AN: For some reason, I was having trouble with dividers. Then I discovered the horizontal line button. Problem solved.
Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, there would be a way to tame Zombies.
After several more failed attempts, including the construction of a [WOODEN BUTTON] and a [WOODEN PRESSURE PLATE], I finally figured out how to make sticks…with Helena's help.
"Now see, when I said you were smart, I actually meant it. So…why you gotta let me down like that?"
"Sorry. I've never made sticks before." I argued after crafting 8 [STICKS]. By then my planks had decreased to 6.
"I should have known we'd need spare wood. No time for that now though. The sun is about to set." Helena thought for a moment. "Alright with the amount of planks and sticks we have left we can't make a full set of wooden tools, so instead just make a wooden sword and a wooden axe."
Helena instructed me closely on how to construct the tools so I wouldn't waste anymore planks. Once that was done, I was left with a sharp [WOODEN SWORD] and a [WOODEN AXE], both of which flew into my backpack instead of my filled belt.
"Good. Now if you want an item from your backpack simply visualize the item while reaching into the pack and it will automatically fly into your belt. Just make sure you determine which item you'll be switching out. Otherwise you may find yourself panicking over lost items." Helena looked towards the setting sun before letting out a relieved sigh. "We should be able to make it back before dark. Let's go."
Fine by me, this place gives me the creeps! Helena was pretty grim talking about those Mobs. I don't want to encounter anything like that Creeper ever again. Where does a thing like that even spawn from? The lovechild of snakes and dynamite?
"Where do the Creepers come from anyway? I wanna be sure to stay clear of them." I followed Helena, careful to avoid all the craters that I was 100% sure were caused by Creepers.
"Many of the Mobs spawn from the very darkness itself. You'll be able to see them soon from the safety of the Origin Zone." Helena replied.
"It's…safe…right? I mean…I wouldn't want you to be in danger without a sword." I swapped my new sword with the clock as if to emphasize my 'fearlessness' only to realize how light the thing was. "Also, can this even damage those Mobs?"
"How noble of you, love." Ok, now she's doing that on purpose. "And yes the Origin Zone is safe from the Mobs. Sometimes if I'm bored enough I taunt the Zombies from a safe location."
"Zombies…sure. Why am I not surprised?"
"Is is because you actually read the book on Mobs?" Helena asked as she crossed the stone line into the Origin Zone.
"HA! Reading!" I replied with a shake of my head as I crossed the line as well. "What do I look like? A reader? I'm more of a hands-on learner anyway." I took the [BOOK] out of my belt and handed it back to Helena.
"Fine. If you don't think it will help, who am I to argue?" She took a seat at the edge of the Origin Zone and stared out into the tree line. The sun finally set, shrouding the vibrant meadow in a sea of black. The only visible light came from the house behind us and the crescent-moon in the sky.
I took a seat next to Helena and pondered in silence. So Mobs come from the darkness. But this place is safe? Helena said she'd explain so I won't bother her about it. I wonder if Mobs would have spawned in the Void if I hadn't escaped in time. Was there even any time passing or a time limit in general?
Also if all Crafters start out in that Void, why couldn't I see any of them? Maybe they were just always within my blind spot and I was always within theirs. Really wish there was a Crafter I could ask about this.
Wait. Helena did say I was number 999,999,999 right? That means there must be at least one Crafter with deeper knowledge about that place. Or maybe I could ask them about this unexplained sense of normalcy I feel over certain things.
"Hey, Helena." I began. "If I'm number 999,999,999, does that mean there are 999,999,998 other Crafters out in the world?"
"Ideally, yes. Likely, no." She replied shortly, still preoccupied with searching the tree line for any visible Mobs. "It would be foolish to assume that every other Crafter survived the wilderness, the Mobs, and each other."
"Ah…I see." There was nothing more to say to that. I don't know what's scarier: The Mobs or the idea that these Crafters would be willing to kill each other. Wouldn't it make more sense to work together? Fight the Mobs, form a community, expand, thrive. That sort of thing.
"I've lived in this meadow for 500 years. I can still remember the day the First 100 came into existence." Helena laid back and gazed at the moon as she reminisced.
First 100? 500 years!? How old is she!? Even if time moves differently here, that's way too much time to waste.
"If anyone could survive Minecraftia, I know for sure it would be those First 100 Crafters." Helena closed her eyes as she recounted her tale. "They built my house and the entire Origin. They knew more Crafters would come and they asked me to help guide them, give them a direction to follow, and keep track of the numbers."
"So you've been counting all the Crafters for 500 years!?" I exclaimed.
"It was the least I could do after the nice house they constructed for me, and the guaranteed safety of the Origin Zone. Since Testificates don't die of hunger or old age." She smiled at me. "I may have lost track at around the 400,000,000 mark, but I sorted it out. Plus, I get to meet all the colorful Crafters as they take their first steps into the world."
*UHNNN!*
"What was that?" I ask cautiously.
Helena stood up and pointed towards the tree line. "Zombies."
I squinted my eyes to see better, but I could barely make out the green and blue blurs approaching.
"So, you gonna fight them, love?" Helena grinned while nudging me with her elbow. "Get some of that 'hands-on' experience you were talking about?"
I hesitated. Although I had never heard of Zombies before, that odd sense of normalcy was rearing its head and telling me that Zombies' weakness is their brain. And also that if one of them bit me, I would turn into one. Also, due to their…undeadness…their body parts would be rotting, and therefore be unable to move at the pace of a normal not undead human.
But it was dark, even with the moon out. And if I couldn't see these things well enough, one could easily sneak up behind me or surround me, and then I'd be Zombie chow.
I wonder if I taste good. Probably like carrots, since that's all I've been eating. Don't they say carrots help improve your eyesight or something? If so, they must have been lying to get kids to eat more vegetables because I can't see crap.
Wait. Who is the 'they' I'm referring to?
GAH! This is getting tedious. Forget this normalcy feeling I'm just gonna go with it from now on until I get some answers!
Anyway, these Zombies are Mobs so they can kill me. And I don't know how much damage they can do. But I refuse to read that book to find out. It will just make Helena smugger. And backing away from a fight would make her even more smugger and be an insult to my testosterone levels. So…
"YAH!" I cried out as I leapt over the stone line and charged the nearest blue and green figure. As I approached the first Zombie, both hands gripping my sword, I noticed a sickly green color to its skin. Its clothes were torn and ragged and it held its arms outstretched as it neared me with a constant, but slow pace.
When I got within striking distance, I swung from the right in a horizontal slash to its neck. I was aiming to decapitate it like in the movies, but despite the force I put into the swing and the contact it made with the Zombie's neck, the Zombie merely let out a pained grunt and was knocked backward.
Never losing its footing, the Zombie resumed its slow trek towards me as if nothing happened.
"Uh…well played Zombie?" I praised uncertainly as I tried a different approach: A swipe at its legs.
Again though, the creature was merely knocked back a few feet, no visible damage in sight, before resuming its pace.
Alright, no more mister nice Cobb! I thought to myself as I jabbed repeatedly at the Zombies torso. The results were the same. Zombie grunts in pain. Zombie gets knocked back. Zombie continues attacking. However, after the second or third jab, the Zombie was knocked down, letting out a pained death wail, before disappearing in a puff of grey smoke.
"Finally!" I cried out exhaustively. All that was left of the creature were some bits of flesh and some green orbs…which immediately zoomed towards me! "Whoa, no!"
I held my sword in a defensive block to deflect the orbs, but to my surprise, the orbs merely phased into my left arm, without any pain or discomfort.
"The heck was…Bah! Bad Zombie!" I jumped back as two more Zombies approached me from the right, one barely missing me.
These guys are durable, that's for sure. Or maybe my sword is crappy cuz it's made of wood and not metal. I pondered as I charged at my two foes.
Being right-handed, I swung at the right Zombie first, knocking it back. But before I could prepare another strike, the remaining Zombie clawed at my left shoulder, knocking me back a few feet.
"YEOW!" I exclaimed as I examined the wound…that wasn't there. Huh. Right, no visible damage. The only thing that would be affected would be my…uh-oh.
My Health Meter was at 8 Hearts. I had lost 20% of my health…my life…in that one swipe. A few more swipes like that and…
"Whelp, time to make a tactical retreat." I said to myself as I backpedaled a few feet before turning around.
Unfortunately, my preoccupation in killing that first Zombie had given the other nearby Zombies the chance to surround me.
"Get out of there you idiot!" Helena called from the Origin Zone. Well thanks for the advice, Colonel Obvious!
I readied my stance. There were 10 Zombies surrounding me, and I doubted I could charge through them and make it to the Origin Zone without getting buffeted enough to die. They were approaching me at that same, damn, slow pace and closing the gaps between them. Think Cobb! You're smart, right? You can figure this out, right? You can avoid being Zombie chow…RIGHT!?
As my end drew near, I couldn't help but think back and reflect on my life up to this point. The Void. Meeting Helena. Harvesting carrots. Blowing up trees. Collecting dirt. Not reading that book of Mobs which may have provided the very information to prevent this situation from happening in the first place. Not helping, hindsight!
Wait…the dirt! I fumbled with my belt and readied the dirt in my hands while the Zombies neared me. The closest one managed to claw at my back, but I ignored the momentary pain as I attempted to build a barricade of dirt.
I set the first block of dirt down, but another swipe from a different Zombie caused me to misplace the second block to be adjacent to the first instead of on top. I quickly placed a new block atop the first before I realized I was out of time.
I deftly dodged the swipes of the Zombies and climbed my makeshift barricade in desperation before placing a fourth block of dirt on top of the second block of dirt, forming a 2x2 dirt wall.
I gasped for breath, heart pounding in my chest before I started to calm down. Then, I started laughing. My strategy didn't block the Zombies as a barricade would, but apparently, in Minecraftia, Zombies can't climb dirt walls. It was so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh.
After laughing for a good minute I checked my Health Meter to see that I was at 4 Hearts. A few more hits would have ended me for sure.
The Zombies surrounded the dirt wall, trying to reach me with their outstretched arms, moaning and grumbling in frustration. But for all their effort, they couldn't hit me. Not to downplay their effectiveness at making me shit bricks.
"Still not feeling up to reading!?" Helena called from afar.
"Haha! Very funny! Not sure if I'm dying of laughter or Zombies up here!" I shouted back sarcastically as I swapped to my sword and began hacking away at any Zombies that I could reach. "My dirt collecting was more useful than you said it'd be!"
After a few minutes of slaying Zombies from a safe location, I collected 20 or more green orbs, and 15 pieces of something called [ROTTEN FLESH]. Eyugh! One of the Zombies dropped a carrot which I found odd, but then I realized how hungry I felt. I glanced at my Hunger Meter and did a double take when I saw that I had 3 corndogs of food left.
I took a look around the area. All the Zombies that attacked me were nothing but grey puffs of smoke. Most of the other Zombies were too far away to notice me. I quickly slid off the dirt wall and grabbed the carrot before readying myself for an all-out sprint to the Origin Zone.
However, my sprinting was sluggish and exhaustive. Almost as if I couldn't sprint at all.
I guess running counts as exerting myself. I thought as I munched the carrot and the lone apple at my belt. Going from 3 corndogs to 6-and-a-half.
After the snack, I scrambled towards the Origin Zone and didn't stop until my legs crossed the stone line. Phew! Safe at last.
Suddenly, a slow clapping was heard from the right of me. It was the type of clapping that said 'We're all very impressed' in a sarcastic tone. And it was emanating from Helena.
"Well done. I'm very impressed with your Mob slaying strategy. It was sheer brilliance to corner yourself and lull the enemy into a false sense of security."
I sighed. "Yeah. It was so brilliant, that I'm never gonna do it again. EVER." I thought for a moment about what I was gonna say next. "C-can I…um…check that book for a minute?"
Helena smiled before handing me the book. "Sure. You probably need more food too. Wait here and don't try attacking again." Helena hurried off to her house while I steeled myself for what I was about to do.
Reading.
Inventory: 1 Book, 1 Oak Wood Plank, 1 Wooden Sword, 1 Wooden Axe, 5 Sticks, 6 Oak Wood Slabs, 1 Wooden Pressure Plate, 1 Wooden Button, 1 Clock, 7 Dirt, 1 Crafting Table, 15 Rotten Flesh, 1 Emerald
AN: Boy, do I like dividers!