"If this is an impossible dungeon, what are you doing here?" I asked, genuinely intrigued by their presence in a dungeon that, according to them, could not be overcome.
When Atom was about to answer, KarateMaster interrupted him, taking the initiative to speak.
"As I mentioned before, we are from the School of Reincarnated. Professor Atom guides us through the dungeons of the Safe Zone to train us. We are preparing to climb the Tower of Trials in the future."
Atom took the floor again, adding more details: "Although Minecraft is a dungeon classified as impossible, it is perfect for my students to get used to combat. Also, iron swords can be found in village blacksmiths, and that is our goal. For beginners like them, it's cheaper to find a sword in the dungeon than to buy it with their scarce reincarnation points."
I couldn't help but frown... Looking for swords instead of crafting them?
"Although I prefer to fight with my fists!" protested KarateMaster, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't complain if I found gold ingots instead..."
I almost lost faith in humanity hearing him. Gold ingots? Make a pickaxe, go down to the mines, and find them yourself. And the most valuable thing in a village is not the swords, but the villagers! Lock them up and make them work for you, damn it!
"I hate the villages," commented a girl in the group with a disgusted grimace. "Those villagers are weird, they get into your bed at night... they're scary!"
"Yes, she's right," another girl in the group agreed. "It's a good thing they're harmless. The worst thing is that last time I accidentally hit one and an Iron Golem attacked me. It wasn't even my fault! Who told him to get so close to me?!"
KarateMaster burst out laughing at the memory of the incident. "This time we won't make those mistakes. We will look for swords and some gold to exchange for good items."
Atom intervened, addressing the girls: "You cannot behave that way inside a dungeon. If you really want to climb the Tower of Trials, this is nothing compared to what you will face there."
"But, Professor, you yourself have never been in the Tower of Trials," KarateMaster reminded him.
"Well, that..." Atom rubbed the back of his neck and laughed nervously.
He preferred to teach and train others to climb the Tower of Trials in the future rather than doing it himself.
The conversation ended just as the timer marked the last seconds.
"You're not much of a talker, Seth," Atom observed, raising an eyebrow. "If we run into each other out there, I hope we can be civilized and not fight over resources. What do you say? First one to find something, gets to keep it." He extended his hand towards me, seeking to seal the agreement.
I had nothing to lose. I wasn't interested in the villages or what I might find in the blacksmiths' chests, so I shook his hand, accepting the agreement.
Of course, if I find a village first, I won't hesitate to take everything I find for myself.
I'm not that generous.
A moment later, the six of us disappeared from the waiting room.
...
I appeared on the top of an oak tree in the middle of a dense forest. As soon as my surroundings materialized, a holographic panel appeared in front of me, detailing my mission:
[ Main Mission: Find and defeat the End Dragon ] [ Mission Time: 50 Days ] [ Note: The faster you complete the mission, the higher your rating will be! At the end of 50 days, all Reincarnated will be expelled from the dungeon world. ]
Fifty days to find and defeat the End Dragon was not a short time.
I estimated that I could do it in half that time. Although, of course, that was from the comfort of being behind a screen, so I wasn't so sure.
Without losing a second, I began to break the leaves of the tree with my hands, working my way down to the trunk, which I also chopped down to collect wood. I needed basic tools as soon as possible. A workbench, a stone pickaxe, and then iron. All while looking for a village where I could stock up on food.
Should I enter a cave or focus on finding the village first? I pondered for a second. The lack of food would be a problem if I risked too much in a cave, so I decided that searching for a village would be the priority. Without food, I wouldn't even survive the first night.
Opening the inventory was surprisingly easy. I just had to concentrate on the idea and it appeared immediately. Quickly, I converted the logs into wooden planks, used four planks to craft a workbench, and two to make sticks. With those sticks, I created my first wooden pickaxe.
Then, I heard a familiar sound: "Zzzzzh" nearby.
My reaction was automatic; I jumped just in time to avoid the explosion of a Creeper that had appeared without warning. The explosion destroyed my workbench.
"Damn it, I just got here!" I released, frustrated, while recovering from the scare. What kind of luck was this? I was barely starting and was already dealing with a Creeper.
Resigned, I chopped down another tree and crafted the workbench again.
With my hands, I dug the dirt until I reached stone, obtaining enough to create a new pickaxe, since the wooden one was not very useful due to its durability and limitations.
After a few minutes, I emerged from the hole with my new tools and started walking.
Before nightfall, I had to find a village, gather food, and start looking for iron.
...
I reached the village just in time, with barely half a drumstick of food remaining. My movements became quick and precise as I located and stole the accumulated hay bales near the crop fields. It was incredible how abundant villages could be in basic resources like food. With the hay bales, I crafted two complete stacks of bread, more than enough to survive for quite some time.
It was already night, and the villagers were all sleeping in their beds, locked in their houses.
Night had fallen, and the villagers were asleep, taking refuge in their houses. At that moment, I heard the familiar sound of an Iron Golem moving nearby. I approached cautiously, and the sight struck me. Seeing the Golem in person, so tall and robust, was completely different from seeing it through a screen.
However, without thinking much, I hit it, causing it to follow me. I quickly ran and placed three blocks beneath me, rising to a safe height where the Golem couldn't reach me.
From there, using my ineffective stone pickaxe, I started attacking it. The process was tedious and long, but after several minutes of persistent blows, the Golem fell, leaving me five iron ingots and a poppy.
Five iron ingots. I had never obtained so much from a single Golem before.
How low was the probability of it dropping that much?
Without thinking much, I planted the poppy in its place, almost as a kind of tribute. Then I placed my workbench and quickly crafted an iron pickaxe and a sword. The relief of having decent and durable weapons calmed me.
Not long after, I heard the grunt of an approaching zombie. Without hesitation, I turned and faced it. A couple of critical hits with my new iron sword was all it took to turn the zombie to dust. After picking up my workbench, I headed towards the village blacksmith, hoping to find something useful there.
As I approached, I remembered Atom's words: "What do you say? First one to find something, gets to keep it."
An ironic smile crossed my face. I wasn't naive enough to trust that promise. I knew that if I found Atom and his group, things probably wouldn't end well. A team like the one I was starting to put together was valuable, and they might not resist the temptation.
That's how the Reincarnation Space worked, after all.
Although they didn't seem like a threat at first glance, ambition could make people make desperate decisions.
Nevertheless, a part of me hoped I was wrong. Maybe, just maybe, they could be more reasonable than I thought.