Manav set up another crafting table beside the two he already had and said, "Let's start by making glass blocks." He grabbed the stone blocks he'd mined from deep underground. He had gone over 200 meters deep to get them, clearing the way as he mined through layers of stone. The journey back was long, but he managed to climb back to his base with the rope tied to a fence.
After crafting a furnace, Manav placed coal and sand inside. The furnace lit up, and the glass blocks started to form automatically. While waiting, he took some copper and broke it down with a stone pickaxe, turning it into copper ingots. He placed two of the ingots into the crafting table, followed by a large artificial diamond he'd bought online. As he arranged the materials, the crafting table began to shake.
[Detected that you're trying to make a spyglass. There are no amethyst shards in this world, but the replacement you found is suitable.]
The table stopped shaking, and a spyglass materialized, gleaming with a metallic copper shine. Manav picked it up and inspected it closely. "The craftsmanship in Minecraft is truly top-notch," he said, running his fingers over the smooth surface of the spyglass.
"Next up, let's make some glass bottles." He grabbed the three glass blocks that had finished smelting and arranged them on the crafting table. Three glass bottles appeared, and Manav placed them in his chest along with the spyglass.
He then grabbed some iron blocks, placed them on the table, and extracted iron ingots from them. Next, he added a stick and some coal, which produced four torches. Manav placed the torches in the center of a 3x3 grid, filling the rest with iron ingots. A lantern appeared.
"There's a problem, though," he muttered to himself. "I forgot that lanterns never extinguish in Minecraft. What should I do?" He frowned, lost in thought.
[Minecraft is limited in games, but not in reality. The only thing stopping you is your brain.]
Manav's face lit up as the solution came to him. "Why not add a button or a lever to the lantern?" he said excitedly. "That should solve it!"
He quickly crafted a wooden button, placed it next to the lantern on the crafting table, and voilà, a lantern with a button was born. "Now I have control over when it turns on and off. Perfect!"
Manav felt a rush of satisfaction, knowing that Minecraft's seemingly simple crafting system could be manipulated to create real-world solutions. He looked at the other items he still needed to craft. "Now, let's try making a compass. But wait—there's no redstone. Maybe I can make something else."
He grabbed some clay and started shaping it into balls. After a few minutes, he placed the clay balls into the furnace, replacing the glass blocks that were being smelted. Soon, bricks were produced, and Manav took them to the crafting table.
With a glass crystal in the center and wooden blocks surrounding it, the table shook again. A jukebox materialized before him. He placed an empty music disk and a CD with royalty-free music into the crafting table, creating a new music disk.
[Music containing Disk created successfully.]
Manav was surprised to see a new achievement unlocked: "Jugaad." The description read: "A flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way."
"Jugaad, huh? I like that," Manav chuckled. He knew that achieving thirty different accomplishments would unlock something else—called a "Seed"—though he still wasn't sure what that was. But for now, he continued with his work.
He took the bricks out of the furnace and crafted a pot. Then, he added symbols and tattoos he'd purchased online to the crafting table. The pot began to hover, decorated with the symbols. Manav smiled at the result. He created several more pots with different designs and stored them in his backpack.
Next, he used wool and wooden blocks to create beds in various colors, particularly those favored by children. He had no worries about the Minecraft bed's power, as the prompt AI reassured him that his bed was the only one with any Minecraft functionality.
He crafted a campfire, but this time without adding coal. The campfire appeared, but it had no fire. Manav added a piece of coal he had crafted earlier and stored it in his backpack.
"Alright, that should be enough products for now," Manav said to himself. He climbed back to his base and went to sleep in the bed he'd replaced, ready for the next day.
---
The next morning, after a quick bath and breakfast, Manav sat down with his phone. He opened a few online shopping apps and ordered the materials he needed: bronze, copper, graphene, red sand, iron sand, and magnets. The delivery charges were lower than a taxi ride, so he opted for delivery instead of buying the materials in person.
While waiting for the delivery, Manav browsed through some news on YouTube. Headlines about Tony Stark thinking of selling the Stark Tower and Captain America cooperating with the government flooded his feed. He found it all a bit boring. The Marvel universe, while interesting, seemed overly fixated on heroes, politics, and big corporations. It wasn't as exciting as the content from his previous world.
Manav's mind, however, was far from bored. He was already thinking of ways to expand his business. He was eager to grow his company, but there was one problem: how?
A sudden idea hit him. "Why not make Minecraft-themed houses for people in this world?" He remembered watching construction videos from his previous world, and he was inspired by the creativity. "Yes, that could work. But I'll need a prototype and some advertisement posters to make it appealing."
He frowned. "But... I have no graphic design skills. I can only do basic photo editing. Maybe I could find someone online who could help. Or maybe there are Marvel miner characters—people who aren't heroes or villains but are talented in other ways. But who would I ask?"
Manav thought for half an hour, mulling over the possibilities. His stomach growled, and he realized it was time for lunch. He stood up and headed for the kitchen. The clock on the wall read 1:44 PM.
After lunch, he lay back on his bed, intending to take a nap. As soon as he closed his eyes, however, a loud doorbell startled him awake.
"Ah, who's ruining my good dreams?" Manav groaned, rushing to the door. He found Nelson and his female companion standing there, along with another man.
"Sorry, I thought I'd take a nap. I didn't expect you so soon," Manav apologized, stepping aside to let them in.
"No problem, Mr. Manav," Nelson said with a smile. "This is Matt Murdoch, a friend of mine and one of the top lawyers in New York. He's blind, but don't let that fool you—he's incredibly sharp."
Manav raised his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Murdoch."
"Likewise," Matt replied, shaking his hand firmly.
The trio sat on the sofa while Manav went to the kitchen. He returned with three glasses of soft drinks and some snacks. After serving them, he sat down with a stack of documents in his hand.
"Let's go over the details of the company and its products," Manav said, handing out the papers.
Nelson began reading the proposals aloud to Matt. As he listened, Matt raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Manav, your ideas and conditions are excellent, but I'm curious why you trust us so much. You're offering a partnership—why us?"
Manav took a moment before responding. "Based on what I know about you and your firm, I trust you. I don't know any other lawyers in New York I'd trust more."
Nelson, sensing the conversation might stall, interjected quickly. "We're happy to work with you, Mr. Manav. But we'd need to see the quality of your products before we proceed."
"Of course," Manav said. "Follow me, I'll show you everything in the other room."
The trio stood up and followed him, eager to see what he had created.