Chapter Two: The First Night

He walked toward the returning crowd. Amidst their astonished gazes, Mo Fangyuan leaped onto a log, raised his axe, and called out to everyone.

“No matter what difficulties we face, never give up! Face them with a smile! The best way to eliminate fear is to confront it!

…I will lead by example and slay the monsters outside to protect our fields! I will prove whether I am worthy to be a king! If I die, it will mean I am unfit for the throne!”

Having shouted out all that had been pent up in his heart, Mo Fangyuan did not look at the crowd’s faces. Without a backward glance, he strode toward the village gate.

The dusk’s golden halo enveloped him, as if draping him in gilded armor. In the eyes of the people, he was a hero bravely challenging the darkness that was about to descend…

Chainmail underarmor, iron chestplate, iron greaves, iron helmet, wooden shield, iron sword, the kingdom’s treasured artifact—the Diamond Axe—and a few miscellaneous items. Especially the Diamond Axe, which had been preserved since the founding of the kingdom, the most precious treasure in the land.

These were the items Mo Fangyuan carried—armed to the teeth, one could say.

Fortunately, the Block World was ruled by neither Darwin nor Newton, or Mo Fangyuan would have been crushed under the weight of his gear, unable to take a single step.

He raised his torch and walked into the pitch-black fields. The initial surge of passion and fervor had now cooled, replaced by a creeping fear of the unknown darkness.

“What am I afraid of? They’re just monsters—two shoulders, one head, lop it off and they die! I’m a zombie’s nemesis, after all!”

He secretly cheered himself on, gripping his shield and axe tightly, hoping they would offer a shred of security.

He hadn’t walked far before he stopped.

He heard a strange sound.

“Roar! Roar-roar!”

“That’s probably the sound of a zombie.”

Though Mo Fangyuan had heard this familiar sound countless times while playing “Minecraft”—it was second nature to him—he couldn’t be sure this world was exactly the same as the game, so caution was best.

Despite his fear, Mo Fangyuan crept forward quietly.

Following the noise, he found the source: a blocky, green-skinned humanoid. Its head gleamed with a slick, oily green sheen.

At that moment, it was trampling the wheat seedlings, emitting gleeful roars, thoroughly enjoying itself.

Aside from being more disgusting and terrifying, Mo Fangyuan was sure—it was a zombie.

But his thoughts were no longer on the monster. His gaze fixed on the wheat seedlings that the zombie was ruining, and his eyes instantly turned red.

“These are the villagers’ hard-earned crops, our kingdom’s lifeblood!”

A surge of furious anger exploded within him.

Without hesitation, he charged forward, raised his iron sword overhead, and slid into the zombie, slashing its lower body and cleaving it in two.

With a heavy thud, the zombie fell to the ground and lay motionless, dead—returned to the embrace of darkness.

Regaining his composure, Mo Fangyuan stared at the sword in his hand in disbelief.

“That’s it? That’s it? That’s it?”

He had actually killed a zombie in an instant?

“Seems pretty easy after all!”

Mo Fangyuan felt the old thrill from the days he used to roam the world slaying monsters for experience returning to him.

“That’s the feeling!”

He spoke those four words softly.

He then took some bone meal from his inventory and sprinkled it over the newly destroyed crops.

Green particles appeared around the plants, emitting a faint light. After a moment, the light faded, but the damaged crops had miraculously returned to their original state.

This method of restoring crops with bone meal was very effective, but it had its limits—it only worked on plants damaged less than half an hour ago, and not too severely.

So Mo Fangyuan had to act quickly, finding and saving the crops before they died completely, and killing the monsters near them to restore the fields.

“The revolution is not yet complete; comrades, keep up the effort!”

Continuing to encourage himself, with his first victory, Mo Fangyuan felt more confident about fighting monsters.

Monsters could be slain!

Just as he was about to leave for another field, a colored orb of light appeared above the dead zombie.

It hovered above the corpse, emitting a faint glow.

This was an experience orb. Every creature that died would create one, and its size and quantity depended on the strength of the creature.

Strong creatures dropped large and numerous orbs; weak ones, small and few…

In the game, these could be absorbed for leveling up and enchanting. In this world, they couldn’t be absorbed, but could be collected in glass bottles. When enough orbs were stored, they formed a Bottle o’ Enchanting.

The purpose of the Bottle o’ Enchanting was to enchant items at an enchanting table.

Thinking of this, Mo Fangyuan took a glass bottle from his inventory and walked toward the experience orb.

Ding!

Before he could squat down, the orb dove into his body like a lost puppy reunited with its owner.

“Huh?”

As the orb entered his body, Mo Fangyuan felt a long, thin something appear in his mind.

“…Is this the experience bar?”

Mo Fangyuan was stunned. This was identical to the experience bar in the game—even the pixelation was the same.

But according to the world’s Enchanting Bible, experience could only be used for enchanting and mystical research—it couldn’t be absorbed, let alone form an experience bar.

Mo Fangyuan was puzzled, but he didn’t pay it much mind. It seemed to be just a tool for storing experience, nothing more.

At least that was what he thought.

“Roar! Roar-roar!”

Mo Fangyuan’s attention was drawn away by the sound of zombies in the distance, and he temporarily put the matter of the experience bar out of his mind.

He followed the noise and found two zombies.

Having already fought once, Mo Fangyuan was no longer afraid of these creatures. He raised his sword and charged.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

With a flurry of wild swings, the slow-moving zombies couldn’t withstand the assault—their skulls were sliced clean off.

“I really am the best.”

Looking at the two zombies lying dead at his feet, Mo Fangyuan was certain these monsters had the same traits as those in the game.

They were slow, noisy, and could be kited and defeated just like in his gaming days.

After killing the zombies and restoring the damaged wheat, Mo Fangyuan hurried to the next field. There were still many monsters for the world to cleanse.

Most monsters would spontaneously combust in sunlight. The kingdom was on a plain with little cover, so few monsters could gather, and since night had just fallen, monsters hadn’t begun spawning frequently. There were relatively few in the fields, and Mo Fangyuan cleared them out in no time.

Human adaptability is strong; Mo Fangyuan had already gotten used to monster-slaying.

After all, the monsters turned to ash in the daylight, leaving only loot—no blood. And they had no combat skills, only instinct; it was just rookies pecking at each other—no great challenge.

This made it easy for an ordinary person like Mo Fangyuan to adapt.

Walking casually through the fields, he was relaxed, beginning to feel a bit cocky.

“I really am…”

Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, a white blur shot toward the back of his head.

He felt a sharp blow at the base of his skull, his head ringing.

Bang, bang, bang!

His iron helmet was knocked off his head.

Turning to look at it, he saw an arrow embedded in the helmet, glaringly obvious.

If block people could sweat, Mo Fangyuan would be drenched in cold sweat.

“That’s a Skeleton!”

A chill ran down his spine.

The “Skeleton” he referred to was the bow-wielding monster in “Minecraft,” infamous for sneak attacks from behind—a truly annoying foe.

It seemed the skeletons of this blocky world also specialized in long-range attacks with bows and arrows.