A whole new world

[aestrix]

There is a forest that likes to pretend that it's ordinary. It isn't, it's quite bizarre. Every night, in fact, zombies and other horrible monsters swarm this place, looking for people to kill. Not that they've found anyone, the forest itself is quite empty of residents. But they search anyway, during the night, shambling and groaning and occasionally leaving body parts lying around. Those disappear pretty quickly, but it still happens. Then the day comes, and they depart to who knows where, swearing (if mindless monsters could think, or in fact swear to anything in particular) that they'l be back the next night. Repeat ad nauseum.

It's currently in the day portion of this cycle of directionless attempts at violence. Maybe this day will be different from all of the others.

But then, probably not, it's a very boring island without anyone here.

Comments

[greatestgift]

...Sable picks up the tiny cube.

[aestrix]

It is tiny and cube-shaped and made of wood. There's a - something, in her mind, telling her that she can now place thirteen blocks of wood within a radius, at an ordinary size instead of the tiny version. She just needs to pick where the blocks go, and it all aligns to the cube system already present.

[greatestgift]

"I don't want to build structures yet," she says to the guide. And thirteen cubes isn't much of a structure anyway. She sticks the cube in her pocket and attacks another tree.

[aestrix]

The tree is chopped! The cubes rain to the ground - a few land on her, but they then disappear. Her tiny cube total is now 18, not counting the cubes still on the ground. The cubes still on the ground form up and condense themselves to three separate cubes. Along with the cubes are little acorns, scattered around and condensing themselves like the cubes but obviously not cube shaped.

"If you want to survive, you will need to create weapons and shelter," says the guide.

[greatestgift]

"Yeah? How do I create weapons, then?" she asks, collecting the cubes and the acorns.

[aestrix]

"When you have enough wood, create a workbench. This will allow you to create more complicated things, as long as you are standing close to it."

[greatestgift]

"How much is enough wood?"

With all the wood-cubes and acorns consolidated, she starts on a third tree.

[aestrix]

"Ten blocks of wood are used to make a workbench."

The third tree also goes down! She now has thirty-three blocks of wood, and five acorns.

[greatestgift]

"How?"

[aestrix]

"Hold the blocks of wood in your hand, then make a workbench."

[greatestgift]

...She takes the consolidated wood cube out of her pocket.

[aestrix]

Thirty-three of them, yep, can place them where ever she likes, yep -

Oh. There's a - a thing. Separate from the blocks of wood, inherent to her. She feels like she can make things. The things she can make with the materials she's got in her hands right now are: a number of wooden platforms, and a workbench.

[greatestgift]

Okay then.

She... makes... a workbench?

[aestrix]

There is no foreseeable process between A and B. She tries to make a work bench, and - now there is a tiny workbench in her hand along with the consolidated wood cube. She now has twenty-three blocks of wood, and a workbench.

[greatestgift]

The next obvious step is to... put the workbench.

Now there is a workbench.

[aestrix]

It is a workbench! It's an ordinary size for a table.

The whatever-it-is in her head telling her that she can craft things sort of. Expands. Or - no it doesn't, the 'she can craft' section is the same, but there's another section added, 'workbench can craft.' There's quite a few more things, here. Wooden tools, a door, a chair, a table, fences, a sign, a fishing pole. It seems sort of random.

[greatestgift]

"None of this crap would make a very good weapon," says Sable. "Unless wooden swords are unexpectedly great in this strange creepy cube world."

[aestrix]

"Once you have a wooden sword, you might try to gather some gel from the slimes. Combine wood and gel to make a torch!"

[greatestgift]

"...The slimes? What is a slime?"

[aestrix]

"There are many monsters that roam the land. Most at night, but some, like slimes, are out and about during the day," informs the guide.

[greatestgift]

"Oh. Great," says Sable. "I better keep clearing these trees, then."

Several trees later, she has a roughly cottage-sized space cleared out and more than enough wood to build a small cottage. She starts putting down walls. Building things in cube land sure is fast.

[aestrix]

It is! The place is convenient like that.

Partway through the cottage's construction, a slime hops into her groundsense radius. It is green, partially transparent, and looks like it's made out of some kind of spherical gelatin.

[greatestgift]

"Is that thing a slime?" she asks the guide, pointing.

[aestrix]

"Slimes come in many different sizes and colors. The most common are blue and green slimes. They are usually found on the surface. Other types can be found in other areas, depending on biome and distance above or below water level."

[greatestgift]

"I'm going to take that as a yes," she sighs.

She makes a wooden sword. Except - "Is there a good reason why I need a wooden sword specifically for slimes?"