My first death in Hardmode... I had been careless, allowing my armor to degrade far past what I should have. Fortunately, I had stored a second set of armor in my shelter. With nightfall, I would have to wait until morning to try and recover my loot. Unfortunately another aspect of Hard in Minecraft is that fallen loot doesn't wait around for you. All that delicious roasted pork was lost, along with my bow, flint and steel, and tools. Fortunately, the trees I had planted on top of my shelter provided the necessary wood to replenish most of my needed supplies. I made sure to collect and replant any saplings the rapidly degrading leaves dropped, and I realized that this process was making my small forest grow exponentially. I possessed the power to turn this bleak wilderness into a utopia.
In the meantime I focused on supplementing my supplies. With the sudden depletion of pork, I decided to turn to a more readily available recourse: fish. While fish were not as effective as pork as a restorative, they were much easier to obtain. Although as much as I'd hoped it would work, fish did not actually take up residence in a bucket of water.
But still, I would have the option of fishing in the ocean that was literally right at my doorstep. For now, with my supplies finally replenished, I turned again to the tedium of mining for precious materials. The cavern I had uncovered earlier proved fruitful once more, and even when I reached a dead end it took only brief digging to uncover another cavern. This one was carved out by a giant underground river, stretching for miles into the darkness.
I followed the river down into the earth, and pretty soon I was forced to jump to the side to avoid being swept over the edge of a waterfall. Another important lesson is look before you leap, and sure enough I could see a zombie waiting waiting for me at the bottom. I was trying to figure out the best way to eliminate him safely, and short of a bow I had to resort to probably the best method for eliminating the undead: burial. Sand is one of the few substances that actually gives in to gravity, a lesson learned usually by burying oneself. I had eight beautiful blocks of sand I unceremoniously dumped onto the zombie's head.
Sure enough, the groans were replaced by repeated grunts of pain as the zombie suffocated under the weight of the sand. I was once again free to proceed with my exploration. This cave proved to be even more expansive than the first, and had all kinds of amazing phenomena like unnatural lighting;
Floating rocks;
And golden pillars;
I found more amazing underground rivers and rare minerals, and before long I found a section of the cave that went straight up to what appeared to be a ceiling of sand.
It required a little effort to climb up to it, but once there it took only a second to cause the whole ceiling to collapse and reveal sunlight... and water.
Thanks to Mincraft physics, the water poured endlessly into my cavern without actually filling it or lowering the ocean level in any way. Also, it's apparent my Minecraft character is incredibly athletic, and I was able to swim up the waterfall and all the way to the surface. The surface proved to be pretty close to my shelter, and I was able to safely deposit my valuables and restock my supplies a bit.
Okay, spelunking was fun and all, but it was time to make a second attempt at an above-ground shelter. This time I would build in the center of the small forest I was growing, which would be close enough that if I was killed in the process of building, I would be able to recover my gear before it vanished. It took a couple cycles of day and night, but I successfully completed my home without incident, and I stepped back to view my handiwork.
Ugly, yet efficient. I was proud of my success. I created a second workbench and large chest as furniture, and even made a defensible rooftop. A little more work to spread the forest, and I was able to call it a day. My death hadn't set me too far back, and now that I had replaced most of what was lost, I was beginning to feel comfortable in my ability to survive once again.
Look for more tomorrow!
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