Entering the Snake Emperor Server
I entered the Snake Emperor server after receiving a sudden invitation. Without a word, I quietly typed in chat.
Yeon-a sounded worried that I might have lost interest in Minecraft. Far from it. If anything, my interest in Minecraft was at an all-time high right now. After all, I was on the verge of finally filling that empty space inside me. Laughing with friends, enjoying a peaceful Minecraft world together. Was I really allowed to enjoy the peaceful daily life I had longed for as a child? The thought crossed my mind.
Swallowing hard, I typed back to her.
The fear of being disliked wrapped around me. Back in elementary, middle, and high school, I'd been quietly ostracized for being gloomy and unpleasant. No one attacked me outright, but there were plenty of times people talked behind my back or left me out. Compared to my past life, it had been bearable, so I'd endured it. But being hated by others was always terrifying.
This server was its own little society. The worry that I wouldn't be able to fit in again came flooding back. But as always, Yeon-a, the only friend who'd ever reached out to me, extended her hand once more.
That warm hand. The gentle touch of a friend who tried her best to grant my wish when I said I wanted to become normal again.
"Hic…!"
In the end, I couldn't hold back the tears. Someone might say it was silly to cry over something so small, but every bit of warmth like this was so precious to me. The hand pulling me forward when I hesitated felt so warm that the tears just came.
Wiping my tears, I replied to Yeon-a that I understood, then exited the map creation screen.
"Y-Yes, everyone…! I decided to join Miss K's server… S-So today's content won't just be regular Minecraft… B-But whatever we do on the server……."
Seeing the chat, I wiped my tears, sniffled, and nodded.
"That's right… T-These are tears of joy…! Heheh."
"I-I'm not cute at all… P-Please don't say I'm popular in a roundabout way… I-I know I'm not."
Puffing my cheeks at the teasing viewers, I switched the screen to cover it with my avatar's face.
"Just a moment… I need to join the server and… get some guidance… S-Sorry for showing you something weird."
After a short wait, I finally managed to connect to the server after learning everything from Yeon-a.
When I connected using the code on Yeon-a's invitation, a forest appeared before my eyes.
After roughly reading the Discord messages in the forest, I smiled softly, touched by Yeon-a's kindness. Then I started looking around, taking in the map.
"W-Wow……"
A jungle-like terrain with bright light filtering through in emerald hues. Beneath it lay a calm pond. Inside, carp moved with such smooth motion that it was hard to believe this was Minecraft.
"W-Wow… Is Minecraft always like this…? It's amazing."
While everyone and I were marveling and looking around, a person flew toward me from afar, trailing golden particles.
A woman spoke to me in a friendly tone. When I simply nodded without saying anything, she smiled brightly and told me I needed to turn on my mic in the settings.
"Ah… I guess there was no need to stay silent."
"Ah… I need to change the settings."
Feeling slightly embarrassed at being called hopeless, I quickly turned on push-to-talk as instructed.
"Ah… Aah… C-Can you hear me?"
"I-I see……"
Nodding as I enjoyed the pleasant sound of her beautiful voice, the fairy smiled and confirmed it. The chat exploded at the sound of her voice.
Feeling slightly sulky, I still listened carefully to the guardian deity in front of me.
"Okay……"
Seha explained the rules in a way that seemed to say "just behave yourselves." I nodded earnestly and promised to follow them strictly.
"I-I'll definitely follow them."
"Huh…?"
The Jireongis were doing their best to tease me. Now used to this kind of teasing, I laughed it off lightly and listened to the rest of the rules.
"Y-Yes… U-Understood……"
The rules were stricter than I'd expected. I nodded, looking a bit dejected. Seha told me not to be too scared and asked if I had any Minecraft experience.
"R-Really……?"
"I-I only bought it a few dozen minutes ago."
At that, she said "Perfect" and tossed me a server rule notebook and a book detailing the basic ways to play Minecraft.
"Th-Thank you…! Is it okay for me to take this……?"
Speaking in a kind tone, the admin told me to enjoy the server. Smiling brightly, I said I understood and headed toward the exit of the tutorial.
Hearing the tip from behind, I replied that I understood and ran hard toward the door leading out of the tutorial.