Steve dug holes everywhere in the space, unearthing all sorts of strange blocks. During this time, he also found various foods:
[Fun Bread] * 17
[Banana Soda] * 5
[Impure Space Station Wall] * 19
[Impure Wooden Board Shard] * 157
His wooden pickaxe now only had 27 durability left, and despite all his digging, Steve hadn't seen a single person. Not until he reached a corridor that was entirely transparent except for the floor. The transparent walls of the corridor also had frames glowing with blue light for support.
As Steve surveyed the corridor... "BOOM!!!!"
A massive explosion reverberated through the space station's air, shaking even the ground.
Steve was startled, looking around. After confirming there was no immediate danger, he remained vigilant.
When Steve looked at the ground, he saw... [Impure Compressed Stone]
Pickaxe 1 √
Steve's heart pounded with excitement, and he swung his wooden pickaxe frantically.
"Lulululululululululululu"
"Thud"
"Lulululululululululululu"
"Thud"
"Lulululululululululululu"
"Thud"
...Until... "...Snap!" The wooden pickaxe disappeared from his inventory, but it no longer mattered; it had fulfilled its mission.
Steve had obtained [Impure Compressed Cobblestone Shard] * 108, which was one stack plus 44.
Steve quickly placed down his crafting table.
The peculiar crafting rules for wooden boards had given him a hint that stone might be similar, and he was right.
Combining four [Impure Compressed Cobblestone Shards] yielded:
[Compressed Cobblestone Component] * 1
Then, combining four [Compressed Cobblestone Components] yielded:
[Cobblestone]
He wasted no time in crafting the remaining 23 cobblestone blocks, then began making weapons.
[Stone Pickaxe]
Achievement Unlocked
— [Gained an Upgrade]
Ignoring the achievement, he continued to craft with three cobblestone and two sticks.
[Stone Axe]
Steve felt like nothing could stand against him now. In the Java edition, axes, except for the Netherite axe with 10 damage, all dealt 9 damage. Plus, with the critical hit bonus from a jump attack, one strike could deal 13.5 critical damage!
And coincidentally, the critical damage of a Netherite sword was also 13.5, meaning, by rounding, he had crafted a Netherite sword out of stone!
At this moment, the sound of a pressure valve hissing caught Steve's attention. He turned to see a tall woman with wine-red hair.
Her shirt looked as if it could burst open at any moment, and a corset connected the edges of her top beside her ample chest. She wore a coat over her outfit.
Around her hips was a black, form-fitting skirt? Various buttons and leg rings further emphasized her alluring charm.
She wore light purple stockings, but Steve's attention wasn't focused there.
"Hmm? What's this? Silver Wolf, is this also in Elio's script?" The woman's voice was unhurried, tinged with curiosity, but with a hint of hidden killing intent.
"No, but this kind of creature hasn't been seen in the universe..." A younger, slightly impatient voice replied.
And in Steve's eyes:
...Stellaron Hunter - Kafka
♦
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
■ ■ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □ (Armor Value)
..."Inconsequential... right? Then let's just consider it a monster from the Legion..." Kafka looked at the 1.8-meter-tall creature before her. It didn't resemble a human, so she immediately classified it as a "variable." Kafka unhesitatingly pulled out two white Ingram M11s.
Steve's expression remained unchanged, but the sudden appearance of a stone axe in his hand indicated his stance. The two were roughly 10 meters apart. At Steve's speed of 1.5 blocks per second, he could reach Kafka in six seconds. Of course, this was only an ideal scenario if Kafka remained still; it could be longer or shorter.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!" Bullets imbued with the Fates of "Nihility" and "Finality" instantly struck Steve.
But Steve had already pulled out his wooden sword and assumed a blocking stance.
"Pat pat pat pat!" Steve's blocky body began to glow red rapidly, but the damage displayed: -7.
But that wasn't all; a new status effect, never seen in the original game, appeared in Steve's status bar:
00:10 "Nihility Erosion"
00:25 "Curse of Finality"
However, the only effect on Steve was a health drain similar to Wither, even less than Wither. A full barrage of attacks only depleted seventeen health points.
In fact, with a full hunger bar, Steve simply ate one Fun Bread and fully restored his health.
He then grabbed his stone axe and charged at Kafka, running and jumping at the same time, though his movements were strangely disjointed, as if he had no leg joints.
Kafka was a little surprised. This creature before her showed no fluctuations of Fate energy, and it had simply endured her attacks by holding a brown object, seemingly unharmed?
But she didn't hesitate. Kafka drew her red katana and met his charge. However, she was destined for a crushing defeat.
"Splat!" A red light flashed around Kafka, and she was sent flying three meters back.
Kafka immediately lost five red hearts. Of course,
Kafka only felt that the strange blow she just received was somewhat uncomfortable.
This bizarre, blocky creature in front of her, holding a pixelated, axe-like object, had sent her flying from a meter away.
"Kafka, what are you doing? Stop playing around." Silver Wolf's voice came through. But Silver Wolf hadn't noticed what had just happened between the two; she just assumed Kafka could handle this thing.
But Kafka ignored her, because Steve had already rushed over. Steve jumped again.
"『Listen to me』..."
"Splat!"
Kafka lost another five hearts. She was now in poor condition, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She never imagined that her Spirit Speech would be ineffective?!
Kafka was knocked back against the cabin door. Steve pressed forward, swinging his axe again. Of course, the cooldown for the full damage hadn't reset, so this strike only dealt three health points of damage.
But the situation was still dire. In Steve's eyes, Kafka now only had 3.5 red hearts left. As soon as his axe's cooldown reset... he was already wondering what loot this woman would drop.
However, things didn't go as planned. With the appearance of square blue particles that Steve couldn't understand, Kafka's figure vanished. Steve, whose axe cooldown had just reset, swung at empty air.
Steve didn't let down his guard and began to look around, but there wasn't even a shadow of the woman in the entire corridor.
His stone axe still had 125 durability, which was more than enough for combat. He ran back, broke the crafting table, and walked towards the cabin door ahead.
When he saw the description of the cabin door from his highlight display mod... [Impure Iron Cabin Door]
Pickaxe 2 ×
Steve immediately switched to his stone pickaxe and began to dig.
"Lulululululululululululu"
"Thud"
The dropped items were absorbed by Steve.
[Impure Iron Shard] * 4
Steve didn't hesitate this time. He tried to craft in his inventory's crafting grid but found it wouldn't work, so he had to place the crafting table back on the ground.
He filled all four slots with [Impure Iron Shards] to craft:
[Iron Ingot Component] * 1
Steve quickly mined the other parts of the cabin door, crafting them into [Iron Ingot Components]. Finally, he placed the last component on the crafting table... [Iron Ingot] * 1
Achievement Unlocked
— [Hardcore]
... ← To Be Continued