasure hunting would begin.
End Cities, Shulkers, enchanted equipment, valuable materials and, most importantly, Elytra. I could already imagine how much the adventurers would love those things. The ability to glide through the air using a pair of magical wings would be an extraordinary advantage in Gekai, especially when combined with fireworks or other methods of propulsion.
And considering how much money adventurers were willing to spend on equipment that offered even the slightest improvement to their mobility, Elytra would probably become one of the most valuable items we could sell.
Assuming I decided to sell them at all. I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of watching some random idiot launch himself off Babel because he'd bought a pair of wings and decided that reading the instructions was beneath him.
Orario already had enough problems (some recent ones being my doing) without me introducing recreational skydiving to the general population.
Although... No.
Actually, that might be hilarious. I shook my head.
Focus, Steve. There would be plenty of time for irresponsible business ventures later. For now, the important thing was planning the expedition properly. I looked over the notes I'd made and nodded in satisfaction. The basic idea was coming together rather nicely.
A few days in the Overworld, some resource gathering and exploration, followed by a trip into the Nether, and finally an expedition to the End. We could even organise the participants into separate teams, each led by someone familiar with Minecraft's mechanics.
Alex would be an obvious choice for overall coordination. Ari could handle engineering and mining operations, Noor and Efe could provide magical support, Makena could oversee equipment maintenance, and Sunny would undoubtedly insist on making sure everyone was properly fed.
Kai would probably spend most of his time trying to convince the adventurers to race her across the landscape. Which would be rather entertaining. That imp had always been ridiculously competitive when it came to anything involving speed.
Zuri would be invaluable as well, assuming he'd returned from Warusa by then. Although I suspected he'd be particularly interested in studying the magical properties of the Nether and the End for the thousandth time, rather than spending his time supervising a bunch of adventurers who couldn't tell the difference between redstone and red carpet.
That just left one rather important question.
The Warden. I frowned slightly as I considered the possibility. Now that was something I wasn't particularly eager to introduce the others to. Not yet, anyway. It wasn't that I was afraid of the creature. I had far too many abilities at my disposal to be seriously worried about a Warden, even one enhanced by the various modifications installed in my Minecraft world.
But there was a very good reason why experienced Minecraft players tended to avoid those bastards whenever possible. They weren't designed to be ordinary enemies. They were designed to make you reconsider your life choices.
The Deep Dark was an entirely different experience from wandering through a forest or exploring a Nether Fortress. Sculk sensors could detect vibrations, shriekers could summon something that really ought to have remained buried, and the Warden itself was capable of inflicting a ridiculous amount of damage.
And that was before taking its sonic attacks into consideration. A creature that could attack through obstacles and punish players for making too much noise wasn't something I wanted to casually throw at a group of people unfamiliar with Minecraft's survival mechanics.
Even if those people happened to include Ottar, Finn, Gareth and the rest of Orario's elite. They would probably survive an initial blast, but survival wasn't the same thing as being prepared.
Besides, the whole point of the first expedition was to introduce everyone to the Minecraft world and allow them to enjoy themselves. Not to have them crawling around an ancient underground city while desperately trying not to sneeze. Although I had to admit that watching Bete attempt to remain completely silent for an extended period would be worth almost any amount of trouble.
The man would probably explode from the effort. I chuckled at the thought before crossing out a hastily written note concerning the Deep Dark.
No Wardens. At least not on the first expedition.
We could save that particular nightmare for another occasion. Perhaps after the adventurers had become accustomed to Minecraft's more unusual mechanics and acquired some equipment specifically designed to deal with such threats. Yes, that seemed reasonable.
I placed the notebook on the bedside table and settled back against the pillows, rather pleased with myself. All things considered, the expedition was shaping up to be a fairly enjoyable experience. A little mining, some exploration, a few boss fights and plenty of opportunities to acquire valuable resources.
Nothing particularly complicated. Certainly nothing that required me to spend several weeks drafting elaborate plans or worrying about the political consequences of every little decision.
We were going on an adventure. That was all.
And frankly, after spending so much time dealing with Orario's politics, business negotiations and the occasional goddess attempting to manipulate me into doing something stupid, I was rather looking forward to simply wandering around a familiar world with my friends.
Perhaps I'd even take a break from Creative Mode for a while.
Use Survival Mode, gather resources normally, and enjoy the experience of actually having to work for something.
...
Nah.
Who was I kidding? I'd probably last about ten minutes before becoming annoyed at how slowly my pickaxe was breaking through something and switching back to Creative. A man had to know his limitations, after all.
I glanced down at Tiona again. She was still fast asleep, her arm resting across my stomach and one leg hooked over mine beneath the sheets. Honestly, she looked far too comfortable. I considered waking her up just to annoy her, which would likely end in angry sex, but decided against it.
The girl had worked hard today, helping with the bazaar whenever she wasn't entertaining herself by wandering between the different stalls instead of helping her own Familia and sampling whatever Sunny happened to be selling.
And then she'd spent a rather considerable amount of energy entertaining me afterwards.
She deserved her rest. I gently placed my arm around her shoulders and closed my eyes. Time for some sleep.
.
.
.
Huh. That was strange.
I opened my eyes again and stared at the ceiling. For some reason, I didn't feel particularly sleepy.
Now, that in itself wasn't unusual. My body didn't require the same amount of rest that it once had, and I could quite comfortably remain awake for extended periods without suffering any negative effects.
But this was different. There was something bothering me. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I frowned and shifted slightly beneath the blankets, careful not to disturb Tiona.
Had I forgotten something? I mentally went through the events of the day.
The bazaar had opened successfully, everyone had performed their duties, we'd counted our earnings, enjoyed a celebratory bath, eaten dinner and finally retired for the evening. Nothing particularly unusual there.
Well, apart from the fact that we'd made twenty-seven million Valis and Ptah had spent a good portion of the evening attempting to convince me that his sculptures would become our most profitable merchandise.
But that hardly qualified as unusual anymore. I'd also checked on the security arrangements before coming upstairs.
Alex had everything under control, and the Wargs were stationed around the estate as usual. The various defensive enchantments were functioning properly, and none of the wards had registered anything suspicious.
So what was bothering me? I glanced towards the windows. The moon was shining brightly over Orario, and the city appeared perfectly peaceful. No sudden explosions, no suspicious magical disturbances, and certainly no enormous monsters attempting to climb Babel.
A perfectly ordinary night. Which, now that I thought about it, was rather suspicious in itself.
I snorted. Bloody hell.
Was I really becoming so accustomed to chaos that I couldn't relax whenever nothing was happening? That would be a rather unfortunate development. Perhaps I needed a holiday. Somewhere warm, preferably with a beach, plenty of food and absolutely no gods asking me to solve their problems.
Actually, I could probably build a private island somewhere in the Minecraft Overworld. A tropical paradise with a large house, swimming pool, and enough facilities to keep the girls entertained for weeks. Tiona would love that. Ais would probably spend most of her time exploring the surrounding wilderness, but that was perfectly fine too.
Maybe I'd invite the rest of the Familia along...No.
On second thought, that would rather defeat the purpose of a private holiday. Especially if Ptah decided to bring his sculpting equipment. I sighed and rubbed my face. Something was definitely preventing me from relaxing, but I couldn't work out what it was.
There wasn't any obvious danger. No warning from my abilities, no hostile presence approaching the manor, and no particular reason to believe that anything was about to happen. Yet the longer I lay there, the more I became aware of a peculiar sensation.
It wasn't fear. Nor was it excitement.
It was almost like the feeling you got when you were sitting in a waiting room and knew that someone was about to call your name, except you couldn't remember what you were waiting for in the first place.
Which was bloody irritating. I considered getting out of bed and taking a walk around the manor, but Tiona's arm was still draped across my chest, and I didn't particularly fancy disturbing her. Besides, wandering around the halls in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep would probably give Alex another excuse to lecture me.
The last time I'd stayed up late experimenting with something, she'd practically threatened to install a schedule into my system (even if there was no viable way for her to do that). As if I was going to let anyone tell me when I was allowed to play Minecraft.
The nerve of that woman.
I closed my eyes again and attempted to put the strange sensation out of my mind. Perhaps it would go away if I ignored it. That usually worked with most minor annoyances. Unless the annoyance happened to be Loki.
In which case, ignoring her only seemed to encourage further stupidity. Only Ptah could shut her up for good.
I smiled faintly at the thought. Then the smile disappeared.
Because something had changed. It was difficult to explain exactly what happened. One moment, I was lying comfortably in my bed with Tiona sleeping beside me. The next, I felt something. Not a sound, not a touch. Not even a magical disturbance.
Just a sudden, unmistakable certainty that something had become aware of me. My eyes opened.
"What the-?"
I didn't get to finish. The world vanished.
And when I say vanished, I don't mean that the room suddenly became dark or that someone had teleported me somewhere. I mean that everything simply disappeared. The bed, the walls, the windows, the warm body resting against mine...
All of it. Gone.
For a fraction of a second, I had the rather unpleasant impression that someone had grabbed the entire universe and yanked it out from underneath me. Then the light came.
White. Blindingly white.
It surrounded me from every direction, forming an enormous tunnel that seemed to stretch infinitely ahead of me. There were no walls that I could properly distinguish, no floor beneath my feet and no visible indication of where I was supposed to be going.
Which was rather concerning, considering that I appeared to be travelling through it at a speed that would have made Kai wet himself with excitement.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" My voice disappeared into the rushing light.
Instinctively, I reached for my abilities. Creative Mode. Flight. Teleportation. Anything that would allow me to stop moving long enough to figure out what the bloody hell was happening. And the strange thing was that I could still feel those abilities.
They hadn't disappeared. My inventory was still there, my status hadn't changed, and I could still sense the familiar collection of powers that had accompanied me since my arrival in Gekai. But none of them seemed particularly relevant to what was happening.
I wasn't falling. I wasn't flying. And I didn't appear to be moving through any recognisable kind of space. It was almost as though the concept of distance had decided to take the evening off.
Which was a rather ridiculous thing to think, but considering that I'd once defeated a monster by using a space warping ability borrowed from an anime character, I wasn't particularly inclined to dismiss ridiculous possibilities anymore. I tried to look behind me. There was nothing. Just more light.
"Oi!" I shouted, thoroughly annoyed now. "Whoever's responsible for this, you'd better have a bloody good explanation!"
No answer came. The tunnel continued stretching ahead of me, its blinding radiance making it impossible to determine whether I was moving forwards, backwards or in some completely different direction altogether. I was beginning to get rather irritated.
For one thing, I'd been quite comfortable in bed. For another, I hadn't even been given the opportunity to put on some clothes before being dragged off to wherever the hell this was. Not exactly the sort of treatment one expected to receive as the captain of a powerful Familia.
Although... I glanced down.
Huh? Somehow, I was wearing my enchanted Netherite armour. The familiar dark plates covered my body from head to toe, their surfaces shimmering with the subtle purple glow of the enchantments I'd applied to them. Even my boots were there. Which was strange, because I distinctly remembered being completely naked approximately thirty seconds ago.
Actually, scratch that. I had absolutely no idea how much time had passed. For all I knew, I'd been travelling through this ridiculous tunnel for several hours. Or several years.
Bloody hell, I hoped not. Tiona would be furious if I disappeared on her without warning. And Ais would probably assume I'd gone off on another adventure without inviting her. I was just considering whether I should attempt to use a command to determine my current coordinates when the light suddenly changed.
The tunnel began narrowing. Not gradually, mind you. It was more like someone had decided that the journey was over and started folding the entire passage inwards. The blinding white walls rushed towards me, and I felt an enormous pressure build around my body.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me..." Then everything stopped. The light disappeared. And I was spat out into an entirely different place.
---
For a moment, I simply stood there. Not because I was particularly frightened. I was just trying to make sense of what I was looking at. Because, quite frankly, I had never seen anything like it.
I was standing inside an enormous hall. At least, I assumed it was a hall.
There were pillars, a floor, and what appeared to be a great dais at the far end of the chamber, so the description seemed appropriate enough. But everything else about the place was completely ridiculous.
The pillars were enormous, rising so high above me that their tops disappeared into the darkness. They appeared to be made from some ancient grey stone, their surfaces weathered and cracked as though they'd been standing for millions of years. Some were perfectly upright, while others leaned at strange angles. Several were partially broken, with enormous pieces missing from their upper sections.
Yet despite their ruined appearance, there was something oddly magnificent about them.
They reminded me of the remains of some forgotten civilisation, except the scale was so absurd that I couldn't imagine what sort of creatures would have been responsible for constructing them.
And then there was the sky. Bloody hell.
The sky. There wasn't a ceiling. Instead, the entire upper portion of the hall opened into what looked like an enormous collection of every celestial phenomenon I'd ever seen.
Stars, planets, moons, galaxies, nebulae. Entire clusters of celestial bodies drifted across the heavens, some close enough that I could distinguish their surfaces while others appeared so distant that they were little more than tiny points of light. I could see enormous rings of debris surrounding unfamiliar worlds, massive clouds of colourful gas stretching across the darkness, and what looked suspiciously like a black hole surrounded by a brilliant disc of burning matter.
And somehow, none of it seemed to interfere with anything else. There were celestial bodies occupying positions that should have been physically impossible, and constellations that appeared to overlap despite belonging to completely different regions of the sky.
It was like someone had taken every picture of space ever captured by humanity, thrown them into an enormous blender, and poured the result across the heavens.
Except it wasn't a picture. Everything was moving. Slowly, almost lazily, as though the entire cosmos was drifting through some enormous invisible current. I stared upwards for several seconds.
"Okay..." I muttered. "That's actually pretty cool."
And it was. I had to give credit where it was due. Whoever had designed this place had an absolutely spectacular sense of aesthetics. Although I was still rather annoyed about being dragged out of bed. I lowered my gaze and examined my immediate surroundings.
The floor was constructed from enormous slabs of dark stone, each one polished smooth despite the weathered appearance of the pillars surrounding them. Strange patterns had been carved into the surface, some resembling ancient runes while others looked like symbols belonging to languages I'd never encountered before.
There were no torches. No chandeliers. No visible light sources apart from the impossible sky overhead. Yet I could see everything perfectly. And despite the enormous size of the chamber, the air was perfectly still. There wasn't even an echo when I shifted my feet.
Now that was strange. I wasn't particularly knowledgeable about acoustics, but even I knew that a hall of this size should have produced some rather impressive echoes. Especially when someone was standing around wearing a complete set of metal armour.
I tapped my boot against the floor experimentally. Nothing. Well, there was a sound. But it seemed to stop almost immediately after leaving my foot. Almost like the hall had decided that echoes were unnecessary.
I frowned. "What sort of place is this?"
And then a voice answered me.
"Welcome, Stephen Hewer."
I froze. Not because the voice was particularly frightening. Although, admittedly, it did possess a rather impressive amount of authority. It was deep, calm and perfectly clear, carrying through the enormous chamber without any apparent effort. But what caught my attention was the name.
Stephen Hewer.
Not Steve, not the captain of the Ptah Familia. Not the ridiculously handsome bastard who had somehow managed to marry an Amazon and made the Sword Princess become his girlfriend.
Stephen Hewer. My original name. The one I'd carried before arriving in this universe. The one that practically nobody in Gekai knew. My expression hardened.
"Alright." I said slowly, looking around the chamber. "You've got my attention. Now, would you mind telling me who the hell you are?"
There was a brief pause. Then the voice spoke again.
"Welcome to the Hall of Ever-Lasting Night."
I blinked. The Hall of Ever-Lasting Night?
Well, that was certainly an impressive name. A little dramatic, perhaps, but considering the architecture and the ridiculous sky overhead, I supposed it was appropriate. Still didn't answer my question, though.
"Right. Lovely name." I replied, folding my arms. "Very mysterious. Ten out of ten for presentation. Now, how about explaining why you've dragged me out of my bed in the middle of the night?"
A low chuckle echoed through the chamber. And for some reason, that chuckle made me turn towards the far end of the hall. Because that was when I finally noticed the throne. How the hell I'd managed to overlook it before was beyond me.
It stood upon the great stone dais at the end of the chamber, raised above the surrounding floor by a broad flight of steps. An enormous throne of black obsidian. Not the ordinary sort of obsidian that I could gather in Minecraft, although the material certainly resembled it.
This was something else. The stone appeared impossibly dark, its surface absorbing the surrounding light rather than reflecting it. Strange patterns ran along the arms and backrest, occasionally catching the distant glow of the celestial bodies overhead.
And sitting upon it was a figure. At least, I assumed it was a figure. I couldn't properly make out his appearance. Darkness seemed to cling to him like a cloak, concealing the shape of his body and making it difficult to determine where the shadows ended and the figure began.
There was no visible face. No distinguishable clothing. Not even a proper silhouette beyond the vague impression of someone seated comfortably upon the throne. The only thing I could clearly see was a pair of eyes.
Purple. Brilliantly glowing purple.
They stared directly at me from within the darkness, their light cutting through the surrounding shadows with an intensity that made them impossible to ignore.
I narrowed my own eyes. Well, that was certainly a new one. I'd encountered plenty of unusual beings since arriving in Gekai. Gods, monsters, spirits, and creatures that probably shouldn't have existed outside the imagination of a particularly enthusiastic game developer.
But this fellow was something else entirely. And judging from the casual manner in which he was sitting, he didn't appear particularly concerned about the fact that I was standing before him wearing enchanted Netherite armour.
Then again, considering that he'd apparently brought me here without asking permission, I supposed he had a fairly good reason to be confident. I was about to speak when something above the throne caught my attention.
A symbol. It was carved into the stone directly above the figure's head, glowing with the same brilliant purple light as his eyes. At first glance, I thought it was some sort of Egyptian hieroglyph. Which would have been rather fitting, considering the amount of time I'd spent dealing with Ptah and his obsession with ancient Egyptian craftsmanship in that book I gave him.
But the longer I looked at it, the more obvious it became that the symbol didn't belong to any Egyptian writing system I'd ever encountered. Actually, I wasn't sure it belonged to any writing system at all. It looked almost like a collection of different characters had been forced together into a single shape, their lines intersecting and overlapping in ways that made my eyes struggle to follow them.
And then, while I was still examining it, the symbol moved. I blinked.
The lines began shifting. Not physically moving across the stone, but changing their shapes, stretching and twisting as though the inscription itself were alive. One character became two. Two became several. And within a few seconds, the mysterious hieroglyph had transformed into a sentence written in perfectly understandable English.
I stared at it.
Nobody Ever Knew the Real Omniversal Sovereign.
...
What?
I read the sentence again. Then a third time.
Well, that was certainly an interesting statement. And a rather peculiar thing to carve above someone's throne. Although I had to admit that the word Omniversal caught my attention rather quickly.
Universal? Sure.
Multiversal? Fair enough.
I'd read enough comics and played enough games to understand the concept. But omniversal?
That was the sort of word people generally reserved for discussing beings who made the strongest characters in fiction look like helpless children. I slowly lowered my gaze towards the figure seated upon the throne.
Hmm. Something told me I was dealing with someone rather important. Then again, perhaps that should have been obvious from the beginning. Ordinary people didn't generally possess enormous throne rooms overlooking what appeared to be the entirety of creation.
Nor did they have the ability to drag someone through a tunnel of light without bothering to knock on their bedroom door first. I glanced around again, taking a more careful look at the area directly in front of the dais. That was when I noticed the table.
A long stone table stood between me and the throne, its surface perfectly smooth and polished to a finish that almost resembled black marble. Surrounding it were several magnificent chairs, each resembling a throne in its own right.
They were enormous, elaborately carved and clearly designed for individuals of considerable importance. Some possessed high backs decorated with strange symbols, while others were relatively plain, although no less impressive for it.
One particular chair caught my attention. It stood near the end of the table closest to the throne, its dark surface marked by a familiar symbol that glowed with an ominous red light.
An Omega. A bloody red Omega symbol. I stared at it for several seconds. Then I looked towards the figure on the throne. Then back at the chair.
"No way..." I whispered.
Now, I might have been an obsessive Minecraft player, but that didn't mean I was unfamiliar with other forms of entertainment. I'd read comics. Watched films. Played enough games to make my parents question whether I possessed any ambitions beyond eventually becoming part of my gaming chair. And there were certain symbols that even a casual comic book reader would recognise.
An Omega symbol carved into a throne-like chair? Yeah. That was a little difficult to ignore.
I wasn't about to start making assumptions, but if that chair belonged to who I thought it might belong to, then I was beginning to suspect that my current situation was considerably more ridiculous than I'd initially believed.
Which was saying something. Considering my life, the bar for ridiculousness had become rather high. I turned back towards the dais. The purple eyes were still watching me. The figure hadn't moved. And yet I had the distinct impression that he was enjoying my confusion.
Which was rather annoying.
"Alright." I said, placing my hands on my hips. "I'm going to assume you're the one responsible for bringing me here. And considering that you apparently know my original name, I'm also going to assume that you know a little more about me than the average person." The figure remained silent. I continued. "Now, normally I'd be perfectly happy to admire your rather impressive interior decorating skills, but you did interrupt a very pleasant evening. So I'd appreciate it if we could skip the mysterious introductions and get straight to the point."
A moment passed. Then the figure laughed. It wasn't particularly loud. Nor was it mocking. It sounded more like the amused chuckle of someone who'd heard something genuinely entertaining.
"Still rather impatient, I see."
I frowned. Still? That was an interesting choice of words. Before I could question him, the figure leaned forward slightly upon his throne. The darkness surrounding him shifted, although it did little to reveal his appearance. His purple eyes remained fixed upon mine. And then he spoke.
"Very well, Stephen. I suppose you've waited long enough to learn the truth."
I straightened slightly. The voice continued, perfectly calm and almost conversational.
"You may call me Nekros. I am the Sovereign of the Omniverse, and the one responsible for sending you into the world of Danmachi."
He paused briefly.
"And, of course, I am also the one who gave you all those rather entertaining powers of yours."