Part 1: Ash Capital
"Where are we going, master?"
"..."
No reply. As usual.
He's always like this during what he calls "training me." Cold. Silent. Serious. Unyielding.
I only started calling the Wither King master yesterday.
He hated it when I used "Skull King."
I tried other names — Skull Mask, Ash Black… He flicked my forehead with a skeletal finger and said, "Call me master."
I was too tired to argue.
The fortress loomed ahead, built from blackened nether bricks, jagged and oppressive.
He pressed a hidden lever, and the floor rumbled beneath my boots.
Thick. Thick.
A staircase opened downward into darkness, releasing a faint scent of burnt stone and sulfur.
I followed him silently.
The first chamber was an arena where skeletons sparred.
Steel rang against steel in showers of sparks. Some sparks hissed as they touched the cracked, lava-streaked floor.
He didn't stop there. Another hidden lever. More stairs.
The chamber below was quieter.
Only two skeletons waited — one, the elder skeleton I'd seen at the gate; the other, a soldier I didn't recognize.
"Wait here," master commanded,
exchanging a few words with the elder skeleton.
The elder skeleton bowed, turned, then paused just long enough to give me a thumbs-up.
The gesture sent a chill down my spine, a strange mix of reassurance and warning.
"Stand at the center," master said, already
seated in the viewing stand.
"Yes?" I asked, voice tight.
I obeyed,
stepping onto the center of the arena floor.
The ground groaned beneath me.
Gruk.
The chamber shifted.
Blocks rose and fell, stones cracking, as the arena reshaped itself. A lake of bubbling lava licked the edges, isolating me in the pit.
I looked back at the master.
He only stared, cold and unreadable, as though weighing my soul.
From above, five stray withers descended.
Their skulls gnashed, eyes glowing red with malice.
They moved like predators who had already tasted fear.
"...I see."
I drew my blade from my hotbar, stretching my arms, flexing my fingers around the hilt.
"Try me," I said, heart hammering.
The withers roared, their projectiles tearing through the air in smoking trails.
I dodged, slashed, and cut through blasts that could have turned any normal fighter to ash.
Their attacks couldn't be reflected.
I had to adapt, improvise.
I leapt from block to block, climbing higher, until I hovered just above one of the withers' heads.
Then I jumped.
My sword pierced the skull, and I clung tightly, forcing it into a frenzy.
Its wild blasts struck two others, killing one outright.
The wounded beast thrashed violently, and I wrenched my blade free, decapitating its damaged skull before landing in the arena.
The damaged wither crashed and sent two
of the remainin into the lava, their screams hissing as they melted into nothingness.
Only one remained. Furious. Its roar reverberated through the chamber like the crack of doom.
I grinned. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins.
"Try me again."
Minutes later, the final wither disintegrated as I severed its main head.
I hurled the smoldering skull onto the ground.
"Master is faster," I muttered, glancing at him.
"...Good," he replied at last, the faintest hint of approval in his hollow tone.
Relief washed over me, and I collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving, muscles screaming.
After a pause, he spoke again.
Calm. Almost too calm.
"Now, moving on… You are going to fight someone."
The gate creaked open.
A familiar figure stepped out — the elder skeleton.
But something in his presence felt different. Deadlier.
"You are going to fight," master said, "the former Skeleton Admiral of Ash Capital."
Part 2: The Former Skeleton Admiral
I woke in my small house near the border, my body battered, bruised, and broken in ways even the lava hadn't managed before. Limbs ached.
Bones ached. Every joint felt as though it had been shattered and glued back together poorly.
The Skeleton Admiral…
He wasn't just a warrior. He wasn't even a monster.
He was something worse.
Each strike had rattled my bones as though I were fragile glass.
His blade moved faster than my eyes could track, cutting arcs through the air with terrifying precision.
His empty sockets held no anger, no joy — only inevitability.
I lasted minutes. Maybe less.
When I finally hit the ground, I understood something vital:
The Skeleton Admiral of Ash Capital was more monstrous than the Warden. More merciless than the Wither.
And I was nowhere near ready.
But somehow, the fear excited me.
A challenge that big… it was exactly what I needed.
After the battle, I turned to the elder skeleton for guidance.
While polishing redstone under master's watch, I began to learn slowly — painfully — that growth came only through repeated failure.
Sometimes, the elder skeleton would beat me to a pulp.
Sometimes, I would explode during a redstone experiment.
But slowly… I began to grow.
One day, while walking toward the war camp, the wind carried a glimmer of blue through the air. It sparkled unnaturally, catching my eye. I followed it, curious.
It was an ore. But it looked blue.
Being curious, I returned to the training arena, excited to push myself against the Skeleton Admiral again.
I squared my shoulders.
"I will beat the Skeleton Admiral today. "
"Or so I thought."
He appeared. Silent. Motionless. His blade already in hand.
"You gotta be kidding me. How the hell are you this strong?" I muttered.
Only silence answered me.
He scribbled something in his book.
"You will be, one day, too."
"Yeah… thanks," I replied, though I didn't feel much gratitude.
I stared at the writing, heart pounding. This was new.
The air around the training arena felt heavier, electric, as if something had taken notice.
Something told me that the Skeleton Admiral, the elder skeleton, master, and even the Ender Dragon were far stronger than anything I had faced until now.
I clenched my fists around my blade, teeth gritted, determination rising in my chest.
One day, I thought, I will surpass them all
.
And now this blue netherite… it felt like I would need it for something greater.
I paused. Something nagged at me, a memory I had almost forgotten.
"Hey, elder skeleton," I asked, turning to him. He glanced at me, his empty sockets tilting as if to say Hmm?
"Today, on my way here, I saw someone carrying a blue-looking ore. What is it?." I asked, curiosity burning in my chest.
The elder skeleton paused, then wrote carefully.
"It's blue netherite."
Blue netherite? Perhaps some new ore added in a future version of Minecraft, I thought, eyes widening.
He scribbled again.
"I can't tell you more than that, but you will know soon enough."
The air tensed around the arena.
Expressions unreadable.
Blue netherite, huh… well, that's something to worry about another day.
"Hey, elder, can you still go for another spar?"
The elder skeleton raised his sword, silently telling me to try him.
After that, we sparred for the whole day.
I stared at the empty netherrack ceiling.
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🔸 END OF CHAPTER 10
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[HAVE A NICE WEEKEND ;)]