There was no mistake about it. The tree was simply floating in midair.
"What the hell?"
Lake stared at the completely illogical scene with wide eyes, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.
This was just a dream world, though, so bizarre settings shouldn't come as much of a surprise. He adapted to the strangeness quickly enough.
The novelty of it all fascinated him to no end, nonetheless. "This must be the material for crafting items."
He immediately opened his inventory to examine what he'd collected.
The inventory interface turned out to be remarkably simple in design. The oak log he'd just harvested sat quietly inside one of the slots.
Beyond that, there was no crafting panel like he'd been expecting to find.
Apart from the item slots themselves, only a small grid with four squares occupied the space.
Lake scratched his head, feeling momentarily lost about what to do next.
What's this supposed to mean? The gameplay is harder to grasp than I expected.
He decided to experiment by placing a log into that small grid and clicking the craft option. The single log transformed into four wooden planks right before his eyes.
"So that's how it works!"
Lake understood the basic mechanics now, but what were these planks actually for?
He placed the planks back into the crafting grid and tried crafting again. This time, the result was a single wooden button.
Beyond that simple discovery, though, he remained stuck and uncertain.
He wasn't alone in his confusion either. Many other players were struggling with the same questions and had already started venting their frustrations on the forums.
[I honestly can't figure out this gameplay at all. I've wandered around for ages and haven't found anything interesting.]
[It feels kind of boring if I'm being honest. I've run such a long way, and it's just forest after forest with no monsters or anything.]
[The loading screen at the start felt pretty impressive, but after actually getting inside, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I want some adventure here...]
Some players who couldn't crack the puzzle were openly voicing their disdain, worried they'd genuinely wasted their money on this purchase.
Countless bewildered players flooded the forums to discuss their various experiences and theories.
[I punched a tree and got wood, but how exactly do I use it? All I can do is break it down into planks!]
[Try putting four planks into the crafting grid again.]
The original poster spotted that suggestion and immediately tested it inside Minecraft.
[Hey! I actually made a crafting table! I think I'm starting to understand now. This crafting table has nine grids instead of four. Maybe this bigger table can craft other things too?]
[Probably, but there aren't any recipes to follow!]
[Brothers, haven't you noticed that besides the crafting table, other blocks can also be placed wherever you want? I did an experiment and discovered that besides trees, even the dirt beneath your feet can be broken down and collected!]
Players began making all kinds of experimental attempts shortly after that revelation.
They discovered that trees weren't the only destructible objects. Grass blocks and literally everything within sight could be harvested and broken down.
Not only could everything be destroyed, but the collected blocks could also be placed freely anywhere, like building blocks.
[I thought it was boring at first, but now it suddenly feels incredibly interesting!]
[I tried building something, and it's genuinely fun! Let me show you all my results!]
The message came with an attached image showing a crude shelter constructed entirely from dirt blocks.
[Although I really want to be supportive here... that thing you made looks exactly like a grave mound, doesn't it!]
[You...]
[Hahahaha!]
Clara had been wandering inside Minecraft for quite some time by now.
She'd spawned beside a flowing river when the world first generated.
Since the game offered no prompts or guidance whatsoever, she simply started walking forward along the riverbank to see where it led.
She remembered that the promotional video had shown villages populated by those blocky residents with their distinctive square heads.
She didn't know where to find them, though, so exploration seemed like the best approach.
After following the river's path for a considerable distance, something caught her attention.
The shadow of a building appeared at the base of a distant mountain.
It looked like a church with a pointed steeple that remained visible even from this far away.
She immediately picked up her pace and ran toward it in excitement.
After crossing over a small slope, the village came into full view ahead of her.
What surprised her even more was spotting a villager dressed in green clothing who was strolling along the slope with an almost leisurely air. His square head was topped with a prominent nose, and his expression radiated simple contentment that made him seem oddly endearing.
Clara immediately ran up to greet him.
"Hello there!"
The green-clothed villager turned to face her. He had that same square head, that same oversized nose, and that same guileless expression.
"Huh?"
"Why aren't you talking to me?"
"Ah-huh?"
She asked several more questions in succession, but the villager gave no meaningful response whatsoever.
Is he simple-minded or something?
Confusion filled Clara's thoughts as she regarded the strange resident. How unfortunate for him. She decided to leave him be and walked directly into the village proper.
Just ahead lay a section of cultivated farmland.
The plot wasn't particularly large and had been enclosed by wooden logs, with a shallow irrigation channel dug through the middle to water the growing crops.
A farmer wearing a woven straw hat was busy harvesting wheat in the field. Seeing that farming was not only possible but actively happening here, Clara's agricultural instincts flared to life immediately.
"This reminds me so much of Stardew Valley!"
The villagers here all seemed a bit slower and less responsive, though, quite different from the charming residents of Pelican Town.
She tried speaking to the farming villager to see if he'd be more communicative.
He proved slightly more animated than the first one she'd met, but still couldn't manage actual speech.
"Huh!"
"Yah!"
Although they couldn't communicate through words, a trade option suddenly appeared when she interacted with the farmer.
She opened the interface and examined what was available. Twenty wheat could be exchanged for one emerald.
Then one emerald could be traded back for six loaves of bread.
"Could this emerald be the currency of this world?"
She didn't know where else these items might be useful, yet.
Curiosity drove her to continue exploring the village and its surroundings.
The village sprawled out across a significant area. Beyond the church she'd spotted from a distance, there was also a blacksmith shop and a library building.
Many villagers wandered through the settlement at this hour, looking exceptionally relaxed. Some strolled aimlessly while others gathered in small clusters, seemingly whispering about matters only they understood.
Periodic sounds like "Huh" and "Ah-huh" escaped from their mouths as if they were holding actual conversations.
Clara suspected they communicated through some special language she couldn't comprehend.
A villager wearing blacksmith attire was still hammering away at iron on an anvil positioned near his shop's entrance.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from the village entrance, and the ground trembled slightly beneath her feet.
Clara turned her head to investigate the source. An enormous iron golem was lumbering through the village, each step carrying a palpable sense of weight and power as it patrolled.
Clara instinctively took half a step backward, her eyes filling with equal parts surprise and fascination as she studied this peculiar guardian.
The iron golem showed no aggression, though. It simply wandered through the settlement on what appeared to be a routine patrol.
Time passed swiftly as she explored, and evening began to fall across the landscape.
While gathering materials near the village outskirts, Clara suddenly heard strange and unsettling sounds.
"Hooo..."
"Ah-ugh..."
Several green figures materialized around her position, moving to surround her from multiple directions.
When she got a clear look at them, she realized they were actually shambling monsters of some kind.
They resembled the slow zombies from Plants vs. Zombies in their movements and appearance. The group of creatures closed in on her position, terror gripping her heart as she bolted toward the village.
When the villagers spotted the zombie attack, they scattered in complete panic and fled to their homes with surprising speed.
Clara felt equally frantic as she sprinted toward the nearest shelter. She ducked into the blacksmith shop and immediately slammed the door shut behind her with a resounding clatter.