Combat training

Nuka woke up to the sound of his stomach growling.

He had not planned to fall asleep.

Actually, he just wanted to rest and relax a bit, but apparently his body was still too exhausted to do just that.

Even though he was in the house of the most dangerous man in all of Minecraftia.

Nuka smiled nervously at that thought, but before he could even think about this more, his stomach growled again, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since his escape.

Uncertainly, Nuka looked around him.

There didn't seem to be anything in his room that he could eat.

At that moment his eyes fell on the door.

Out there he would probably find something.

Could he leave his room?

Nuka went to the door and carefully pushed it. To his surprise it opened.

Nuka still stood there and uncertainly looked at it.

Would Herobrine approve if he went snooping around his castle?

Just then, his stomach growled again and Nuka felt the all-too-familiar pang of hunger. Pushing his doubts aside, he made a step out.

Surely, if Herobrine really wanted him and his powers, he would not mind if Nuka found something to eat. If he wanted Nuka to stay in his room, he would not have left it open.

Maybe I will find something and then get back without him noticing Nuka decided as he cautiously looked around the hallway.

There was no one in the there.

Nuka sighed in relief, closed the door, and carefully moved further into the hallway. Trying to keep his footsteps quiet, he kept looking around.

Where was he supposed to go now?

The hallway stretched ahead and behind him, with closed doors on both sides too similar to the one Nuka left to be a kitchen or a storehouse. Nuka stopped at the corner where the hallway split again. After a helpless look, on a random inspiration, Nuka turned right. He began checking doors, taking hopeful peeks inside, but still had no luck. All these rooms looked very much the same.

A few turns later, Nuka realized that he was completely lost.

Dammit! He thought in frustration as he looked around anxiously and he felt nervousness rising up.

What if he was not meant to leave his room after all?

What if he now managed to end up in by now he had entered a part of the castle where he was not supposed to be?

Oh, he should never have left!

With this thought he turned and tried to find his way back, now afraid to be caught and punished.

Fortunately, no one showed up in his path.

Not even a few Nether mobs, whom Nuka somewhat expected to find guarding Herobrine's castle. Nuka walked faster and faster, unsettled. Soon he was nearly running through the quiet and empty castle.

No wonder he does not get many visitors here, Nuka thought bitterly.

Then his thoughts turned in another direction.

He must be very lonely, Nuka concluded, and felt pity rising for the man.

He only too well what it was like to be always alone.

Sure, being alone was nice sometimes could be nice, but Nuka remembered spending many nights out in the open, just wishing that there was someone that he could talk to, someone to listen to him.

Was it the same for Herobrine? Nuka wondered.

Just then he noticed a door ,that stood out from all the others.

Nuka stopped and stared at it in awe.

He had never seen so magnificent and impressive.

The door was huge, reaching from the floor to the ceiling.

Pretty golden decorations covered the frame with great detail, which must have taken meticulous work.

Curious, Nuka took a step towards the door and just reached out his hand to open it, when a voice spoke behind him, making him freeze.

"So this is where you are."

Startled, Nuka span!

Herobrine stood behind him, his arms folded across his chest, white eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Nuka's heart leapt and fear rose in him again as he unwillingly took a step back until his back pressed against the door. His mind raced!

What would happen to him now? Herobrine caught him! Was he angry? Would he punish him for leaving his room without permission?

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered quickly, before Herobrine could say anything, "I really didn't mean to run away. I...I was hungry?"

At these words, his stomach growled in proof and Nuka smiled with a sheepish look at Herobrine, who sighed in annoyance.

He stepped toward he approached Nuka, who shied back but found the wall blocking him. Herobrine did not punish him, though. He simply grabbed his arm.

A moment later they stood in a completely different hallway, with a new and much smaller door in front of them.

Impatient, Herobrine pushed it open and motioned for Nuka to enter, which he did after a moment's hesitation.

"Go ahead," Herobrine said as Nuka walked past him and looked around, "You should find something to eat here."

The room wasn't too big. Along the stone walls, Nuka could see a few stoves and shelves with kitchen utensils, along with a dark wooden table and a few boxes off to the side where food was presumably stashed.

He hurried to open the nearest chest and looked at its contents, amazed.

Food filled the chest to the brim. Fried chicken, kept fresh with the help of blocks of ice on the bottom, which for some reason did not melt. Nuka decided not to think about it, instead moving to open another chest.

To his delight he found that it was full of carrots!

He did not eat such delicious things in a long time.

Immediately Nuka took out a few items. He checked the other chests, too, and found more food in them. Everything you could eat in Minecraftia was here!

He wanted to eat everything here! After a bit of waivering, he finally, decided on some bread and an apple, which he was about to stash in his pockets with his carrots when an impatient voice behind him made him jump.

"Are you done?!"

Nuka startled again before turning around, surprised to find Herobrine still standing in the doorway.

He didn't seem too pleased, though, and Nuka nodded rapidly, not wanting to annoy Herobrine even more. The other man only sighed again.

"Finally!" he sharply gestured to Nuka replied to follow him.

"Come on, you can eat on the way."

With those words, he turned and strode away from Nuka's sight. Nuka ran after him, sinking his teeth into the juicy apple at the same time.

Oh, how good it was to have something fresh to eat!

During his days of escape, he hardly had time to eat, let alone grow or roast food.

Mostly he had lived on berries or what he managed to find on dead pursuers. Mostly, it was dried meat, which, in Nuka's opinion, tasted almost worse than zombie meat.

Nuka wished that he could take some of the meat he had seen stored in Herobrine's chests and then roast it in one of those ovens.

Maybe I can do it later?He thought hopefully as he swallowed the last bite of the apple and reached for one of the breads If I can even find the place…

He glanced at the unfamiliar corridor where he ran behind Herobrine, who walked ahead without a single look back.

"Where...where are we going?" Nuka finally dared to ask, hoping it wouldn't upset his rescuer even more.

Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.

"You'll see," Herobrine answered calmly without turning to him.

Nuka opened his mouth to ask more questions, but then changed his mind and decided not to push his luck.

They continued to walk through the many corridors of the castle in silence. That was just fine with Nuka, who was busy satisfying his hunger.

Still, Nuka couldn't help but think about Herobrine.

Has he always lived here in the Nether? Why did he not get along with the other gods?

Before he could think about it more, Herobrine suddenly stopped in front of a large door and pushed it open, going inside.

Astonished, Nuka followed him into the great hall.

It was not just large.

It was huge!

The ceiling was at least 50 blocks above him and about 30 blocks away from Nuka was the opposite wall.

The hall itself was completely empty, lit only by a few dim glowstone blocks, because there were no windows here.

"Are you done staring?"

Nuka's gaze reluctantly left the huge ceiling and held on Herobrine, who stood at the other end of the hall.

,,This is my training hall," he explained, "I brought you here because I want to know how good you are with using your powers."

,,Of course, I've already seen you fight. Those bounty hunters who attacked you,," he continued with a smile, "and I must say, you did amazingly well against them. But… ," he added, the smile vanished, his gaze becoming stern once more, "you were at the end of your rope then, and you would have lost to them if I did not interfered."

Nuka swallowed hard.

That was true, if Herobrine had not intervened and eliminated the rest, he would have been captured for sure.

"Why did you help me?" he finally asked, "Where...what do you need me and my powers for?"

Herobrine grinned.

,,A good question," he replied, "but you'll get the answer only if you prove to me that you are worthy."

,,So," Herobrine took a few steps back and looked challengingly at Nuka, "let's see what you can do. Attack me!."

Nuka froze.

Was Herobrine serious?!

Herobrine must have noticed Nuka's doubt. His white eyes held mischief as he grinned.

"Don't worry," he said mockingly, "I won't kill you...If you are good enough…"

Nuka looked at him .

He was still not sure.

Herobrine would kill him if Nuka didn't convince him that he was good enough to fight? Even though, he already said that he wouldn't?!

"That...that's not fair," he finally dared to protest, "You...you said you wouldn't kill me if I made that deal with you!"

Herobrine idly shrugged his shoulders.

"I lied," he replied with exaggerated indifference, which turned to a sinister look as he sneered.

"Attack. Or should I simply kill you right now?"

Nuka swallowed, fear rising inside him, but then gritted his teeth with determination. He would not let Herobrine intimidate him.

If he wanted a demonstration of his powers, he would have it!

Nuka took a fighting stance and tried to size up Herobrine.

He stood about 20 blocks away from Nuka, hands clasped behind his back, not taking his eyes off him.

Herobrine was slightly taller, but otherwise relatively unimpressive in stature. Still, Nuka did not dare to underestimate the god.

He wore no armor, unlike Nuka. Maybe it was because Herobrine believed that he was so good at fighting that solid armor would only slow him down?

His white eyes shone brightly, watching Nuka's every move.

Nuka decided to use the surroundings to his advantage.

He snapped his fingers, and all the glowstone blocks in the hall shattered, leaving them in darkness.

The only source of light remaining was Herobrine's eyes, which made him look even more powerful and terrifying.

Nuka smiled to himself.

He could use that feature to his own advantage. Now he would always know where Herobrine was, while thanks to Nuka's dark clothes, Herobrine would not know Nuka's location.

Nuka was very pleased with himself until Herobrine suddenly spoke.

"Interesting." he said calmly. White eyes turned to consider the destroyed Glowstone blocks before turning back to Nuka, "A good strategy to start with, but it won't help you since I can see in the dark."

Nuka could not help his frustration.

So, there was no point in sneaking around him. Not if Herobrine could see him.

Nuka moved straight to the attack.

He teleported and reappeared behind Herobrine a moment later, stabbing down with a sword. Steel rang against steel as Herobrine's weapon blocked his strike. The god vanished. Before Nuka could cast a panicked look around, an iron grip grasped his shoulder from behind and lightning pierced Nuka's body, making him yelp and drop his sword. Released, Nuka collapsed to the ground. Groaning, he tried his best to struggle back up to his feet, his body not obeying his will, while Herobrine walked around him with a sneer, his motions predatory.

White eyes falling to Nuka's sword, he picked it up and examined it.

"Interesting," he said again, while Nuka still fruitlessly tried to get back up.

White eyes returned to Nuka. "You're fast," Herobrine said, his expression once again cold and stern, "but if this wasn't practice, you'd be dead by now.! Pay more attention to your defense next time!"

He dropped the sword to Nuka's feet just as he, finally managed to get up.

Breathing heavily, Nuka stood there and warily watched as Herobrine returned to his previous idle stance. Crossing his arms behind his back, he gave Nuka an expectant look.

"Again!" he commanded Nuka.

Nuka swallowed.

He still felt the electric shock in his body and was sure that Herobrine could have done far more damage to him.

If he had wanted to.

Already, Nuka couldn't help but admire Herobrine for his fighting skills and carefully controlled use of his powers.

I wish I could control and master my powers so well, he thought wistfully.

But he had no time to think about it further now.

He had underestimated Herobrine. He would not let him get so close this time!

Nuka picked up his sword.

It was an ordinary iron sword that Nuka took from one of the many dead bounty hunters, and though it was quite old and worn, it had served him well. It probably wouldn't help in this fight, though.

Nuka dismissed it and gave Herobrine a thoughtful look as another idea came to him.

Immediately he raised his hand and made sure that all the shards of the Glowstone blocks, which still lay on the ground, lifted into the air and shot with incredible speed towards Herobrine. Before the shards could hit him, the god vanished. The shards pierced the empty air where Nuka's opponent just stood, uselessly crashing against the opposite wall!

Before Nuka could get angry about it, he heard the noise of the teleport behind him. Spinning, he saw Herobrine reaching for him, doubtlessly intending to repeat his earlier stun.

This time Nuka moved faster, lunging back and raising his hand. Using his power, he tightened the air around the other man's form and slammed his body toward the wall. Herobrine vanished before he could hit it.

Frustrated, Nuka lowered his hand, managing just a glance around, when a blue-white bolt of lightning suddenly shot towards him. He threw himself aside, teleporting to avoid it. He reappeared, only for another bolt of lightning to pierce the air toward him. He saw it coming and knew he could not avoid it this time.

Wham! The lightning caught him in mid-jump, hurling his body against the wall with full force. Nuka cried out at the pain that shot across his bones, collapsing to the ground where he lay for a moment, stunned. Hearing footsteps slowly approaching him, he tried to move and groaned at more pain.

"Is that all?" he heard Herobrine ask in a mocking, impatient voice that held disappointment. Nuke lay on the ground, desperately trying to calm his racing heart, when suddenly an idea came to him!

Without thinking further about it, he jumped up in a flash, drew his sword and struck!

Herobrine jumped away, appearing surprised. It was not fast enough and the tip of Nuka's sword lightly touched his cheek, leaving a paper-thin red scratch that immediately welled up red.

Herobrine staggered back with a hiss, one hand pressing to his bleeding cheek, while Nuka stood there perplexed, the sword forgotten in his hand.

He didn't think he would actually hurt Herobrine.

At that moment, Herobrine lowered his hand again, revealing the razor-thin but long scratch, which, began to glow bright white. A brief moment later, the light faded and the wound disappeared without a trace. Nuka stared at the god with new admiration.

Incredible! He had no idea that Herobrine had healing powers, too! thought admiringly as he stared at the place where the scratch had just been I didn't know he had healing powers!

"Look at that," Herobrine growled, while he eyeing Nuka with a sinister look, "You seem to be able to do something after all! But we're far from done yet. Let's see if you can do it again!"

Herobrine grinned. Nuka felt tension go out of him, before lowering his head and preparing to attack once more. They continued training for quite a while, until Nuka was utterly exhausted, sweat dripping into his eyes.

He had managed to give Herobrine a few minor hits but they had all healed by now and were not worth mentioning, while Nuka's whole body ached and his clothes smoked from the constant hits with lightning.

"That's enough." he heard Herobrine say at one point, as Nuka struggled to his feet for what felt like the thousandth time.

Unlike him, Herobrine didn't seem exhausted at all.

Quite the opposite!

He stood there completely relaxed and pleased as if the entire training session was merely a fun stroll in the park.

He must be a very good fighter! Nuka concluded admiringly.

Nuka previously thought himself a good fighter before. But he had to admit to himself that he had to learn a lot before he could be anywhere as good as Herobrine. With his brutality, his strength, his endurance, and his well-controlled powers, it was difficult to imagine that anyone could defeat that white eyed god.

Heavily breathing, his body shaking slightly from exhaustion, he now stood and waited for his judgment.

Worried, he looked at Herobrine's face and tried to read something in it, but the god's face remained expressionless.

Did he… manage to convince him that he was good enough? Nuka swallowed.

",Not bad," Herobrine finally said with some hesitation "It's obvious that this isn't the first time you've fought. But until now you had it easy.

Your opponents were always ordinary people who had little or nothing to against your skills. That's why you had the upper hand and the fight was over quickly. That's also why you have almost no stamina and no idea what to do when you come up against someone who can teleport away. You get frantic and begin to make mistakes. Just one such mistake is fatal."

Nuka's hopes sunk at these words.

With so many deficits he certainly did not convince Herobrine.

At the same time, he could not help feeling was impressed. How many years of experience did Herobrine have to hone his skills like that?

,,You have a lot to learn," Herobrine spoke slowly again, drawing Nuka's attention, "but I think we can build on your fighting experience. I think you are worthy to know why I need you and your powers."

Nuka sighed with relief when he heard that.

I did it! he thought happily, I convinced him!

In the meantime, Herobrine had turned to leave the training hall and signaled Nuka to follow him: "Come with me. There is something I want to show you."

A huge Thank you goes to Yuli-Enderling how helped me translate and rewirte the chapter :D

She wirtes Herobrine Storys as well so if you guys want to read them here is the link:

user/Yuli-Enderling

Trust me her Storys are really good and definitely worth to read. ^^