[Stone Age!]

The first time people saw it, lava was scorching hot.

Experts around the world studied it with all their might, trying to unravel its secrets.

It was a universally accepted fact that the more dangerous something was, the more valuable it tended to be.

But lava in Block Civilization was nothing like that.

Even after experts around the world investigated it and countless players risked their lives, they could only reach one conclusion.

It could be put in an iron bucket, and it destroyed every resource thrown into it.

Some had once wondered whether it might work like a Wishing Well, giving something in return for valuable items tossed inside.

The result was disappointing. Even ores failed to make so much as a ripple after being thrown in.

The experts around the world had only one conclusion about lava.

It was completely useless except for consuming resources!

Players who came into contact with it also caught fire and kept losing health, making it one of the most dangerous things in Block World.

When everyone saw Gu Yu place lava on his sky island, no one understood what he was trying to do.

Once the lava spread, wouldn't he just be killing himself?

Then Ice-melted Water was placed on the wooden stairs.

Whoosh!

Water and fire met, steam billowed up, and a block of stone formed between them.

Cobblestone!

A basic ore in Block World!

Seeing Gu Yu create a new resource out of thin air on his sky island, the audience was utterly stunned.

"What? What did I just see?"

"Cobblestone! That really is cobblestone!"

"Isn't there only Grass Block on a sky island? Where did the cobblestone come from?!"

"Lava? Water? Evaporation and synthesis?"

"Holy shit!"

Unaware of what was happening outside, Gu Yu broke three blocks of cobblestone with his Wooden Pickaxe, then immediately tossed it into the lava to destroy it.

Splash!

After just three uses, the brand-new Wooden Pickaxe disappeared. In its place, he opened a Crafting Table.

[Stone Age!]

He now had a much more powerful stone pickaxe!

Park Sam-chang, who had just mocked him, stared in shock.

After all that effort, he'd only picked a few mushrooms. He hadn't even caught a glimpse of a Crafting Table.

Meanwhile, Gu Yu had been born on a sky island with the poorest resources imaginable, and he'd already made a stone pickaxe?

That was a stone pickaxe!

Even Park Sam-chang, as formidable as he was, had spent three days exploring the previous civilization before he gathered enough resources to craft his first Wooden Pickaxe.

He'd barely dared to use it, and now Gu Yu had casually thrown his away?

"What a waste!"

Park Sam-chang wanted to jump into the lava and fish the Wooden Pickaxe back out.

It could mine ore and serve as a weapon to boost attack power. It was practically a miracle tool in the early game!

But knowing that lava could melt resources instantly, leaving them gone for good, Park Sam-chang could only stew in jealousy.

"Water and lava can form cobblestone. You just got lucky and stumbled across it!"

"You only have one bucket of lava and one block of ice. Making a stone pickaxe is already impressive. Do you think you can produce cobblestone endlessly?"

Water and fire were naturally connected, as he saw it.

Gu Yu had to have stumbled upon the trick by chance, then mined stone to make a stone pickaxe.

Every weapon and piece of equipment had durability, and stone pickaxes were no exception.

Once its durability ran out, Gu Yu would regret throwing away his Wooden Pickaxe!

"Exactly! Gu Yu got way too lucky!"

"If our contestant had been in his place, he definitely would've done even better!"

"We just got unlucky!"

"Hmph, you think making a stone pickaxe means you're invincible?"

"You'll regret not taking care of your weapon!"

Faced with the obviously bitter Bullet Comments, the audience in Jiuzhou finally burst out laughing.

"Someone's getting worked up. I won't say who."

"Wow, that's sour. Jealous, are you? Why so bitter?"

"A stone pickaxe isn't anything special. Your contestants don't even have Wooden Pickaxes~"

"He tossed away his Wooden Pickaxe, and that's enough to set you off. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Surely nobody out there still doesn't have a stone pickaxe? Surely not, surely not?"

"This feels so good! Hahahaha!"

Dean Qi's furrowed brow relaxed.

He'd been sick of the snide Bullet Comments for ages. At last, he could breathe easy.

"I remember that during the PvP civilization, the contestant from Tianzhu stumbled upon the fact that water and lava could form cobblestone."

"I didn't expect Gu Yu to remember such a tiny detail. He's a good kid!"

Dean Qi managed a rare smile.

Now that Gu Yu had a stone pickaxe, throwing away his Wooden Pickaxe wasn't a big deal.

His Block score was still low, but his equipment progression had already surpassed that of many others!

"Exactly. It's a very clever design."

After watching for a while, Fries offered an opinion.

"Knowing that water and lava spread, he used nonflammable dirt to contain them and produce cobblestone."

"Especially those wooden stairs. That was absolutely ingenious!"

Water spread faster than lava. If he'd only dug out five blocks,

the water could easily have flooded the lava, making the setup a one-time use.

But adding wooden stairs solved that problem completely.

Water and fire could keep meeting and reacting, producing cobblestone endlessly!

Fries was simply amazed.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would've thought lava could be used this way!"

"Maybe we still have a chance!"

With an unlimited supply of cobblestone, Gu Yu could expand his sky island and build a house of his own.

Once he hid inside, the monsters that appeared at night would no longer be able to hurt him!

As long as he solved the food problem and kept stockpiling cobblestone, he might still advance to a Medium Block!

When Park Sam-chang realized the cobblestone could be produced endlessly, jealousy twisted his face.

Why hadn't he been lucky enough to find that water and lava could make a Stone Generator?

"Just a cheap trick!"

On the sky island, knowing that monsters would respawn at night,

Gu Yu still hadn't built himself a house.

"There's not much time before nightfall. I need to hurry."

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Gu Yu let out a long breath.

Though he'd arrived in Block Civilization, he hadn't inherited a body like Steve's.

He could get hurt when hit, and he felt tired when he worked.

After producing a stack of cobblestone, he'd already eaten two apples to restore four hunger points.

Choosing a direction, Gu Yu decided to build a small path first.

He didn't build it directly out of blocks. Instead, he turned the cobblestone into Stone Stairs, which were half-blocks.

Laying three blocks of stone side by side could be broken down into six stone stairs.

This not only saved blocks; he also knew monsters only spawned on full blocks.

Stairs only counted as half-blocks, so monsters wouldn't spawn on them.

He could walk across them normally, and their footprint was the same as ordinary stone.

Using this mechanic, he could make sure the path was safe and wouldn't have to worry about monsters sneaking up behind him.

Once the path stretched far enough, Gu Yu started building on the spot.

Two blocks high and six blocks wide, a neat, fully enclosed stone hut took shape.

He deliberately used Stone Stairs beneath the hut, leaving a 1.5-block-high space for observation.

Then he used Stone Stairs to put a perimeter around the hut.

"Perfect!"

He was very pleased with his work.

With this little house, he wouldn't have to fear any monsters!

At the same time, his Block score changed as a result of the construction.

[Built a Stone Generator and broke the sky island's simple Monster Spawning Platform.]

[Current overall Block score: 5 (Micro Block)]

[Player Rank: 1]

He'd officially taken first place!

On Pumpkin Island, Mark and Jett were discussing how to make it through the night.

Suddenly, the rankings shifted. The first place they'd thought was secure dropped down.

"What? How is that possible!"