The faint glow of the torch bathed the cracked stone walls in a warm, flickering light. Logan crouched in the dilapidated shelter, his back pressed against the mossy cobblestone. Outside, the world had grown darker—unnaturally so. The usual square moon still hung in the sky, but it flickered now and then, as if someone was tampering with reality's light switch.
In his hand, the wooden sword felt heavier than it should've. It wasn't just a tool anymore. It was survival.
[Quest Updated: Fortify Shelter – 0% Complete][Recommended: Craft a bed, door, furnace, and chest to claim the shelter as base.]
Logan stared at the messages hovering in the corner of his vision. Each word held weight—more than text ever had before. This System wasn't just a UI overlay. It was a law. A rulebook etched into the bones of this twisted world.
He stepped cautiously to the crafting table that had survived in the corner of the room. It was cracked and scorched, but functional.
"Bed. Door. Furnace. Chest," he muttered, mentally checking the list. "Guess I'm on the tutorial level, huh?"
He opened his inventory.
The logs he had gathered on his way to the shelter were still intact. Enough to craft a door and chest. But he needed wool for a bed—and cobblestone for a furnace. That meant venturing back out.
"Nothing crazy. Just some sheep and stone," he reassured himself.
Then something growled from the forest.
He froze.
The growl wasn't from a normal zombie. It was deeper. More guttural. With static laced through it, like a corrupted audio file.
He crept to the doorway and peeked out.
Two glowing eyes met his.
They weren't white.
They were electric blue.
A zombie—but taller. Clad in cracked iron armor. Its head jerked in twitchy movements, and dark mist pulsed from its limbs.
[Mini-Boss Encounter: Fragmented Undead][Power Level: 15 | Difficulty: Moderate]
A red health bar appeared above the creature's head.
"Mini-boss?! Already?!" Logan whispered.
The zombie let out a mechanical shriek and charged.
Logan slammed the door shut just in time—but the wood splintered instantly.
The System didn't play by vanilla rules.
With no time to think, Logan sprinted out the back of the shelter and into the trees. His hunger bar dropped from the sprint, but he didn't care. That thing could kill him in seconds.
The zombie followed, fast for its kind. Too fast.
Logan zig-zagged through the trees, jumping over roots and dodging through underbrush. The creature didn't even slow.
He skidded down a slope into a stony ravine, barely keeping balance. His torch flew from his hand, extinguishing in the fall. He hit the bottom hard, pain flaring through his side.
[Minor Injury Sustained – -2 HP]
The zombie roared above him, then jumped.
"Come on then!" Logan shouted, raising his sword.
He slashed as the monster landed.
Thunk.
The wooden sword hit armor—and snapped.
[Weapon Broken]
"Damn it!"
He scrambled backward, grabbing a nearby chunk of gravel and hurling it. It bounced off the zombie uselessly.
The creature raised its arms to strike.
Logan spotted a weak point—its knees were unarmored.
He dove forward and kicked, toppling the creature into the gravel pit.
It landed on its back, momentarily stunned.
Logan seized a nearby stone and brought it down on the thing's face with a desperate yell.
Once. Twice. Three times.
Sparks flew. The mist hissed.
And the bar above the zombie's head finally dropped to zero.
[Mini-Boss Defeated: Fragmented Undead][Reward: Key Fragment (1/4), 2 x Iron Ingots, Corrupted Flesh, +15 EXP]
Logan collapsed onto the gravel, panting hard.
His body ached. His hands shook. His health bar was in the red. But he was alive.
And he had won.
He looked at the glowing fragment that hovered over the corpse—a jagged piece of obsidian etched with runes. When he touched it, it dissolved into particles and absorbed into his inventory.
A new prompt appeared.
[Clue Acquired: The First Gate]"Four fragments unlock the coordinates to the First Major Boss."
He stared at the screen.
Major Boss. This was real. There were levels to this game—and this was just the start.
By dawn, Logan had limped back to the shelter, reinforced the door with stone, and crafted a proper furnace using cobblestone from the ravine.
The tutorial quest blinked green.
[Shelter Claimed: +10 XP, Safe Zone Established][New Quest: Investigate Nearby Village]
A new marker appeared on his compass. Less than 500 blocks away.
"Guess I'm not alone in this world," he murmured, rubbing his arm.
He opened his inventory again and examined the spoils.
The iron ingots glimmered faintly. Enough to craft a sword or pickaxe. He hesitated.
Pickaxe or Sword?
He chose the sword.
The fight last night proved one thing—offense mattered more than mining right now.
The moment the blade finished crafting, a message appeared.
[Weapon Forged: Rusted Iron Sword]"Sometimes a worn edge is better than none at all."
Logan chuckled dryly. "Great. My sword has a sense of humor."
He packed his things and stepped outside.
The world looked different in the daylight—less terrifying, more mysterious. Birds chirped in the trees. The river sparkled. But the shadows still lingered too long in the corners. And he didn't forget the blue-eyed zombie.
There were worse things waiting out there.
And the System wouldn't let him forget that.
By noon, Logan reached the edge of the marked village.
It wasn't the quaint, peaceful Minecraft village he was used to. The houses were scorched. Some burned completely to the ground. Villagers huddled in corners, their normally blank faces now marked by expressions of fear.
A tall figure in a dark robe met him at the gate.
A cleric. His name floated above his head: Priest Eldrin
[New NPC Discovered – Affiliated with Village: Oakrest Hollow][Reputation: Neutral (0)]
"You are not from this place," Eldrin said. His voice was deep, echoing unnaturally.
"No... I'm not," Logan replied honestly.
The priest stared into him.
"You walk with the Mark. The System recognizes you."
Logan blinked. "You know about the System?"
Eldrin nodded. "We are caught within its spiral, traveler. The world is... wrong. We are but remnants. The corrupted entities rise again. Herobrine's shadow thickens."
Logan's skin crawled at the name.
Eldrin stepped closer. "You have slain a Fragmented One. I see its essence on you."
Logan nodded slowly. "I'm supposed to find the bosses. Piece by piece."
"Then you must help us. This village was once a beacon of hope. Now... it crumbles. Aid us, and we shall aid you."
A quest prompt appeared.
[Village Quest: Restore Oakrest Hollow (0%)]Objectives: Build defenses, heal villagers, restore farms, craft supply crates (0/5)Reward: Reputation, Resources, and Tactical Info on Next Fragment Location
Logan accepted immediately.
He didn't know if this was the only way forward—but it was a way.
A purpose.
And for now, that was enough.