Prologue[]
Pages from a lost journal are shown, with some words torn off or covered in ink. It mentions a person who is nursing its own wounds sustained from "a yellow monstrosity, a cube surrounded by [REDACTED]". The person explains that "wool armor is not a thing that exists despite what [REDACTED] insisted", and that [REDACTED] was "wasting their time". The person then states that they did find something, "but it was guarded by those fire things". The person then explains about building a portal, and states that it hopes that no one finds the journal. The person also states that if someone finds the journal to not follow the person's lead, that the only treasure the person has is "a block of material that burns [the person] when [it] touches it", and that the person is only seeking freedom.
Chapter 1: Might as Well Raise Mooshrooms[]
Alison is waist-deep in water, attempting to lure her sheep back into their pens. Max shows up to assist her, but Alison refuses, saying that his mom would "kill him" if he went into the water. Max hesitates and dips his toes into the water, much to the disgust of Alison. Max's mom chases after him and scolds him, saying that she didn't want to lose him. The two engage in a tight hug, much to Alison's embarrassment. Max decides to check on the pens, and then runs back to the cove, jumping into the shallow water.
Chapter 2: Alison's Dad Wasn't Imaginative[]
Max gives one of Alison's sheep some wheat as he fixes one of the pens with obsidian. Alison begins questioning Max about where he got the obsidian from, but stops and instead decides to dig a moat. The two then begin walking back toward Max's house, in which Alison lives in the tower behind the house. That night, Max sneaks over to Alison's tower, and the two discuss about upgrading their tools.
Chapter 3: When Life Gives You Lava, Make Lava Juice[]
Alison is unable to sleep, so she goes downstairs to her workroom to check her supplies. She realizes that she has just enough iron left to make a pickaxe for herself, and pulls out a map which has the house, the tower, and a hill next to both. The map had markings in which she had discovered veins of coal and iron. Eventually, she falls back asleep. The next morning, Max's mom informs the two that she is going to a village to see her husband, and to not leave the house. Nonetheless, Max and Alison decide to dig the hillside behind the house. Eventually, Max digs down too deep but mines up near a pumpkin patch, Alison mines toward lava without noticing, and Alison also stumbles across a few skeletons. Alison has no choice but to retreat, and the two are worried about what Max's mom's reaction would be.
Chapter 4: You Can't Shoot Lava[]
The two have no choice but to kill the skeletons. Soon after, Max's mom scolds both Max and Alison, and confiscates their tools, bows, torches, and everything the two had mined. Max and Alison then go into Max's bedroom in his house as his mom searches Alison's tower for tools. Eventually, Max's mom decides that the punishment would be for Max and Alison to "clear the lava out of the garden, re-till the ground, and plant new pumpkins". Alison questions about the cavern in the hillside, and Max's mom mentions building a cobblestone generator. Later that night, Alison is unable to sleep yet again, and daydreams about taking her tools to the nearby village in exchange for materials to make better tools, and repeating the process over and over. She also has visions of "legendary weapons and epic armor". Eventually, she creeps down the stairs to her workshop, where Max is making more tools.
The two head back to the hillside cavern, but eventually break the surface once again. This time, they realize they are in a ranch belonging to Mr. Hatch, and his sheep are frightened by the two unexpected visitors. The sheep begin to tumble into the cavern. Max and Alison begin to make a staircase to get the sheep out, but are noticed by Mr. Hatch. This time, Max's mom tears down Alison's tower and as her punishment, she is forced to sleep in Max's room. Eventually, Max hands Alison a book filled with random scribbles about potion recipes and enchanting. One of the pages has a sketch of a "large rectangle surrounded by cubes of obsidian" with "a flaming bowl" in the middle. Underneath the sketch are three words: "PORTAL TO NETHER".
Chapter 5: A Stick, a Pickaxe, and Adventure[]
Through flashbacks, Max and Alison already know that the Nether is "a forbidden, mysterious place" per their school, "a myth that deranged adventures" per Max's parents, and "a word you didn't say unless you wanted a very long lecture about spreading falsehoods" per Dia, Alison's grandma. One night, Max's mom lifts their ban on going outside, and the two decide to go to a cabin in the woods. Upon arriving at said cabin, the two head down to the basement, which is filled with bookshelves, enchanting tables, furnaces, and chests. One of the chests is filled with iron, gold, and diamond. Another is filled with various tools, and another contains a gold sword. The two then discover an obsidian rectangle behind the cabin, similar to the one they saw in the book. Max explains to Alison that she is going to craft some weapons and armor, while Max enchants them, and that the two are going to the Nether to rescue someone known as a "Enchanter".
Chapter 6: The Difference Between Lightning and Lightening[]
Alison decides to think about it, so the two sneak back to Max's house and rebuild the wall to his bedroom. Alison spends the next day doing odd jobs around the house, and the day after that, the two begin looking through the book, page by page, learning various food recipes and architecture. Some pages in the book have "scrawling writing". Alison then goes to check on her sheep at Mr. Hatch's ranch. She also surveyed the ruins that were her tower, and takes a blank book from a study that used to belong to her mother. Alison decides to rewrite the journal, much to the disgust of Max. That night, the two head back to the cabin and attempt some potion recipes and enchantments. After sneaking back to the house once more, the two head to the cabin the next day to do some more testing.
Chapter 7: Boom, Surely[]
Max and Alison continue to work around the house as Max's mom eases their grounding, allowing them to get more work done. The two eventually head back to the cabin and attempt to light a nether portal, in which they are successful. The two jump into the portal as a creeper explodes nearby.