Neopangea

While Suzie appeared to be putting up a brave front, I could tell she was still nervous. Meeting your idols does have that effect on people, but it also goes the other way. While I did have a sizeable audience back in the day, I never really did any fan meetups IRL. It wasn't because I was afraid of meeting people face-to-face, but rather the nature of my content made it difficult to do so since I was constantly traveling.

There were some times where I was able to meet fans IRL, but it was usually by coincidence. And all those times, I had to constantly hold my nerves back. While I'm pretty good with interacting with people, I always get nervous when face-to-face with a follower. The last thing I want to do is anger or sadden them. I've heard the saying, "Never meet your heroes in real life, as doing so will often disappoint you." Thus, I try to go above and beyond to make sure that doesn't come true when my fans meet me. Sure, I've met my share of unsavory fans, but even then, I try to be as nice and respectful as possible.

Sensing Suzie was reaching her limit, Delina stepped in and requested we leave. I took the nod and thanked the two for helping me out before leaving with Irina and Selena.

"And now that you have internet again, we can turn you loose," Irina grinned.

"Not quite. Housing is still a must," Selena interjected.

"I brought a rock with me, and since it's portable, it can be set up wherever."

As the two bickered, I will admit I was rather sleepy. It had been a long first day, so I was itching to get some sleep. Irina obliged and pulled out a miniature rock, setting it on the ground. Within seconds, it grew to the size of a large boulder.

"Now, allow me to give you the schematics of this. First off, this is a portable 3-room home, though keep in mind, you can't shrink it down to carrying size if any living beings are within. As for the rooms, they are a bedroom, bathroom, and living/dining room. And in case you're wondering, the waste is connected to a repurposing facility which converts it into renewable energy and compost."

"Wow, that's actually incredible. There was some stuff like that in my time, but it was primitive."

"I imagine so. Now you are able to both expand your humble abode and upgrade it to an above-ground dwelling via spending Eurolyens. In fact, it's very akin to owning a house in the game Irina referenced earlier."

"Wow, that actually is pretty amazing. But would it be possible to have it be an above-ground tent?"

Selena stared at me oddly as Irina began smiling. I'll admit, I do want to experience "living under a rock", but when it comes to sleeping, I'm most comfortable in a good ole tent and sleeping bag. Sure I stayed at hotels more when I was traveling, but that was mainly in the cities. In the more rural areas, it was camping by campfire and sleeping in a tent.

"You're a real outdoors girl, aren't ya?" Irina grinned as she began fiddling with the rock's control panel.

Within seconds, it turned into a tent, both inside and out. There was a hatch inside leading to the three underground rooms Selena mentioned, but for now, all I wanted to do was sleep. Much to my convenience, the food spawner could appear within any room, allowing me to request a glass of warm milk. But to my greater surprise, Irina informed me that the milk I drank was real cow milk generated from scratch.

Selena explained that for meat and dairy products, the animal they came from was essentially created from scratch and then turned into food all within the generator.

"While this might seem surprising, it's actually not. You see, fruit, vegetables, sugars and grains are all grown from plants."

"I think I get it. If you want a banana, it grows the whole dang banana tree, right?"

"Precisely. I could go into the more technical nuances, but that might fly over your head."

"No worries. But thanks for all the help you two have been."

"So what do ya wanna do tomorrow?" Irina giddily asked.

Honestly, I don't know. Right now, sleep is my main priority.

...

As I woke up, I poked my head outside to notice it was morning and that I was still on the stage.

"Morning sleepy, so still think this is all a dream?" Irina grinned as she leaned down.

"No, I'm past that. Though why are you here?"

"Simple, I felt like showing ya around the grand ole world, that's all. You DO wanna see how everything's changed, right?"

To be honest, she was right. However, a part of me wanted to settle down for a bit and get my bearings first. Traveling the world was an exhausting feat despite my enjoyment of it. And with 500 years having passed, perhaps maybe things will be better at home. Home...

"Say Irina, would it be possible to take me to a specific place?"

"Your old home, maybe? Well hate to shock ya, but the world has changed in 500 years, as you're about to see... for yourself!"

My eyes widened as I stared at the map before me. All that was there was one giant supercontinent.

"So back in your era, you heard of Pangea, the supercontinent that once existed millions of years ago. Well, it's back, better than ever, and will never drift apart again. We call it, Neopangea. All the old nations from your time are merged so no need to worry about anything having been sunk beneath the seas, well for the most part."

"What do you mean!?"

"All Japan's safe and even Hawaii too. What I'm saying is that this is a brand new world for you to explore. So feel like journeying around it once more?"

I could tell by the look in Irina's eyes that she REALLY wanted me to do this. And while I want to settle down for a bit, my adventurer's spirit just won't stop burning.

"Then in that case, we'll plot a course to my hometown, venturing by foot or the likes in order to soak in all the sights and locales along the way."

"Then would ya mind if little ole me tagged along?"

"Not at all. I traveled with quite a few people back in the day, so hang with me as long as you please."

As soon as I said that, a relieved, almost genuinely serene smile appeared on Irina's face. I had never seen her make that face, but I had seen many other make a similar face. It was a face I often saw from some of my followers I met IRL, who tanked me for the videos I made as they had uplifted their lives and improved their psyches for the better. While I couldn't say for certain, it looked like Irina wanted to be one of those uplifted by my travel vlogs. In which case, I was happy to oblige.