"Pick strikes stone, deep in the night, chips fly off, swallowed from sight." Ben hummed in the dark to focus on his task. He started expanding the room downward, lowering it by a step each time, making it like stairs.
"Thunk, clink, crack, the cavern hums," he rhythmically struck as he continued.
[Ding! You got 1 Stone Block!]
[Ding! You got 1 Stone Block!]
"Digger digs deep. The treasure comes. Dust to stone, and stone to ore,"
[Ding! You got 1 red gemstone!]
_____________
Red Gemstone x 1:
Type: Gem/Material
Use: Crafting material, enchantment
Max Stack: 999
Rarity: Rare
Found deep underground, often embedded in volcanic rock or near high-energy magical sites.
Known for its durability and ability to enhance fire-based enchantments.
Tooltip: "Fire inside a stone."
_________________
Curious, Ben took out the item from his inventory. A warm red crystal cluster appeared in his hand. It gave off a sense of warmth and a crimson hue. "It's good enough for a light, but damn, this makes me want to smoke."
Ben tied it to his waist, using it like a lantern. He used a rubber band from his pocket as a makeshift rope. Thankfully, Ben had some in his pocket just in case, but he regretted not having more stuff like his cigarette, lighter, and flashlight. Usually, he had them with him all the time, but considering he fell asleep drunk, he probably removed them beforehand.
"If only I remembered what happened." Usually, even though blurry, Ben had some memory of what happened, but now it was completely blank.
With a sigh, he started humming the song again. Now, he changed his strategy from expanding the room to creating a small tunnel. He dug 1 block with a height of 3 blocks. The words "high-energy magical sites" in the description intrigued him.
Magic! Who doesn't want to have it? Ben often thought after reading a novel, "If only I had this ability."
How could the MC be so dumb and not use it like this or that? The number of times he hoped to have something like telekinesis, hearing what others think, or becoming a necromancer was countless. With telekinesis, he could easily lift all those heavy materials without worry, same with necromancer abilities—that would mean free labor!
Never tired, 100% loyal workers, and more importantly, never complaining and not needing to be paid!!! A true slave.
Now, if only he could get those, he could make them work for him, expanding the space to create a comfortable home. This was Ben's first goal—a decent base.
BAM! BAM!
[Ding! You got 1 Stone Block!]
[Ding! You got 1 Stone Block!]
[Ding! You got 1 Stone Block!]
[…]
[Congratulations, you have completely understood Stone Block!]
[Crafting feature has been unlocked.]
[You can now craft items with stone as material; the limit is your own imagination.]
The notification appeared when Ben made another swing.
BAM! CRACK!
Normally, it would only show another wall of rock, but now it revealed an opening to a big area. Ben's eyes widened at what he saw, his hair standing on end with a sense of danger. But this was not the most shocking part. Inside the room was a round table with five creatures gathered together.
Four were ants that stood on their two legs, reminding Ben of similar creatures in a comic he had read. The last one was clearly the leader—her lower body was that of an ant, while her upper body was human. She wore a black blazer, a modern piece of clothing that Ben was very familiar with. Her long, purplish hair fell all the way down her back. The room itself looked like a meeting place. The walls were carved with many beautiful murals, and the floor was decently tiled. 'The hell!?'
[Warning: You are entering the territory of the Six-Legged Cartels!]
The woman's eyes glinted dangerously as she looked at Ben, pointing her finger and screaming in a weird language. Ben didn't even think twice. He did the best thing he could do in this situation. His eyes filled with determination, and his heart beat like a drum, pumping blood and tensing his muscles.
Ba-Dum, Ba-Dum.
Ben unleashed the secret technique that he had polished hundreds of times since childhood.
RUN!
He dashed, returning to the place he had come in. 'Fucking system! Should have told me before I broke that last bit. But what the hell is a Six-Legged Cartel!? And her appearance…'
Unfortunately, Ben didn't have time to think about it—death was coming at him, and it was close, very close. He could hear the sound of the tunnel being forcefully widened by the ants. Ben had tried touching the stone with his bare hand, so he knew how strong it was.
If not for his magical pickaxe, there was no way he could destroy it. By modern standards, Ben would say it was as hard as sapphire. 'These ants' strength is no joke; I'll turn into mincemeat the moment I get caught.'
Ben raised his pace, but the longer he ran, the more he realized the sound was getting closer. 'What can I do!? There should be something…'
Ben looked around the place, but everywhere was just stone and more stone. The ceiling, the walls, the floor—all of it was stone. 'Stone... stone everywhere… Wait!?' A realization came to Ben—didn't he have 1001 stone blocks in his inventory? Leaving behind the narrow tunnel, Ben walked up a few steps and looked toward the exit. Ben decided to take a gamble. It's not like he had any other choice.
BOOM!! The tunnel exit exploded.
The once completely square exit now became a mess, dust, and shrapnel flying all around as the monstrous ant emerged. Now that he saw it up close, Ben realized how big they were. They were the size of an elephant!!!
Their jaws clanked menacingly, their sharp edges glinting in red."God, Buddha, or whatever deity up there, this is the first time I pray—please make this work!" Ben pointed his palm forward, opened his inventory, and took out the stone block. It appeared directly on top of the ants, and gravity did its work.
BAM!
"DAMMIT!!!" The sound was loud, like metal clashing against metal, but there was no damage to the ant. It barely left a dent. The ant then utilized the moment Ben was surprised and leaped forward, its sharp jaw inches away from his face.
Ben took out another stone, shoving it into the ant's mouth, then rolled to the side. The jaws closed, smashing the stone into many pieces. One of them shot out, hitting Ben right in the cheek. It scraped part of his skin, a hot, searing pain hitting his nerves.
"ARRRGH!!!" Ben had felt pain before, but none like this. Fear gripped his heart, and panic quickly set in. He was not some kind of cold-blooded killer; Ben was just an average construction worker. It was already a miracle that he could run after seeing such a monster and try to fight back, but now that it failed, the terror overwhelmed him. Ben gulped as he looked, seeing three more ants coming out.