51 The Ptah Familia Expands

A.N. I have a throbbing toothache which is robbing me of my concentration to write properly. I apologise if anything in this chapter is choppy, I apologise.

By the way, I realise now that I have a much greater audience here than I do with my main story, and I'm not sure it is being done justice. Please if you can find it in your heart, go read my other story which is 100+ chapters. I began it as a new author so it might be a little frustrating to some as it goes along. But the latest chapters are reflections of my current talent for writing and the plot is far greater than this story's.

Please give it a chance 🙏🏻

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Ptah jumped backwards as the Gate swirled to life and the green fire swirled as out walked Steve with his arms swinging in a happy go-lucky manner, whistling Greensleeves as he caught sight of his god looking all startled, and the gamer's mouth wrinkled up in confusion.

"The hell is wrong with you?" He asked Ptah.

"...You literally JUST went in!" Ptah said. "Did you forget something?"

"Nope." Steve replied. "All done and discussed. They're coming through right now."

"Are you pulling my leg?"

"No. The confusion is there because you forgot what I told you...time inside there actually runs much faster than it does out here. What has been perhaps an hour for me inside was a couple of blinks for you."

"Seriously? I thought you were just exaggerating." Ptah sweat-dropped as he sighed in exasperation. "Alright. Where are they then?"

"Right here." Steve said as the Gate glowed again.

Ptah raised his brow as an exceptionally beautiful woman walked out of the portal. She had fiery orange hair, with one braid coming down over her left collarbone and her eyes were dark green. Her features were sharp yet soft at the same time and there was a gentle stoic demeanour to her features. But her skin was pale, her frame thin but curvaceous and she had wealthy feminine assets to her. Ptah would personally say that this girl's beauty trumped even the likes of the Sword Princess who was Steve's girlfriend and one of the girls most sought after by men in the whole city. Her beauty perhaps even rivalled Freya's.

The woman looked around the room which was clear to her to be underground before she looked to Steve and then to Ptah. She walked up beside his Firstborn and gestured to him.

"Is this the god you were talking about?" The girl said. Her voice was calm, cool and soothing, though a small part of Ptah recognised that this same voice would probably sound quite frightening if even a small measure of anger was laced to it.

"Yes." Steve replied before he turned to Ptah. "This is Alex. My oldest friend, and the one whom I will designate as vice-captain from now on."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir." Alex held her hand out to Ptah. 

The small god hesitated for a moment before reaching out with his own and exchanging a handshake with her. 

"No need to be so formal." He assured her. "Once I have blessed you just as I have blessed Steve, we'll all be one big family."

"So what do I call you then?" She asked.

"Anything you like. You could just call me Ptah, Lord Ptah...you may even call me Father if you like. Just as long as you don't insult me like he does 90% of the time." Ptah pointed to Steve.

Alex turned and looked at the gamer with narrowed eyes.

"Don't give me that look." Steve said nonchalantly. "You try and live with this guy for a single night and see how irresponsible he is. And besides, I only insult him when we're arguing. Otherwise I'd say it's well deserved."

"Well I should hope that there will be less of it around the kids." Alex said. 

"Whatever."

Ptah squinted as he noticed one similarity between them. Both Steve and Alex hand wraps around their forearms and if Ptah looked carefully between each ribbon, he could see what looked like scars on the skin hidden from view. When it came to Steve, he could somewhat accept this, but a beautiful lady like this having the same scars? Both of them must have indulged in the same activities if they both had the same injuries.

And now that he had come to think about it, after paying more attention to her, he saw that Alex's arms were 'massive'. Despite her thin figure and baggy clothing, one could not question the rippling muscles in her forearms and the bulging biceps under her sleeve. Everything about her physique pointed to someone who was a brawler by nature. Someone who didn't mind getting hands-on in a fight without the need of a weapon. And even though her fingers were long and dainty, he could see that the knuckles of her skin were calloused to a degree, which implied she spent a lot of time punching things.

And now that he realised, it was the exact same with Steve although his callouses were much more apparent.

The Gate glowed again as more people came through. Next came a moderately tall young man, shorter than Steve but taller than Alex. He wore a dark-green tweed cap and was dressed in blue dungarees with one strap slipping off, under which was a checked green shirt. The trouser legs were rolled up above boots, and everything about this guy's appearance screamed to Ptah as a farmer, or some sort of labourer. The most critical distinction about this guy though was his left arm. While Sunny's right arm was flesh and bone, his left arm was clearly a metal prosthetic that somehow moved scarily similar to a real arm.

Ptah was no stranger to prosthetics in Orario. After all, the Captain of what remained of the Miach Familia bore a prosthetic. But the one that this guy had seemed sturdier and more fit for heavy toil than day to day practicality.

"Sunny, at your service." The farmer tipped his cap at Ptah. Immediately, the god got the impression that Sunny was not really a person of many words. He wouldn't have been wrong either.

Next came a girl who was slightly taller than Alex, the difference of height so small that it would not be noticeable unless you concentrated. She had blonde hair tied into a bun and she seemed to have a penchant for purple clothing. Her features were most definitely sharp and striking and Ptah gauged that this woman was one of a very energetic and enthusiastic nature...and perhaps even a little confrontational since she just swaggered out of the Gate with a netherite sword over her shoulder. She whistled to herself as she looked around the room before she sauntered over to the group in a very un-lady-like manner and waved an arm.

"Hiya. Name's Kai. Great to meetcha!"

"Pleasure's all mine." Ptah said as he noticed that she too had wraps around her arms...they they were not nearly as muscled as Alex's. In fact, if he were to go off of her frame, Ptah would glean that Kia was someone who built her body to focus on the speed attribute when it came to combat. Again, he would be right.

Next came an even taller woman who was almost eye-level with Steve. She had big puffy hair and she had the darkest skin Ptah had seen on anybody in the city yet. She was even more built than Alex was, though she wore a large yellow woolly jumper with pink trousers and black shoes. She had a motherly air to her as despite her dark skin, her eyes had a warm twinkle to them. 

"Makena's the name." She said loudly. It was as if her voice had a natural boom to it that she couldn't avoid, as if her lungs were naturally larger than the norm. Whatever the case, Ptah's eardrums shook when she spoke, and he supposed it would be something that he'd have to get used to. 

Following her came a young man with curly hair, glasses, dressed in a pink shirt and cream smart pants. This guy absolutely screamed of 'bookworm' and someone who engaged more in theory and tomes than in physical combat. He also came across as quite dull as he simply said "Zuri." before walking over to the bookshelves that Steve had in that hidden room and began sifting through a few books.

The next newcomer was far more energetic as a little girl with purple hair, tomboyish clothes and fancy jewellery came skipping through with a hum, a bounce in her heels and a smile on her face as she gave him the biggest toothy grin he'd ever seen on a person and she screamed out for joy.

"HEY MISTER! MY NAME'S EFE!" 

"Quiet!" Alex chided. "Do you want to wake the neighbours!?"

"Actually we live inside a grotto carved into the city wall on the edge of the province," Steve said. "We have no neighbours within a good kilometre."

"No excuse for rowdy behaviour." Alex pressed as she gave Efe a hard stare. The girl backed off. Ptah noticed however that this girl did not have any scars or wraps on her arms at all but instead wore golden bracelets. "Please excuse her. She is the youngest out of all of us and there she can misbehave a bit."

"No problem." Ptah reassured her.

The portal glowed again and outstepped another woman. This one had long warm brown hair that was styled opposite to Alex's, in the fact that the braid came down her other collarbone. This girl appeared to be a bit rough around the edges as she gave him a glance-over before she huffed and muttered. 

"Ari. How's it going?"

"Well that's just a slick first impression then isn't it?" Steve said grimly. "Stop embarrassing me."

"You're the one that chose to get embarrassed, not me." Ari waved him off. "If you've got a problem with it, you can book an appointment and take it up my ass, second shelf on the left."

"There's a kid in here for god's sake." Sunny tutted. "You should really tone down that foul mouth of yours, especially if we're going to be going out in public."

"Well I can assure you that the adventurers are even more crass and vulgar." Ptah shrugged. "Your captain here has also contributed his fair share of flowery language."

"As have you, you red nosed hypocrite." Steve jabbed. "You're just as bad."

"You want to accuse ME of that? Shall I repeat what you said about Ishtar earlier for all to hear?"

"Unless you want to be pummelled for volunteering to expose our innocent little Efe to such vulgarity..." Steve cupped his hands over the little lavender-haired girl's ears. "...then be my guest."

"You're all seriously going to do that within seconds of meeting me?" Ptah asked.

""Yes."" They all chorused as they stared at him challengingly, daring him to utter the words even if Steve was the one who said them in the first place.

...

'What kind of children do I have? They're as thick as thieves.' Ptah lamented.

The Gate wound up one last time as the last member stepped through. Out of all the people there, this girl had the sweetest aura to her as she was dressed in an open pink shirt and large green trousers. Her long hair was sorted into very large curls that fell thick around her head and down her back but her expression was soft. Her eyebrows were a little large for a girl but her eyes were large and graceful as she stared at Ptah with a big, closed-mouth smile.

"My name is Noor. It is a great honour to meet you Lord Ptah." She said in a voice that sounded like a summer breeze. "Steve tells us that you are to be out patron god from now on?"

"Well that is the plan, yes." Ptah said, instantly comforted by her presence in contrast to the pressure he was feeling from earlier.

"Then I must say from the bottom of my heart..." Noor bowed down to him. "...Thank you for taking us in."

"You are very welcome." Ptah said with a smile of his own.

Yep, he'd made up his mind. This one was his favourite child already.

"Alright, now that the gang is all here." Steve clapped his hands. "I'd say its about time we got started to popping those Falnas on them now, isn't it Ptah?"

"Yes." The god said as he took out his needle. "The sooner we get it done, the better. Now, who's going first?"

"I will." Makena pulled her jumper over her head and exposed her back. At once Ptah got to work, and within seconds, the floor was covered in green XP orbs.

---

"Just as Zuri predicted." Steve said as he sat at his desk, looking at the status sheets in his hands. Alex stood at the other and of the oak table. "He, Ari, Sunny, Noor and Efe are all level 7, and triple SSS rank ones at that. You, Makena and Kai are all level 8, triple SSS in that too. And I stand at the top at level 9 with the same ranks. All of us a hair's breadth away from the next level."

"And where does that rank us in terms of the power ladder?" Alex asked.

"Five level 7s, three level 8s and a level 9 as the captain. A single member of which would be enough to take down the Freya Familia in its entirety. Now that we're all here, we are undisputedly the strongest Familia in the world. All that's left is for the public to find out."

"Right. Zuri is getting right onto studying the legal system as well as social politics, what with those books you conveniently had prepared." Alex raised a brow at him. "You really have been planning this for a while haven't you?"

"Not really. But when I did finally think of the idea, I set all preparations." Steve said as he clipped all the status sheets together. "We've got your Falnas out of the way, now all we have to do is take these papers to the Guild tomorrow and get you all citizenship papers as well as identification cards. Without those, you won't be able to enter the dungeon."

"I would rather we checked out the town, got to know the people and familiarise ourself with local establishments." Alex said. "I wouldn't say it's exactly healthy for your mind to just jump into the Dungeon straight away when coming to the city. You should at least have the curtesy to know the city first before coming to know what's under it."

"Riiiigggghhhhht..."

"...you jumped into the Dungeon first thing, didn't you?"

"Guilty as charged." Steve laughed as Alex shook her head. "By the way...aren't you going to put your shirt back on?"

"It's far too stuffy in this 'grotto', as you call it." Alex fanned herself. "Whatever renovations you did to this place, you clearly did not take proper ventilation into account." 

"It was only a rudimentary fix. I've laid out the plans for our actual base here." Steve opened the long drawer in the middle of his desk and pulled out a large scroll of paper which he unfurled to reveal the floor plan. Alex leaned forward, eagerly examining the drawings. "I've calculated the exact amount of land we need to buy up in order to start building. As we're doing it, we're going to assimilate the grotto right in so we can protect the Gate. I can conjure up the materials we'll use to start building, so that way we can avoid certain taxations and legal restrictions. But the main point is to go for something large."

"It looks like a temple of sorts...but a closed off one made of blackstone...you're not really telling me those parts are made of gold?"

"Why not flaunt our wealth as much as possible."

"Steve, what's with the vanity?"

"I'm captain, and what I say goes."

"Already abusing your power." Alex rolled her eyes. "Well for the most part this is good. I suggest handing it over to Zuri for improvement once he's done with law books. He is the architect after all."

"I'm well aware of his talent. I just gave him a general blueprint to stick to." Steve said as he put it away and pulled out the business plan. "Now here's our catalogue. I've listed down the kind of things we will sell for now as a starter. What do you think?"

"Well I'm going to have to learn all the conversion rates." Alex said as she took it from his fingers. "But so far it looks manageable. Though I'd tell you to cut back on some of these potions. It will get these people too excited."

"Of course. Slow and organic." Steve shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with aiming high, especially when our resources are infinite with my Creative Mode."

"Don't take such a power for granted Steve." Alex chided him as she handed the catalogue back. "You never know when you might just lose it."

"Yeah yeah. Anyways, Ptah told me all of you got some juicy new skills when he blessed you."

"As a matter of fact, yes." Alex clenched her fist. "I have a skill that strengthens my punches as long as I land them uninterrupted apparently. I bet you more than anything that it is perfectly capable of beating you. As for the others, well they're being more conservative about theirs but again, I've told them to share it with us once they've figured them out."

"Well there will be proper testing tomorrow morning." Steve said as he messaged Noor in his chat.

...

<Steve > Can you bring your messenger owl to my office please?

<Noor > Be there in a minute...

...

"What was that about?" Alex said as she saw the chats in her own interface.

"I think it will be a quicker job done if we have more people help us get to know the locality better." Steve said. "And who better than the Familia that is officially our ally? It would be best if we all got to know each other before the War Game starts."

"Aahh, yes. That stupid conflict you started." Alex said as she rolled her eyes. "Will I get to meet these girlfriends of yours?"

"Naturally."

"Good." Alex flexed her bicep. "I'll get to assess them myself."

"Assess? Why would you need to assess them for anything?"

"No reason you need to know." Alex turned from him. "It's a girl thing. I'm going to go say hi to Bathsheba since she's outside. We'll chat later."

"Sure." Steve replied as Alex opened his door to find Noor about to knock on it. Alex stepped aside to let the girl in before leaving herself, locking the door behind her.

"You called for me captain." Noor said as she brought forth a little owl.

"Yes. Bring her here." Steve said as he began to write a note. He then rolled it up and tied it to the owl's legs. "You still have your witchcraft magics?"

"Yes." Noor nodded. "Any particular reason?"

"Yes." Steve said as he procured a strand of hair. "This belongs to Tiona, one of my girlfriends. Get this bird to deliver my message to her."

Noor took the hair strand and with a few mutters, it disintegrated into sparkles of pink magic which the little owl inhaled. It spread its wings before howling and then flapping out of the window and into the night.

"Now that that's sorted, I need to go and see Ptah again." Steve nodded.

"Why? We got our blessings, did we not?"

"Well we did. But I want to know the limit of the things he can put his Falna on. For instance, can he put it on something like this?" Steve looked at a corner of his inventory and from it pulled out a giant black Spawn Egg, although this one was not part of the vanilla game at all. No, this came from a very specific mod.

Noor's eyes widened at it.

"Is that...?" She breathed.

"Yes. It is exactly who you think it is."

"What are you planning to do with HIM?"

"Nothing...beyond making a good first impression." Steve grinned evilly. "Trust me, when this War Game is done and dusted, Orario will come to know, that we are no pushovers like the Zeus and Hera Familia. We're here to stay...and they're going to accept it the easy way...or the hard way. On both fronts, I am more than prepared to go all out...and beyond."

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