Chapter 6 The Master’s Plan

When he arrived at the foot of Mount Minecraft, the Master finally spoke. He said one word. “Climb.” So, Luke did. He climbed until he reached a point around half the way to the top. “Stop,” the voice commanded. “Dig into it.” “Won’t I run into lava or something?” Luke questioned. “I mean, it is a volcano.” “Just do what I say!” Luke sighed in exasperation but did as the voice said. He pulled out his pickaxe and began to carve into the stone surface of the mountain. Under the instructions of the voice–”Left. Right. Good job. Dig, you fool!” – he carved out a ten by ten block hole, with a roof two blocks above Luke’s head, out of the mountain. “Place your tools down,” the raspy voice said. “Make an enchanting set up there. Use the pistons on that block, then the redstone on the other. There we go…” And so on. Eventually the base the voice had commanded Luke to make had an anvil, enchantment table, Nether portal, brewing stand, and all the other necessary Minecraft tools. It even had a secret redstone door that opened when you flicked a lever. “Good, good.” The Master said. Now, go into the Nether. “Why?” Luke asked aloud, but the Master didn’t answer. Luke grabbed an iron sword and stepped into the portal. The feeling was weird when you were experiencing Minecraft from inside the game. It was like stepping into a cold pool of water. As the world was enveloped in purple, it was like floating around aimlessly. Then, suddenly, a sensation like being dragged down a whirlpool filled Luke’s body, and he appeared in the fiery landscape of the Nether. The hot, arid weather of the Nether was like standing in the middle of a desert, a desert that for some reason was covered in molten hot magma, but Luke didn’t care. A vast lava ocean spread out to the north, a wall of Netherrack on the opposite side. Luke stepped out onto the red blocks and was immediately greeted by a bloodcurdling scream. A fireball shot out of nowhere and exploded a few blocks away from Luke. He pulled out a pickaxe and dug through a few blocks of Netherrack, creating a miniature hidey-hole. He mined forward, only stopping when he mined a block and almost plummeted into a lava ocean. He created a staircase leading upward. Luke saw a horrible creature floating over the lava ocean, searching for him. It was a large white cube with tightly closed eyes and tear marks on its face. A dozen white tentacles hung from its square bodies, giving it the look of a giant cubed jellyfish. Then, it noticed Luke. Its glowing red eyes open wide, and a fireball shot out of its mouth with another terrible scream. Luke drew his sword and slashed at the fireball. It flew back at the ghast, and it exploded right in its face. It flashed red and screamed again, this time in pain. Luke made a two by two block wall of Netherrack. in front of him just as another fireball slammed into it. Luke drew a bow and fired an arrow. The pointed shaft soared through the air in a graceful arc before hitting the ghast, which let out a final wail, fell sideways, and vanished in a puff of smoke. The Master finally spoke again. “Well done. Oh, look. That’s what we were looking for!” Luke looked around, then saw what the Master was talking about. Perched on a ledge high above, was a pitch-black stallion. It was very tall, and Luke momentarily wondered what a horse was doing in the Nether. Then it started to pace back and forth, revealing leathery bat wings. “A bat horse,” Luke muttered. Then, it noticed him. Its black eyes narrowed, and it whinnied angrily. Then it charged. It leapt off the ledge, and folding its wings, plummeted downward in a spectacular dive. It fell down, down, down, finally spreading its wings just before it would have hit the lava ocean below. It soared upward, then landed on the area of land that Luke was standing on. It stomped its hooves and huffed, glaring at Luke. Drawing his sword, he charged. The horse spun around and kicked Luke with its hind legs, sending him flying backwards. Luke smashed into the Netherrack wall, flashing red as his HP was drained. He sat there in a daze for a second, and his sword clattered to the ground a couple of blocks away. He reached for the weapon, but the bat horse was too fast. It charged, and headbutted Luke in the chest. A loud Crack! filled the Nether as Luke’s HP was reduced to almost nothing. He crawled helplessly toward his sword, but the horse trotted right in his path. It got ready to strike. Luke accepted his fate and stared at the bat horse. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. Luke was momentarily blinded. When the brightness cleared, the bat horse was gone. Where it had been standing, three glowing orbs of XP, a piece of leather, and a shapeless blob of darkness. “You’re welcome,” the Master said in Luke’s head. “That was… that was you?” The Master snorted in his mind. “Well, I don’t see anyone else around here. Maybe it was a friendly blaze. Of course it was me, you fool!” Luke stood up shakily. And walked over to the assortment of items the bat horse had dropped. He let the glowing orbs of experience flow into his body. He picked up the piece of leather, then looked at the black blob. “It’s a Heart of Darkness,” the Master said, answering Luke’s unspoken question. “What do we need to do with it?” Luke asked. The Master chuckled. “You’ll see, you’ll see.”