Ok…look…I apologize.

I was hiding something from you dear readers.

John isn't a total loner, he actually has a friend, and not just any friend—his BEST friend.

Actually, he's more like John's only friend (as stated in chapter 1, Bob is more of a companion and that's pushing it).

Say hello to Steven "Steve" Jones. He's a skilled athlete, outgoing and…that's it. If you consider John to be the brains (and I'm being really generous here), then Steve would be the brawn. Not that they'd go around flaunting those titles, but if they were to be introduced super smash bros style, then those would be their calling card of sorts.

Both are gamers at heart and enjoy Minecraft…well actually, correction. It's John that enjoys playing Minecraft while Steve enjoys playing games with John whether it be Minecraft, Mario party, or even bingo.

The pair were entering their last year of college when Steve just magically vanished one day and no one ever found him. Just like that. Poof! Anyways, that's enough of Steve, let's get back into the story.

"Long time no see buddy. How's it going—" Steve was cut off by John lunging at him with a hug, to which Steve simply smiled and embraced in their reunion. "There, there." He comforted, patting John on the back. "I was only gone for a bit. Nothing too serious, and what did I tell you about calling me Steven?"

John pulled away from the hug as I smiled at Steve—only to immediately slap him in the face.

SLAP!

"Ow! Dude!" Steve exclaimed, clutching his face, a clear red handprint slowly forming across his cheek. "What the hell?! What'd I do to deserve that? Not cool bro!"

John glared at Steve as he went on a rant. "Don't you 'not cool bro me'! You were declared missing for an entire year! Your parents were worried sick! I was left alone to face the harsh world and…ugh…responsibilities."

Steve raised his hands defensively. "Ok ok bro! I get it! But what was I supposed to do? One second I was coming back from class, the next—BAM!—I was suddenly isekaied into this world. Oh! But you wanna know the neat thing? Fun fact, this world is actually—"

"Based off of Minecraft. Yeah, yeah I already know that." John said rolling his eyes. "Don't act like you're the only special one. It is my favorite game after all and I also got isekaied just like you. Oh and guess what? I met Notch."

Steve blinked. "Wait what?"

John smirked, crossing his arms. "Notch. Not the Swedish game developer. I meant the god of this world, Notch."

Steve's jaw practically dropped to the ground at John's casual mention of meeting what's basically the god of this world.

"Brrroooo…what? Dude, that's so unfair! I was thrown into this world all Willy Nilly in the middle of nowhere. I had to survive, I had to thrive off of nothing! And I'd say I did pretty well. Check out this cool sword." Steve says, holding up his worn out iron sword like it was Excalibur.

John stared.

He blinked once.

Then twice.

He was…well…he's unimpressed, disappointed even.

"John. Come on, you gotta give me slack! Here, check out this sick gear I've got." Steve proudly spun in a circle, showing off his armor.

It's an iron chestplate with leather pants and boots.

"Steve…" John seethes, his voice low and trembling—not from fear or the cold, but from pure, growing frustration. "You've been in this realm for one year. That's what…26,280 Minecraft days."

Steve nodded. Smiling obliviously to the unstable bomb in front of him that's about to go off.

"And all you have to show for it…is an iron sword and some worn out leather armor?"

Steve's smile wavered upon seeing the growing rage in John. He quickly brings his hands up once again in a defensive motion, stammering nervously. "W-Well, h-hey now! J-John, buddy…pal, my friend, p-please calm down. L-Let's not jump to conclusions now shall we? I-I can explain."

"STEVE!"

John snapped as his face turned red, his hands clenched so tight his knuckles are turning white.

"I know you don't play Minecraft that often…BUT WE BEAT THE ENDER DRAGON TOGETHER! I expected you to be better than this!"

"Yeah, but you did most of the job!" Steve retorted back. "Even though we defeated that dragon, you, in fact, did EVERYTHING! I just played along cause I had fun doing so with you! It's not like I learned anything about that blasted game!"

After a few seconds, John groans as he facepalms himself. "Fine…" John took long deep breaths, calming himself down. "Whatever. It's not like I can change the past."

Taking another look at Steve, John notices something…un-Minecrafty.

A cloak.

No, it's not a cape like many skins have, but a full on cloak with a hood.

"Um…Steve, where'd you get that cloak?"

"Oh this?" Steve spun dramatically. "Crafted it. Bought a recipe from one of those villagers."

John's eyes widened at the revelation.

There it was—an abnormality. He knew that even though this realm was based off of Minecraft, it does not have the limitations of a video game. A lot of the logic and rules are still here, but for there to be this much…freedom…it's pretty exhilarating.

John turned to look back at Steve and asked curiously. "Crafted if you say…how specifically? Like from a crafting table or something? Or was it like a loom?"

"Crafting table? You mean like those thingys with a three by three grid? If so then yes. I made this sweet cloak from a crafting table." Steve beamed proudly.

John's mind went wild with ideas.

What are the limitations of this crafting system? Can he enchant beyond vanilla limits? Will the fletching table finally have a use? Can he create a gun? Ok that last one may be a stretch…but Henry (Minecraft movie) did make a tater gun.

There's only one way to find out.

John grins widely, his eyes sparkle with adventure and madman inventions. He raises his fist and punches dramatically towards the sky. "Steve, bring me to your base of operations. Let's get this show started!"

…

Cricket noises

…

"Bro…what the hell are you doing?" Steve asked, holding back his urge to cringe.

John immediately dropped the pose as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, no, that looked and sounded better in my head."

"Stop trying to act like some edgy anime antagonist. It's making me cringe."

"I know I know, I-I'll stop, it's already making me cringe now that I'm looking back in hindsight."

After a short trek through the forest which spanned over a day—one entire day cycle in Minecraft is 20 minutes—the pair arrived at a village.

John looked around in absolute awe at the surrealism of the place. He already knew what villages looked like in Minecraft but to see it in real life is an entirely different experience. All the nearby villagers turn to stare at John, the newcomer as he and Steve pass by—eyes wide and curious.

Near the edge of town stood a not-too-shabby cabin, reminiscent of those larger houses a kid might build from those Lincoln logs toy sets.

"Welcome to the crib, John. Not too shabby, right?"

To give credit where credit is due, the cabin did look pretty decent for someone whose Minecraft skills were subpar. The interior was obviously copied from those in the village houses. There's a crafting table, a couple furnaces, a boat load of unorganized chests—on that note, who organizes their chests anyways? (I'm sure many do but Steve doesn't.) Torches were mounted everywhere all willy nilly. While it does the job, it's both awkwardly bright and rather ugly.

Taking a deep breath, John steadies himself. "Steve, I won't criticize or berate you too much. I know you don't know alot when it comes to Minecraft, but you gotta understand that your home is an absolute dumpster fire. It is one of the worst things I've ever laid my eyes on."

Steve sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. "Ah yeah…I mean…I don't really stay in this home that often so I never really bothered to make it look good, and i wasnt expecting any visitors." Steve let out a nervous chuckle. "But I did try to organize to an extent!" Steve pointed over to a cluster of chests and barrels. "That's where I store treasures and junk." Then, he moved his finger to a corner of the cabin where a couple of furnaces sat. "That's where I cook food and smelt ores." Finally, Steve's finger drifted to a messy, unkempt bed. "And that's where I respawn."

John's head snapped toward Steve in disbelief. "Wait what? Hold up…respawn?"

"Oh yeah! Absolutely!" Steve said, his voice rising with pride and excitement. "I totally forgot to tell you—it's actually possible to respawn after you die. Man, I thought I was a goner when an arrow first pierced my heart."

John raised a skeptical eyebrow. "First pierced your heart? So you're saying you died many times, and being pierced in the heart is a routine occurrence?"

"Definitely." Steve replied with a nervous chuckle. "You know how bad I am at Minecraft. When I first isekaied to this world, I went through a ton of deaths. I was lucky enough to have found this village and used a bed as a respawn point. God, who knows what'll happen if I had died without setting one." Steve said, wiping away a bead of sweat from his forehead.

Shaking his head, John dismisses Steve's rant as he takes a long panoramic look around the cabin, trying to gauge the current living conditions. To be honest, it's at least better than the horrible hell hole that was the apartment complex he had to suffer through for half a year after college.

"Alright," John said, clapping his hands together decisively, "Enough talk. It's time to get to work." His tone was half serious and half excited. "So what have you done here? Like what have you accomplished so far? Bring me up to date, and don't worry—I promise I MAY not get disappointed with you."

Steve's expression wavered as he looked at John with worry, but he still indulged anyway. Steve sighed as he began. "Um…so I basically traveled everywhere and jotted down the locations of structures and landmarks on a map. In addition, to pass the time—and to keep my sanity—I would usually spend days farming tons of materials. I've got chests filled with raw materials: iron, coal, wood, stone…you name it."

John nodded. Then curiosity got the better of him. "Alright, that's interesting so far, but about the map that you mentioned? Where's that? In your inventory?"

Steve grinned broadly, as if he had been waiting for that question. "Well it's simple, if you hold up your arm with the crystal and imagine a map—"

John hastily interrupted, clearly surprised. "Wait wait wait…that crystal thing embedded into my arm isn't just for my inventory?"

"Yep. Don't worry, it took me a long time to figure out. Besides from your inventory, it also displays a map…at least that's far as I know." Steve extended out his left arm; the crystal embedded began to faintly glow, and before their eyes, a holographic map projection materialized above it, detailing the topography of the nearby surroundings. "Not only can it display your inventory and a map, but you can also send messages with it. Though I never really needed to use it since well…I was the only one with the power to do so up until you arrived. This crystal can also display your health and status conditions."

As if on cue, the holographic map flickered and transitioned to a detailed table, showing Steve's current status. "See? It says here that my health bar is currently full, my hunger is at seven bars, and I am healthy with only minor cuts." Steve proudly beams as he points to his stats on the screen.

John was absolutely stunned.

What were the limits of this crystal? He wondered, his mind racing faster than a redstone clock. "Holy mother of—"

Goooonnnngggg!…Goooonnnngggg!

John was suddenly snapped out of his trance as I rapidly looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. Steve, on the other hand, was already zipping through his house, throwing on his iron armor and weapons. He snaps his head up, his face lighting up with a huge, almost maniac, toothy grin.

"John! Oh boy I am so excited! It's time for one of my most favorite events!"

John blinked, staring at Steve in confusion. His brain is running about as fast as a computer from the early 2000s trying to run Cyberpunk 2077 on ultra high graphics—which is to say, not at all.

"John! Snap out of it! What are you doing just standing? Come on, gear up already!" Steven yelled, tossing over an iron sword to him.

John clumsily caught the sword and finally managed to get a sentence out. "Steve! What's happening right now? I'm so confused!"

Steve stopped in his tracks, turned around, and simply let out a full-on laugh right in John's face. "Oh John you silly goose! And here I thought you were the Minecraft expert!" He walked up to John and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Riddle me this," he said, dramatically. "We're in a village. It's not abandoned. You heard the bell ring. I'm running around trying to gear up like i'm facing an Avengers level threat.. What do you think is happening?"

John's eyes widened as the realization hit him. Face palming himself, to Steve's amusement, John groaned. "Oh god…please tell me it isn't—"

"Oh it definitely is," Steve interrupted, nodding with excitement. He held out his arm, the crystal in his skin flashed red as it projected a holographic warning in the air.

[Prepare for an imminent raid. One minute left.]