MC POV
The morning was crisp as we stood in front of the Pyramid, planning out our day. The sun had barely risen, and yet everyone was already up, eager for adventure. I stretched my arms, and glanced at the others.
"Alright, let's split into teams for today," I said, breaking the silence. "I'll go with Bruce and Rose. We'll head into the Nether, see if we can score some loot from bastions or fortresses, and maybe mine a Netherite ore if we get lucky."
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You want to deal with Piglins and Wither Skeletons while we relax in the Overworld? You're brave, man."
I smirked. "Someone has to do the heavy lifting, and Netherite can be useful to us. What about you? Got plans?"
"We'll explore more of the Overworld," Peter replied, gesturing to Megumi, Hinata, and Tatsumaki, who were talking among themselves a few feet away. "Hopefully, we'll come across something good. Maybe even find a Structure if we're lucky."
"Deal," I said. "We meet back here by sundown. Let's see who gets better loot."
Bruce nodded, checking his weaponry with silent efficiency. Rose, on the other hand, adjusted her gear and gave me a playful grin.
"Don't worry," she teased. "I'll keep you two alive."
"Yeah, yeah," I replied, rolling my eyes. "Let's go."
With that, our groups parted ways. Bruce, Rose, and I made our way to the Nether portal at the base of the Pyramid, swirling with purple and black energy rippling ominously. I stepped through it first, feeling the familiar sensation of my body being torn and reassembled on the other side.
---
The Nether greeted us with its signature oppressive heat and barren wasteland of red and black stone. Lava rivers flowed nearby, bubbling and hissing like they always did. Bruce and Rose followed behind me, both alert and ready for anything.
"Let's scout the opposite direction from last time," Bruce suggested. "We haven't explored much of the southern side."
"Sounds good," I agreed, pulling out one of the twin compass and leaving it near the portal to make sure we didn't get lost. We began trekking through the hellish terrain, dodging the occasional lava flow and killing any hostile mobs that dared cross our path.
After about thirty minutes of travel, we stumbled upon a structure. Standing tall and ominous in the distance was a Nether Fortress, its jagged black stone towers piercing the sky. The telltale shapes of Wither Skeletons patrolled its walkways, their dark figures barely visible through the haze of ash.
As we moved closer we could see the Basalt Biome emerging from the horizon with a Bastion on its edge
"Well, there's our first stop," I muttered, pointing toward the fortress. "Looks like it's crawling with mobs, though."
Rose shrugged, a spark of excitement flickering in her eyes. "More fun for us."
As we approached the fortress, we could see the mobs more clearly. Wither Knights clad in dark armor stood guard near the entrance, and several Blaze hovered near the ramparts, spitting fireballs down at us.
Bruce pulled out his iron sword. "I'll take out the Blazes from here and get some blaze rods while I am at it."
"Good idea," I said, readying my sword. "I'll lead us in. Rose, watch my back."
As we charged toward the fortress, the Wither Skeletons noticed us first. Their haunting screeches echoed through the air as they brandished their stone swords and charged. I swung my blade, cutting down two of them in quick succession, while Rose raised he wand and swung it down to summon a bolt of lightning, striking one of the Wither Knights.
The moment the lightning hit, something incredible happened. The Wither Knight shimmered, and suddenly, a black skeleton horse appeared beneath it, decked out in Netherite armor. Its sword now gleamed with flames, and the knight seemed stronger.
"Well, that's new," I said, eyeing the black skeletal horse. "Think we can get one of those for ourselves?"
Rose grinned. "Let's find out."
After dispatching the rest of the skeletons and knights, we gathered some basic loot — mostly gold armor and the occasional Blaze rod. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side. The chests we found inside the fortress held little more than fire resistance potions, a golden apple, some gold ingots, and — of course — a diamond horse armor.
I stared at the diamond horse armor in my hand, shaking my head. "Seriously? We don't even have a horse. Even the skeleton horse died after the Might got killed."
Rose chuckled. "It's almost like the fortress is mocking us."
"Seems that way," I sighed. "Alright, let's head to that Bastion we saw in the distance. Maybe we'll have better luck there."
---
After another short trek, we found ourselves standing in front of the imposing structure of a Bastion. Its blackstone walls loomed high above us, and we could already hear the grunts of Piglins inside. I quickly put on a gold helmet to avoid immediate hostility, and the others did the same.
"Be careful," I warned. "Those Piglin Brutes are aggressive."
We cautiously made our way inside, and it wasn't long before the Brutes noticed us. The first one charged at me with surprising speed, swinging its golden axe. I dodged to the side and killed it with a quick slash, but other brutes kept coming, enraged. Rose blasted them with a fireball, and they finally collapsed in a heap.
"That was annoying," she muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"And there's probably more where they came from," Bruce said, eyeing the hallways ahead.
As we moved deeper into the Bastion, we found some decent loot. Two enchanted diamond pickaxes, an enchanted crossbow, and a few gold blocks were stashed in various chests. Nothing game-changing, but still better than what we'd found in the fortress.
When we reached the center chamber, we were greeted by a surprise. Not only was the room filled with Magma Cubes, but standing in the center was an Obsidian Golem, towering over everything with glowing purple eyes.
"Well, that's new," Bruce remarked, drawing his weapon.
The Golem didn't wait for us to make a move. It charged, swinging its massive obsidian arms at us. I dodged, avoiding the hit, while Rose prepared her Magic.
"Leave it to me" she shouted.
Before Bruce and I could engaged with the Golem.Rose summoned her Magic and with a flick of her wrist, the Golem was lifted off the ground, its massive body levitating helplessly in the air. Rose clenched her fist, and the Golem began to shrink, its form distorting until it was no larger than a beetle.
Then, with a final motion she brought it below her feet, crushing the miniature Golem into the ground, turning it into obsidian powder.
I blinked and thought 'Ancient Magic is Overpowered'.
"Remind me never to make you mad," I joked, catching my breath.
Rose smirked. "I'm sure you'll find a way."
With the Golem defeated and the rest of the Magma Cubes dispatched, seeing he have time lefr we decided to start mining for Netherite. After two hours of painstaking mining, we finally found a Netherite ore.
"Finally," I said, inspecting the ore. "I can analyze this and start recreating it later. Let's head back."
---
We made our way back to the Overworld, stepping through the portal and back into the warm sunlight. To our surprise, Peter and the others were already waiting for us at the Pyramid, and they looked... smug.
"How'd it go?" I asked, walking over to Peter.
Peter grinned, holding up a shimmering Totem of Undying. "Oh, you know. We just found a Woodland Mansion and managed to get one of these bad boys after killing an Evoker. No big deal."
I stared at the Totem, then back at Peter, feeling a wave of frustration. "Seriously? You found a mansion and got a Totem while we were down there getting gold armor and a diamond horse armor?"
"Yup," Peter said, grinning wider. "Looks like luck was on our side today."
I cursed under my breath. "Of course it was. Meanwhile, we fought an Obsidian Golem and barely got a single Netherite ore."
Rose laughed, patting me on the back. "Hey, at least we got something, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered. "Next time, I'm sticking to the Overworld."