"This is what we refer to as the Nether." Zuri said as he got up and walked to the screen. "It is a place of everlasting heat and fire, that which can never be put out. It is so hot in there, that water instantly dries up inside. You could tip out a lake into the place and within seconds it will all be steam. This is very extreme. Add the poor lighting and the beasts that roam this realm of ours, it is pretty much inhospitable. Not even we could live there for extended periods of time."
"Why would you ever go into a place like that then?" Riveria asked. "If its so terrible, surely it doesn't have anything of value?"
"On the contrary Riveria, there is much to be gained from going into the Nether, provided you know your way around." Steve said as he gestured to the drones and they began switching through projections.
The audience was greeted with images of different structures and monoliths, made out of red bricks which had been used to build long bridges over the oceans of lava, and there would be intersections where the bridges would meet. It was clearly a fortress of some sort, but against what none could figure out.
"What are those things?" Allen asked. "They're run down places and deserted. Why are you showing us this?"
"Not even we have discovered the truth behind these fortresses." Alex said as she walked around the table. "We have no idea who built them and why they built them. They can be found dotted all over the Nether, and one can always be found with just a bit of travel through the Nether. What we do know is that whoever occupied these fortresses left a lot behind when they ran."
"What did they leave behind?" Hedin asked before he heard shuffling to his side and found himself staring into Efe's face as she smiled at him sweetly, making him jump a little as he had no idea how she'd snuck up on him.
"Treasures." Efe grinned. "Lots and lots of treasure. Especially gold, oh the Nether is so so full of gold."
"Gold?" Royman asked.
"Yes." Sunny asked. "If one wishes to get a large amount of gold in short time, it is a good idea to go to the nether. Not only does raw gold exist in swathes as ores in the ground and exposed on the surface of the Nether, but the monsters who occupy these lands take great care in harvesting and mining it."
"What monsters are those?" Tiona asked.
"These." Zuri pointed to something that came up on the screen and everybody reeled back a little in disgust.
Dresses in brown slacks and leather, the skin was a shade of pink and hairy with plenty of warts and trotters for hands and feet. But most prominent was the head that stood on the shoulders of these 'people'. Large suidae heads with open snouts that had gunk dribbling from the nostrils and tusks sticking out of their mouths, the adventurers in the room recognised the orcish features about these creatures.
But unlike the monsters of the Dungeon, this bunch of bipedal swine seemed far more intelligent, and much more dangerous.
"We call them Piglins." Ari said as she polished a hunting knife in her hands. "Good for target practice, not too exciting to eat because they're chewy and overcooked. Brutish thugs who are the only sentient creatures able to survive long periods of time in the heat of the Nether. It is their homeland and where they belong. They're the only creatures who love gold more than a dragon. Simply mining unclaimed gold ore is enough to send them into murderous frenzy and begin chasing you down."
"These things are sentient?" Shakti gave the Ptah Familia a side-eye. "How?"
"They're not all that easy to communicate with." Noor said. "And take it from me because I'm the tamer. I know what I'm talking about. These particular type of piglins don't attack you from the get-go ad only do so once aggravated. But they're smart enough to barter with."
"And what do they trade for?" Finn asked.
"Gold ingots." Steve answered as they gave him a look. "What? They love gold. They do give valuable items which are needed depending on what it is exactly you want to do in the Nether or out of it. But that is the only form of transaction or trade they understand. Trust me, try and get a refund out of these guys and you'll get swarmed."
"Have you had to fight them before?" Ais asked, which turned a few heads because it was the first she'd spoken in a bit.
"I've had to kill more of them than I can ever count." Steve said. "Probably enough to replace all the citizens in Orario with, if I'm being honest."
"She said that this type of Piglin does not attack you on sight." Tsubaki said. "Does that mean there are some that do?"
"Indeed." Steve said. "But you won't find them anywhere near a fortress. And it's because of one thing." The image zoomed into something walking across the bridges of the fortress and everyone felt a little bit uneasy a the sight.
"They look a bit like the skeletons of the overworld." Freya said. "Except that these one are most certainly taller, and they carry swords instead of bows. But the main difference is their bones...are they charred?"
"Might as well be considering where they live." Steve said before gesturing to the image. "These are called Wither Skeletons and there exists an absolutely venomous animosity between them and the piglins. The two races are always at war with on another."
"Why the 'Wither' part of the name?" Tione said. "I don't like the sound of that."
"As you shouldn't." Steve said. "If they even so much as touch you, they will pass onto you something we call the Wither effect. It's often a deadly status effect." Steve leaned back as he tried to think of a way of explaining this. "It's a curse of sort that falls upon you when you are wounded by a Wither skeleton. It's a horrible nasty thing that eats away at your vitality and drains the life out of you. Have it long enough and you will die from it, leaving you as a corpse to barbecue in the heat of the Nether. Because of that, Piglins stay far away from them."
"So where are their bases of operations?" Finn asked.
"Here." Steve clicked his fingers, making the image turn to something new. The red fortresses became images of great structures made out of black bricks that was eerily similar to the Memphis Manor and also had streaks of gold in it. The place was teetering with many piglins, which the audience knew how to identify now. Steve pointed to the ones in black while carrying large axes, the blades of which they could see was made out of gold. These piglins were definitely stronger and more violent than the others.
"Those are what we call Brutes." Alex said. "They don't care if you've come to trade or not, they will have your guts for dinner. Typical pigs...but they also act as guard over the place's massive spots of treasure."
"That building is something we call a Bastion Remnant." Zuri said. "Remnant because these places are easily knocked down with how run down they usually are. But even more valuable treasure is to be found in these places, including heaps upon heaps of gold. The Nether is rich in it after all."
"Anyway, because of the extreme conditions I have determined that only first class adventurers can go there and at least high level 4s." Steve said. "It's hard to breathe there and only those kind of guys will be able to make it even with as little oxygen that they can get in the Nether. Add into it the other monsters we haven't introduced, and you've got nightmare fuel. Which is why I will only take those level of adventurers with me."
"I agree." Riveria said. "It's far too dangerous to help with that now. If the heat doesn't get the weaker adventurer, then the monsters will. Besides, I would imagine you only go in there to find riches so why bother going there?"
"Because one cannot go to the next realm without something that can be found in the Nether. The third realm is the hardest of all. Only special class adventurers would be able to come this far with us. But whereas this realm is filled with fire, the next is shadow and silence."
"Well come on, let's see it." Ptah said as his eyes sparkled.
The image switched again to what could only be described as the void as there was no sky in there at all. The only thing there were the floating islands and that was about it. Everyone froze, especially Ais as a familiar yet at the same time foreign noise rang through the projection. A terrifying black dragon flew across a sky devoid of any light in it and circled a lone floating island of oddly coloured rock, beneath which was a bottomless abyss which spoke of no end.
Black scaled and powerful wings carried a large reptilian body around this island, circling great pillars of purplish black stone atop which were odd floating crystals that seemed to change dimensions continuously. Whatever they were, the audience got the impression that the beast was drawing power from these crystals.
Ais grit her teeth silently as this created a surge of suppressed and forgotten emotions as a cascade of memories came rushing back. Just the sight of this thing alone made her want to draw her Desperate and impale the image of this thing. Of course that would achieve her nothing but a free fall from the top of Babel Tower which she was certain she would survive from but would otherwise cause great inconvenience to Steve.
The thought of her loving boyfriend however seemed to calm her down a little and only then did she realise that she'd clenched her fists very tightly. She opened them again as she returned to her senses and remembered where she was. She caught the boy in question looking at her with concern. He seemed to be frowning in worry and he gave her a questioning look, to which she answered with a small smile, assuring him she was okay.
He returned it with a satisfied, yet caring smile of his own that made her heart flutter a little and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly red.
"This is something we called...The End." Zuri said. "It is a dimension that is truly dangerous and for sure can only be entered by the highest levelled adventurers. If you were to slip and fall into that void, there is no saving you. You will continue falling for all of eternity."
"What about that dragon?" Finn clicked his fingers. "I recognise its face. I saw it on your cape before, Steve. Back when we first met and you were equipped in your armour."
"That is our world's main boss monster." Steve said. "You have Floor Bosses here, whereas we have bosses that rule entire dimensions at times. This one here is what we call the Ender Dragon, after the realm it is native to. Killing it gives you a large amount of XP, that is if you succeed in doing it. It knows the danger of the void and does its best to knock you off into it. Just simply the flap of its wing is enough to send you flying no matter how heavy you're supposed to be."
"Thrilling." Ottar said in quiet voice for the first time. Everyone stared at the former strongest, observing him as they picked up on the interested guilt in his eye.
Ottar was infamous for his belief that adventurers must venture out of their comfort zone in order to understand the true essence of adventuring and reach their full potential as adventurers. The man was addicted to danger and there was definitely nothing more dangerous and adrenaline enticing than the possibility of fighting a powerful monster and a dragon at that with absolute death surrounding you on all sides at even the slightest mistake.
And given the Boaz's recent level up, it was most certainly an event worth trying in his eyes. Nothing like a suicidal mission to help you adjust to your new bursts in strength.
...
The drones switched off and flew back into the chest, leaving everyone to contemplate what they had seen. Eventually Gareth spoke up.
"I don't know about everyone else." The Dwarf said. "But I'm itching to go and try that world out."
"We are all curious." Tsubaki said before she eyed Steve. "But I'm more interested in the subject of resources. You said that your world was bursting with it. What kind of resources are we talking about?"
"Coal, iron, gold, diamonds like the one on Finn's spear, emeralds, even Lapis Lazuli." Steve said.
"What the hell is the last one?" Bete asked.
"A kind of opaque, blue gemstone." Hephaestus said. "Very valuable if you know how to use it right. Also a bit on the rare side, though rickety when it comes to value. It all depends on how fine the specimen in question is. Though I fail to see the emphasis on the importance of this particular mineral."
"You'll find out later. As I was saying..." Steve continued. "...the expedition I have in mind for the future involves a lot of work. It will be long and hard and will take much travelling and much getting used to things you've never seen before...but the rewards will be great. And we can do almost anything there for any purpose. Farming, mining, hunting, and adventuring. Then we will bring the spoils back through the finished gate where we can reap the rewards."
"You've showed us much and at the same time very little." Riveria said. "You could not have shown us all there is to know about your world in a nutshell."
"No of course not." Alex said. "You've not seen a fraction of a fraction of the kinds of creatures that live in our world. Moreover, there is much more to each of the three realms than what you've seen here. But you will only get to know so much depending on what job you'll be allocated when we go through the gate."
"It will be quite a mission." Zuri said. "We intend to get people from all kinds of Familia on board for the otherworldly expeditions. Like Steve said, we need miners and smiths and farmers and the like. But there is also much in store for seamsters and potion makers and healers and all sorts. Even tamers too. There will be much more in the way of benefits and rewards than just farming cores and drop items from Dungeon monsters. From there you will be able to bring back with you things of real value not to just those that seek out cores and drop items but also daily needs. It will be quite the event."
"I'm sure it will be." Loki said before she put her hand on the table. "I'm all for this. My kids and I are in. What about you big guy?" The trickster goddess stared at the man with the elephant mask.
"I AM GANESHA!" Ganesha banged his hand on the table, making it shake a little. "I will follow wherever my uncle goes, and my children will follow where his go as well. I'm in!"
"Stop calling me that." Ptah grumbled.
"Well you will definitely need smiths if you want to benefit from the type of expedition you're planning. I will be expecting thorough, detailed and generous contracts." Hephaestus said before she gently put her hand on the table. "I'm in too."
"I'm in because why not." Freya said. "The opportunity to probe another world is too tempting to pass up, isn't that right Ottar dear?"
The Boaz merely nodded.
"I believe you have quite the bright future ahead of you Mr Hewer." Royman said. "I'd be a fool in not wanting to try and and be a part of it."
"It's settled then." Ptah took charge as he sat straight up. "We will begin construction of a new gate in due time. We will reconvene at a later date for further studies on my children's world and what knowledge is important for the roles you'll be given, fitting in what your Familia specializes in. Good day to all."
""Good day."" Came the monotonous response before people started filing out one after another.
Steve undid the effects on Fels and allowed him to slip away undetected. As his lovers left through the door, he caught them staring at him with smiles on their faces. Tiona however beckoned to him with a finger while winking, and he chuckled while shaking his head. Amazons seemed to have very large appetites when it came to doing things they liked. For all her lack of romantic experience unlike her kind, Tiona was no different and she demanded much of his attention a lot of the time.
Ais smiled at him a little but he noted that the way she used to look at him when they'd first met had returned. Once again she was looking at him in awe and wonder, as if he were an exotic mystery that had just been unwrapped. He'd expected some friction upon this revelation coming out...but perhaps he'd been worrying about nothing. After all, his lovers had also concealed their own pasts from everyone. They knew better than anyone else how important it was to hide secrets and that only you had the right to decide when and to whom they'd been revealed.
Tiona had slaughtered other women for sport and entertainment underneath the cruel eyes of her previous goddess. You'd never think such a cheery and clumsy girl was once a cold-blooded killer. Ais was the survivor of an attack from the most cursed beast in Genkai's history and she was the daughter of one of the most famous people in history, the man that was technically the first adventurer or among the first generation of adventurers.
In those times, it was not Falna blessed adventurers that traversed the Dungeon but mercenaries that had entered at their own risk. Steve estimated this to be a time before Ouranos had descended, so Orario didn't even exist at that point. Just like 'him', Ais was chronologically over a thousand years old, plus she was the offspring of one of the most powerful Wind Spirits in history...Steve had been doing his research after all and there was still plenty about Aria to find in Orario's history books.
When you looked at it from a logical perspective, he didn't see a reason why they might be angry at him. Granted his secret past was crazier than theirs could ever be, and his true secret that he'd hidden from everyone and not yet revealed even crazier still. But Steve once again counted himself very lucky that he had such understanding girls as his lovers in this new life. And as the days went past, the bond between them became ever so deeper.
...Though he was starting to get a bit iffy over how insistent Ais was to give him a lap pillow whenever her wanted to rest.
...
When only he and his Familia were left, he slumped back exhausted.
"That went a whole lot better than I expected." He stated as he looked up at Alex. "I expected them to react way more to this information."
"After all the bombshells you dropped on them in the past week, you think they have the energy to be any more surprised at anything you do?" Ari asked.
"Of course you have to go for bomb puns." He snorted.
"She has got a point." Sunny said as he picked dirt out of his fingernails. The life of a farmer often has you digging in the soil a lot and even as a superhuman, you'd encounter the difficulties associated with that lifestyle. "Speaking of, when are we moving the big guy out of the city?"
"He can leave whenever he wants." Zuri said. "Ganesha is happy to host him for now. We've got bigger things to worry about. For instance, the Gate. Where are we going to put it? After all the things you'd told me about this world Steve, you can't tell me there aren't those who are going to try their luck with it. We can't guard it twenty-four-seven against opportunists."
"Of course we don't." Steve said. "I'm going to place an immersive portal in front of where we will put the image of the Gate. So they will think they know the location of the Gate, when in reality it'll be in some whole place else. Whenever we're not using the gate, we'll just deactivate the portal."
"We've brought this out in front of the League." Makena folded her arms. "How long before we go public about it? When the expedition happens?"
"I'd rather we wait until we did a trial run." Noor said. "Like how about we take these fellas on a normal speedrun? We'll comb our way through the overworld, looking for resources to bring back with us. Then we'll take the fighters and go into the Nether, grab the rods and the pearls, raid the bastions and the fortresses, come back to the overworld and go onwards to kill the dragon. Then we'll try and go loot the city while we're at it. Once we wrap it all up, we come back here. A simple run like that should be enough of a testing ground."
"Simple for us maybe." Steve said. "There's a lot of thigs we still need to test out. They're not Minecrafters. Who's to say they won't suddenly get the same systems as us when we go there? And besides, once we're in there, we'll be blocking up or mining by blocks, something they can't do. It's essential to get around like that in our world, and it will be difficult for them to get through the speedrun. And besides, there's no way that many adventurers go missing and the pubic won't notice."
"Time runs faster inside though." Efe said. "We'll be in and out before they even knew they were missing."
"Noor does propose a good idea." Alex said. "We keep word of this in the League only. We do the trial run, and once we're done we'll decide what to do from then on."
"I concur." Ptah said. "I don't want mobs outside my door anymore. I've already had enough, what with the people trying to force themselves into our Familia. The Wargs have had their hands full trying to keep people out."
"It's a good idea Steve." Kai said. "And we still have time anyway. We still have lots of things to do, like expanding our Familia, beginning our businesses now that the workshops are completed. And we also have that Dungeon Dive with the Loki Familia coming up soon."
"I forgot about that." Steve blinked.
The Loki Familia's canon deep dive was about to start, the one that had kicked off the whole story in the first place. Steve did not expect it to happen this time around since they made so much profit the last time he was with them. But Loki also seemed to be a goddess of greed and wanted to have another go at filling her coffers already. Finn also believed it would strengthen bonds between their Familia as well since out of the Accords, their two Familia were closest by virtue of first friendships and the romantic relationships that existed between its members.
Steve had a sneaking suspicion there was more going on behind the scene though.
But whatever the case, Ari had also estimated after observing the Dungeon that the 50th Floor would be done regenerating by the time they went down there again. Also, the Ptah Familia had not yet gone deep enough in the Dungeon as a whole besides Steve and they wanted to study it as earnestly as they could. Especially after how Steve told them of the Dungeon absorbing monster loot of their world and creating its own monsters.
Already the Prisma Guardians he'd accidentally created during his time in the Middle Floors were becoming a legendary difficulty amongst the adventurers who'd returned from the Water Capital. He'd heard rumours that a couple had almost been drowned.
"Fine." Steve said. "We'll run a trial expedition and see how it goes. But in the meantime..." his gaze became serious. "...I have jobs for some of you."
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