Even though we did not reach 600 Powerstones we were very close to it so I decided to upload the bonus chapter anyway.
--
With rewards on the line, Zeke's motivation to explore surged. He beckoned Archmagos Cawl, and together they headed toward the center of the ancient city.
The density of the buildings increased, and ruins resembling city walls began to appear. Footsteps on the stone triggered chains of echoes. The first step would elicit a crisp tap, followed immediately by responses from all directions, layering over one another as if unseen residents were mimicking their strides.
Fortunately, there were a few living people around. Zeke glanced at Cawl; otherwise, the eerie atmosphere would have genuinely scared him.
"Archmagos Cawl, and Qvo, could you help me collect some of these jars?"
Zeke smashed another jar by the roadside, dropping a few pieces of coal.
Archmagos Cawl nodded. While studying the surrounding architecture, his mechanical sub-arm conveniently collected nearby jars for Zeke.
Three people were much faster than one, and Zeke soon gathered a large pile of mystery jars.
Then came the joyful unboxing session. Zeke smashed the jars before him with a crack-crack-crack.
Music Discs. Zeke pocketed several disc-shaped items to cultivate his artistic sentiments.
Two Name Tags. Perfect for Cow. Zeke happily stowed them away.
Six Echo Shards and half a stack of Amethyst Shards. Some mods could use these as well.
It was all standard loot that dropped in Ancient Cities.
Just as Zeke had smashed about half the jars and was starting to feel a bit bored, a new situation arose.
He shattered a particularly deep-looking container.
When this jar broke, it didn't drop any items. Instead, a Sculk Block dropped in its place with a poof.
Dark green, its surface covered in sickly green spots that flickered like breathing.
Breaking it with a pickaxe yielded a small experience orb.
If Sculk Blocks can be dropped, then Sculk Shriekers and Sensors are possible too. (TL/N: Sculk Shriekers are dangerous blocks in Minecraft's Deep Dark biomes that summon the formidable Warden when activated by vibrations (via Sculk Sensors) or direct player contact, causing the Darkness effect and advancing the Warden's spawn)
Zeke paused in his jar-smashing. A Sculk Shrieker was nothing to mess with; it could summon a Warden.
Faced with this situation, Zeke naturally chose to ignore the risk and continue opening jars.
Afraid of a Warden? You've got to be kidding. It's just a stat stick. So what if it deals 45 damage a punch and has a sonic boom that ignores armor? It'll just turn a full set of Prot IV Netherite armor into a compressed file in a few hits. No big deal.
Behind him, Qvo was transporting a new batch of jars over, startling Zeke.
As more jars were smashed, miscellaneous items like Bottles o' Enchanting, books, bones, and coal dropped.
More and more Sculk Blocks dropped, and a block with strange protrusions—a Sculk Sensor—also appeared.
The Sculk infection started spreading. The small area where Zeke stood, the ground, and parts of the ruins were beginning to be covered by the dark green Sculk matter.
Zeke mined some, but they gave very little XP, so he couldn't be bothered to clear them later on.
Bored, he raised his pickaxe and smashed the last pyramid-shaped jar in front of him.
Arooo—
A shrieking sound swept through the entire underground cavern, passing through the towering Blackstone spires and sending out invisible ripples.
"Watch Out!" Not far away, Archmagos Cawl, who was scanning the energy circuits of a Blackstone obelisk with a servo-skull, raised his head.
It came from the direction of Zeke and Qvo.
He turned his body, gripping the Power Axe of the Omnissiah. The disruption field on the axe blade activated as he took heavy strides forward.
At the same time, Zufal, searching in another part of the Blackstone ruins, also stopped.
"Halt!" He raised his hand, listening intently.
"The sound came from that direction." He pointed toward the source of the shriek. "Is this some ghostly noise Cawl is making?"
Zufal licked his lips.
"Let's Go!" He ordered, moving toward the sound.
The Black Legion followed close behind. Several Ogryn slaves shifted uneasily; the sound made them feel a bit panicked. But under the whip of the Black Legion, they reluctantly marched toward the ancient city.
Zeke stood in the center of a small area now noticeably eroded by Sculk, his pickaxe frozen in mid-air.
In front of him was a writhing Sculk Shrieker, its core resembling an open maw.
The Sculk Shrieker had just let out its first cry. Its warning level was now 1.
A 13-second Darkness effect appeared in Zeke's buff bar.
His surroundings went dark, flickering repeatedly between visible and dark.
Zeke drank milk to clear the Darkness and made a "shhh" gesture to Qvo beside him, signaling him to be absolutely quiet, then looked at the Sculk Shrieker.
There were two types of Sculk Shriekers: those placed by players and those naturally dropped. The former could not summon a Warden; only the latter could.
Zeke was lucky. The ripples on this Sculk Shrieker were clockwise, indicating it was naturally dropped and could summon a Warden.
He put away his hoe. If he dug it up, it would drop a dummy Shrieker that couldn't summon anything, which would be a huge loss.
"Zeke, what happened?" Archmagos Cawl arrived in a hurry, his voice triggering the Sculk Sensor.
Arooo— The Sculk Shrieker let out a second scream. Its warning level upgraded to 2.
You feel a chill down your spine. Something is coming. (TL/N: Some mods announce the arrival of bosses to make Minecraft feel horror-like)
Zeke winked and made handsigns at Archmagos Cawl, signaling him to be quiet immediately.
Seeing Qvo standing frozen and Zeke's expressive face, Archmagos Cawl stopped his movements.
Zeke made a sign block and began writing on it.
'Do not make noise.'
He held up the sign to show Archmagos Cawl.
Cawl nodded. Zeke crafted Wool from String in his inventory and bridged over to Cawl and Qvo one block at a time.
It wasn't that he was too afraid to fight the Warden, but there were Black Legionnaires around. Better to avoid trouble if possible.
However, some people didn't think that way.
Murderous intent from Chaos washed over them. "Cawl, I've caught you."
Zufal's voice came from behind a piece of Blackstone.
He emerged with a full squad of Black Legionnaires. Unlike their previous encounter, he now had an organized Chaos force behind him. "You won't escape this time."
The Sculk Shrieker let out a third scream. Its warning level upgraded to 3, nearing the maximum.
No, no... wait, yes, yes, yes... Zeke's mind raced.
The Warden's summoning was inevitable. He absolutely could not let its first aggro fall on him.
Time to divert the disaster. Ignoring silence, Zeke grabbed Cawl and bolted away from the Shrieker.
Meltagun fire chased the moving Zeke. He raised his Adamantine Shield to block from the side. The melta beam collided with the shield, and the vibration was picked up by the Sculk Sensor. The final straw broke the camel's back. The Sculk Shrieker's warning level upgraded to 4.
Vrummm...
Centered on the Shrieker, pitch-black ripples expanded, sweeping across the entire combat zone.
The [Darkness] effect had descended, enveloping every unit in the area.
"Something is obstructing vision!" a Black Legionnaire aiming his weapon reported.
"So dark..." The Ogryn slaves fell into a panic. They were so dumb that they started waving their weapons aimlessly.
"Don't panic, follow me." Zeke drank bucket milk and led Qvo.
As for Cawl, he had his own technological means to recognize the path within the [Darkness].
The three hid behind a building. Zeke crouched down, while Cawl stared at the center of the battlefield with interest.
I once scored a perfect 0 in the 'Don't Pee Your Pants Scaring Challenge' with the Warden. You give it a try too. Zeke pushed Qvo's head down. (TL/N: Achieving a "perfect 0" in the "Don't Pee Your Pants Scaring Challenge" against the Warden is the ultimate flex in Minecraft stealth. It means you explored an Ancient City, triggered or encountered the Warden, and successfully left without a single vibration detection or "scare" point registered)
Creak, crunch, creak...
A tooth-aching sound of grinding and squeezing came from deep beneath the Shrieker—the muffled noise of soil and rock being pushed upward.
Two claws covered in chitinous armor burst from the earth. Ghostly green light seeped from the gaps in the shell, covered in writhing Sculk matter.
The giant claws dug deep into the ground for leverage.
The earth trembled, and a suffocating shadow slowly rose from the abyss.
--
Next Bonus Chapter: 100 Powerstones.
OR
You can also join Patreon.com/AHumanMadeMOFO to read 20+ chapters ahead and support me if you wish.