Shadowing Practice: Searching For A World That Doesn’t Exist - Learn English Speaking with Video

Whatever you do at the crossroads, don't turn left.

This is the first line in a book that Avery claims he did not write.

Two weeks ago, a YouTube channel called Avery the Mayo uploaded a YouTube video titled Weird Book I Did Not Write,

where he shows us a mine that supposedly he never built.

Inside the mine is a chest that Avery did not place.

And inside the chest is a book that Avery did not write.

Inside the book is a very strange message.

Whatever you do at the crossroads, don't turn left.

Don't be fooled.

It's listening.

You can't outsmart it.

It's listening to me.

It's watching me.

It isn't from this world.

At the crossroads, don't turn left.

Over and over, followed by a sequence of numbers. And that's it.

It seems impossible that a whole mind just appears in your world without your knowledge,

but Avery explains in the description of the video that the laptop he's playing on is from a storage locker.

It already had Minecraft installed, and this world already existed, but when Avery first loaded it up, it was just a normal world.

He only now discovered this mine a few hundred blocks from his house.

So, in that case, what is this book?

The contents are strange, and it's not evident what they refer to.

If anything, they just sound like some crazy rambling, but the numbers at the end are clearly some sort of code,

so maybe we can solve it and figure out what this book is talking about.

Except we can't.

The numbers go higher than 26, so it's not any alphabetical code, there are four sections, not three,

so it isn't coordinates, and in fact there's not a single cipher that comes up as a good match for this code.

If it is a code, it's unlike any code I've ever seen and I wasn't able to decipher it.

So is that it?

A strange one -off YouTube video and a dead end?

Not quite.

Because for two frames, at the very end of the video, Avery's inventory flashes a random pattern of blocks.

And this time, there is a code.

Because taking the first letter of the name of every block, and capitalizing it if there is more than one, you get a string.

A string that perfectly matches the length of a Google Drive link, that when you enter, takes you to a folder.

And this is where the true mystery begins.

The mystery of a Minecraft world that doesn't exist.

Opening the video named Footage 1, we can see a player in the exact same spot Avery was in the last video,

except now he has way more items than he had last time.

Presumably this is from his house, and he's come to use this mine in survival as part of this world.

The book is now gone from the chest, but it could be that Avery just burned it because it creeped him out, or it's just this book in his inventory.

Regardless, Avery lines up with the other strip mine and begins to start a new one into the wall, but when he does, he finds this.

nothing weird it's just a cave and Avery walks in to begin exploring until he stops and sees this

it's hard to make out

but as he walks closer we can see what it is moss and grass this is immediately a red flag, because this kind of terrain does not generate in caves.

Avery checks underneath it, but there's nothing else either, and when he runs back to grab his torches, he notices yet another patch of moss in the corner of the cave.

Again, not natural, but not leading anywhere either.

It's only when he heads back down the cave does he see it.

A tree.

Avery approaches the clump of greenery, and there it is.

A tree unlike any other oak tree in the entire game.

Whatever this is, it isn't normal.

Avery backtracks a bit, and we get a better look at this shrub, for lack of a better word.

And after some hesitation and circling around it, Avery decides to try mining the tree.

And he does, with no problem.

It looks just like a normal tree, except normal trees don't generate underground.

And it's not the only one.

As Avery goes deeper and deeper into the cave, he passes larger and larger patches of greenery, coming across more shrubs and even more trees.

and even more moss.

He pauses to talk at one point, but instead of commenting on the trees, he brings up something else.

It's weird, we've only seen stone.

And I guess he's right, the walls of this cave don't have any diorite, granite, andesite, or ores, but come on, there's a bigger elephant in the room here.

At some point though, Avery's wish gets granted, and the cave turns into terracotta, tough, and deep slate.

The greenery gets larger and larger, with the trees growing bigger and bigger, until finally, Avery reaches the end.

Avery stops for several long seconds just taking everything in.

The room is a giant cave of green with strange, unnaturally large trees forming a staircase on the back wall.

The floor is covered in a massive field of moss, scattered with the strange trees we saw earlier.

Avery slowly heads down the cavern wall, being careful not to take too much damage while maneuvering his way to the bottom.

He looks around in awe as he explores the chamber, and from closer up, we can see a tunnel right between the massive tree gates.

Avery searches around the trees for a few minutes, seemingly mesmerized by the build,

and we can see that these gates are made of trees stacked on trees stacked on trees, made of spruce, mud, and oak.

But the question here is obvious.

What is this place?

This kind of terrain, obviously, doesn't generate naturally, so who made it and how does it just appear in Avery's world?

Well, if there's any answer to that question,

it's through this tunnel, because finally Avery decides to stop sightseeing and heads down the tunnel at the center of the room.

Avery walks through the mudbrick tunnel, turning to glance behind him every few steps, but of course, nothing is there.

The world is set to single player, at least it seems that way, until this happens.

Something is wrong.

It's almost impossible to notice, but at the far edge of the tunnel, the first pair of torches have suddenly been wiped out.

Avery stares for a few seconds and continues walking.

Another pair of torches is gone.

I'm not scared of torches turning off. And then another.

I don't know what kind of practical joke this is, but I already heard you in the -

I'm not scared of a game.

I I

don't know why I just jumped down.

I wasn't scared, but I felt compelled.

I've never felt like that in my life.

What is going on here?

Things just went from strange to incredibly creepy in a matter of seconds.

This doesn't just happen on a normal world, but Avery did say he found this world on a computer he got from a storage locker.

So maybe this is just a world that the old owner of this computer created, and it's just some strange adventure horror map.

Case closed.

Except it's not.

Because the video files aren't the only thing in this Google Drive folder.

100

If you remember, there's also this PDF.

101

And opening it, we see this.

102

My exploration into a strange tunnel I found in my Minecraft world.

103

I've been playing this world for a while and just discovered this.

104

This is my document - of the search.

105

Notably, when I installed Minecraft, this world came pre -created.

106

Always thought that was a little strange, but I'm not really sure.

107

This seems okay enough, but remember what Avery said earlier.

108

He found this computer in a storage locker with Minecraft installed, not he installed Minecraft and this world was there.

109

Admittedly, it's a pretty small difference, but still, why the conflicting stories?

110

Something you may have also noticed that I can't explain is why Avery's name is now censored.

111

He wasn't censored in the previous videos, but now he's both hidden his name and changed his skin.

112

Almost like he's hiding from something.

113

But there's still a lot more of this footage, and if you want to figure out what's happening in this world, why it exists, and what it has to do with Avery,

114

we have to keep watching, as Avery runs from whatever it is that's hiding in this world world.

115

Avery says he has to keep moving, even if he doesn't exactly know why, and the only way to go is down.

116

Avery takes a leap into the giant pool of water before him and swims down into a junction of tunnels.

117

After some hesitation, he burrows himself in the left wall for air before swimming down the left tunnel.

118

He continues to navigate through the dark water, the tunnel getting narrower and narrower, with no end in sight.

119

Until it opens, into a giant cavernous room with just enough space at the top to get a bit of air.

120

When Avery descends again, we can see tunnel openings sprawling across the walls.

121

Avery scans around.

122

There's no marker of where to go, just tunnels upon tunnels as far as the eye can see, and then he hears it.

123

The same sound is when the whispers played previously.

124

Avery rushes to dig into the wall, and as he blocks himself in, we can hear the whispers again.

125

Quieter, but still there, as if they're passing by him.

126

When the coast is clear, Avery digs out, but now what?

127

He has no choice but to gamble on a tunnel and hope it's correct.

128

He scans the walls again, no obvious sign of which one to pick.

129

So finally, he rolls the dice.

130

The tunnel leads to another junction, and again, after a slight hesitation, Avery goes left the tunnel continues,

131

getting narrower, and narrower, and narrower,

132

until finally,

133

He finds himself in the oasis.

134

Avery looks around the room, strangely, almost peaceful.

135

He's in the middle of a square pond, flanked on all sides by the same uncanny trees.

136

He stares off at the water for a second before towering up and getting a good look around, nothing but trees as far as the eye can see.

137

For a moment, he pauses.

138

Before something snaps, and he crafts a boat to get to the center of the lake.

139

Without hesitation, he dives down into the tunnel and plugs up the hole.

140

He makes another trip for good measure, plugging it even further.

141

If this thing comes through here again, it has to break that, but I need to explore.

142

He sails back to the edge of the lake.

143

What it can't avoid doing is loading the chunk.

144

Avery chops a few trees and crafts a hopper with the spare iron in his inventory.

145

His plan is simple, set a trap for the thing following him.

146

But wait, did I miss something?

147

Because how does he know that something is following him?

148

Sure, those torches turned off, and yeah, we heard those noises before, but there's actually an even stronger piece of evidence I haven't mentioned.

149

Remember when Avery said this?

150

I already heard you in the cave.

151

Well, it took me a second to figure out what exactly he meant, but then I heard this.

152

It's almost impossible to make out, but on a few separate instances while Avery was walking in that original cave, he would randomly pause for a second or two,

153

and now we know why.

154

He was listening.

155

Every time he paused, for just a brief moment, you could hear footsteps on the stone behind him.

156

Stopping just a fraction of a second too late to be quiet.

157

But okay, if something is somehow really following Avery in a single player world, how can he stop it or at least get it to reveal itself?

158

Well, that's exactly what he's doing right now.

159

Like he said, he needs time to look around and explore this world,

160

but while he's gone anything can just swim through the hole and replace the blocks to make it look like nothing happened.

161

But if Avery turns down his render distance and puts items in this hopper.

162

If he then goes far enough away and unloads the chunk,

163

the only way for the hopper to be empty when he returns is if something loaded the chunk while he was gone.

164

And then, whatever was following him would be exposed.

165

The trap is set.

166

Now, it's time to explore.

167

Avery walks through the trees, avoiding the lake so as to not load the chunk.

168

Every inch of this place looks exactly the same.

169

The same grey floor, the same strange trees.

170

Everywhere he looks, there's nothing.

171

Until, just in the corner of the screen, there's a sign.

172

But it's hard to spot, and Avery doesn't seem to see it, and he keeps walking, then he pauses.

173

Interesting.

174

That's the third sign we've seen so far.

175

What? Where?

176

Third sign?

177

I've only seen this one.

178

But, it turns out, he's right.

179

Going back and rewatching the footage, just barely hidden in the corners of the screen, are two other signs Avery crossed earlier in the recording,

180

though he gave no indication at the time that he noticed them.

181

Avery goes back to all three signs.

182

All of them are blank, so I don't know what to make of it, but Avery seems to be satisfied and he explains why.

183

The signs all seem to point to one place.

184

Both of these angled ones point in the same direction.

185

And he's right.

186

If you line up a coordinate grid with the location and rotation of the signs, you get this.

187

So he's right, all of them point a certain way, and if you trace out their intersection it hits one specific point.

188

He also pulls off this brilliant move

189

which you rarely see from these protagonists by turning the difficulty to peaceful because he ran out of food.

190

Absolutely genius.

191

But with that said, he returns to the lake to check on his contraption.

192

And.. nothing showed up.

193

Items are still flowing out of the hopper, which would be impossible if anything had loaded the chunk.

194

Avery tells us exactly this.

195

Nothing came through.

196

Not to mention, the blocks are still in the same position Avery placed them to plug the hole.

197

Now that he's shaken off whatever was following him, Avery sails back, presumably to find the intersection points of the signs.

198

But before he does that, he opens up chat and says this.

199

Something is here.

200

What?

201

How?

202

Why is Avery saying that?

203

Why isn't he sending it in chat?

204

What did he see?

205

I don't know if it can hear me.

206

But I'm not taking any chances.

207

The grass block.

208

When Avery left the chunk, he didn't just set one trap for the entity, he set two.

209

Without mentioning anything to us, he placed a grass block next to a block of dirt.

210

In Minecraft, grass can't spread if the chunk isn't loaded.

211

The only way that this block is now grass is if something other than Avery loaded this chunk.

212

I'm not scared, but my gut says to I have to keep moving.

213

Maybe I am scared.

214

The other sign was pointed head -on.

215

You gave me reasons to be somebody else.

216

Avery walks through a tunnel, a tunnel which quickly turns into a maze.

217

And slowly but surely, dead end after dead end.

218

Avery navigates through it.

219

Avery is clearly smart.

220

Smart enough to set a trap, and smart enough to set a backup.

221

But whatever this thing is that's following him, it's smart too.

222

Smart enough to block up the tunnel it entered from.

223

Smart enough to refill the hopper with items after loading the chunk smart enough to hide its presence.

224

This world seems to be guiding Avery somewhere.

225

The whispers in this tunnel coercing him to enter the cave.

226

The signs pointing to the secret entrance under the tree.

227

Whatever this world is, it's leading Avery.

228

But to what?

229

We don't know.

230

All we do know is that he isn't alone.

231

And finally, Avery exits the maze, into another giant room with what looks like a cipher above a door,

232

with three levers right in front of it.

233

Avery stares up at it, says he'll need a pen and paper, and blocks up the tunnel where he came from.

234

The footage ends with him staring up at the code, deep in thought.

235

From what I can see, the code atop the doorway looks something like this.

236

It doesn't immediately remind me of anything, and plugging it into a cipher decoder gives me no ideas either.

237

Running each of the candidate ciphers just gives gibberish every single time.

238

Whatever this code is, there's unfortunately no way that I, or Avery, can solve it.

239

The second half of the footage picks up with 17 minutes of just staring at the wall.

240

And then… he gets it.

241

Okay, I guess it was solvable.

242

Avery says it's a good poem, but doesn't actually reveal what it said, only that it uses cipher stacking.

243

A technique where two ciphers are layered one on top of the other to make a code almost undecipherable.

244

How Avery actually solved it with a pen and paper is beyond me, but the puzzle isn't over yet.

245

There's still this gate, which Avery suspects is some sort of combination lock.

246

But instead of a pen and paper, his solution this time is a bit more.. how do I put this?

247

Efficient.

248

And with that, he's - Wait.

249

Who's Durlord3?

250

For the first time in this footage, Avery's sensor bar lingers for just a second too short, and we get a glimpse of the name.

251

This isn't Avery's name.

252

This isn't Avery's skin.

253

Maybe the reason that we got two different stories about where this world came from is

254

because the player we've been watching this entire time isn't Avery at all.

255

But if that's the case, then who is this?

256

The world at the beginning is clearly the same one that Avery was playing on, so what's going on here?

257

If it is Avery on an alt account, why the conflicting stories in the description and the document?

258

And if it's not Avery, then who is this other person, and why are they claiming that this is their world they found?

259

I genuinely just don't know, but the only way to find out is to keep watching,

260

as Durlord walks through the tunnel after the puzzle and finds himself in the village.

261

Thank you.

262

I love you.

263

Oh, oh, oh, oh.

264

Thank you.

265

Thank you.

266

Oh, my God.

267

It's empty.

268

This village is strange, it's clearly abandoned if the cobwebs and literal holes in the roof didn't make that obvious,

269

and all the chests and containers have nothing inside of them.

270

There's also an interesting amount of yellow in the carpets, beds, and flooring, but wherever Durlord looks he can't find anything of interest,

271

no lead on where to go or what to do from here.

272

The fountain and statue in the town center is by far the most eye -catching decoration here, but like we can see, it too is empty.

273

There's no path to take from there.

274

So, is this the final area then?

275

The final answer to what's been going on with this world and what's been following him?

276

I'm not sure, and clearly Durlord isn't either, since he keeps looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

277

Anything that might give him a clue of where to look next.

278

Thank you. is who

279

Nisa Raya Nata Raya

280

Thank you.

281

Oh Thank

282

you.

283

I hate it here.

284

These idiots are insufferable.

285

They think that devotion will save them.

286

Rest assured, it will not.

287

Not that it will do them any good to believe that anyway.

288

The ones who realized it pretend they didn't.

289

But it doesn't help

290

that there are some of them who truly believe they'll be saved the king is coming my

291

if anything i wager

292

that their king is already here it's watching me write this

293

i don't particularly care i just want this to be done

294

with the sooner i can leave the better he's arrived i don't know why anyone is surprised to find

295

that out this is exactly what they were hoping for

296

i'm going i'm leaving this here in the rare case someone finds it

297

if you have found this i implore you turn back disconnect forget about this world it's not for you

298

if you've come here you must be curious i know you must want to continue onwards

299

so i know that this is a heavy But please, do not go any further.

300

For your own good, do not.

301

Thank you.

302

Thank you.

303

We'll be right back.

304

You So,

305

let's go. So, let's go.

306

I don't know.

307

We'll be right back.

308

Thank you.

309

Thank you.

310

Thank you.

311

Thank you.

312

Whatever you do at the crossroads, don't turn left.

313

Don't be fooled, it's listening.

314

You can't outsmart it, it's listening to me.

315

It's watching me.

316

It isn't from this world.

317

At the crossroads, don't turn left.

318

At the crossroads, don't turn left.

319

At the crossroads, don't turn left.

320

At the crossroads, don't turn left.

321

And the footage ends.

322

Right there.

323

Durlord was the person who wrote the book in Avery's world.

324

How?

325

It shouldn't even be possible that the tunnel led him back to that mine.

326

Durlord found this world on his computer, and Avery found Durlord's old laptop in the storage locker and has been playing on it ever since.

327

But what is this world?

328

What was - following Durlord in this footage, and most importantly, what was behind those gates.

329

I didn't put that sensor bar there, that was in the original footage.

330

Whatever is behind that black square was enough to drive probably the smartest protagonist I've ever seen into running for his life.

331

Something that a whole village of people was trying to summon.

332

Something that this entire world has been hiding.

333

A king?

334

What does that even mean?

335

I don't know what to tell you, but I can tell you one thing.

336

The code at the end of the book?

337

Now with this footage, we can solve it.

338

Each number corresponds to one slot in Durlord's inventory.

339

One here, and 36 here.

340

Take the first letter of each item, or whatever number is indicated after the dash.

341

From that, we can get this.

342

Run Avery.

343

It's here.

344

Durlord was giving one last warning, hoping that whatever was following him wouldn't see. But how?

345

How would he possibly know that Avery would find this world?

346

There's no way for him to know who Avery even is.

347

Whatever he saw behind those doors, whatever he knows about this world now, we may never understand.

348

But one thing is certain, whatever was coming for him is coming for Avery next.

349

This isn't over.

350

Thank you.

✨ Recommend Video

512 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Searching For A World That Doesn’t Exist”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Avery, tunnel, tree, whatever. This video has 55 sentences and 3856 words to shadow. The speech runs for 41:38. The speaker talks slowly, about 93 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding. 38 of its 55 sentences are questions, so it is good practice for question intonation and short answers.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
tunnel noun	/ˈtʌn(ə)l/	An underground or underwater passage.
cave noun	/keɪv/	A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
footage noun	/ˈfʊtɪd͡ʒ/	An amount of film or tape that has been used to record something, or the content of the recording.
chunk noun	/t͡ʃʌŋk/	A part of something that has been separated; a generally squat, thick, irregular piece of something, e.g. wood or stone.
narrow adjective	/ˈnæɹəʊ/	Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.
grass noun	/ɡɹɑːs/	Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as…
explore verb	/ɪkˈsploɹ/	To examine or investigate something systematically.
stare verb	/stɛɚ/	To look fixedly (at something).
torch noun	/ˈtɔːtʃ/	A stick of wood or plant fibres twisted together, with one end soaked in a flammable substance such as resin or tallow and set on fire, which is held in the…
gate noun	/ˈɡeɪ̯t/	A doorlike structure outside a house.
solve verb	/sɒlv/	To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
installed verb	/ɪnˈstɔːld/	readied for use
trap noun	/tɹæp/	A machine or other device designed to catch (and sometimes kill) animals, either by holding them in a container, or by catching hold of part of the body.
inventory noun	/ˈɪn.vən.tɹi/	The stock of an item on hand at a particular location or business.
pause noun	/pɔːz/	A temporary stop or rest; an intermission of action; interruption; suspension; cessation.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
walk through verb		To explain (something) to (someone), step by step.
figure out verb		To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce.
look around verb		To inspect a building or area.
come through verb		To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway.
make out verb	/meɪk aʊt/	To draw up (a document etc.), to designate (a cheque).
turn off verb		To power down, to switch off, to put out of operation, to deactivate (an appliance, light, mechanism, functionality etc.).
bring up verb		To mention.
come across verb		To change sides; to cross over to work for the opposition.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

You can’t outsmart it, it’s listening to me.
I’ve only seen this one.
Why isn’t he sending in chat?
All we do know is that he’s not alone.
It’s watching me write this.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been playing · we've been watching · has been playing
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	be fooled · is covered · are made
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've ever seen · we've only seen · I've never felt
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	ones who realized · person who wrote

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 84 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, isn't, doesn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thirty /ˈθɝti/, underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, junction /ˈd͡ʒʌŋkʃən/, intersection /ˈɪntəɹˌsɛkʃən/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, flash /flæʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: hesitation /ˌhɛzɪˈteɪʃən/, presumably /pɹɪˈzuːməbli/, intersection /ˈɪntəɹˌsɛkʃən/, coordinate /koʊˈɔɹ.dəˌneɪt/, naturally /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like tunnel, cave, footage.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Searching For A World That Doesn’t Exist - Learn English Speaking with Video

Something Followed You Here...

I Gaslit an AI Game Companion Until She Lost Her Mind

You Missed THIS After Episode 9 - The Amazing Digital Circus

3 True Horror Stories Animated

My Thoughts on Reality Shifting

Lord of the Mysteries EXPLAINED for BEGINNERS in 23 Minutes!

When Cartoons Warned Us About Love.

Arcane | JINX

thank you, Minecraft.

THE ADAM-PROJECT: How do You Know my Name| SENCE [HD]

FNAF GRAVEYARD SHIFT AT FREDDY'S…

Detective Ace: The Gift 🕵️‍♂️ | Stories for Teenagers | @EnglishFairyTales

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?