Marcus stared at the two old men. Then, he glanced at the Nether Portal standing nearby.
Something clicked in his mind.
Changing fate was one thing, he'd been doing that since he arrived in this world. But apparently, just changing events wasn't enough to trigger experience gains. The key seemed to be showing people the portal itself.
Without revealing the gateway's existence, the changes he made to people's destinies were apparently too small to register. But the moment he showed them this doorway, boom, massive experience dump.
He ran through the pattern in his head. Nola hadn't given him any experience at all, even after he'd helped resolve the conflict between the Skypieans and Shandians. That made sense now, for Nola, her fate wouldn't really change whether this portal existed or not. Even if Skypiea got destroyed, she would survive just fine on her own.
But for the people of Skypiea? Their entire economic future, their connection to the world below, their ability to trade and prosper... all of it hinged on this gateway.
That was the difference.
Marcus filed that information away for future reference. If he wanted to gain levels, he needed to make changes that altered people's futures, not just punch bad guys and move on.
While Marcus was lost in thought, the Shandia Chief was listening as Gan Fall explained the portal's significance. The Shandian warrior's expression shifted.
"You mean to say, that we could trade directly with the Blue Sea?"
Gan Fall nodded. "We could establish proper trade relationships, get fair prices for our dial technology, import goods we need..."
The two old rivals exchanged a look. They'd already been working together to rebuild their fractured society, planning to merge Angel Island and Upper Yard completely. The goal was total integration between Skypieans and Shandians, no more separation, and old grudges preventing cooperation.
After all, keeping the islands separate would just lead to them drifting apart again eventually. Neither side wanted that.
Marcus listened to their planning without interrupting. He didn't mind the trading arrangement, he'd even built the reception hall specifically for this purpose. Letting it sit empty would be a waste.
But there was one major problem he needed to address.
Once trade started flowing through the portal, more people would need to know about it. The secret couldn't be kept to just a handful of leaders. And when more people knew about an exploitable resource, someone would inevitably try to take advantage.
The Nether might end up becoming a battleground. Or worse, the World Government might discover its existence.
Then again, he wasn't particularly worried about that scenario. Even if they found out, what were they going to do about it? Break through bedrock? Good luck with that. Cause destruction? There was nothing here to destroy except the portals themselves, and destroying those would just trap the attackers in an empty void with no way home.
Still, better to have some security measures in place.
After thinking it through, he pulled out a copper block from his inventory and placed a carved pumpkin on top of it.
This was the crafting recipe for a copper golem, one of the newer additions to Minecraft that he hadn't bothered with before. But now that he had access to copper through the transmutation tablet and his recently acquired materials, it seemed worth testing.
Any creature he summoned through Minecraft mechanics gained some level of intelligence and personality when he possessed it. The results were usually interesting.
The copper block and pumpkin merged together, reshaping themselves into a small humanoid figure just over a meter tall. It had a lightning rod for a head, bright round eyes, and that distinctive blocky Minecraft nose.
Marcus examined his creation and immediately had doubts. The golem looked enthusiastic but not particularly bright.
Gan Fall approached cautiously, studying the strange construct. "What is this?"
Marcus reached out to pat the golem on the head, and its entire head spun 360 degrees with a mechanical grinding sound.
All three of them winced.
The copper golem didn't seem to notice anything wrong. It just wiggled its head happily, like a puppy that had been petted.
"This is a golem created through my abilities," Marcus explained. "It can serve as your labor force here in the Hub. A middleman, basically."
"Labor force?" the Shandia Chief asked.
Marcus began to explain why an intermediary was necessary. The political complications of direct contact between Skypiea and the Blue Sea islands, the risk of criminals trying to exploit the gateway, and the potential for misunderstandings between vastly different cultures.
"The Blue Sea's politics are still that complicated?" Gan Fall sighed. As someone who'd spoken extensively with Gol D. Roger and learned about the world below, he shouldn't have been surprised. But he'd hoped things might have improved.
"So instead of direct contact, you'll have a neutral party handling the logistics," Marcus said. "No need to worry about either side having designs on the other's island. No concern about bad actors trying to take advantage. And the fewer people who know the full details, the safer everyone will be."
Both men nodded slowly. It made sense. Having a trusted intermediary eliminated most of the political scheming and removed the need to constantly guard against ulterior motives.
"Alright," the Shandia Chief said. "But... can it even understand what we're saying? When it comes time to move cargo..."
Marcus had been wondering about that himself. Time for a test run.
He focused his consciousness and possessed the copper golem directly.
The small, awkward golem suddenly expanded and reshaped itself. When the changes stopped, what stood before them was no longer a cute little robot with a lightning rod head.
Instead, they were looking at a bronzed, muscular dwarf about 1.2 meters tall. Every surface of its body seemed to be carved from solid muscle.
He pulled his consciousness back to his own body, curious to see what personality he'd accidentally created this time.
The moment he opened his eyes, a deep, powerful voice echoed:
"MUSCLES!"
"What the fuck?" Marcus blurted out before he could stop himself.
The two old men looked equally shocked. Even Marcus himself was staring in disbelief at his creation.
What had he just made?
"Creator!" The bronze dwarf flexed both arms, striking a pose that would've made a bodybuilder proud. "My muscles are always at your service!"
It grinned, revealing bronze teeth.
Marcus took a deep breath, desperately trying to maintain his composure. How had he managed to create this?
"Right. As you can see," he said, gesturing toward the enthusiastically posing golem, "this will be your porter. And judging from that build, it should be more than capable of handling heavy cargo."
"I'm EXTREMELY capable!" the golem announced proudly.
"That's great," Marcus said weakly. "You can call it—"
"The Creator has named me All Might!" the golem interrupted, striking another bodybuilder pose, specifically the front double bicep flex. "But you can just call me Mighty!"
Marcus rubbed his temples. This was not going according to plan.
"Mighty has excellent logistics capabilities," he pushed on. "And look, it comes with a copper chest for storage."
Right on cue, Mighty lifted the copper chest with one hand like it weighed nothing. "This baby can store 27 inventory slots! And unlike wooden chests, copper chests can only be opened by recognized users! Maximum security guaranteed!"
The two old men stood there with their mouths slightly open, clearly not sure how to respond to this enthusiastic personality.
"Yes, exactly like that," Marcus nodded.
"Very... robust construction," the Shandia Chief said.
Gan Fall reached out cautiously and patted the golem's arm, probably just to be polite.
Mighty's eyes lit up even brighter. "When trouble comes knocking, don't worry! I am here to help you pump up those profits!"
Marcus felt goosebumps spreading across his entire body. There was no way he'd intentionally created something this aggressively positive.
"Right. Well." He clapped his hands once. "I'll let you three get acquainted while I go gather representatives from the other islands. You can all discuss trade arrangements here in the Hub."
He turned and fled toward the nearest portal, leaving Mighty alone with the two bewildered old men.
The dwarf stared at them with those intense, shining eyes, still flexing unconsciously.
"So," he said cheerfully, "you guys want to feel these muscles? 24-karat pure copper! No iron impurities, I guarantee it!"
Gan Fall and the Shandia Chief exchanged a long look that communicated a single shared thought: What have we gotten ourselves into?
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