---- Roanna's POV ----
The castle of the Wither King. The same throne room where I had been flicked, punched, and humiliated for a whole year.
And now, out of nowhere—
"You will be my pupil."
"Whaaaaaat!? Are you serious?"
The Wither King's green eyes narrowed, glowing faintly. "I am. You humans always twist words."He leaned forward; soul-fire traced cracks down his armor. "Do you know why you keep failing against me?"
"…Because you're strong enough to fight with finger flicks instead of a sword!?"
"Wrong." He rose, and the whole castle seemed to quake. "It's because you don't understand the art of battle. You swing like a chicken — wild, untimed. No craft."
I froze. That… stung.
"So here's the deal," he continued, voice like a rolling avalanche."I will teach you two things.
Swordsmanship… and redstone engineering. You will sharpen both your blade and your mind."
I blinked. "…Redstone? What does redstone have to do with killing you!?"
He smirked behind his mask."Everything."
I felt a shiver down my spine.
[Training Day 1]
"AHHH! WHY AM I GETTING FIREBALLED AGAINST GHAST'S?".
Yes, I'm being targeted by ghosts.
"you will be fine!!, Don't you want to survive my flips?"
Yes. Flicks.
"Gahhhh!" I rolled across the obsidian floor as the massive fireball missed my forehead again.
"WHY is this your training method!?" I yelled."I'D RATHER FLICKED BY YOU THAN THIS."
Only silence answered me.
"Because you still can't dodge." boom!
"Stop using me as a target, you damn ghasts!!"
I hit one of the fireballs that cornered me.
Surprisingly, that didn't blow my hand.
It reflected and hit the ghast.
"Wait! I can punch them?!"
"You called yourself a hardcore gamer of Minecraft, and you don't even know that, "Wither King said.
With an intense disappointed face.
This damn skull mask even knows that?.
"You swore at me, didn't you?"
Ah! crap!!.
"Is this guy a psychic or what?"
Anyway, now I have found a way to counter these ghosts.
"Bring it on!!"
I rushed toward the fireballs, swung my sword, and killed the stray ghasts with the bounced fireballs.
"Hey! You skull king, you see that?"
I shouted at the wretched king with joy.
"Yeah...yeah..., you did well, but it's still 5 years early to celebrate."
"Eh?"
Before I knew it, 10 fireballs flew at me.
Boom!!.
I flew.
"Ugh!
Another 50 stray ghasts started attacking me.
"Hey, this is-"
I looked for the wither king, where he previously was.
Only Thin hot air greeted him. He is not there.
There was a note.
{Come back to the castle when you finish. Good luck!kid}
The air fell silent around me, fireballs flying toward me.
"YOU DAMN SKULL KING!!!!"
One or three were fine, but a 50 was too much.
They kept shooting.
But as the hours passed, I noticed something. I was getting faster.
I began to read the patterns of how ghosts shot their fireballs.
—By the end of the day, I dodged them.
Landing on A ghast that was near the edge, I restrained its control with a fishing ROD.
"Surprise! MF'S".
Using the fishing rod, I controlled the ghast and made it shoot its own kin.
Using their low intelligence to my advantage.
I killed the last ghast with the captive ghast and finished the ghast with my sword, and completely killed the last one.
"Now! Wait for me, you skull king!"
[ASH CASTLE, BEDROCK]
"…Hey! I killed them all! Now what?"
The King paused. Then… flick.
"Waaaghh! What was that for?"
I flew back into a pile of soul sand.
" I told you. Never celebrate early," he said calmly."Well, now let's move on to redstone engineering."
"....."
[Redstone Class]
The next day, he led me to the castle workshop.
The workshop was as big as the castle next to it.
Rows of contraptions, pistons, levers, and redstone dust flowing like veins across the floor.
Minecraft added gears now.
"I built this redstone workshop when fighting the piglin king.
The lifeblood of the Nether kingdom's order.redstone"
"If I remember, redstone ore doesn't exist in the Nether."
I asked, curious.
"Now it does."
That's all you got to say?.
Looking at the workshop.
I gasped.
Pistons moving giant gates, dispensers launching soul fire, observers blinking like eyes.
Wither skelitons testing TNT cannons.
After some walking, we now stand in front of an ordinary iron door.
It opened, revealing a room.
"This is my personal workshop," he said calmly, "my pride."
"am i really allowed to be here"
"..."
The wither king walked toward a chest and took something that looked like a dispenser attached by a repeating observer attached to a netherite gauntlet that was added in the future Minecraft.
He wore it.
"What is it, and how is it small?"
Before I could react, he punched a target that was standing beside me.
The dispenser spat out fire and increased the impact.
The dummy incinerated.
"understand'
"Yes?"
Then.
The Wither King handed me some redstone dust.
"Build a simple mechanism. Door open. Show me your hands, understand the basics."
"… I will try."I slammed down dust, a lever, and a piston.
Psssshhh— …The piston extended, only to crush the lever.
"…Eh?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"You're hopeless. I thought the Goddess sent me a challenger. Instead, she sent me a clown."
"HEY!! That was my first time trying redstone."
But as the day went on, he corrected me. Patiently.
Where to place repeaters.
How to loop circuits. How to balance inputs.
And strangely… it was fun.
Not just because of the engineering. But because he never once lost his temper.
His corrections were rough, but guiding. Like… like a father scolding his child.
Making me even more wonder why he wants to die.
After that, I succeeded in making my first redstone build.
Sensor door.
Which opens when you walk toward it.
It uses a skulk sensor.
"Good job, kid".
He placed his hand on my forehead and left.
Nightfall.
That night, I sat outside the castle, staring at the infinite bedrock. The Wither King came and stood beside me, silent.
"Why that confused face?" he asked.
"nothing....…Why me?" I asked softly," If you just wanted to die, you should've killed yourself, or you could've waited for another challenger. Someone stronger. Someone worthy."
For a long moment, he didn't answer. Then his low voice came, heavy with age.
"You see, besides being called the wither king, I was also referred to as the leash of the nether."
"leash?"
I asked.
"Yes, I kill the stray monsters and keep them from invading the overrealm, so I was referred to as the leash of the nether, so I can't die myself. So I need a successor, a challenger who can take my place.
As for why I chose you.
You killed the warden, didn't you?"
"I did. Barely though." I chukled.
"Exactly, you didn't give up right there.
That was more than enough to call you worthy.
You strongly remind me of him.
That piglin boy. The one who glared at me, ran at me, fell, and came back again. Again and again.
Also, you aren't weak; I'm way stronger than you."
He looked at me, green eyes glowing faintly softer.
"I waited centuries for death. But maybe… I was waiting for something else, too.
A reason to teach someone something to protect against."
I blinked. My chest tightened. It almost sounded like—
"Sleep, child," he interrupted. "Tomorrow's lesson is worse."
"Wha—worse!?"
I felt a chill pass through my spine.
"Yes. Tomorrow we practice sword strikes. Against ten withers at once."
"…You're insane!!"
He chuckled, walking back into the castle."maybe. But so are you, little pupil."
________________________________________
🔸 END OF CHAPTER 9
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HAVE A NICE DAY ;)