Malphegor
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LOTR: TMCP Ch. 39
🕑 Added 2025-07-12 01:24:17 +0000 UTCThe Valar knew how many bastion remnants Garrett had to raid just to acquire these four netherite ingots.
Although he could mine for scraps himself, not only was the chance of finding them extremely low, but even doing it personally wasn't faster than locating a bastion. More importantly, even if he mined them, he didn't have enough diamonds to craft armor anyway, he still needed to find additional sources for those precious gems.
That's where the bastion remnants proved invaluable.
In the central chest of each bastion, he could always discover one or two pieces of diamond equipment.
Sometimes armor, sometimes weapons or tools.
To carry all the valuable loot, he had to discard unnecessary items like food and potions, even abandoning a whole stack of iron blocks.
After all, he had an entire iron vein he could excavate, far more than he could ever utilize.
All his efforts hadn't been in vain.
With that accomplished, his expedition to the Nether had reached a temporary conclusion, and he retraced his path homeward.
The road to exploration was always arduous, crossing treacherous terrain, building bridges over lava lakes, and staying vigilant for monsters that spawned randomly. But returning proved much easier, he simply had to sprint along the path he'd already established.
It took only a few days for him to reach the portal.
Along the way, he even found time to casually eliminate a few ghasts, and while passing through a warped forest, he took down several endermen as well.
Weighing the cool, smooth ender pearls in his hand, he thought, These will definitely sell for a decent price. But if someone accidentally throw one, they'll surely get a shock.
"Time to go home."
He was beginning to miss the sunlight and air of Middle-earth.
---
Whoosh.
The sunlight stung his eyes, making it difficult to keep them open.
Having grown accustomed to the crimson gloom of the Nether, suddenly witnessing the brilliant light of the real world and the autumn-tinged yellow of the grass created quite a contrast.
"Looks like autumn's here."
Feeling the cool breeze, he couldn't help but observe.
In the blink of an eye, he'd already been in this world for over half a year. It felt as though he was either adventuring, or traveling toward an adventure.
He took a deep breath, expelling the lingering sulfur from his lungs, and stretched thoroughly, savoring the peace of the real world. Then he went to the storage chamber, organized his inventory somewhat, and walked directly to the enchanting table.
Fortunately, or at least not unfortunately, he had managed to gather a complete set of diamond equipment from the numerous bastion remnants, some even bearing decent enchantments already.
After so much combat in the Nether, he had reached level 42.
He used all that experience to enchant books, repeatedly cycling through enchantments to obtain the ones he desired.
When he depleted his experience, he went fishing; once he'd accumulated enough, he returned to enchanting.
This routine continued for another week. The chests filled with various items, assorted enchanted books, bows, and fishing rods, some valuable, some worthless.
Thanks to Luck of the Sea III, he combined some of the enchanted equipment using an anvil and even produced a fully enchanted bow with the Infinity trait.
Power V, Infinity, Unbreaking III, Punch II, Flame.
Although this bow's base statistics weren't as impressive as the orcish bow, the enchantments more than compensated. Until he had sufficient experience to enchant the orcish bow, this one would serve admirably.
He also maximized the properties on his fishing rod, using enchanted books he'd obtained to add missing traits like Lure III and Mending.
Of course, these were all secondary benefits.
The most crucial achievement was, his diamond set was now fully enchanted.
That day, Garrett stood before the smithing table and retrieved his diamond armor and netherite ingots.
[Achievement Unlocked: "Cloaked in Debris"]
A set of exquisite, jet-black armor emitting a faint luminescence appeared upon his body. It appeared solid and formidable, with an aura of substantial weight. And just like the armor he'd worn previously, it didn't impede his mobility whatsoever.
The moment he donned it, he experienced the sensation that nothing in the world could move him against his will.
The four pieces of netherite armor provided a total of 4 points of knockback resistance.
This was a complete set of Protection IV netherite armor.
Now, he finally felt confident enough to challenge some genuinely serious threats. But before that, there remained one more task.
He withdrew the ancient elven sword and completed its enchantments.
Sharpness V, Unbreaking III, Sweeping Edge III, Looting III, Mending, Fire Aspect II.
After consideration, he chose not to add Knockback to the sword.
Sending enemies flying with one strike only to have to pursue them to deliver the finishing blow would prove too irritating, not ideal for efficient combat.
With all his equipment prepared, he didn't cease his development. He continued mining, harvesting crops, tending animals, brewing potions, and smelting ores, steadily accumulating resources.
"It's a pity that neither in Middle-earth nor in the Nether have I found anything like redstone."
Without redstone, automation remained impossible. Many technologies couldn't be tested or implemented.
He didn't know how long this period of resource-gathering lasted. He worked tirelessly, accomplishing things only he could achieve.
Within the stronghold, resources accumulated at an extraordinary pace.
"Huh?"
One bright, breezy morning, he was leaning against the stronghold wall admiring the landscape when he suddenly noticed, there was someone standing at the gate.
It was an elderly man in grey robes and a pointed hat, holding a wooden staff.
At that moment, the travel-worn old man stood silently on a patch of grass before the stronghold entrance, smoking some Longbottom Leaf, quietly studying the enormous fortress, as if he'd never seen it before. His brows were furrowed with deep concern.
He appeared thoroughly perplexed.
"Either I've lost my memory... or the world has gone quite mad," the old man muttered to himself.
Seeing a visitor, Garrett operated a lever, clang, and the two iron doors swung open, startling the elderly gentleman.
"Oh my, stranger, greetings to you."
Though clearly surprised, the old man still offered a courteous greeting.
"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" Garrett inquired, while carefully observing his visitor.
The moment he glimpsed the old man's face, he was almost certain of the man's identity.
That weathered yet kindly visage, the intelligent gleam in those dark eyes beneath thick, snowy brows, it left an immediate and profound impression.
There was no mistaking it.
Gandalf the Grey.
"Good day, young man. I'm simply... bewildered. I don't recall ever seeing such a vast fortress out here on these plains. I may be ancient, but I still trust my memory quite well."
As he spoke, Gandalf took another draw from his pipe. It helped him maintain composure.
"It hasn't even been a year since I last traveled this way. At that time, this flatland contained nothing, absolutely nothing at all. This is... exceedingly peculiar."
"Yes, your memory is correct," Garrett replied. "There really was nothing here a year past. But I came by not long ago and thought this was a decent spot, so I constructed a fortress here."
"You mean... all of this? You accomplished it? Alone? In less than a year?"
Garrett nodded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Gandalf's already furrowed brows creased even deeper.
