Placing the final block of brick, I stepped back to admire my handiwork. The cottage-like building stood proudly, a charming structure of brick and wood that housed three new homes inside. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction as I surveyed the completed project.
Just as I was cleaning up some of the misplaced blocks (yes, this is just as annoying as the building in the game), Seth approached, a small smile on his face, "Cale, the Traveling Merchant Mercer just arrived. He's got some interesting stuff this time around."
My interest piqued immediately. Ooh! I wonder if he has any of the good pets… it's a damn shame I don't have enough for the companion cube… though I wouldn't say no to the blue Stardew chicken egg if he has it. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go see what he's got!" I said, quickly putting away the last of the blocks I had broke into my inventory, and followed Seth toward the market area.
As we arrived, my eyes were drawn to the blue-robed figure at the center of a small crowd. The Travelling Merchant was a hard guy to miss, with his vibrant attire: a rich blue robe and a red sash, a matching blue top-hat topped with a feather. His demeanor was just as striking, as he felt more akin to someone trying to sell a show and not product.
"Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the finest merchandise you'll find anywhere!" the travelling merchant proclaimed, his voice carrying a confident, almost arrogant tone. "Superior in every way to that of your regular merchant."
Glancing around the crowd of my townsfolk who had come to peruse, not that they buy much other than furniture and the like to decorate.
An orange robe caught my eye as I noticed Calvin glaring at the Travelling Merchant and I couldn't help but chuckle at the display. I didn't realise they had bad blood, but I guess making them living breathing beings would do that.
The Travelling Merchant spotted Seth and I, his eyes lighting up, "Ah, you there! Come closer and behold the wonders I have brought to your humble town."
I stepped forward, a bit annoyed that he had called my blood (figuratively), sweat and tears 'humble'. "What do you have today?" I asked, eyeing the array of items spread out on the colorful stand.
"Only the finest, my good sir," the merchant replied with a grand gesture. "Exquisite potions, rare materials, and accessories of unmatched quality. Perfect for someone of your evident skill and taste."
The man has a silver tongue that much is evident, taking a look at everything displayed, I just open the menu instead to look at everything easier. As a few things caught my eye for differing reasons.
My luck must've been pretty good as he had several things I was most definitely buying. Dragging each of the things into my own inventory, I had managed to snag myself one of the accessories for the shell-phone, and something that might just come in handy in the actual world, a lifeform analyser.
And I was certain my luck had held out as he also was selling one of the two pets I wanted, the Blue Chicken Egg.
Finally, the last item I had bought more as a mere interest in how it would react to the dxd world, an angel halo. (also, fuck that took so much fucking gold!)
Equipping my new pet, a blue chicken had popped into existence right beside me, and began rubbing against my leg lovingly causing me to grin.
"Excellent choices, my friend. You will not be disappointed," the merchant declared with a wide smile. "And remember, should you need anything else, I shall return in about a week or two."
Shaking my head at the… I'm not sure if it makes more sense to call him overly eager or arrogant, man.
Giving Seth a 'see-ya-later' I began the short trek back to my house from the town square. A swirling, sparkling tone from the spatial disc on my hip rang out, ah Asphodene, I was wondering when she was going to call today.
Her voice filled my mind almost instantly. "Hey, Cale! What are you up to?"
"Just finished building a new house for some residents and bought some stuff from the traveling merchant," I replied, pausing to recall the merchant's name. "What was his name again… Oh right, Mercer. He had some pretty cool stuff. Got a Lifeform Analyzer, a Blue Chicken Egg, and an Angel Halo."
"An Angel Halo? Interesting," Asphodene mused. "What do you plan on doing with that?"
A small smile grew on my face, "Well, if my plan works. Maybe use it to fuck around with some devils, if not… not a clue."
Giggling rang out in my mind in response, "Oh, that'll be great! You've got to have the disc out when you do it! I need to see that!"
Chuckling back as we chatted as I walked back home, her voice ringing out in my mind again, "Anyways, besides tricking some devils. What else do you have planned for today?"
"I'm finally going after that enchanted sword today," I said, feeling a surge of determination. "It's been a few days since I made the orb with your help, and I think it's time. Though, I have to admit, the idea of building a sky-bridge where I can actually fall, and not in a game Is a bit nauseating."
Asphodene's laughter echoed in my mind. "Oh it definitely will be, but you can handle it. And hey, at least you have a cute blue chicken to keep you company now."
I chuckled, then asked, "By the way, how's your sister doing? I haven't gotten a chance to talk to, or meet her since I picked you as my Starfarer, and only you can talk to me through the Disc because of that."
"Oh, she's fine," Asphodene replied. "She's out in the garden right now. I think she's a bit jealous that I get to talk to you, but she'll manage."
"That's good to hear," I said, feeling a bit reassured. "Give her my regards when you see her."
Entering my storage system bunker, I began the short process of just dumping all of the building materials I had into the storage heart, and then opening the crafting interface. I made a metric shit-ton of wooden platforms and some silk rope. (sadly it wasn't to be used on any pretty ladies)
Popping the Enchanted Sword Locator out of my inventory where it had sat taunting me these past few days, tapping it had focused the location on my mental map of the overall blanked out world once more showing me its position up in the outer reaches of the sky, thankfully not that far out from home, but it was motherfucking far if you considered altitude.
Sighing as I dumped the now useless orb into the storage system once more, I began the looong job of making a sky-bridge, starting by defying physics and placing bits of silk rope on the ground and extending the rope into the sky, "I'll never understand how this can actually work in a real-life scenario…"
The scene shifted as I toiled away, starting with the silk rope, and ascending into the sky. The higher I went, the more the world below shrank, and the more daunting the task ahead seemed. Each step up the rope felt like I was a moment closer to falling and dying.
After running out of rope, I transitioned to the wooden platforms, beginning the tedious process of building the bridge… staircase? Each platform a step closer up into the stratosphere. The sky darkened around me as I climbed higher, stars becoming visible even in the daylight.
Finally, I reached a height where I could see the bottom of a planetoid hanging in the sky. It was an almost surreal sight, the floating landmass marking the spot where the enchanted sword was located.
I paused, taking a moment to catch my breath and appreciate the view. The entire world stretched out below me, "Wow…"
The view I had tried to ignore beneath me as I was terrified of falling, was, to say the least, stunning. I could see a large portion of my world below extending across the horizon to where I could see one of the oceans as well as the pink toned dungeon that stood between me and it.
Even more stunning was the ice biome reflecting the light of the sun, creating a large faux aurora in the land, casting a stunning array of colors unto the landscape.
Asphodene's voice cut through my reverie. "Beautiful, isn't it? Views like this are a small part of the reason my sister and I decided to become Starfarer's in the first place."
I smiled, still taking in the view. "It's incredible. How can I do the same as you and your sister? See other worlds with view like this, I mean." While I had the Star's above mod on my computer, I had never gotten around to actually playing it, as it had always made my computer run too hot with the other mods I had on it that I didn't want to remove as they were to fun and useful.
Asphodene replied. "Once you beat the Slime King, you'll unlock the traveling function of the spatial disc called Celestial Cartography. It's an immediate map of the surrounding galaxy, and with the help of the that, you'll be able to navigate through it like we used to before we got stuck."
The idea of exploring the galaxy was exhilarating. "Celestial Cartography, huh? Sounds amazing."
"It is," she said warmly. "You'll get to see so much more than just this world. And I'll be there to help guide you."
I felt a surge of determination. "Then I better get that enchanted sword and prepare to face the Slime King."
Getting back to work, placing the last few of my platforms, I could now see the planetoid in the sky close up. It was no bigger than a few of the houses I had built, but it was still a bit out of my reach.
"A crap, how am I supposed to… Damn Cale you're a dumbass." Pulling the opal hook off from my hip, I gave it a few practice swings, once I had it mostly figured out. I shot it towards the planet, catching onto some of the dirt near the top, the hook began retracting me up the rest of the way. Bracing myself as I smacking lightly into the large orb of dirt and scrambling up.
Dusting myself off, a light blue sheen caught my eye. There, on the center of the planetoid sat sticking out of some stony rubble in way akin to Caliburn sitting for Arthur to pluck to rule Camelot.
Making my way over, I attempted to pull it up from its stony holster. Only for it not to budge a single bit.
Glaring at it, I pulled out my golden pickaxe and took a single petty swing at the rubble, freeing the sword from which I picked up and gave a test swing, launching a sword shaped beam of light that left particles of red, blue, and yellow in its tracks.
Examining the beautiful sword in my grasp, a shriek sounded out behind me as Sir Clucksworth, first of his name, squawked out in fear as he hid behind me. turning around, a large red and blue winged creature had started flying towards me.
"Oh, a harpy. This is good timing I suppose, don't worry Sir Clucksworth! I'll take care of this." Brandishing my new sword in front of me, and giving it a few swings towards the large bird creature with the face of a blue haired woman, her face exuding only anger and hatred as she bared her sharp teeth to screech once more.
The harpy shrieked, and a barrage of sharp blue feathers shot toward me. I instinctively ducked and rolled, narrowly dodging the deadly projectiles. As I regained my footing, I saw her diving at me, talons extended and eyes filled with fury.
I dodged to the side, barely avoiding her initial strike. With a quick swing of my enchanted sword, I sent a beam of light slicing through the air, hitting her wing. She screeched in pain but quickly recovered, flapping her wings to send another flurry of feathers in my direction.
Using my opal hook, I swung out of the way, landing on the opposite side of the planetoid. The harpy followed, her eyes locked on me with a predatory glare. I swung my sword again, this time aiming for her body. The beam of light hit her square in the chest, knocking her back.
She retaliated with another dive, but I was ready. With a swift upward slash, I caught her mid-air, sending her crashing to the ground. The harpy tried to rise, but I didn't give her the chance. One final strike from my sword, and she let out a dying screech before collapsing.
Panting slightly, I watched as her body dissolved into particles, leaving behind a single feather. Picking it up, I opened my Recipe Browser menu to check what I could craft.
"Huh, with some more feathers and cloud blocks, I can craft my first set of wings, the fledgling wings," I muttered to myself, a grin spreading across my face. The idea of soaring through the skies was exhilarating.
Another thought popped into mind the moment I noticed the Halo still sitting in my inventory, "This gives me an even better idea for when I eventually test out the halo in DxD to mess with the devils." Laughing to myself as I popped the feather into my inventory right next to the halo.
Next plan set in mind, I waited for more harpies to show up. When none did after a half hour, I sat confused, "where the hell are they? In the game they feel almost like rats with how often they spawn in the sky…" glancing back down at my inventory again, I noticed the damn Battle cry was still set to lower spawn rates.
"hah… sometimes I really am a dumbass." Shaking my head and blowing the horn for a moment, to summon some enemies, I blow it again to lower the rates as five more fly into view. grabbing my Wulfrum controller and summoning in my minion drones so they can deal some damage.
The harpies screeched and dived towards me, their sharp feathers glinting in the light. My minion drones flew out, engaging the first two harpies and firing energy blasts that disrupted their flight patterns. The remaining three harpies focused on me, sending a flurry of feathers my way.
Dodging the initial attack, I swung my enchanted sword, sending beams of light toward the approaching harpies. One of the beams hit a harpy squarely in the chest, causing it to screech in pain and veer off course. The other two harpies continued their assault, diving at me with their talons extended.
I sidestepped the first harpy's dive, countering with an upward slash that clipped its wing. The second harpy managed to graze my arm with its talons, drawing a thin line of blood. Ignoring the pain, I swung my sword in a wide arc, forcing the harpy to retreat.
Meanwhile, my drones had finished off the first two harpies and turned their attention to the remaining three. Energy blasts peppered the sky, disorienting the harpies and giving me an opening to strike. I lunged forward, landing a decisive blow on one of the retreating harpies. It dissolved into particles, leaving behind another feather.
The remaining two harpies attempted to regroup, but my drones kept them off balance with their relentless attacks. Taking advantage of the chaos, I swung my sword again, hitting one harpy with a powerful beam of light that sent it crashing to the ground.
The last harpy, sensing defeat, tried to escape. But my drones were faster, cornering it and bombarding it with energy blasts. I finished it off with a final swing of my sword, and it too dissolved, leaving behind the last feather I needed.
Breathing heavily, I gathered the feathers and checked my inventory, "perfect, just need some clouds now… now I just need to find a fucking sky-island." Glancing down off the edge of the planetoid in search of the shimmery blue buildings that generally populate said islands, I saw one opposing the side where I had scaled up.
Looking down at it, I saw a decent pool of water next to the building. It wasn't overly far; I might just be able to make the jump if I can land in the water…
Before I had done so, I glanced over at Sir Clucksworth, remembering the process from another game with a green sword-wielding hero who could glide with the power of a chicken. "Hey~ bud~! Wanna come over here for a sec? I need your help~"
Snagging my blue partner before he could run, causing him to squawk in indignation, I held him over my head. "Okay bud, now when I jump I need you to flap really hard, alright?" My genius was profound, and I charged off the edge of the small mass of dirt and stone, jumping as I reached the edge.
For a moment, it felt like it might actually work. The wind rushed past us, and I held Sir Clucksworth high, waiting for him to start flapping. But instead of soaring gracefully down, we began to plummet. Fast.
"Flap, damn it! Flap!" I yelled, but Sir Clucksworth just squawked in panic, his little wings doing nothing to slow our descent.
The ground rushed up to meet us, and I aimed for the pool of water. With a final burst of speed, we hit the surface, water splashing everywhere as we plunged into the pool.
Coughing and sputtering, I surfaced, grateful to be alive but thoroughly drenched. Sir Clucksworth floated nearby, looking very miffed.
"Really, Sir Clucksworth? You couldn't flap a bit harder?" I said, feeling a mix of relief and betrayal. The blue chicken just gave me a look that seemed to say, "What did you expect?"
Dragging myself out of the water, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. "Well, at least we made it in one piece. Next time though, you better flap harder."
Shaking off the excess water as I watched him. My plan to glide down had been a bit too ambitious, but at least I was in one piece. Sir Clucksworth waddled over, looking no worse for wear despite our impromptu dive.
"Alright, buddy, let's focus on what we came here to do," I said, glancing around the sky island. The clouds below it were tantalizingly close, and I knew I needed them to craft my wings.
I made my way to the edge of the sky island, looking down at the fluffy clouds drifting lazily below. Pulling out my tools, I began mining the clouds. It was an odd sensation, the clouds giving way like a soft but dense material. Each chunk I harvested added to my inventory, bringing me closer to my goal.
The mining process was almost therapeutic, the rhythmic tapping of my pickaxe and the gentle rustling of the clouds a soothing backdrop to my work. Sir Clucksworth clucked occasionally, pecking at the ground as if searching for something of interest.
After what felt like a good amount of time, I checked my inventory. I had gathered plenty of clouds—more than enough to craft the fledgling wings. Satisfied with my haul, I turned my attention to the sky-house that stood on the island.
The structure was intriguing, its silhouette beckoning me to explore. But first, I needed to secure my new wings. Crafting them would make moving around much easier, especially when dealing with the heights I was now contending with.
I found a suitable spot on the sky island and set up a small crafting station. With the feathers from the harpies and the clouds I had just gathered, I quickly assembled the fledgling wings. The moment they were done, I equipped them, feeling a sense of exhilaration as the lightweight wings settled on my back.
"Let's see how these babies work," I muttered, giving an experimental flap. I lifted off the ground, hovering a few feet above the surface before slowly floating down once all the energy I had in them dissipated.
With my new wings equipped, I hovered up to the entrance of the gold and shining blue house. The structure gleamed in the sunlight, promising treasure within. Pushing the door open, I stepped inside, eager to see what loot awaited me.
The interior was as impressive as the exterior, filled with ornate decorations and a large chest sitting prominently in the center. My excitement peaked as I approached the chest and opened it, but my joy quickly turned to frustration.
"Are you kidding me?!" I cursed, staring at the weapon inside. It was a Starfury with a legendary modifier. The DPS on this thing was better than the enchanted sword I had just acquired moments ago. "Damn it, of course I find this now."
Grumbling, I picked up the Starfury, feeling its weight and power in my hands. It was an amazing find, but the timing couldn't have been worse. I had barely had a chance to use my shiny blue sword, and now it was already outclassed.
Continuing to rummage through the chest, I found a sky-mill, a unique crafting bench that allowed me to make the skyware furniture set. "Well, at least this is something useful," I muttered, packing it away.
Annoyed but determined to continue getting stronger, I knew that my weapons and armor would be getting replaced quickly until hardmode, but I had hoped the sword wouldve lasted longer than the fifteen minute fight against the harpies and the hour of mining clouds.
Back at my base, I got to work on my next project. Getting the first two boss summons, seeing as how the first one was just talons and some junk it wouldn't be too hard to craft, the more annoying one would be the desert medallion, as it required mandibles and I would have to breach the underground desert for those.
Now, instead of taking the 'proper' method of mining down bit by bit. I preferred the Gimli approach of just blowing a big fucking hole in the ground using an Instavator, a bomb capable of blowing a hole all the way down to hell, which is more formally known as a 'Hellavator'
Crafting everything up in my storage, I created the small block of dynamite, "This should make things easier," I said to myself, placing the device in my inventory to prevent myself from dropping it in my house.
With the Instavator crafted and my next moves planned, I prepared to leave the Terraria world and head back to the DxD world. Just as I was about to activate the portal, a message flashed in my mind:
You cannot leave while an event is happening.
"What the...?" I muttered, exiting my house to see what was going on. As soon as I stepped outside, I noticed the sky darkened and slimes raining down from above. "Oh, great… a slime rain."
Pausing as a large amount of gel entered my inventory, I looked over towards a sudden flash of light and saw my drone minions were already busy, zapping slimes left and right. The piles of defeated slimes grew around my base. I cursed my luck, realizing that my drones had been active this whole-time slaughtering slimes.
Before I could fully assess the situation, the ground began to tremble beneath me. A massive shadow formed overhead.
King Slime has Awoken!
King Slime had arrived, summoned by the relentless slaughter of his minions.
"Of course, it had to be now," I groaned, knowing I didn't have a proper arena set up. But there was no time to worry about that. The colossal blue slime bounced toward me, each impact shaking the ground.
Drawing my Starfury, I prepared for battle.
King Slime charged at me with surprising speed for his size. I dodged to the side, swinging my Starfury to bring down a star from the sky, the small yellow star smashing into King Slime's gelatinous body. The initial attack landed, but King Slime barely flinched, his massive health pool absorbing the damage.
I kept my distance, using the Starfury's stars to chip away at his health. The battle raged on, and I could feel the tension rising. After a few more hits, the ground trembled, and King Slime roared, summoning a giant green gem that materialized above him.
The green gem began firing lasers in all directions while charging at me with relentless speed. Dodging the gem's attacks while fending off King Slime was a nightmare. I barely managed to avoid the beams, taking a few hits that seared through my armor. "Damn it!" I shouted, feeling the heat of the lasers.
King Slime's massive body bounced towards me, and I leaped to the side, barely avoiding being crushed. The ground shook with each of his movements, making it difficult to keep my footing. I swung the Starfury again, summoning more stars to rain down on him, but his health seemed to drop at a painfully slow pace.
The green gem darted towards me, and I miscalculated its speed. The gem struck my side, sending me sprawling across the ground. Pain radiated through my body as I struggled to get back up. I downed a healing potion, feeling the magical elixir work its wonders, and countered with a flurry of attacks. With precision strikes, I managed to destroy the green gem, which exploded in a burst of light.
King Slime continued his assault, but I noticed his movements were slightly slower now. I took advantage of the moment, pressing my attacks. As his health dropped further, he summoned the second gem—a red one.
The red gem's lasers were faster, and its charges more aggressive. I leaped and dodged, using my fledgling wings to stay mobile. My drones provided cover fire, but the pressure was intense. The red gem zigzagged unpredictably, and a laser grazed my side, burning through my shirt and searing my skin. "Not good…" I muttered, downing another potion.
King Slime took this opportunity to slam into me, the force of the impact knocking the wind out of me and sending me crashing to the ground. Pain shot through my ribs, and I gasped for breath. I forced myself to stand, gritting my teeth against the pain, and focused my attacks on the red gem.
I unleashed a barrage of Starfury swings, summoning stars to rain down on the gem and King Slime. The red gem's lasers continued to scorch the ground around me, one of them catching my leg and causing me to stumble. I fought through the pain, my determination driving me forward. Finally, I shattered the red gem, which burst into a blinding explosion of light.
With King Slime's health dropping below one-third, the final gem appeared. The blue gem materialized, its lasers more powerful and its charges nearly impossible to predict. I found myself on the defensive, every move critical to survival.
The blue gem charged at me, and I barely managed to dodge, the gem grazing my arm and sending a jolt of pain through me. King Slime followed up with another charge, and I leaped into the air, my fledgling wings giving me just enough lift to avoid being crushed. I swung the Starfury, summoning stars to strike both the gem and King Slime.
A misstep sent me sprawling as a laser burned across my back. "Shit!" I cursed, feeling the pain sear through me. I scrambled to my feet, desperation fueling my attacks. My potions were running low, and I knew this was my last chance.
The blue gem's movements were erratic, and it fired lasers with terrifying accuracy. I focused all my energy on dodging and countering, summoning stars to rain down on my enemies. Each strike felt like it took everything I had, the pain and exhaustion threatening to overwhelm me.
Gritting my teeth, I launched myself at the blue gem, swinging my Starfury with all my might. The gem shattered in a brilliant explosion, leaving King Slime vulnerable. With one last burst of strength, I unleashed a flurry of attacks, each strike driving the colossal slime back.
King Slime retaliated with a powerful bounce, and I barely managed to avoid being flattened. Summoning more stars, I delivered a final series of blows, each one chipping away at his remaining health. With a final, resounding strike, King Slime exploded into a shower of gel and treasure, the remnants of his reign scattered across the battlefield.
Panting and exhausted, I stood victorious, the thrill of battle still coursing through my veins. "Finally," I muttered, collapsing onto the ground. The event was over, and the world was safe—for now. As I caught my breath, I couldn't help but smile.
The battle, while absolutely terrifying each step of the way, was thrilling. Everything my last life seemed to lack, before I was a kid still in high school going through the motions playing video games every chance he got.
Now? I killed king slime with my bare. Fucking. Hands.
Mind you he's quite literally one of the weakest fuckers here, but I did it. I beat him.
With King Slime defeated, the loot scattered across the battlefield began to get sucked into my inventory. I felt too weak at the moment to really look at what I had received, but I knew it would be valuable.
As I lay on the ground, trying to catch my breath, Asphodene's voice filled my mind through the spatial disc. "Hey, Cale. That was an incredible battle. You really know how to put on a show, don't you?"
I chuckled weakly, appreciating her attempt to lighten the mood. "Thanks, Asphodene. Glad you enjoyed it."
"You've unlocked the Celestial Cartography, by the way" she continued. "Once you're ready, you can come meet my sister and me in person. We're excited to finally meet you face-to-face."
"That sounds great," I managed to reply, a smile spreading across my face despite my exhaustion.
"And guess what? You've also received an item called Essence of the Aegis," Asphodene said, her tone filled with excitement. "You can use it to make your first weapon from the Star's Above mod, the Aegis Driver. It's a powerful magic weapon that will definitely come in handy… You fought like a true warrior out there. I'm impressed."
Hearing her compliment made me feel a surge of pride. "Thanks, Asphodene. That means a lot coming from you."
hearing how tired I was, she added gently, "Call me later through the disc once you're feeling up to it. For now, just rest. You've earned it."
"That, I can do," I whispered, my eyes growing heavy. The field around me felt strangely comforting as I lay there, guarded by my drone summons.
I closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion take over. Sleep came quickly, and for the first time in a while, I felt a sense of peace, knowing that I had accomplished something great and had something to look forward to once I woke up.
With the promise of meeting the Starfarers and wielding a new powerful weapon, I drifted off into a deep, restful sleep,
That's chapter 4 folks! Cale's first boss fight and he manages to pull through a win! Mind you I am basing the Terraria stuff off of an actual world I'm playing through, as it makes equipping him that much easier as I can tell what kind of stuff he'll have when.
Now its Chapter question time! If you had to face off against one boss in terraria, with the appropriate level of equipment that you would normally have to face it. What boss would you fight if you got to keep the loot and the equipment you were provided? Me personally, I think I would (not could, I don't know I if I could actually beat it) take on the wall of flesh purely because it drops the cutest pet, the third sage, its this little pink Nessie looking creature that floats around you. Plus I could get the breaker blade… nuff said.