Minecraft: Adventure School/4CHP

Hero Crowe asks Belinda and Jack as to why they are on the second floor at night. Belinda opens her mouth to speak, but Cel appears and says that it is her fault, saying that she thought she heard someone in trouble and Jack and Belinda offered to check it out. Hero Crows suspects it was the allays, and Belinda asks him as to why he knew. He says that he was gonna have the group do the honors tomorrow, but now it has been ruined, along with the possibility of going after a vindicator. Jack opens his mouth to speak, but Belinda instead takes the blame, asking to be punished for sneaking out because she thought someone was stealing their items, mentioning the hooded figure. Jack then takes responsibility, saying that he thought Belinda was responsible for him getting stuck in the cave, so he left the room and looked for her as proof she was sabotaging him. Mara then shows up and insists that Jack, Belinda, and Cel be disqualified for breaking the rules. Hero Crowe considers it for a moment, but after saying that it would result in shutting down Adventure School early, he lets it slide. Mara becomes furious and once again accuses Belinda of hurting Jack and stealing Cel’s enchanted golden apple, but Jack says that if Belinda hurt him, she wouldn’t have saved him from the trapdoor trap. Hero Crowe then has everyone clear out the remainder of the second floor, and he unusually stays close to the group this time around, which makes Jack feel suspicious. Once the second floor is cleared out, Hero Crowe gives everyone fifteen emeralds to spend at the nearby village tomorrow to prepare for the third floor of the mansion as the final test, mentioning that he had transportation set up so they can get to the village quickly. Jack asks him as to why he built the transportation, and Hero Crowe just has everyone go back to the base on the first floor. As the group does so, Jack quips to Belinda that he believes Hero Crowe is hiding something. The next morning, the group start heading toward the back of the mansion. Everyone is thrilled about heading to the village, and Jack wonders if the thrill is what it feels like to have friends.

Not long after, the group arrive at the back of the mansion, noticing a minecart track heading straight into the forest. Everyone gets in their minecarts, and then Jack flips the lever, making the minecrats zoom through the dark forest. Soon after, the minecarts arrive in an area just outside the village, and as they climb out, Belinda asks as to where they should start. Cel says that she’ll look for some milk, while Belinda says that she’ll see if she can get some food. Jack says that he’ll look around for whatever, promising to split the spoils evenly. Mara says that she’ll go alone, keeping whatever she buys to herself. Belinda heads to the butcher, getting five cooked porkchop for an emerald. Satisfied, she uses a few more emeralds to get more cooked porkchop. She then finds a librarian, and after a memory pops in her head about Jack not helping with a skeleton because his father’s sword was almost broken, she hopes the librarian has what she needs for him.

Later that morning, Belinda meets Jack and Cel in the town center, splitting up their spoils as promised. Belinda splits the cooked porkchops and hands Jack an enchanted book with Unbreaking I, mentioning his father’s iron sword. Jack thanks Belinda for her kindness, and then they split up the carrots, potatoes, and wheat that Cel had gotten from the farm, along with the iron ingot, some coal, and gunpowder that Jack had gotten so Cel can make her own fireworks. Cel quips that the village is way bigger than hers, and Jack asks her as to where her town is. The three then go into a cartographer’s shop, focusing on a map in the middle of the shop, and they point out their respective villages. Cel lives in a village south of a frozen tundra, Belinda lives in a village in the mountains, and Jack lives in an area north of Belinda’s that is home to his grandmother. Mara then shows up, dismissing the village as boring, and starts heading back to the minecart track. Jack, Belinda, and Cel follow behind her, but soon notice a gap in the rail with a block missing. Jack quickly thinks it could be the work of the hooded figure, believing that it followed them here.

Cel kneels in the grass beside the missing block and rail, surveying the area for any sign of the culprit, as Jack says that they would need to craft a new rail. Cel only has a stick, and Belinda’s iron is missing, so all eyes are on Mara, who sheepishly says that she isn’t going to give them any iron and instead suggest pushing the minecarts. The others begrudgingly agree before noticing "a lanky black figure with glowing purple eyes" appearing before them with a grass block in its hand, making Cel believe that an enderman took the block. Mara goes up to attack it, ignoring the warnings of the others not to look at it directly, and starts running from it. Jack mentions that endermen hate water, so Cel uses a bucket of water on the enderman as Jack and Belinda move the minecarts. The four quickly get back into their minecarts and escape just as they go over a powered rail. Mara remains quiet the entire way back to the mansion, and as the group go around to the front and back into their base in the first floor, they hear Hero Crowe talking to someone inside. Belinda thinks it could be the thief that stole their items, so they all head for the door, but stumble out after Cel stops short of opening it. Two adult visitors spin at the sound and have their eyes locked on Cel, making Cel realize that they are her parents as her heart fills with dread.

Cel parents wish to speak to her in private, and the rest of the group head back into the base. Hero Crowe mentions to Cel’s parents that they can be given a tour, if needed, of the first and second floors as the third floor has not yet been cleared. Cel’s parents are livid at her for leaving her house without talking to them, mentioning how worried they were. Cel quips that she left a note, but her parents dismiss it outright, asking her about why she would sleep in a house home to hostile mobs. Cel mentions that she is safe because she learned how to fight, adding that she learned how to properly attack a creeper before it exploded. Cel’s mom says that they are leaving first thing in the morning, and then says that they are leaving immediately after Cel attempts to say something. As tears fill her eyes, she asks her parents as to why they don’t believe in her, adding that being here has taught her to be brave and stand up for what she believes in, that she doesn’t want to be a farmer her entire life, and that leaving here is certainly not an option for her. Cel’s mom opens her mouth to speak just as Belinda and Jack stumble into the first floor, with the former introducing herself and saying that she and Jack are her friends. Cel’s mother asks if their parents know they are here, and Jack says that his parents will know once they head home as they are adventurers, while Belinda says that her mother would know if her sister told her. Cel’s mother believes that both of their parents are worried for them, and affirms that Cel is coming home with her first thing tomorrow morning. As it begins to rain and thunder outside, acting as if the Overworld were crying for Cel, she stands her ground as best she can, saying that she will leave her village one day and become an adventurer.

Later that afternoon, Jack is looking through his supplies over and over, feeling like he is forgetting something even though he really isn’t. A chill clings to him, as he doesn’t like Cel’s mom and didn’t want to eat the stew that she had made for him. The narrator mentions that Hero Crowe built Cel’s parents a guest cottage after they refused to sleep in one of the rooms in the mansion. Belinda plops down on her bed as she knows Cel’s parents are gonna take Cel away before she even has a chance to prove herself. Jack agrees, adding that Cel should be here with them, and a smile creeps on Belinda’s lips, who implies that the smile is for remembering someone who said that they didn’t need friends and worked alone. As her smile grows wider, Jack admits that he now considers Cel and Belinda her friends. Hero Crowe’s bell then rings, signaling the start of practice for the final test. An hour later, Belinda is sparring with Jack in the arena room as Hero Crowe thought that the two could use some more combat training, watching over them from a loft above. He gives them a pep talk about needing to stay focused, because only one will win in the end. Belinda and Jack discuss for a bit about working together and being stronger in numbers, and then discuss sneaking Cel out of the guest cottage to make sure she has the opportunity to take the final test.

As rain continues to fall and flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder continue to be heard, Belinda is in the library on the second floor of the mansion. She is looking out the window toward the guest cottage, thinking of a path to help Cel escape, when she draws out her sword and spins to see what is behind her. Hero Crowe puts his hands up sheepishly and commends Belinda for being alert and prepared. She then asks him if she and Jack could have permission to continue sparring in the arena room tonight, and Hero Crowe grants it as the second floor is already cleared. Belinda nods at him before walking away, and once Hero Crowe is out of view, she sprints downstairs to Jack and nods at him. The two share a smile as they prepare to make sure Cel escapes. That evening, Mara is peeved that Belinda and Jack are seemingly now friends, despising the latter for selling out, and believing that once someone becomes Hero Crowe’s apprentice, their other friends go away. Belinda says that real friends don’t leave each other behind, and also don’t leave each other alone in a time of need, and then asks Mara if she is okay and that she can talk to them and become her friends. Jack concurs, saying that although they are competing for the same prize, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be there for one another. Mara thinks about it for a moment, but says that she will win it all by herself as she storms to her bed. Belinda and Jack then head over to the arena room and pretend to spar as they go over the plan for Cel’s escape: they would wait until the middle of the night so her parents were asleep, and then break her out and have her hide in the prison room until it was time for the test. Before their plan can start, however, a wary voice echoes from downstairs. Jack immediately recognizes the voice and sprints to the double doors Hero Crowe had built over the hole at the entrance of the mansion, with Belinda following him. The wary voice calls out again, belonging to a woman with black hair in a ponytail that is slender and small, accompanied by a man who is tall and broad. Jack dives into their arms, making Belinda realize that they are Jack’s parents.

Jack doesn’t care about how childish he seemed when he dove into his parent’s arms as it had been months since he last seen his mother. He says to them that he had his grandma write to them to tell them where he was, and his father says that letter is why they were worried in the first place, adding that his grandma said that he was chosen for the admissions test and assumed he was selected to participate. They both later found out that the school was in a woodland mansion, making them even more worried. Despite their feelings about Hero Crowe, his father says that he and his wife are proud of him. Jack then introduces his parents to Belinda as his friend, and the two admit that there would be no hard feelings for each other if either of them win. Just them, Belinda’s mother and her younger sister, Lucy, also show up, with her mother saying that she was worried about her, and Lucy saying that she has been grounded for a whole month. Belinda and Jack immediately question their parents as to how they found out they were at a woodland mansion, and Hero Crowe sheepishly admits that he told them, adding that he had invited them to witness their participation in the final exam tomorrow, and that a banquet would be held that morning. Belinda now believes that they have failed to have Cel join them for the test, but Jack insists that Cel will still take it as a nagging suspicion lingers as to whether he can say Hero Crowe is a foe or an ally.

That morning, Lucy asks Belinda if she has an emerald and if she can see it, and Belinda sheepishly hands it to her. Lucy then asks if she can hold into it while she is here, promising that she will give it back, and Belinda nods in approval. Lucy then asks her if she can hold her new sword, and Belinda refuses, instead giving her some wooden planks, saying to her that if she is able to craft a wooden sword, she could keep that emerald. As Lucy attempts to do so at a nearby crafting table, Belinda asks her mother if she won’t be grounded. Her mother says that she is glad that she snuck off in the first place, knowing that this experience has changed her for the better, adding that her husband passed the test back in the day. Belinda then gets ready by checking her pack, and her mother starts to talk about her husband as the bell rings to signal the start of the banquet.