Realcraft Adventures
Chapter 2
Day Two
I woke up, feeling that Dawn was sleeping against my shoulder as my eyes adjusted to her blocky head. Still in Minecraft…so that wasn't a dream… I thought as light shone from the hole in the wall. It must have been morning, and the both of us had to get going. Looking over to her, I softly shook her awake. "Mmph…huh?" She said looked around as I got up. Arming myself with the pickaxe, I started picking away at the wall for us to leave. "Oh…we're still here…I thought it was all a dream." Dawn asked me as I stepped outside to look around. It was still perfectly clear with a handful of trees. A couple of bones and rotten flesh were outside, which were the result of the monsters or more commonly referred to as mobs burning up in sunlight. During the night, these mobs wander around and kill any players they see. So far, it seemed to be all right. "Come on, it's safe." I told her and stepped out so she could come see the bright sky.
Dawn walked out as she held her shoulder, still waking up. Stretching, she looked around, hearing the sounds of other animals. "What should we do now?" Dawn asked me as I went back in the cave. Drawing my wooden sword, I looked around for where the noises of the animals came from. "First we need to find food. Our hunger bars will deplete much faster in Hardcore mode, and if we starve, our characters cannot run and our health will deplete. We must keep up our hunger until we get out of the game." I reminded her, seeing that my hunger bar was beginning to run out. The first hunger bar only cut in half, which meant I was beginning to get hungry. Not only that, but we need to keep moving. If other people were on the server, then we can at least get their help. Sure, it might be better off with just the both of us, but this is Hardcore mode. It's better to have partners and more people at your side. After thinking to myself for a second, the source of the animal noises was clear as Dawn and I made it to the top of the mountain. On a flat section near the mountain was a herd of cows. "Perfect. Come on, let's get them." I told Dawn and started racing down the mountain. She followed; her sword was drawn as well. The cows looked at us coming, but as Minecraft cows, they didn't know what was going to happen to them. I swung my sword at the first cow I came across and it hit just like how Minecraft played: the cow flashed red, uttered a painful grunt and started trying to run, but they weren't fast. I slayed the cow as it dropped two pieces of raw beef and a piece of leather.
Soon, both Dawn and I finished off the herd and were still moving. We finally got away from the mountains and were walking through what seemed to be like plains. It would have been plains if it weren't for the grass. There was none all around, when unexplored plains usually had little grass bushes. Come to think of it, the only seeds I found were the ones I hit when I spawned in. Looking around, there wasn't any grass as far as I could see, and that was another thing I didn't mention. I could literally see for a very long distance. The horizon was at least the distance I could see, but the plains were empty of grass. I wanted to pick up a couple to at least have a renewable source of food since the raw meat wasn't going to last forever. There were also other food sources we can try, but first, we have to see if there are other people. If we couldn't find anyone today, then we would have to build a house.
Oddly enough, there wasn't a single soul, not even the grass was around. Sure, there were trees, but no grass or any buildings in plain sight. It felt…empty. "Mikee, what's going on?" Dawn asked me, noticing the signs.
"I think other players have been here before. Maybe we're close to other people." I told her, not a hundred percent sure on my own statement though. Usually with clear fields like this, you would at least see structures, but this entire field was empty. No harmless mobs or anything either. It was just a blank area full of grass and small hills.
"H-Hey, look!" Dawn told me after some walking, her voice sounded cheerful. She was pointing (Or rather, using her blocky arm to point) down the hill she was standing on top of. Hoping it was good news, I ran up the hill to see a sight for sore eyes. It was a plains village. There were small wooden houses ahead of us, but I didn't see any villagers from this distance. In Minecraft, in almost every world, villagers would spawn in these small pre-built villages where players were able to trade with them and borrow from their farms. Oddly, the village was empty. In fact, there were holes all around, the sign of griefers. Dawn gasped as she came to the same conclusion I did. To briefly explain for those who don't know, a griefer was a Minecraft player who enjoyed destroying buildings and leaving a floating mess. They took pride in destroying anything they could get their hands on: Player constructed buildings, natural spawned areas, and especially villages. The small buildings in front of us were randomly destroyed. The windows were smashed in and wooden blocks floated all around. "Damn griefers. They must have taken out the villagers too." I thought outloud, seeing the village was in fact, empty. Drawing out my stone sword, I looked around ahead of Dawn to make sure that there was no one here. They left the small farms alone, although the only thing on the farms was the tilled earth.
Other than the place being completely desolate and empty, it wasn't that much damage. The sun was midway of the sky anyway as an idea came to my head. "Hey, Dawn, let's stay here for a little bit until we get some armor and supplies going." I suggested as she came out of a wrecked building.
"Pardon? Stay here?" She asked.
"Well, not for long, of course. We need to keep moving, but seeing this, we need to be at least prepared. Think you can rebuild one of the houses while I get started on a mine?" I asked. She nodded as we went to one of the bigger houses that were the least destroyed. I put down the stuff I crafted the night before: The crafting table and the furnace. Throwing the coal into the furnace, I decided to cook the meat I picked up. When I did this however, warmth came from the oven as the both of us could smell the cooking meat. It was at first a surprise for me that we were able to smell the food. It was another sign that we were stuck in this world. "Here Dawn, I'll give you some of the cobble I got left over. I'm gonna make me a stone pick first." I told her and began to bring up the crafting table's menu. She nodded as it looked like she was organizing her items. Dawn brought out the wood planks she made and started to re-build the house. I made my stone pick and was about to leave the building to her when I stopped for a second. Was it a good idea to leave Dawn on her own while I went to look for a mine?
"Hey, you'll be okay, right?" I asked.
"Of course. Just make sure you come back. Leave the house building to me." Dawn told me as I saw her beginning to place the blocks. Nodding, I left her to the house. Still, I was a little worried, but as long as I got back before night, we'd be fine. There was a cave near-by that didn't seem explored. When I think it's not explored, there's no torches inside or anything. In fact, it looked like a brand new cave from the front. I started entering it, seeing coal ore immediately to the sides of the wall. This was the first thing I always mined, as coal and sticks are needed to light up the caves. It was also a good sign in the caves that were previously explored before. Nobody collects their torches when mining as they acted as markers to previously explored paths. I mined the coal and made a bunch of torches. I began my descent into my first cave in Realcraft.
Whenever I would begin any game in Minecraft and I had the tools for mining, my first priority would be to find as much iron as I can. To make a full set of iron armor, I would need twenty-four chunks of iron ore. Not only that, but iron was the standard for tools such as swords and picks. Counting the stuff Dawn and I would most likely use, I would need to gather at least a stack of iron ore, which a stack of items in this game is sixty-four. It was my goal, but in normal plays, I'd probably get enough for at least one set.
Klick-klack.
I heard the sound of what sounded like bones clattering further into the cave. I froze in my tracks as I heard it again. I didn't need to see where the noise emanated as it was the classic sound of a skeleton archer. Caves in Minecraft were infested with mobs, and all of these varied. I gulped and began to crouch-walk into the cave, taking careful steps to center in on the skeleton. Further down my path, there was no skeleton, but it was a small natural-made fork in the road. The skeleton was on the right side as I had to prepare myself.
To better explain, there are types of enemies that appear in Minecraft known as the mobs. Some are beneficial to the players such as the villagers and cows while there are those that attack. Skeletons were my second least favorite mob as they were always equipped with a bow and an infinite supply of arrows. If spotted, they will shoot at you from long distances. In Minecraft nowadays, the closer you are to them, the more frequent they will shoot. I stopped at a corner, placing a torch just in case. I heard it really close now as I drew my wooden sword. I gulped as I was afraid. To be honest, I wasn't that afraid of the skeleton. If it was this close, I could take it out and receive minimal damage. There was another mob that hangs around the other attackers, but it was dead silent. The only time it made a noise was when it was going to attack. This noise was a hissing noise, but if you heard it, you'd be dead in an instant. They're known as creepers. If you heard the hissing noise, they would explode, and they only explode at point-blank range next to players. At my level, with no armor, I would be dead in an instant.
I shook my head to rid myself of these fears. I've played through several Hardcore games before. If I saw a Creeper, I will just have to book it out of the cave. Steadying my breath and holding my sword tight, I swerved the corner and indeed, I saw a skeleton close to me. It immediately saw my presence and aimed its bow at me. I didn't have the time to dodge as if I didn't rush now, it would start chasing me. It fired the first shot as I charged, the arrow hitting my left shoulder. As it hit, I felt it myself as a painful sharp jab which forced a grunt out of me, but I swung my sword and hit the skeleton, causing damage to it. Not letting up, I continued swining until it collapsed on the floor, leaving behind a bone and arrow. The arrow still hurt in my shoulder as my hearts were down by one. I placed a torch quickly to make sure no other skeletons or mobs were around as I sat down, looking at my hearts.
If my hearts reached zero, I'd be dead for good, or so it sounded. It took me a while to get it in my head that I cannot die in this game no matter what. Dawn and I have to beat this game along with anyone else we could find. It soon came to me that my hearts weren't regenerating because of my hunger bar. It was already down four bars. I didn't bring any food with me regrettably as I recalled I put it all in the furnace. Cursing to myself, I stood back up to look around a little bit.
Thankfully, I found a small sliver of iron ore. It looked like there was about three in the wall, which was the perfect amount I was looking for. Using my stone pick, I picked away at it as the block was breaking in a similar fashion to the tree blocks I punched yesterday. It dropped and there seemed to be a bit more. Digging it up, I luckily found five chunks. This was going to be enough for smelting in the furnace for mining purposes. I had to leave now, but that was when something caught my eye down the other path. It was light, torches to be exact, but they seemed pretty deep into the cave. I shrugged it off and hurried out of the cave, thinking it was the light lava gave off in the cave.
By the time I got back, the sun was only beginning to set and I came back to a nice house. Dawn rebuilt the entire house as it was before, even windows and all. She was outside putting seeds as she saw me coming.
"Mikee, you're back! Good, the sun was setting and-" She started saying as she noticed the arrow still in my right shoulder. "Oh no, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, don't worry. I got five ore blocks. Come on, let's get inside the house you built." I suggested as she was still looking at the arrow.
"…Does it hurt?" I nodded to her question as I found it interesting. The arrow still stung a bit, as I just waved my hand around it. I couldn't grab it and yank it out, the arrow just phased through my hands.
"I would have explored more, but I need to get some steaks before I go back. I completely forgot to bring food." I told her as we entered. The furnace wasn't smelting anymore as Dawn seemed to have set a chest. "Help yourself. I wanted to wait until you got back so I could fill up my hunger bar too. I'm down five and a half at this point." She said as I went to the chest. Inside was the wood Dawn collected, some of the leather, and twenty-two steaks. I picked half of the steak there and she got the other half. The door was shut tight as it soon became night outside again.
The both of us leaned next to the furnace as I put the iron I collected and started smelting it, giving us warmth in our little house. I got the steak in my hands as the both of us looked to each other. "Well, let's dig in." I said as we both started to eat the steaks. Unlike the game, it didn't provide us with munching sounds, but instead, we were eating the steak itself. The item we held was literally bitten off, as if it was real food. Unfortuantly, it didn't have the taste of real food as it just tasted like unflavored meat. Dawn didn't seem to like the flavor either, but food was food as my hunger bar did fill up. As soon as it did, the pain in my arm went away and the arrow vanished in thin air. Was the damage system like that? If you were hit by something and if you couldn't regenerate, would it physically hurt you? This got me thinking about how players would fight each other.
"Well, our second night. We got a house and you got some iron. I'm trying to grow bread outside for us once this meat runs out. It's not bad for a second day, huh?" Dawn asked me, leaning against my shoulder.
"Not bad, we're doing great! But remember, we can't stay attached to this place. Once we get iron armor and equipment, we need to try and find other players." I told her, which she started to look down at the ground. Finding other players is a priority. If this was a normal Hardcore playthrough, I'd suggest the both of us would get to the End, but since this Herobrine is behind it all, I know it won't be easy with just one or two players.
Herobrine, a spirit of Minecraft. I always believed he was just a fake story, but now with Dawn and I in literal danger of losing our lives, things have changed. Why would he put us in Realcraft, or anyone wanting to play this server? All my questions would most likely never get an answer, but at least things were looking up.
I already heard Dawn sleeping on my shoulder as sleep sounded really sweet. I closed my eyes and began to nod off, awaiting the third day of Realcraft.
