➤ Chapter 7: "A Mine Beneath My Feet"
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Morning came with a gentle breeze and the fresh scent of damp earth. The storm had washed everything clean. Sunlight filtered softly through the forest canopy, dripping golden warmth onto the cabin's wooden walls.
Ehsan stood outside barefoot, letting the dew soak into his soles.
The world felt new.
But beneath that peaceful air lingered a tug in his chest—a quiet voice whispering: It's time to go deeper.
He'd built a house. Planted crops. Survived his first storm.
Now came the next step in survival.
Resources.
He needed iron. Coal. Maybe even something rarer.
It was time to mine.
Ehsan didn't rush.
He spent the morning preparing. Crafted extra pickaxes—three stone, one wooden for backup. He checked his torch count: 42. Enough for a short expedition.
His inventory was stripped down to the essentials:
• Tools.
• Food (bread, potatoes).
• A bucket of water.
• Cobblestone.
• Crafting table.
• Sticks.
He reinforced the door and left a sign inside the house: "Gone mining. Back before dark."
It made him chuckle.
No one was here to read it.
But it grounded him.
He chose the cave carefully.
Not far from his farm, behind a patch of ferns, lay a small hill with a suspiciously deep hole in its base. He'd noticed it earlier but avoided it until now.
He peered into the dark.
No sound. No movement.
Just a slow descent into unknown black.
He placed a torch on the wall, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.
The light behind him faded.
The cave swallowed him quickly.
It twisted and dipped, the stone walls damp and uneven beneath his boots. Ehsan placed torches carefully—left side only. That way, he could follow the opposite wall to return.
Within a minute, he was below sea level.
Coal veins lined the upper walls. He mined them first—slow, deliberate strokes. The gentle tick…tick…crack echoed around him like distant whispers.
Soon he had over thirty pieces.
He found iron next.
A lucky vein—six blocks, just deep enough to avoid surface light.
He smiled. It felt like finding treasure.
Because down here, it was.
But the real find came when the tunnel split.
To the left: a shallow dead end.
To the right: a steep drop into what looked like a deep ravine. A pit carved by water over millennia—now dry, but wide and eerie.
Ehsan crouched and peered over the edge.
And froze.
Down below, just past the shadows…
Iron.
Copper.
And something faintly glowing.
Lichen? Lava?
He wasn't sure.
What he did know: this ravine went deep.
He crafted a staircase downward using cobblestone and slabs, placing torches as he went. He was cautious—always crouched, always listening.
About halfway down, a bat fluttered past his face and vanished into the ceiling.
He didn't scream.
Almost did.
The ravine base was quiet.
Water trickled somewhere nearby, a gentle bubbling sound that reminded him of backyard fountains. The cave air smelled of moss and rock.
He mined iron. Copper. Even found a few bits of redstone buried near the lower edge.
But he didn't push further.
There was one moment, when he reached out to grab a redstone node, that the faint sound of footsteps echoed behind him.
He turned.
Nothing.
Not a mob. Not a bat.
But the hair on his arms stood up.
He didn't mine any deeper.
Some caves weren't ready to be explored—not yet.
By the time he climbed out, the sun was already lowering toward the horizon.
The forest greeted him like an old friend—quiet, gentle, green.
He walked slowly back to his cabin, iron clinking in his bag. Smoke curled from his chimney, just as he'd left it.
Home.
He smelted the ores first thing. The red glow of the furnace filled the cabin with warmth. Then he placed the redstone dust on the crafting table, just to look at it.
Something about this world… is bigger than it seems.
He didn't know what yet.
But he'd felt it, down there.
Beneath his feet.
In the dark.
And next time… he'd go even deeper.
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▶ To be continued...
Next Chapter: "Tools of Iron, Heart of Wood"
Thanks for reading!