I have all the materials for a enchantment table, but I don't really have a place to put it.  I don't yet have a plan for my base, so I don't have a plan for an enchantment room either. I'm considering putting an Ice Palace on the top of the hill, but I would probably want some Thaumcraft magic to build that, so I'd have to have a temporary enchantment room for now.

Eventually I just plop it down at the mine landing. I'll move it to a more permanent temporary location later when I have bookcases. I toss level 1 enchantments on all my items and get routine stuff like Sharpness 1 on the sword except:



Ooh, blast protection. I've been a big fan of having a little ever since I lost my first hardcore world to a point-blank Creeper blast. Normally this needs at least a level 5 enchantment according to the Wiki so maybe the Promethium (which has high enchantability) was a meaningful benefit.

I also make Iron leggings to complete my armor set.

Now I'm ready to crack the mineshaft I've been mine around for some time now. I break in at one end and head in, dropping torches as I go. I hit a section of ice but head on through. The mineshaft forks and I head left. Shortly after that I encounter a pack of zombies and pull back so I don't get caught between two groups of mobs. Good thing too, because there is indeed a skeleton headed towards the intersection.



He literally sends me flying with the knockback.



But he still doesn't last long.

Unfortunately, as you can see, when I was dashing down the mineshaft I wasn't thinking about where I was putting the torches and the ice section is melting. I'd say oops, but it's probably the reason I wasn't fighting half a dozen zombies along with the skelly. While I'm trying to figure out what to do, another ice block melts and the mineshaft becomes an impassable torrent.

So, I mine out the goodies in the small section I liberated and go back to branch mining next to the shaft.

Almost predictably, I break into *another mineshaft*.  I'm hearing a lot of spider sounds so initially I'm extra cautious. Nothing comes through, though so I mine out some ores next to me. That breaks into a mineshaft *above* me - wouldn't you know it? and I see:



Spider legs hanging over the edge. Barely visible in this still but they were noticeable enough in motion. Well, I know where the noises are coming from, at least. Since they're not coming after me, I suspect they're regular spiders but I don't want to break into a nest of spiders from below. So I dirt up the hole for now.

I like having "safety railings" so it's impossible to accidentally fall into dangerous situations, even if I know they're there. I've died more than once to fat fingers on the move keys.



So I close off the entrance to the melted area so I won't accidentally fall in.

Next episode: Time to start planning for a bookcase collection, so back into the world to look for cows to bring home for leather.