Sky Island.
Gradually becoming familiar with his surroundings, Galen Yu tentatively reached out his hand toward the ground.
Touching the grass, a 'click' sound rang out.
The grass turned into debris and scattered across the ground, the block turning into bare earth.
If he continued to strike downward, cracks would appear on the grass block, deepening with every hit.
Whoosh!
A grass block was knocked loose, turning into a neat, scaled-down miniature model.
Picking it up, it was automatically placed into his inventory, granting him one grass block.
Aside from a bit of dirt on his hands, everything was exactly like the game!
"Upgrading a chunk isn't just about expansion; besides size, quality is equally important for the score."
Noticing the chunk score, Galen Yu analyzed the situation.
For many people, surviving on a Sky Island with only a single tree would be difficult, let alone expanding it.
It seemed like an impossible task.
However, the essence of Sky Island gameplay was to expand one's territory, so the rules suited him perfectly.
After finishing with the dirt, Galen Yu turned his attention to the bonus chest.
A bucket of lava and a block of ice; it was a very classic starting setup.
He took them out and temporarily placed them in his inventory.
"To get rich, you must first chop a tree!"
Great cities are built brick by brick, and a single tree was enough to start his development!
As for Soren Park nearby, Galen Yu had noticed him long ago.
Mushroom Island was worthless aside from some mushrooms and didn't require much attention.
His hands struck the trunk, the cracks growing wider until it quickly shattered into small blocks and was absorbed into his inventory.
It took longer than in the game; Galen Yu estimated it took about half a minute to obtain one log.
With five logs, it would take two and a half minutes to get them all.
Then he broke the leaves; from the whole tree, he obtained five logs, three saplings, and three apples.
Trees produce more trees; these saplings were the materials Galen Yu needed for development.
He performed everything skillfully, while outside the arena...
Many viewers from other countries flooded the bullet chat.
"This is the player you claim knows the game best? He's nothing special!"
"He actually chopped down his only source of food?"
"This is hilarious! Without the tree, is he going to survive on grass?"
"He couldn't be thinking of relying on planting trees for resources, could he?"
"Stupid! What an idiot!"
In everyone's eyes, the only thing Galen Yu could rely on was this tree.
Chopping it down was undoubtedly seeking his own death!
"Sigh!"
In the research institute, Headmaster Quill closed his eyes in despair.
Using trees to produce more trees was indeed a way to break through on a Sky Island, but the key issue was...
The growth cycle of a tree was too long!
Even though it didn't take decades or centuries like in reality, and a sapling could grow into logs relatively quickly...
It still required several days, or even over a dozen.
Could three apples last him ten days?
"Based on my experience, the Cube Civilization digitizes the human body, calculating hunger on a scale of ten bars."
"One apple can restore two bars; three apples can restore six."
Hunger depletes naturally over time. Once it's completely gone, health points begin to drop.
With ten hearts as well, once health drops to the third heart, the player falls into a weakened state, hindering movement and combat.
If they still don't eat at that point, their last half-heart will slowly drain away until they die completely.
"People who die cannot be resurrected. Three apples can last four days at most, and that's not even counting damage from monsters!"
Fries also looked grim.
To him, Galen Yu's methods seemed like draining the pond to catch the fish.
If he hadn't chopped the tree, he might have gotten a few more apples and lasted a few more days.
"We can't blame him; our luck was just too poor."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Fries knew the truth.
For a newcomer picked sixteenth, the ending was already set in stone.
Even for a veteran, it's hard to advance or leave with a high score without a good start.
As the scene fell into silence, Headmaster Quill opened his eyes as if he had seen something unbelievable.
His finger pointed tremblingly at the sky screen.
"Is that... a crafting table?"
"Galen Yu made a crafting table!"
...
"Log, wooden planks, and then the crafting table."
He opened his inventory.
A panel appeared, displaying character attributes and inventory items, with a four-slot crafting grid in the upper left corner.
Placing one log inside naturally allowed it to be broken down into four planks.
By placing four planks in a square, the crafting table was complete.
The process was incredibly practiced; within seconds, the crafting table was in Galen Yu's hands.
This was his first time seeing such a realistic crafting table with his own eyes.
It was similar to the game—brownish-yellow all over, with a nine-slot grid on top and symbols of work, a hammer and a saw, on the sides.
When it needed to be used, items could be placed in the top nine slots for crafting.
He casually placed the crafting table down, then broke planks into sticks to craft a wooden pickaxe.
This reaction, almost etched into his instincts, surprised all the viewers.
"With only one tree at the start, where did that crafting table come from?"
"There were no chests, no anything else!"
"Does that mean Galen Yu crafted it by hand?"
"Huh? Wasn't this item provided by the Cube Civilization? It can be made by yourself?"
"What were the raw materials? Wood?"
"Unbelievable!"
It was common knowledge.
Every player comes with a four-slot crafting grid, but most key items require nine.
Only a crafting table can complete the corresponding manufacturing.
In previous civilizations, either a crafting table wasn't needed, or it was found in villages, so there was no need to look for one specifically.
As a result, they had gradually forgotten this key item, and no one had ever researched how to make one.
It was only when Galen Yu produced it that they remembered.
Most starting chunks don't have a crafting table!
Among the chosen players, Galen Yu might very well be the only one!
"What? A crafting table!"
The most surprised of all was Soren Park.
He had just been feeling depressed because he couldn't make mushroom stew without a crafting table, and in the blink of an eye, the item was in Galen Yu's hands?
As a veteran player, he knew very well.
The crafting table is one of the most important items in the game!
Any raw material requires a crafting table for processing; the four slots players carry seem like a lot, but their uses are actually very limited.
It could be said that without a crafting table, there's no way to continue developing.
"This item is extremely important; it's absolutely impossible for it to be built!"
"It must have come with the chunk. Didn't he just open a chest? Yes, that must be it!"
Snapping out of his daze, Soren Park quickly rationalized it.
Since Sky Island resources are limited, it would be perfectly normal to reward him with an extra crafting table in his inventory!
Following Soren Park's logic, the viewers from Stick Nation voiced their agreement.
"True, I've never seen anyone make a crafting table before!"
"A few pieces of wood are worth nothing; how could they have such a huge effect!"
"Even if he got an extra crafting table, it's completely useless to Galen Yu!"
"He's a newbie; how many tool blueprints could he possibly know?"
"Even if he knows a few, can he really turn the world upside down with a few sticks?"
"Exactly! Such a good item is being completely wasted; it should have been given to our Smida!"
"It's a pity we don't have the block; otherwise, that crafting table would be ours right now!"
"Hearing the name of our Stick Nation, wouldn't the Nine Provinces be scared witless?"
"Hahaha!"
After the brief surprise, everyone accepted Soren Park's explanation.
On a resource-scarce Sky Island, so what if he has a crafting table?
Can a single tree really turn the tide? Victory will belong to them in the end!