Chapter 2 – First Cut
The creature's glowing eyes burned into me. Its body was blocky, unnatural, like it was carved from cubes of shadow. It shuffled closer with jerky, stiff movements.
I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't respond.
The creature lunged.
"Shit!"
Instead of tearing me apart, its body dissolved into dark green particles and surged toward me. My scream caught in my throat as the light slammed into my chest.
A blinding flash exploded in my vision.
[Ding!]
A cold, mechanical voice rang in my mind.
> System: Welcome, player, to… The Cubic World.
"…The what?" I gasped, clutching my chest. My heart hammered like a drum. "What the hell just happened?!"
> System: Fusion complete. Synchronization successful.
System unlocked.
Suddenly, a translucent blue screen floated before my eyes.
> Inventory: Empty
But a second later—
> Stone Starter Pack acquired.
Stone Axe acquired.
"…An inventory?" I blinked. My hands trembled as I reached into thin air—and somehow pulled out a rough, blocky stone axe. Its weight was real, cold against my palm.
An inventory with infinite space. My jaw nearly hit the ground.
"This… this is just like a game."
> System: Tutorial mission: Cut down the nearest tree.
I chuckled. "Hah! Do you think I've never played this before? Cut a tree, make planks, build shelter—yeah, I know the drill."
> System: Tutorial skipped.
I spun the axe in my hand, grinning with false confidence. "Piece of cake."
The nearest tree stood tall a few meters away, its cube-shaped leaves rustling gently. I walked up to it, raised the axe, and struck.
Thunk!
A glowing green line appeared across the trunk where the axe hit.
[10% complete.]
I froze. "Wait, what?"
I struck again.
Thunk! [20% complete.]
Another strike. [30% complete.]
My arms tingled with each vibration. Ten strikes later, the line glowed brightly.
[100% complete.]
The trunk cracked apart, shrinking into a single cube that hovered for a second before dropping toward me.
The moment I touched it—
[+1 Wood Block acquired.]
The cube vanished into my inventory.
I grinned like a kid. "Yes! Just like I thought!"
Then the tree groaned.
The remaining trunk wobbled, tilted—then came crashing down toward me.
"W-WAIT—!"
I dove sideways, rolling across the blocky grass as the massive tree slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash. Dirt and leaves scattered.
"Huff… huff…" I gasped, lying flat. "Damn it! I thought this world had no gravity! I almost got crushed!"
> System: Warning. You skipped the tutorial.
"…You bastard." I glared at the floating text. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"
> System: You are the one who skipped the tutorial.
"Fine, fine! I admit it, I was wrong. Can I… restart the tutorial?"
> System: Nah.
I gaped. "What do you mean 'nah'?! What kind of system says nah?!"
Silence. The screen vanished.
"…Shit."
Muttering curses, I turned back to the fallen trunk. At least I could harvest it. I swung my axe again, cutting the log into neat, cube-shaped pieces.
[+5 Wood Blocks acquired.]
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Not bad… but the leaves didn't disappear. Huh. I thought they'd vanish when the trunk's gone."
I stared at the floating cubes above, confused, before shaking my head. "Whatever. I'll figure it out later."
Curiosity gnawed at me, though, so I asked: "System, I forgot to ask. Is this world's time the same as mine?"
> System: Yes.
"Good. At least something makes sense."
But then the next notification popped up:
> System: Also, this world is ten billion times larger than your original world.
I froze. "Ten… billion?"
The number rattled in my skull. "Ten billion times bigger?! How does gravity even work here?!"
> System: Same as your world.
My mind went blank. "What…? Then what about the laws of physics I studied? Were they all for nothing?!"
The system didn't bother replying.
I groaned, clutching my head. "This is too much. Way too much."
Still, the glowing clock at the corner of my vision displayed the time.
[6:00 AM]
"…So it's morning here too," I muttered. "Fine. Whatever. If I'm stuck here, then I'll play along."
With a sigh, I gripped my axe and marched back into the forest.
Ten trees. That was my new goal.
I swung. Over and over, the green progress bar filled up, the blocks popped into my inventory, and the logs piled higher and higher.
After ten minutes of sweat, my inventory counter blinked.
[+50 Wood Blocks acquired.]
I exhaled, leaning on the axe. "Not bad. Fifty blocks in ten minutes. If this really is infinite inventory, then I can build whatever I want."
A grin spread across my face for the first time in months.
I turned toward an open patch of land and muttered, "Alright. Time to build a house."