Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

the other side.

Attila was shocked.

No, "shocked" is an understatement; "horrified" is the more appropriate word. After all, this is a far more impactful experience than being pulled into the sky by an unknown force.

Lillie first checked on her father Attila's condition: "Father, are you alright?"

"I...I'm fine. Is everyone alright? Allen, Uso, how about you?"

Attila went to check on the other two who had fallen with him.

Only after confirming that they were safe with each other did they finally realize where they were.

"Where am I?"

The words Allen muttered in a daze completely shook their minds.

This is no longer the grassland we were just on, but a completely different space and world.

Attila knelt down in disbelief, touching the soil that was so close to him.

Even this humble soil is not a natural product, but a heterogeneous thing composed of sharp-edged pixels.

"Oh God..."

The soil beneath their feet rippled gently in the dim light, and the initially illusory touch gradually became solid, transforming into real soil within the small area where they stood.

But looking up, the land and trees in the distance still retain that strange shape of stacked blocks, with sharp edges and corners, giving off a sense of incongruity that doesn't belong to reality.

Lillie seemed to sense something and spoke softly, "It must have been that force that brought us here... But how are we going to get back?"

Attila, who was still shaking his head in confusion, suddenly focused his gaze and pointed into the distance: "I've never heard of such a place in the world... Look over there!"

A figure stood not far away—it was clearly a human silhouette.

But was that really a human?

For a moment, everyone held their breath and exchanged glances.

Although the being with its back to them was dressed and had limbs that resembled four limbs, they could hardly recognize it as human.

Its angular body, so different from its own, is so grotesque that it can even awaken a primal fear in humans.

"It...it moved!"

"It's watching us!"

The cube-shaped figure suddenly convulsed and spun around in a bizarre motion. The grotesque movement startled everyone, causing them to stumble backward.

"Don't come any closer!"

Lillie, the only one carrying a weapon, drew her sword and pointed it forward.

The cube-shaped figure kept its mouth tightly shut as if it couldn't speak. It seemed to understand the warning and paused for a moment, but then took another step forward.

"Tsk, what's so special about this?!"

Lillie casually swung her sword, slashing at her opponent.

The blocky man couldn't dodge the swift and accurate slash, but when the blade landed on him, it neither cut through his flesh nor splattered a single drop of blood.

The next instant, its body suddenly lit up with a blinding red light, and it was violently thrown away by an invisible force.

"Stop! Stop right there!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, the blocky man suddenly turned around and ran away.

Lillie felt a surge of anxiety and instinctively chased after him.

But her opponent's footwork was extremely unpredictable, bouncing and leaping, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, like an out-of-control ball bouncing and weaving across the ground. No matter how hard she sprinted, she could never catch up.

"Lillie, since it's escaped, don't chase after it. Who knows what dangers might lurk here."

When Lillie finally returned, panting, Attila advised her not to push herself.

They had only intended to explore the surrounding area briefly, but now they were completely lost, having been inexplicably abandoned in this initial place, unsure of what to do next.

Not long after, the eerie figure reappeared in sight.

Lillie gripped her sword again, joining the other residents in tense anticipation as they warily locked onto the slowly approaching monster.

"Look, that guy's here again."

"It doesn't seem hostile... Maybe it's the one that brought us here."

As resident Allen said, the other side did not launch an attack immediately, but slowly approached step by step, as if quietly observing their reaction.

What's going on?

When the distance is reduced to a certain extent, something suddenly pops into the blocky man's previously empty palm.

"Could it be...?"

The cube-shaped figure casually raised his hand, first planting a square wooden sign in the ground, then slamming what he was holding in his palm onto the ground with two thuds.

As the object landed, red cubes rolled out one after another—they were clearly unnaturally regular, yet resembled chunks of raw meat.

It even took a step back and stood quietly in place, its posture clearly indicating that the villagers gathered at a distance should come forward and pick it up.

"I'll go take a look."

Attila spoke in a deep voice, and before his tribesmen could stop him, he gripped the short sword at his waist and charged forward.

He first bent down to look at the wooden sign. The square characters carved on it were all unfamiliar characters he had never seen before and could not be recognized at all.

Attila didn't linger any longer and reached out to grab the things that had been thrown on the ground.

At first glance, the object appeared to be made up of countless tiny square pieces, completely unlike any kind of flesh, wood, or stone he knew. It was so bizarre that it sent chills down his spine.

"This is meat!"

But the moment Attila's hand touched those objects, the basin-sized chunks of flesh turned into real, bloody flesh.

These are rare, high-quality pieces of meat; there are at least a dozen of them piled up in front of me these days.

If they can bring them all back to the stronghold, it will be enough to feed the entire tribe.

"Chief, chief, can't we eat now?"

One of the tribesmen couldn't help but speak, his voice filled with barely concealed hunger.

Attila sighed, remembering that they hadn't even tasted the food they had gathered before being inexplicably brought to this strange land.

He considered this a small blessing in his desperate situation, and taking into account the current circumstances, he immediately decided to grill it and eat it: "Since things have come to this, let's eat the meat first. Allen, you take care of it."

"I'll start a fire right away!"

Allen stared at the pieces of meat that had become increasingly tempting after being touched, swallowing hard as he looked around for wood and kindling to start a fire.

Upon seeing this, the blocky figures, who had been merely observing from the sidelines, seemed to suddenly understand something and slowly approached them.

"Fire, we need fire."

Lillie, having sheathed her sword, sensed the other's intentions and attempted to communicate.

Although they couldn't communicate in the same language, they conveyed information through gestures and facial expressions.

The blocky figure suddenly pulled something out and placed it on the ground with a thud—it was a prop that resembled a crafting table.

Then the blocky man manipulated the crafting table for a while, and this time, what was placed in front of everyone was a burning campfire.

The group, understanding the implication, immediately began roasting meat over the real campfire.

◆◆◆

The group quickly filled their stomachs, but time in this world passed exceptionally quickly, and before they knew it, the sun had set.

Attila gazed at this unfamiliar world and murmured, "If I were alone here, I would probably think I was in a dream."

"I feel the same way now, it's all like an illusion." Uso nodded in agreement, his tone full of unreality.

Allen's voice carried a hint of unease as he murmured, "We...we can't really go back, can we?"

The group of people gathered together relaxed and watched the scene before them with curiosity.

"Who exactly is that guy?"

Lillie muttered blankly, her gaze fixed on a figure moving swiftly and gracefully ahead, building a stone wall around their area.

With each leap and wave of the figure, huge stone bricks would be piled up beneath its feet, forming a majestic city wall in the blink of an eye.

Although they judged that the other party was not an enemy, their vigilance remained.

Especially that ability that seems ridiculous at first glance is actually so powerful that it inspires fear.

"Anyway... let's ask after we've finished what we're doing."

They dared not disturb the other party rashly.

The walls and roof were built to protect against monsters that appear at night, but this cannot be conveyed in words.

Only after all the walls and roofs were completed were they able to slowly approach, torch in hand, the figure illuminating the hastily constructed stone house.

"What is that sound?"

"It sounds like it's coming from outside!"

A sinister roar suddenly rang out, a terrifying sound like a mixture of human screams.

This is the sound of a monster called a zombie in the game searching for them and preparing to hunt them down.

"Look at this! It's a sword!"

The blocky figure set up a workbench in the corner of the stone house and began making another item to distribute to everyone.

This hastily crafted weapon is a sword made from cobblestone, one of the most basic mineral resources in the game.

As game props, they are merely rudimentary equipment from before the Bronze and Iron Ages, but the villagers are quite familiar with using stones to make arrowheads and other practical uses.

"The entire sword is made of stones embedded in the wooden hilt. It's incredible that they could make something like this."

"Giving us weapons... does that mean we're going to go out and fight?"

The iron sword Lillie wears is a rare treasure that they cannot manufacture; it was obtained from the outside world.

Upon seeing the sword, which had evolved from pixels into a physical object, everyone exclaimed in amazement and then realized the purpose of gifting the weapon.

Attila nodded solemnly: "We couldn't have come here for no reason. That mysterious man gave us food and a sword; he must have had a purpose."

His words were echoed by the crowd: "That's right, we can't be stuck here forever."

Because they had homes and loved ones they needed to return to, they chose to actively seek a way out rather than sit and wait for their fate.

"Could it be this way?"

But as they tried to reach the only entrance to the stone house, the eerie blocky figure blocked the door with its body.

He even swung his thick arms and shoved people. Although it didn't hurt, the residents still panicked and became agitated.

"Look over there?"

The blocky man turned and pointed behind them, in the opposite direction from the exit, where a crack resembling a black portal appeared.

The blocky figure walked over and gestured with his hands toward the portal, repeatedly jumping, crouching, and standing up, trying to convey his intentions.

Attila looked ahead and said, "Let's go, maybe that's the way back."

Uso immediately looked up, a hint of anticipation in his eyes: "Really?"

"This is all we can do now," Attila said in a deep voice.

He finally decided to go there. Although everyone still had doubts, they all agreed that they had no other choice.

As they move, the blocky figures point to items such as meat and stone swords placed on the ground.

"Are we supposed to take these with us?"

Lillie looked at everyone, exchanged glances, and then began to pack up the things.

Upon seeing this, the blocky man immediately nodded vigorously, still maintaining the strange posture of not bending his knees, and hopped around in place.

After everyone packed their things, they stepped into the crevice.

With just one step, they traversed the space in an instant—they actually returned to the village they had been longing for, and brought back a large quantity of high-quality food.

After days of disappointment, the villagers rushed out to greet the returning entourage, who were laden with their spoils.

Attila stared blankly at the black crack in the square that hadn't disappeared, and gently touched it with his hand: "Can we go back again? If we could go back again, we could get more meat from there."

The crack seemed like a one-way street, refusing them entry once more.

Attila, who could see through the infinite possibilities hidden in this mysterious world at a glance, had a quiet desire to go there again.