Claiming land meant marking out your territory. Other players couldn't touch anything within the claim, or even break its blocks.
But Mercer hadn't remembered to claim the land before logging out. He hadn't even hidden his things, simply leaving them in a cave.
With so many players around, someone was bound to find that mine.
"Great. After leaving everything there for so long, it'll all have been looted by now."
Mercer drained an entire cup of tea with a bitter expression, then told the golden cocoon of light beside him, "I'll be gone for a little while. Keep going."
"Mm." The golden cocoon of light had no objections.
Mercer immediately entered the Infinite Realm. In the blink of an eye, the sight before him left him stunned.
All his belongings were still there, sitting perfectly intact in their original spots, but the surroundings... had undergone an earth-shattering transformation!
"Holy fucking shit, what's going on here?"
Mercer surveyed his surroundings. The little stone mine, originally only four blocks high, was now dozens of blocks tall and had been built into something resembling a grand hall.
His things sat in the middle of the hall, and even the Nether portal beside them had been lavishly decorated.
Using nothing but materials from the Overworld, they'd decorated the place like professional state designers. Apparently, players with a strong sense of aesthetics could thrive anywhere.
"But how did this happen? Who did this?" Mercer looked around in confusion.
The area was empty, with no one in sight. Mercer opened the world chat. It was much more normal now. Although people still occasionally asked how to play, there were even more people answering their questions.
Then he noticed that some players had already formed gaming guilds.
Since this game placed such a strong emphasis on survival,