Chapter 7

She could hardly believe it. That a man like Zyeke truly existed.

Five days. That's how long it had been since she met him. In just five days, Zyeke had changed her life and her whole town. Newer, better houses sprang up virtually overnight for some of the less fortunate and struggling citizens here. Businesses received new tools and materials where they were lacking, some workplaces even being remodeled to improve their workspaces and efficiency. In hardly an hour. He even designed and built stables and holding areas where travelers and merchants could leave their horses and animals in peace.

She barely recognized the town's entrance. Heck, before he came, they hadn't had anything remotely resembling an entrance. Only a simple, long gravel road that cut straight through the center of town and cut off abruptly after the last business. Besides the outermost houses, there was no recognizable landmark or distinguishable feature marking the start of their little town. Now, almost the entire town was fenced off towards the north and south with two large wooden arches. A sign, an actual sign, rested at their peaks, proudly proclaiming their name. Welcome to Oakwood. It was such a simplistic structure, really. But now that it was here, she couldn't imagine the town without it. It held that nice, inviting, homely charm that she imagined drew most of their residents here in the from the beginning. The local Baron was stunned, but grateful nevertheless for everything he had done. Everyone was. There wasn't a single person here who didn't know him now.

From inside her newly designed kitchen, she stood over the counter, peeling the skin off the fresh carrots that were stored in her newly replenished food chest. As she prepared their evening meal, she couldn't help but remember it wasn't too long ago that she'd had little more than scraps. Another unbelievable gift from him. On top of an entirely new house, complete with furniture and a fireplace, the kitchen was totally stocked! There was so much food! Everything from carrots, to potatoes, to all kinds of meats and seafood. It would last her and Tia months before they finished it all. She wouldn't have to worry about her income either.

She stopped, setting down her fifth half peeled carrot, looking down at the knife and cutting board below her. They weren't hers. It wasn't the same slab of wood she'd purchased three years ago at the market in Spruceshire while they were having a sale. It was fresh, devoid of scratches, divots, and stains from years of use. It was also a lot better and larger than her previous one. The same with the small knife she'd been using to peel. Her kitchen equipment too. She'd never once had an abundance of materials like this.

She didn't deserve this. What had she done? Sure, she had taken in the poor, frail, injured man that laid collapsed on her doorstep and did what she could to nurse him back to health. But, really, who wouldn't have done that? Even then, in a way, he'd saved hers well before all this. When he took Joshua out of her life. All of the pain and suffering he had caused, whenever he would visit, when his name came up among the townspeople, from Tia on those unfortunate nights when she would catch her bawling her eyes out. Many more nights when Clarice would hold her when she tried to keep from breaking down at home. His threats of taking away everything he'd given her and everything she had worked for herself if she didn't comply with his demands. All of it, rendered null and void. No more obligation. No debt to be held over her head. Zyeke had more than repaid her for what she had done.

Everything else though, this house, the gems, gold, and the food that sat right in front of her. She'd spend a lifetime repaying him for all of it, if that's what it took. She owed him that. Even if he didn't think so.

She sighed, reaching back for the knife to continue with her task, when she heard the front door click open. Turning her head to look through, what was it that Zyeke had called it? The kitchen pass through window? He had so many strange names for things. Like the counter in the middle of the kitchen that was also used for storage. He called that an island for some reason. Blinking, she pushed the thoughts away for now, as Tia and Sharon walked inside. Tia gave her a happy wave.

"Mom! We're back!" She called out to her, causing her suppress a light giggle.

"I see. Did you two have fun?" She asked, moving away from her dinner preparations to go greet the both of them, passing through the opening into their newly acquired 'family room'. Yes, that's what he had called it. She kneeled down for her daughter and Tia bounded up into her open arms, squeezing tightly and smiling brightly.

"Yeah! Me and Sharon played storm the castle with some of the others. And after a long and hard batte, we overran all the guards and claimed the kingdom! The entire," Tia stopped as she tried once again to pronounce the name Zyeke had given to the kid's new favortie place in Oakwood. "Play ground was ours!"

"Yeah! And I got across the, um, mon-key bars on my first try!" Sharon exclaimed from beside her, beaming proudly from her achievement. "Tia tried, but she can't do it yet."

Tia pulled back from her embrace, looking at Sharon with puffed out cheeks. "Oh yeah? I can still beat you up to the slide!"

"Yeah? Well, I can do the climbing rocks thing faster." Sharon rebuttled.

Oh dear, if she didn't do something to stop this now, it wasn't going to end for a while. Tia and Sharon had been good friends ever since they could walk, but they both had a competitive streak that was as big as the Void itself. She chuckled. It reminded her a lot of her younger years between her and Victoria. "Come now girls," She said, pulling Tia back into her arms and rubbing her back lightly. "There's no need to start all that. Both of you are very talented." She leaned over and gave Tia a small peck on the cheek before letting her go. "Tia, I don't think anyone can keep up with your never ending supply of energy."

TIa beamed with pride and giggled. "Nope!"

Sharon looked like she was about to pout, so Alice turned over to her with a warm smile. "And you Sharon, I know you're a lot more capable than some of the guys out there on that play ground."

Now it was Sharon's turn. She placed both hands on her hips and smiled broadly. "Yep!"

"Yeah! We showed those boys, didn't we Sharon?" Tia boasted confidently, the two of them now uniting over a common enemy.

"Yeah! We sure did. Come on, let's hurry so we can get back for the next game!" Sharon exclaimed excitedly.

Turns out the two of them had only come back in to grab some water and a quick snack. After they wolfed down a melon slice a piece, they rushed back outside to join the rest of the kids from town. From her kitchen, she watched through the window at all the children laughing, squealing, having the time of their lives on that new structure Zyeke had made. Something from where he came from, he said. She'd never heard of it before, a playground, but wherever he came from, they sure knew how to keep their little ones occupied. She spied several of the parents sitting on a few wooden benches off to the side, talking and relaxing, no doubt happy for some time to socialize with one another in peace. For however long it would last.

She turned back to the furnace. A roaring fire burned vigorously, heating it to a blistering temperature, enough to hear the muffled rumble of boiling water. She slowly shuffled back to her lone pot left sitting in the middle of the furnace. Kneeling down in front, the strong aroma of chicken mixed with potatoes, carrots, and a few other vegetables all melded together to create a delightfully smelling soup. She smiled lightly to herself. This was the one recipe that she cherished, given to her by her mother. She was told she was only supposed to prepare it for special occasions and celebrations. It was also Tia's favorite. Sadly, she wouldn't be having any this time. Not since she'd made arrangements for her to stay with Clarice and Sharon tonight.

Yes, she had already decided. This would be the night where she repaid Zyeke back for everything.

Wrapping both her hands up with a thick cloth she'd kept on the counter, she grabbed hold of the metal handles and quickly hefted the large pot onto the furnace top. Taking the lid off, her nose was assaulted by the savory and spiced aroma from the soup. It wasn't even necessary to taste it, she knew it was done from the smell alone. Yet, she couldn't resist and grabbed one of her wooden spoons, dipping it in to grab a little bite. After blowing on it and taking a small slurp, she quickly raised a hand to her mouth. It was hot, but it was just like her mother used to make. Mmm. She really hoped he would enjoy it.

It took her several minutes to gather up two sets of plates and dishware, as well as find a suitable basket, but she was soon ready. Zyeke had mentioned he lived in a cave just outside of the village and there was only one of which she knew. When he'd told her where he was staying initially, she almost fainted. It had been rumored heavily that Heroine had taken up residence there. But Zyeke had been staying there almost a week now, according to him and he assured her it was perfectly safe. So, there she would go.

Clicking the handle down, Alice grabbed up her basket and headed outside. With a short wave to Tia and Sharon and the afternoon sun to her back, she set off.


So. Many. Rungs. Why? Why were there so many rungs?!

It didn't matter. No matter how many times I had climbed this obscenely long and tall wooden construct, it irritated me to no end. Having to climb all the way back up from near bedrock levels multiple times a day was just so tiring! Though, I guess I really shouldn't be complaining since I didn't actually have to haul up the fruits of my labor, but still. You would think that by now I would have made a better, much easier way up and down my little manmade mineshaft, but I'd been so dang busy, The only time I'd had to notice or care was when I was climbing it and with all the other things on my to do list, it kinda fell to the bottom.

In the end, I just couldn't stand to look at them. All those plain, clunky, bland houses. I know they were the standard world generated structures, but come on! Someone actually built that? These villagers literally had entire crews that loaded full size blocks and transport them to wherever they were building to actually place them down. Granted, I understood. They didn't have an entire inventory at their fingertips or miniature blocks that would just expand to full size at will like I had. Still, where were the standards? All they had to do was use stair pieces for homes and the roofs at the very least would look ten times better!

I never did manage to catch that nap. Gosh, how many days had it been now? Four? Going on five now I guess. It was so freaking weird. My mind was way in the gutter at this point. Mentally, I was so exhausted that I was sure if I stood still for too long, I could probably sleep standing up. Eyes open and everything. However, like I said before, my body felt completely fine. Nothing was stopping me from continuing my work. It was just a battle of my will to sleep versus my will continue. And right now, well, I just couldn't afford to stop.

Not until I finished this one last thing. Then, shoot, I wasn't going to get out of bed for a week!

Finally, mercifully, I reached the end of the ladder from hell. Undoing the latch, I flung the trapdoor open and climbed out of my self-made hole. With a light groan, I leaned back and raised both arms over my head. A multiple of pops rang out inside the enclosed space I called home and I let out a long, heavy, relieved sigh. Yeah, that was going to be the last trip. Definitely.

I sluggishly made my way over to my wall of chests where I kept practically everything I mined and farmed up to this point. Never exactly sure of what I was going to need, I just kept making chests and labels. What had started out as four simple double-block chests had now become over triple as many. I opened up the first one and began filing away all the cobblestone, dirt, and various types of rock into their assigned places. Thank god an inventory screen would always open up for me each time I opened a chest. Didn't even have to lift a finger either. Just had to think about what I wanted to move and bam. Twelve and a half stacks of cobble neatly arranged inside. Handy right?

I kept all the ores and coal I was going to need before heading over to my designated 'kitchen' area. Heh. I wish I could call it that. Honestly, it was more like my smelting wall than it was an actual kitchen. Two single block chests contained all the premade food I could make on the crafting table and that was pretty much all the cooking I had done since making breakfast for Alice and them. Man, I never thought I'd miss that so much. That settled it. Soon as I was rested, I was going to make a huge breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, the whole shabang.

I chuckled at the thought before opening one of the food chests and grabbing a few melon slices. Munching down on them, the four furnaces had all gone silent, their fires now extinguished. Good. Those would be the last remaining stacks of iron I would need. My goodness, I'd mined so much iron and gold. Diamonds too here and there. Though that didn't compare to the absolutely insane amount of red stone. Almost a double chest completely full of it. Yeah, way more than I needed, I know. But I hated to throw things away,

I knelt down in front of the furnace and tapped it. Not a second later, a stock blue virtual screen sprang up into existence before me. Take: 64 iron. The moment my thought had concluded, the iron on screen vanished. Yep, it was literally that easy. Beats using a mouse huh? Place: 8 coal. Same as the iron, the predetermined amount popped onto the screen into the bottom slot, ready to be used for fuel. Doing the same for the remaining three furnaces, I gathered all my iron and gold and headed to the crafting table.

It didn't take long at all to convert all the ingots to their block counterparts. It was really cool, actually, how the tabled worked. Once all the materials were gathered onto it in the proper pattern for whatever you wanted to make, they all just slowly merged into it. By themselves. It was extraordinary to watch and it still hadn't gotten old. At least, not to me.

Keeping four of the iron blocks, I deposited the rest of the materials as extra into the 'minerals' chest and headed to the opposite wall. A lone wooden button sat across the way from my bed and I gave it a firm press. There was a short click and immediately afterwards, a 2x2 portion of the wall was pulled off by sticky pistons, conveniently hidden behind a rather large painting, revealing my otherwise hidden underground farm. It was still alive and well. Everything was ready for harvest again. Luckily, I made this pretty easy for myself. I smacked another button and four dispensers pushed out water, harvesting all the wheat, carrots, beats, etc and moved them all towards the hoppers set in the middle of the farm. And soon, they'd be transported to the chest right beside me. Pretty smart eh?

Unfortunately, the pumpkins, melons, and sugarcane still had to be harvested. Plus everything needed to be replanted. Can't automate everything after all. Drawing Joshua's diamond sword that he oh so generously left behind, I got to work clopping down the rest of the farm and replanted. I knew that it would only take about ten minutes for everything to regrow back again, but I sure as heck wasn't going to do this again until much later. I was well good on food right now. Really, the only reason I came was for the pumpkin.

Stepping back inside my home and shutting up the hidden entrance, I walked over to the middle of my humble abode and summoned the iron blocks I'd kept to my hand with my mind. Tossing the first down, I waited for it to quickly enlarge before throwing another on top and then two off to the side. Yeah, you guys probably knew where this was going. In between all the work I'd been doing for the town, I'd also been making iron golems for when Joshua the Jerk would be back. If he came back. I kind of pegged him for being a bit of a coward, so maybe this was all just unnecessary. But, as the old adage goes, better safe than sorry.

In accordance with the most recent update, I threw the harvested pumpkin block on the ground and gave it a slice with my sword. It took a moment, but the block slowly carved itself into a usable pre-cut jack-o-lantern. Well, minus the lantern part. Knowing it would be faster if I just picked up the full size block, I squatted down and lifted the square vegetable and readied myself to place it atop the unfinished golem template. It was really amazing to see too, you know. One second, a bunch of stagnant blocks. The next, poof, a fully functioning iron squidward. At least they were one of the few things that seemed to be normal. No human counterparts as of yet.

I quickly placed the top on and waited for the magic to happen. Right...now.

Now. Now. Any second. Boom. Shazam.

The blocks remained as they were. No change, no golem, not a thing happened at all. What the heck? What gives? I'd done this, like, nine times already and it worked perfectly. What was wrong this time? There was no way I messed up the placement. I moved a bit closer, examining it. No, I hadn't somehow gone crazy and accidently used the wrong block. They were clearly iron and that pumpkin on top was clearly carved. I hadn't screwed it up. What could've gone wro-

Suddenly, all the blocks disappeared and I felt something crash into me without any sort of warning. I let out a surprised grunt as I was taken to the floor as something very heavy crashed into me.

My body smacked down hard against the unforgiving oak planked floor. I groaned painfully. Augh, at least it only lasts for a second. Thank you game mechanics. Still, what hit me? No, what was on me? My vison was completely smothered in a pale gray hue. Not only that, but despite feeling firmly pressed against the ground by something that I certainly couldn't lift off me by myself, it felt...soft?

Before I had the chance to think on it further, I felt whatever it was shift on top of me. Gradually, I felt the weight sluggishly begin to rise off my chest. The pale gray haze that had once blocked my vison soon gave way back to the light orange glow of torchlight and wood. My cheeks flushed faster than I think they ever had before. T-That...gray...soft...t-that wasn't a golem!

I gazed beat red at the form of the gray-skinned, crimson eyed female over top of me.

"Systems online." She spoke, her hands placed on my chest as she looked down at me curiously. Then she blinked, her eyes seeming to actually register my existence.

"Scan complete. Hello, master."

Hey everyone...

Sorry about being late. I've been a little under the weather as of recent and that kind of hindered my writing process. I seem to be getting over it now and I wanted to get this finished and out as soon as possible. Sorry about the delay, but I hope you all enjoyed it. Please make sure to let me know your thoughts and concerns. Especially about this brief new character introduction.

Review Responses:

SSWTalon: Yep. Maybe. Thanks for the review.

SuperTheDoodle: Hey, it's no problem man. I always like hearing from you, but if you can't review or get caught up with life, I understand. I'm glad you like the way the story is set up and that you appreciate my attempt to world build. Thanks for the review man.

V-0-I-D: Yeah, sorry about spelling and grammar errors. I will go back to fix them at some point. I'm glad you like the structure and I hope it's not too spaced out to where things may not start to make sense at times. I am trying to avoid that. And yep, Joshua. Nothing else needs to be said. Haha. Thanks for the review. Can't wait to hear what you have to say about this one. (Love the puns man)

Blegar1: Hey man. Thanks for the review again. Yep, he did kind of descend towards Umbridge levels huh? Hate to say it, but it's probably only going to get worse. You'll find out in the next chapter just how bad he can get and how Zyeke's going to deal with it. Hope you'll like it. For now, I'd love to hear what you have to say about this chapter. Can't wait.

Miss Electricity: Hey Ms. E, great to hear from you again. Also, thanks for the nickname. I love it xD. I'm glad you liked Cupa's introduction, though she may not be so 'less outspoken' once she's away from the throne room and public. Maybe. As for Tia...maaaybe xD. You'll get to see more of Alice and JtJ in the next chapter though. That's a promise, although...the contents may not be so nice for the first bit. Thanks for the review and I always look forward to hearing from one of my regulars!

AbyssalVoid: Thanks man! Appreciate the review! Let me know if you have anything to say about this one.

Milo S Darek: Indeed I do, glad you noticed and like that. Thanks for the review.

Moonhorse96: Awww, thanks so much! I'm really glad you think that. Please, please, spread the word around if you can think of anyone else that may like the story. I plan to keep up the detail and plot development and hope you will enjoy the coming chapter. I hope to hear from you again. (And I think you may be right there ). Thanks for the review my friend.

ZackTheDemon: Thanks man. Thanks for the review. Hope to hear form you again.