Chapter 217: The Nether
Just as Sarah contemplated her own building, doubting her life, Mike next to her finally spoke.
"Don't get discouraged. At least it looks like a house. If I'm not mistaken, you must have been inspired by the ancient Roman Pantheon when you built it."
"The eight huge columns on the facade of the portico, in addition to the golden dome, and the fact that great artists and emperors like Raphael and Victor Emmanuel II are buried here. It is also rumored that gods and heroes like the God of War and Julius Caesar are also buried here," Mike exclaimed, looking at the building in the game.
"Did you guess it?". Sarah was a little confused by Mike's words.
'Was she using the Pantheon as a reference? She didn't even know it!'.
And she had never seen what it looked like.
"I guess I guessed it, but your building fits the concept of the Pantheon perfectly," Mike said.
"Are you saying I have a talent for this?". Sarah still didn't quite understand what Mike meant.
"No, I'm saying that your house is as monstrous as the Pantheon. After all, a house is only a temporary residence, while the black box is your permanent home. Whether it's the Pantheon or the black box, they all lead to the same goal."
"And it's a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship. Although the gods have not yet seen it, this ghost is already very appropriate. Keep it up, you can still improve." Mike's face lit up with a smile.
Hearing Mike's words, if reality were a comic, Sarah would see a row of black lines appearing over her head, with a six-point raven flying over her.
She looked at the anodyne house she had built on the screen, then at Mike, who was smiling like a sunflower, and finally uttered the classic phrase: "If you can do it, go ahead!".
After watching for a while, she understood that building a house was not an easy task, but given the circumstances, Mike accepted without hesitation.
Ten minutes later, Sarah's happy laughter resonated in the room.
"Haha, I thought you could build such a beautiful house! We are the same, the pot calling the kettle black!".
Sarah finally couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw that Mike's construction methods were exactly the same as hers.
'He had seemed impressive to her! And that was all?'.
"Ahem, houses are just one way to play Minecraft. Forget it, I'm going to create a new world seed and play survival mode together. I'll just call Tom and the others." Looking at the fridge-sized house in front of him, Mike coughed slightly twice, changing the subject.
In fact, this is a common experience for many new Minecraft players. Before buying, even if they don't know how to play Minecraft, they do know one thing: they can build houses as if they were playing with blocks. Therefore, most players, whether in survival or creative mode, do not explore the outside world. Instead, they immerse themselves in their own construction projects.
But these players soon discover a crucial problem: the things they build are completely different from what they imagined.
In short, it's like this: Brain: 'I get it! I see!'.
Hand: 'Brain, what did you just say?'.
The houses you build are always a billion different from what you imagined. Although it was just released, the community forums are already full of images, all with player complaints about their own constructions. They were ambitious before the construction, but after finishing them, they all realized, 'wow, they were like a small, dark matchbox'.
At first, some players thought it was due to the lack of materials in survival mode, but then, after switching to creative mode, they all realized how ugly the houses would be.
While waiting for Tom, Ethan, and Chloe to arrive, Sarah and Mike browsed the forums on their phones. Upon seeing the images, they both laughed with relief. Most of the players who were building houses were like them, theirs perfectly square.
Meanwhile, many players ran out of materials in the middle of the construction, so they simply dug up what they had on hand, not caring if the dirt or wood didn't mix well, and filled in the gaps. Of course, there were some players whose methods Sarah knew very well: they went wherever they were.
At dawn, they would chop down trees and dig to collect various materials, and at dusk, they would simply bow their heads, take out their tools, and start digging. They would dig a hole and seal it over their heads.
Of course, Sarah noticed that these people were more professional than her. They knew how to build a bed and a torch. Thus, they could easily survive at night without being too dark to see.
"Building a house in this game is very difficult!".
"Yes! The trailer wasn't a scam, was it?".
Mike and Sarah chatted online, seeing other players share the same painful experiences.
"No, building a house is quite simple. Just get an idea." Just as Mike and Sarah were chatting, Tom joined the chat. While he was talking, he also posted an image of the game. A beautiful second wooden floor appeared before everyone. The entire second floor was suspended in the air. In real life, this would be a very dangerous structure, supported by only a few pillars, but in the game, it was not.
In addition to the main building, the first floor, centered around the central pillar, unexpectedly had a spiral staircase that led to the second floor, with a fenced courtyard. From a distance, it looked absolutely stunning.
"My goodness! Isn't this the photo you found on the internet?". Mike and Sarah opened their eyes wide upon seeing the house. If it were only at first glance, it would be no big deal; it would simply look good. But the key was that they had both experienced their own dark rooms, and the comparison was like the difference between a bright moon and a firefly!.
"Tom is great!".
"My God, Tom! How did you build that house?".
Just then Chloe and Ethan came in. Upon seeing the screenshots that Tom had sent them, they were also surprised. Clearly, they had all played Minecraft before and knew the difficulty of building a house.
"It's so simple! Isn't building a house just putting materials on the ground? How else could it be built?". Tom, on the other side of the computer, listened to the praise with a radiant smile, blurting out some pretty rude comments.
Of course, he also had his unique skill: building houses in Minecraft, as if they were building blocks. So, in advance, he found some suitable houses, drew them, and divided them into blocks according to their characteristics. There is no need to consider whether this area can be divided into blocks, as long as they are more or less similar.
After all, this is built in the game, not in reality.
Then, how many blocks are needed for each place and whether they are placed horizontally or vertically? Just follow the template to assemble the puzzle and that's it.
It's just a little complicated. To appear so fluid, he specially prepared it the day before the game's release.
However, the next instant, his smile froze.
"Tom, you're so good at building houses, it seems that the task of building the base is only for you!", Mike said on the voice channel.
"That's right!".
"Tom is great!".
"Chief Architect: Tom!", the other three repeated.
Upon hearing what they said, Tom hesitated to speak.
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