Chapter 2:
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of orange and purple. Even the clouds were edged in gold, their shapes sharply defined against the fading light.
Mark, newly awakened, felt a wave of disorientation wash over him. The fundamental questions of existence swirled in his mind: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing here?
His last memories were of that terrible moment before his death. He'd been trying to say something to his sister, to comfort her, but then everything went black. Now, he found himself in this strange, unfamiliar place.
This definitely wasn't Earth. As far as the eye could see, the world was made entirely of blocks.
"No... Could this be real? Am I actually in Minecraft?" Mark stared in disbelief at the blocky landscape. As an avid gamer, he recognized it instantly. He'd always fantasized about living in the game, but he never thought it would actually happen.
"Okay, first things first. Gotta punch a tree, right?" Relying on his gamer instincts, Mark focused on a perfectly square tree nearby.
He hesitated, a sudden doubt creeping in. He looked at his hand, a sense of uncertainty washing over him. "Wait a minute..." he muttered. "Am I supposed to just... punch this tree apart with my bare hands? Is that even possible?"
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain lanced through his head. It felt like his brain was splitting in two. Then, in a flash of white light, a blocky figure materialized in front of him.
"!?" Mark jumped back, startled, but there was something strangely familiar about the figure.
It was like an instinct kicked in. Suddenly, he had a different perspective—a first-person view of Steve, the default Minecraft character. He could see Steve's health and hunger bars, his inventory, even a mini-map in the corner of his vision.
Through Steve's eyes, Mark could even see his own body standing a few feet away.
Mark stared at the blocky figure, bewildered. A crazy thought popped into his head. "Wait a second... Did I just get reborn with a Steve Stand?"
He remembered reading about Stands in some anime. They were like physical manifestations of a person's willpower or spirit.
Maybe his love for Minecraft had somehow triggered this... this Steve Stand. And somehow, he instinctively knew how to control it, even better than he could control his character in the game.
"Whoa... This is awesome!"
Mark felt a surge of excitement. It was like that feeling of calling in sick on a snow day and spending the whole day gaming. Pure bliss.
With Steve by his side, Mark's doubts vanished. It was time to get to work.
First things first: chopping down trees.
Controlling Steve, Mark walked up to a nearby tree and swung his right hand. Within seconds, the tree dissolved into a pile of logs, which Steve automatically collected.
Next, Mark opened Steve's inventory. He crafted some wooden planks and a crafting table. Then his eyes fell on Steve's equipment slots. There was an off-hand slot.
In the game, you could equip a shield in that slot.
A thought began to form in Mark's mind.
He knew there were different versions of Minecraft. Older versions were simpler, relying on quick reflexes for combat. Newer versions had more items and features, like shields.
Judging by the world around him, Mark figured this must be at least version 1.12, maybe even newer.
But he quickly realized he was wrong.
He'd just crafted a wooden pickaxe and mined some cobblestone to make stone tools when a zombie appeared. He'd killed countless zombies in the game, but this was different. This was real. He felt a jolt of adrenaline as he guided Steve, swinging his sword with incredible speed. The zombie didn't stand a chance. It let out a chilling moan and dissolved into a pile of rotten flesh.
"Whoa... That was fast!"
Mark was amazed. Steve's attack speed was insane, even faster than some of the fastest characters in other games.
It seemed like this world wasn't following any specific Minecraft version. It was like a mix of different features from different versions.
With that in mind, Mark started to explore his surroundings.
The world was just like the game, down to the smallest detail.
The square sun hung in the sky, shining down on equally square clouds. The trees, the dirt, everything was made of perfectly formed blocks. It was incredibly organized, like some kind of giant, meticulously crafted sandbox.
Mark found himself in a forest.
Luckily, the spawn point was pretty good. Plenty of trees around.
With nightfall approaching, Mark decided to stay close to his starting point. He chopped down some more trees, planning to build a basic shelter and prepare for the night. He figured he could grab some apples for dinner once the leaves disappeared.
But as Steve was chopping away at the trees, Mark noticed something strange. There were these weird piles of plants growing under one of them. He broke them apart, and suddenly a bunch of different fruits and vegetables spilled out. Cucumbers, broccoli, cabbage, raspberries, grapes... They filled up almost half of Steve's inventory.
"Huh?"
Mark stared at the unexpected bounty. "Is this... Pam's HarvestCraft?"
His mind raced.
First the mini-map, which he'd almost forgotten about, and now this. Could it be that his last words, those thoughts he had right before he died, were somehow turning into mods in this world?