29. Iron ingots won't drop
29. Iron ingots won't drop
It feels like the longer time passes, the more there is to do. It wasn't just a feeling, it was a fact. Maybe it's just human nature to want to live in a better environment? I'm dying to move from this Taiga biome to a Plains biome.
But moving right now is insane. I have no idea how far I'd have to go, and I'd have to Bridge the whole way. I can't do something that crazy.
While I was lost in thought over the information I'd just gathered, Ranma emerged from the Monster Farm. He'd come back after punching the wall. The timing seems a bit tight, doesn't it? But I don't think I could handle doing one-hour shifts. Being stuck in the darkness with monsters for an hour? That's a recipe for a mental breakdown.
"Back already?"
"Yeah. The Wooden Sword held up, so I was able to kill a lot. I killed every monster I saw on the way back."
"Good job. Want some bread?"
"Yeah!"
At my offer, Ranma nodded. His sparkling eyes were funny. Asagi was looking back and forth between me and the fox curled up sleeping in the shade of the Oak Tree. It was like she wanted to ask for bread, but couldn't take her eyes off the fox.
But Asagi-ssi, that fox is going to despawn eventually.
No matter how well I block it off with fences, that fox isn't a tamed one. You can't tame a fox that has already spawned. Only baby foxes born from breeding two foxes with Sweet Berries will trust a player. They won't run away even if I approach them. Right now, there's only one fox, I don't have any Sweet Berries, and without two foxes, there's no way to get one that trusts the player.
So? It could disappear while I'm hitting the Monster Farm a few times.
I felt like I needed to let Asagi know.
Ranma was happy at my words, then turned his gaze to where Asagi was looking and spotted the sleeping fox. He let out an exclamation.
"How can a fox be here?"
"They can spawn too."
As I said that, I used the wheat—which I hadn't made much of because I was busy getting Emeralds—to make two pieces of bread. I didn't need any. The amount of wheat was scarce, and there was no need to eat a lot of bread anyway. Apples are tasty enough.
I handed a piece of bread to Ranma and Asagi, then crouched down and approached the sleeping fox. In Minecraft, you crouch by pressing the Shift key. You can even walk while in that state. Wild foxes will wake up and run away if a player just walks up to them, but they won't run if you approach while crouching. There's no Shift key here, and I wouldn't physically crouch just by pressing one, but I was certain: if I moved while hunched over, the wild fox wouldn't run away and would keep sleeping.
And that prediction was correct. While I was installing fences around the Oak Tree, the fox didn't run away. It just kept sleeping, zzzz. It was cute enough to die for, but I felt a bit gloomy thinking it would probably despawn before long. Let's just get along until then. Since I can't tame it, it'll run away whenever it sees me, but since Ranma and Asagi aren't treated as players, it won't run from them.
For now, I had no choice but to put up a fence in case a Chicken Jockey appeared. I stacked it three blocks high so it would be high enough that the fox couldn't jump over it. I made a fence gate on one side so Asagi and Ranma could come and go. I can't enter, but Asagi and Ranma might be able to go in and touch it.
For some reason, it feels like I'm the only one doing all the hard work.
Thinking that to myself, I finished building the fox pen and spoke to Ranma.
"Just leave it like this for now. I'm going in."
"Okay. Since I killed a lot, there should be plenty of items dropped."
I nodded at Ranma's words and approached Asagi to tell her the truth she wouldn't want to hear.
"Asagi-ssi, that fox might despawn if it gets too far from me. It's fine to think it's cute, but don't get attached. Foxes can't be tamed."
"That's..."
At my words, Asagi had a look on her face like the sky had fallen, and then she turned gloomy. Seeing her shoulders slump, she seemed quite disappointed. I want to be her fox.
Woof! Woof woof! Woof woof woof!
I can bark well too.
I am a fox! Asagi's fox!
Of course, I only thought that; I didn't do something moronic like saying it out loud. If I said that to Asagi, I felt like she'd stay at least 10 meters further away from me. After that, I didn't say anything else and went straight into the Monster Farm. The items Ranma dropped might have disappeared. I need to get in there as fast as possible and collect them.
The good thing about this Corridor-style Monster Farm is that most of the items are automatically looted just by walking. I'd love to install hoppers in the tower to sweep up the items, but that's impossible right now, so I'll pass. Iron Ingots are always in short supply, no matter how many you have. I need to get Gold Ingots soon to make a Villager.
Thinking that, I moved forward, killing the monsters with exposed shins on either side of me with my Wooden Sword. I was lucky this time. Quite a few Skeletons had spawned, and there were plenty of Zombies too. And even one Witch appeared.
Witches drop useful items when killed. They give items that are especially hard to find in Sky Block. Redstone! Give me Redstone!
Kueek.
The Witch didn't drop anything when it died. Figures. You're supposed to kill these things without expecting anything for them to actually drop items, but I think I had my hopes up too high. Ranma seemed to have killed quite a lot of monsters. There were a significant number of items scattered here and there. I killed them casually and picked up every single item until I hit the wall. Bones, Bows, Arrows, Rotten Flesh, and I was lucky enough to finally get a Carrot this time. Carrots drop pretty well, so I was sure I'd definitely get one today.
The Iron Ingot, as expected, did not drop.
Fuck.
At this rate, isn't it going to take over a month to get 7 Iron Ingots? Once I get the Iron Ingots, it'll be smooth sailing from there! With no Iron Ingots, there's nothing I can do. I can't do anything just by surviving on monster drops like this.
The time it took for me to come out of the Monster Farm was just about an hour. The Monster Farm was definitely safe with no issues. I made it, but I made it well! The monster hunting speed was slow because I had to beat them to death one by one, but in our current situation, having too many monsters is also a problem. I was picking up piles of Bones, Arrows, and even Bows, so I felt full even though I hadn't eaten anything. I'd also acquired a Carrot, so from now on, Carrots would be included in our meal menu.
Asagi, who was still chopping wood, and Ranma, who had his hand on the fence and was glued to it watching the fox, turned to look at me as I came out of the Monster Farm. Asagi stopped chopping the Oak Tree for a moment and just watched me from where she stood, while Ranma ran over.
"How is it? Did you get a lot? The Iron Ingots? Did they drop?"
"If Iron Ingots were that easy to get, we wouldn't be suffering like this. It'll probably take a very long time. It's a matter of luck now. Maybe the luckier you are, the faster you get Iron Ingots?"
I thought that as I looked at Asagi and Ranma. Honestly, I couldn't even imagine that there would be any lucky people here. One is the protagonist of an adult game who gets captured and brainwashed at the drop of a hat, and the other is a martial artist who has a curse where he turns into a girl when he touches cold water. Me? I was dragged here while streaming Minecraft.
No matter how I think about it, I don't think there are any lucky people among us.
I tapped Ranma on the shoulder, who was discouraged by the news that no Iron Ingots had dropped, and spoke to boost his spirits.
"Ranma. Indian Rain Rituals always have a 100% success rate. You know that?"
"...If you're going to say it's because they do it until it rains, so it's a 100% success rate, stop."
"You know it well! We're the same. We just have to keep killing until they drop."
"So when does that end?"
"Obviously when we get them all."
I said it nonchalantly. Ranma became even gloomier. But it can't be helped. We don't want to live here forever, right? Since we're going to keep hunting and surviving here anyway, it was clear that Iron Ingots would pile up eventually. There's nothing wrong with trying to speed that up as much as possible.
I want to escape here quickly too! I don't even have my phone! No beer! My only joy in life was eating chicken and drinking beer!
"Don't think this is hard just because of this."
"...Does that mean the next part is even harder?"
"Obviously."
Next, we have to catch Drowned to get Gold Ingots. To make a Drowned spawner, we have to pour tons of water to create a terrain like an ocean or a lake. It's a terrain that's almost impossible for us to build right now.
It means we have to build a huge bathtub and fill it with an insane amount of water using infinite water sources.
"The next monster we're going to catch lives in the water."
"...Water?"
At my words, Ranma's face turned pale. That's because Ranma turns into a girl when he touches water. I played dumb and rattled on.
"Yeah, water. It's an opponent you have to fight while swimming. By then, we'll be able to make Stone Swords, so hunting will be easier than it is now."
"That's true, but..."
"Why? Don't want to get in cold water? Do you hate cold water that much? Then you don't have to go in."
"Really?"
When I said he didn't have to go into the water to hunt, Ranma brightened. I immediately continued. You always have to listen to the end of what someone says.
"Yeah. If that's what you want, do that. I'll swim and catch the monsters alone. I'm terrible at combat, but what can I do? If I don't do that, no one will be able to escape, and we might end up growing old and dying here."
"......."
At my words, Ranma frowned. I'd hit a nerve with his guilt.
But, honestly, I didn't think Ranma needed to turn into a girl. As I thought before, Ranma is one of the biggest beauties in his world.
If I got turned on by her female form, I felt like I'd want to kill myself.
I just want Asagi to like me!