Chapter 6:
Author's Note:
Okay, folks, I gotta be real with you. If some of this chapter seems a bit hard to follow, trust me, I'm right there with you. Trying to keep up with all this technical jargon and science-y stuff, whether it's real-world science or Marvel's made-up science, is a real headache. So, if I mess something up, please bear with me.
And hey, please don't give up on the story! I really appreciate you sticking with me. Thanks for reading!
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Tony Stark's life had taken a crazy turn. He'd been ambushed during a military test run and captured by terrorists. Now he was stuck in a cave, with a makeshift electromagnet keeping him alive.
The terrorists wanted him to build weapons, but Stark refused. He was starting to lose hope. Then, this guy named Mark showed up, claiming to be some kind of "Stand user." He'd taken out all the terrorists and offered Stark a way out.
Stark didn't know what to believe, but he knew he had to escape. Mark had said the terrorists were all gone, so Stark was free to go. But that electromagnet was a ticking time bomb. It could fail at any moment.
He needed a new power source. With Dr. Ho Yinsen's help, Stark started working on extracting palladium from a pile of missiles. It was the first step in building his new power supply.
Just as they were about to get started, Mark suddenly froze, distracted by an electronic notification.
[System Prompt: New Module Detected. Downloading]
"New Module?"
Mark was intrigued. What was this new module? He tried to get the system to tell him more, but there was no response. It was just a notification, not something he could interact with.
Stark, confused, stopped what he was doing and looked at Mark. "Are you talking to me?" he asked.
"Sort of," Mark said, walking towards Stark. He had a feeling this new module had something to do with what Stark was doing. "What are you working on?" he asked.
"I'm melting down this palladium metal," Stark explained, holding up a crucible over a fire. "I need to cast a palladium ring for a miniature arc reactor."
Suddenly, Mark remembered a time when he'd been messing around with the IndustrialCraft mod and accidentally picked up a Uranium-235 pellet. He'd gotten radiation poisoning. Almost without thinking, he blurted out, "Whoa... Are you going to give us all radiation poisoning?"
Stark looked at him, surprised. "What?"
Just then, Dr. Ho Yinsen walked over, holding a sand casting mold he'd just finished making. "What's going on? I thought I heard you two talking about something."
"Mark, please don't distract us with your comments," Stark said, brushing off Mark's concerns.
Dr. Ho Yinsen looked at Stark. "What exactly are you heating up?"
Stark, ignoring Mark's teasing, explained, "It's a Tritium Dish. I'm making a small arc reactor. It's perfectly safe. My company already has a bigger one. Dr. Ho Yinsen, you have steady hands. Come and help me cast the palladium ring."
Mark couldn't resist making another joke. "First, you single-handedly defeat all the terrorists, and now you're building a nuclear reactor in a cave? What's next, Tony?"
"Palladium isn't radioactive. It's just a heavy metal," Dr. Ho Yinsen corrected him.
Stark was getting annoyed. "The reactor I'm building doesn't use nuclear power. It uses palladium's cold fusion capability to absorb hydrogen isotopes. So please, don't talk about things you don't understand."
Mark was surprised. "Wait, palladium isn't radioactive?"
Stark sighed. "It's considered a radioactive element," he said, sounding frustrated. "Look, I'm not going to explain all the science to you. You clearly don't even know the difference between electromagnetic radiation and ionizing radiation. Dr. Ho Yinsen, come help me with this coil..."
Dr. Ho Yinsen didn't really understand what they were talking about, but he didn't dwell on it. When Stark called for his help, he went over to assist.
Using tongs, Dr. Ho Yinsen carefully lifted the hot crucible and started pouring the molten palladium into the sand casting mold.
As the glowing liquid metal flowed into the mold, Mark heard another electronic notification.
[System Prompt: 'Melting' and 'Casting' actions detected. You have obtained permission to download a new module.]
[System Prompt: Tinker Construct module download initiated...]
Mark's eyes widened. He understood now.
His modpack could get new modules. He'd been wondering about that ever since he got the Chinese Translation mod. And now it was happening. He didn't know how he was triggering these new modules, but it was definitely a good thing. If he could get a "Return Home" module or something, he might be able to get back to the Minecraft world.
The thought filled Mark with excitement.
Meanwhile, Stark had finished casting the palladium ring, but he still had a lot of work to do before the reactor was complete.
While Stark was working, Mark tried to add more modules. He kept thinking things like, "I've seen Fullmetal Alchemist, I want an Equivalent Exchange mod," but nothing happened. Frustrated, he decided to try out the Lucky Block instead.
Using the Lucky Block was a lot easier than trying to add modules. Mark had Steve right-click on the block, and it vanished in a flash of light. In its place was a crystal-clear, razor-sharp sword.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Mark recognized the sword instantly.
It was the Glass Sword from the Twilight Forest mod, one of his favorites. This sword was a rare drop from the Aurora Palace in the Glacial Caverns.
It had a whopping 40 attack power, but its durability was terrible. Only 1 point. It was super sharp, but it would break easily.
But that wasn't what really caught Mark's attention.
"Could it be that this Lucky Block can pull items from any mod?" Mark wondered, stroking his chin. "I don't even have the Twilight Forest mod installed, and I got the Glass Sword. That's wild."
If the Lucky Block really could pull items from any mod, that would be incredible.
There were so many Minecraft mods out there, with all kinds of crazy items and abilities. From infinite resources to powerful weapons to world-breaking machines, the possibilities were endless.
But since the Lucky Block was given to him by the system, Mark wasn't sure what the rules were.
Would he get a new reward every time he used a different mod? Or was it a one-time thing?
As if to answer his question, another electronic notification sounded in his mind.
[System Prompt: Tinker Construct module download complete. Load it?]
"Oh, cool!"
Mark didn't hesitate. "Load it up!" he said.
[System Prompt: Tinker Construct module loaded successfully.]
[System Prompt: By downloading and activating a new module, you have obtained a Lucky Block that randomly pulls an item from any known mod.]
Another Lucky Block appeared in Steve's inventory.
"No way!"
Mark was thrilled. Another Lucky Block!
Eagerly, he had Steve open the new Lucky Block. There was another flash of light, and then a strange purple claw-like thing was in Steve's hand.
Curious, Mark took a closer look. It was an Ender Hand from the Mutant Creatures mod. He knew what this thing could do. Left-clicking let you attack monsters directly, right-clicking let you control a floating block, and you could throw it at enemies. But the coolest thing was the SHIFT + right-click move. That let you teleport.
"This... this is awesome." Mark stared at the purple claw in Steve's hand, amazed by its potential.