We ran between the trees passing by monsters that wanted to kill us but couldn't keep up.
After a few minutes, we had to stop and take a break since Daniel was too tired to continue.
Looks like he hasn't managed to build his stamina in this world yet, it's funny to see someone else suffer with this instead of me.
But with great care, we managed to get to my base safely and ready to eat something.
"Are you telling me there was a base close to where I spawned? I've been walking for weeks until I found a village, why didn't the System tell me about this?"
"I don't know, the System didn't tell me anything either when I first came into that world. It's only by luck that I stumbled into Traders base."
"Oh yes, you sure made yourself comfortable when you got here."
"Hey, I said I was sorry about stealing your iron sword, plus it was for self defense."
I chuckled as we passed the door to my base.
Once inside, I went to get some food that was lying in the nearby chests before giving it to the heroes.
"Your house looks cool, how long have you been in this world?"
That's a good question, let's see....I think it's been a year since Merry came into this world so that would mean.
"Around 2 years I think."
"That long! No wonder you had such strong armor and good items. Do you have some to spare with your fellow players?"
Where did the intense hatred go?
I could only shake my head with how shameless he was, I better hide the real base from him.
"Sorry man, everything blew up with me in that cave."
"That's a shame, but I'm sure you have a few secret stashes around the world."
He's sharp, looks like this time, the System picked someone who knows how to play the game.
I don't know if I should be worried or relieved about this.
"Who knows."
I decided to ignore his attempt to take my stuff and concentrate on eating.
After we all ate, we sat down to have a serious discussion.
"So what now? We have a rouge Wither on our hands, are we supposed to deal with him, or is the System going to intervene?"
Did they not hear the conversation I had with the Wither?
"The Wither isn't In this world anymore. He tricked me into making a portal for him to escape, in exchange for letting us alive."
"I don't think he kept his side of the deal."
I can see that as well Merry!
"As for the System, I don't know if it has enough strength to attack."
"You think the System hasn't recovered from the Great War?"
"What are you 2 talking about?"
Merry is right, I don't think the System has its full power yet.
If it's anything like Alexa, the System is more like a machine that uses energy for any action, and I'm sure it used a lot when it fought the Ender Dragon.
400 years may sound a lot, but why would it summon a hero to deal with the Monster Lords instead of itself?
Sure, maybe it would've used more energy than summoning, but once the problem had been dealt with, the Ender Dragon wouldn't be that eager to send one of her Lords again.
That means the System is still gathering energy in case another threat comes, like the Wither.
Maybe it would've bypassed the bomb and killed the Wither, if it was willing to spend some more.
Heck, maybe it would've used another attack right after the first slash.
But now, the System lost this battle and used a lot of energy for nothing.
This could be the only reason why it's not here to kill me when I don't have my armor.
Unfortunately, I couldn't tell this to Merry since Daniel was here as well.
I know Merry very well, or at least I know I can trust her, but I don't know anything about Daniel, and the fact that I indirectly killed him doesn't help.
He's a player for sure, so unless I know what his intentions are, I can't trust him fully.
"I don't know how much you know about the history of this world. But around 400 years ago the Void wanted to invade this world resulting in the appearance of monsters and the System fighting back. In the end, the System won but was weakened from the fight and isolated itself from the world. Until you two came."
Merry was enjoying some cookies already knowing this, while Daniel was surprised by the sudden information.
"So you're saying the Ender Dragon fought the System and lost, but since the Monster Lords are still coming it's not a complete win, more like a seal. I'd she perhaps trapped by the obsidian towers in the End?"
Well, he's a smart cookie.
"I don't know, I haven't been in the End yet, and I'm sure the Ender Dragon is very different from the game, like everything in this world."
Plus she's not the only boss in the End.
There is someone there as well, someone who created my body and has similar strength to the System.
"What a bummer, I thought you already knew the location of the portal when I saw your Ender Chest."
"What are you two keep talking about?"
Did I not tell Merry about The End?
"Did you never play the game? Why did the System choose you if you don't even know the basics of this world?"
"Hey! I'm doing pretty good for myself even without the knowledge you two have."
Daniel rolled his eyes and told her how to get to the End dimension.
"I've never read anything about that, the Ender's eyes are hard to make for sure, but they don't lead you toward a hidden portal."
Exactly, I've tried to throw an Eye of Ender but it didn't go anywhere, which means that there's no portal in this world, or the System destroyed it after the last incident.
"That's weird, then how are we supposed to defeat the final boss? Do we have to make our portal? After all, we're not restricted like the villagers."
I didn't think of that.
The ancient civilization either enchanted a block to get to another dimension or requested it once they reached the MAX level at a certain skill.
I should ask Alexa to see if it has any blueprints related to this.
"Well, what are we supposed to do now? One of the Monster Lords was killed and the other one is missing. Does that mean our mission is complet?"
Oh right, their mission was to kill the Monster Lords, not the Ender Dragon.
And since we know the Zombie Lord is dead, that means Merry did her job.
But for some reason, Merry's face was white with panic instead of happy.
"What's wrong Merry, are you not well, do you need some milk?"
"N-no, I just realized that I finished my mission and the System would send me back home."
""What!""
Both me and Daniel were surprised by the sudden information.
Are you telling me the System could've sent me home all this time and didn't do it?
I'm sure I made it angry and it wanted to kill me, but if I had to option to get back to Earth, I would've complied with no problem.
"Oh yeah, I remember now, if I defeat the Shadow Lord I would take two items with me back home. But I don't think I want to get back to earth, maybe we can talk to let us here."
"Y-yeah, I hope so as well."
What a cruel world to live in.
Those two want to stay here, while I'm doing my best to get back.
Maybe I can talk with the System once I level up my Enchanting skill.
I hope it's not too angry that I summoned the Wither in this world.
"Ok, I think I had enough for today and I'm getting tired. Do you have some empty rooms I could stay in?"
Daniel got up from the chair and yawned while stretching his arms.
"Yeah sure, follow me, I'll guide you to your room."
Good thing the base on the surface was big, I managed to build 10 rooms in here.
I showed Daniel a room at the top and got back to Merry who was waiting for me patiently.
"So what's the plan now Trader, I don't believe you haven't thought of one yet."
I'm glad she didn't say this when Daniel was here.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
She nodded her head, and we went into the secret base.
To my relief, it seemed to be the same and nothing was broken.
After I checked everything, we went into the Nether in golden armor so we would cool off.
"Honestly now I want to concentrate on leveling up my skills, I need some custom enchants and items if I want to stand a chance against the Wither."
"I see, what about Alexa?"
"Unfortunately the body was destroyed, but it shouldn't be a problem as long as it has enough energy to create another one. I'm hoping it would do that and search for me since I'm planning on staying here until I accomplish my goals."
I hope Violet will look for me as well since I don't know how to start searching for her.
"Do you think the System would reword you after what you've done?"
I was hoping the mini System would be in charge of that, similar to the times of war when the main System was missing.
Worst case scenario I would make a plan with Alexa that would give me the same aura as the Hero's and hopefully trick it that way.
But first I need to get stronger and learn more from the ancient researchers.
"I guess it's not a lot we can do in the short term, do you want me to take Daniel off your shoulders as well?"
"That would be very helpful. I may sound paranoid, but If someone comes from the same world, that doesn't mean they're also a friend."
"I'm saddened by it, but I understand your caution. I'll take him to the Stone Palace, or maybe the church. Then he would be off your back and can concentrate on his growth."
I thanked her once more, and we talked about what happened while we were apart.
From what she told me, she was staying close to the Zombie Lord, but suddenly he took off his blindfold which gave him a speed boost powerful enough for her to lose sight of him.
For the next few days, she tried to followed him once again, but she was still a human, so she got tierd, while the undead kept running.
She was about to give up only to hear a voice telling her to finish the fight for good.
Then got teleported into the cave without any permission from her part.
That's the reason I wanted to create my own body, this could happend to my any moment as well.
I told her my side of the story, or at least the short version and she was still complaining about my dangerous stunts.
After we finished talking we decided to get some rest.
She already had her room, and I had to choose one from the surface.
Just as I was about to enter the water elevater, I suddenly felt a pain in my soul.
From that pain, I was taking damage, and when I checked my status window I couldn't see anything.
"The System, is attacking me, I have to get back to the Nether!"
Before I would die from the unknown poison, I ran to the portal and passed into the hot dimension.
Once I was on the other side, the pain was gone, and I could regerate my hearts back.
After I was back at full health, I let out a sigh of relief.
"Well this is not good."