Ian rubbed his hands together, excitement gleaming in his eyes as he stared at the materials before him.
Four slime blocks, soft and bouncy like jelly; two observers with their redstone eyes flickering with intelligence; a single lever; one ordinary block; a sticky piston; and two gleaming Powered Rails made of pure gold.
"Hehe, rail-duplicating machine—here I come!"
(T/N: for those unfamiliar with the glitch: https://youtu.be/NsbBgwa_Shc?si=l6PfKQ6iq2V_gbDe)
Carefully following the image in his memory, he quickly assembled the rail duplicator.
He pulled the lever. The contraption began to hum and whir, and powered rails started spawning continuously!
"It worked!"
Ian knew well the value of powered rails—they were made entirely of gold, and each one consumed nearly a cubic meter of it!
In a world based on equivalent exchange, gold had a high EMC value. Now that he had the Transmutation Tablet, a powered-rail duplicator was basically a Pro Max money printer!
To boost efficiency, Ian extended the slime blocks—and sure enough, the output of powered rails increased accordingly. Following the same template, he copy-pasted the design again and again until dozens of duplicators floated in the sky.
Hours later, a colossal structure spanned nine entire chunks in the air. This wasn't an ordinary duplicator—it was the crystallization of Ian's genius: a Super Composite Rail-Duplicating System!
It included multiple duplicators, item transport modules, anti-mob mechanisms, disposable scaffolding (use once, then dismantle—no waste!), and a one-click switch extending below the device.
Standing beneath the massive machine, Ian felt like he was standing under a waterfall of gold. Every second, powered rails rained down like coins from heaven, only to be sold instantly to the Transmutation Tablet.
The EMC value on the tablet skyrocketed like a rocket launch, and Ian's heartbeat raced with it. He could almost see endless streams of Dark Matter blocks waving him forward.
It didn't take long for him to gather enough resources for a collector. He synthesized Dark Matter, sold it, withdrew it, crafted a Dark Matter Pedestal, sold that… repeating the process in a perfect, high-speed loop.
Before long, a brand-new collector appeared at the output end of the massive duplicator. It devoured the endless stream of powered rails like a greedy beast, converting them into oceans of EMC.
"Haha! Finally, the early-game prep is done!" Ian shouted in triumph.
Gazing at the roaring machine, he began planning his next step. Once he had more EMC, he'd build even more advanced collectors.
But first—he needed a key piece of equipment.
"The Ring of Swiftwolf's Rending Gale, the power of the storm! I can cosplay Yasuo—and it lets me fly!" Ian's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
This ring would allow him to be as free as the wind, soaring through the sky. Although The Ring of Swiftwolf's Rending Gale could only push away projectiles like arrows and snowballs in flight mode, for Ian, this was enough.
What mattered most was its flight ability.
As for the feathers needed to craft it—well, he had his Chicken to thank for that.
"How can a Skyblock survival game be played without flying." Ian grinned dreamily, already picturing himself gliding through the air.
Putting on the ring, Ian realized it wasn't that simple. The ability the ring gave him wasn't as bare-bones as the description. Now, he could clearly feel the presence of the wind and freely control the wind within a certain area around him.
It was an incredible sensation. With his eyes closed, the wind became an extension of his own body, a new set of senses. The discovery only made him more eager to try out other divine artifacts.
Now that he could fly, Ian decided to explore the surrounding sky islands. He'd been here so long—yet hadn't truly ventured beyond his starting island.
"Takeoff time!" Ian shouted, slipping on The Ring of Swiftwolf's Rending Gale. His chuunibyou spirit flared as he struck what he thought was a cool pose and yelled, "HASEGI!" (T/N: League of Legends reference!)
His body lifted gracefully into the air. Ecstatic, Ian spun and flipped midair like a bird learning to fly—curious about everything around him.
This ring freed him from the bounds of the starting island, letting him explore the boundless world beyond!
"Let's head up first!" he said, gazing toward the glowing sky. The sunlight warmed his face as he shot upward.
He accelerated, rising higher and higher, the air thinning with each meter.
"Whoa, why's the sun getting so blinding?" He squinted, feeling like he was about to be roasted alive.
He kept flying, but aside from the glaring light, there was nothing else above.
After a while, small air bubbles appeared around his vision. Though he didn't feel suffocated, Ian decided not to push further upward.
"Nothing up there… guess I'll check around the sides."
Adjusting direction, he flew toward the edge of the Skyblock world, darting through the void like a tireless bee searching for flowers.
After what felt like forever, the endless blue void made his eyes ache—until suddenly, a small black speck appeared ahead.
"Is that… a village?!" Ian rubbed his eyes in disbelief and rushed forward. Sure enough, a small village floated quietly in the sky.
There were houses, farms, even a well—but not a single villager in sight.
He landed and looked around. The homes were empty, though half-eaten cakes still sat on tables—as if their owners had just left moments ago.
This discovery proved one thing: this world wasn't limited to his tiny island. There were other lands out there!
"Looks like this world's way bigger than I thought!" Excitement flared in his eyes. He couldn't wait to explore more of the unknown.
"If there's nothing above or around… then let's check below."
Back on his starting island, Ian took a deep breath and began descending.
As he flew lower, the light dimmed and the air grew cold. It felt like he was plunging into an endless abyss, and a strange dread crept up his spine.
"What… what's going on down here? Why does it feel so creepy?" His voice trembled as he strained to see through the darkness.
Silence. Only endless blackness—and yet, if he listened closely, he could hear faint murmurs, countless whispers swirling chaotically, like the hushed madness of elder gods.
Within seconds, his chest tightened and his head throbbed painfully.
"Nope! Time to go back!"
He forced the ring to lift him upward, fleeing like his life depended on it. He burst back onto the Skyblock, gasping for air.
"Whew… that was terrifying! The void's no joke!" Ian clutched his chest, still shaken. The real void made him feel truly ill at ease.
He decided then and there—until he got invincible gear, he'd never explore the void again.
Still, thinking about how many hours had passed, he realized the rail duplicators must have produced an enormous amount of EMC by now.
(One real-world day is 24 hours. One MC game day is 20 minutes, so this is equivalent to the resources farmed over dozens of in-game days.)
That thought cheered him up immediately.
Shopping time.
"Crafting Table—activate."