Minecraft:Minecraft: Adventure School/1CHP

Before…

Somewhere in a Minecraft:dark forest, a man is seen hunched over a Minecraft:crafting table, crafting a Minecraft:book out of Minecraft:paper and Minecraft:leather. He then pulls out his Minecraft:quill, sits down by the Minecraft:fire next to his Minecraft:horse, and opens the book to start writing. The text mentions that the man hadn’t slept for two days, trying to find the perfect location for his school. He then sorted through the many applications he received, narrowing it down to just over two dozen potential students.

Chapter 1: Belinda

That same night, Minecraft:Belinda carefully sneaks out of Minecraft:bed, not wanting to wake up her sister, Lucy, or her mother. Belinda starts to search the house for a book she had gotten in a Minecraft:chest the previous day; her mom had snatched it away from her before she could read the first page. Belinda quickly finds it in her mother’s room in a chest in a far corner. Carefully taking it out and opening it, it says that Belinda is invited to an entrance exam for Minecraft:Hero Crowe’s Adventure School, taking place at the coordinates shown on the page. She then takes her mother’s faded leather armor out of the chest and quietly puts it on before closing the chest and tiptoeing back to her room, only to notice Lucy stir awake and ask Belinda if she is thinking about the adventure school. Belinda says that she isn’t thinking about it, but immediately says after that she is going there. Lucy’s skin turns pale as she lists off the many supposed things that Minecraft:Hero Crowe had made his students do, like disabling a Minecraft:mob spawner in a Minecraft:dungeon, or going down into the Minecraft:deep dark to fight a Minecraft:warden only to not return, but Belinda sheepishly dismisses them as rumors, stating that they didn’t return because they became heroes and are now off traveling the Overworld. She then again insists that she is going, and Lucy suggests to come with her, but Belinda says for her to stay here and cover for her instead, adding that she herself will clean the stables for two months when she gets back. Lucy accepts, but only if Belinda takes her father’s iron pickaxe. Belinda hesitates at first, but eventually accepts, placing it into her pack before she leaves.

Chapter 2: Cel

The following morning, Minecraft:Cel wakes up in her bed to the familiar sound of Minecraft:cows mooing through her open window. She then sits up to look at the Minecraft:mountains as she does every morning living in the village of Minecraft:Farmingtown. Cel then stretches to get ready for the day, but she pauses, feeling that something is off as she would be normally met with the sounds of her eight siblings. Today, she is greeted with silence, and Cel notices that their beds were unmade and empty. Now coming to a head that something is awry, Cel quickly gets dressed and heads downstairs, only to find the dining table completely untouched. She then calls out for her mom and dad, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she finds her whole family in the front yard congregated around an Minecraft:obsidian altar with a chest in the middle. Cel quickly opens the chest despite objections from her parents, finding a book with a page mentioning that she had been invited to Hero Crowe’s Adventure School. Her mother immediately asks her if she had applied for the school. Cel attempts to speak, but is interrupted by her father, saying that she’d be better off here as a farmer. Her mother concurs, dismissing Hero Crowe as someone who can’t be trusted, and brings the book back into their cottage.

That night, Cel sneaks out into the family stables and opens a chest containing some Minecraft:maps, adventure books, and things that "her mother wouldn’t approve of". She uses one of the maps to plot out the coordinates that she had remembered, leading to a lush and dense wooded area with a large Minecraft:lake. Cel then fills her pack with a few loaves of Minecraft:bread and some Minecraft:cooked porkchop from that night’s dinner, along with a wooden garden hoe to use as a weapon. Sneaking out the front Minecraft:door, she hesitates and glances back, knowing that she’d be safe at home. Cel then glances back down at her map and gathers enough courage to take her first steps outside of Farmingtown, realizing that there was no way she could live with herself if she didn’t take the risk.

Chapter 3: Jack

Jack is seen setting a "steely gaze" on the figure in front of him: an Minecraft:armor stand made to look like a Minecraft:zombie. He practices whacking it with his father’s Minecraft:iron sword, hoping to convince his parents that he is ready to go on adventures with them. Minecraft:Jack’s grandmother interrupts him soon after, asking him if he built the obsidian altar with the chest outside of his grandmother’s cottage. Jack sheepishly admits that he didn’t as he opens the chest to find a book, and opens it soon after. Jack is then seen preparing to go to Hero Crowe’s Adventure School. His grandmother puts some bread in his pack despite her earlier objections to wait until his parents came back. She also mentions that Hero Crowe had trained Jack’s own mother before until he abandoned her as she was fighting an Minecraft:enderman; it wasn’t until his father built a Minecraft:cobblestone shelter that the enderman eventually gave up and teleported away. Jack’s stomach twists at the thought of Hero Crowe abandoning his own mother, but believes that Hero Crowe was just teaching her on how to survive against an enderman. Jack is hopeful that he’ll be able to survive, and leaves soon after with his pack in tow. That afternoon, Jack is following the map when he hears a girl attacking a Minecraft:creeper. Jack saves Belinda just before the creeper explodes by having her duck behind a Minecraft:tree. Belinda quickly goes under a false pretense that she did all the work despite Jack having clearly saved her, and Jack personally vows to never help someone ever again.

Chapter 4: Belinda

Belinda talks to herself, calling the boy she had just met "a blockhead", not expecting her journey to becoming a hero to start like this. Although Belinda admits to herself that he rescued her, she huffs out a harsh breath to calm herself down. She then follows the map, reaching a Minecraft:meadow by a lake late in the afternoon. Other potential students for Hero Crowe’s Adventure School were there; some were alone or with their families, and some were crowded with other potential students. Belinda soon finds a spot beneath an oak tree just before Minecraft:fireworks are launched over the lake. A Minecraft:boat then appears, holding a horse, and Hero Crowe swoops in with Minecraft:elytra and wearing Minecraft:netherite armor, landing on the horse in the boat just as it reaches the shore. Hero Crowe then stands atop a boulder, putting up his hand to silence the crowd, and then takes off his helmet, asking the crowd if someone is going to get his horse. The students then head toward the horse to assist it out of the boat. One of them, a young girl, is bumped by the horse and stumbles into the shallow Minecraft:water, and is then cornered by a Minecraft:drowned. Belinda rushes in to save her.

Chapter 5: Cel

Cel gasps as her heart pounds at the sight of the drowned breaking the surface. She attempts to stand, but the overwhelming fear makes her legs feel wobbly. Belinda rushes in to save Cel as the drowned starts grabbing Cel’s leg, and Belinda tells her to fight it. Out of spite, Cel repeatedly kicks the drowned until its grip is released, and Belinda pulls her to the shore. The two quickly introduce themselves before Cel hits the drowned with her wooden garden hoe, allowing Belinda to yank Cel out of the water and onto solid ground. Cel thanks Belinda for her bravery as another girl scoffs Belinda for saving Cel. Cel says to Belinda to not listen to her, but Belinda had already started walking toward Hero Crowe, wanting to focus on becoming an adventurer.

Chapter 6: Belinda

Hero Crowe climbs back up onto his horse, dismissing completely what had just happened between Belinda and Cel. Hero Crowe then introduces himself and says to the students that they will embark on a journey where only one of them can be the victor. Hero Crowe then says that the journey will not be easy, adding that the one who passes his admissions test will not only become his apprentice, but also win a Minecraft:shulker box, which is overflowing with Minecraft:diamond weapons and tools, netherite armor, Minecraft:music discs, books, Minecraft:potions, and Minecraft:emeralds, with some items even being Minecraft:enchanted. Mara mentions that it is a type of chest you can get after defeating a Minecraft:shulker in Minecraft:the End, quipping that she has tons of them at her home in Minecraft:Richton. Hero Crowe then brings up the admissions test, saying to the group that they can prove themselves as worthy of becoming a hero. He then says that the others who don’t feel like they are ready can leave. As night is approaching, Hero Crowe also says that those who are afraid to build a shelter can wait out for him to build a shelter for them so they too can leave. Some grab their belongings and walk away from the lake, as the risks to them would far outweigh the reward. A few others huddle in a group, waiting for Hero Crowe to build the shelter that was promised to them. With the small main crowd remaining, Hero Crowe says and points out that the main school is on the other side of this lake in a wooded area, and that only the first four that make it to the school will be admitted for the test. As the main group wait for the signal to start, Hero Crowe builds the shelter for the departing competitors as night falls. After completing it, he huddles the departing ones in and closes the doors. He then launches a firework rocket into the sky, signaling that the admission test had begun.

Chapter 7: Belinda

Acting quickly, the group that remain attempt to craft boats, while some fight off the hostile mobs that had approached them. Belinda starts going to the nearby trees, chopping at the wood with her Minecraft:axe before finding a spot to set up a crafting table, attempting to learn how to craft a boat. One girl notices Belinda staring at her work and covers it up. Belinda then notices a tall birch tree, followed by Mara pushing Cel out of the way, claiming that the tree is hers. Cel attempts to make peace, but another girl shouts to run as a zombie approaches her, making her drop her wood in the progress. The zombie is soon killed by a lone Minecraft:arrow in the distance as Mara picks up the wood that previously belonged to the girl. Cel then helps Belinda with crafting a boat as Jack scoffs at them for working together. Cel and Belinda then set the boat in the lake and get in it, doing their best to avoid the drowned attempting to attack them. Just then, a sharp crack is heard followed by a loud scream. A boy is attacked by drowned as his boat shatters, barely escaping by making it back to shore. Others are still crowded on the bank as their chances of attending Hero Crowe’s Adventure School had all but fizzled out. A drowned then appears near Belinda and Cel’s boat, with its eyes fixed intently on them.

Chapter 8: Cel

Cel’s breathing grows labored as her limbs fall numb, but Belinda gets her back on track with rowing the oars as the two try their best to make it to the other side of the lake. The boat gets hit once more, and Belinda prepares to strike, but Cel grabs her arm before she does so, pointing out that it is Jack. The two sheepishly help Jack onto the boat, and the three do their best to make it, noting that the boat is veering off course because of too many people being on the boat. As Jack attacks the drowned and Cel and Belinda row the boat, arrows fly in to assist them, killing off the remaining drowned. Cel then notices a drowned going after Mara. Cel attempts to warn her, but the drowned had already broken Mara’s boat with its trident. She screams for help, but another arrow flies in to kill the drowned. Cel decides to help Mara onto the boat despite the objections of Jack, and the four slowly head over to the opposite side of the lake, with Cel handling the oars, Belinda and Jack keeping watch, and Mara holding onto the gunwale of the boat.