Marcus—because Jeremy had decided somewhere between his fifteenth and sixteenth deaths that he needed to rebrand himself, that "Jeremy" was the name of someone who died from expired chips, while "Marcus" was the name of someone who could potentially survive a modded Minecraft hellscape (he was wrong, but the delusion helped)—was currently experiencing what he'd come to think of as his "learning phase."
By which he meant he was dying. A lot.
It was day seven now, or rather, it would be day seven if he could survive long enough for the sun to actually rise. He'd lost count of how many times he'd respawned just during the night cycles. The System kept track, of course, because the System was a sadistic entity that loved rubbing his failures in his face, but Marcus had stopped paying attention to the exact number somewhere around death forty-three.
His current situation was what he would generously describe as "suboptimal" and what any reasonable person would describe as "completely fucked."
He was underwater—or rather, under-lava—in what the System had identified as a "Lycanites Dungeon: Asmodeus Domain," which apparently was located in a massive lava lake he'd accidentally fallen into while running from something the System called a "Rahovart," which looked like a demon made of fire and hatred had been given steroids and then told to really commit to the aesthetic.
The problem with being under lava was that it hurt. A lot. His health bar was depleting rapidly despite the Fire Resistance potion he'd managed to brew (after seventeen attempts and twelve deaths to explosive brewing stands—because of course even brewing stands could explode in this modpack). The secondary problem was that he couldn't see anything because, you know, lava. The tertiary problem was that there was something down here with him, something big, something that the System was refusing to identify which meant it was probably way above his level.
Marcus swam—or did the Minecraft equivalent of swimming, which looked more like he was jumping repeatedly—in what he hoped was the direction of the surface. His Fire Resistance potion had about thirty seconds left. His health was at three hearts. His inventory contained stone tools, some bread, and what he'd come to think of as his "death junk"—the random items that weren't valuable enough to store in his base but that he kept forgetting to throw away.
Something brushed against his leg.
WARNING: ASMODEUS DETECTED
BOSS MOB
LEVEL: 85
YOUR LEVEL: 7
RECOMMENDATION: MAKE PEACE WITH THE CONCEPT OF RESPAWNING
"Oh, come on!" Marcus shouted, though it came out as bubbles in the lava. "I didn't even do anything! I was just running from the other thing and fell in here!"
THAT'S NOT HOW BOSS AGGRO WORKS
ALSO, IT'S EATING YOU NOW
THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Marcus felt something grab him, something with teeth, and his health bar disappeared entirely.
DEATH #47: CONSUMED BY ASMODEUS, DEMON LORD OF THE LAVA DEPTHS
TIME SURVIVED THIS ATTEMPT: 4 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS
TOTAL TIME SURVIVED DAY 7: 47 MINUTES ACROSS 18 ATTEMPTS
NOTE: YOU'VE DIED TO ASMODEUS 6 TIMES NOW
MAYBE STOP FALLING INTO LAVA LAKES
JUST A SUGGESTION
Marcus respawned at his current spawn point—a basic stone shelter he'd managed to build on day three, complete with a bed made from nightmare demon sheep wool that gave him disturbing dreams about geometry whenever he slept. He immediately checked his inventory. Empty, except for—
Wait.
There was something new.
Marcus stared at the item in his inventory, an item he definitely hadn't picked up, hadn't crafted, and had never seen before. It was a... suit? A red and gold suit that looked like it belonged in a completely different game. The item description read: "Mark 1 Iron Man Armor - Fisk's Superheroes Mod."
CONGRATULATIONS
YOU'VE RECEIVED YOUR FIRST DONATION
FROM: XXLEGOLASXX FROM DIMENSION 42-ALPHA
ITEM: MARK 1 IRON MAN ARMOR
MESSAGE: "DUDE YOU SUCK AT THIS BUT ITS HILARIOUS. HERES SOMETHING TO HELP. TRY NOT TO DIE FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES CHALLENGE (IMPOSSIBLE)"
NOTE: DONATED ITEMS ARE SOULBOUND
THEY NEVER LEAVE YOUR INVENTORY
EVEN WHEN YOU DIE
WHICH IS GOOD BECAUSE YOU DIE A LOT
Marcus just stared. "Wait. Viewers can donate items? Since when?"
SINCE ALWAYS
I JUST DIDN'T TELL YOU BECAUSE WATCHING YOU STRUGGLE WAS FUNNY
ALSO THERE'S A COOLDOWN
VIEWERS CAN DONATE ONCE PER DAY
AND ONLY ITEMS FROM MODS ALREADY IN YOUR WORLD
NO CREATIVE MODE ITEMS
NO ADMIN COMMANDS
JUST REGULAR MODDED ITEMS
FISK'S SUPERHEROES WAS ADDED TO YOUR MODPACK YESTERDAY
ALONG WITH ORESPAWN
AND THE TITANS MOD
AND BLOOD MAGIC
AND ABOUT SEVENTEEN OTHERS
YOU'VE BEEN TOO BUSY DYING TO NOTICE
"The Titans mod?" Marcus felt something cold grip his chest. "The mod that adds bosses the size of skyscrapers? That Titans mod?"
YEP
ALSO ORESPAWN IS ACTIVE NOW
HAVE FUN WITH THAT
Marcus decided to deal with that existential crisis later. Right now, he had an Iron Man suit. He equipped it, and immediately his interface changed. The armor provided significant protection, a heads-up display appeared in his vision showing his health and energy levels, and—most importantly—he could fly.
"Oh," Marcus said, testing the flight controls and immediately crashing into the ceiling of his shelter. "Oh, this is going to change everything."
CURRENT VIEWERS: 340 MILLION
TRENDING IN 127 DIMENSIONS
VIEWER DONATIONS ENABLED: YES
DONATION QUEUE: 847,293 PENDING
DAILY LIMIT: 1
PEOPLE REALLY WANT YOU TO SUCCEED
OR AT LEAST SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO BE ENTERTAINING
Marcus spent the next several attempts—and deaths—learning to actually use the Iron Man armor. Flying in Minecraft was not intuitive, especially when combined with the game's somewhat janky physics. He crashed into trees (some of which exploded, because of course they did). He crashed into the ground (which hurt despite the armor). He crashed into a dragon (which was less "crash" and more "got batted out of the sky like an annoying fly").
DEATH #48: KINETIC IMPACT WITH TERRAIN
DEATH #49: CRASHED INTO AN ICE DRAGON
DEATH #50: FLEW TOO HIGH, ARMOR RAN OUT OF POWER, FELL
DEATH #51: CRASHED INTO FLOATING ISLAND, DISCOVERED ISLAND WAS ACTUALLY A BOSS MOB
MILESTONE: 50 DEATHS
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: PROFESSIONALS HAVE STANDARDS (DIE 50 TIMES)
VIEWER REACTION: MIXED
SOME VIEWERS ARE IMPRESSED BY YOUR PERSISTENCE
OTHERS ARE MAKING MONTAGES OF YOUR FAILURES SET TO COMEDIC MUSIC
YOU'RE TRENDING ON INTERDIMENSIONAL YOUTUBE
CONGRATULATIONS?
But eventually, Marcus got the hang of it. The Iron Man armor wasn't just protective—it had repulsor beams. Actual repulsor beams that could damage mobs. They weren't particularly powerful, not compared to some of the modded weapons he'd seen (and immediately died trying to obtain), but they were ranged, they were reliable, and most importantly, he could use them while flying away from things trying to kill him.
It was during one of these flights—his most successful one yet, having lasted almost ten minutes without crashing—that Marcus discovered the Orespawn dimension.
He'd been flying over what he thought was a relatively safe area (there were no safe areas, but some were less immediately lethal than others) when he spotted something strange. A crystal, easily ten blocks tall, pulsing with green energy. Around it, the terrain had been corrupted, the grass turning purple, strange structures jutting from the ground.
ORESPAWN CRYSTAL DETECTED
DANGER LEVEL: DON'T
SERIOUSLY
WHATEVER YOU'RE THINKING
DON'T
Marcus, of course, flew closer to investigate, because he was apparently committed to making poor decisions. As he approached the crystal, his HUD started glitching, and he felt a pulling sensation. Then, without warning, the world around him shifted, changed, and he was somewhere else entirely.
The sky was wrong—a sickly green color that hurt to look at. The ground was made of blocks he didn't recognize, some kind of purple stone that seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat. And everywhere he looked, there were creatures. Not normal Minecraft creatures. Not even normal modded creatures. These were Orespawn creatures, and they were absolutely insane.
There was something that looked like a tree, except it had teeth and was trying to eat a cow that was the size of a small house. There was a giant robot ant fighting what appeared to be a girlfriend (yes, literally a mob called a "girlfriend" that the Orespawn mod added for some godforsaken reason). There was a floating castle in the distance that seemed to be made entirely of some kind of royal guardian block, and something massive was flying around it.
WELCOME TO THE ORESPAWN DIMENSION
YOU'VE MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE
THE ORESPAWN MOD WAS CREATED BY SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND GAME BALANCE
OR POSSIBLY HATES MINECRAFT
OR POSSIBLY HATES HUMANITY IN GENERAL
THE MOBS HERE CAN HAVE HEALTH IN THE THOUSANDS
THE BOSSES HAVE HEALTH IN THE MILLIONS
EVERYTHING IS RANDOM
NOTHING MAKES SENSE
YOU'RE GOING TO DIE
A LOT
Marcus tried to fly back to the crystal, but something hit him from behind—something fast and something hard. He was sent spinning through the air, his armor's energy depleting rapidly. He managed to stabilize and looked back to see what had attacked him.
It was a fairy.
A literal fairy, complete with wings and a wand and everything, except it was roughly the size of a person and its eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence.
ORESPAWN MOB: FAIRY
LEVEL: ???
HEALTH: 2,400
DAMAGE: ENOUGH TO RUIN YOUR DAY
SPECIAL ABILITIES: MAGIC, FLIGHT, BEING ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS
"It's a fairy," Marcus said, his brain struggling to process this. "A fairy just attacked me. A fairy with 2,400 health."
WELCOME TO ORESPAWN
WHERE GAME BALANCE GOES TO DIE
ALSO WHERE YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE
The fairy hit him with some kind of magic projectile. His armor absorbed most of it, but his energy was now critical. Another hit like that and the armor would shut down completely. Marcus did what he'd become very good at over the past seven days: he ran away.
Or rather, he flew away, weaving between the bizarre structures of the Orespawn dimension, trying to find the crystal that had brought him here. Behind him, the fairy gave chase, joined by two more fairies, a giant ant, something that looked like a wasp the size of a car, and what the System identified as a "girlfriend" that was apparently hostile despite its name.
MOB TRAIN DETECTED
MOBS CHASING YOU: 12
ODDS OF SURVIVAL: ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO WINNING THE LOTTERY WHILE BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
TWICE
Marcus spotted the crystal ahead and pushed his armor's flight to maximum speed. His energy was in the red, flickering, about to give out. The mobs were right behind him, close enough that he could hear their various attack sounds—the fairies' magical chimes, the girlfriend's... was that giggling? That was definitely giggling, which was somehow more terrifying than roaring.
He hit the crystal at full speed, and reality shifted again. He tumbled out of the sky on the other side, back in the overworld, his armor completely dead. He fell, watching the ground rush up to meet him, and had just enough time to think "well, at least I'm away from the fairies" before he hit the ground.
Except he didn't hit the ground.
Something caught him.
Marcus found himself held in what appeared to be a massive hand made of stone. He looked up and immediately wished he hadn't. The hand was attached to an arm, which was attached to a body, which was attached to a head that was easily fifty blocks above the ground.
TITANS MOD ACTIVE
TITAN DETECTED: STONE GOLEM TITAN
LEVEL: 500
HEALTH: 500,000
STATUS: CURIOUS ABOUT THE SMALL FLYING THING IT JUST CAUGHT (YOU)
RECOMMENDATION: STAY VERY, VERY STILL
Marcus stayed very, very still. The Stone Golem Titan brought him closer to its face, which was roughly the size of Marcus's entire shelter. It examined him with eyes that glowed with a faint yellow light. For a moment, Marcus thought it might just put him down, might decide he wasn't worth the effort.
Then it apparently decided he looked tasty.
DEATH #52: EATEN BY A STONE GOLEM TITAN
NOTE: AT LEAST IT WAS QUICK
UNLIKE YOUR LAST SEVENTEEN DEATHS
WHICH WERE LONG AND AGONIZING
RESPAWNING...
Marcus respawned and immediately checked his inventory. The Iron Man armor was still there, which was good, but it needed to recharge, which meant he couldn't use it for another few minutes. He sat down in his shelter and put his blocky head in his blocky hands.
"Orespawn," he said to no one in particular. "They added Orespawn. The mod that's famous for being completely unbalanced and insane. The mod where a fairy has more health than the Ender Dragon. The mod where nothing makes sense and everything can kill you."
TO BE FAIR
EVERYTHING HERE CAN KILL YOU ANYWAY
ORESPAWN JUST MAKES IT MORE RIDICULOUS
ALSO, YOU HAVE ANOTHER DONATION
A new item appeared in Marcus's inventory. He examined it and felt a small surge of hope. It was a Draconic Bow from the Draconic Evolution mod, enchanted with Power V, Infinity, and Flame.
DONATION FROM: SKYBLOCK_MASTER_69 FROM DIMENSION 7-BETA
ITEM: DRACONIC BOW
MESSAGE: "BRO YOU NEED BETTER WEAPONS. THIS SHOULD HELP. ALSO STOP FLYING INTO THINGS."
VIEWER COUNT: 892 MILLION
YOU'RE NOW THE #1 WATCHED CONTENT ACROSS ALL DIMENSIONS
CONGRATULATIONS
YOUR SUFFERING IS VERY POPULAR
Marcus equipped the bow and tested it. The arrows—which he didn't need thanks to the Infinity enchantment—were wreathed in flame and hit with significantly more force than his repulsor beams. This was good. This was progress. With the Iron Man armor for mobility and the Draconic Bow for actual damage, he might actually be able to start making real progress.
He stepped outside his shelter. It was day now—day seven, still, somehow. He'd been stuck on day seven for what felt like forever, dying and respawning and dying again. But he was learning. He was getting better. He was—
A shadow passed overhead.
Marcus looked up and saw something that made his blood run cold. It was a dragon, but not just any dragon. This was an Ice and Fire dragon, yes, but it was massive—easily tier 5, maybe even tier 6 based on its size. But that wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was that there was something riding it.
BOSS DETECTED: LICH KING
TWILIGHT FOREST MOD
LEVEL: 250
MOUNT: ANCIENT ICE DRAGON
LEVEL: 300
COMBINED THREAT LEVEL: PREPARE TO DIE
AGAIN
The Lich King raised its staff, and Marcus saw ice beginning to form in the air around him. Not just a little ice—massive spikes of ice, each one as big as a tree, materializing out of thin air and launching toward him.
Marcus activated his Iron Man armor—which had just barely finished recharging—and launched himself into the air, narrowly avoiding the ice spikes. He drew his bow mid-flight and fired at the Lich King. The flaming arrow struck true, but the Lich King's health bar barely moved. It had thousands of health, and his bow, while good, wasn't good enough for this.
The dragon breathed ice, and Marcus dodged, his armor's HUD screaming warnings at him. He returned fire, trying to damage either the dragon or its rider, but they were both far too tanky. This wasn't a fight he could win. This wasn't even a fight he could survive.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS: RUN AWAY
PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL IF YOU FIGHT: 0.0001%
PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL IF YOU RUN: 0.1%
IT'S NOT MUCH BETTER BUT IT'S SOMETHING
Marcus didn't need to be told twice. He angled his flight toward the ground, weaving between trees and terrain features, trying to break line of sight with the Lich King. Behind him, he could hear the dragon roaring, could hear the sound of ice magic being cast, could hear trees exploding as the Lich King's attacks missed him by increasingly narrow margins.
He flew into a cave system, killing his flight and running deeper underground. The cave was dark, barely lit by the glow of his armor, but it was shelter. The dragon was too big to follow him in here. He just needed to—
He ran face-first into a wall.
Except it wasn't a wall.
Marcus looked up and saw that he'd run into the leg of something big. Something very big. He followed the leg up with his eyes, up and up and up, until he was staring at a face that was roughly fifteen blocks above the cave floor.
LYCANITES MOB: TREMOR
ELITE VARIANT
LEVEL: 150
HEALTH: 8,000
SPECIAL ABILITIES: EARTHQUAKE, STONE THROW, GENERALLY BEING A PROBLEM
STATUS: ANGRY THAT YOU WOKE IT UP
The Tremor raised its massive foot.
Marcus activated his flight, but in the enclosed space of the cave, he didn't have room to maneuver properly. The foot came down.
DEATH #53: STEPPED ON BY A TREMOR
CAUSE OF DEATH: POOR SPATIAL AWARENESS
SECONDARY CAUSE OF DEATH: TERRIBLE LUCK
TERTIARY CAUSE OF DEATH: THE UNIVERSE HATES YOU
RESPAWNING...
And so it continued.
Marcus died to the Lich King (four times). He died to Orespawn mobs when he accidentally triggered another crystal (seven times). He died to a Titan that spawned near his base (twice). He died to what the System called a "Lunar Event" that apparently made all mobs stronger during full moons (three times). He died to a pack of wolves that turned out to be from RLcraft and had absurd damage multipliers (once, but it was a very traumatic death).
He also died to his own stupidity more times than he cared to admit.
DEATH #54: TRIED TO PUNCH AN EXPLOSIVE TREE (AGAIN)
DEATH #59: FELL IN A HOLE (AGAIN)
DEATH #63: TESTED IF FALL DAMAGE WAS STILL A THING (IT IS)
DEATH #67: WONDERED IF YOU COULD OUTRUN A DRAGON (YOU CANNOT)
DEATH #71: FORGOT TO EAT, STARVED TO DEATH
NOTE: REALLY? STARVATION?
AFTER EVERYTHING ELSE, YOU DIED TO HUNGER?
DISAPPOINTING
But between the deaths, Marcus was learning. He was getting better at using the Iron Man armor, better at combat, better at recognizing threats before they killed him. The donations helped enormously. Every day, a new item would appear in his inventory from some generous viewer who apparently wanted to see him succeed, or at least wanted to see him survive long enough to continue being entertaining.
Day eight brought him a Tinkers' Construct sword that could level up as he used it. Day nine brought him a ring from Botania that prevented a single death per day. Day ten brought him a backpack mod expansion that increased his inventory space significantly.
The items were good—great, even—but they also highlighted just how absurdly difficult this modpack was. Even with modded endgame items being donated to him, Marcus was still dying regularly. The bosses were too strong, the mobs too numerous, the environment too hostile.
It was during day twelve that Marcus had his first real victory.
He'd been exploring a new area, trying to find some specific resources he needed for an upgrade to his armor, when he encountered a group of zombies. Not modded zombies, just regular vanilla zombies. Six of them, shambling toward him with their characteristic groans.
Marcus drew his Tinkers' sword—which had leveled up enough to have some decent enchantments now—and engaged them. The fight was over in seconds. Six zombies, dead, dropping their rotten flesh and the occasional iron ingot.
MOBS KILLED: 6
DEATHS: 0
COMBAT RATING: COMPETENT
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST FLAWLESS COMBAT ENCOUNTER
IT ONLY TOOK 78 DEATHS AND 12 DAYS
PROUD OF YOU
NO REALLY
THAT WASN'T SARCASM
WELL, MOSTLY NOT SARCASM
Marcus stood there, looking at the mob drops, feeling a surge of genuine accomplishment. Six zombies. Normal, vanilla zombies. He'd killed them without dying. It wasn't much—it was basically the bare minimum of Minecraft competence—but it was progress.
"I killed something," he said aloud. "I actually killed something without immediately dying afterward."
VIEWER REACTION: ENTHUSIASTIC
SOMEONE MADE A HIGHLIGHT REEL
IT'S TITLED: "MARCUS DOESN'T DIE FOR 30 SECONDS STRAIGHT (EPIC)"
IT HAS 47 MILLION VIEWS
YOU'RE VERY POPULAR
Marcus decided not to think too hard about the fact that him not dying for half a minute was considered highlight-reel worthy. Instead, he collected his loot and continued exploring. He was getting the hang of this. He was learning the patterns, the spawn rates, the danger zones. He was—
An arrow hit him in the back.
Marcus spun around, his health bar dropping by two hearts. Standing on a hill about thirty blocks away was a skeleton. Just a regular skeleton with a regular bow. Except when Marcus looked closer, he saw that this skeleton had a name tag floating above its head: "Ancient Skeleton Marksman."
MODDED MOB DETECTED: ANCIENT SKELETON MARKSMAN
LEVEL: 80
SPECIAL ABILITIES: PERFECT AIM, KNOCKBACK ARROWS, EXPLOSIVE ARROWS, SPITE
DANGER LEVEL: MODERATE TO HIGH
The skeleton fired again. Marcus activated his flight and took to the air, but the arrow curved mid-flight—actually curved, defying physics—and hit him anyway. Another two hearts gone.
"Are you serious?" Marcus shouted. "Homing arrows? The skeleton has homing arrows?"
ANCIENT SKELETON MARKSMEN ARE CONSIDERED MINI-BOSSES
THEY HAVE VARIOUS SPECIAL ARROWS
HOMING, EXPLOSIVE, LIGHTNING, TELEPORTATION
THAT LAST ONE IS PARTICULARLY ANNOYING
The skeleton fired what looked like a lightning arrow. Marcus dodged, and the arrow hit the ground where he'd been standing, creating a massive explosion of electrical energy that left a crater and set several nearby trees on fire.
Marcus returned fire with his bow, his flaming arrows streaking through the air. The first few missed—the skeleton was surprisingly mobile for an undead archer—but the fourth arrow connected. The skeleton's health bar appeared, showing it had about 4,000 health total. His arrow had done maybe 200 damage.
This was going to take a while.
Marcus engaged in what could only be described as the world's most stressful aerial archery duel. He would fly, dodge the skeleton's increasingly ridiculous arrows (one appeared to be made of pure void energy and left holes in reality where it passed), fire back when he had an opening, and repeat. His Iron Man armor's energy was depleting, his own arrow supply—wait, no, he had Infinity, so that was fine—but his concentration was definitely depleting.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably only about three minutes, the skeleton's health finally reached zero. It collapsed into a pile of bones and dropped several items, including something called a "Marksman's Bow" that apparently had a chance to fire special arrows.
MINI-BOSS DEFEATED: ANCIENT SKELETON MARKSMAN
DEATHS DURING ENCOUNTER: 0
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: DAVID VS GOLIATH (DEFEAT A MINI-BOSS)
VIEWER REACTION: IMPRESSED
CONCURRENT VIEWERS: 1.2 BILLION
YOU'RE TRENDING AGAIN
Marcus collected his loot, feeling genuinely proud of himself. He'd fought a mini-boss and won without dying. That was real progress. That was—
The ground beneath him exploded.
Marcus was thrown into the air by the force of the blast. When he managed to stabilize his flight and look back, he saw something emerging from the crater where he'd been standing. It was big, insectoid, with too many legs and mandibles that looked like they could bite through stone.
ORESPAWN MOB: ANT QUEEN
LEVEL: 400
HEALTH: 50,000
STATUS: ANGRY THAT YOU KILLED HER CHILDREN
WAIT, WHAT CHILDREN?
OH, THOSE ZOMBIES YOU KILLED EARLIER WERE INFECTED BY ANT LARVAE
ORESPAWN IS WEIRD LIKE THAT
GOOD LUCK
The Ant Queen screeched—a sound that made Marcus's ears ring even though he probably didn't have ears in the traditional sense anymore—and launched itself at him with shocking speed for something its size.
Marcus flew straight up, gaining altitude as fast as his armor would allow. The Ant Queen followed, apparently capable of some kind of jumping or climbing ability that let it pursue him into the air. He fired arrows at it, each one connecting but doing minimal damage to its enormous health pool.
TACTICAL ANALYSIS: YOU CANNOT WIN THIS FIGHT
YOUR CURRENT EQUIPMENT IS INSUFFICIENT
RECOMMENDATION: STRATEGIC RETREAT
TRANSLATION: RUN AWAY VERY FAST
Marcus didn't argue. He angled his flight away from the Ant Queen and pushed his armor to maximum speed. His energy was at 40% and dropping. The Ant Queen was still chasing him, somehow keeping pace despite having no visible means of flight.
He flew toward the nearest biome transition—a river that marked the border between the plains and what looked like a jungle. Maybe he could lose the Ant Queen in the dense foliage, maybe—
Something grabbed him from the side.
Marcus found himself in the grip of what appeared to be a massive plant, a vine as thick as his torso that had shot out from the jungle canopy. The vine squeezed, and his armor's integrity warnings started blaring.
NEW THREAT: TWILIGHT FOREST BOSS - NAGA
LEVEL: 180
HEALTH: 30,000
YOU'VE FLOWN INTO ITS TERRITORY
IT DOES NOT APPRECIATE VISITORS
ALSO THE ANT QUEEN IS STILL CHASING YOU
YOU'RE FIGHTING TWO BOSSES NOW
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
"Terrible!" Marcus shouted, struggling against the Naga's grip. "It feels terrible!"
He managed to draw his sword and slash at the vine holding him. The Tinkers' blade cut through it, freeing him, but now he could see the Naga's main body—a massive serpent easily fifty blocks long, with scales that shimmered in the light and eyes that tracked his every movement.
Behind him, the Ant Queen was closing in.
Below him, the Naga was preparing to strike again.
His armor's energy was at 25%.
Marcus made a split-second decision. He deactivated his flight and dropped like a stone toward the river below. Both bosses struck at where he'd been, their attacks colliding with each other in a spectacular explosion of force. Marcus hit the water hard, the impact bringing his health down to critical levels despite his armor.
He swam—well, jumped repeatedly while underwater, because Minecraft—downstream as fast as he could, putting distance between himself and the two bosses who were now apparently fighting each other. He could hear the sounds of combat above the water, massive crashes and explosions and screeches.
When he finally surfaced, he was far enough downstream that the bosses were just sounds in the distance. His armor was at 10% power. His health was at three hearts. He was exhausted—could you be exhausted when you were basically a video game character? Apparently yes—and completely lost.
But he was alive.
SURVIVAL STREAK: 8 MINUTES WITHOUT DYING
NEW PERSONAL RECORD
VIEWER REACTION: EXTREMELY ENTHUSIASTIC
HIGHLIGHT REEL TITLED "MARCUS FIGHTS TWO BOSSES AND ACTUALLY SURVIVES" HAS BEEN CREATED
IT'S TRENDING IN 300+ DIMENSIONS
Marcus dragged himself onto the riverbank and collapsed on the blocky grass, watching his health slowly regenerate and his armor slowly recharge. Day twelve was almost over. He'd survived another day—barely, and with many, many deaths, but survived nonetheless.
He checked his stats.
DAY 12 COMPLETE
DAYS REMAINING: 88
TOTAL DEATHS: 94
BOSSES DEFEATED: 0
MINI-BOSSES DEFEATED: 1
TIMES YOU'VE MADE TWO BOSSES FIGHT EACH OTHER: 1
CURRENT LOCATION: SOMEWHERE ALONG THE RIVER OF PROBABLE DEATH
SHELTER STATUS: NONE
FOOD STATUS: LOW
ARMOR ENERGY: 10%
WILL TO LIVE: SURPRISINGLY INTACT
Marcus laughed, a sound that came out slightly unhinged. Ninety-four deaths. Twelve days down, eighty-eight to go. He'd defeated exactly one mini-boss and had a grand total of zero progress toward actually beating the Ender Dragon. At this rate, he'd hit the 100-day mark without ever even finding a stronghold, let alone defeating the dragon.
And yet, he was getting better. Slowly, painfully, through an absolutely absurd amount of dying, but he was improving. The Iron Man armor was becoming second nature. His combat skills were developing. He was learning to recognize threats and when to fight versus when to run away screaming.
A notification appeared in his vision.
NEW DONATION AVAILABLE
FROM: CRAFTINGMAMA420 FROM DIMENSION 11-GAMMA
ITEM: RING OF THE FLYING SQUID
DESCRIPTION: PROVIDES CREATIVE MODE FLIGHT WHEN WORN
MESSAGE: "YOU'RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE. THIS SHOULD HELP WITH THE MOBILITY ISSUES. ALSO EAT MORE, YOU LOOK THIN."
NOTE: VIEWER CRAFTINGMAMA420 IS APPARENTLY EVERYONE'S MOM
SHE HAS DONATED TO 47 DIFFERENT PLAYERS ACROSS MULTIPLE REALITIES
SHE'S VERY SUPPORTIVE
Marcus equipped the ring and felt the change immediately. Creative mode flight. Actual, proper creative mode flight, independent of his armor's energy. This was huge. This changed everything.
"Thank you, CraftingMama420," Marcus said to the sky, to the millions—billions?—of viewers watching his struggle. "You're the real MVP."
He tested the flight, rising smoothly into the air without the need to activate his armor. This was so much better than the Iron Man flight. No energy drain, perfect control, unlimited duration. Combined with his armor's combat capabilities and his bow's damage, he actually had a real loadout now.
Night was falling—he could see the sun setting in that distinctive Minecraft way where it just kind of descended below the horizon in a straight line. Marcus knew he should find shelter, should dig in somewhere safe and wait out the night. That would be the smart play.
Instead, he flew up high, above the jungle canopy, and looked out at the world around him. He could see his base in the distance, a small stone structure that looked pathetic compared to some of the massive buildings and dungeons scattered across the landscape. He could see dragons flying in the distance, their silhouettes massive against the darkening sky. He could see the purple corruption of an Orespawn crystal, the dark canopy of the Deadwood Forest, the floating islands of what might be the Aether mod.
It was terrifying. It was overwhelming. It was impossible.
And Marcus was going to beat it anyway.
"Day thirteen," he said, watching the first stars appear in the blocky sky. "Let's see what fresh horror awaits."
Below him, something roared. Multiple somethings. Night was beginning, and with it, the nightmare shift started. He could see mobs spawning, could see the world becoming more hostile with each passing second.
Marcus drew his bow, checked his armor's energy (now back to 45% and climbing), and smiled.
Let them come. He had creative flight now. He had donated items that were soulbound and could never be lost. He had nearly a billion viewers across multiple dimensions who apparently believed he could do this.
Somewhere in the distance, an Orespawn fairy screeched. A Titan took a thunderous step. A dragon unleashed its breath weapon at something Marcus couldn't see.
And Marcus flew toward the chaos, because if he was going to die—and he was definitely going to die, probably multiple times—he might as well make it entertaining.
VIEWER COUNT: 1.7 BILLION AND CLIMBING
CURRENT STATUS: #1 ENTERTAINMENT ACROSS ALL MONITORED DIMENSIONS
PREDICTION: YOU'LL DIE WITHIN 5 MINUTES
COUNTER-PREDICTION: YOU'LL KILL AT LEAST 3 MOBS FIRST
EITHER WAY, GOOD LUCK
YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT
Marcus laughed into the night and dove toward a pack of what looked like zombie pigmen that had somehow spawned in the overworld.
Day thirteen had begun.
And he was ready.
Sort of.
Okay, not really.
But he had creative flight and a bow and an absolutely terrible survival instinct, and sometimes that was enough.