Chapter 9

Chapter 9 OVERWORLD TOUR! DON'T FORGET TO PACK SNACKS. ALSO TORCHES, POTIONS, WOOD, ORE, TOOLS, AND PORK CHOPS. Po liked wearing his rabbit outfit. But he decided he needed to look like a proper explorer for what came next. Their first stop was the Nether. Po hadn't missed it, exactly. But it was hard to argue when Ash called the view "breathtaking." The group paused to take in their infernal surroundings. They stood on a narrow ledge between two active portals. Far below, there was a lake of lava. Across the way, too far to jump but close enough to see clearly, was another ledge with another set of portals.

The red mountains in this region were

covered with portals. It was like an ant farm, with dozens of little paths going around and through the landscape. And pair after pair of portals. "He's been busy," Harper said. "I KIND OF ADMIRE HIS FOCUS," said Po. "I wonder if he's free for tutoring?" Po meant it as a joke. But as soon as he said it, he remembered that the Evoker King was most likely a kid at their school. Whoever it was, they were doing an excellent job of messing with Po and his friends. With every other portal, they appeared in an entirely new area of the Overworld. They saw a

lush jungle, where Jodi kicked herself for running out of seeds to feed the parrots. They saw a mushroom island, where Po spent a blissful five minutes chasing mooshrooms. They saw a cavern, deep underground, lit dimly by portal light. In each spot, they stopped to gather materials. The jungle had more wood than they could carry. The island provided mushrooms and mushroom soup. In the cavern, Po breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of iron ore. There was a lot of it right beside the portal. They would be able to craft Jodi a new sword and still have enough to replace some older pieces of armor. While Harper smelted the ore, Ash looked around with a torch. It provided much more light than the portals, and almost

immediately she noticed something in the shadows. "What is that?" Ash said. Po turned to see a small structure made of wood. It looked completely out of place in the stone cavern. It also looked strangely familiar. "IS THAT OUR BAT HOUSE?" Po asked. "The one we built on the school lawn?" "Why in the world would anyone build this?" Harper asked. "And why here?" Squeaking sounds came from the surrounding darkness. "Well, chances are good that there are a lot of bats in the area," Morgan said.

"LET'S NOT STICK AROUND TO MEET