Isekai Online Game Developer

“Whoa…”

“That’s a really… big tree.”

“That’s a super big tree, indeed.”

“Uh, super big tree…”

Rikal, Elia, Hina, and I were craning our necks, looking up in awe.

What stood before us was literally an ‘enormously’ huge tree.

We were in the ‘Minecraft’ world created by the elves.

The elf who made a bet with Sekeunna constructed the World Tree as a building.

“It looks like it’s several times bigger than the original World Tree, right? It nearly fills our field of vision.”

“Hmm… Looks like the elves really put their teeth into this one.”

“Considering how obnoxious Sekeunna is, he probably really wanted to win…”

Right now, we were sightseeing the two worlds to vote on the elf vs. Sekeunna bet.

Not just us, but tons of users were exploring every nook and cranny of each world.

The elf vs. Sekeunna bet had become such a hot topic that the number of users had skyrocketed.

Plus, it seemed that people had figured out how to play ‘Minecraft.’

“It’s… not fun.”

After wandering around the tree, Hina spoke up.

It was true that the number of users entering the elves’ world was gradually decreasing.

The elves had built a gigantic tree, but there was nothing else to enjoy.

If only they had built a city in the tree or something; it might have been more fun, but the elves seemed unable to pull that off.

“Shall we go see Sekeunna’s structures instead?”

“Yeah!”

“Sure!”

“Let’s do that.”

I opened the public map list and moved to Sekeunna’s world.

The avatars of the three following closely behind me looked kind of funny.

The reason we ended up exploring together was pretty simple.

Initially, Hina and I were supposed to go sightseeing together, but Elia, who happened to be logged in, tagged along.

Then Rikal probably saw that from the royal palace and logged on too.

Recently, they had been busy at the royal palace, so they hadn’t come to the Illusion Tower often.

Since we hadn’t seen each other for a while in the game, the two of them unleashed a flurry of stories they hadn’t been able to tell.

It was just like Elia to do that, but Rikal’s strangely friendly demeanor was making me feel uneasy.

“Whoa…!”

“Wow… Are you saying a person made that?”

“Wow, hahaha…”

“Impressive…”

Sekeunna’s world had a lot more people in it.

We slowly approached the structures created by Sekeunna.

They were positioned between gigantic cliffs.

[This structure is made from wood obtained by chopping down a massive tree.]

A sign at the entrance of the structure read that.

“It seems like he intentionally wrote that to mock the elves. After all, materials are unlimited in creative mode.”

“That’s hilarious.”

“Snicker…”

Elia and Hina were having a great time.

Hina especially seemed to love it, probably since it hit her funny bone just right.

We headed towards a gigantic hourglass situated between the cliffs.

“Wow… Seeing it up close makes it even more amazing.”

“Did they really express every single speck of falling sand? It looks just like it’s actually falling.”

“This is… really remarkable.”

Having seen Sekeunna’s construction, we were left speechless.

What Sekeunna made was a gigantic ‘hourglass.’

It was wedged awkwardly between cliffs that looked like they were at least over 100 meters high.

It looked as if a giant had randomly dropped an hourglass into the chasm.

“The sand flowing down looks like the World Tree.”

“It seems to depict the World Tree turning into sand and scattering.”

“It’s incredible creativity and beauty. I wish we had such architects among us.”

The upper section of the hourglass contained the World Tree, and as it went lower, the blocks transformed into grains of sand and fell into the lower chamber.

They had placed sand blocks in just the right spots between the upper and lower sections.

From a distance, it looked as if sand was genuinely trickling down.

And atop the hourglass was a tiny house, which had a pathway cleverly placed with blocks from the bottom up, allowing access to the top of the hourglass.

You could fly in creative mode, but climbing up without flying seemed thrilling and a tad scary.

Users who actually came to see it were climbing the hourglass and the cliffs instead of flying.

We followed suit and started the climb.

“This is beautiful.”

“It’s stunning.”

“Whoa, it’s cool.”

The climbing path was nothing short of magnificent.

Now that I looked more closely, it seemed like the natural scenery of the surrounding cliffs had been worked on as well.

After finishing our sightseeing, we wrote our names in Sekeunna’s guestbook without hesitation.

Thus, the battle between Sekeunna and the elves ended with Sekeunna’s clear victory.

*

“No way…”

“This can’t be…”

“Ugh, ugh… Mother…!”

After the betting period ended in Sekeunna’s world, the results were in, and the elves and Sekeunna had gathered there.

In the aftermath of Sekeunna’s complete victory, the elves were in disbelief and unable to process the situation.

Sekeunna laughed at the sight of them.

“See? The World Tree is just a big tree. Hurry up and tell everyone to acknowledge that fact.”

“That’s… impossible.”

According to the terms of the bet, the elves had to acknowledge that the World Tree was just a big tree to the whole world.

Needless to say, the elves couldn’t bring themselves to do that.

The character of the seated elf queen muttered wearily.

“So the noble elves won’t keep their promises, huh? Acting so high and mighty…”

“But…!”

Of course, the elves couldn’t do that.

For the elves, the World Tree was more than just a parent or idol.

Though humans might joke about the World Tree being just a big tree, the elves were aware of its true significance.

You don’t curse a god in front of the Pope, after all.

So, most wouldn’t directly insult the World Tree or the elves themselves.

It’s likely that the elves would never verbally disrespect the World Tree.

“Seriously… those filthy elves…”

In a sense, Sekeunna wasn’t right in the head either.

It didn’t quite make sense to harbor such overt hostility towards the elves and the World Tree.

However, if I considered Sekeunna’s identity as a Dark Elf, it might make sense.

There were major disputes between elves and Dark Elves, to the point where wars erupted.

I had recently heard about their circumstances from Hina.

“This is unfair! You chose something that’s beneficial to you as the bet criteria in the first place…”

“What are you talking about? They accepted it just fine. Are the noble elves trying to change their tune now?”

“Kugh…”

The elves turned to me with pleading eyes.

As Sekeunna mentioned, the elves were noble beings. They couldn’t stoop to breaking their promises.

Yet, they couldn’t just point fingers at Sekeunna’s constructions either.

Having seen Sekeunna’s creations, they were all overwhelmed by them.

“…How about this? Let’s have a rematch with a different criteria. If you win this time, the elves will acknowledge it, but if you lose, we’ll pretend this never happened. It’s true that the match was unfairly easy for Sekeunna after all.”

I spoke up to help the elves.

I understood how meaningful the World Tree was to them.

After all, even if the bet ended this way, the elves would never claim that the World Tree is just a big tree.

If we did the bet in survival mode, they would learn more about ‘Minecraft’ elements.

“…Fine then. I knew the elves were going to react this way anyway. No matter what happens, you can’t outdo me. Filthy elves.”

Surprisingly, Sekeunna readily accepted the conditions.

In fact, from Sekeunna’s perspective, he didn’t need to hold another bet.

I couldn’t figure out what Sekeunna was thinking.

Upon hearing those words, the elves’ expressions brightened a bit.

“Alright. Then let’s compete this time in survival mode, which is the foundation of ‘Minecraft.’ We’ll start in the same world, and the first one to defeat the Ender Dragon wins.”

I announced the topic of the match I had been thinking about.

When it comes to ‘Minecraft’, dragon hunting is a given.

Later on, stronger monsters were added, but the Ender Dragon is nearly the final boss.

“The Ender Dragon?”

“Yeah. While it hasn’t been revealed yet, there are several dimensions in ‘Minecraft.’ And when you traverse dimensions, you can encounter a very powerful monster called the ‘Ender Dragon.’ The first one to defeat it wins. Of course, you’ll need significant preparation.”

“How do we traverse dimensions?”

An elf lacking information asked.

While they’d figure it out while adventuring through the ‘Minecraft’ world, I still decided to give them a hint.

“There’s always an ‘Ender Ruins’ somewhere in the map of ‘Minecraft’ survival mode. Seek out those ruins, and you’ll find all the answers.”

The world of ‘Minecraft’ is filled with so many elements.

Ancient cities underground, ocean ruins, trials, and various villages.

Considering dimensions like the Nether and End, the adventures in ‘Minecraft’ truly seem limitless.

And the users still didn’t know about many of them.

I hoped that through this bet, such elements would be widely recognized.

“Alright. But this time, I’m bringing my friends along. In a match like this, it’s unfair for just me to compete alone.”

Sekeunna’s words found agreement among the elves.

The friends he spoke of were probably Dark Elves.

In terms of just construction, Dark Elves would certainly have the upper hand.

However, when considering survival, combat with various monsters, and exploration, the outcome was uncertain.

It requires a ton of preparation to defeat the Ender Dragon.

Even contemplating reaching that level would involve tremendous adventures ahead.

“And I’d be grateful if you could share any discovered information or progress about ‘Minecraft’ as you explore. It’ll help many users enjoy the world of ‘Minecraft’ even more.”

The next day, the Dark Elves and the elves opened the competition map.

“Um, is this really okay? If the elves lose again…”

“It’s fine. I’ve made some adjustments to the map’s system.”

“Uh, really?”

“Yeah, they should get along with each other.”

I had set up a few devices for the Dark Elves and the elves.

Neither race was aware of this as they diligently began their exploration to defeat the Ender Dragon.