"Ah whatever, I'll worry about that later. But first." Will checked all the list of enchantments.
Many of them caught his eye, fire protection, freezing protection, basic protection, strength+, fall damage immunity, fire enchantment, shock enchantment, etc. There were so many of them it was unreal.
There were 5 different categories for each one.
Level 1 enchants: Requires 1%-49% power
Level 2 enchants: Requires 50%-99% power.
Level 3 enchants: Requires 100% power.
Level 4 enchants: Requires 100% power + gems.
Level 5 enchants: Requires 100% power + more gems.
For example, let's say Will wanted some fire protection, he could get fire protection I or II or III meaning that he could choose the enchantment he wanted as well as the level.
Of course the higher level it was the more it costs to enchant. But there were several exclusive enchants on the 5th level.
This made Will appreciate gems more. Without them he cannot make powerful enchants. Of course gems could also be used as a fuel to raise the enchantment bar like last time.
"Jack said that magical items are almost impossible to enchant. Let's put that to the test." Will took his cloth of teleportation and tried to put it in the enchant, but it didn't work.
{Unable to enchant: Requires higher grade power source generator than the one you're using}
Will rubbed his chin.
"So it is possible, but I am still not good enough." Will smiled because this gave him hope.
He grabbed his turret-pistol gun. Took a couple of gems and jammed it all in the power source generator.
There is one enchant that is perfect for this gun, infinite ammo. Infinite ammo is an overpowered enchantment if used correctly. It was on the 5th level.
When he jammed the pistol turret inside the box, it spat it out.
{Unable to enchant: Already enchanted: Use a unique method known only to the user to add more enchantments}
"Damn. I forgot about that… wait, unique method?" Will placed the pistol turret aside. And went into deep thinking.
"Unique method?" Will took a look at the screen, it doesn't say anything else that could help him.
"There's a method to enchant enchanted items? Like in minecraft… if I remember correctly."
"What is that gun made of?" Arbor asked.
Will got spooked a little since he didn't hear Arbor.
"What?" Will didn't understand what he said.
"He said what is the gun made of?" Grace asked.
"Oh, it's just an ordinary gun, nothing special." Will knew he had messed up. The gun he was holding had exotic wood in it to raise it's overall performance.
"Can we see it?" Grace asked. Arbor noticed something about it and so did Grace.
"Of course." Will handed him the gun, it would've made it even more suspicious if he declined.
Once Arbor inspected the gun, he looked around the area.
"Is something wrong?" Will pretended to be ignorant.
"It's just… this material looks like something from the forbidden forest."
"Forbidden forest?"
"It's nothing." Grace didn't want to give too much information to Will. She handed the weapon back to Will.
Arbor looked around the base, talked to the trees, and did not find what he was looking for.
Arbor shook his head at Grace.
Will knew that Arbor was looking for the exotic seed, he's glad that he hid it underground behind a wall.
"Is there something weird about my gun?" Asked Will.
"No… there's nothing." Grace didn't say anything else and left.
"Dad, are you sure that it's made out of exotic wood?" Grace asked after they distant themselves from Will.
"I am not too sure anymore. It can't be possible that Will got exotic wood from the forbidden forest, it's too well guarded. Unless if he had an exotic seed, then maybe it's possible. But I don't see the exotic trees or the seed like we did last time." Arbor said.
If they accused Will of stealing without properly investigating, then Will would lose their trust.
"It could be another material that looks like exotic wood." Grace said.
"Maybe…" Arbor said.
They went into their room and rested.
Rias was still cleaning the camels, it wasn't an easy task. Camels tend to spit, bite, kick.
Radix was still outside. He got hungry and started eating the grass, he's wounds were a little bit better, but probably infected already.
After they entered their room, Will sighed in relief.
"Seems they're suspicious of me. They probably think that I have another exotic seed. Good thing I hid it."
Will went back inside the underground cave. When he saw no one there, he teleported back into a hidden cave.
"Man, having this cloth of teleportation comes in handy. I don't even need to make a doorway." Will checked on how the exotic flower was doing. Still nothing had happened, apart that the seed grew more and more like a flower.
"Maybe there's not enough trees." Will planted more trees to be sure. Afterwards he left and sat in his bed.
"Unique method to enchant enchanted items. What am I missing here?" Will closed his eyes to think about it. Before he realized it, he was already asleep.
Then, Will dreamed that he was in a white space. As if he was in a building but with no signs of an entrance, exit, doors. Just pure white everywhere.
"Man, your progress is very slow. I'm surprised you haven't had your soul destroyed yet."
Will didn't see it, but there was a man sitting on a couch building something out of thin air. His face and hair was greasy, his clothes were blue like a long robe, his eyes were black as if he hadn't slept in days.
"Where am I?" Asked Will.
"That doesn't matter. But you should know me, I am the one who gave you the system." The man put the weird object away and got some papers.
"System? You're the one?!" Will was fuming. He suffered so much because of him.
"Let's see. Will Connor, born July 9 2000. Lived a somewhat ordinary life, good friends, good girlfriend, rich parents who are both successful scientists, great life overall. But that all changed in 2019, when your friend died, correct?" The man read the paper word-per-word.
Will wanted to punch the man, but found that there was some sort of invisible shield from advancing.
"Why did you send me here?! Why?! Who are you? God?" Will had so many questions to ask.
"Nah, but I do know him. Now then, you were destined to die on July 26 2020, right before you were summoned to this world. Shame, really, I've probably never met someone with an unfortunate ending like yours. If it weren't for me you'd already be in heaven or hell." The man threw the papers away.
Will did die before he was transported to this world. If it weren't for the man in front of him, this story would not be what it is today.
Will didn't know what to say. The man walked closer to Will and stopped in front of his face.
"I can only take a break every few years since I am busy with something important. So don't blame me for keeping important information about the system's abilities from you. That's how I do it with the other users, to see how far they can go by themselves."
In truth, when one starts a minecraft world with no prior information on the game, they're left no choice but to figure out the goal themselves, but they could always go to the internet for help. Like Will right now has no prior knowledge of this world or his capabilities, he needed to figure it out by himself.
"Other users?"
"Did you really think you're the first one to have a system? You're not the first one and you certainly won't be the last."
"So… why? Why am I here?"
"You are here on a mission."
"Mission? What exactly is it? What is my purpose? What is my end goal?" If Will complained about all the crap he had to go through it wouldn't change anything. The best he could do right now is to get as much information.
"Right now your goal should be to get stronger, that's all you need to know for now. But, your progress is quite slower than I had hoped. Until you get stronger, I'll tell you."
"Slow? I've been in this world for 3 months, and I have suffered so much, and I have accomplished so much, is that still too slow?"
"Yes. Many users before you by this time have gotten stronger gear, made bigger and advanced machines and buildings."
There was a silence for a moment. Will didn't know what to say.
"William, I have a few minutes left before my pizza arrives, so I'll make this quick."
"..." Will.
"Everyone's life is set in stone. No matter what you think or do, it's all decided by a higher being than you, a being equal to me. But, system users like you are not bound to fate. I do not know how far you'll make it in this life. I just hope you won't fail me like many before you."
"But why me?"
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
"Why were you chosen? Do you really want to know? The answer might not be what you expect." He asked to be sure.
"Yes, I do want to know."
"Very well. You were chosen by random luck, nothing else. Imagine those scientists that bring lab animals to test on them, they might think they were chosen because they were special, but really it's nothing."
Will listened and got angry.
"So, I am just a test monkey?"
"Well, yes and no. There is nothing special about you before I picked you. But, depending on yourself, you can become something much more with this system." He said and sat down on his chair.
"That doesn't make me feel better at all or explain much."
"No, not really. But then again I don't have to explain anything to you."
"And that about sums up the entire time I've been here." Will said.
"Basically, yeah. Look at that, my pizza is here. So, Will, continue making progress in this life. I'll come back in a few years to check up on you… if you're still alive that is."
"Wait, does that mean that the other 99 heroes have sys-"
The man waved his hand and Will disappeared from his sight. Will didn't even get to ask him an important question.
The area around him changed into a modern home. In front of him were various games he was playing with.
The man let out the longest sigh in his life.
"Why must these people be so slow? If they only knew what they were up against. If I told them the reason they're chosen, they'd be scared shitless."
"10 large, pepperoni pizzas with stuffed crust?" Some random pizza delivery guy shouted at his door, he didn't want to even knock on his door due to covid.
"Yum."
Will woke up in his bed. Many hours had already passed.
"Was… was that a dream? Or was it real?" Will didn't know that answer. He had no idea to confirm what he had just dreamt was real.
"Even if that was just a dream, I still have to get stronger. After all there has to be a good purpose as to why I am here… and if there's a way to contact my family."
Will had been thinking recently of contacting his family. They were so good to him even though he disappointed them. He couldn't even recall the last time they spoke without acting like total strangers.
The least he could do was bid farewell to them properly.
Will came out of his hole, and saw Rias sleeping on the grass covered in soap, injuries from bites.
"What happened?" Asked Will.
Rias woke up but was scared because she had a nightmare.
"The camels! The camels are after me! They're spitting at me!" Rias waved her hands frantically while yelling in elven tongue.
"I should've made her a small room." Will said to himself. Will went inside his room where he makes potions, which he calls his 'alchemy room' and brought back a potion for Rias.
"Here, eat this."
Rias took the potion and her injuries healed.
"Thanks."
"Why did you come here?" Will never got the chance to ask her. Now that his rage had been quelled after a good night's rest, he felt like asking her.
"For you." Rias didn't lie.
"Me?"
"Yeah, you're a hero. I want to know about the heroes, especially about their world!"
The heroes of the past have spread their knowledge to this world. Machines, guns, lifestyles, everything that they knew.
"You want to know about my world?"
"Yeah!"
"It's complicated."
"Try me." Rias said.
"Ever heard of a PS5?"
"A what now?"
"Exactly. I don't have time to tell you anything about my world. I'm sure that the other 99 heroes will be more than glad to share that knowledge with this world." Will got up and tried to leave.
"Wait, there is a good reason why I am here. Something we elves want to know." Rias didn't hide it anymore.
Will stopped in his tracks, his heartbeat was getting faster. Did they know about the existence of the exotic flower? If they did, there's no telling what they would do to Adaline or him. It's because of that seed's existence that these two races are basically at war.
"What is it?" Will asked calmly.
"Why didn't you teleport to the Reyes kingdom like the other heroes? As far as anyone knows, you're the only hero to have failed at being summoned."
"Oh, that." Will let out a breath of relief.
"Truth is… I died."
"You… died?"
"Hit my head against something hard, and died on the spot. The summoning circle was bright and it caught me off guard so I tripped, and died, and that's what happened before I was summoned."
"That's it?!" Rias didn't want to believe it. The reason she was here is because she believed that there was a critical flaw with the summoning circle.
But, if what Will said is true, then there is no hope for them to alter the summoning circle to their advantage.
"Basically, yeah. Is that everything?"
"No, there has to be something else. What did you eat before? How was your diet? How much did you sleep?" Rias needed more answers.
"Somehow I feel those are irrelevant questions."
"Darn it." Rias hit the grass with her fist.
Will left Rias to her own devices. What he didn't see was that Rias smiled a bit without being seen.
Few days passed in a blink of an eye. Will was getting bored already. He'd spend the majority of his time mining, building, crafting, experimenting, making exotic potions. There wasn't much to do now. He also wanted to make that {Cursed power source generator} but waited until Jasmine was done doing her job, he felt like he needed her help killing a cyclops and a dragon.
Will realized that he had missed something important in minecraft, enchantments using books. In that game one can enchant books, and fuse it with an enchanted weapon, and that weapon will also have the same enchants as the book.
Will tried using books, but it failed. He wanted to add more enchants but didn't know how.
He later figured out when he added enchantments over the 4th level there was a slight chance of adding more enchants to it. But his luck with getting good enchants was terrible lately.
Arbor and Grace studied Will more than usual. Their thoughts about that exotic gun he used was bothering them. They secretly looked everywhere, even in the cave, and found nothing.
Rias was now in charge of washing the camels. Will expected her to go home already, but she would rather stay for some reason.
Radix was getting worse due to his injuries. When the sun would rise it would get hot. He would try his best to use the shade from the walls for some cover, but it barely helped. Will was not going to forgive him any time soon.
The new seeds that the elves brought were starting to show results after Will expanded his crop farm. There was now wheat, which meant bread for them. More vegetables, more fruits, they didn't need to worry about food ever again.
Will expanded his base once more, but the sun was getting a bit bothersome due to how bright and hot it got.
He felt like adding a roof to protect them, but there wasn't a permanent light source he could use apart from the exotic wood he got, but that would give away the existence of the exotic seed.
That is until he saw one of the flowers that the elves brought.
{Night flower}
{Glows brightly in dark areas}
Night flowers had a long stem with bright pedals, they can glow brightly for months even after their stem was removed. Elves used these to light up their homes. It could even be grown like crops.
The best part about these flowers is that they can change colors by adding colored liquids to them which they can easily absorb. If you add some red colored liquid to it it'll change red, blood works too. If you add some water, it glows a clear color. If you add some yellow pee, it glows yellow, Will experimented that last one himself because he was bored.
Will build an entire roof over his base, only leaving the crops and trees to the sunlight. They needed sunlight to thrive. The night flowers couldn't produce enough light for them yet and they didn't need the sun.
He was glad he made a roof. It was now cool, refreshing, and he liked being in the dark. If they wanted heat, he could start a fire or go outside into the sun. With the new roof added, that meant that he now had a second floor.
"Hero! What exactly are your powers?" Rias asked, her clothes were covered in water and soap.
"I feel like people are gonna ask me that every time I show them my abilities." Will said annoyingly.
"Because they're curious. And why wouldn't we want to know?"
"Good point, Rias." Will had come to learn her name.
"If it's not too much trouble, can you build something?" Rias asked.
"Depends if I feel like it."
"Can you build a pool?" Rias felt disgusted after having to clean the camels.
"A pool? Now that you mention it that sounds like a good idea."
Will had thought of making a pool, but couldn't until now. The sun would heat up the water until it was somewhat boiling, so it wouldn't make much sense going into the water if you want to feel refreshed. By night it would be cold and who wants to sleep while they are freezing?
And he actually made a small pool in the cave, but it would always get filthy with all the dirt flying around, might as well swim in mud.
He already made a shower using pipes to dispose of the dirty water to another part far away, almost like a sewer pipe, the same went to the bathrooms he made for each household.
Will tried to look for the source of the infinite water underneath his space, but it seemed like there was no end to it. If he was lucky, the water source might just be infinite.
"But, then I would have to get rid of the water after using it. It seems like a waste of water and time." Will said.
"Leave the cleaning to me." Rias said. If it meant cleaning herself more, she didn't mind having to do more work.
"That's all I needed to hear." Will took out his pickaxe, shovel, smooth stone, and began making a fancy pool.
"Hero, another thing." Rias said.
"What?"
"Can I give my friend outside some food, at least something to help his wounds?"
"Of course." Will smiled brightly.
Rias was happy her mouth opened a little.
"But, once you do, you will never come back here."
"Oh…" Rias felt dejected. She saw the awful state Radix was in but couldn't help him.
The time came when the noble was being executed. People of the Reyes kingdom, and from around the kingdom, all came to see him die.
The noble stood on top of a wooden platform, there was a rope tied around his neck. He had his hands and feet tied up with enchanted cuffs. Beside him were nobles in enchanted armor, as well as soldiers, many sorcerers, and the Great Sage.
The people were cursing him, throwing food at him. Many of them cried because he had killed their children.
The King was by the end of the platform explaining the various sinful deeds the noble committed over time.
Jasmine was also there. Sitting by the side. Since the king invited her to watch the execution she had no choice but to stay and watch.
"The noble Stein is now revoked of his noble status. He shall receive the death penalty by hanging."
The noble was crying, there was nothing he could do to save his life.
The king was speaking through a tube that made his voice reach all people in the kingdom. It was like talking through a speaker but not really.
"Many families have suffered, many children have died because of him over the years. We also found a secret room that led to a basement… unfortunately, the bodies… cannot be identified. Just know that all the families here that your children now have a proper burial. We can all rest properly knowing that the man who caused it all is now going to die."
The King couldn't bring himself to say what he saw in that room. It was too disturbing.
"KILL THE BASTARD!"
"HANG HIM!"
"BURN HIS BONES AND FEED THEM TO THE DOGS!"
"THIS DEATH IS TOO GOOD FOR HIM! LET HIM BE RAPED BY MONSTERS TO DEATH!"
"I'M GOING TO DANCE ON YOUR GRAVE YOU FAT BASTARD!"
The King raised his hand and the crowd was silent. He turned to speak to the noble.
"You, Stein, are worse than a monster. May your trip to the underworld be not a pleasant one."
*ROAR*
A dragon came to the kingdom unexpectedly. It started firing at the crowd of people but a shield protected them. The dragon couldn't pass through.
Soldiers, nobles, sorcerers all lined up to protect the kingdom, the king, and its people. Jasmine got her staff out to attack it. Monster attacks on the kingdom are more common than one might think, but it's heavily protected.
"An Apex dragon! Roy?" The King looked at the Great Sage.
The Sage aimed his staff at the dragon, but a valley of powerful fireballs, that almost looked like meteors, hit the dragon. The dragon didn't expect such powerful destructive might, it's wings got torn off and it fell outside the kingdom's walls. Sorcerers and nobles reacted quickly and flew or ran towards the dragon to subdue it.
The Great Sage looked at who it was that shot those powerful fireballs.
"It's okay, I got this."
It was a young kid. His skin was white. His hair was black and shiny. He had full enchanted armor, used an enchanted wand with a diamond on the tip. He was about an average guy. Just think about the most cliche, isekai, goody-two-shoes character you have ever seen in an anime/manga/novel.
"It's the hero, Josh Jones!" someone said. And people started clapping and cheering for him,
"I WANT YOUR BABIES!" A man said.
"Ugh, don't make it gay, Roger."
Josh nodded his head as he looked at the crowd pleased with it.
"I could get used to this life."
Josh then knelt before the king.
"Great work, Hero Josh Jones. Did you already finish your training with the Hero Shaun Quincy?" The King asked.
"Thank you, your majesty, and yes I did.
"As expected of a hero with the most destructive powers we have ever seen. Your goodness knows no bounds."
"Thank you, your majesty, I only did it for the people. May I ask something of you?"
"State your wish."
"I know that a dragon's body is valuable. If you can, instead of giving me the money, can you give it to the children's families who were killed by this thing?" Josh pointed at the fat noble.
"Of course." The king agreed.
"EEEEEH! He's so generous!" One of the women fainted but her husband caught her before she fell.
"Marilyn?" Her husband looked at his wife who fainted.
"Sir, it seems we've encountered a problem with the dragon. It's a mutant." A 5-striped sorcerer said.
"A mutant apex dragon!" The king said surprised.
Mutants are called that for a good reason, they defy the common sense that they're used to.
Some mutant monsters have different mutant abilities for example: more heads, teeth, taller, faster, shiny body, it depends.
Such monsters are rare, especially on the Apex level.
"Yes, but this one is weird. The dragon transformed into a… little girl." The 5-striped sorcerer felt awkward saying that.
"Little girl?" Josh's eyes opened wide. He jumped from the platform over the kingdom's walls in a single leap.
"Your majesty, what about him?" One of the nobles protecting the king pointed at the fat noble.
"Execute him."
The lever was pulled and the fat noble died when the weight of his body and the rope snapped his neck.
Josh landed near the dragon was supposed to be. But, the dragon was replaced by a little girl.
The girl had at least clothes that looked like a fluttery, dark, long dress. She had large dragon horns. Small dragon wings. And a long dragon tail. Her hair was short and blue. Her skin was white and looked soft. Imagine the most cliche, isekai story where a monster transforms into a loli just cause.
Josh Jones was captured by the little girls' appearance. As if he wanted to pinch her cheeks right there, pat her head, basically assault her in every cliche way possible.
The little dragon loli was unconscious.
"Should we kill her?" One of the nobles asked.
"Well, according to the official laws, this dragon belongs to the one who brings it down, so it's now yours, Hero Josh Jones." A sorcerer said.
"You're in luck, Hero Josh Jones. A mutant Apex dragon like this can really go for a lot in the market. It can compensate those families who have suffered 100 times over."
"Yeah, yeah. I've decided, I'm keeping her." Josh Jones princess carried the dragon loli into his arms and left.
"It's okay. No one will hurt you anymore. From now on you'll be my maid." Josh said as if he already decided her new role for some reason.
"Oh, my god, did you see that? Hero Josh Jones spared the dragon's life!"
"Truly a hero among heroes!"
From far away, Will felt as if he was losing brain cells but didn't know why.