The World Cubed

by krakenthewrithing

What was it really? A game? A mere plaything? It is certainly a game, but it is also a tool. Many times before, mankind has risen and fallen. Every empire has collapsed. What if the end was not the end? What if everyone joined the last game? Join the adventures of Daniel as literally everyone from earth has been Isekaied to a Minecraft litRPG. Rated T for fantasy violence.

3. Chapter 3: Arise and See

Chapter 3

Arise and See

[Daniel]

I woke up.

I hear the scratching still. I start mining the top of the cobblestone, wordlessly. Upon mining the first block, I see it is cracked and still cracking. I placed 16 layers earlier, so this is surprising. We dig back further, just in case, and mine the top block of cobblestone. Zombies are in the tunnel. The stale cave air is flooded with the scent of decay.

Worse, I see no light at the end. It is not quite day yet. We decided to dig up. The zombies can't be very smart, but they are certainly relentless. I wonder how they track us…

We managed to get back to sleep. When we wake up, there is no scratching. We dig down, finding our tunnel. A single zombie stands. Slowly backing away, I swing by axe thrice before it dies.

Stepping further out of the tunnel, we see the destruction the undead caused. The entrance looks like a crater, seemingly formed as the undead tried to reach around each other.

We exited the tunnel. It is finally day. It seems the undead had dug quite a lot- even revealing a single iron ore, which John started mining.

The undead were truly terrifying. It is fortunate that they are not intelligent enough to track us vertically, otherwise we may never rest again.

We needed to prevent the undead from reaching us, and being sealed in stone didn't seem very safe. By the end of the night the air inside the tunnel was barely breathable, and reeked of zombie.

John was a genius. "We just need a bucket." He said. "When you pour a bucket of water out, it creates a flow of water that zombies cannot swim past, and will slow down their mining further."

First, I pondered. What if it doesn't work? The river flows, unlike in vanilla Minecraft. However, the solution was too good to ignore.

I pointed into the tunnel. "There are two iron ingots in the furnace. Craft a bucket."

Normally I would spend my iron on an iron pickaxe, and then go deep for diamonds. The zombie factor changes my priorities a bit. What happens if I die? If I am gone forever, that is something to be avoided. If I come back, then life itself may become hell... All in all, I would rather not find out the hard way.

I shook my arms. Walked into the clearing.

I felt stronger. I felt like I could endure anything. I felt… tingly.

Perhaps my dream last night… wasn't really a dream.

I closed my eyes.

There. My abilities were listed on the side, as were my statistics. Interestingly, I had the usual ten hearts above my hotbar, yet there was an additional 1 and a half hearts. Perhaps increasing one's endurance also increases your health?

Disturbingly, the hearts had the two dark lines. Death was certainly real.

I also had twelve mana. How peculiar.

I selected Absorption, and two golden hearts appeared just where I expected. The mana went from full to 11 out of 12.

Mana seems limited. Not something to be wasted for certain. I have no idea how to recover it either.

I would have to use Shield of Faith sparingly, at least until I obtain more mana… if I obtain more mana…

Though, wouldn't it be a rather useless ability if I had to close my eyes each time?

Maybe… maybe you don't need to see…

I craft a torch.

I open my eyes.

I try the same process, but with my eyes open.

I close my eyes.

Eight torches.

I select Shield of Faith.

Mana goes down to 10.

I open my eyes, and try it again.

When I close my eyes, the mana is at 9.

All of this reminds me-

What did John choose?

John is at the river, filling the bucket.

"John." I walk over.

"Yes?"

"Did you see anything weird last night?"

"I did have this weird dream where I was in some kind of roleplay game. There were attributes and everything." He pulls the bucket out.

"I don't think it was a dream."

His eyebrows raise. He closes his eyes, then opens them. He looks surprised.

"Well. Guess you got a [Crafter] then."

"Sounds useful to me! I chose [Templar]." We walk back to the tunnel, and he turns at the end.

"Did you get anything cool?"

"Absolutely. I can give the Absorption effect for only one mana. Plus, I can make projectiles miss for a mana per second."

"That sounds awesome!"

Both of us are rather excited, as you may be able to see. It was not without reason though, considering this was literal magic, and an opportunity for growth, which everyone seeks.

"What does an [Crafter] get?"

"I have the [Build] ability, which lets me build very quickly, at a long range, and [Knowledge] which lets me learn recipes."

"Alright. We need to dig out our shelter, and prepare for the undead."

We managed to clear out a large area. After a little planning, we placed the water, and just as I hoped, it created a powerful current that zombies were unlikely to get past.

I exited the tunnel, and checked on the wheat. It was grown, leaving me with six pieces of wheat and 11 seeds, which I replanted.

I told John to stay and reinforce the tunnel.

I am going to look for people.

I will not aimlessly wander. There are a few things that I know to be true; John saw people, we are not alone. People need food and shelter, so they are likely near a water source. Not only does a river provide water to crops, it also defends an entire side from many attacks.

Instead, I will follow the river, which also means I won't get lost as easily. I will also be able to ride a boat, this is why I am walking upstream, so when I go down, I can go down fast. I crafted a boat, 2 pieces of bread, and I told John of my plan.

Upriver I went. I kept my shield and axe in hand, passing through long grass, climbing hills, and crossing ravines. After an hour of travel, I came upon an island in the center of the river. It was quite large, and covered in trees.

I decided to explore this island, as an island surrounded by the fast moving river would be almost entirely safe from the creatures of the night. Perhaps we could set up a base here.

The island was covered in a thick jungle. I didn't bother collecting anything- it would take far too long. Jungles don't have many places for mobs to spawn, so it would be perfect for a base.

Then, I saw torches. There were torches in some of the trees, primarily over locations that leaves did not cover.

There was a trapdoor in the ground. People. Maybe just one, but together, we could be stronger.

I knocked on the trapdoor. I then felt a sharp pain at the back of my head, and everything went dark.

John

Level two Human Crafter

Endurance 0

Agility 0

Magic 10

Skill points 0

Abilities:

Build 1MPS Instantly place structures using blocks in your inventory within double your normal reach.

Knowledge Passive Learn recipes as you obtain items to craft them with.

Inventory

Daniel:

31 Spruce Log

2 Spruce Plank

2 Bread

1 White Bed

1 Coal

1 Stone Axe

1 Stone Pickaxe

John:

7 stacks Spruce log

2 stacks Cobblestone

1 Stone Pickaxe

Author's Note

Sorry for the long delay. I could make an excuse, but it is entirely my fault. On the plus side, I learned how to write combat scenes, which will absolutely be useful soon. Also, a question for my readers: how much 'vanilla' should I maintain?