The Path 004 (Patreon)

Since they now had the space for one, Aiden joined Z in constructing a cottage using materials sourced from the System Shop. There wasn't a need for one, but as it was more comfortable living indoors than sitting outside, surrounded by an endless black abyss, they figured they might as well.

"Why don't the two of you take a break? I baked cookies~!" hummed Andrika, appearing at Aiden's and Z's worksite with a tray of piping hot cookies.

"I am speed," mused Z, darting over and snatching a cookie in the blink of an eye. Andrika adopted a slight frown in response to his actions but quickly regained her smile as Aiden walked over, remarking, "I thought I smelled something delicious," as he grabbed a cookie for himself.

"Yeah. I felt awkward relaxing while the two of you were working hard, so I figured I might as well do some baking," said Andrika, beaming as she watched Aiden take a tentative bite of his cookie.

Though he wasn't particularly fond of eating sweets without coffee or milk, Aiden's brows raised when he tasted Andrika's white chocolate and banboa nut cookies. The latter was a nut native to the world they had just departed, Telania. The oil extracted from it tasted of bananas, so the cookies had a mellow taste akin to banana bread.

"It's really good," said Aiden, nodding in affirmation before shoving the remainder of the cookie in his mouth. Andrika's eyes narrowed and visibly twinkled in response. Then, before he could say anything, she set the tray down on a table she produced from her Inventory, freeing her hands to pull out a thermos of hot milk tea with cinnamon.

Catching a whiff of the thermos's contents, Z grinned and remarked, "Sweet. Food and drink? Sign me up," before pulling out a cup from his Inventory. Andrika, once again, lightly frowned. However, as she didn't want to be rude, she filled Z's cup to the brim, albeit after Aiden's and her own.

"Cheers," said Aiden, raising his cup and clinking it against Andrika's and Z's before downing its contents in a single go. He and Z still had much work to do, so after a brief discussion and a few more cookies, they promptly returned to it while Andrika pulled out a beanbag from her Inventory and made herself comfortable reading Manga. Lucky for her, the Shop they had access to had an infinite variety, so she always had something new to binge-read from start to finish...

...

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As even Aiden could lift nearly 600kgs without too much issue, he and Z were halfway finished with the cottage in only five days. However, it would be decades more before they finished it, as Tom, Justin, Sarah, and even Dave awoke on what would have been their 25th year in the world of Temeria.

"Well, would you look at that," mused Aiden, noticing the group of four waking as he and Z were laying roof tiles.

Leaping down, Aiden took the initiative to casually jog over and greet the group as they were still getting their bearings, smiling as he said, "We weren't expecting any of you for at least another week or two. Did something happen?"

"Yeah. The humans of the Holy Kingdom started crusading against the other races..." replied Justin, wearing a weary deadpan as he cast his gaze to the approaching Andrika and Z. He had short, somewhat spiky black hair that was kept short at the sides, distinctive blue eyes, and a scar at the edge of his left eyebrow that had persisted throughout his incarnations. He also looked tired, like a soldier who had successfully traversed Hell but lost something precious during the journey.

"It's not a big deal," said Dave, still appearing as a pink-haired half-elf female with pale pink hair and pastel blue eyes. While sleeping, he had looked serene and beautiful, but now that he was awake, he had the distinctive aura of an elderly scholar, emphasized when he pulled out a pair of circular glasses, pushed him up on his nose, and stated, "It was always a matter of time before the Holy Kingdom waged war on the other races. They had done so several times in the past, so this is merely an instance of history repeating itself."

Furrowing his brows, Justin asked, "Can't you do something about your appearance? It's super fucking weird hearing you speak like an old man with that face and body..."

"I could, but I don't see the need. After all, it won't be long before I acquire a completely new body," stated Dave, wearing a half-lidded expression as he met Justin's gaze. Then, shifting his gaze to Aiden, he was going to say something but withheld his words as Z chimed in to ask, "Did you enjoy getting railed...?" with a cheeky, confrontational smile on his face and crossed arms.

"Do you always have to be such an asshole?" asked Sarah, sporting green hair in a long ponytail. She also had amber eyes and, due to her ongoing efforts to master martial arts and smithing, an exceptionally toned and full-figured build.

"Give me a break," said Z, maintaining his sarcastic smile as he spread his hands and attested, "They might not admit it, but every guy here is at least a little curious to know what it's like to be a chick. Dave now has experience being a man and a woman, so it would be a waste not to ask."

"Not everyone is obsessed with sex like you are..." grumbled Sarah, but her words were ultimately wasted as Dave unhesitantly appended, "I would be lying if I said I didn't experiment. But if you're that curious to know what it's like to get 'railed,' I'm certain you can find someone willing to oblige you in our next incarnation."

Though Dave was effectively telling him he could get fucked, Z burst out laughing. Had anyone 'in-world' said such a thing to him, he would have buried them head-first into the ground. Since Dave was someone he had known since junior high his first life, however, he just chalked it up to friends fucking with each other.

While Z was still laughing, everyone else's gazes were drawn to what looked like a large notification window.

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World: Temeria[06h 37m 20.4397s, −13° 04′ 36.195″]

Overseer: Temeria

Difficulty: Intermediate(1-4)

Grade: B-

[Main Objectives Completed]

• Incite War Between the Holy Kingdom, Landis, and the Beast Kingdom, Vestal
• Incite War Between the Holy Kingdom, Landis, and the Elven Kingdom, Femeril
• Incite War Between the Holy Kingdom, Landis, and the Dwarven Kingdom, Forte
• Assassinate the King of the Holy Kingdom, King Isaac Landis IV
• Assassinate the Crown Prince of the Holy Kingdom, First Prince Isaiah Landis
• Install Princess Anastasia Landis as the Monarch of the Holy Kingdom
• ...
• ...
• ...

[Optional Objectives Completed]

• Gain Access to the Library of Ancients(1/7)
• Befriend a Greater Demon(2/7)
• Befriend a Dragon(1/7)
• Befriend a Great Spirit(2/7)
• Explore an A-Rank Dungeon(5/7)
• Unify the Twenty-Seven Demon Clans(13/27)
• Reach A-Rank as Adventurers(3/7)
• Become Champion of the Beast King's Crucible(1/7)
• Acquire the Rank of Archmage(1/7)
• Have Children(1/7)
• Pass Your Legacy to Another(4/7)
• Set Fire to the Grand Cathedral of Light(4/7)
• Assassinate the Grand Archbishop, Fernando Vitas(1/1)
• ...
• ...
• ...

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Following the larger message, smaller screens appeared before everyone, displaying their personal Grade and a breakdown of their achievements.

"Oh? Perhaps I should lend a hand more often..." mused Dave, flipping his display around so that everyone could see his Grade of S- and the 3,597,005 Karma he had received as a bonus.

"The rich get richer..." muttered Tom, possessing messy black hair, bangs that nearly covered his eyes, light brown skin, and bright green eyes that appeared to glow slightly. He generally played the part of a Thief or Assassin, so alongside the white tunic and pants every other guy in the group was wearing, he concealed the lower half of his face with a gravity-defying crimson scarf.

"You're all doing better than me," quipped Aiden, emulating Dave by turning his display around. His Grade of B- wasn't that bad, at least compared to his previous evaluations, but his reward was a meager 9,442 Karma. Even Andrika had earned nearly ten times that amount, so if everyone invested their Karma into stats, the gulf between him and the rest of the group was bound to grow. His only saving grace was that once an attribute surpassed 100, the cost to increase it was increased by a factor of ten.

Interrupting the exchange, the larger notification window contracted in on itself from top to bottom before returning to its original size.

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World: Andora[13h 15m 05.9917s, −01° 10′ 18.047″]

Overseer: Serranah

Difficulty: Intermediate(1-4)

[Main Objectives]

• Reunite
• Prevent or Start a War Between Nations
• Establish or Destroy a Nation
• Establish or Interrupt International Trade
• Advance or Suppress Culture
• Advance or Suppress Scientific Progress
• Commit or Prevent Genocide
• Prevent or Promote the Spread of Diseases
• Kill One or More Disaster Class Beasts
• Kill One or More Calamity Class Beasts
• Kill One or More Lesser Deities
• ...
• ...
• ...

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As the information on the display would be available to them while they were in-world, Aiden and the others only glanced at the name of the world they were about to enter before looking at one another. One of the biggest disadvantages of their current situation was that they only had a few minutes from when the last person awoke to when they were expected to return to their assigned positions at the base of Yggdrasil. Failing to do so would result in them being pulled forcibly by their presently invisible tethers, so Aiden did his best to lighten the mood, suggesting, "Let's all try and meet at the largest neutral capital between our fifteenth and twentieth birthdays."

Raising his right brow, Justin smiled and jokingly asked, "Will you be able to survive that long?"

"Consider it a promise," replied Aiden, extending his right hand as a fist. There was a moment of hesitation, but once Z and Andrika joined in, the rest followed suit, with Dave being the last to add his/her hand to the pile. Then, after a few more brief exchanges, everyone returned to their respective positions at the base of Yggdrasil, prompting a thin, indestructible membrane to form over them like a bubble, obfuscating them as their current forms dissolved to nothingness...

...

..

.

'I'll never get used to this sensation...' thought Aiden, awakening to a feeling of intense heat and pressure, followed by vertigo and extreme cold. His mind could barely form coherent thoughts, and what little he could see was incredibly blurry, but he got the impression his boosted Luck had paid off when he was promptly dipped into a warm bath and gingerly cleansed by several people in a well-lit room.

"An e balach neo nighean a th’ ann?" asked a deep, masculine voice that echoed with authority.

"'S e gille a th' ann, a thighearna," replied the stoic, wisened voice of a woman, one of the many tending to the newborn Aiden.

"Sgoinneil! S math a rinn thu!" exclaimed the man, clearly excited by what he had heard. Aiden assumed he had asked for his gender, and if he was right, there was a good chance he had been born a male. More accurately, the heir apparent of a fairly well-off household.

Unfortunately, though he was vaguely aware of what was happening, Aiden felt extreme fatigue and struggled to form thoughts due to the lack of 'wiring' in his brain. It would take at least a few months before he gained the wherewithal to take stock of his situation, so for the time being, he did what all newborns were expected to do and began crying at the top of his lungs. Moments later, he was gingerly handed off to someone and drawn to something pillowy with a rigid tip. From there, Aiden let instinct take over, effectively shutting his brain off and letting it rest as a warm liquid filled his mouth and entered his throat...

...

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