Before entering the game, new players still needed to customize their avatar.
But Zack had already done that during the early access in January, so he just loaded up his old save.
Lucky for him, a spot had just opened on the server. He only waited about ten seconds outside before the screen went dark and he was in.
When the screen lit up again, Zack was stunned by the huge crowd.
There were so many players, each with different skins and outfits, floating IDs above their heads cluttering the air.
It was so messy it made Zack dizzy. He quickly switched off the floating IDs in settings, and right away it felt much better.
"Zack, you made it!"
"This is insane! Perfect timing, we'll take you on a tour from the start."
Ben and Hannah's voices came through the chat.
In the game, Zack also saw their characters appear next to his.
On the server, players couldn't bump into each other physically. Everyone could fly freely like in creative mode, even changing their flight speed with commands.
"If I wasn't seeing it myself, I'd never believe it! This Firelink Shrine is exactly the same!"
Hearing Ben and the others, Zack looked closely at where he was standing.
At first, he didn't recognize it.
But after taking a good look—of course, this was Dark Souls' Firelink Shrine.
Not the open-air one from Getting Over It, but the one from the end of the Age of Fire.
Everything was there, faithfully recreated.
Even a bonfire, and next to it a blocky Fire Keeper!
On the steps sat the Crestfallen Warrior, and nearby were Lothric's crippled Ludleth, the old Handmaiden, and the blacksmith.
"Right? We were shocked too when we first came in!" Ben said with emotion.
"Who would believe this is a pixel game!" Wells sighed as well.
At the same time, many players in the Firelink Shrine had their in-game mics on, excitedly talking about the shrine they were standing in.
"By the way, have you guys finished looking around yet?" Zack asked.
"Not yet, we just saw the Riverside Along the River painting. We hadn't finished when you logged in, so it's perfect—you can come with us," Hannah said.
"Alright, let's go!" Zack was a little impatient.
He also knew how the tour worked, because there was a floating line of text in the sky with instructions.
They arrived at the bonfire in the center, ignoring the group of players crowded around the Fire Keeper.
In Dark Souls, trying to view the Fire Keeper from different angles was one thing.
After all, Zack had done that too—she really was stunning.
But here in Minecraft, with a pixel block character, and players still trying to peek at the Fire Keeper from weird angles—was this even human behavior?
He lit the bonfire to trigger teleport. The screen went black for a moment, then the picture returned.
Zack finally saw the dreamlike scene.
He had spawned right on the streets of Ancient Rome.
Around him, the people in old-style clothes were all NPCs, while the blocky characters were clearly other players.
In the chatbox at the bottom left, messages were flying by nonstop.
Zack widened his eyes, staring at this pixel version of a thousand-year-old bustling city.
The lively markets, taverns, merchants and travelers in every alley and street.
It felt to Zack like he had stepped into another world.
In his mind, he thought of the little black hut he and Hannah once built.
Zack suddenly wondered if he was even playing the same game as before.
The difference was way too big!
Just then, Hannah and the others teleported in too.
"This is insane! What if we build something like this ourselves, what do you guys think?" Ben said, amazed at the sight before him.
The voice channel went silent. Everyone just quietly controlled their characters to fly forward.
Build something like this?
Zack quietly looked at the Ancient Rome in front of him.
And you're saying you want to build something like this yourselves?
Yeah, right!
Even though it was just a game, none of them used flight mode. Instead, they walked side by side along the streets.
They admired the scenery in the game as if they were really traveling.
They weren't the only ones—plenty of other players were doing the same.
Some even started chatting with strangers through the open mic channel.
"This is stunning! Nebula Games is amazing! Did you notice? Even though it's pixel style, the accuracy is incredible!"
"Exactly, it's not just the look—it captures the spirit too, and even shows the hidden crises beneath the prosperity!"
"Yeah, yeah, remember the street we just passed? There was a fire watchtower. Back in the Northern Song, most buildings were made of wood and brick, so fire was a big risk. Every ward had a tower just for spotting fires. But the one we saw just now was empty upstairs—clearly done on purpose."
"Right, and the city walls too—no guards, no defenses, not even fake ones. No battlements for archers, nothing at all."
"Did you notice the boats on the Bian River? Back then, Emperor Huizong used the government grain ships to transport huge loads of rare stones, which messed up grain transport. Private ships took the chance to move in and eventually controlled the city's grain market, even setting the prices."
"Yeah, and look at those NPC events ahead!"
In the corner up ahead, a tax officer pointed at a sack and quoted a number, which instantly made the nearby merchants unhappy. A cart driver shouted angrily, so loud that even the watchman on the city tower leaned down to look.
At the same time, two horse-drawn carriages sped through the streets, racing wildly, leaving pedestrians no time to dodge.
All of this, of course, was the result of AI technology. During the tour, different random events would pop up. To make sure the Riverside scene felt alive, Lucas had put in a lot of effort to create many kinds of random events.
"This is perfect! It fully shows the customs and daily lives of the people, but also hints at hidden dangers behind the surface of prosperity. This is a grand scene of a thriving age with worries under the surface!"
Hearing other players chat like this, Zack, Hannah, and Ben fell silent.
Are you guys for real?
Everyone was touring the same game. Everyone was giving praise.
But how could they come up with such fancy comments?
Meanwhile, his own reactions were just things like "Damn, that's awesome!" or "Wow, that's beautiful!"
Listening to the others talk made Zack feel a bit too plain.
So he made a decision—to turn off voice chat.
If he couldn't hear them, then he wouldn't feel so simple.
The world instantly grew quiet.
Closing voice chat, enjoying the silence, Zack smiled.
Different people, same action.
Hannah and Ben quietly turned off the public voice channel too.
(End of The Chapter)
---
Read +100 advanced chapters on my patre*n
patr eon.com/GustinaKamiya
Free Tier can read 3 advanced chapters
---