Few days later:
Steve: So you see, now that I have learned commands, I can do a lot of things now. I can spawn items. I can float like in creative mode. I can build real fast. And I can give myself potion effects. Next, I am gonna try teleporting. Then spawning other "special" items like the barrier block. Finally, I've heard Pro players used to do something called a Glitched Domain. I need to look that one up but maybe I can do that as well.
Shoko: That is soo cool. Then you won't need to come begging me to heal you.
Steve: That never happened.
Shoko: Oh is that so?
Alex: (Steve has become stronger. He can complete all the missions on his own. Shoko isn't sent on missions now due to the number of healers in our group decreasing. So now I am all alone.)
Steve: Hey Alex, you're alright?
Alex: Yeah, thanks for asking.
Alex is sent on missions alone. She gets lonely because of this. She gets to spend less time with Steve and Shoko. The events revolving around Riko still bother her.
Alex: (Killing mobs. Then turning them to spawn eggs. Killing mobs. Spawn eggs. That's all I do every day. There is nothing new. What am I doing it for?)
She remembers Riko's death.
Alex: (I saw the nature of this world. The nature of villagers. It was nothing new. It was what I have been seeing daily. Yet that day, I saw it very clearly. I can't deviate. I must do my duty as a player.)
She remembers villagers celebrating Riko's death.
Alex: (Stupid NPCs.)
One day Alex is sitting alone in a room when her friend Haibara sees her.
Haibara: Alex.
Alex: Haibara. How are you?
Haibara: I'm good. Thanks for asking.
Alex: You don't need to be so formal all the time.
Haibara: Hehe. You know I have to go on a mission tomorrow. It's a different biome I guess.
Alex: Bring something for us then.
Haibara: Sure.
Alex: …Haibara. Do you think you can continue to protect villagers like this? Don't you find it draining?
Haibara: Well…I don't think much about these things. I just like to play the game. I do what I want to do. That's all.
Alex: That is nice.
Suddenly a player approaches them.
Unknown Player: Are you Alex?
Alex: Huh?
Unknown Player: What type of Men do you like?
Alex: Do I know you?
Haibara: I don't like men. But I like women who eat a lot.
Alex: Haibara.
Haibara: Don't worry. She is not a bad person. I am good at judging people.
Alex: Yet you're sitting next to me?
Haibara: Huh?
Unknown Player: He was just teasing you.
Haibara: Oh? Anyways. You girls talk.
Haibara leaves the 2 alone.
Unknown Player: So, are you going to answer my question?
Alex: First tell me who are you?
Yuki: Special Grade Player, Yuki.
Alex: Wait. You're the 3rd Special Grade player?
Yuki: Yes. I see you've heard about me.
Alex: I've heard you slack off and don't do any missions.
Yuki: …Well I don't level with the higher-ups here. The players here are just wasting their time. They endlessly fight mobs. Obviously, players are going to die like that with time. Instead, they should try to find the root of the problem. Try to make sure mobs don't spawn at all.
Alex: What do you mean?
Yuki: I mean a world where mobs don't exist.
Alex: …
Yuki: We can try various methods to stop mobs from spawning. People place torches to stop the mobs from spawning. We can also create small rooms. Placing blocks like carpets can also stop them. But these are things we can do nearby. What about the large overworld? Well, I don't just slack off when I'm not doing missions. I travel. I've been to various biomes. And there is one thing I found. Compared to the biomes where there are villagers and villages, the ones where there are no villages, mobs don't spawn.
Alex: Huh?
Yuki: While that's not a rule in Minecraft. That's not how mobs work. But here, it's a pattern I have seen many times. Is it possible that here the existence of villagers is what causes mobs to spawn in the first place? I mean we have seen it a lot. Large villagers attract large numbers of mobs. So maybe, if villagers didn't exist, mobs won't spawn.
Alex: If that is the case, why don't we just kill all villagers?
Yuki: That can work.
Alex: What?
Yuki: That might be the easiest method. Continuously killing villagers until none are left. Fortunately, I have not gone that insane yet. Alex. Do you hate villagers?
Alex: …I don't know. I used to think players should protect the villagers as they are weak and can't protect themselves. But lately, their value has decreased for me. I don't know what to do anymore. To deny these thoughts and continue doing what I've done, or to go against villagers. I don't know what are my actual feelings.
Yuki: None of them are your actual feelings. These are still 2 choices in front of you. You can choose which one to make your own.
Alex: …
Yuki: Anyways. I'll be leaving now. I actually wanted to meet Steve too, but I guess I came at the wrong time. We're all special grades. We should connect more.
Alex: I will pass your message to Steve.
2 days later:
Nanami: It was supposed to be an easy mission. Few zombies. Save the villagers. One of the villagers fell into a small Ravine. He jumped to save him. Turned out it was full of mobs.
Alex: You can rest now Nanami. Steve took over the mission.
They are looking at Haibara's inventory in front of them. He was reported dead in a mission.
Nanami: Yeah, why don't they just give every task to him?
Alex: (If this continues. Will all my friends die, just to protect these NPCs?)
Alex gets called for a mission to a village. When she reaches there she finds 2 players held inside a small prison.
Alex: What's the matter?
Villager: Isn't it obvious? These 2 were new here. We decided to give them shelter as we are so kind-hearted. But they killed some villagers at night and stole their items. We found their belongings with them.
Alex: (No. I found zombified villagers nearby. It was definitely zombies or a witch.)
Nanako: No. We didn't steal them. They gave them to us. We didn't kill th…
Villager: Shut up. You good for nothing players. You come to our villages, steal our items, and kill us as you please. You're no better than mobs.
Alex: (No.)
Villager: We should have you both killed.
Alex: Will you please step outside? I would like to talk to you.
Next day:
Masamichi: Alex was sent to a village for a mission. She was to investigate the death of a few villagers. She…She then killed all the villagers there and…burned the whole village.
Steve: …
Masamichi: The higher-ups have declared Alex a traitor and sentenced her to die.
Steve: …What?
Masamichi: Don't make me repeat myself. Alex killed…
Steve: I heard you the first time. That's why I asked, what?
Masamichi: From the village, we found her ID. She has left the Jujutsu Pros. She later went to the village she spawned near, and used to protect. She killed everyone there…
Steve: That's Impossible!
Masamichi: Steve. I also don't understand what's happening.
Steve: …
Shoko is roaming around in BeaconTown when Alex meets her.
Alex: Hi.
Shoko: Oh. What are you doing here?
Alex: Just wanted to say bye.
Shoko: I wanted to ask this personally. Are you innocent?
Alex: Unfortunately, no.
Shoko: Then why?
Alex: I want to create a world without villagers. Without mobs. Where only players exist and play the game and have fun.
Shoko: I don't understand. That sounds dumb.
Alex: I know. It's fine. I don't need everyone to understand it.
Shoko: So this is what you will be doing from now on?
Alex: Pretty much. Anyways. I enjoyed playing with you. See ya.
Later Alex is wandering in Beacon Town when Steve confronts her.
Alex: You must have heard from Shoko. That's all there is.
Steve: So you're going to kill every villager? Even the good ones. The innocent ones? The ones who kept you when you joined the game? The ones you looked after?
Alex: I can't make exceptions.
Steve: I thought you didn't want to kill without any meaning?
Alex: There is a meaning to this. A good reason why I am doing this.
Steve: No there isn't. You want to kill every single villager here? You know that's impossible. You can't do that. What, you will go on, village to village, killing every single villager? And then what, expect the mobs to just stop spawning? It is pointless. It's unachievable.
Alex: How arrogant.
Steve: Huh?
Alex: If it were you, you could have done it. Right, Steve?
Steve: …
Alex: You can do it yet you're telling someone that it's unachievable. Tell me something. Are you the strongest because you're Steve? Or are you Steve because you're the Strongest?
Steve: What are you even saying?
Alex: If I could become you, this dream wouldn't be as unachievable. I have decided how I am gonna play. I will try to do what I can and do what I am capable of.
Alex starts walking away. Steve takes out a TNT and a command block.
Alex: If you want to kill me, you can. It wouldn't be meaningless.
Steve tries to combine them but ultimately stops and Alex walks away.
Masamichi later confronts him at Jujutsu Pros HQ.
Masamichi: So you didn't kill her. Well, it was wrong of me to expect it from you anyways. Sorry.
Steve: Masamichi, am I strong?
Masamichi: Yes. It's almost annoying.
Steve: But it's of no use if I am the only one who is strong. I can only save those who want to be saved. I want more and more players to be as strong as me.
Alex later visits the Minecult and kills all its leaders. Then forces the rest of its members to accept her as their new leader. He reforms the Minecult to become her own group. Soon other players who agreed with her ideology joined her group. Mimiko and Nanako, the 2 players she saved also join her.
Steve goes to meet a newly joined player. He finds him standing guard with a wooden sword while another player is building a farm.
Steve: Are you Megumi?
Megumi: Who are you?
Steve did some background research on Toji and found out about his Zenin past as well as his younger brother. He found that Zenin was planning to force him to join their group.
Steve: You just recently joined the game right? You play to protect your sister. How noble. Your brother used to play the game too. He wasn't as noble though. He used to belong to a group called Zenin but then he left. He used to kill so many players. The Zenin will now take interest in you and will force you to join them. Isn't that annoying? Anyways, what happened to your brother was…
Megumi: I don't care what he is doing or how he is. That jerk never talks to me, nor does he care about me or his sister. I don't care about him. I have understood my situation based on what you told me. I just want to protect my sister. That's all.
Steve: Straight forward huh? That's nice. Still, if you ever want to know about your brother, feel free to ask me. So, what do you want to do? Do you want to join us, or you want to join the Zenin? We can help make you stronger so that you can protect your sister.
Megumi: Will my sister be happy in Zenin?
Steve: Absolutely not. That much I can guarantee.
Megumi: …
Steve: Then it's settled. You can leave the rest to me. But I will make you work hard. Do your best. You have to become strong. (Strong enough to not be left behind by me.)