One Stardew Valley player discovered while speedrunning a cavern that they should always be prepared for the unexpected. Stardew Valley has many secrets and surprises to uncover, so many players take their time exploring and uncovering them. When one fan tried to rush through one of the game's caverns, they realized only too late that they should have left room in their inventory for potential treasure.

Reddit TueboEmu315 discovered at the worst moment that they "may have made a grave mistake trying to speed run this cavern." The cavern in question was the Quarry Mine, a cave that holds a secret in its depths. At the end of the cavern stands a statue of the Grim Reaper holding a Golden Scythe , which players can get by interacting with the statue. That is, unless their inventory is full which, unfortunately for the Redditor, it was.

To make matters worse, the screenshot shared by the Redditor shows them with a nearly depleted health bar and half a dozen haunted skulls approaching menacingly. TueboEmu315 was forced to think fast, turning what would normally be a regular interaction into a quick time event-like moment.

Stardew Valley Fan's Ill-Fated Speedrun Attempt Saved By Some Quick Thinking

Some Sap Had To Be Sacrificed

Anyone caught in this sticky situation might panic, like Reddit and fellow Stardew Valley player Alarmed-Stage-7066, who ventured into a cavern for the first time after doing some shopping at Marnie's. They write: "I was immediately swarmed by skulls, panicked and accidentally threw down the heater I just got at Marnie’s." They managed to escape safely and hopes that "the skulls spent the winter nice and toasty."

Luckily, TueboEmu315 has some quick reflexes. They managed to open their inventory, trash some sap, and pick up the scythe. They then used a trick that some players aren't aware of: interacting with the reaper after grabbing the scythe sends the player back to the beginning of the cave. They did not emerge unscathed, but they did manage to just barely make it out alive: "I had the tiniest sliver of health with a bleeding health bar and made it out, scythe in bleeding hand!"

Our Take: The Golden Scythe Is Definitely Worth More Than Some Sap

Although It Can Be Hard To Let Go Of Materials

I'm an in-game hoarder, so it can be hard for me to let go of materials and ingredients thanks to the mentality of "I might need it later." I can definitely relate to the comment left by harvesting hay from grass, better reach, and more damage than the regular scythe.

But for Redditor TueboEmu315 the question was never what they should get rid of, but whether they could do it fast enough. They only had a brief window of opportunity between closing the inventory (the game is paused while the inventory is open) and clicking on the Reaper twice, once to get the scythe and once to actually make it out of the cave alive. They also emerged a little wiser, knowing now that when playing Stardew Valley, it's always worth keeping at least one inventory slot open.

Source: TueboEmu315/Reddit, Alarmed-Stage-7066/Reddit, owlrecluse/Reddit