Battle in the Overworld Read online

  Steve joined Lucy and her friends as they walked toward the dining hall. They grabbed trays and filled them with food.

  Lucy put more and more food on her tray until it was almost overflowing. “You guys, you should get more food than that,” she said. “I’m placing a lot of this food in my inventory. You never know when we we’ll have access to food. We have no idea where we will be sent in the Overworld. This is war.”

  Lucy’s friends went back to the buffet and filled their trays. They knew Lucy was right; they had to be prepared for the battle.

  As they ate the food, Stefan approached their table. “Steve, it’s nice to have you join us for lunch. I want everyone at this table to work together as a team.”

  Steve asked, “Will they join me on the journey back to the wheat farm?”

  “Yes,” Stefan replied. “You don’t have to stay for the meeting. You can go straight to the wheat farm after lunch. I have a feeling that you’ll not only save your village, Steve, but these skilled warriors will also help discover who is behind this evil attack.”

  Lucy was excited to return to the wheat farm and the village she had come from, but she was also scared to see how badly it was damaged. Lucy loved the town and she felt like it was her home, no matter how much time she’d spent at the academy. If she saw Steve’s farmhouse destroyed or the village streets filled with rubble, she feared she’d get too emotional and it would impact her fighting skills. Tears rolled down Lucy’s face, just at the thought.

  “Are you okay?” Phoebe asked Lucy.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I’m just heartbroken that the village has been attacked and the Overworld will be in shambles.”

  “But we’re going to fix it.” Phoebe smiled.

  Lucy wanted to be like the others. She wanted to be more confident and believe they would win, but she had to admit that she was nervous for the battle. She took her final bite from her apple and announced, “I’m ready to go. Are you guys?”

  Her friends nodded. They were ready to embark on their journey to Steve’s wheat farm.

  As they exited the dining hall, the lights went out.

  “Oh no! Another attack!” cried Jane.

  “Does anybody have a torch?” asked Adam.

  Before they could reach for their torches, a loud explosion startled them.

  Kaboom!

  Smoke filled the room, and nobody could see. But then, without warning, the lights turned back on.

  “That was odd,” remarked Adam. “There wasn’t even a hostile mob invasion.”

  “Yes,” Lucy agreed. “But what exploded? I don’t see any damage to the dining hall.”

  The group looked around. Phoebe walked outside the dining hall and called out, “It looks like someone exploded blocks of TNT in the basement.”

  Everyone crowded around the entrance to the basement. Smoke filled the staircase.

  “I don’t think we should go down there.” Phoebe held her hand in front of her face to shield herself from the smoke.

  Adam looked at the gang. “We should go.”

  Lucy agreed and then asked, “Where’s Steve?”

  The gang called Steve’s name and walked around the building, but there was no reply.

  Chapter 4

  OLD FEARS

  “Steve!” Lucy called out again, but there was no response.

  “Do you think he’s in the basement?” Phoebe looked down the smoke filled stairs.

  “If he went down there, he has to have been destroyed by the explosion,” Adam said sadly.

  “Do you think he respawned on the wheat farm and will TP back here?” Lucy questioned.

  Nobody knew the answer to that. They looked around at each other in shock.

  Stefan walked toward the group. “You need to get going. You have to help save the Overworld.”

  “But Steve is missing,” Maya informed him.

  “Steve?” Stefan raised his voice. “Missing?”

  “Yes. After the lights went on, he was gone.” Lucy was so upset that she could barely get the words out.

  “How?” Stefan began to pace.

  Victoria walked out of the dining hall. “Is everything okay?”

  “Steve is missing,” Stefan told her the awful news.

  “We have to find him,” Victoria announced.

  Everyone had a plan. Lucy wanted to stay on the campus and search for Steve. Adam thought they should head to the wheat farm. Jane wanted to assemble a larger team to help them battle in the Overworld, because she thought they needed more backup.

  While the discussions intensified, a man wearing a green hat and a purple cape and carrying a shield spawned in front of them. He shouted at the group.

  “Silence! Your friend Steve is now my prisoner. And soon I’ll be the ruler of the Overworld.” He laughed.

  Lucy was shaking as she asked, “Who are you?”

  Phoebe screamed, “Where’s Steve?’

  “I’m your worst enemy.” He laughed and splashed a potion on himself and disappeared.

  The group was terrified. Victoria said, “Now we know who is behind this attack. We can defeat him.”

  Everyone cheered, but it sounded halfhearted.

  Stefan looked over at Lucy. “I think you should still travel back to the wheat farm. I promised Steve that we would help save his town.”

  Lucy nodded, and her friends followed her reluctantly. As they walked off the Minecrafters Academy campus, Lucy paused and looked up at the large mountain they had to climb to reach Steve’s village. She took a deep breath.

  When they reached the top of the mountain, Phoebe paused. “Can we see Steve’s village from here?” she asked.

  “No,” Lucy replied and showed Phoebe the town on map. “It’s a long journey from here.”

  Lucy recalled taking the journey to Minecrafters Academy with Steve and their friends, Henry and Max. It seemed so long ago, now. She had been excited to be with her good friends, but nervous to start at a new school. Now she was terrified about traveling back to the village, because she couldn’t bear to see the village destroyed.

  Adam told the others, “I used to live in Steve’s village. I know it well. I’ll be glad to reunite with old friends and help them fight this evil villain.”

  The sun was setting, and Maya suggested they build a shelter before nightfall. “We can build one here,” she said, pointing to a patch of grass outside of the swampy biome.

  “Do you think we can make it through the swampy biome and then build a house?” asked Lucy. “I don’t want any witches or slimes attacking us.”

  “I think we’re far enough from the swamp that we shouldn’t have to worry about an attack from a witch,” Maya said as she began to pull wooden planks and other supplies out from her inventory.

  As the gang constructed a house, Lucy could see a bat flying in the distance. She really didn’t want to spend the night near the swamp.

  “Do you hear a noise?” Lucy asked as she placed a window on the house.

  “No, I don’t hear anything.” Phoebe was annoyed. She was trying to finish the house before dark and she didn’t want to be distracted.

  Boing! Boing! Boing!

  “Shh!” Lucy said to her friends. “Don’t you hear that noise? It sounds like slimes.”

  Nobody heard the noise. Lucy felt like she was going crazy. How could she be the only one who heard the bouncing noise?

  As Jane placed the door on the house and Adam took out a torch from his inventory to put next to the door, Lucy screamed, “Slimes!”

  “She’s right!” Maya cried as a group of six boxy slimes bounced toward them.

  Phoebe suggested that they hide in the house, but Jane called out, “No! We must destroy them.”

  Lucy leapt at the slimes and pierced a gelatinous creature with her diamond sword. The slimy mob broke into smaller blocks. Debbie helped Lucy destroy the little slimes that bounced toward them.

  “Thanks,” Lucy said as they defeated the final mini slime.

>   “Over here,” cried Phoebe. “Help us!”

  Lucy looked up to see Phoebe and Jane surrounded by too many slimes to count. “We can’t get destroyed on this trip! Help!” Jane’s voice shook.

  They were right. The dorms were a pile of rubble, and that meant if anyone was destroyed before they slept somewhere else, they’d have no place to respawn. They had to spend the night in this house in the swamp. Lucy and Debbie sprinted toward their friends and struck the boxy slimes.

  Adam and Maya were battling their own group of slimes when they heard a whimper.

  “I hear someone crying,” Maya called out.

  Lucy was obliterating the final slime as she heard the cries. “I hear the same thing you do,” she told Maya.

  Once the final slime was destroyed, the group ran toward the sound of the cries. The sky was getting darker and the group worried they would be attacked by hostile mobs that spawned at night. They were vulnerable, but they knew they had to find out who was crying and try to help them.

  “It sounds like it’s coming from in here.” Adam pointed to a small cave outside of the swampy biome.

  “I don’t think we should go in the cave. I’m pretty sure that’s where the slimes are coming from,” said Lucy.

  “But can’t you hear the cries?” asked Maya. “We have to go in.”

  “I hope this isn’t a trap,” Lucy said as she followed her friends into the darkness.

  Adam took out another torch and placed it on the wall of the cave.

  “Hello?” Lucy shouted. “We’re here to help you.”

  “Lucy!” a familiar voice called out.

  Chapter 5

  SMALL PESTS

  “Steve!” Lucy sprinted to her friend. “We have to get you out of here quickly.”

  Weakly, Steve whispered, “Watch out. This is a trap.”

  Before they could help Steve escape, the man in the green hat and purple cape appeared in front of them.

  “Now you’re all my prisoners.” He laughed.

  “Never!” Lucy shouted as she leapt toward the man with her diamond sword. He splashed a potion of weakness on Lucy, and she started to lose hearts.

  “You don’t want to get destroyed. Where will you respawn, Lucy?” he asked, laughing.

  Lucy stood frozen in terror. She didn’t know how he knew her name. The caped criminal walked closer to Lucy. She cried, “Leave me alone.”

  Adam ran to Lucy and handed her milk. “Drink this.” Adam threw a potion of harming on the caped villain.

  The man was weakened. “You won’t get away with this, Adam.”

  Phoebe, Jane, Maya, and Debbie ran toward the caped man, striking him with their diamond swords. He was powerful, but he was overwhelmed, and they were able to destroy him.

  Adam gave Steve a potion of healing. “You need to get your strength back,” he said. “We have a place for you to sleep tonight.”

  As the group tried to leave the cave, silverfish that were crawling on the floor bit them.

  “Look down!” Phoebe shrieked.

  The ground of the cave was carpeted in silverfish. The group used their swords to destroy the mobs, but it was pointless. There were too many to fight.

  “We have to get out of here. This is a trap!” Steve called to his friends.

  “What about the silverfish? We have to destroy them. They’re attacking us.” Lucy slammed her sword into a large group of silverfish.

  “I’m telling you, we have to forget about destroying the silverfish. This is a trap. That man will be back. He’s a terrible, evil person,” Steve said.

  But a voice interrupted him, “It’s so nice to hear such kind words spoken about me.” The caped man pointed his diamond sword at Steve.

  Lucy rushed toward the man and struck him with her diamond sword, but she couldn’t fight him for very long. She had too many silverfish biting her feet, and they were depleting her energy. She had very few hearts left.

  Adam called out to his friends, “Sprint to me!”

  The group hurried toward Adam and he splashed a potion of invisibility of them. Getting the potion on his friends wasn’t an easy job, and Adam narrowly avoided splashing the potion on the man in the green hat, too. When everyone was invisible, they ran toward the house.

  “Is everyone here?” Adam asked as they entered the house.

  “I’m here!” Lucy called out. They did an informal roll call, and everyone was in the house.

  They hadn’t crafted beds yet, and it was hard to do so while they were invisible. Everyone kept bumping into each other. But soon, the house was filled with beds and everyone became visible.

  Lucy noticed something crawling on the floor. “Is that a silverfish?”

  Adam grabbed his sword and went to strike the small insect. But as he hit the bug, he said, “No! I It’s an endermite.”

  “Did someone leave the door open?” Phoebe asked as she walked to the door, but it was closed.

  “More endermites!” Steve called out and went to strike the pesky insects.

  “I’m sure that man is behind this,” Lucy called out as she destroyed another endermite.

  “Is there a spawner?” Debbie cried.

  “I don’t see one.” Adam searched the ground.

  Jane looked out the window and saw two pairs of purple eyes staring at her. Then she heard a loud shriek.

  “I’m going to be attacked by Endermen!” Jane’s heart was pounding. She was terrified.

  Lucy dashed toward the door. She opened it and raced alongside Jane. “There’s water near the swamp biome,” Lucy said. “Don’t worry, Jane. We’ll get you to the water.”

  Jane ran as fast as she could. She didn’t want to turn around because she feared the Endermen would destroy her. As the lanky beasts reached for Jane, she jumped into the cloudy swamp water. “Yuck!” she called out, and the Endermen followed her into the water.

  Jane rinsed the dirty swamp water off her body before running back to the house. When she walked to the door, she was relieved to hear Maya call out, “I think I destroyed the final endermite.”

  “Great. We have to get to bed.” Steve sounded exhausted.

  When Lucy finally got into her bed, she sighed. “What a crazy day.”

  Adam said, “I’m so glad that we have Steve back with us.”

  “I’m happy to be back with you, too.” Steve explained how he was trapped by the caped man. “He threw a potion of weakness on me when the lights were off. I didn’t even know what was happening. He then made me TP to that cave, where we met some of the evil people who are working on destroying the Overworld with him.”

  “Who are they?” asked Phoebe.

  “He covered up my eyes, so I couldn’t see them, and could only hear their voices,” said Steve.

  “We have to get to sleep,” Lucy warned the others. “If we don’t, we’ll be extremely vulnerable. We need a place to respawn.”

  The gang agreed. They needed to have a spot where they could all respawn if the caped man returned or a hostile mob destroyed them. Lucy pulled the covers over herself and began to drift off to sleep.

  In the morning, Lucy crawled out of bed and walked toward the window. The sun was shining, making it a great day to travel to the wheat farm—if only their mission weren’t so desperate. The gang sat and ate apples, gathering their strength for the journey.

  “Are you ready?” Steve asked the others, and he led them toward the wheat farm. They were halfway there when Phoebe called out, “Ouch!” as an arrow pierced her arm.

  They looked around, but they couldn’t see where the arrow came from.

  “Ow!” cried Maya. An arrow hit her hand.

  “Who’s there?” screamed Lucy.

  There was no reply. Adam said, “Let’s keep going. We don’t want anything to stop us. We’re almost there.”

  As the gang continued their journey, they kept a close eye out for arrows that might be flying in their direction. As they reached the grassy biome outside of Steve’s villa
ge, Debbie cried in pain.

  “I’ve been struck by an arrow,” she moaned.

  The purple-caped man sprinted toward them. He grinned and taunted them, “Guess who?”

  Chapter 6

  VILLAGERS

  Adam splashed a potion of harming on the caped man. The man used his last bit of energy to strike Adam, but he couldn’t stop Adam from splashing a second potion of harming on him.

  “I’m losing hearts!” the man cried out.

  Lucy struck the man with her diamond sword and he lost more hearts. Phoebe shot an arrow at him. The man tried to run but he tripped and fell into the water. As he stood up in the shallow water, Phoebe shot another arrow at him, destroying the caped criminal.

  “We have to get to my village,” Steve exclaimed.

  The gang left the grassy biome and raced to the village. Adam smiled when they spotted the iron golem in the distance.

  “Look, it’s the golem! We’re home!” Adam looked over at Steve.

  Steve stopped. “We should come up with a plan before we enter the village. Once we show up, everyone is going to ask what we can do to help.”

  Kaboom!

  Smoke rose from the village, and Lucy’s heart raced. She didn’t want to see the village destroyed.

  “Steve,” said Lucy. “I don’t think we have time to come up with a plan. We have to save the village and stop the caped griefer. That’s the only plan.”

  Steve agreed. “We have to find out what exploded.” He raced toward the village and the others followed.

  As they entered the village, Lucy was shocked to see that the shops were open. The library, the church, and the blacksmith shop were all intact. Eliot the Blacksmith saw Steve and his friends. He left his shop and greeted them.

  “Lucy!” Eliot was happy to be reunited with his old friend. “You’re back! And Adam, too! What a pleasant surprise.”

  Lucy smiled. “I’m so happy to see you, Eliot. I just wish it was under better circumstances.”

  “I feel the same way,” added Adam.

  Lucy introduced Eliot to her friends, Phoebe, Jane, Maya, and Debbie.

  “I’m happy you assembled a team, Steve. This will be very helpful,” Eliot remarked.