Minecraft Experience (1): The Starting Village
When I pressed the interaction button—right-click—to leave the tutorial room, the map shifted in an instant and I was whisked away to somewhere new. The screen flared bright, then gradually NPC structures and scenery began to materialize, one piece after another, until the entire map was complete. What unfolded before my eyes was far more dazzling than anything I had imagined. A cave-like space, lavishly decorated from every angle. The enormous text “Starting Village” floating in front of me made it clear this was where beginners gathered.
“Overall… it really feels like a fantasy world…! Whoa……”
A desire to explore a little more welled up inside me, but I couldn’t afford to right now. I could always look around later; for the moment, I had to find the person who had called me here—my “mom.”
“Gyul… GyulGyul-ie, where are you… I don’t know……”
I had to find GyulGyul. To locate Yeon-a, I turned my head this way and that, scanning the surroundings. People were bustling everywhere. Someone tossing coins at the blacksmith. Someone proudly showing off a newly forged sword only to slice their teammate in half. Someone excitedly flipping through spellbooks before dashing off toward the training grounds. The sheer number of people made it obvious how lively this place was.
‘Feels like I’ve become some kind of representative.’
It really did feel as though I had become the representative of the second-generation residents. A quick glance at the viewer count confirmed it had grown quite a bit. ‘A little nerve-wracking.’ Tension began to creep in—maybe it was pressure. After all, dealing with complete strangers was already daunting enough, and now the other party was a major-corporation YouTuber. On top of that, the attention that came with being the first second-generation resident. The weight on my shoulders grew heavier. I felt like I had to do everything perfectly. If I messed up, the corporation’s fandom could tear me apart or drag me through the mud until I hit rock bottom. No matter how much my streaming sense had improved, I wasn’t confident I could survive that kind of uncontrollable force. Yet even while thinking that, I could feel my heart pounding with excitement.
‘…I might actually make a friend. And Minecraft is way more fun than I expected… even just watching is fun.’
The anticipation of possibly making friends and the satisfaction of finally playing a game I had wanted to try for so long were enough to push the pressure aside.
“First… let’s get down from the platform.”
Just as I gained a bit of confidence and started heading down, a voice rang out from afar.
[Snaaaake!! Our daaarling! Mommy’s right here!!]
“Uwah…!”
From a distance, Yeon-a—wearing a gleaming suit of armor—came barreling straight toward me.
The chat sped up slightly at Yeon-a’s appearance. I spammed the spacebar to greet her as she ran toward me.
“GyulGyul…! I’m here…! Th-this place looks so cool and really, really fun…!”
Yeon-a arrived and struck a pose as if to say, “Right?” She started headbanging, then broke into b-boying. When her character even pulled off a windmill, applause burst out of me on its own. In that moment I realized once again just how limitless the possibilities in Minecraft truly were.
“W-wow……”
[Hehe, cute. Thanks for the applause.]
“Not cute……”
[Fine, let’s go with that.]
“……”
The Jireongis burst into laughter at Yeon-a’s teasing. Watching them, I let out a sigh as the thought crossed my mind: I just don’t get it. I have no idea what part of me is supposed to be so cute. If I had been cute, Dad wouldn’t have beaten me half to death, and I probably wouldn’t have been bullied—or rather, ostracized—by my classmates either. I fiddled with my red hair and let out a small sigh before looking at Yeon-a.
[By the way, why is our baby still on the default skin?]
“Ah… I-I was only planning to do a quick test today, so… I didn’t have time to prepare a skin.”
[Aigoo.]
Yeon-a said that and started dropping items in front of me one after another.
[First, take some diamonds… iron… the enchanted books I bought earlier… bread… meat……]
She kept tossing things without end. It was like watching Doraemon; I couldn’t hide my shock. It looked as if she was trying to give away her entire fortune, so I couldn’t help worrying.
“Y-Yeon-a, this is enough—”
[Quiet. I’m picking items.]
“Eek…!”
Her voice dropped a little as she warned me. I had no choice but to shut my mouth and glance nervously at the chat.
The chat wouldn’t stop laughing, apparently finding our exchange endlessly entertaining. ‘This is all because they never saw Yeon-a back in school……’ I wanted to show the Jireongis just how terrifying Yeon-a could be when she was angry—that version of her who had overcome the stares directed at her by shouting “Charge!” at the delinquents, the role model I had looked up to. While I was lost in thought, the items finally stopped coming. Yeon-a spoke again in a refreshed voice.
[With that you can make gear and pick a job.]
“A job…?”
[Yeah. It’s in the guidebook too, but want me to explain it simply?]
When I nodded, Yeon-a said “Got it” and began explaining each job one by one.
[There are six jobs total: Swordsman, Archer, Priest, Miner, Fisher, and Farmer.]
“Wh-what’s the difference…?”
She said she would explain slowly and went through them carefully.
[Jobs give you extra rewards, more experience, or higher attack power when you perform certain actions on this server.]
“R-really?”
[For example, all six jobs can farm, but crops grown by a Farmer sell for more, grow faster, and give extra experience when harvested.]
“I-I see.”
Farmer definitely had its perks. It seemed perfect if you just wanted to enjoy the game at a leisurely pace.
“I-I want to hear about the others too……”
[Okay! Swordsman gets increased damage with melee weapons and extra experience and rewards from bosses—everything except currency like diamonds.]
Swordsman didn’t sound bad either. Especially since I had only ever played combat-focused games, it felt right up my alley.
[Next is Archer… similar, increased damage with ranged weapons and extra experience and rewards from bosses… but also higher accuracy with ranged weapons.]
“…Accuracy?”
[Yeah! Archers get some aim assist.]
“Oh……”
Archer seemed decent too, but since I had barely played any FPS games, I decided to pass.
[Miners take less time to break stone and ores with a pickaxe and get twice as many minerals—except diamonds. That’s Mom’s job.]
“Ooh……”
Miner…! It sounded like a job where you could leisurely mine and amass a fortune. And since it was the same job Haram had, I felt like I could get some help from her.
[Priest is a healer! You can’t attack in boss fights, but you can heal others, get extra rewards, and even charge a healing fee! That’s my job!]
“I-I see… total extortionist……”
[N-no! I’ve never charged anyone yet!!]
[I’m not an extortionist… stop it.]
Yeon-a sighed as the chat exploded along with my comment. Feeling a little guilty, I listened to the next explanation.
[Last is Fisher…! Fishing rods lose durability slower and fish bite more often! Fish caught by a Fisher also sell for a bit more!]
A perfect job for enjoying a slow life. Of course, even without choosing that job, you could still enjoy all the server’s content—raids, farming, fishing, and so on.
[Think it over, then go to the church over there and write your name in the job-change notebook!]
“Th-thank you……”
[There! That’s all the baby-bird lessons. Now go grow on your own! Bye! Call me if you need anything!]
Telling me to grow on my own yet to call if I needed anything—it was a slightly odd thing to say, but I just smiled and nodded.