The Challenge
~Sometimes I think about yooouuuu...~"
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The elder three executives watched as the young adventurers below them battled the herd of of Flame Rock giants. The twins were in synchronised tandem as they took one giant down after another, while Bete focused on taking out their legs using his Flosvirt. Ais tried getting at their head by driving her enchanted Desperate through the singular eyes of the beasts. Every time she managed to land a blow, the entire monster would set alight in flames and they'd melt to death.
The veterans however were focused on another character. Steve yelled as he swung his axe back on forth, violently slaughtering Fomoires as they tried to swarm him while at the same time smashing any Flame Rocks he came across.
He brought his axe down on a Fomoire's skull and cut him down in half, and not wasting a split second, turned around and punched the foot of a Flame rock which tried to step on him. The pressure of the punch destroyed the leg, and Steve jumped towards its face slapping it on the forehead and making it tumble into the ground with such force that its body completely shattered and then turned into dust.
Steve caught the hand of a Barbarian that tried to punch him and grinded the bones into dust as the monster screamed in pain. He swung the monster around into the back of a Flame Rock's head and made the rock giant stumble forwards right into the sharp blade of Desperate whereby it combusted into flames, roasting the mangled Barbarian with it.
Another Barbarian, slightly bigger than the last one grabbed for the axe in Steve's hand and tried to wrench it from Steve's grasp but Steve held firm as the Barbarian then began pushing against the axe and they were locked into a contest of raw strength. Steve held fast while the Barbarian's feet began sliding backwards and created ruts in the dirt as it tried to push the gamer back to no avail.
Steve broke the contest and grabbed it by the head with one hand. He flipped the monster over and body slammed it into the ground with a sickening thud. With same momentum, he swung the axe backwards and hacked a Fomoire's skull open, killing the monster instantly before he tore the axe out and finished off the Barbarian on the ground with an over head swing.
He then locked onto a Flame Rock and heaved the Netherite axe at it with a mighty swing. Not only did it lodge itself in the head of a Flame rock but made the monster fly into another of its kind. And another and another until five more Flame Rocks suddenly found themselves sliding across the ground, being propelled by the bodies of their brothers for no apparent reason to them. All until they smashed into a wall and exploded into a shower of rock, magma and confusion as the giant monster.
Steve then noticed that the other four were getting a little overwhelmed and seized the perfect moment while they were airborne. He punched the ground with such force that the entire Floor shock as the ground cracked around his fist for several hundred metres around him and the Flame Rock giants found themselves flailing around in the air. Steve drew out his Netherite spear and ran underneath the giants that were most immediate to him and skewered them through the skulls as he jumped between their massive bodies in a fraction of a second. The monsters found themselves becoming dust before they even hit the ground as loot and cores began to drop.
The twins, Ais and Bete dealt with the ones they were still fighting while Steve put away his spear and called back his axe. As it turned out, he could put the {Loyalty} enchantment on other kinds of weapons besides spears and tridents. The Netherite axe flew out of the wall it was embedded in and back into its master's hands as he used that momentum to swing around and destroy an Ogre that tried to spawn jump him.
...
"Is it just me or does Steve seem to be a little bit more bloodthirsty than usual?" Finn asked.
"He has been definitely more of a participant in this fight than he was the last time we were at this spot." Riveria said. "He's been acting different ever since he came back from the 49th floor...or what's left of it."
"How the hell did he make the whole thing collapse onto the 50th floor?" Gareth asked. "Do you think the way he's been acting has something to do with the monster he fought."
"Doubtful." Finn said. "He doesn't seem like the fight with whatever monster it was took much out of him. Far from enough to cause any kind of trauma."
"But he does look apprehensive at best." Riveria said. "Did he say what kind of monster it was?"
"He just gave me this." Finn said as he took out a drawing. "You ever seen it before?"
Riveria took the paper and looked at the rough drawing while Gareth leaned over to take a look.
"It looks vaguely draconic." Riveria said. "Or some sort of lizard monster at the very least. It has a very odd body structure though. Did he name it?"
"Yeah." Finn said. "He called it a Juggernaut."
"The hell kind of a name is that?" Gareth said.
"We've heard much worse." Riveria said. "But a monster like this is definitely built for speed and offensive power. I doubt we could have not been able to fight it."
"He seemed quite desperate to get us all out of there though. It was like he'd seen it before." Gareth said as he observed the boy tearing the battlefield apart.
"What were you talking to him about when we got to the 49th floor?" Riveria asked Finn.
"He was talking about how his journeys had led him to places and monsters we cannot even conceive, among other things." Finn put a finger to his chin. "Perhaps this Juggernaut is one such monster he came across?"
"I still find it hard to believe that he is as strong as he is because of his travels on the surface." Gareth said. "Where the hell has he been to get as strong as that?"
"You cannot become that powerful on your own." Riveria said. "Maybe he was part of another Familia before he came to Orario."
"No Familia outside of Orario possesses any adventurer like that besides the Zeus and Hera Familia and they are extinct at this point."
"What if he was one of them?" Gareth asked but then thought it over. "No, the kid is way too young."
"That's another thing." Finn said.
""What?""
Finn was about to say what Steve had told him before reconsidering. "Forget it. The point remains that we should have heard of him long before now. Nobody that powerful stays under the radar...not when Orario has eyes and ears all over the map."
"We should not be speaking about this." Riveria said. "One of his demands was not to gouge any details about him, correct?"
"Nothing about speculation." Finn said. "I just don't understand. How the hell did he pull this off?"
"We can ask all we want. The fact is we won't find out anything until we get to the surface." Gareth said. "You can't hide much up there with the Guild's policies. Every adventurer up there has to be known."
"You know just as well as I do how easily those laws and rules can be circumvented by the one who actually runs the guild." Finn said. "The smarmy old bastard tried selling my hand in marriage once. And Steve looks to be a wealthy one. Who's to say he hasn't plashed a bit of money to make sure the guild keeps their mouth shut?"
"You never know until you try." Riveria said. "But coming back to the original topic, its clear something spooked him. I'm telling you, he saw something down there that he doesn't want to talk about."
"Man do I hate secrets." Gareth said. "It complicates everything."
"On principle, he doesn't owe us any of those secrets." Finn said. "As of the moment he is simply a good friend and a worthy ally given his power. It is beyond a doubt now he's even more powerful than Ottar, and the balance of power is going to shift dramatically, very soon. It would be in our best interest to keep him on friendly terms than to have him wary of us. Considering that two of our members appear to have some sort of emotional interest in him, with him reciprocating at least one of their intentions, we are guaranteed a spot on his good side."
"You speak like we should be afraid of him." Gareth said before he heaved his axe. "He might be more powerful but I will not acknowledge him as someone to fear until he has bested me in battle."
"Typical knuckle-headed dwarf." Riveria shook her head. "You don't need to fight him to know who's stronger at this point do you?"
"No, but my honour would be at stake if I just accepted defeat like this without even having faced him."
The ground suddenly shook as out of the dungeon floor burst a massive arm of red rock that swiped aside some of the other Flame Rocks. And out of the mound hoisted itself another one, a deep rusty red in colour that stood over twice as big as all the others. The executives readied their weapons as they recognised the Variant but were disrupted by a battle roar from Steve.
The gamer struck his axe onto the ground and began running on foot, dodging the giant red arms as it grabbed for him, and then leaped into the air, hurtling straight towards the thing's face. He landed a thunderous punch on its chin, sending shattered fragments of rock every where before the momentum of his body carried him further up its face. As he passed its scalp, he dug his fingers into the giant's stone head and forced himself a hand hold as he purposefully swung his legs down with as much weight and force he could put behind them.
The creature flipped and its face was smashed into the earth with a quake that rattled everything in the Floor from the adventurers bones to the dungeon's walls as he dazed the Variant Flame Rock with the peculiar body slam. He then yelled for the other four first class adventurers with him and they all gratefully moved in, honoured to take a part in the killing. The Flame Rock yelled in pain as he sensed all the multiple weapons sinking into its stony hide, especially as his kicking unfortunately led Ais to missing her intended mark, which led to her enforced Desperate going up a place where in theory things should only be coming out of.
"...You still want to test him now?" Riveria asked the dwarf.
"..."
"I didn't think so."
"I think you have the wrong idea elf. I'm just more determined."
"Oh for gods' sake..."
---
"Doesn't it feel so relieving to be back on the 38th floor!" Tione stretched her arms as she yawned a little.
"Yeah, my legs are killing me." One adventurer said as he slumped down his heavy pack.
"Did we get here on time or not Captain?" Tiona asked the Pallum.
"As far as I can estimate, we're on schedule." Finn said. "As usual, lay out the bags and start the fire. We're moving quick people. If we're lucky enough, we might not even need to stop on the 18th floor."
"Seriously?" Steve asked with a raised brow.
"No, that was a joke." Finn replied grinning.
"Don't know what was funny about that."
"Meh." Finn waved his hand. "So anyway, I have spoken to my Familia members and we've all decided on the enchantments we want from the list you gave us. In return as payment, we will give you every bit of the spoils we've made on the way back. And if that does not end up covering the cost of the enchantments, we will count up what's remaining of our dues and pay you back in instalments on our own individual runs. The responsibility will be divided up into equal parts so it will be easier for you to remember."
"Cool." Steve shook Finn's hand. "I look forward to enchanting your weapons then."
"Great. But first. Gareth and I have a request."
Steve looked concerned and confused at first before he saw the look in the dwarf's eye. A smile grew on his face.
"Is it time then?"
"Yes." Finn said as he levelled his spear at Steve as he announced aloud. "Stephen Hewer. I Finn Deimne, Captain of the Loki Familia, as well as my comrades Riveria Ljos Alf and Gareth Landrock, formally challenge you to a duel!"
Every adventurer in that gathering dropped what was in their hands in shock as they heard these words. Shortly before a loud cheer sounded as the coming excitement registered with them. Steve smiled and walked up to Finn.
"...I accept your challenge."
---
Steve turned over in his sleeping bag and put an arm around the neck of his Warg as she nuzzled into him. Bathsheba whined a little before nudging his chest firmly with her nose.
"Yes, I'm scared." Steve said. "That...riddle or whatever the hell it was could only speak of one person. There is only one character I know in the context of the game that matches that description. He was down there with me, I know he was." Steve rolled back onto his back and stared at the ceiling of his tent.
"The thing is I don't understand why I am scared. I have so many powers, so many mods. An infinite amount of options lie before me by which I could circumvent any ill fate at his hands yet why is it that the mere thought of his name fills me with fear?" Steve looked at his hands. This body was so much different than his last. Every inch of him screamed with muscle and power, not even excluding his bare hands with which he had crushed rock and bent steel. "This great strength that I have and yet I am afraid. Is this what the real Minecraft Steve would have felt? No...IS it what he felt? If this fictional world has become reality for me, is there not a chance that the game was a world of its own too? And if the game was real, then surely he was real too? And if Minecraft Steve was real, then more definitely was Her-"
Steve stopped himself as his very being refrained from saying the name. He sighed and put his hands down.
"That 'guy' certainly was the very first scary thing about Minecraft. The first time he was seen was in 2010, and his legend has carried on throughout the years the game existed. The Ender Dragon, the first boss mob was added to the game a year or two later. So it's not a lie when the message said he was the game's first horror. But if he was Minecraft Steve's longest and truest rival...does that make him mine too? Since I am Minecraft Steve now, does that make...The Hidden One...my enemy? Oh what am I asking? Of course he is. The damn message told me that I had to defeat him to become level 10."
Bathsheba sniffled a bit and grumbled.
"Easy for you to say. You were not even a part of that time. But people never understood what he was to begin with. Some said he was a spectre, the ghost of the deceased brother of the game's developer. Some thought he was a messed up bit of code that f***ed around with players. And then of course the majority of people believed he was fake...but that was his best defence though, wasn't it? All sightings of him disappeared and there was no legitimate one afterwards. In recent times, barely anybody talked about him."
Steve sat up, cursing that his thoughts were not allowing him to sleep.
"Of course, it is still all theory right? There were many other Minecraft creepy pastas. It could be any other one. Doesn't have to be 'him' now does it? But then if so...why does just his name make me so freaked out and yet the names of the others don't? And the worst part is, he is going to look like me. Even if I changed skins, people have already seen my face. If he does anything, then people are going to start pinning things on me."
Steve lay down again as his hyperactive brain began planning out different ways to avoid being done over by his now revealed enemy.
"I need to make alliances." Steve concluded. "If beating him is what gets me to level ten, then he must be stronger than me. In fact, nobody knew what his powers truly were but he is most definitely more powerful than Minecraft Steve judging by the simple yet weird things he did. Of course I can just choose not to pursue this hidden mission, but what's to say he won't bring the fight to me?...Then again, that wouldn't be his nature now, would it? He likes being discreet, and he likes making people question themselves. It's not his style to just come out."
Bathsheba growled a little.
"No you will not. I'm not letting you go anywhere near that place. Calling you a level five animal is a generous estimate yet I saw how you struggled with monsters in the Deep Floors. The monsters will finish you off before 'he' does...if he's still down there. He could be past us for all I know." Steve sighed. "Alliances are the only way I'll win a war of reputation should the bastard decide to play dirty. Fortunately I already thought to make the Loki Familia allies for my business plans...but now it will have to be more than that. Of course, I cannot just outright ask for one like that without giving something worth their while. Alliances are not just built upon goodwill and friendship. There has to be some sort of material incentive to agree and adhere to the union. Can't make it the enchantments since that is business behaviour."
Steve sorted out through different ideas, wondering what he could give to the Loki Familia besides anything that encroached upon to business territory. Then the memory of the duel tomorrow hit him.
"That's it! It will most certainly be grand and extremely expensive idea...but it is an opportunity for me to show off my talents and at the same time establish a friendship. The first paving stone to an alliance with one of the two most powerful Familia in the world, who can protect me with their political power and legitimacy. Man do I love having cheat powers."
But first, in order to put his plan into motion, he needed to stomp on the executives tomorrow.
---
"It is quite a daunting honour to be fighting the top three executives of the Loki Familia at the same time." Steve said as he stood before his opponents.
It was 4 hours to midday, as agreed upon the time of the duel. Steve had unequipped his armour, while Finn and Gareth were standing with their weapons at the ready. Riveria stood some ways behind them with her staff out, ready to act as support.
"Of course, I am not able to understand what the reason for this sudden challenge is." Steve said.
"You could not expect us to just meet a powerful person like you lad, and not test our own mettle against you." Gareth said. "What would be the point in calling ourselves adventurers then?"
"We know you are stronger than us." Finn said. "And one day you will be acknowledged publicly as so. Think of it as a favour from us too Steve. Defeating us in battle provides ground for you to back yourself whenever your real self is put before public eyes. There are many who will seek to undermine you because of your sudden appearance. But if you defeat us on legitimate grounds under the code of an honourable duel, then you basically have the right to say as you please in Orario and very few, if nobody could say what they want against you." Finn explained. "Also I've just been too curious for my own good. It had been many years since we had a good fight with another mortal, so we don't want to pass up this opportunity."
"But to put three of you against me just tells me how powerful you think I am." Steve said. "Are you sure the three of you could be enough against me?"
"That will be put to test." Finn said as he levelled his Fortia spear at he gamer.
"YOU CAN BEAT HIM CAPTAIN!" Tione waved from the side-lines. "Nobody's stronger than you!"
"Your admirer thinks very highly of you." Steve said. "You wouldn't want to let her down just because you didn't use your full power right?"
"Oh believe us lad." Gareth said as he pulled his helmet down further over his head. "We are not going to hold back."
"Then..." Steve held out his hands and balled them into fists. "...I will do the same. My burden which was my armour is now off me, and with it off you will see more of my true power. And I have no weapon on me now that is greater than my bare fists. Expect me to use a weapon from time to time though."
"Fair enough." Finn smirked. "Just don't complain when you lose because you used no weapons."
"If you think that highly of yourself, you have already lost this fight. I await your man's order."
Steve looked at Raul who had is arm up ready to chop down as indication. A few tense moments went by as the bets finished up with Tiona being the main party to vote for Steve as well as some of his followers of the Hip Faith. The rest were confident that their leaders at full power would defeat their new friend.
How much of that sentiment would hold to truth?
The answer begun to unravel when Raul chopped down and yelled. "Begin!"
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