1BelindaMoonlight slipped through Belinda’s old curtains, and silver light streaked across her bedroom floor. Outside, the night was pitch-black, and mobs of zombies, creepers, spiders, and Endermen roamed the woods, waiting for unsuspecting prey or anyone foolish enough to venture out into the darkness.
Belinda sat up in bed and kicked off her blanket. She wasn’t unsuspecting prey, but she couldn’t help but feel a little foolish as she tried to quietly sneak out of bed. Her village didn’t allow anyone to go out after dark, but Belinda couldn’t stay indoors tonight. Tomorrow was the entrance exam to Hero Crowe’s Adventure School, and she would do whatever it took to get in. After all, this was her only shot.
Hero Crowe’s Adventure School was not a regular school. It never appeared in the same place, the number of children admitted changed each year, and no child had ever received an invitation to take the entrance exam twice. Even applying to the school was random! Drop-off chests appeared near different villages once a year—often in dangerous places—so local kids could apply. Belinda had already risked her life climbing a mountain in the rain just to drop off her application. So whether two children or fifty were chosen to attend Adventure School this time, she was determined to be one of them. She had to be.
Belinda tiptoed across the room, sure to avoid the squeaking third plank that would wake her sister, and padded to her mother’s room down the hall. She pressed her ear to the door and sighed in relief at her mother’s loud snores, which sounded like having a roaring Ender Dragon in the house.
Easing the door open, Belinda peeked inside to find her mother fast asleep. Next to her mother’s bed was an orange bed. It had been blue just last week; her mother changed the blanket, though no one had slept in it for the past year, and it broke Belinda’s heart.
Belinda shook her head. No. She couldn’t think of this now. Gulping down the knot in her throat, she sunk into the shadows and crawled inside to the wooden chest in the corner of the room. Pressing her hand to the silver clasp on the front, she opened the chest—
A groan cut through the silence; Belinda winced and looked at her mother, her heart pounding. Thankfully, she continued snoring, and Belinda breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother would positively explode like a creeper if she saw what Belinda was doing.
Pushing the lid open fully, Belinda shifted aside old records, journals, and maps and smiled when her eyes fell upon a book. The book had arrived yesterday within a chest displayed on an obsidian altar that had not been there previously. Upon opening the tome, Belinda had only a second to read the first page before her mother had snatched it away with a firm “absolutely not.” Bringing the book to their campfire, her mother moved to throw it into the flames, but stopped, seeming to reconsider. She then strode to her room instead, stuffed it into her chest, and ordered Belinda to forget it existed. But though it was out of sight, Belinda could never forget the words she’d read:
Dearest Belinda,
You are hereby invited to participate in Hero Crowe’s Adventure School entrance exam, taking place at the following coordinates.
Now Belinda reread the message, the message that would change everything, and a small smile touched her lips. Her father often spoke of Hero Crowe’s Adventure School and how cool it must be to attend—despite the rumors about its mysterious teacher, who was said to be dangerous and careless and even once forgot a student in the desert biome, leaving them without water or a map! Her father, however, believed that couldn’t possibly be true, or how would Hero Crowe still have a school? He’d said if anyone could endure Hero Crowe’s Adventure School, it was Belinda. And here was her invitation, just as he’d predicted.
She stuffed the book into her nightdress and started to close the chest when she noticed her mother’s leather armor, worn and faded with age. Her mother often said the armor saved her life when she was a young, fierce adventurer. Now Belinda wanted to become the same—a brave adventurer—but her mother forbade it . . .
Belinda lifted the leather pieces out, closed the box, and tiptoed back into her room, hoping the armor would protect her, just as it had her mother. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—let anyone or anything stop her from attending Hero Crowe’s Adventure School. Not her mother, and not—
“Belinda?”
Belinda stifled a groan and spun to her sister, Lucy.
“Bel, what are you doing?” Lucy brushed aside her curls from over her eyes. Seeing the leather armor in Belinda’s hands, she shot up suddenly, her brown eyes wide. “Oh, no. You’re thinking of trying out for the adventure school, aren’t you?”
“No,” Belinda said, slipping on the armor. “I’m not thinking about it.”
“Good—”
“I’m doing it.”
Her ten-year-old sister paled. Given her small frame and wide, innocent eyes, the girl looked like an allay in the silver moonlight. “But . . . but you’ve heard of the things Hero Crowe has made his students do. Explore a mineshaft without torches, disable a mob spawner in a dungeon, not to mention taking them down into the deep dark! And they say he had his last class attempt to take out a warden. None of the students returned.”
Belinda sighed, gathering her curls into a single braid over her shoulder. “Those are rumors, Lucy. They didn’t return because they became heroes and are off traveling the Overworld, being brave and courageous.”
Lucy’s eyes softened with sadness. “Bel, you’re really brave. The bravest. What happened to—”
“Enough, Lucy.” Belinda spun around, unable to look at the pity on Lucy’s face. She looked through her pack to make sure she had everything she needed. “I’m going, and I won’t let rumors stop me from becoming a hero. Besides, I’m doing this for all of us. Hero Crowe picks one student to win a treasure chest of rare items and become his apprentice. Whatever I win can help Mom not work so hard, and as his apprentice, I’ll learn how to protect us. Who else will teach me to fight all kinds of mobs when Mom won’t even let me practice with her old sword? No, I have to do this. My becoming a hero will keep all of us safe.”
“Fine, but you can’t go out there alone.” She kicked off her blanket. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, you need to stay here and cover for me.”
“But Bel! There are creepers and spiders”—she hesitated for a moment, glancing toward the window—“and maybe even . . . creakings.” She stared into the darkness as if they lurked just beyond her sight, waiting for her to look away before they stormed in.
Belinda inspected her wooden sword and wooden axe, then shoved them into her pack. She wasn’t sure exactly what she’d be learning at Adventure School, and it was best to be prepared. “That’s the point. If I expect Hero Crowe to take me on as a student, then I need to be ready to face all mobs, and for that I need to concentrate on them and not on protecting my little sister.”
Lucy opened her mouth to argue, but Belinda knelt before her. “Look. Close your eyes and go to sleep. When Mom wakes up, pretend you didn’t see me leave. And when I get back, I’ll say you didn’t know . . . and I’ll even clean the stables for an entire month.”
Lucy gnawed on her lip. “Two months.”
“Deal—”
“But only if you promise to take this with you.” Lucy raced to her chest in the closet and drew out an iron pickaxe—their father’s. She was small and the pickaxe was heavy and it slipped from her fingers. Belinda dove and caught it just before it hit the floor.
Belinda sighed and headed for the closet to put the pickaxe away. “I can’t take it—”
“Then I won’t cover for you.”
Belinda turned to her sister. Lucy frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. She may have been small, but Belinda knew how stubborn she was. Looking down at the pickaxe in her hand, Belinda gripped the handle tighter. It was bulky, but something about its heaviness made her feel safe. So did knowing about all the adventures her dad had gone on with it at his side.
She ran her hand along the worn handle, the wood there dark and smooth from years of use. She then ran her fingers up toward the head where rough grooves and scratches covered the metal. If she looked close enough, she could see specks of stone in the cracks from where it had collided against all types of ores.
Swallowing down the sudden knot in her throat, Belinda shoved the pickaxe in her pack. “There, I’ve taken it.” She had, but she would never use it. She wasn’t worthy. “Now, sleep. You’ll see. I’ll be back in no time.”
Lucy nodded, though her eyes were full of worry. Climbing into bed, she pulled up her blanket and watched her sister prepare. Belinda put on her helmet, then strapped on her gauntlets and slipped on her boots. Her heart raced and her hands shook, but gripping her pack a little tighter, she walked out of the room without looking back.
Copyright © 2026 by Monica Sanz. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
