Gate! Fortress! Key!
Swallowing his saliva, Yamamoto's expression changed instantly.
Obsidian. He knew this block.
It was once thought to be some kind of powerful resource, but after research... this thing couldn't be made into any equipment or tools, nor could it be broken down for crafting. It was like a hard stone existing in nature, just for decoration.
Therefore, it was called one of the most useless blocks!
But just now, Yamamoto had discovered a secret that no one else knew!
"Thank goodness for the Hunter's Bloodline!"
The Hunter's Bloodline was something he obtained in the Hunter Civilization by killing the hunter who had adopted him.
Although that hunter had granted his every request upon entering the civilization, treating him like a real son... in Yamamoto's eyes, he was just an NPC, whose entire purpose was to be killed by him to seize his ability.
Just like now. If it weren't for that old man, how could he have activated the reconnaissance ability within his Hunter's Bloodline? The one that had a small chance to reveal a usage path on top of a block?
"In other words, obsidian is actually related to a 'gate,' and it's a 'key' related to a 'fortress' that opens a mysterious area!"
He had obtained this information using his Hunter's Bloodline. This meant... besides him, no one else knew obsidian's true purpose!
This... was an opportunity belonging exclusively to Yamamoto!
"Using this chance, it might even be possible to surpass Liberty Nation and become number one in the world!"
Fantasizing about the scene of himself reigning supreme, Yamamoto couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But, while he knew this now, there wasn't enough time for him to research the obsidian any further.
Dusk fell.
The sky gradually dimmed. The monsters' carnival was about to begin.
Night had fallen!
...
"It's nighttime!"
"Based on experience, monsters are guaranteed to spawn every night!"
"Those terrifying zombies and skeletons are about to appear!"
"Can the contestants handle them?"
Throughout the day, the contestants had been preparing almost entirely for the night. Those with blocks built houses; those without blocks made weapons.
In the tense atmosphere, *pop!*
The first zombie spawned on the most spacious area, Pumpkin Island.
"Urrgh~"
A low growl sounded. In everyone's line of sight, the zombie appeared, wearing a blue shirt and blue pants, its body green and its skin rotting.
"Jett, prepare for battle!"
Armed only with the two wooden axes they found in the chest, Mark grabbed his weapon and was the first to attack the zombie.
A crimson red glow faintly appeared in Mark's hand, extra conspicuous in the night.
He smashed it down hard on the zombie's head. *Smack!*
[-9!]
Axe damage was different in each version. In the Cube Civilization, a normal wooden axe dealt seven points of damage per hit. Mark had cleared the Warrior Civilization and received the Warrior's Blessing. Every time he dealt damage, it would be slightly amplified.
"Urgh?"
Taking damage, the zombie turned its head sluggishly, but Mark had already jumped back two blocks, reaching a safe distance.
The wooden axe's attack speed was low. Seizing the gap, Jett attacked.
[-9!]
[-9!]
Two instances of damage popped up. The zombie, which only had twenty health points, died instantly.
Insta-kill!
After the zombie fell, a voice sounded.
[Night has fallen. All players, please be aware!]
[This is the Block Civilization's first test for you. Successfully survive until tomorrow, and you will officially earn the right to survive in this civilization!]
[Struggle to live, or pick up your weapons and kill those invaders!]
[Player Ranking]
[First Place: Liberty Nation, Zombies Killed * 1.]
"Jett was right! The night *is* the test!"
"A whole day has passed, and the test is only formally beginning now!"
"A large-scale civilization... even the entry requirements are this harsh!"
"Those zombies are terrifying! Just looking at them is scary, and they have to fight them!"
"This has a ranking too? Could it be related to passing the test?"
"I bet it definitely is!"
An uproar spread among the global audience.
Previous civilizations started the test right at the beginning or just threw them straight into the civilization.
But this large-scale civilization not only had a test, but it also gave them an entire day to prepare.
This meant... the night would be extremely difficult!
"Thank goodness we built the cobble generator and had enough time to build the house!"
At the research institute, Director kay said, relieved.
Having a house provided some security, and it was even built of stone, making it more stable than others' dirt houses.
The ranking might not be that high, but at least they could safely get through this danger.
In this game, dying in the Cube Civilization meant you were really dead. There was no "respawn" option.
Only by staying alive was there hope!
"Yes, Lexon is very smart. He knew resources were insufficient and used stone slabs to make the path!" Fries praised him generously.
Even he hadn't thought of using slabs to pave the road to save materials, but Lexon had.
Fries secretly noted this detail, so he could use it in the future if he was chosen in a resource-scarce situation.
"However, the food problem is ultimately a critical weakness." As he spoke, Director kay frowned.
Fatigue was also linked to saturation. Lying still consumed saturation the slowest.
This was why most contestants chose to lie flat during the day; they had to save more stamina and saturation for the night.
After a full day of building, Lexon had just eaten his last apple. He had no food left.
Without food, whether he could last the entire night was still a question.
"Hiding in the house without moving, lying down for a night... the saturation drain shouldn't be too much... huh?"
Fries was pondering the saturation problem when he looked up again and made a startling discovery.
He had clearly finished building the house, but Lexon didn't go inside!
Instead, he had sealed it up tightly, leaving only a half-block space to see inside!
What was he doing now?
Deep confusion filled the eyes of Director kay and Fries.
"Get in the house! It's already night!"
"Over on Mark's side, they've already killed the second zombie. Monsters should be spawning any second!"
"Liberty Nation has a lot of food stored up, but Lexon has nothing left!"
"Trading blows with those monsters is extremely unwise. Hiding is the best choice right now!"
"Why is he still on the skyblock?"
Seeing more and more monsters spawn from the other contestants' perspectives, the Jiuzhou audience broke out in a cold sweat for Lexon.
The skyblock was so small. If a monster spawned behind him, it would knock Lexon into the void, to a point of no return!
On the skyblock, Lexon didn't care about this at all.
Back when he was building the path, he had also removed all the dirt on the skyblock, leaving only the blocks for planting saplings. The rest were replaced with half-slabs.
The spawning mechanic in Minecraft only works on full blocks that are in darkness, outside the player's view, and unobstructed.
The Cube Civilization just added a few mods; it definitely wouldn't violate these basic principles.
The grass blocks were occupied by saplings. He was very safe right now.
Taking out his pickaxe, Lexon tentatively struck the stone in the cobble generator.
As before, cracks spread with each hit, and it finally broke into a mini-model and was sucked into his inventory.
But compared to before, Lexon no longer felt any pain or fatigue, only an inexhaustible strength.
Hand of Steve!
This was the extra reward triggered by creating the cobble generator.
Possessing this reward, Lexon's hands had truly become identical to the game.
No fear of pain, no fatigue, and indestructible!
If he had enough patience, he could even break an entire block of obsidian with his bare hands!
Feeling the strength in his arms, Lexon was very satisfied.
"To get the full Steve physique, I'll probably have to keep exploring."
"Whatever. I'll go check the mob farm first. It's this late, something should have spawned by now."
"Rex, here I come!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going..... patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]