Overworld in Flames
Page 19
Chapter 1: Roofed forest and Birch forest
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Chapter 3: Oak forest
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Chapter 6: Plains and cold taiga
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Chapter 8: Creeper Hive
No seed
Chapter 13 – Crafter’s Village
No seed
Chapter 17 – extreme hills
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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
I’ve been receiving some really fantastic stories from readers all over the world. Thank you all for submitting them to me through www.markcheverton.com. They are really incredible, and the creativity that is being exhibited through these stories is wonderful. You don’t have to write about Minecraft to get it posted on my website—you just have to write. So keep creating and keep the stories coming; I am always excited to see them in my email.
I had a great time writing this book, but it was, for some reason, really difficult to get finished. I don’t know why. Maybe playing Minecraft too much distracted me—I’m sure that didn’t help. But one thing that did help was seeing all the incredibly creative buildings and inventions that have been popping up on the Gameknight999 Minecraft server; it was very motivating and exciting.
One interesting thing I’ve noticed, which I’ve never seen on any other servers, is the way kids play together on the Gameknight999 network. Usually when people start playing on a new server in Minecraft, they run far away from spawn so they can build their home. They try to hide in their little hidey-hole or stone house or castle away from others in order to avoid being griefed, which means they end up playing alone or maybe only with a trusted friend. But on Gameknight999’s server, kids seem to want to play together in large communities. They build their fantastic houses near each other and build roads connecting them to other kids. Shops are created so that players can trade things like diamonds for player’s heads (I wonder what a Monkeypants_271 head is worth?) or trade gold for minecarts, etc.
It seems that kids on this server really work together rather than as individuals, which has caused huge cities to grow that include collaborative play and role-playing adventures. This is rare on Minecraft servers—and I think it is extraordinary. It is my hope that a small part of this is because of Gameknight999 and Crafter and Hunter and all my characters. Maybe my books are creating this atmosphere of trust and cooperation, maybe just a little … I hope.
You can see images of some of the great things that are being created by going to www.gameknight999.com. You can submit images of your own creations to me through that website or through www.markcheverton.com, and they will be posted with the other images. And I will also tell you a little secret: if you go onto the survival server, you might just find some new book covers hidden amongst the trees, or in the desert, or maybe in Crafter’s village.
Quadbamber (LBEGaming on YouTube) has been instrumental in helping us make the Gameknight999 Minecraft server such a great—and safe—place for kids. His knowledge of servers is legendary, and we are lucky to have him working with us. If you see him on the server, be sure to say hello.
If you see Gameknight999 or myself, Monkeypants_271, on the server, challenge us to a game of spleef, or paintball, or TNT-Defense. I have to warn you, though, I’m terrible at mini games and most likely you will win. Come build and create and help others, and, of course, watch out for creepers.
Mark
AVAILABLE NOW FROM MARK CHEVERTON AND SKY PONY PRESS
THE GAMEKNIGHT999 SERIES
The world of Minecraft comes to life in this thrilling adventure!
Gameknight999 loved Minecraft, and above all else, he loved to grief—to intentionally ruin the gaming experience for other users.
But when one of his father’s inventions teleports him into the game, Gameknight is forced to live out a real-life adventure inside a digital world. What will happen if he’s killed? Will he respawn? Die in real life? Stuck in the game, Gameknight discovers Minecraft’s best-kept secret, something not even the game’s programmers realize: the creatures within the game are alive! He will have to stay one step ahead of the sharp claws of zombies and pointed fangs of spiders, but he’ll also have to learn to make friends and work as a team if he has any chance of surviving the Minecraft war his arrival has started.
With deadly endermen, ghasts, and dragons, this action-packed trilogy introduces the heroic Gameknight999 and has proven to be a runaway publishing smash, showing that the Gameknight999 series is the perfect companion for Minecraft fans of all ages.
Invasion of the Overworld (Book One):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-711-1
Battle for the Nether (Book Two):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63220-712-8
Confronting the Dragon (Book Three):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-046-3
AVAILABLE NOW FROM MARK CHEVERTON AND SKY PONY PRESS
THE MYSTERY OF HEROBRINE SERIES
Gameknight999 must save his friends from an evil virus intent on destroying all of Minecraft!
Gameknight999 was sucked into the world of Minecraft when one of his father’s inventions went haywire. Trapped inside the game, the former griefer learned the error of his ways, transforming into a heroic warrior and defeating powerful endermen, ghasts, and dragons to save the world of Minecraft and his NPC friends who live in it.
Gameknight swore he’d never go inside Minecraft again. But that was before Herobrine, a malicious virus infecting the very fabric of the game, threatened to destroy the entire Overworld and escape into the real world. To outsmart an enemy much more powerful than any he’s ever faced, the User-that-is-not-a-user will need to go back into the game, where real danger lies around every corner. From zombie villages and jungle temples to a secret hidden at the bottom of a deep ocean, the action-packed adventures of Gameknight999 and his friends (and, now, family) continue in this thrilling follow-up series for Minecraft fans of all ages.
Trouble in Zombie-town (Book One):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-094-4
The Jungle Temple Oracle (Book Two):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-096-8
Last Stand on the Ocean Shore (Book Three):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-63450-098-2
AVAILABLE NOW FROM MARK CHEVERTON AND SKY PONY PRESS
HEROBRINE REBORN SERIES
Gameknight999 and his friends and family face Herobrine in the biggest showdown the Overworld has ever seen!
Gameknight999, a former Minecraft griefer, got a big dose of virtual reality when his father’s invention teleported him into the game. Living out a dangerous adventure inside a digital world, he discovered that the Minecraft villagers were alive, and needed his help to defeat the infamous virus, Herobrine, a diabolical enemy determined to escape into the real world
Gameknight thought Herobrine had finally been stopped once and for all. But the virus proves to be even craftier than anyone could image, and his XP begins inhabiting new bodies in an effort to escape. The User-that-is-not-a-user will need the help of not only his Minecraft friends, but his own father, Monkeypants271, as well, if he has any hope of destroying the evil Herobrine once and for all.
Saving Crafter (Book One):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0014-7
Destruction of the Overworld (Book Two):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0015-4
Gameknight999 vs. Herobrine (Book Three):
$9.99 paperback • 978-1-5107-0010-9
EXCERPT FROM SYSTEM OVERLOAD
A BRAND NEW GAMEKNIGHT999 ADVENTURE
They walked across the savannah through the rest of the day and into the night. A few spiders tried to approach the villagers, but the wolves had keen eyesight and spotted the monsters from far away. The gigantic arachnids never made it close enough for the army to even see them.
By the time the moon was high overhead, the zombie had led them to a large hill, a dark cave carved into its base.
Gameknight moved to the mouth of the cave and peered inside. It was pitch black in the passage, and monsters could be hiding anywhere. He had a bad feeling about this. Stepping away from the cave, he moved to Crafter’s side.
“I don’t like this,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said.
“I know. Neither do I,” the young NPC said.
“Why is this monster helping us anyway?” Hunter asked in a low voice. “Zombies hate us more than just about anything in the world. It makes no sense that this one would show us where the prisoners were taken.”
“Maybe the zombie thinks there would be nothing we’d be able to do to help them,” Digger suggested.
“Or maybe it just wanted to prolong his life,” Cobbler added. He had quietly snuck up behind Crafter and was now standing at his side. “He probably figured that he’d be killed right there if he didn’t help. So he led us here to keep himself alive.”
“We wouldn’t have done that,” Gameknight said. “We don’t murder in cold blood.”
“It’s just a zombie,” Cobbler said in a low voice. “They probably did something to my village as well … who cares what happens to it?”
“I care,” Gameknight said pointedly. “We aren’t going to murder that zombie.”
“Great, just my luck,” Cobbler replied, then sulked and walked away.
“Cobbler does raises an important point,” Crafter said. “It’s possible that the zombie is just scared, and willing to do anything to stay alive.”
“Well, let’s see how much he’s willing to help,” Gameknight said.
He stood and walked straight toward the monster. As he neared, he drew his diamond sword. The zombie stood, fear painted across his scarred face.
“You got us here. Now we don’t need you anymore,” Gameknight said.
“No, the user is wrong,” the zombie said. “Many tunnels down there. Only a zombie can find the correct path.”
“You lie,” Gameknight snapped. “And you’ve probably set a trap for us to walk into. There are probably zombies waiting for us in that tunnel right now.”
“No, zombies do not guard the tunnel,” the monster pleaded. “It is not necessary, as this is a secret entrance. Only zombies know about it. There might be spiders and creepers hiding, but this zombie cannot control that. Zombies will not be in the tunnels. They are in zombie-town.”
“Well, maybe we’ll keep you alive a bit longer,” the User-that-is-not-a-user growled as convincingly as he could. He turned and winked at Crafter, then glared at the monster. “Show us the way, before I lose patience.”
The monster moved quickly to the entrance, then walked into the tunnel. Digger had to run forward and grab the end of the rope before the monster moved too far ahead. He yanked back on the rope, pulling the monster with it.
“Wait,” Digger ordered.
The zombie stopped in his tracks and stood, motionless.
“Herder, wolves to the front and back of the army,” Gameknight ordered. “Everyone keep your eyes open. Place torches only on the right side of the tunnel. Let’s move out.”
The army moved forward with the zombie at the head of the formation, wolves on either side. The monster led them through the twisting and turning passage. It intersected with different tunnels and passed through multiple large caverns, each with multiple exits. It was like a labyrinth. Gameknight almost expected to find the Minotaur waiting for them, but thankfully that was Greek mythology and not Minecraft. He now understood why the zombies didn’t bother to guard the entrance. Without insider help, there was no hope that the villagers would have ever found the correct path.
Finally, they reached a tall chamber with a stream of lava flowing into a gentle pool of water. A sheet of black obsidian formed where the two liquids clashed. Across from the dark plane, an unusually flat wall stood tall in the orange light of the molten stone, with a single block of stone that stuck out of it.
“There … the block,” the zombie moaned. “Push it.”
Gameknight remembered this kind of entrance from when he had to rescue his sister, Monet113, from the zombie-town near Crafter’s village.
Moving to the block, he pushed on the stone. It moved just the slightest bit. Instantly the walls begin to shake and the sound of stone grinding against stone filled the air. Slowly, a section of the stone wall began to slide sideways, revealing a dark passage that led into another chamber.
Gameknight ran forward before the rocky door was done moving, dashing inside. The orange light from the nearby lava stream provided just enough light to see the ground, making it possible for him to avoid any holes.
When he reached the end of the passage, he stopped and hid in the shadowy entrance. Before him lay a gigantic cave filled with homes of different size and shape. Each seemed as if they were build from different materials. Likely every kind of naturally-forming block was represented here in zombie-town.
“I always wondered what endermen did with the blocks they stole,” Crafter said at his side. “Likely they brought them to these zombie-towns.”
Gameknight grunted and nodded his head.
The small houses lined the edges of the cavern and crept inward toward the center. A clear area sat right in the middle; it was the zombies’ gathering area. At the center of the chamber was a platform made of obsidian. Gameknight couldn’t tell how large it was, but he could still remember the zombie king, Xa-Tul, standing on something similar, right before he rescued Monet113.
Sparkling green HP fountains dotted the perimeter of the gathering area, the green embers splashing on the ground and disappearing. Gameknight remembered these fountains from other zombie-towns, but for some reason these one didn’t look as if they were working correctly. Instead of a constant stream of emerald sparks cascading up into the air, these fountains were sputtering like a squirt gun with too little water. Gameknight was just about to say something about it to Crafter when a sorrowful moan echoed through the chamber.
“Keep that zombie quiet,” Gameknight whispered to those behind him.
“It wasn’t our zombie,” Digger said. “It came from somewhere in the zombie-town.”
Gameknight gazed across the chamber. He could see movement near the far wall. Zombies were coming out of a tunnel that descended into darkness. A handful of the monsters shuffled up the stairs, then moved to the nearest HP fountain. The monsters stood within the emerald shower and absorbed the green sparks, rejuvenating their HP. After a few minutes, then moved back into the dark passage and disappeared from sight.
“Come on,” the User-that-is-not-a-user said. “Leave some guards here with the zombie. Make sure it stays quiet, or else.”
Digger nodded, then assigned some guards to watch over their prisoner. When he returned, the army moved down the stairs that led to the floor of the chamber. Running between the buildings, everyone was on edge, expecting monsters to jump out of every doorway or come charging around the next corner. But surprisingly, they wove their way through the disorganized community unseen.
Finally, the NPC army reached the far side of the cavern. Gameknight moved along the roughhewn wall and approached the dark passage where he’d seen the zombie emerge. He could hear their growls and moans down in the shadows, but couldn’t tell how many were there. Some of the warriors moved to the front of the tunnel, ready to charge down, but the User-that-is-not-a-user waved them back. He wasn’t sure how many there were, and didn’t want to take the chance of being vastly outnumbered. They had a sizable force with them, and could easily deal with any random monsters that might appear, but he still wanted to be careful about running into a large group of zombies.
“I’ll go down and see how many there are,” Gameknight whispered to a group of NPCs. “Everyone be ready and stay quiet.”
Crafter nodded his head, then turned and whispered to Digger, who relayed the message down the line. Gameknight patted his friend on the shoulder, then headed do
wn the stone stairway, diamond sword in hand. But after descending three steps, he felt a cold, wet nose nuzzle against his left hand. Looking down, he saw a wolf at his side. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Herder grinning a massive grin. Gameknight chuckled, then headed down the stairway with both of them.
He descended a dozen steps into darkness. The moans of the zombies grew louder as he went, their sorrowful moans filling the air with a sadness that highlighted the misery of their lives. These were unhappy creatures that wanted everyone else to share in their despair.
As he grew closer, Gameknight could start to identify individual monsters in the growling echoes; there was definitely more than one monster down there. Gripping his sword firmly, he followed the passage as it turned to the right, then plunged downward.
The end of the stairway was now visible. Apparently, the steps led into a large, well-lit room, though the color of the light was strange. It was a strange sort of mustard yellowish-brown illumination, as if it were the mixture of multiple flickering sources.
Gameknight moved to the end of the stairway and peered into the chamber. He saw three large obsidian rings, each filled with a different sparkling color: one purple, one green and the third a sickly yellow. Standing near the portal were fifteen zombies, each coated in gold armor and each holding a shining gold sword.
Before he could prevent it, the wolf next to him growled and let out a loud angry howl. All the zombies instantly turned toward the sound and glared into the shadows, their dark eyes filled with hate. Then they charged straight at Gameknight999.
COMING SOON:
SYSTEM OVERLOAD: HEROBRINE’S REVENGE BOOK THREE