"Hey, boss..." says Satan. "What are you plannin' on doin' with that tree?"
Steve circles around one of the saplings, examining the bark and testing it for sturdiness. "I was thinking...the enemy's got tree monsters on their side, right? Maybe we ought to have one, too, just to keep them on their toes?"
"Heh...the more, the merrier, I say."
Steve murmurs a spell and makes chopping motions in the air, as if he were actually attempting to cut down the tree. When he is finished, he sees a small tree stump standing in front of him, with slits carved into its bark to form eyes and a mouth.
The others look around nervously as it reaches for a morning star lying on the ground. Kashiwa tugs on Steve's sleeve and whispers to him while everyone else is focused on the new wood golem. "Uh, Steve? Don't you think that it's going to get a little crowded in here with these monsters roaming around? I hope you have a plan for a place to keep them all."
"Don't worry, Kashiwa," he says. "I'll find away to keep them safe and sound."
Kashiwa groaned. "'Them', Steve?"
Steve names the new wood creature "Woody" (gee, how original), but decides against taking advantage of the ironic situation caused by giving it an axe. He does some backtracking in earlier dungeons to help get Woody up to speed, who can only growl with joy as it whacks incoming bandits and warriors trying to take over what used to be Micky's Netherworld (it's okay, he can create as many more of them as he needs.) After a little while going back and forth between dungeons, Steve gains enough mana to transcend.
"Lord Zetta," he says, laying his hands on the Sacred Tome, "I think I'm ready. I'd like to make my first wish."
"I hope you understand what you're about to get into," says Zetta. "Remember what I said earlier: once you make a wish of this magnitude, there's no guarantee we'll be able to retrieve your soul afterward. Are you sure about this?"
Steve nods, and then turns to the page concerning housing facilities. "I wish we could get rid of this crappy doghouse and have something nicer...like this straw hut here. That would be nice."
"Hahahaha! You got it! One straw hut, coming right up!"
The Sacred Tome slams shut, and Steve collapses to the ground after writing in his wish, as if someone had inscribed his name in the Death Note. His soul floats away, and a straw house emerges in his place. The party gives a short Informal Eulogy, but Meredith (who had to wish to be the new leader so that Steve could make his wish for a new hut) wanders around, looking for the best-quality artifact to bind his soul once again. She stumbles upon a palm tree, which apparently has four stars' worth of mana power in it.
"Listen, Steve-O," she says to the tree, "I know I agreed to be the leader of the group while you went on your 'spiritual journey', but I think you're more cut out for this thing than I am."
Instead of simply whispering to the palm tree like Steve does, she punches it, causing Steve to reappear in a similar pillar of light that created here. He looks mostly the same as he did before, except his hair is now a darker color, and his title reads "Fighter" instead of "Apprentice".
"It seems that the transmigration process was a success after all," says Zetta. "How does it feel, Steve?"
"I feel...a little bit weaker than I did before," says Steve, "but I bet I could fix that with a little more battling. Who's with me?"
The crowd cheers Steve on upon his return. During their celebration, they knock over the doghouse, which Steve orders Zetta to have destroyed.
"Man, am I ever glad to be rid of that thing," Zetta mumbles to himself. "I-I mean, good work, everyone. Now, there's still more exploration to be done in Babylon's netherworld, so get to it!"
Next time: Powered Steve and his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits head into the treasure room!
Author's Note: Once a character transmigrates for the first time, an option called "Reincarnate" will appear in the wish menu. This will allow them to jump to new classes more quickly, though the mana cost is dependent on how many stars they've absorbed through items, and how many times they've reincarnated previously. A lot of the time, it's easier and more cost-effective to just wish for huts (since they're so cheap to build), even though you'll miss out on character-building points.
A few more Map Effects were discovered on this journey!
- Then, everyone was gone.: No enemies are spawned; just dead trees and rocks. If this is generated when you have fulfilled the point requirement and there are no more enemies, the level is completed.
- Infestation of Thieves: Similar to "A Thief Appears!", this generates a few thief units with UF Os. There doesn't seem to be any strength differential between the two effects, though.
