Crossroads: The Multiversal Pub C42 (Patreon)

Chapter 42: The Stupidest Fucking Power 

Mattheus was over the moon.

He had grown up with the Harry Potter franchise. Hell, watching the films had become something of a family tradition. Every Christmas, his yaya and yayo would put them on the TV in the living room and let them play throughout the day.

Sometimes, the three of them would sit together beneath warm blankets and watch an entire film. Other times, nobody would be paying attention, but the movies would continue playing in the background while they cooked, ate, relaxed, or wandered through the house.

Often Mattheus would come inside after playing in the snow, pass through the living room on his way somewhere else, and make the mistake of glancing at the TV. Five minutes later, he would find himself sitting on the sofa, still wearing his coat, completely absorbed in a film he had already watched more times than he cared to count (whoever was waiting outside for him could damn well wait).

He would remain there until someone called him for a meal, offered him a snack, or something else managed to steal his attention.

Those were some of his favorite memories.

And now he could visit that very world that was such a big part of his childhood.

A laugh escaped him, and the exhaustion that had weighed on him all evening vanished beneath a rush of excitement.

Tonight was a good night, no—tonight was a fantastic night.

His luck was through the roof!

Therefore, the only sensible thing to do was continue with the Gacha.

He still had seven tickets left, and who knew what incredible things awaited him? Maybe Mana Awakening would be next. Perhaps a wand, a magical skill, or some legendary weapon capable of killing gods.

The thirty-fourth pull gave him a rectangular piece of paper.

Mattheus picked it up and examined it.

Chakra Paper

A special type of paper cultivated from trees fed with chakra. Reacts to the nature of chakra passed through it.

“Oh!”

That could be useful.

Not now, admittedly, but if he ever acquired chakra, it would let him discover his elemental affinity. He placed the paper carefully on his nightstand rather than throwing it onto the increasingly cluttered bed.

The next pull gave him a sweetroll.

Mattheus stared at the small iced pastry resting in his hand.

“No way.”

He turned it around, studying it from every angle.

It looked exactly as it had in Skyrim: a little round cake with thick white icing drizzled over the top.

Mattheus had spent thousands of hours playing that game. Eating a genuine sweetroll from Skyrim was certainly worth more to him than the hundred SP the ticket had cost.

He took a bite—it was soft, sweet, lightly spiced, and very fresh (like it was taken out of an oven less than an hour ago).

Mattheus closed his eyes as he chewed.

“Worth it.”

The next prize was a strip of dried meat.

Dino Jerky

The description did not identify the dinosaur, and Mattheus sniffed it cautiously—it smelled smoky and peppery. 

He placed it beside the chakra paper. He wanted to enjoy the novelty of eating dinosaur meat when he was not already chewing a sweetroll.

His next pull gave him a blue bottle cap with a faded white star painted on it.

“Okay…”

He set it on the bed.

The thirty-eighth pull gave him a horned wooden mask with tufts of dark fur attached to its edges.

Mattheus recognized it right away and frowned.

“A hilichurl mask?”

He held it up to his face before quickly lowering it again.

As far as he remembered, the masks were not part of the hilichurls’ bodies—they were worn to hide their faces (the reason behind that was way too depressing). It was not exactly useful, but it was an interesting souvenir from a universe he had yet to unlock. 

The thirty-ninth pull gave him another Superman figurine.

Mattheus stared at it, and the figurine smiled heroically back at him.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

He dropped it beside its identical brethren. 

The fortieth and final ticket gave him a plush doll of Iron Man: it was small, round, and very soft, with a disproportionately large head and tiny stuffed limbs.

Mattheus squeezed it.

“Okay, you’re adorable.”

He placed the plush on his pillow, safely away from the army of Superman figurines.

That had not been a terrible group of prizes. Several of them were genuinely interesting. The sweetroll alone had made the pulls worthwhile, the chakra paper might come in handy someday, and dinosaur jerky was certainly one hell of a unique snack.

Mattheus looked at the Gacha screen.

He had already won access to another universe and several interesting things for just 4K SP, so his luck was truly great tonight. Why stop when he was on a hot streak? That would just be stupid.

So he bought ten more tickets.

The first gave him a set of colorful hair clips.

The second a limited-edition Sailor Moon figurine still sealed inside its original box. Mattheus had no idea how valuable it was, but anything described as limited edition must be worth something, so he placed it beside the chakra paper.

The third gave him a tool set, which may come in handy someday. The fourth a black obsidian coin without a single engraving or marking on either side. The fifth gave him a signed photograph of a handsome man with dark blue hair.

Mattheus turned the photograph over.

Tokiya Ichinose

“Never heard of you.”

The man looked like an idol or actor—or both. Mattheus placed the picture beside the Sailor Moon figurine. Perhaps it would be worth something if he ever unlocked the man’s universe.

The remaining five prizes included a recipe book filled with dishes from a world he did not recognize, a box of lemon-flavored candies, a red scarf, a packet of instant noodles, and a ceramic frog wearing a crown.

Mattheus looked over his latest prizes. 

Could be worse.

He bought another ten tickets.

He got a nice-looking fountain pen, a deck of cards decorated with unfamiliar constellations, a pair of sunglasses, a tiny bottle of perfume, a bronze key, a bag of rainbow-colored popcorn, and a left-handed oven mitt.

Then, on the fifty-eighth pull, his phone vibrated, and Mattheus froze.

He sat straighter and hurriedly looked at the screen.

Congratulations!

Power Acquired: Summon Chair

“What?” 

Mattheus blinked and read it again.

Summon Chair

Allows you to summon a chair of your choosing. You may determine its model, materials, form, and dimensions. Only one summoned chair may exist at a time and the chair will disappear one hour after being summoned. It may also be dismissed at any time, allowing another chair to be summoned immediately.

Mattheus stared at the description.

“This is the stupidest fucking power I’ve ever seen.”

He had finally gained his first superpower, and it was the power of chairs…

Mattheus lowered his phone and glared at the wall.

He could summon any kind of chair he wanted, which was somewhat impressive. An expensive armchair, an office chair, a throne, a stool…

Still a chair.

“Fine.”

Mattheus climbed off the bed and held out one hand.

He imagined an elaborate golden throne with red velvet cushions, lion-shaped armrests and intricate carvings covering nearly every available surface. 

A magnificent-looking throne worthy even of the King of Heroes himself appeared in the middle of his bedroom with a soft rush of displaced air. A moment after the throne appeared, Mattheus felt as though someone had reached inside him and yanked out a chunk of his energy.

He blinked and lowered his arm.

“Huh.” So using the power required energy. 

He sat down.

The velvet cushion was exceptionally comfortable.

Mattheus rested his arms upon the golden lions and looked over the disaster covering his bed.

“All right,” he admitted. “This isn’t completely useless.”

When Crossroads ran out of seats, he could accommodate one additional customer, or he could summon a folding chair and hit someone with it.

That was something.

Mattheus dismissed the throne, and it vanished.

The Gacha still had two pulls remaining, but he no longer cared—he had already struck gold tonight. He made them anyway and received a packet of tissues and a pair of ceramic chopsticks.

He looked universes section in the Crossroads app:

World Access: DC Universe

World Access: Harry Potter Universe

He was far too excited to sleep.

Thankfully, sleep was optional when one had access to magical potions so another sleep-substitution potion later, Mattheus was dressed, and standing downstairs in the pub without even the slightest trace of exhaustion, staring at the door leading to Gotham.

A door could only connect to one universe at a time.

He could change its destination to the Harry Potter universe, but then Crossroads would disappear from Gotham, so that was a terrible idea.

Robin or one of the other Bats might pass through the neighborhood during patrol and notice that the door had vanished. Or more likely, his regular customers who lived nearby could walk past at any time, see that the door to Crossroads was missing, and freak out.

He had spent quite a while establishing himself in Gotham: he had many customers, acquaintances, a couple of friends, and the beginnings of something resembling a normalish life.

He did not want to lose that, so Mattheus could not have Crossroads popping in and out of existence whenever he wanted to visit another universe.

Fortunately, there was no reason he needed to use the same door.

Mattheus surveyed the pub.

The first table stood directly in front of the door, and it occupied a section of wall large enough for another door.

“Perfect.”

Mattheus crossed the room, lifted the table, and carried it toward the entrance. He set it against the door, temporarily blocking it, then carried the chairs there as well and returned to the newly cleared wall.

He opened the Store and purchased another door and placed it there through the app. 

The golden plaque that marked the destination had two options: DC Universe and Harry Potter Universe (only he could see the plaque, which he figured out after no one had yet asked why there was a golden plaque on his door saying “DC Universe”). 

Mattheus selected its destination:

Harry Potter Universe

In the morning, before Crossroads opened, he would remove the new door and return the table to its usual place. 

Mattheus stood before the new door, his fingers twitching with excitement.

Where would it lead?

Hogwarts would certainly be interesting, but also incredibly inconvenient. A mysterious door appearing inside the school would attract far too much attention, and he did not need that kind of drama.

Diagon Alley would be a better option; it had plenty of potential customers and places to explore.

Perhaps it would lead to Hogsmeade.

Or the middle of London.

Or—

Mattheus’s hand stopped inches from the handle.

His first universe had dumped him in Gotham. 

Gotham.

For all Mattheus knew, the door could open into the Forbidden Forest, Azkaban, or directly in front of Voldemort.

The timeline was something to worry about too.

He could arrive during Harry’s years at Hogwarts, decades earlier during the war with Grindelwald, or centuries after every character he knew was dead.

Mattheus lowered his hand.

Charging into an unknown universe without a weapon was not a wise decision, so he turned around, walked behind the counter, and crouched.

The shotgun was exactly where he had left it.

Mattheus picked it up and checked that it was loaded.

Magic was powerful, but was it faster than a bullet? Or, in this case, several bullets fired at once?

He did not think so. 

Mattheus returned to the new door with the shotgun held firmly in his right hand. He placed his left hand on the brass handle.

Whatever waited on the other side, he was prepared. If something tried to attack him, he would slam the door in its face, and if it didn’t let him, he would turn it into Swiss cheese. 

“Okay,” Mattheus whispered, tightening his grip on the shotgun. “No matter where, no matter when—I’m ready.”

He turned the handle and pulled the door open, ready to face the dangers ahead and—

Bright sunlight poured into the pub.

Mattheus raised the shotgun, bracing himself for monsters, dark wizards, or at least something a little bit threatening, but beyond the threshold lay a picturesque, peaceful-looking stone village beneath a clear blue sky.

Old cottages and crooked shops lined a winding road. Chimneys rose above sloping roofs, and flower boxes rested beneath small windows. In the distance, green hills rolled beneath the afternoon sun.

It looked like the sort of quaint English village printed on postcards and chocolate boxes.

Mattheus remained still, shotgun raised, staring out at the street.

A bird chirped somewhere nearby and he sighed. 

“That’s it?”

After everything he had mentally prepared himself for, the complete lack of danger felt a little disappointing.

Mattheus lowered the shotgun and stepped outside.

The air smelled clean and cool, carrying the faint scents of grass, woodsmoke, and something sweet he could not identify. Mattheus looked back at the pub behind him, then out at the quaint village, and a wide grin spread across his face.

He had no idea where or when he was, but he was standing in the Harry Potter universe.