Marcus had already prepared a bathroom area in advance, and now he made some modifications to accommodate Kira's request. Though he called it a "modification," it was really just repositioning the water source to the ceiling level.
Then he added two wooden steps beneath the falling stream to create a stable platform.
This turned the flowing water into a makeshift shower system.
He reached out to test the water flow. The sensation was oddly real, he could actually feel the water running down his arm.
But when he pulled his hand back, it was completely dry, just like before.
Seeing this, Alvida brought over a bucket and placed it directly under the stream. Soon it filled with clear water.
She tried pouring this water into a larger bathing area they'd constructed.
However, the moment the water touched the wooden floorboards, it seemed to evaporate instantly, disappearing without leaving a trace.
"Just as I expected," Marcus said, not particularly surprised by this result.
He'd anticipated this limitation based on his understanding of Minecraft mechanics.
Although water in the game could interact with ordinary buckets and was even drinkable when contained, once it left a proper container, it would vanish according to the game's rules.
The water still had some physical properties though, it would splash when hitting surfaces, create ripples in larger bodies of water, and feel wet to the touch while flowing.
But once it settled anywhere outside of a designated container, the water would simply disappear.
"That's really strange," Alvida muttered.
"Try using a wooden ladle."
Alvida took the wooden ladle and experimented with it. The results were consistent, it could hold the water just fine, but as soon as she poured it out, the liquid splashed briefly before vanishing completely.
Then she decided to get more creative with her testing.
She ran off and returned with a bamboo tube. She positioned one end of the tube at the water source and the other end over their makeshift bathing pool, hoping to create a water pipeline.
But the bamboo tube couldn't channel the water at all, the flow simply stopped at the tube's entrance.
Marcus nodded to himself. Even in this reality, certain Minecraft mechanics still applied rigidly.
Any container specifically designed to hold water would work perfectly, but you couldn't extract or redirect flowing water using improvised methods.
"This might be fine in summer, but we'll freeze to death in winter," Alvida pointed out.
"Can we heat the water somehow?"
"Probably not through normal means... but I think I might have an idea."
"What's your plan?"
"Don't we have that bathtub I built?"
Marcus positioned one corner of the wooden bathtub directly under the water stream.
The steady flow gradually filled the tub with fresh water.
He then propped the entire tub up on half-blocks and built a campfire underneath it, creating an improvised water heating system.
Soon, the water inside the tub began to bubble and steam from the heat.
"Amazing," Kira said excitedly, watching the process with fascination.
She dipped her finger into the heated bath water, it was perfectly warm, maybe even a little too hot.
"Putting out the fire is simple," Marcus explained, demonstrating the technique. "You just need to sprinkle a little water directly on the flames."
He scooped a small amount of water from the tub and let it fall onto the campfire. In an instant, the flames were completely extinguished.
"To relight it, just use a flint and steel on the surface where the fire was."
Alvida examined the bathtub more closely. Despite being positioned directly above an open fire, there were no burn marks, and strangely enough, the tub itself remained cool to the touch.
It seemed impossible.
Unbelievable.
As Marcus made adjustments to the fire, she could feel the tub's temperature changing accordingly. But once the campfire was extinguished, the temperature dropped to normal immediately, there was no gradual cooling period.
How did he do that?
"Once you're done bathing, just dump the water," Marcus demonstrated by tilting the tub slightly. "The water disappears the moment it hits the floorboards."
Clean, sanitary, and environmentally friendly. Zero waste or pollution.
"Now you two can enjoy your bath while I'll head out first," he said, preparing to leave them some privacy.
Only the two girls remained in the newly constructed bathroom area.
At this point, they could no longer contain their excitement about having a proper bathing facility.
Soon, both of them were happily soaking in the warm water, finally able to properly clean themselves after days of sailing.
Meanwhile, Marcus had moved to another part of the ship and started crafting armor by hand.
He created a complete set of iron tools and protective gear, carefully crafting each piece according to the patterns he remembered from countless hours of gameplay.
But when he put the iron armor on his body, there was no visible change to his appearance whatsoever.
However, he could distinctly feel that he was wearing something. The armor felt snug and perfectly fitted, yet surprisingly lightweight.
His movements weren't restricted at all, if anything, he felt more confident and secure.
"Does this mean I now have a body of iron?" he wondered aloud, examining himself.
He touched his regular clothes, but couldn't feel any metal chestplate or protective gear beneath them.
"Should I test this out?"
Although Minecraft didn't allow players to hurt themselves with weapons, you literally couldn't target your own character, but this wasn't a video game anymore.
In the real world, that limitation didn't exist.
He pulled out an iron sword, then thought better of it and swapped it for a stone sword.... Feeling somewhat cowardly, he settled on a wooden sword for his experiment.
He was a modern person who'd lived a relatively safe, comfortable life, so naturally he was afraid of pain.
He aimed the wooden sword at his calf and began pressing it against his leg, gradually applying more pressure.
At first, he just felt something blunt pressing against his skin. But as he increased the force, a faint sense of discomfort began to emerge.
Still bearable, though.
But when he pressed harder again, he suddenly felt the wooden sword hit something completely solid.
It wouldn't penetrate any further, no matter how much force he applied.
Yet he continued to feel only that same faint ache, nothing more intense.
"That's pretty smart," he said appreciatively, understanding how the armor system worked.
The protective gear was completely invisible when worn, but the moment he experienced even slight pain or pressure, the armor would activate automatically.
He checked the durability of the iron leggings in his game interface and found that it hadn't decreased at all, meaning his earlier testing hadn't even registered as a real "attack."
After thinking it over, he decided to try a more decisive approach. He swung the wooden sword with genuine force at his leg.
Clang.
The sound of metal striking metal rang out clearly.
The sensation was like being snapped by a rubber band, a brief, sharp sting that faded quickly.
His skin even showed a white mark where the sword had made contact. But remarkably, the durability of his armor still hadn't decreased at all.
That attack had definitely counted as a legitimate attempt to cause damage, but the protective effect was roughly equivalent to his earlier gentle pressure testing.
Clearly, unless someone used enough force to actually bend iron, this level of minor discomfort was the maximum pain he'd experience.
In a very real sense, he now had an "iron body."
If he could eventually craft diamond armor, he couldn't even imagine how powerful he'd become, especially if he could enchant it with full Protection IV.
Though enchanting required experience points, and so far he was still only Level 1.
He had no idea how to gain experience in this world.
Mining and smelting ores had given him nothing in terms of XP.
Marcus even doubted whether killing monsters would yield experience points like they did in the game.
As for mob farming and spawners? He had a theory about that.
It probably wouldn't work.
If hostile mobs did spawn naturally, then the ship he'd built, or the underground mining tunnels he'd explored before placing torches everywhere, should have already been overrun with creatures.
He also suspected that maybe only blocks he'd personally placed could generate monster spawns.
He had tested this theory during his mining operations with disappointing results.
Even when he'd completely paved areas with cobblestone, left them in total darkness, and walked far away, no hostile mobs had ever appeared.
Eventually, he returned to the main deck to check on his livestock operation.
He looked at the two adult bulls, now energetic and healthy after being fed wheat, along with their square-shaped calf.
As every Minecraft player knew, killing cows provided experience points. Though baby animals didn't drop XP until they matured.
After thinking for a moment, he pulled out some bone meal and began rapidly growing more wheat.
Soon, he had fed ten pieces of wheat to the young calf.
The moment it finished eating, it instantly grew to full adult size.
But he didn't raise his weapon yet.
Instead, he turned his attention to the two traumatized bulls standing nearby.
They began trembling under his ominous stare, clearly sensing that something terrible was about to happen.
"Moo!" (Don't come any closer, human!)
After being fed another round of wheat, heart-shaped particles began floating around both animals again.
The two "fathers" had successfully bred a second calf through the might of love.
The bulls' collective response to this development: We're exhausted. Please, just end our suffering.
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I need some help with a Naruto ff. I'll drop another chapter as compensation later, along with the two chapters of the Naruto ff.