4 The Terrarian Experience

Just to say in advance, I'll probably be capitalising the names of Terraria items, not entirely sure why but it just looks better in my eyes. Hopefully this doesn't bother any of you too much, if it does... oof.

If anyone is wondering about how I intend to have my character's behaviour be like in the future, I am intending on having Keston be a more realistic and responsible individual. I've read other fanfics, specifically that of Chinese origin, and some of their MCs have personalities and senses of responsibility that are in more ways than one... concerning.

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"Woah, so this is your main base..."

Amber couldn't help but widen her eyes as she stared up at the massive structure in front of her, looking to be built entirely out of both wood and stone. Unlike the mansion from before, this structure was built in a much more unique manner.

It was a large cylindrical tower hovering a few meters above the ground, and branching off from that centre tower were three others towers that were a third of the size of the middle one. Each of the branching towers had a bridge connected to the main, and what looked to be a number of ropes hanging loose from openings at the bottom of each tower.

From what Amber could see from the ground, each of the branching towers had three or four floors each while the main one had around six, which she could make out due to each of the floors having their entire walls being made of glass with a layer of wood and stone separating each.

"Surprised?" Keston felt amused seeing Amber's expression. "What do you think?"

"It's amazing! How is it hovering like this?"

"The laws of this world, remember?" Keston chuckled as Amber seemed to give a small 'ah' in response. It certainly would take a bit of time before she could get used to this world. "Let's head on up, we'll need to get you some proper equipment before anything else."

"Are we going to climb?"

"In a way."

Saying nothing else, Keston walked towards the rope connected to the central building before what looked to be a mechanical claw of sorts with two attached metal wheels suddenly formed on the rope. Blinking, Amber watched as Keston clenched his fist slightly after getting a proper grip on the device.

"I'll be waiting for you at the top." Keston smiled as the wheels on the device suddenly began rotating rapidly, quickly climbing up the rope while carrying Keston upwards quite quickly. "Just reach for the rope, just do exactly what I've done!"

"O-Okay?!" Amber wasn't entirely sure what to think about what she was seeing right now, but she gulped slightly before reaching out to the rope. Just as how it had done for Keston, the same mechanical claw also formed in her grip. "Here goes... w-woah!"

Amber quickly tightened her grip even further as the sudden rapid ascension of herself on the rope caught her by surprise. It looked pretty fast when she saw Keston going up, but she hadn't expected the experience to feel even faster than what it looked.

Being someone who glided through the sky on the daily basis, the height was nothing to Amber as she quickly calmed down and stared at the horizon with a bit of a dazed look. From a higher perspective, this world really did look incredibly beautiful.

'To think something as horrifying as that eyeball lives in this world...' Recalling the appearance of the Eye of Cthulhu, Amber felt a chill run down her spine. She had seen many monsters before, but something that grotesque was truly horrifying. 'Such a strange world.'

It didn't take long before Amber arrived at the top and entered through the open entrance at the bottom of the tower, swinging herself off of the rope and landing onto solid wooden floor boards. Looking up, she saw Keston walking over from somewhere within the room.

"Good to see you got up here safely." Keston chuckled slightly after walking over. "This floor we're on now is the storage, basically everything I own is stored here. Let it be plants, minerals, weapons, armor, you name it."

Hearing this, Amber looked around before finally getting a good look at her surroundings. The floor was very spacious and had rows of countless wooden chests neatly arranged both next to and on top of each other using what looked to be floating platforms.

"We'll need to get you some equipment before exploring, cause your bow just isn't cutting it. Luckily, I already have something to substitute it with. We'll get to that later though, the first thing is to get you some armour, or you're going to die very quickly."

"You mean like yours?" Amber blinked before glancing at the Platinum Armor Keston had on. "I've never really gotten used to wearing anything too bulky like armour..."

This was true, especially for an Outrider such as herself. For her expertise, wearing anything that could severely lower her agility was horrible. Speed was one of the main qualities for an Outrider, they were after all the scouts of the Knights of Favonius.

"I wouldn't worry about that, if anything this'll improve your speed."

With her curiosity piqued, Amber quickly followed as Keston made his way over to the rope they had previously ascended before using it to ascend to the next floor. Following after him, Amber and Keston soon found themselves on a floor with countless different work stations neatly arranged in different areas of the floor.

"This is the main crafting area where I make all sorts of things, armour and weapons being only a small part of that." Keston gave a simple explanation as he walked over to an area with what looked to be a saw mill, loom, and workbench. "I'll be guiding you on how to craft some equipment. Don't worry, it's easy."

"I hope so, I'm no craftsmen..."

"Well, you're about to find out the levels of convenience in this world." Keston spoke before opening up his inventory. Amber watched as Keston dropped a few items on top of the large workbench next to them. "Take these items and place them in your inventory."

Looking at the items, Amber opened up her inventory as she was taught not too long ago. "Silk and... Stormlion Mandibles? Are you sure this is right?"

"Yep, just trust the process." Although doubtful, Amber placed the items into her inventory before walking over to Keston, who was now standing next to the loom. "Approach this loom and a small screen with a list of items should appear to you."

Doing as told, Amber blinked when a short list of items suddenly appeared alongside her inventory.

"I want you to look for the Desert Prowler armour pieces."

"Desert Prowler?" Amber rose an eyebrow before looking up and down the list before seeing the name of said armor appearing next to the option. There were three pieces altogether, a hat, pants, and shirt. "I've found it, what now?"

"Just choose one of the pieces and tap onto it."

"Then I guess I'll go for the hat?" Her words were more of a question to herself as she tapped her finger onto the option labelled 'Desert Prowler Hat' within the list. After doing so, Amber saw a few of the items in her inventory disappear. "So, how do I make it?"

"Congrats, you made your first item!"

"...?"

Just as Amber was about to ask, she widened her eyes when a small flash of light appeared on the loom before quickly disappearing. In its place was a small hologram depicting a 2D image of the Desert Prowler Hat, this image then seemingly jumping quickly into the first empty slot in Amber's inventory.

"Wait... what?"

"This is the convenience of crafting in this world." Keston grinned slightly seeing Amber's perplexed looks. "As long as you have the necessary materials and the required station, this loom for example, then you can easily make something. There is no process, simply results."

"Wait, so if I made wanted to make a sword...?" Amber shook her head as she tried to grasp just what she was being told. "You're telling me I wouldn't need to do anything like hammering, melting, or any of that at all?!"

"Yep, pretty much."

"That... makes no sense!"

"Welcome to Terraria, nothing in this world makes sense." Keston gave a small laugh as he responded. He too found it rather outrageous that crafting was so convenient and simple even in a real-life Terraria world. "Go ahead and craft the rest of the armour."

Doing the very same thing as she did with the hat, Amber proceeded to craft the remaining two pieces of the Desert Prowler set. At the current time, this armor was definitely one of the best for a person who fought in ranged combat, so it was perfect for Amber.

Keston did have the Fossil armor in consideration, but he doubted that Amber would be willing to walk around in a suit of armor made of literal ancient fossils. He personally thought the armor looked pretty damn cool, but that was just him.

"Wait, are these effects real?" Amber naturally read the information provided when she focused on the equipment present in her inventory. Therefore, she naturally saw the stated effects provided by the armour. "Just wearing it can increase my speed?!"

"Surprised? That's the magic of many different armours, weapons, and other things here in Terraria. While some don't provide any specific benefits aside from higher defense, sets such as the Desert Prowler do indeed provide bonuses. Try it on!"

"Alright!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Silence was all that could be heard as Amber and Keston stared at each other with blinking eyes, Amber soon lowered her head as a small blush seemed to form on her face. Seeing this, Keston couldn't help but feel a bit confused, what was happening?

"What's wrong?"

"I-Is there a place to change?" Amber asked as her blush deepened. "You're a male, so I can't just..."

"Ah." Keston quickly understood what Amber was so concerned about now. "You don't exactly need to change your clothes, use the inventory... remember? Drag them into the armour slots, and they'll appear on you instantly."

"Oh, right...!"

Amber did recall the information given by Keston when he guided her through the use of the UI, and after opening the inventory, she glanced at the right side to see a number of available empty slots separate from the main inventory.

With a few quick motions, Keston watched as a familiar gathering of particles enveloped Amber's person before condensing and solidifying. Instantly, Amber's original outfit could no longer be seen and was now replaced with a rather interesting form of attire.

Amber now had on the Desert Prowler set, but there did seem to be a few differences compared to the original design. More specifically, changes that seemed to take place due to difference in gender.

While the top-half was mostly the same, the long-pants were replaced with tight shorts and the boots with a pair of tall hard leather boots over a pair of dark leather stocking-like garments that reached up to just above her knees.

Similar to the original design, the armor had a few gold accessories on certain parts of the outfit. For Amber, she had the gold piece on the front of the hat, a golden buckle on the loose-hanging belt, and also gold paddings on the fingerless gloves she had on.

"Wow, it's way more comfortable than I thought it'd be! It's actually really nice." Amber couldn't help but praise the fit as she looked down at her body curiously. "Although it looks a bit stuffy, it doesn't feel at all hot to wear."

"That's as long as your remain in this world, the laws here are both strange yet convenient." Keston shrugged as he responded. "Like I told you before, as long as Terrarian's Blessing is in effect, you will naturally benefit from this world's laws. You remember how I said no matter what injury you suffer no actual physical injuries will occur, right?"

"Well, yeah..."

Amber did recall how Keston explained her about this world's laws, and they honestly sounded absurd. Blocks that mostly don't obey the laws of physics was already pretty surprising, but the nullification of physical injuries was completely absurd to her.

There were many others effects from the blessing as well, which included being granted a certain amount of Keston's physical power, the access to using the UI, and also the ability to manipulate something called Mana.

Regarding Mana, Amber was pretty certain she'd heard of it from Lisa at one point in time. Whether or not they were the same concepts was another thing entirely, but perhaps she could ask Lisa later on when she returned to Mondstadt.

"Oh right, I was meaning to ask..." Amber suddenly perked up before voicing this, prompting Keston to give her a curious look. "About this Terrarian's Blessing, I get that it gives me some of your strength, but how much exactly? Also, isn't it risky since others might end up finding their way into this world?"

"To answer your first question, the degree of power you gain is reflected based on my own physical abilities. It should be around fifty-percent, and as I personally grow stronger, that percentage will naturally feel more apparent. Basically, with Terrarian's Blessing, you will always have fifty-percent of my physical power."

"Oh, I get it!"

In fact, Amber had felt an increase in power after the events of the Eye of Cthulhu. This was naturally because after having first defeated the Eye of Cthulhu, Keston's physical power went through an increase. While not massive, it was still noticeable.

This was the same with the previously bosses after he defeated them, after having killed them, Keston would experience an increase in power with the amount varying depending on the overall power that the boss that was killed had.

"Regarding the second question... there's nothing to worry about. People don't automatically gain my blessing upon entering this world, I personally have to grant them it. Without it, they'll find surviving in this world unbelievably difficult."

"That's a relief then." While the portal in Teyvat was pretty well hidden away deep underground, there was always a chance someone might come across it, even if that chance was incredibly small. "What if an ordinary civilian comes through though, won't they be in danger?"

"Then that person's a retard." Keston responded in a blunt and straightforward manner, catching Amber off guard as she blinked continuously at him. "If they come across a random portal and the first thing they decided to do is jump in head-first, especially if they're defenceless, it's nothing more than stupidity. Curiosity killed the cat, after all."

Keston wasn't going to hold any sympathy if some careless individual who threw themselves into a potentially dangerous and unknown situation found themselves in this world. He might try and save them if he could, but if he couldn't, it was that person's carelessness to blame.

"I may sound cruel, but that's the reality." Keston sighed a bit as he watched Amber's silence for a moment. "Before you head back to Mondstadt, I'll take you on a simple mining trip to get you accustomed to some things. But first, I have a few others things to give you."

"What is it?" Amber snapped out of her silence after hearing this, her eyes now showing curiosity and expectation as Keston seemed to materialise a strange looking weapon from his inventory. "Uhh, is that supposed to be a shark?"

The weapon in Keston's hands was a long weapon somewhat similar in shape to those weapons she'd seen some members of the Fatui utilise, though this weapon had many difference. It's main body was designed similar to that of a shark with a brownish-yellow colour, and instead of one, there were five long barrels coming out of the 'sharks' mouth.

"This weapon is called the Minishark, it's a very powerful ranged weapon at this stage in time." Keston smiled as he twirled the massive weapon around his right hand before handing it over to Amber. "It utilises bullets as its projectiles. It's concept is very different to bows, but you should be fine."

"It reminds me of the weapons those of the Fatui use..."

"Fatui?" Keston rose an eyebrow in confusion after hearing the term. "Who the heck are they?"

"They're an infamous group of diplomats from Snezhnaya, they're a rather powerful military force over in that nation." Since Keston was ignorant to the faction, Amber naturally took the initiative to explain. "Their reputation isn't at all good, they're known for being deceitful and conniving."

"Huh, I see. Basically, they're the the antagonists?" Keston nodded his head in understanding after receiving the explanation. They sounded literally like the majority of every antagonist group in any other game. "Why Fatui though? Sounds like someone sneezed."

"Uhh..."

"Whatever, doesn't really matter." Keston shrugged before continuing. "Before we head off, you'll need some accessories to have a better chance of survival. Although you have armour now, it's not the best in terms of defense."

"Accessories?"

"You remember my wings and those sparks that come off of me, right?" Amber nodded her head in response to this, it was kind of hard for her not to remember. "Those are all accessories, not some biological attribute of mine. You also saw how I suddenly run really fast a times, that's due to an accessory known as Hermes Boots."

"Those wings weren't real?" Amber blinked in surprise after hearing this. "Does that mean I can also get a pair?"

Amber felt a surge of excitement flow into after saying this, and while she had the wind glider, it only allowed for gliding along wind currents. She had seen how the wings Keston had allowed for genuine flight as well as gliding, which were much better than the wind gliders.

"Not at the moment, I only have a single pair of wings available. You'll be able to get some in the future though." Although a bit disappoint, Amber nodded in understanding. "Don't be too disappoint, there are some temporary alternatives."

"Like what?"

"Well..." Keston trailed on before materialising a glass bottle with a strange puffy white cloud inside of it, holding it towards Amber as the latter stared at it with a blank look on her face. "Do you want this Cloud in a Bottle?"

"..."