Fu Zhu immediately walked over, grasped Herta's right arm to look at the injury, and then promptly took out a Golden Apple to shove into her mouth.
Although Herta was still afflicted with the Wither effect, if he tried to use milk to cure it, the effect would probably run its course by the time she finished drinking. It was better to just power through it with the regeneration and damage absorption from a Golden Apple.
"Hurry up and eat it. You're seriously insane."
Herta had been intending to study the Wither effect on her body further, but seeing Fu Zhu's urgency, she wordlessly took the Golden Apple and began to eat it in small bites.
With every bite she took, the withered, bark-like cracks on her arm repaired themselves slightly.
Ruan Mei and Screwllum also rushed over. Ruan Mei immediately began inspecting the injury on Herta's right arm, her fingertips tracing the cracked skin. The dry, brittle sensation made her frown.
"This is just like a dead tree completely drained of its life force. It seems this so-called Wither effect is a toxin that specifically targets vitality. I just don't know how wide its scope of influence is."
Whether it only affected physical life or could also impact mechanical lifeforms—this was a point of great curiosity for Ruan Mei.
Fu Zhu kept a close eye on Herta as she ate the Golden Apple. Only when he confirmed that the skin on her arm had become smooth and fair again did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He then drew his Divine Meteor Sword and cleaved through a Wither Skeleton that was advancing on them. With a stroke of good luck, it dropped a Wither Skeleton Skull.
[Achievement Unlocked: Spooky Skull]
[Acquired Achievement Points: 5]
"Not bad luck."
Fu Zhu tossed the Wither Skeleton Skull in his hand for a moment before turning to shoot Herta an irritated glare.
"Why are you so reckless? I already told you the Wither effect was terrifying, yet you still used yourself as a test subject. Are you not afraid of death at all? If this were The End, and I told you there was an endless void beneath the main island, would you jump right in?"
"Void?"
Herta's interest was instantly piqued. The other Paths had all been represented in this Simulated Universe in some way. The void Fu Zhu mentioned could very well be related to the Aeon of [Nihility], couldn't it?
Seeing the glimmer in Herta's eyes, the corner of Fu Zhu's eye twitched.
"You're not actually thinking of jumping in to test it, are you? Don't die so pointlessly."
"Relax, I won't try it for the time being."
Although Herta said as much, Fu Zhu could tell that she genuinely wanted to experience it firsthand.
For people like Herta, the opportunity to come into contact with an Aeon was exceedingly rare. They couldn't encounter them in reality, so encountering them in the Simulated Universe, at the very least, could provide some data to aid their research.
Fu Zhu shook his head helplessly. Realizing he couldn't dissuade these three geniuses who put research first in their minds, he could only throw them a new lure to prevent them from seeking death again.
"Alright, since we got lucky and teleported into a Nether Fortress, I'll need you all to collect some Blaze Rods. They are one of the essential materials for reaching The End. They drop from those yellow monsters flying in mid-air, which only appear in this fortress."
The group nodded and prepared to split up to search for Blazes, using the opportunity to investigate this world known as the Nether.
Fu Zhu, meanwhile, planned to use the time they spent collecting enough Blaze Rods to try and kill a few more Wither Skeletons, to see if he could get the remaining two skulls.
Of course, he had no intention of summoning the Wither right now. He planned to save the skulls to use as his "temporary muscle" during his later travels.
Although killing the Wither would grant several achievements, he was currently in the Simulated Universe. He didn't need to summon it the normal way at all; using a command was far more convenient.
However, it was clear that just standing around and waiting for Wither Skeletons to spawn was the least efficient method. It would be better to go with one of the others.
Fu Zhu glanced between the dispersing members of the group and ultimately chose to head in Herta's direction.
Screwllum and Ruan Mei, though he hadn't known them long, seemed much more level-headed than Herta. They probably wouldn't do something as crazy as she had.
As for Silver Wolf... if she dies, she dies. She's a player now, she can just respawn.
Herta was walking through the Nether Fortress, observing the composition of the bricks that formed it, when she saw Fu Zhu walking toward her. She paused for a moment, waiting for him to reach her side before continuing forward with him.
Herta tilted her head, glancing at Fu Zhu, who was a full head taller than her. "Why did you come over here?"
"I'm afraid you'll get yourself killed. This is the Nether, after all. There are many more ways to die here than in the overworld."
"Oh!"
Although Fu Zhu's dismissive attitude was a bit annoying, being shown such concern still left Herta feeling quite pleased. At the very least, Fu Zhu had come to find her, not the others.
Doesn't that mean her standing in his heart is a bit higher than the others? In that case, would her chances of successfully booking his next vacation be higher too?
While Herta was scheming about how to get a head start and reserve Fu Zhu's future time off, Fu Zhu suddenly spoke up beside her.
"Found them."
"Hm? Found what?"
"Look."
Herta followed the direction of Fu Zhu's finger and saw a structure ahead that resembled a balcony. On that open-air balcony sat a square iron cage.
As the two approached, two Blazes, surrounded by several rotating rods, suddenly appeared beside the iron cage.
"So those are Blazes?"
Unlike her previous recklessness, Herta cautiously raised a hand, forming a barrier in front of herself and Fu Zhu before slowly advancing.
As they drew closer, the two Blazes launched fireballs at them. With two soft thuds, the fireballs struck the barrier and vanished.
"So weak!"
This came as a surprise to Herta. She had grown accustomed to the creatures in MC having their own uniquely overpowered traits. How could these Blazes be so unexpectedly weak?
Compared to the Wither Skeletons, they were the lowest of the low.
Standing beside Herta, Fu Zhu didn't try to defend the Blazes' reputation.
"They are indeed weak. You can even kill them with water or snowballs."
"That weak?"
Hearing how pathetic the Blazes were, Herta immediately lost all interest. She raised her staff and began to condense a spell formation before her.
"In that case, I'll just use water to finish them all off. Let's hurry up and move on."
Just as Herta was about to summon a pillar of water to attack the two Blazes, Fu Zhu suddenly spoke up again.
"But then again, even though they're weak to water and snowballs, water isn't allowed to exist in the Nether."
Just as he spoke, Herta's spell formation was complete. The next second, a large cloud of steam erupted from the tip of her staff.
Hiss...
"?"
Herta paused for a moment, then shot an irritated glare at Fu Zhu.
"Couldn't you have said that earlier! Right, what about spit?"