Arknightcraft Modpack
Chapter 561: A Bold Hypothesis
Boarding this Zorah Magdaros turned out to be far easier than Steven had imagined. Setting aside the thick layer of leaking energy surrounding it—almost like some kind of protective barrier—the creature itself was surprisingly faithful to how it had been portrayed in the game he once played.
In other words, it was utterly single-minded.
All it wanted was to find a suitable place to settle down and die. As far as it was concerned, no matter who climbed onto its massive body, it simply didn't care in the slightest.
Only when Steven actually set foot on Zorah Magdaros's back did he truly grasp how different this creature was from its in-game counterpart.
The sheer scale alone was on an entirely different level.
Squinting slightly, Steven surveyed the land beneath his feet—a "back" so vast it might as well have been an island. From the outside, it was clear the creature was moving, yet standing here, the ground felt far more stable than expected.
If one ignored the central volcano that constantly spewed scorching, molten lava, this place could practically be described as a hidden paradise.
To his surprise, Steven even spotted patches of tropical vegetation scattered across the surface—plants that had likely taken root from seeds carried here by seabirds or other means. In other words, if he really wanted to… farming here wasn't out of the question.
Wasn't there a saying that volcanic soil was incredibly rich in nutrients? Crops grown here might even yield far more than usual.
Realizing this unexpected advantage only strengthened Steven's determination to tame Zorah Magdaros as his Pokémon. A self-sustaining greenhouse combined with mobile farmland? That alone made it vastly superior to any so-called "mobile city."
Of course, at the moment, it seemed he wasn't the only one harboring such ambitions.
Taking a deep breath of the sulfur-laden, burnt-smelling air, Steven casually scanned the "island" and quickly noticed numerous twisted, partially decayed corpses.
Judging from the skeletal structures—half-human, half-fish—it wasn't hard to conclude that the sea-dwelling creatures had indeed attempted to drive this dangerous walking catastrophe out of the ocean. But from the looks of things, their efforts had failed… for some reason.
After examining the scattered corpses and confirming that, aside from these sea creatures, no humans had set foot here yet, Steven rubbed his chin thoughtfully and began analyzing their cause of death.
This clearly wasn't Zorah Magdaros's doing.
To such a colossal being, these creatures were no more than mites. As long as they didn't interfere with its movement, it would simply ignore them.
Which is why the mass death of these sea creatures is all the more puzzling.
If Steven intended to turn Zorah Magdaros into his base, then unexplained "murders" like this were definitely unacceptable.
Fortunately, as he inspected the remains more closely, he noticed something embedded deep within their crushed bodies—gleaming, crystalline white spikes.
At that moment, a subtle smile appeared on Steven's face.
"Well… that's certainly faithful to the original."
Not only had Zorah Magdaros been brought here, but it seemed that the creature originally meant to hunt it had crossed over as well.
Nergigante.
Thinking of that horned, winged, spiky "giant hedgehog," Steven found himself feeling a strange sense of nostalgia.
Back when he was still playing the game, quite a few players jokingly referred to Nergigante as their "true Handler" or even their "waifu." After all, it was a presence that followed the Sapphire Star—the player character—from Low Rank all the way through Master Rank. Later on, it even received a special quest akin to an official declaration: "To the Very Ends with You." With that kind of treatment, its popularity was naturally off the charts.
Steven himself wouldn't go so far as to call it some kind of "dragon fetish," but one thing was certain—deep down, he did harbor a certain fondness and admiration for this monster that had once felt like a fated rival in the game.
"If I could snag a Nergigante too, that wouldn't be bad at all… I just happen to be missing a mount with some personality. Riding that thing around would be the definition of flashy, wouldn't it?"
The mere thought of making an entrance atop Nergigante made Steven feel an unexpected surge of anticipation. This was exactly the kind of mount he wanted—cool, unique, and overwhelmingly stylish. Just imagining it made him itch with excitement.
And judging by the condition of the spikes embedded in those corpses, this Nergigante might even be a special variant—the one players jokingly called the "Bride Nergigante," officially known as Ruiner Nergigante. Those crystallized white spikes only made its appearance even more striking. As far as Steven was concerned, there was nothing not to love.
With such an unexpected bonus waiting for him, how could he not be delighted?
Humming to himself, Steven began making his way toward the volcano that continuously spewed molten lava. If he remembered correctly, that Nergigante should be waiting for hunters on a certain platform near the volcanic peak.
Of course, that wasn't his only reason for heading there.
There were still questions left unanswered, and investigating the interior of the volcano had become something he had to do.
From the moment he set foot on Zorah Magdaros, Steven had been able to gauge its condition through the health bar displayed in his vision.
The seemingly endless string of numbers represented its maximum HP.
And its current HP?
Less than five percent.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Zorah Magdaros was already at death's door. Judging by the steady decline of its health, Steven estimated it might only hold on for another one or two months at most.
That was, of course, assuming nothing unexpected happened.
But in this world, avoiding the unexpected was almost impossible.
Its current state was clearly abnormal.
In Steven's memory, Zorah Magdaros simply reached the end of its natural lifespan—it wasn't supposed to be dying like this, as if afflicted by some terminal illness.
Moreover, the energy radiating from the volcano was… strange.
Under normal circumstances, the volcano on Zorah Magdaros's back functioned merely as a heat-dissipation organ. It shouldn't be gathering such terrifying, concentrated energy like it was now.
All of this raised red flags for the Minecrafter.
Since he was already here, there was no way he'd leave without getting to the bottom of it.
As he continued climbing upward, the number of sea creature corpses strewn along the path gradually increased. From their condition, it was clear that the higher he went, the stronger these creatures had been in life.
Not only that, but across the cracked volcanic surface—where scorching magma constantly burst forth—Steven also spotted numerous massive mineral deposits exposed above ground.
Their blood-red color, combined with the immense energy contained within them, made it obvious.
Even without thinking, Steven could guess that this was the real reason those Columbians wanted to land here.
Pulling out his precision mining pick, he casually chipped off a piece of the ore. When he saw the name displayed above it—
[Zorah Alpha Chunk]
—he finally confirmed that it was exactly what he thought it was.
[Unstable Zorah Alpha Chunk]: An ore containing immense energy and heat. It seems to harbor a mysterious form of vitality within, its raw power making it an ideal material for forging or use as an energy source. However, for unknown reasons, it is mixed with certain impure substances, rendering it somewhat unstable.
At first glance, this thing wasn't all that different from the Redstone Steven carried—aside from having a higher energy output.
But there was one crucial difference.
Redstone had infinite energy.
Because of that, Steven didn't think much of these ores. At best, they could serve as a convenient cover to mask his use of Redstone.
That said, the impurities within them were likely the root cause of Zorah Magdaros's current miserable state.
Reaching down, Steven picked up a small fragment of a Zorah Alpha Chunk and held it up. Under the glow of the volcano overhead, he squinted slightly—and within the veins of the ore, he faintly made out something strange.
Thin, orange-yellow filaments.
They twisted unnaturally through the mineral, like something alive.
At that moment, a bold hypothesis began to take shape in his mind.
"…Interesting."
A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"I wonder… if I pour a bucket of milk on it, would it even work on something this big?"
If it was some kind of infection, then in theory, the all-purpose cure—milk—should do the trick.
But reality wasn't so simple.
Setting aside whether he even had enough milk, there was a bigger issue. Judging from the side effects he had observed before, even if it worked, Zorah Magdaros—currently at less than five percent HP—wouldn't survive the process.
In other words, he'd have to restore its health first.
Having more or less figured out a plan to deal with the situation, Steven continued climbing upward without hesitation.
Whether his hypothesis was correct or not… That would depend on what he found next.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 617: A Bold Guess[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/arknightcraft-160680628