Lava was boiling hot when first seen.
Experts of all nations were studying it with all their might, trying to crack its secrets.
It is a recognized fact that the more dangerous a thing is, the more valuable it tends to be.
But the lava in the Block Civilization was not like that at all.
Even with global experts researching and countless players risking their lives, there was only one result in the end.
It could be placed in an iron bucket and it destroyed any resources thrown into it.
Some people once imagined it might be like a wishing well, where throwing in precious items would grant something in return.
The results were disappointing; even if ores were thrown in, they sank without leaving a single ripple.
Faced with lava, global experts reached only one conclusion.
Aside from consuming resources, it is completely useless!
Players who touch it also suffer a burning effect, losing health continuously, making it one of the most dangerous things in the block world.
When seeing Galen Yu place lava on the Sky Island, no one understood what he meant.
Once the lava spreads, isn't that just suicide?
Until, the water from the ice was placed on the wooden stairs.
Whoosh!
Water and fire met, and after steam rose, a block of stone was generated in the middle.
Cobblestone!
The foundational mineral of the block world!
Seeing Galen Yu create new resources from nothing on the Sky Island, the audience was stunned.
"Wait, what did I just see?"
"It's cobblestone! It's really cobblestone!"
"Weren't there only grass blocks on Sky Island? Where did the stone come from?!"
"Lava? Water? Evaporation synthesis?"
"Holy crap!"
Unaware of the situation outside, Galen Yu used a wooden pickaxe to break three blocks of cobblestone and immediately threw the pickaxe into the lava to destroy it.
Splash!
The brand-new wooden pickaxe, used only three times, disappeared, replaced by the opening of a crafting table.
[STONE AGE!]
In his hand was a more powerful stone pickaxe!
Soren Park, who had just been mocking him, was dumbfounded.
After all his effort, he had only gathered a few mushrooms; he hadn't seen even a hair of a crafting table.
Yet Galen Yu, born on a Sky Island with the poorest resources, had already crafted a stone pickaxe?
That's a stone pickaxe!
Someone as strong as Soren Park had spent three days in the previous civilization just to gather enough resources to craft his first wooden pickaxe.
He didn't even dare use it much, and now Galen Yu just threw it away like it was nothing?
"What a waste!"
Soren Park wished he could jump into the lava to retrieve that wooden pickaxe.
It could mine, it could serve as a weapon to increase attack power—it was practically a divine tool for early development!
But knowing lava melts resources instantly and once something is thrown in, it's gone forever, Soren Park could only feel deep jealousy in his heart.
"Lava and water can form cobblestone; you just got lucky by happening to know that!"
"You only have one bucket of lava and one ice block. Making a stone pickaxe is fine, but can you really produce stone continuously?"
In his view, water and fire were inherently related.
Galen Yu must have been lucky to figure this out and mine stone to make a stone pickaxe.
Every weapon and piece of equipment has durability, and the stone pickaxe is no exception.
Once the stone pickaxe breaks, he will regret his action of throwing away the wooden one!
"Exactly, Galen Yu is just too lucky!"
"If it were our player, they'd definitely do better!"
"We're just a bit short on luck!"
"Hmph, do you really think you're invincible just because you made a stone pickaxe?"
"If you don't cherish your weapons, you'll have your moment of regret!"
Facing the obviously bitter comments, the Nine Provinces audience finally laughed.
"Someone's getting anxious, I won't say who."
"So sour! Is it jealousy? Why is it so sour?"
"A stone pickaxe really isn't much, but your players don't even have a wooden pickaxe yet."
"Just throwing away a wooden pickaxe makes you lose your minds? What can you do about it?"
"Surely no one is still without a stone pickaxe, right? Surely?"
"Satisfying! Hahaha!"
Headmaster Quill's furrowed brows relaxed.
He had been annoyed by the snide comments in the chat for a long time; now he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"I remember, in a PVP civilization, an Indus player accidentally discovered that water meeting lava could form cobblestone."
"I didn't expect such a detailed point to be remembered. Galen Yu is a good kid!"
Headmaster Quill showed a rare smile.
With a stone pickaxe, throwing away the wooden one didn't matter much.
Although the chunk score wasn't high yet, the equipment development had already surpassed many people!
"Yes, this design is ingenious."
After observing for a long time, Fries gave his opinion.
"Knowing that water and lava spread, he used non-combustible dirt to contain them for cobblestone production."
"Especially those wooden stairs; it's absolutely brilliant!"
Water spreads faster than lava; if he had just dug five blocks..."
"It would be very easy for the water to flood the lava, making it a one-time use."
"But adding the wooden stairs completely cut off this problem, allowing it to produce cobblestone continuously."
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have thought lava could be used this way!"
Fries was simply amazed!
"We might still have hope!"
With an endless supply of stone, he could expand the Sky Island and build his own house.
Hiding in a room, the monsters that appear at night would no longer be able to hurt Galen Yu in the slightest!
He just needs to solve the food problem and keep accumulating cobblestone; he might just advance to a medium-sized chunk!
But it wasn't like what they imagined.
Everyone knew monsters would spawn at night, yet Galen Yu wasn't building his house yet.
"Need to hurry before night falls."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Galen Yu let out a long breath.
Coming to the Block Civilization, he hadn't inherited a constitution like Steve's.
Being hit would cause injury, and working would cause fatigue.
After mining a stack of cobblestone, he had already eaten two apples to restore four hunger bars.
Choosing a direction, Galen Yu decided to build a small path first.
He didn't use full blocks to build, but instead crafted the cobblestone into stone slabs—half-blocks.
Placing three stones horizontally yields six stone slabs.
Not only does it save blocks, but he also knew that the monster spawning mechanism only works on full blocks.
Slabs are only half a block, so monsters won't spawn.
Standing on them allows for normal walking, and the surface area is the same as regular stone.
Using this mechanism, he could ensure the safety of the path without worrying about monsters sneaking up from behind.
Extending it far enough, Galen Yu began building on the spot.
Two blocks high, six blocks wide—a square, roofed stone hut appeared.
He specifically used stone slabs at the bottom of the house, leaving a 1.5-block observation gap.
Then he surrounded the stone hut with a ring of stone slabs.
"Perfect!"
He was very satisfied with his work.
With this little house, he would fear no monster!
At the same time, his chunk score changed based on his construction.
[BUILT COBBLESTONE GENERATOR, SIMPLE MOB SPAWNING PLATFORM ON SKY ISLAND.]
[CURRENT COMPREHENSIVE CHUNK SCORE: 5 (MINI CHUNK)]
[PLAYER RANKING: 1]
He officially reached first place!
On Pumpkin Island, Mark and Jett were discussing how to survive the night.
Suddenly, the rankings shifted, and the first place they thought they held securely dropped.
"What? How is that possible!"