Minecraft: Stonesword Saga/GolemGame1CHP

Prologue
Morgan is alone in the Nether, creeping as low as he could so he wouldn’t be spotted by piglins, but he is soon spotted by them, and he begins attacking them, but it feels like for every piglin that is killed, two more take its place.

Chapter 1: Morgan Mercado: Star of Track and Field! Or Maybe He’s More Like a Meteor, Crashing and Burning Spectacularly!
Woodsword Middle School was transformed overnight. Colorful pendants hung from the ceilings, and there were numerous posters in the hallways that had words of encouragement directed to the students. Jodi smiled as she walked down the hallway, as she loves color and art, as well as animals. Po then calls out to her, asking her if she liked the decorations that had been put up. Jodi replies that she does, but wonders as to why they are put up. Shelly then says that the decorations are up because the school is celebrating Field Day on Friday this week. Jodi then realizes that he has to check on Morgan, and heads off to find Harper and Theo. She soon heads to the science lab, where she expects them to show up, but instead finds Doctor Culpupper, who appeared to be "jumping in place and waving her arms as if trying to get someone’s attention". Jodi asks Doc as to what she is doing, and she says that she is doing jumping jacks to prepare for Field Day as she is the coach of Team Red. Jodi then heads to the butterfly sanctuary, once again expecting to find Harper and Theo, but instead finds Ms. Minerva, who is sitting with her legs crossed on the floor, her eyes closed, and butterflies were resting on her body. Jodi then asks her as to what she is doing, and Ms. Minerva jumps in surprise before saying that she was meditating to get "in the zone" as the coach of Team Blue. Jodi then quietly leaves before finally finding Harper and Theo beneath the large tree in front of the school.

Harper greets Jodi with a hug before showing her Theo’s new shoes, with Theo claiming that the shoes that he is wearing could give a 12% increase in his speed. Harper then says that she is using her normal shoes, but said that she learned some stretching exercises over the weekend that could supposedly help her run faster. Theo then asks about Morgan, and Jodi says that she wanted to talk to them about what happened to him. Just then, Morgan shows up and greets the three, using a pair of crutches, and his left foot was in a brace. He apologizes for being late before saying that the foot injury is a sprain that was caused by a small accident. Jodi immediately says that she thought that Morgan would stay home for the whole week, but Morgan says that he absolutely did not want to miss Field Day. Theo then asks Morgan if he still wants to be in the race, but Harper says that she doesn’t think it’s going to be a good idea. Morgan then brushes off Harper’s suggestion, saying that he’ll be fine, just before he almost falls from using the crutches to walk. Jodi catches him as she realizes that this week is going to be a long one.

Chapter 2: Blue Fire! Great for Setting a Spooky Scene. Not So Great for Making S’mores!
Later that day, Morgan and his friends (Jodi, Po, Harper, and Theo) are at the Stonesword Library, back in the world of Minecraft, hoping to save the Evoker King. They had already recovered four pieces (both arms and both legs), with a butterfly leading them to where they needed to go next after collecting each one. This time around, the butterflies are flying around a nether portal. What made today worse, however, is that the Fault has now engulfed the entire sky, with lightning flashing every few moments. Morgan feels unsure about entering the Nether and asks for everyone to check their inventories. Jodi then asks him as to what is wrong, and Morgan says that the Nether is different than the Overworld. Jodi rebuttals by saying that they have been to the Nether before, but Morgan says that the Nether is more dangerous than before due to it being updated. Nonetheless, the group go through the portal, ending up in a warped forest. They soon find a campsite, with a series of chests surrounding a campfire. An iron golem, which appeared darker in color, stood motionless nearby. Morgan asks if the golem is made of netherite, and the golem, to his surprise, says that it is. The golem then says to the group that it has been waiting for them.

Chapter 3: The Golem Speaks! Will He Talk About the Weather, or Issue a Dire Challenge That Will Test the Very Limits of Friendship and Skill?
Morgan reacts to the speaking golem by lashing out at it with his diamond sword, but the golem didn’t seem to be hurt by the blow at all. Harper then says to Morgan that netherite is much stronger than diamond, noting of the materials rarity, while also saying that she had never seen a golem made out of netherite before. Theo then says that a netherite golem is not possible in a normal game of Minecraft. The golem then says that he is one of the missing pieces of the Evoker King, and the group exclaim that they are hoping to get the king back together. The golem then says that it knows what the group is doing, but is unsure if they will succeed. The group ask for the golem’s help, and the golem accepts on the condition that they pass through its gauntlet as individuals instead of a team. The golem then waves its fist before the group, engulfing each of the player’s visions with a purple light. After closing and opening their eyes, the group realize that they have been kicked out of the game.

Chapter 4: P.E.: It Stands for Piglin Education! Honest, Go Look It Up. I’ll Wait.
Morgan immediately asks Theo as to what happened, and Theo says that he doesn’t know, explaining that he still has a lot to learn. Harper then says to Theo that it’s OK if he doesn’t have the answers, but also says that now would be a good time to share any theories about what is happening. Theo then explains that there has been a so-called hole in the code ever since the Evoker King transformed, with the hole getting bigger and warping other lines of code. He thinks that the netherite golem is using that to its advantage, comparing it to someone who is modding the code in real time from inside the game. Harper is hopeful that the golem will play fair and not cheat them out of its test, while Morgan leaves to do some more research about the Nether. The next day, at school, everyone is given free time during gym class to practice for Field Day. Harper and Theo run around the track, Po shoots some basketball, Jodi works on her throwing skills, and Morgan is stuck on the bleachers, as his leg is still sprained. That doesn’t phase him, however, as he uses the free time to continue his research about the Nether from the night before on his tablet. Morgan is determined to prepare himself for the golem’s test, despite not traveling back to the Nether since that time he died after a blaze knocked him "off a high perch". Just then, Mr. Mallory shows up, saying to Morgan that he would rather read than play sports. Morgan then explains to him that his leg was sprained after falling out of a tree.

Mr. Mallory then says that the risk of injury from playing sports is why he reads books instead, and then peeks at the screen on Morgan’s tablet, noticing a piglin. He then asks Morgan if he takes Minecraft seriously, and Morgan says that he does, saying that he is part of a team, and that his teammates count on him to know everything about it. Mr. Mallory then says to Morgan that his friends seem to put a lot of pressure on him, and then asks if he is actually purring pressure on himself to know everything about Minecraft. Before Morgan could respond, Ms. Minerva and Doc show up, with the former asking if Mr. Mallory brought her books, and Doc asking him if he had delivered the hamster. He says that he is here for both reasons, and that he is not choosing sides. Just then, Morgan notices that Ms. Minerva is wearing blue for her team, Doc is wearing red for her team, and that Mr. Mallory is wearing purple. Ms. Minerva and Doc then have a brief discussion about Field Day before Mr. Mallory gives Ms. Minerva her books, and gives Doc the library’s pet hamster, Duchess Dimples. Mr. Mallory then heads back to the library, wishing Morgan the best of luck and hoping that he feels better just as Harper and Theo show up. Morgan quickly hides his tablet as he didn’t want his friends to know that he was unprepared for the Nether, especially Theo, as his "knowledge of Minecraft was almost equal to Morgan’s". Theo says to Morgan that he and Harper have some concerns about him, and then says that they talked to Jodi, who said to them that he would "be on crutches for at least another week".

Morgan insists that what Jodi said isn’t true, saying that the doctor told him that everyone heals at their own pace. Harper then says to him that they understand and want him to heal for as long as possible, warning him that the injury could be far worse if he pushes himself too hard. Theo then says that they talked to Ms. Minerva, who said that Morgan could switch events, and they they would have to find someone to replace him. Morgan once again insists that he is feeling fine, and the two give in, despite his leg still hurting a little.

Chapter 5: In a Vast Video Game Fantasy World, There’s Nothing Quite Like Netherite, Amirite?
That afternoon, back in Minecraft, the group (Morgan, Jodi, Po, Theo, and Harper) are back in the Nether and accept the golem’s challenge. The golem then asks as to which of the five will be tested first, and Morgan says that he’ll go, with the vote for him being near-unanimous, except for Theo voting for himself, a d Po voting for the class hamster, Baron Sweetcheeks. The golem then says that there is a fortress north of the campsite, and inside the fortress is a chest, which contains an item that the golem holds dear to, and the golem will surrender once the item is returned to it. The golem then reiterates that the Nether is a dangerous place, and each person must perform the task alone. The golem then mentions that if Morgan fails, then another person, whether it be Jodi, Po, Theo, or Harper, must attempt to retrieve it, unless all five end up failing to retrieve it. The golem then mentions that the chests at the campsite "are full of useful items", and that they are free to take whatever they please. Delighted, Morgan opens up the first chest that he sees, which contains a netherite sword and a full set of netherite armor. Jodi then asks as to what netherite is, and Morgan says that it is the strongest material in the game, which was added when the Nether was updated. He then starts swapping out his armor for the netherite armor, but Theo feels unsure about Morgan taking the whole set. Harper then says if Morgan fails, the rest of the group would have to attempt to retrieve the item without any netherite armor.

Theo then suggests to Morgan that he take only one piece of armor and leave the rest behind for the rest of the group, but Morgan immediately rejects the idea, saying that if he leaves the armor behind, then it would make him less likely to successfully retrieve the item, and would rather maximize his chances than lessen them. Morgan then asks the golem as to what item would need to be retrieved, and the golem says that the item is of little value, but great worth, and warns him again that if he fails, that the consequences of failing would be very severe.

Chapter 6: Morgan Mercado: Alone in the Nether! He’s Going to Need That Armor. And a Lot of Luck!
After Morgan stocks up on additional supplies (that being, a bow and some arrows, cooked food, a shield, and various potions), he sets off to retrieve the item. His first task was to travel through a warped forest, and Morgan decides to put a pumpkin on his head, which he had also retrieved from the chest, allowing him to pass among the numerous enderman unharmed. After climbing a wall by making a staircase with his diamond pickaxe, Morgan comes across a huge ocean of lava, and notices a bastion remnant off in the distance, which Morgan hopes it has the item that the golem needs. His first instinct was to mine underneath the lava, so he descends the cliff and digs down to around twenty blocks below the floor, and then mines toward the bastion remnant. After going one hundred steps, Morgan begins to mine upward at an angle, but soon strikes lava, which touches him. He quickly drinks a potion of fire resistance to keep him from burning up, and then places down some netherrack to stop the lava flow before mining around it. Morgan then mines another one hundred steps toward the bastion remnant before mining upward once again. This time, however, he reaches the surface of the soul sand valley, which, as its name implies, has the entire floor covered in soul sand.

Skeletons immediately fire at Morgan, who runs as fast as he could through the soul sand, and he eventually makes it to the bastion remnant. By the time he got there, however, his armor and weapons were worn down, almost to the point of breaking; he had also run out of potions and food, and his health was very low. At this point, Morgan realizes that he forgot to bring gold, as he had learned that piglins would ignore him if he gave or wore gold; a gold helmet was even in the chest back at the campsite, but Morgan passed it up for the full set of netherite armor instead. Morgan decides to take it slow and go as stealthy as possible through the remnant, but a piglin soon spots him and attacks him. Eventually, Morgan is overpowered by several piglins and is killed soon after.

Chapter 7: Battered and Beaten. The Bitter Taste of Defeat. Worse Than Eating Your Vegetables!
The entire group (Morgan, Jodi, Po, Theo, and Harper) were then kicked out of the game once again. Morgan feels embarrassed and angry, exclaiming that he failed the test despite seeing the chest nearby. Po, Morgan, Theo, and Harper do the best they’d an to cheer Morgan up, and Morgan says that he feels fine, yet defeated at the same time. Theo then explains to Morgan that taking the entire set of netherite armor wouldn’t do any good for the rest of the group, as the armor is now laying where Morgan was killed. Morgan thinks that Theo is blaming him for wasting the loot left by the netherite golem, so he yells back at Theo, exclaiming that the armor wouldn’t help the rest of the group anyway, and that no one would stand a chance at beating the test if he couldn’t win it. Feeling stunned, Jodi tells Morgan that he really doesn’t mean what he is saying, but Morgan quickly leaves the library, with Jodi following close behind. Once the two arrive home, Morgan hides in his room before dinner, playing some loud music to drown out the sounds of Jodi knocking on the door. After they eat dinner, Jodi finds Morgan outside on the walkway as he is practically flinging the crutches across the stones. Jodi exclaims to Morgan to slow down to avoid falling, but Morgan say that he won’t just before he stumbles badly; luckily, Jodi catches him in time. Morgan then explains that he is training to get faster before Field Day, also saying that he doesn’t want to slow down Theo and Harper, nor does he want them to replace him.

Jodi then asks Morgan it if would really be the end of the world if they did the relay race without him, and Morgan says that it would, in addition to not being able to help out with anything regarding the Nether, now realizing that he could’ve retrieved the item if he had worn a single piece of gold armor. Jodi then says to him that he can still win by helping the others win, specifically if he could tell Harper everything he knew and saw in the Nether, but Morgan says that it doesn’t matter, knowing that Theo was right about him wasting the items, and says to Jodi that Harper has no chance of retrieving the item tomorrow. As he limps away, Morgan also says that Harper will have to do so without him, as he won’t be there to help.