"Grandmaster Galen Yu, look at the others before you say that!"
"Others have exhausted themselves just to kill their fourth boss, and you're still not satisfied?"
"If killing eight bosses in ten days is slow, then what does that make Soren Park?"
"Forget about bosses; he's been alive for twenty or thirty days and hasn't even killed a few zombies."
"You could say he's become a lover of peace in the block world."
"To put it nicely, he's a pacifist. To put it bluntly, he just can't win a fight!"
"Pfft, Soren Park has been reduced to a unit of measurement..."
""
Amidst the laughter, the second crisis arrived.
"So it's standard for it to happen every ten days?"
Headmaster Quill watched intently, recording the data.
Last time, only the zombies' health and attack power evolved. What new content would there be this time?
Back on the sky island, the horizon was just beginning to turn white when Galen Yu heard a notification.
[CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PLAYERS WHO SURVIVED UNTIL DAY 20. EACH PLAYER'S CHUNK SCORE +5.]
[THE SECOND CRISIS HAS BEGUN. THE ZOMBIES SEEM TO HAVE UNDERGONE FURTHER CHANGES.]
[THEY NOW POSSESS A CERTAIN RESISTANCE TO DAMAGE AND HAVE BECOME MORE AGILE.]
[A SMALL PORTION OF THEM HAVE AWAKENED SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONS.]
[THE VIRUS HAS SPREAD TO SKELETONS. IT SEEMS SOMETHING HAS BEEN ADDED TO THEIR ARROWS...]
"..."
[IN THE FACE OF IRRESISTIBLE NATURAL LAWS, ONLY BY STRENGTHENING ONESELF CAN YOU SURVIVE!]
There were more warnings than the first time.
The final sentence even took the rare step of reminding the contestants to focus on improving their strength.
"Overall, their defense is stronger, and their speed seems to have increased as well."
Headmaster Quill nodded and wrote down all the prompts.
The earlier parts were easy to understand—attack speed, health—but the later parts were different.
What were these special constitutions? What exactly was on the skeletons' arrows? These questions remained to be answered.
It was impossible to draw a conclusion based solely on speculation.
Greeting the rising sun, Galen Yu stretched his limbs.
"I'm finally back!"
He actually had some theories regarding the later stages of evolution.
It would likely involve those few specific traits; he'd have to see how things played out.
What shocked him more, however, was the state of the sky island.
"Where the hell am I? Is this still a sky island?"
In the short time he had been away, the island had completely transformed.
A towering stone wall first met his eyes, followed by several colorful, brilliantly beautiful trees.
Rainbow Trees!
A specialty of the Enchanted Forest, they had entered the chunk as a reward during the first Blood Moon.
They had replaced the previous location of the mob grinder, forming a beautiful landscape alongside copper blocks, Aurora Blocks, and Runic Bricks.
These blocks were serving their purpose as architectural decorations, having been fashioned into various structures.
There were small rooms, farms, wells, warehouses...
It was no longer just a sky island; it was a luxury manor in the sky!
"Hmph, hmph!"
Upon seeing Galen Yu, an Armorer wearing a half-mask let out a happy grunt.
It seemed to be expressing respect or perhaps just a greeting.
Galen Yu went to wave back, but halfway through, he immediately drew his Fiery Sword.
The crimson greatsword was held firmly in his hand, radiating a warm heat from its blade.
"The Snow Queen? How is there a boss in my chunk!"
Guessing it might be related to the random block resources from last time, Galen Yu's mind instantly raced with ways to dodge and kill it.
But he quickly lowered his sword.
There was a small line of text above the Snow Queen's head.
[YOUR SERVANT: SNOW QUEEN.]
'Huh?'
'When did I take a boss as a servant?'
Witnessing this, the audience couldn't take it anymore.
"She really became Galen Yu's subordinate!"
"The view from the Stick Nation's perspective was blurry, so I didn't believe it. I thought the Architect had killed her!"
"Looking at it now, I was right back then—she was captured!"
"Think about it, the prompt at the time said 'defeated' rather than 'killed.' There's a fundamental difference..."
""
"I've finally been waiting for this scene. Even the great Galen Yu can be surprised!"
"A female character, beautiful, and a servant. Dammit!"
"I can't stand it. I've never envied Galen Yu more than right now!"
"If I were given a goddess-tier servant like the Snow Queen and allowed to eat and drink the best every day while living in a luxury mansion and driving a fancy car, I'd be willing too!"
"So you don't want to suffer even a bit of hardship, huh?"
In the block world, villagers generally looked the same.
At most, they had a few iconic tools based on their profession, but their overall appearance was largely identical.
NPCs were rare, and female NPCs were even rarer.
The Snow Queen had long purple hair and skin as white as snow, modeled after a fairy-tale ice princess.
In the block world, she could certainly be considered a beauty.
Most people hadn't even touched a girl's hand in real life, and the other contestants were struggling just to survive.
Yet here was Galen Yu, already having a female servant.
It was hard not to be envious!
While he was dazed, Galen Yu finally received a notification regarding the change in the Great Wall's status.
"A Soul Contract? *Hiss!*"
It was a forced imprisonment, regardless of whether the other party agreed or not!
He hadn't expected such a thing to evolve. No wonder they had suddenly secured the first clear.
"My heroic Sovereign, you have finally returned!"
Hearing a voice, the Architect hurried over to pay his respects.
"Please forgive me for taking the initiative to dismantle your great buildings and for making the contract without your permission."
As the Chunk Lord, Galen Yu should have been the one making these decisions.
Having overstepped his bounds, the Architect knelt, prepared for punishment.
"I did indeed leave you in full charge of the sky island before I left."
After a moment of silence, Galen Yu looked at the Architect and then at the Snow Queen.
If he had known about such a thing, he would have certainly wanted to contract a boss to serve as a mage atop the glaciers.
The Snow Queen was indeed an excellent choice.
"You did well."
Without the Architect, there would be no Great Wall, let alone a contract. There was no way he could blame him.
Receiving forgiveness, the Architect's face lit up as he stood.
"Oh, merciful King, thank you for your tolerance!"
Heart icons appeared, proving that the Architect's favorability had increased; his gratitude was genuine.
'He does so much for me, doesn't lose favorability, and it even goes up with a few compliments?'
Galen Yu liked the Architect more and more. Who wouldn't want such a good servant!
"By the way, where did that diamond armor you're wearing come from?"
Noticing the equipment on the Architect, Galen Yu asked.
He didn't remember having that many diamonds or giving out diamond gear.
"The Armorer made it, of course."
As the process was briefly explained, the smile on Galen Yu's face became almost impossible to suppress.
Only now did he realize how important it was to have NPCs in his chunk!
Like capable ministers, he only needed to be the emperor while others naturally handled everything else!
Even equipment could be traded and crafted using emeralds on their own. It was so worry-free!
After settling these matters, he noticed a building that was much larger than the others.
Located at the edge of the sky island, there were no other buildings nearby, and the Guard Villagers would nervously draw their weapons whenever they passed by.
According to the Architect, this building had appeared suddenly one day, and there seemed to be some powerful creature inside.
However, since they could feel a faint connection between it and the sky island, they simply left it alone.
"We tried to mine those blocks, but they couldn't be broken with an ordinary pickaxe."
Nodding to show he understood, Galen Yu attempted to approach the building.
Simultaneously, sensing someone's arrival, a figure from inside poked its head out.
Two identical heads, one large and one small, bumped into each other as they peeked out, their eyes meeting his.
""
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