A/N: Ta-da! New chapter, up and ready for your reading pleasure! In this chapter, we get to the good part of Terraria, arguably- exploration! Here's hoping Zia doesn't fail horribly!

Review Replies

Imagination is king: Not sure if Walkers are quite as susceptible to their own arms over there, but good point! As for Gel...its tooltip (item description) says that it is "Both tasty and flammable", therefore slime in Terraria is actually flammable. Not to mention, Gel is ammo for an item called the Flamethrower, so...

Also, how kind of you to worry about Zia's health! Although making a bed in Terraria is a bit more convoluted than it is in, say, Minecraft, so...

NexusXV: AAAAAAH THANK YOU.

Chapter 2: First Adventure

That morning, as Andrew led Zia to the entrance to the cave, rain began to fall. It obscured the sun, making it seem like it was still night, or at least dusk. Not to mention, the occasional Flying Fish, thin blue fish with little wings, would come and try to hinder them. Luckily, with the Zombie Arm (to which Andrew had said, "Maybe not the kind of weapon I would have chosen, but whatever works for you."), Zia was able to kill them easily.

It wasn't long before two made it to the pit that led to the cave. The pit was lined hanging vines clinging to the ceiling. Andrew turned to Zia and said, "Now, I'm not sure how deep this goes, but remember- the deeper you go, the stronger the enemies you'll face."

"I know, don't worry," Zia assured him. "I'll try not to go too far down."

"Also, remember to smash any pots you find- they contain all sorts of useful supplies," Andrew added.

"Again, I know," Zia replied, nodding, turning to go into the cave-

"And watch out for traps! Those boulders can kill instantly!" Andrew warned her.

"I know- I paid attention during training!" Zia reminded the Guide. "I know what to look for, don't worry."

"As your Guide, it's my job to give you advice on how not to die," Andrew pointed out. "And as your surrogate father, it's my job to worry."

Zia smiled at him. "Once again, I know. But come on, I'm going to be fine. I'm no pushover!"

"Right, right," Andrew replied, nodding with a chuckle. "Just remember to be cautious."

"I will," Zia replied, before turning away and heading into the cave.

The initial tunnels of the cave went in almost a 'Z' shape, Zia finding herself needing cut through many vines to navigate- it was amazing how easily the Zombie Arm cut through the vegetation. The girl also made sure to place down whatever torches she had to light the way down.

"Now, if only I could find some kind of..." Zia began, looking around...before spotting a dull brown Chest lying on a ledge below her. "Chest! That was quick!"

She was quick to run over to it and open the lid. There's probably gold in here! Lots of it! Maybe some kind of legendary weapon in there, too! Or maybe it's-

Zia quickly noticed none of that was in there. Instead, she found about a dozen Torches, three Potions (of the Lesser Healing variety), a bunch of Rope (over 50 pieces), and a few Silver Coins.

"...Okay, so no gold or weapons..." Zia muttered to herself as she pocketed the items. "But...at least there's money! And I needed more Torches anyways!"

With that, she proceeded deeper into the cave. Eventually, the floor became sprinkled with stone patches. At least now, the cave wasn't so zig-zagged. Zia kept a Torch in her hand to light the way- so far, the walls, made of dirt clumps, were as brown and dusty as the ground. Oddly enough, there was no sign of any enemies...maybe this cave just wasn't big enough for any-

"WAH!" Zia cried as the ground seemed to disappear beneath her. She plummeted a few feet before finding herself submerged in cool, blue water. To add insult to injury, her Torch didn't work underwater, so she was nearly blinded. Well, that's just great...I like this shirt, too!

After feeling around and holding her breath for a few seconds, Zia managed to find a spot where she could pull herself up. She grabbed the ledge and pulled her head above the water, taking a deep breath. "Okay...now, where are those Tor- ach!"

Something bounced off the top of her head, knocking the girl back into the water. With a growl, Zia pulled herself up again. What the hell was-

Suddenly, something else bounced off her head in a nearly identical fashion, knocking her into the water yet again. Fuming, she pulled herself back up and placed a Torch on the ground to see what had hit her. Two Slimes were sitting on the ground a few feet in front of her- one red, one yellow. They were jiggling in place, which meant they were about to jump again...or they were 'laughing' at her. Judging by the fact that they remained stationary, it was likely the latter.

Well, no matter- after getting out of the water and several swings of her Zombie Arm later, Zia now had enough Gel to make more Torches as well as more Coins. The girl, still slightly wet, continued onwards through the caves. Besides the occasional Red Slimes, Zia didn't face much opposition. Soon, her Torch caught something on the wall- it was metallic, and a reddish-orange color.

Hey, copper! Zia thought happily to herself, immediately pulling out her Copper Pickaxe. I was kinda hoping for iron, but whatever!

Whistling cheerfully to herself, she began to mine at the large deposit of Copper Ore. It was actually rather relaxing- the sound of the pickaxe on minerals, the quiet of the caves, the light from the torches, and no monsters to disrupt her...

...Hey, who's digging? Zia thought to herself as she stopped mining. Sure enough, there was a faint sound of something burrowing through the dirt. Whatever it was, it sounded rather large...but the girl shrugged it off. It's probably, like, a mole or something. Or a gopher...those are animals that live underground, right?

But when she was about to mine the last of the copper...something actually emerged from the dirt above her. With a shout, Zia was knocked back as the monster's body bashed into hers. Based on what she was able to see before it vanished into the dirt, the creature was long and had a dull red coloring- like a giant worm.

"Come on! Just let me get my ore!" Zia shouted at where the monster had gone, pulling out her Zombie Arm. Moments later, the Giant Worm emerged from the ground, flying at Zia in an arc. The girl ducked and swung her weapon at the monster as it passed over her. Although it did a good amount of damage, the worm still wasn't down for the count, and it disappeared into the ground once more.

Frowning, Zia went silent and listened closely, trying to pinpoint the Giant Worm's location. After a few seconds, she heard burrowing again...right beneath her. And it was getting closer. With a yelp, she jumped out of the way just as the Giant Worm burst out of the ground, its protruding fangs glistening in the Torches' light. As it turned to lash out at Zia, the girl swung the Zombie Arm at its head. This turned out to be the killing blow, as the worm collapsed into a heap on the ground, dead.

"...Okay, ew..." Zia muttered, grimacing as she walked around the body to finish mining the ore. By the end of it, she had 27 pieces of Copper Ore. She forgot how many Copper Bars that would get her, but she could always just ask Andrew when she got back. Satisfied with her find, she continued down the cavern, looking around for any more ore. Eventually, she came to another opening, but this one was rather huge.

Zia looked over the ledge at the long drop below, grimacing. Good thing I've got these Torches...I probably would have missed this huge drop otherwise.

Looking up a bit, she noticed what appeared to be some kind of...house, supported high above the bottom of the chamber by several wooden beams. Zia was also quick to notice ore a little bit above the house- not just Copper, but Iron. The girl grinned in anticipation, then looked to see the distance between her perch and the house. It wasn't too far, but not far enough for her to just jump. She tried to see if she had anything that could help her cross...

Then, she got an idea. She took out the Rope she found earlier- in all, 75 pieces. She was able to tie ten pieces together at a time, creating a total of seven Rope Coils, which she could throw at the house's side. Taking careful aim, she threw one Rope Coil just below the house's door. She threw another Rope Coil at that same spot, increasing the length of the first rope. She threw one more coil, just to be safe.

Okay, now I just gotta jump! Zia thought, stepping back to take a running start. ...Although...if I miss this jump...I don't think I'm gonna bounce.

Taking a deep breath, she took one more step back...then sprinted towards the opening. With a shout that was half determined, half terrified, she launched herself over the gap...and managed to grab on to the rope before she could fall to her possible death. Sighing in relief, Zia thought, OH THANK GOD I LIVED.

The girl climbed up the rope and opened the door to the underground house- being greeted by a face full of Cobwebs. "Ahh, blech! It's in my nose!"

She instinctively used her Zombie Arm to cut through the webs- in all, about eighteen. The house was rectangular, and had two floors- the top one being slightly smaller than the bottom. She noticed the walls had several holes in them, allowing her to peek out to the outside if she wanted to. The bottom floor wasn't looking much better, but she noticed a Chandelier above her- a Platinum one, at that. Zia figured it would make a good decoration for the house, so she used her Pickaxe to grab it (don't ask how she was able to fit it into her pockets).

Zia was also quick to notice another Chest. Not just any Chest, either- a Golden one. The girl let out a happy gasp and said to herself, "Yeah! Now we're gonna get some good stuff!"

She ran over and looked into the box's contests. Inside, what she noticed first was a pair of black, flat items fitted for shoes- Shoe Spikes. Zia wasted no time putting those on before checking the rest of the items. Seven Iron Bars, eleven Bombs, a thin blue Potion (which the girl recognized as a Gills Potion), ten Torches, and two light blue Potions in an oddly shaped bottle- a Recall Potion. She could definitely use that to get home.

After looting the Chest, Zia found a spot on the ceiling made of Platforms, which she went through to get to the aforementioned Copper and Iron Ore. After a couple minutes of mining, no Giant Worms interrupting her this time, the girl found herself with 29 pieces of Iron Ore and 20 pieces of Copper.

Well, I think I did pretty good today! Zia thought to herself with a smile. At the very least, I think I can make an Iron Anvil, which is pretty important. Alright, I'll head home now.

With that, she took out one of her Recall Potions, chugged it down, and was teleported out of the caves.

"Well Zia, in my expert opinion, I'd say your first adventure was quite the success," Andrew remarked, looking up at the Platinum Chandelier lighting up the room.

"Hehe, you said it!" Zia replied from her seat. With the amount of Copper Bars she had crafted with the new Furnace, she only had enough to make a Copper Helmet- however, finding more Copper Ore would be easy enough. Not to mention, she had been able to use the Iron Ore to make an Anvil, and some Chains to make a Sawmill. She then used that to make a Loom to make Silk from the Cobwebs, to finally make a Bed. Zia didn't know why the Bed-crafting process was so long, Andrew just told her to accept it.

"Well, I'm sure you're more than tired after such a long day," Andrew began. "Think it's time to get some sleep?"

"Definitely- I wanna test out that new Bed!" Zia replied. "But...in the morning, I was thinking..."

"About what?" Andrew asked, leaning forward a bit.

"I want to go back to that cave," Zia replied. "I want to go deeper."

Andrew's eyes widened. "Deeper? Already? Zia, there are dangerous enemies deep down there, and your current equipment simply won't do!"

"But look at what I found towards the surface! Imagine what could be down there in, say, the Caverns! I could find Granite or something!" Zia insisted. "C'mon, I don't want to wait until I've found a bunch of Ore to make better armor, I can live without it!"

"..." Andrew sighed, shaking his head. "You've got your father's impatience, you know that?"

"So?" Zia asked, frowning.

"So, you may have been successful today, but you're far from invincible," Andrew told her. "Don't let arrogance be your downfall."

"Man, when did you start talking like a fortune cookie...?" Zia muttered to herself, before sighing and standing. "Alright, I'm gonna go to bed."

"Good idea," Andrew replied, nodding. "Now, don't worry about me- I'll be fine on the chair. But, if you do manage to find some material for another Bed at some point, then by all means give me that one."

"It's a promise," Zia replied with a nod of certainty before heading upstairs. "Night."

"Goodnight," Andrew replied, already reclining in the chair.

Several hours later, in the very morning, while Andrew was still very much asleep...Zia was sneaking out. She had all the equipment she thought she'd need, including the Spike Shoes, Lesser Healing Potions, and Rope.

I know Andrew told me to wait before I go deeper into the caves, and I'm probably going to get into a lot of trouble for this... Zia thought to herself. But when I come back with all sorts of treasure, he'll be so proud!

Once she had all her supplies ready, the girl made her way down the stairs as carefully as possible to avoid waking up Andrew. She then slowly opened up the door, then made her way out towards the cave.

A/N: Well look who's trying to be a teenage rebel. This can only end well, wouldn't you agree? Next time, we'll get a look at the deeper levels of Terraria's underground, and meet some of the banes of new, naive players' existences...and I'm not just talking about traps. What's gonna happen? Stay tuned to find out next time!