Arin wiped the sweat off his forehead, the pile of wooden planks stacked neatly inside his inventory. His arms still felt hot from all the chopping.
"Mmm… I should put this inside my home," he muttered, holding the newly crafted table in his hands.
But as soon as he reached the wooden box he called "home," he froze. "Wait… I forgot to leave a place for a door."
He slapped his forehead hard. "Ugh! Idiot!"
With a sigh, he tore down two blocks from the front wall, carving out a crude doorway. He squeezed himself inside and carefully placed the crafting table.
The table shimmered into existence, heavy and solid, taking up four blocks in width but only one block high.
Arin blinked. "Mmm… it's bigger than I thought."
He turned toward the system. "Now… how am I supposed to use this?"
[Before that, let me tell you this. Your crafting table is different than the others. You can craft almost everything here.]
Arin's eyes widened, lips curling into a grin. "Ohhh…" He whispered under his breath. So… this is only available to me…? Heh, guess I really am special.
[To use this, just touch the crafting table and say 'use' — or simply think it. A panel will appear.]
"Easy enough." Arin pressed his palm against the smooth surface. "Use."
With a faint glow, a panel appeared before him. On the left side, there was a 4x4 grid — sixteen empty slots. On the right, a single square, larger than the rest.
Arin leaned closer. "Hmm… this is like a crafting table I've seen before. Except… this one has sixteen slots. Usually, they only had nine."
[Correct. You place your materials on the left grid. The final product will appear in the right slot.]
"Makes sense," Arin said, nodding. "But wait… how the hell am I supposed to know which items need which materials?"
[Click the question mark button at the top-left. An item list will appear.]
He raised a brow. "Oh? That's convenient."
The moment he tapped the shimmering icon, another window expanded before him. Rows upon rows of names, tiny icons, and descriptions scrolled endlessly.
[This will not only show what you can craft with your current resources, but every possible item you may find in this world.]
Arin's jaw dropped as the panel loaded.
[Item List — Total Count: 99999999999999999999999999…]
His throat went dry. His hands trembled as he reached out and scrolled down the list. "T-this… just how many items does this world have?!"
Some examples flickered past his eyes:
Wooden Door
Stone Furnace
Crossbow
Colorful Glass Blocks
Iron Pickaxe
…And that was just the first page.
Arin staggered back, pressing a hand against his chest, heart racing. His mind was a storm of both excitement and terror.
"This… this is insane. I could spend my whole life crafting and not even scratch the surface…"
Just as his fingers brushed over the scroll bar again—
Thud.
A sound.
He froze, stiff as stone. His eyes darted toward the makeshift doorway.
"…Did I… just hear something?" His voice cracked as his pulse hammered in his ears.
Another sound. Closer this time.
Crunch… crunch…
The faint noise of footsteps echoed outside, slow and deliberate, as if something—or someone—was circling his new home.
Arin's body tensed, his hand instinctively clutching the side of the crafting table. His throat went dry.
For the first time since entering this cubic world… he wasn't alone.