In a sense, it was hard to say whether Zenith, possessing Minecraft traits, was still a normal "living creature," even though he had a complete human body, a sound mind, and all the physiological responses of a normal lifeform.
But these were all just surface-level appearances—a skin stretched over the fundamental essence of a blocky Minecraft player.
"So it works like this too. Well, you came in here yourself."
Zenith raised an eyebrow, discovering something rather interesting. This Stand that had actively entered his body seemed to have been classified as a Minecraft dropped item.
The Lovers appeared in Zenith's inventory. Just like The Hand, it had turned into an arrow from the Steve's Bizarre Adventure mod.
Unlike the arrows in JoJo that awakened a person's Stand or the Requiem arrows that evolved them, the Stand arrows in Steve's Bizarre Adventure had arrowheads that looked like red crystal. Simply interacting with them would release the corresponding Stand ability of that arrow.
If The Lovers had been "arrow-ified" and entered his inventory, then what about Steely Dan himself? The essence of a Stand was the user's spirit, and there was only one outcome for someone who lost a piece of their spirit.
They became a breathing corpse—in short, a vegetable.
"To think it had a mechanic like this. How unexpected."
Looking at the collapsed Dan, a new idea popped into Zenith's head. Perhaps there was a way to make these Stand users, who committed evil deeds but didn't quite deserve the death penalty, properly face legal justice.
Stand users didn't just suddenly appear in modern times; they had existed ever since the history of the arrows began. Did the nations of the world really remain completely ignorant of the existence of Stand users all this time? Zenith didn't buy it.
Perhaps he could fund the construction of a prison specifically for Stand users. He could dig a hole straight down from the surface, using one-meter-thick solid iron blocks and Redstone mechanisms for the building materials and doors. As for the problem of the bizarre and varied abilities of Stand users, Zenith found a solution within the Steve's Bizarre Adventure mod.
The Rokakaka fruit!
Zenith wasn't entirely sure if this item existed in the original story, or what its exact effects were—his memory of it was rather blurry. But in the mod, the effect of this fruit was to erase the consumer's Stand.
From a gameplay perspective, it was obviously designed to make it easier for players to switch and play with different Stands. But in reality, its significance was completely different. Stripping Stand users who were accustomed to using their powers for evil of their abilities was akin to knocking them off their pedestals. It might even make them suffer more than simply killing them outright.
In the mod, the Rokakaka fruit had to be obtained by trading with naturally spawning Ripple users in the Overworld. Zenith didn't have any on hand right now, so he figured he would have to find some time to explore the map and track them down.
Jotaro and the others landed safely. They hadn't opened their parachutes; everyone who received a Flight Amulet chose to experience the joy of free flight. Yearning for the sky was human instinct, after all.
"Where are the Stand users who attacked us?"
Zenith gestured with his chin toward the two figures lying on the ground. "Aside from the plane blowing up, we basically suffered no other losses. Just two total noobs."
After a moment of thought, Zenith spoke up, "Keep an eye on these two. I'm going back to grab some good stuff."
Building a gold portal on the spot, Zenith's return to the Overworld this time wasn't just to find Rokakaka fruits. He also needed to prepare materials for crafting Stand arrows, as well as horses and food.
The crash site was right in the middle of the desert, in the middle of nowhere. Walking on foot without mounts simply wouldn't do. As for relying entirely on the Flight Amulets, Zenith found it way too expensive to maintain. With seven people plus their captives, they would burn through an average of ten Nether Stars an hour. The flight speed of the amulets was only about fifteen meters per second; flying out of this desert would drain Zenith dry and still not be enough.
Jotaro and the others were already quite familiar with Zenith's Overworld. With Zenith's permission, their access to the portal wasn't restricted anyway; it was like returning to their own home.
Map exploration was much easier with the Flight Amulet, but Zenith still preferred using an Elytra and Firework Rockets. The cost was lower and the speed was faster; he only needed to switch to the Flight Amulet when landing to avoid fall damage.
He hadn't noticed it before, but after flying a distance away, he realized that the spawn rate of wild Ripple users was actually quite high. However, trading with them required Vampire Blood, which dropped from vampires that spawned at night.
He trapped a few of them in Boats, then thoughtfully built them a small dirt-hut toilet for shelter and placed some Torches. Zenith then turned around to look for the Meteorite Ore needed to craft Stand arrows. Vampires, of course, only spawned at night, so there was no rush; he could just take his time searching.
After wandering around the Overworld for two or three days, Zenith returned the way he came. By this time, his inventory contained a full stack of Rokakaka fruits, three Red Stones of Aja, half a stack of Stone Masks, and half a stack of blank Stand arrows.
Theoretically speaking, Zenith could now farm for a new Stand for himself. The mod didn't include that many Stands, and The Hand was already one of the stronger ones in his opinion. Even with thirty-two reroll chances, he felt it was better to play it safe and wait a bit.
After all, to roll a new Stand, he would have to erase his current one first. The Lovers Stand arrow was the result of an exploited mechanic that allowed Zenith to have two Stands, even if that particular one was pretty useless.
"Joseph, here's a Red Stone of Aja for you to use."
Zenith took one out and tossed it to Joseph. This kind of red gemstone was different from the Redstone in Minecraft; it was essentially a Ripple amplifier. With Joseph's current level of Ripple mastery, combined with the Red Stone of Aja, it felt like he could solo Dio all by himself.
"Speaking of which."
Looking at the baby Joseph was holding in his arms—picked up from who knows where—Zenith blinked. Joseph blinked back.
The Stand representing the "Death" tarot card had a baby for its user. Naturally, Zenith had already shared this piece of intel with his companions long ago.
Death Thirteen could drag others into a dream world while they slept and kill them there. In a defenseless dream state, a person couldn't summon their Stand and could only be at its mercy—unless they summoned their Stand right before falling asleep.
In the original storyline, Kakyoin had to hard-carry this entire stage. Memories of the dream would vanish upon waking up, leaving the lonely Hierophant Green to endure not only mental torment but also the distrust of his teammates.
But not this time. Everyone silently manifested their Stands, keeping them hidden. Now, it was time to teach this brat a lesson.
A green sky and a massive open-air amusement park—this was the dreamscape created by the Stand, Death Thirteen. The black-robed grim reaper, wielding a scythe, was currently floating arrogantly in the sky. He felt victory was already in his grasp, completely unaware that he was about to face a brutal group beatdown from Star Platinum, Hierophant Green, Magician's Red, and Silver Chariot.
"I feel like something isn't quite right," Zenith muttered to himself. As everyone knew, Minecraft players didn't dream. Sleeping simply meant the world's time fast-forwarded straight to the next morning. Yet, this Stand had somehow allowed him to achieve the milestone of dreaming.
Eyes glowing with a white light quietly observed this world. The soul of the Creator had now broken free from the shackles of a frail body, standing firmly upon the earth of the dreamscape.
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