"Woah, that's half of the original!" Exclaimed George excitedly.
George understood Minecraft mechanics well. He knew that without the armor toughness provided by diamond and higher armor, players become progressively less protected from higher damage hits.
For example, a mob that normally deals 6 damage would now deal only 3 damage because of the iron armor. However, if the mob were to deal 20 damage, the iron armor would reduce the total damage by only 4, resulting in 16 damage.
"Can I also put on armor manually for more protection?" George wondered.
To test his theory, he immediately crafted another chest plate. He placed the chest plate icon in his hotbar, and a sleek white chest piece appeared in his hand. It was relatively heavy and still had a blocky design.
George awkwardly raised the chest piece over his head and slid his arms into the openings. After putting it on properly, something unusual happened. The chest piece, which had originally been too large and blocky, shrank down to fit his frame perfectly, almost as if it were made out of fabric. Although it was still quite heavy, it didn't hinder his mobility as much as before.
George immediately approached the cow from earlier and prompted it to attack him once again. This time, he didn't move back at all, and the number 1.7 floated from him.
Feeling excited about the results, George then approached the Evolved Zombie. Without much hesitation, he prompted it to attack him. The zombie raised its scythe hand and rushed toward George.
With a loud 'clang,' the scythe connected with his chest piece. George doubled down at the point of impact and was nearly swept off his feet, stumbling backward as if a car had rammed into him. Blood dripped from a long cut covering most of his chest.
The number 12.18 floated around him.
"Ah, shit!" he gasped, his voice cracking as a burst of pain hit him.
George was confused. If he had armor on, why had he been cut through it? And why did it hurt so damn much?
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing mind despite the burning wounds. Maybe the armor was functioning like standard Minecraft armor? Perhaps it only weakened the cuts by a percentage instead of blocking them.
His excitement quickly faded. Without the armor toughness provided by diamond armor or above, high-damage hits like that were bound to take him down quickly.
George quickly opened his stats menu:
[George
Armor: 21
Armor Toughness: 0
Health: 52.9/60 + 0.1/s
Attack Damage: 10 + Tool Damage]
His wounds had already stopped bleeding, and he noticed that his health was regenerating.
"Wait a minute, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday. Why am I not hungry at all?" George pondered aloud. "Is it because of the Symbiote?"
Shaking off the thought, George decided to wait until his health fully regenerated and the pain vanished. Motivated by his recent incident, he immediately summoned two reinforcement mobs and headed back into the mines.
Once inside, he quickly located some iron and coal ore, mined them, and hurried back to the furnace and crafting table.
This time, George found 23 pieces of raw iron and 16 pieces of coal. He quickly shoved them into the furnace and sat down to wait for the iron to finish smelting. Once it was ready, George pulled out the iron ingots and crafted another set of armor, including a chest plate.
When he put the armor on, it immediately adjusted to fit him as if it were clothing. What was even stranger was that the helmet had conveniently turned completely translucent.
This new set of iron armor was heavy but still manageable thanks to his enhanced physique. The armor from his inventory menu didn't add any extra weight.
Taking a deep breath, George decided to test his armor against the Evolved Zombie again.
He braced for impact and let the zombie attack him.
A loud "clang," like metal striking metal, echoed in the air.
This time, the added weight of the armor and his bracing before the impact allowed George to remain completely immovable. The strike was still strong enough to knock the wind out of him, and a thin red line appeared on his chest.
The number 4.62 floated above him.
"That's a big success!" George celebrated, checking his status menu.
[George
Armor: 30
Armor Toughness: 0
Health: 55.5 + 0.1/s
Attack Damage: 10 + Tool Damage]
After a short period of internal celebration, George decided to expand his little house. He quickly mined down the walls and transformed the original cubic frame into a 10x10 structure, giving him ample space for all of his belongings. He filled in the walls and added a roof that was 4 meters tall. Afterward, he made small holes in the walls and placed slabs over them to let in some natural light.
While moving to retrieve his crafting table and furnace, George noticed a small group of four sheep in the distance.
An idea struck him. He grabbed some of his leftover iron and crafted a shear. While he was at it, he also made an iron sword and an iron pickaxe. He quickly jogged towards the oddly shaped Minecraft sheep.
"Uh, how do I shear them?" George wondered, looking at the peculiar shears in his hand and then at the sheep.
After a moment, he decided to simply tap the sheep with the shears. To his surprise, their wool instantly condensed into the same color as their skin, and each sheep dropped six wool blocks.
"That's easily enough for a bed," he thought.
As he jogged his way back to the now larger house, he felt a sense of satisfaction wash over him. The sun was at its peak, casting a rather intense heat. He grabbed the crafting table and furnace, feeling their familiar weight in his hands, and carefully placed them inside the cozy interior of his house.
Setting up the crafting table against the wall. With it firmly in place, he turned his attention to the furnace, positioning it nearby to create a functional workspace.
He crafted a bed, combining three soft pieces of wool with three planks of wood. The thought of resting in a cozy bed instead of grass at the end of each day filled him with a renewed vigor. After a little while, he placed it in a corner. With each piece placed down, the house was starting to feel more like a home.
George sat against the bed, finally letting his thoughts wander to his earlier life. He was just about to enter the college of his dreams and finally begin studying for his future career.
"Sigh, I guess I was unlucky. Who dies of a heart attack after playing Minecraft? And who gets transported into the game?" he lamented.
(A/N Sorry for the spacing issue, should be fixed now.)