"A weapon stronger than gold gear!"
"Oh my god, Yamamoto-kun even found a Diamond Pickaxe!"
"Those deep-blue minerals are actually so valuable?"
"It can even mine obsidian!"
"We're taking off! Our Samurai Nation is really going to be invincible now!"
Even high-level players like Fries had only ever gotten their hands on gold boots.
Diamonds were hidden in the deepest parts of the mines. They were scarce and incredibly valuable, so people rarely ever saw them.
The audience was seeing a player use one for the first time.
He had already uncovered the secret of obsidian and used Flint and Steel to light the Mysterious Door.
And now he had the strongest pickaxe, too!
How could anyone not feel confident?
He opened the rankings, and a line of small text appeared.
[Current Block Score: 6 (Micro Block)] [Player Rank: 2]
They had been tied with the Free Nation at four points, but the obsidian portal had earned them two more.
Six points put them ahead of the Free Nation and in second place, behind only Gu Yu!
"If Jiuzhou doesn't get an extra block-score reward, then we're in first place now!"
He looked at the deep-blue pickaxe in his hand and the dark, eerie gate before him, its surface faintly shimmering with motes of light.
Yamamoto Rokuko took a deep breath and opened his inventory.
"Food, pickaxe, Iron Sword..."
The oppressive feeling before the gate was immense. After making sure he had brought everything he needed, he stepped forward and entered.
Eerie streams of light gradually filled his vision.
The world spun around him before fading into darkness. The familiar sensation of weightlessness washed over him.
When he opened his eyes again, the arena's announcements rang out.
[Entered the Nether] [Congratulations to Samurai Nation player Yamamoto Rokuko for unlocking a new dimension!] [Block Score increased by 1!] [First to enter the Nether—bonus reward activated: Withering Body.] [Wither effect reduced by half and cannot be fatal. Hunger decreases more slowly.] [National Fortune Reward: Samurai Nation's nutrient intake increased by 10%!]
The moment the announcement sounded,
Sato Taishi had just finished lunch. His stomach, which had been eight-tenths full, suddenly felt even fuller.
He was now nine-tenths full!
Rubbing his belly, Sato Taishi looked a little dazed.
It wasn't that the National Fortune Reward was completely useless—it was just not very useful.
People in the Samurai Nation already had small appetites. An extra 10% nutrient intake was like eating a few fewer bites of rice.
It didn't make much of a difference.
Even so, Sato Taishi was still very happy.
"Yamamoto-kun did great! He discovered a whole new dimension that nobody had ever found before!"
The Nether sounded like something extraordinary.
Anything that could trigger a National Fortune Reward was immensely valuable. And this was an entire new dimension—no different from discovering a new continent!
A new region meant new resources and new equipment.
As the first person to arrive, Yamamoto Rokuko was sure to reap all the benefits!
"It's a National Fortune Reward! We triggered one too!"
"Stone Generators are impressive? We discovered the Nether!"
"Wither effect? I've never heard of that status before."
"Who cares? The reward has to be useful. Jiuzhou, you're as good as dead!"
"When Yamamoto-kun gets back, he'll take first place and deal with Gu Yu!"
The reward only confirmed how valuable the Mysterious Door was.
The people of the Samurai Nation erupted in celebration!
Stepping out of the Nether portal, Yamamoto Rokuko surveyed his surroundings.
Scorching heat pressed in from all directions. Everywhere he looked, he saw lava and monsters.
Even the blocks were tinted red by the heat!
"What's that red monster in the distance that looks like a slime? And what are these blocks? I've never seen anything like them!"
Having just arrived in the Nether, Yamamoto Rokuko was curious about everything.
Like the audience, he thought that once he'd reaped the benefits of this new dimension, he would return and surpass Gu Yu!
Then a sound like a baby's cry rang out.
A creature with numerous tentacles was flying through the sky. It spotted Yamamoto Rokuko and opened its blood-red eyes.
"It's attacking!"
As a fireball came flying toward him, Yamamoto Rokuko hurriedly dodged to the side.
There was plenty of room beside him to dodge, but the Nether portal behind him wasn't so lucky.
The Nether portal—the streams of light that had transported Yamamoto Rokuko—was also made of blocks, in essence.
It couldn't be mined, but unlike most blocks that couldn't be mined,
Nether portal blocks had a blast resistance of only 0.
As a result, any explosion capable of destroying blocks could also destroy Nether portal blocks if it reached them, shutting down the entire Nether portal.
Boom!
The fireball exploded, and the Nether portal closed.
Without the Nether portal blocks, there was no way back to the Overworld.
"Good thing I brought Flint and Steel!"
Feeling around in his inventory, Yamamoto Rokuko breathed a sigh of relief.
Luckily, he'd prepared in advance and brought Flint and Steel. He could just relight the portal and return!
"The new dimension really does have more resources, but it's also more dangerous. Maybe I can find Gangcun-kun... Wait, what are those black monsters doing?"
Several Endermen teleported beside the obsidian.
They'd been in the Nether the whole time and had never seen this kind of stone before.
Curiously, they reached out—and in the blink of an eye, the intact portal had been dismantled into scattered pieces. It could no longer be put back together.
The Endermen made happy noises, then teleported away again.
He looked at the few remaining obsidian blocks, then at the food and equipment in his inventory.
He hadn't brought a bucket or any obsidian.
He really had unlocked a new dimension and arrived on a new continent. There really were resources more advanced than diamonds.
But the problem was—
How was he supposed to get out of this world of nothing but lava?
"Gangcun-kun, help me!"
In reality, even if he sent his companion a distress message, it wouldn't help much in the short term.
Their blocks were far apart, and Gangcun Kuzi didn't have enough blocks to build a path.
As for mining obsidian to build a portal, he'd taken the Diamond Pickaxe, and Gangcun Kuzi had no mining tools.
In a sense, Yamamoto Rokuko really had "exclusive access" to the entire Nether dimension now.
"Pfft! This is hilarious!"
"Triggered a National Fortune Reward and really thought the Samurai Nation was about to take off!"
"Still, it's not bad. The reward slows hunger, so you can hold out longer."
"With all that lava and those monsters, it looks hot as hell. Does that just mean you'll suffer for longer?"
"Good news: they found a new continent. Bad news: they can't get back."
"Hahaha, you little black guy—you're doing great!"
The announcement had drawn everyone's attention, and the viewers watching the Samurai Nation's feed couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Based on our observations, the little black guys are usually neutral mobs and don't attack players unprovoked."
"They can teleport and carry blocks. The Samurai Nation sure is unlucky!"
At the Research Institute, Dean Qi stifled a laugh as he analyzed the situation.
The sudden announcement had startled him too, so he'd hurriedly clicked in to see what was going on. Who could have guessed he'd find this?
The portal had just been blown up by a fireball, and then an Enderman passing by had carried off the obsidian.
Anyone would have struggled to keep a straight face at that kind of luck!
"What a clown!"
After laughing, Fries focused on something else.
"Are diamonds stronger than gold gear? Once this information gets out..."
"I'm afraid the resource zones are about to see another round of competition."
Gu Yu had the advantage of his block.
He had to do everything he could to seize this opportunity!
Before you continue