First Login
People often call Minecraft a sandbox game.
So what exactly is a sandbox?
It means a style of gameplay where the user can freely do whatever they want, without any fixed objective.
That's right — Minecraft had no predetermined path. Absolute freedom to do anything, to set any goal you pleased. And the truth was, deciding which direction to steer that freedom was the single factor that made or broke a server's success.
In that sense, Rena World's early days had no direction at all. A server that limped along on streamers' individual gimmicks, stitching together small, fragmentary stories. That current held until the big-name corporate streamers started pouring in.
But it's different now. I'm going to build a story that keeps going.
The moment I heard Rena-ttang announce the server opening, I logged in without a second's delay. I downloaded the launcher and laid eyes on Rena World's unique connection screen — nothing like a regular Minecraft server. The loading bar filled little by little. Watching that number climb made my heart hammer in my chest.
"Finally!"
At last the loading finished. Connection established. The warm, familiar scenery of a blocky world unfurled before my eyes.
Oh! Was this the starting village?
My character stood right beside the fountain in the center of town.
"Whoa! We're in!"
"I've never played Minecraft before — this is wild."
"What do we do now? Should we start chopping wood?"
"Hello there, is so. I'm Ami-chan, is so."
An open-run was always best when it was loud and chaotic. But I was certain of one thing: I was nothing like those ordinary citizens chattering away beside me. I carried a vast ambition in my chest that no one could measure or cut down to size.
That's right — faster than anyone, different from everyone, special in a way only I could be!
And right as I was about to take that historic first step—
"Huh?"
Disconnected from the server.
The server is currently unstable.
The flower of gaming. One of the so-called Four Legendary Swords!
Emergency maintenance caused by an unstable server had made its grand entrance.
"Rena-ttang, drop some maintenance compensation! I took a huge loss! I was mid-boss hunt and got kicked right before the item drop!"
I waited about an hour with my snickering viewers. Before the regression, Lucy had never gotten involved with Rena World, so I had no idea this kind of thing happened. I'd seen posts on the FM Community about the server having issues once over a hundred people connected, but I never expected it this early.
Still, no real complaints boiled over. Most of the participants were small-time streamers with zero community influence, and the server itself wasn't drawing much attention yet.
"Maintenance is over. Everyone can log back in now."
The waiting crowd — myself included — scrambled to reconnect. But there were fewer people than before. Some had gotten tired of waiting and gone off to play ARAM or PUBG; others decided to start tomorrow, or had simply switched to different content. There were even cases like Decrescendo, who didn't log in on day one at all.
If they knew about Rena World's glorious future, they'd all be grinding like their lives depended on it.
By the time they regretted it, the bus would already have left the station.
I made sure every crew member got in successfully. We clustered together beside the fountain in the starting village and began setting things up.
"Ahem. Mayo, can you hear my mic?"
"Yeah. I can hear you fine. How about me? Sound okay?"
While we finished adjusting our audio and graphics settings, Rena-ttang's Minecraft character floated up into the air and looked down at us.
Oh! Was that the power of an admin account?
Rena-ttang waited for the streamers to finish their settings, and once the noise had settled somewhat, she spoke.
"I've already posted the guidelines on the Rena World Discord board, but I want to emphasize a few points. First: Rena World is the first Minecraft streamer server ever attempted on Pangea TV. That means we can't apply overly strict rules — if we did, all we'd hear is that it's boring. On the flip side, if you go around causing chaos with zero thought, telling yourself 'this much should be fine for entertainment value,' that's a problem. For example, PKing everyone you see with no story or reason whatsoever."
The first thing Rena-ttang stressed was simple: read the room and act accordingly.
As a streamer server, chasing entertainment value was only natural. But using "it's for the content" as an excuse to indiscriminately harm other streamers was something to avoid. In short: know the acceptable range, know the line, and conduct yourself accordingly.
"Second: all automation is banned. The usual stuff — villager trading halls, factory farms, any method of scooping up resources with zero effort — none of that is allowed. And mass animal breeding causes server lag, so please understand. I'll allow a maximum of five animals per type, per person."
She was right — if resources came too easily, like using a cheat key, the fun of the game drained away. Minecraft had plenty of systems that made that possible, and every last one of them was forbidden in Rena World.
"For any other issues that come up, I'll post notices on the Discord board, so please check it regularly. Thank you."
Clap clap clap—!
The moment Rena-ttang finished speaking, applause poured out in gratitude for opening the server. After that came introductions to the NPCs stationed around the starting village. Miner, farmer, cook, secret shop, and so on. Maybe because it was still early days, the variety wasn't particularly rich — just the most basic NPCs.
The key one among them stood beside the fountain. It teleported you out of the village and onto the world map. The moment that final NPC introduction wrapped up, I didn't hesitate — I selected travel.
"Ah, um, hello Seo-a! I'm—"
"Sorry, sorry! I'm way too busy — I'll introduce myself next time!"
I moved to the world map faster than anyone.
"Whoa!"
One click, and the entire environment around me transformed. The interior of a dark building that looked like a small warehouse. There was an NPC here too — pressing it revealed a function that sent you back to the village. I didn't spare a glance at the shabby warehouse and stepped outside.
A clear blue sky and an endless stretch of wasteland. Sparse trees dotted the distance, and behind me a chain of high hills rose one after another. Compared to modern games the graphics were laughably low-res, but somehow that made it feel all the more comforting.
This is it — the blocky world of Minecraft.
It wasn't unfamiliar. Long before I'd told Miho and Lucy to practice Minecraft, I'd been training myself for this day. I had over ten Minecraft master channels subscribed on YouTube. Every honey tip, every critical piece of info, every little trick — I'd soaked them all up without holding back.
What I've got right now… two Rena Coins and ten loaves of bread. That's it.
A Rena Coin was an item that let you return to the village from anywhere. And bread was the most basic food, filling your hunger. Minecraft ran on hunger and health values — if you didn't keep hunger topped up, your health drained continuously until you starved to death. Keep hunger full, and your health regenerated. In other words, food was essential. On top of that, hunger dropped faster the more you moved. So if you were heading out on a long adventure or going underground for diamonds, packing plenty of food was mandatory.
First things first — wood!
Other streamers were starting to trickle out of the warehouse. No time to stand around. I sprinted faster than anyone toward the nearest tree. With no tools at all, I just swung my bare fists and smashed into the trunk. After a few more hits, oak blocks appeared in my inventory.
Still not enough. Keep chopping.
Meanwhile, the other streamers' actions were all over the place. About half were busy making friends with whoever was nearby. Another half looked like complete Minecraft beginners, awkwardly learning the controls. And then there were the ones who, though slower than me, were at least trying to do something. Our V-Live crew fell into that last category.
"That's so mean! Going off alone first!"
"You little mayo brat. Life is a real fight."
I dropped that bitter pearl of wisdom and slotted four hard-earned oak blocks into the player's 2x2 crafting grid. And there it was — the crafting table, revealing its glorious form!
At last, the true beginning of civilization.
