I'm Trapped in the Block

The strange creature had just blown up both of its own arms.

However, it didn’t seem to feel pain. It turned its head to look at the Block in the sky, and a look of fear crossed its blurry face.

A ripple passed through the mineral creature’s entire body, spreading across its surface before gathering at the stumps of its arms.

The sharp, broken edges of its arms began to round off, then suddenly started to grow.

Small clusters of stone quickly spread, completely repairing the two limbs. The thick arms appeared once more.

The newly grown arms were a pale green at first. The color steadily deepened, and soon they returned to their original dark green.

The humanoid creature brought its four arms together in front of it, aiming at the Block. Another ripple then traveled from its body to its fingertips.

A stone spike grew from the tips of its four hands, shooting toward the Block in the sky.

’It has ranged attacks, too?’

’But it’s so slow.’ Mo Ling shifted again, dodging the spike.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The spike began to thicken, transforming into a giant green blade. The humanoid creature brandished the massive weapon and swung it at the Block.

Each time the clang of stone on stone rang out, the giant green blade would suddenly accelerate, giving it a powerful rhythm.

The great blade danced through the air, its shifting rhythm making it difficult for Mo Ling to evade. Several times, it nearly struck the Block.

The Block dodged, and the great blade slammed into a stone pillar behind it, shattering on impact. The broken fragments fell to the ground, but the blade immediately began to extend again, restoring itself to its full form.

Seeing things were taking a bad turn, Mo Ling stopped dodging. Instead, he aimed at the creature’s arms and used teleportation to slice them clean off.

The great blade crashed to the ground. All that remained of the creature’s limbs were perfectly smooth, glowing cuts.

But new growth was already sprouting from the cuts, and the arms began to regenerate.

Mo Ling quickly pressed his advantage, continuing to slice upward along the limbs. After he had carved away a large portion of its body, the creature finally stopped regenerating and collapsed with a crash.

Heaving a long sigh of relief, Mo Ling slowly descended from the sky.

’Its regenerative abilities are a little lacking.’

After witnessing the Sheep-headed Man’s regenerative abilities, Mo Ling felt this creature’s paled in comparison.

Since the space inside the Block had expanded, Mo Ling’s teleportation range had grown significantly, making it easy for him to slice off large chunks of its body.

’What on earth is this thing?’

Mo Ling focused his vision on the fallen fragments, examining them carefully. He found they were just very ordinary, translucent green stones.

He couldn’t find a control core, nor could he tell where the clanging sounds or the ripples that controlled its movements were coming from.

Li Luo jumped down from the platform. She had been standing there the whole time, acclimating to the pressure of the 2nd Floor of the Abyss. Mo Ling had been worried the Stone Man might attack her.

But the creature had shown no hostility toward her at all, treating her as if she were thin air.

It seemed to have come specifically for the Block, which was very strange.

Li Luo stared at the fragments on the ground, then picked up a few pieces and examined them in her hand, her brow furrowing.

After a moment, she looked up, her voice tinged with confusion as she spoke to Mo Ling:

"This is jade."

’Jade?’

’A piece of jade this big?’

"And a very high-quality type, at that." Li Luo held a fragment up to the light for a moment before casually tossing it aside.

’This stuff must be incredibly valuable.’

Now Mo Ling understood the creature’s gem-like appearance.

It was a shame about such a huge piece. Mo Ling knew nothing about jewelry; his only point of reference was the green of a beer bottle.

Mo Ling picked up another jade fragment and examined it. ’Still not as green as a beer bottle,’ he concluded.

’So this is what the database meant by mineral creatures.’

Li Luo also began searching for information about this type of creature.

But there was clearly much less data available for the 2nd Floor of the Abyss than for the first, especially concerning a rare creature found only in a specific region.

The data only stated that the mineral creatures of the Thorn Stone Forest were rare, appeared in various strange forms, and had never been studied in detail.

These creatures were intelligent, and some were hostile to humans, but the data didn’t specify which ones.

It was a very shallow record, little more than a brief mention.

’Multiple forms?’

’Is this jade humanoid a common form, then?’

Mo Ling was suddenly struck by the importance of intel. Without it, they were completely in the dark.

Just as Mo Ling was reviewing the data, a rock suddenly broke loose from a nearby stone pillar and clattered to the ground.

’What was that?’ Mo Ling drifted upward, puzzled.

He didn’t have to fly far before he spotted a creature hiding behind the stone pillar.

It was another four-armed humanoid, but it wasn’t tall and imposing like the jade creature. This one was the size of a normal human, very gaunt, and was currently hugging the stone pillar, trembling.

It also lacked the jade creature’s striking color. Instead, it was composed entirely of ordinary, rough black stone, giving it a very plain appearance.

When it saw the Block fly up, its hands slipped, and it fell right down, landing with a thud next to Li Luo.

Mo Ling quickly aimed the teleportation frame at it.

But after falling, the humanoid creature immediately crouched on the ground and began begging loudly for mercy.

A hoarse voice, like the grinding of rough stones, emanated from the creature. "Brother of the Iron Race! I’m on your side! Don’t kill me!"

The creature had clearly witnessed the Block defeat the jade being moments ago, which explained its terror.

Li Luo quickly put on her translator and was able to understand the Stone Man’s language.

"Are you a brother from the Iron Race? I’m from the Basalt Race, please be merciful! I was just watching from the side," the black Stone Man said uncertainly, glancing at the Block again.

Then he looked toward Li Luo and added, "And you, human friend, I mean you no harm!"

Mo Ling couldn’t speak, of course, and could only drift back and forth overhead. His movements, however, seemed to frighten the Stone Man even more.

He only stood up, slowly, after Li Luo told him to get up and speak.

This gaunt Stone Man was highly intelligent, with surprisingly lively expressions. After standing, he glanced around before extending a hand directly toward Li Luo.

It looked like he wanted to shake hands. Though fear still lingered on his face, the gesture was exceptionally friendly.

"I’m Shibeng, of the Basalt Race. What’s your name, human friend? And our Iron Race brother up there, why is he so quiet?"

Li Luo didn’t extend her hand. Instead, she asked, puzzled, "You know our customs?"

"I saved a few humans before. They taught me," Shibeng replied.

After a moment, realization dawned on him. "You fell from the sky, too?"

"Yes." Li Luo’s face was still full of suspicion.

"Why do you call it the Iron Race?" Li Luo asked, pointing at the Block. This was a question Mo Ling also wanted answered.

"Isn’t it from the Iron Race? It looks like one, but its shape is a bit... unique. A little odd."

He quickly waved his hands and said apologetically to the Block in the sky, "I didn’t mean to say you’re not good-looking. It’s just... well, you’re definitely a bit ugly."

"..."

Seeming to realize he couldn’t say anything right, Shibeng raised his two right hands to scratch his head and fell silent.

After the atmosphere relaxed, Li Luo began to converse with Shibeng, repeatedly confirming that he had no hostile intent.

After a while, Li Luo finally let down her guard.

Through Shibeng’s explanations, the two of them learned about the current situation in the Thorn Stone Forest.