Mark had been busy killing witches these past few days.
The scene in Gu Yu's room had dealt him a heavy blow, but after two straight days of killing witches,
he had finally recovered some of his energy.
"You disgusting things, just die!"
Mark brought his greatsword down, ending the last witch's life.
The witch dropped experience and Magic Potions, which he scooped into his inventory.
Thanks to his exploration and kills, he had amassed quite a few potions, along with resources like iron, gold, and food.
The only thing he hadn't found was diamonds.
"Mark, still no luck finding diamonds?"
Back in the block, Jett was studying obsidian.
"Yeah. I really don't know how the Samurai Nation found any!"
When the Twilight Forest was unlocked, the required materials had been listed as flowers, water, and diamonds.
Based on the hint, Jett guessed they needed to be arranged into a doorway, like a Nether portal.
They had flowers and water, but were short on diamonds.
"Since there aren't any in the resource zone, why not look in the Nether?"
They didn't have diamond gear, but there was a chance of finding obsidian in chests.
While Mark was hunting witches, Jett had only opened chests, and he'd found fourteen pieces of obsidian.
"Sounds good!"
The Nether was richer in resources, so they really did have a better chance of finding diamonds there.
Flint and Steel lit the portal, opening a gateway to the Nether.
When they stepped through, they were in luck.
There were no Ghasts or Endermen near the spawn point, making it very safe.
They first built a ring of stone around the obsidian to make sure the entrance wouldn't disappear.
Only then did they spot a dark-red structure in the distance.
"We're so lucky! We've barely arrived in the Nether, and there's already a huge fortress!"
Though Mark had never seen a Nether fortress before, he knew that bigger places had more things in them.
They headed straight for it, and several Blazes rose into the air.
"New monsters?"
His surprise vanished in a flash, replaced by a burning fighting spirit.
They weren't useless like Yamamoto Rokuko!
With their bows ready, they fired first, before the Blazes could even target them.
The warrior bloodline imbued his bow with a faint red glow. Whoosh!
[-14!]
His bowstring had been pulled taut, triggering a critical hit. One arrow took off more than half the Blaze's health!
Jett's arrow followed right after. Before the Blaze could attack, the two of them took it down together.
"Now that's brave! Keep beating them down!"
"They can sense our strength. Even the Ghasts are too scared to come over!"
"What Blazes? We can take them out in seconds!"
"Way stronger than that useless Yamamoto Rokuko!"
"The Nether's nothing special!"
Compared to the Samurai Nation, the pair's teamwork was a thrilling spectacle, drawing cheers from the audience.
They quickly cleared out the Blazes and mined the Monster Spawner.
Mark didn't know what Blaze Rods were for, so he collected them for the time being, while Jett went over to a chest.
"Whoa, there really are diamonds!"
Seeing the azure gems inside, Jett knew he'd come to the right place.
There really were diamonds in the Nether!
After his excitement passed, Mark looked toward the other side of the fortress.
Clearly, Blazes weren't the only monsters in such a huge place.
"Black skeletons? And they can't even attack from a distance?"
This should be a piece of cake!
After beating the Blazes, he was full of confidence. Without a second thought, Mark didn't even use his bow.
He charged forward with his golden sword.
[-7]
[-4]
One number was the damage Mark dealt to the Wither Skeleton, and the other was the damage the Wither Skeleton dealt to Mark.
There was almost a twofold difference!
"Look at these skeletons. Without bows, they can barely hurt anyone!"
There were three of them, and he took them all out in a few swings.
Then Mark realized something was wrong.
All the monsters were dead, so why was his health still dropping?
Every five seconds, he lost half a heart. It was as if something was ravaging his body, and he was powerless to stop it!
All he could do was feel his life slipping away, growing more terrified by the second!
"No, Jett! What's happening? I'm going to die!"
It didn't matter whether he ate potatoes, carrots, or any other food. Nothing slowed the effect.
Mark could only watch himself edge toward the abyss!
"It must be those skeletons. Are they poisonous?"
Seeing Mark's life signs grow weaker and weaker, Jett knew something was wrong and immediately stopped exploring.
"Let's go back to the block. Maybe it'll wear off once we're there!"
He hurriedly poured several Health Potions down Mark's throat and dragged him back to the block.
They thought that would make things better, but no one expected what happened next.
It did absolutely nothing!
Mark was still suffering from the Wither effect. His health kept slowly dropping, and food couldn't replenish it!
"Not even Ghasts or Iron Golems can beat me. Am I really going to die at the hands of some little skeleton?"
Lying on the Grass Block, Mark gazed at the sky and let out a long sigh.
Fortunately, he'd killed plenty of witches beforehand, and the Health Potions helped him hold out.
He was nearly out of potions when the Wither effect finally ended.
"Thank God, Mark! You made it!"
"Oh, my God!"
His vital signs gradually stabilized, and food restored his health.
Mark could hardly believe he'd actually survived.
"That place isn't the Nether. It's hell! A living nightmare!"
"Diamonds, my ass! Whoever wants to go back to that place can go without me!"
"I swear, I'd rather spend a whole day mining with someone cracking a whip over my back than ever go to a place like that again!"
The Wither effect was more terrifying than death!
At least death hurt for a moment. With the Wither effect, he had to slowly experience the feeling of dying!
It was too terrifying!
Without Health Potions, he couldn't even imagine how he would have survived!
Hell, in every sense of the word!
Even the sight of the obsidian doorway made Mark uneasy now.
He used a golden pickaxe to forcibly break the obsidian, making the portal disappear.
Although he'd wasted an obsidian block and some durability, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"It's good to be alive!"
On the other side of the Nether,
Gu Yu was having a much easier time than Mark, who was left with a psychological scar.
The Wither Skeletons couldn't hit him through the blocks, but he could kill them through the gaps.
"Diamonds too?"
He opened a fortress chest and looked at what was inside.
Soul Sand, Nether Wart, and diamonds—a lovely combination.
Like Blaze Rods, Nether Wart was a basic ingredient for all kinds of Magic Potions. It was essential for brewing potions in batches.
Since Nether Wart could only be grown in the Nether, he gathered every bit he could find.
A black figure quietly appeared nearby.
Smack!
[-0.5]
A barehanded Wither Skeleton appeared and hit Gu Yu.
With the Alloy Set on, it could barely hurt him. To Gu Yu, it was no different from a tickle.
He took it down in two swings and continued searching for chests as if nothing had happened.
Yamamoto Rokuko, hiding in the shadows, grinned.
"He fell for it!"
The Alloy Set did provide excellent defense, weakening attacks from many creatures.
And since the Wither Skeleton was barehanded, it really couldn't deal much damage.
But Yamamoto Rokuko knew that the most dangerous thing about Wither Skeletons was the Wither effect!
He'd blocked the attack, but could he block the negative buff?
"Where did that Wither Skeleton come from?"
"Oh no, he's been afflicted with the Wither effect!"
"His health is draining automatically. I'd call this the most disgusting buff of all, bar none!"
"Even the Alloy Set can't block the Wither effect, and Great God Gu Yu doesn't have any Health Potions on him!"
"The effect lasts a long time. Could it be that...?"
The audience had just watched Mark's perspective, so they all knew how terrifying the Wither effect was.
Now, that terror had come for Gu Yu!
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