"Victoria, listen, I need your help with some-"
Before Josh noticed, he was already on his knees, holding onto his stomach, and crouching in pain as all the air in his lungs were forcefully dispelled. Victoria had simply punched Josh right in his stomach without holding back.
He may be a hero with incredible regenerative abilities, but pain is still something that all heroes have to deal with like everybody else.
The reason Victoria punched him you might ask? No reason. She would have done the same to anybody else.
Victoria continued to walk down the hall as if nothing had happened.
"V-v-victo-ria!" Josh tried to say something, but he was still having a hard time breathing.
Victoria stopped. She turned around and kicked Josh in the stomach once again, sending him flying back.
Victoria was basically a psychopath. Before she would have never done something like this back in her world, after all she was just an ordinary person with no power of any kind and breaking the law would send her to jail. Only if gets caught.
But now in this world she has power, status, everything she needs to get away with most things. If the Great Sage wasn't watching, she would have killed someone long ago. But killing and slowly and painfully torturing monsters was a good substitute for humans.
"What the fuck do you want from me?" Victoria asked in a very angry tone, but that's just her ordinary tone.
Truthfully speaking she could care less what Josh wanted. But she was feeling bored, killing and torturing monsters this past few months has become too repetitive.
Josh got up. He really wished he didn't want to do this, but he really wanted a dragon egg.
'Come on, me. You're the main character. You're supposed to forgive those who don't deserve your forgiveness. Even if they were to kill or threaten my family, I have to forgive them.' Josh thought to the extreme.
Josh can count many, many of the stories when main characters forgive those even if they tried to kill him or their family members. So in order to 'become a main character' he needs to have this character trait where he forgives everyone for anything.
"I know all the heroes are scared of you, and-"
*SMACK!*
Victoria smacked Josh in his face.
"Tell me something I don't know and quit wasting my fucking time." Victoria hated it when people wasted her time with facts she already knew. Well she hated people in general for any reason really.
"Help me convince Pete to help me out with something."
"Who the fuck is that?"
"Your classmate, the one with the thick beard."
"Oh, the idiot who I sent his nudes to everyone in school."
Victoria's greatest victim was most definitely Pete. For everyone else she was a terribly bully as she has harassed them, hit them, scarred them mentally, basically really messed up anyone she ever met.
But for Pete she went the extra mile. Somehow she took photos of Pete using his own phone, and since Pete used social media she posted the photos to his friends and anyone else she could send to. It really only required her to share a few photos, because the people she sent them to shared those photos with others, and it spread like a virus.
Pete's school and social life was ruined since that day.
Due to lack of evidence, nothing was done to Victoria that could seek out justice for Pete, and everyone knew she did it. Sometimes terrible people get away with anything, and the nice people have to pay for it.
And Pete was too afraid to say who was the one who sent the photos.
"Yes, him, please tell him to help me out." Josh asked. He knew about Pete and Victoria's past, he had to live under a rock not to know. But he also knew that Victoria had the greatest effect on Pete and could convince him to do anything.
In short Josh plans to use Victoria, Pete's greatest fear, to get him to do what he wants.
"What's in it for me?"
"How about a dragon egg?"
Josh is convinced he'll get not one but many dragon eggs. He secretly hopes that one day at least one of those dragon eggs will grow up to be like Maid, able to transform into a loli.
And yes his plan is to first enslave them, form a bond like a typical isekai MC has with every single loli slave they have in their harem. After that he wouldn't need to use the slave collar anymore.
"Hm. Deal." Victoria agreed.
Dragon's are one of the few creatures she has yet to torture. Perhaps she may not be able to bind and torture a dragon, but a baby dragon was different.
'Nothing brings me more joy than to hear the sounds that baby monsters make when they scream.' Victoria recalled some really messed up memories.
"Okay, here's the plan."
Josh told her of his plan that he just thought of 10 minutes ago.
Victoria heard his plan, and she smiled sinisterly. She thought he had a great plan but it seemed he was really, really stupid.
'Oh my god. How did this guy ever get away from me for so long.' Victoria loved torturing others, but another form of torture she liked to do is controlling others through blackmail especially.
She has heard of slave collars because Josh used one, but using blackmail just seemed more fun and rewarding for her.
From the brief conversation with him she could tell he was easily manipulative, stupid, overconfident. He is perfect for controlling him, like a puppet.
Josh was an outcast back in his school, he was always quiet and kept to himself. He never stood out which is why Victoria never paid much attention to him.
"Fine. I'll do it." Victoria couldn't help contain the happiness in her and smiled.
That smile of hers made Josh shiver, she was so creepy when she smiled. What was worse is that she actually agreed so easily.
'I didn't make the wrong choice here, did I? Nah. No way. I am the MC here. Everything will go my way. I'm always in the right so… yeah.' Josh thought his 'plot armor' would help him out somehow no matter how bad the situation turns out for him.
Meanwhile…
Will had exited his kingdom for the first time in a while. It was easy, he merely teleported through the walls using his magical item. Instead of wearing armor he was wearing nothing but ordinary clothes.
Maybe it's because he's been wearing armor for so long but now that he isn't wearing armor, it made him feel naked and exposed.
Sandra stayed back to not attract attention to Will, and also to take a shower.
'As long as I am not dragon-scale wearing armor they won't recognize me.' Will thought.
"IT'S THE HERO!" Someone pointed to Will.
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Will shouted.
He had exposed his face when he took off his mask for a brief moment and that's how that one person instantly recognized Will. He didn't think that one through.
People swarmed Will like titans trying to devour their prey.
Will couldn't move with everybody around him. So he teleported away, and went back inside his castle.
'Is this how celebrities feel every time they step outside? It's annoying.' Will found a whole new level of respect for famous celebrities, well some of them.
And heroes in this world are considered one of the most well known people. People could easily name 50 heroes at minimum, but can only name at most 2-3 kings.
Will took out his communication stone and contacted Jack.
'I should have done this from the beginning.' Will thought.
{Jack, are you in the village?}
{Yup. Lol I just saw you get swarmed by all those people. We moved to the village where you live. I hope you don't mind. Now that I think about it it sounds like stalking, but we really couldn't handle the heavy taxes anymore. Hope you don't mind.}
'He knows what 'lol' means?' Will didn't know that heroes are already affecting the world more than he thought.
It first started by sharing a bunch of fortnite dances just because they could. After that they started making memes somehow. The first meme started with the king, and then the heroes. They weren't good memes to begin with so they died quickly. If the internet was a thing in this world, memes would have already been a part of everyone's lives.
And now people are saying stuff like 'lol' and 'gtfo' which now stands for 'get the four oreos' which did not make sense in the slightest, but people still use it when they're sending messages and when a conversation doesn't make sense they write 'gtfo' which once again does not make sense in the slightest.
Or everyone's favorite 'wtf' which people think means 'where the food?' the heroes who did this must be having a blast.
{Meet me on the other side of the kingdom.}
{Will do. :)}
Will put on his armor and flew on the other side of his kingdom. It was empty as everyone was on the other side because the village was there.
"Yeah, wearing armor just feels right."
Will waited for Jack for 10 minutes, but he wasn't here yet.
{Jack, where are you?}
{Be right there. Almost there. Sorry.}
Will got bored and started drawing circles on the ground using a stick.
"Hero Will!" Jack called out to him.
"Dude, why did you take so…" Will saw Jack leading his mule that pulled a wagon covered in a white sheet.
"Sorry I took so long. Your kingdom is surprisingly big. It took a while to get around. And it also took some time to load this on the wagon." Jack pulled the white sheets off his wagon, and to Will's surprise, it was iron armor.
Not just iron armor, but armor made specifically for Adaline.
"Jack, is this armor for Adaline?" Will asked. He wasn't a blacksmith, so he could not make armor for Adaline unfortunately. And the crafting system did not allow to craft specific monster armor aside for dogs and wolves.
It's why he needs the {Hologram platform} . It is the one item he needs to craft things that the crafting system doesn't allow.
"Yes. I told you I would make some for you." Jack smiled, one could tell he was very happy to make this armor.
He did have some help from his uncle, it helped to distract him when his master died not too long ago from a dragon attack.
"You sure did." Will said nervously. He didn't even remember Jack mentioning anything about making Adaline armor.
'Ohhhhh. I remember. At that time I was worried for Adaline because I couldn't make armor for her, so I asked Jack. I just didn't think he'd make it. And not only that but he didn't even take her measurements. How did he do it?'
It was about the time when Will started calling the system a 'racist against other species' not knowing that the correct word is 'speciesism.'
Jack promised and delivered, not knowing that Will had completely forgotten.
'Wait, I also forgot that I posted the poster of the golem job thing in the kingdom. Oh god, when was that again?' Will had forgotten about that as well.
'I gotta stop making mental notes because I'll keep forgetting important stuff. Note: stop making mental notes because I am an idiot. Also Note: gotta write stuff down in an actual note from now on.' Will will most likely forget about that, too.
Will has a good memory, but only for video games and movies.
Will touched the armor. The brown book on his lap did not glow as he wanted. Every time he touches something new the book immediately writes it down.
'So it doesn't record it down on the book because it can't make it? I wonder how the system's ability works. 4 months and I feel like I have only scratched the surface.'
Will decided not to dwell on it. He already knows that he needs to figure it out himself.
Taking out a pickaxe from a chest that was in his pocket, he made a large hole on the castle's wall.
"What are you doing?" Jack almost had a heart attack to see Will tear down part of his wall with a pickaxe.
"I'm making a hole big enough to fit the entire wagon inside. Come inside as well."
Will could open the door like an ordinary person, but the problem is that the front door is right in front of the village. If he were to open the door it would be like letting out a flood because no doubt that people would barge into his castle, at least that is what he thinks.
Even Sandra has to use a secret passage that Will made just for her. He didn't mind creating one as having a secret passage is something every castle should have, or can it really be called a proper castle without a few secret passages?
"Okay!" Jack was so glad that they moved here. For the longest time ever since he heard about Will's 'secret base' he's been wanting to visit him. But a lot of things kept him from doing so, his work, taxes, monsters, his family.
Will easily closed the hole on the wall as if it was never there.
Jack remembers the first time Will created an old, broken, shabby, wooden house right near where his old village was. It's the village where they met. Jack thought that it was some sort of secondary skill that Will had, like some other heroes were musicians, chefs, painters, etc.
Never would he have thought that Will's ability could make such an amazing castle in such a short amount of time, whereas ordinary people would take years if not decades to build even with dozens of men. It's the first time he's heard of something like this.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Will noticed Jack looking at his castle with an amazed look on his face.
"It's really amazing."
Will smiled as he proudly crossed his arms and puffed up his chest. He just likes it when people compliment him for his work.
He never had any talent, or made or did anything that would amaze people like he could right now.
"GRRR!"
"AH!" Jack jumped in fright as he heard a low growl behind him.
Adaline sensed Jack and had forgotten about him already.
"Adaline, remember Jack?"
Jack took a few steps back to stay away from her. He was just naturally a wuss.
'Wait, was I like Jack?' Will asked himself. He remembered how Alex sometimes referred to him as 'cowardly' but never took it to heart.
"Hiss!"
"I don't think she remembers me."
"Well I mean, you are a pretty forgettable character, no offense."
"Some taken."
Adaline left to go to sleep. She just barely remembered him.
"So… this is how the inside of your kingdom looks like. It's pretty big." Jack continued to observe Will's kingdom.
"It is big."
"What is its name?"
"What?"
"Your kingdom. What's the name?" Asked Jack.
"Name… good point. I don't know."
Will had forgotten to give his own kingdom a name. The kingdom of Reyes is where the Great Sage and all the heroes live. The Empire is just called the Empire. King Author (get it?) ruled a kingdom named Camelot or something.
Will had plans to make not one but many kingdom's, as well as secret bases, underground kingdom's, everything that he always wanted to build in Minecraft but couldn't.
There is no rule that says he cannot make only one kingdom.
So he really needed to name them in order to avoid confusion.
"Probably after my friend, Alex… Alex kingdom? No that sounds dumb. How about after my favorite youtuber, Techno kingdom… maybe that'll work? Pogtopia perhaps? No, something original, something that is not taken. L'manberg? Nah."
"Oh, we could each come up with ideas for a name." Jack said. He really wanted to be a part of this. How often does one get to name a kingdom?
"What are we doing?" Sandra came out of a building after taking a shower. She wore very light and comfortable clothes, a white towel was wrapped around her head.
'Gasp! It's the red-headed hero!' Josh finally met another hero. All heroes are his idols, except the ones who have fallen.
"Sandra, we never came up with a name for the kingdom!" Will said.
"Oh, shoot, you're right. How did we miss that?" Sandra knows how important this kingdom is to Will and herself, so it needed to be complete, and naming it is very important.
This kingdom was made in honor of their friend, Alexander Anderson.
"I dunno. It needs to be something cool, and original. I know Alex would have liked that."
"How about Souls kingdom, after Dark Souls." Sandra suggested. She too has played Dark Souls with her boyfriend, Will.
"How about the Sage kingdom, after obviously the Great Sage, the greatest hero of all time." Jack added his own idea as well.
"What about Craftopia! Pig kingdom!" Will said.
And so the trio tried to come up with names that would fit the kingdom…