I was just fishing, how did I become a Great Old One?

After bidding farewell to the hospitable pigman tribe, Jiang Li and his group did not rush on their way.

They found a relatively safe recessed spot with their backs against the walls of Hellrock and set up camp for the time being.

Even with a map and clues, rushing into the BOSS's lair without proper preparation is something only a fool would do.

"Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting."

Jiang Li took out the crumpled parchment recipe from his backpack.

"There's a sea of ​​fire ahead."

"If we don't make this fire-resistant potion first, we'll just end up as roasted meat when we go in."

……

Alchemy.

This is the third core system in the pixel world, besides architecture and redstone.

In this world, alchemy is not achieved through mystical incantations, but through... the Brewing Stand.

"Tangyuan, spit something out."

Jiang Li patted the glutinous rice ball that was being eaten by Hell Rock.

"I need a few Flame Rods... Oh wait, we don't have any Flame Rods right now."

"Then let's make a base out of a round stone first."

Using the available materials, Jiang Li handcrafted a simple brewing platform.

This thing looks very strange.

Below is a stone base with a golden metal rod standing on it, surrounded by three claw-like supports for holding glass bottles.

"Material……"

Jiang Li checked the contents of his backpack.

[Nether Wart]: Got it, I just got a lot from the pigmen. This is the base for all potions, called "Crude Potion".

【Magma Cream】: This is a bit more complicated.

It is the core material for making fire-resistant potions.

"That magma monster fish from earlier..."

Jiang Li recalled the big guy he had just caught.

After that thing died, it dropped a lot of sticky, orange-red gelatinous substance.

"This is it."

Jiang Li took out a piece of red gelatin that was still steaming.

This thing feels like a lump of hot jelly, containing extremely unstable fire elements.

"Start brewing!"

Jiang Li took out three glass bottles (made of sand) and went to the nearby lava sea... No, the potion needs water.

Fortunately, Abel had a bucket of water in his backpack in the main world (as a seed for an infinite water source).

Jiang Li carefully poured the water into the bottle.

Then, hang the bottle on the brewing stand.

……

"First step, add hellfire."

Jiang Li ground the red fungus into powder and put it into the funnel at the top of the brewing platform.

"Gurgle—"

A strange sound rang out.

The water in the glass bottle began to boil, producing strings of white, pixelated bubbles.

A few seconds later.

The water turned a murky blue.

Awkward Potion (crude potion).

It has no effect, but it is the foundation of all medicines.

"The second step is to add magma paste."

Jiang Li threw the clump of orange-red gel into it.

"Buzz—"

This time the reaction was much more intense.

The brewing station began to tremble violently, making a sound like an engine roaring.

The color of the liquid in the bottle began to change rapidly.

It changed from blue to yellow, and then from yellow to a deep, flowing lava-like color... [golden red].

A scent that smelled of sulfur yet was also unusually sweet wafted out from the bottle.

"Ding!"

Brewing is complete.

Jiang Li picked up a bottle of potion and waved it in the dim light of hell.

The medicine seemed to contain a flame; the liquid swirled in the bottle, yet it wasn't hot to the touch.

Fire-resistant potion (3:00)

[Quality: Perfect]

[Effect: Grants the drinker 100% immunity to fire damage, allowing free movement within lava.]

"It's done."

Jiang Li's lips curled up slightly.

"Here, one bottle for each of you."

"Drink this bowl of Ganges... no, drink this bowl of lava!"

……

Odin looked at the bottle of bubbling red liquid in his hand and swallowed.

"Boss, is this stuff really drinkable?"

"Why does this taste like chili oil diluted with water?"

"Enough talk, drink!"

Jiang Li took the lead, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Glug."

The medicine was taken into the mouth.

There was no burning sensation as I had imagined.

instead……

It felt like drinking a bottle of ice-cold mint water on a hot summer day.

An extremely cool, even slightly chilly, energy instantly spread throughout the body.

Followed by.

Jiang Li felt that his skin was covered with an invisible, thin energy film.

The suffocating heatwave around us vanished instantly.

Even though he put his hand into the lava flow next to him.

I only felt warmth, like soaking in a hot spring.

"Amazing!"

Odin's eyes lit up after he finished drinking.

"I'm not hot anymore! I even kind of want to wear thermal underwear!"

With the fire resistance buff, everyone's confidence increased significantly.

Now, the greatest environmental threat in Hell—magma—has become their bathwater.

"Set off!"

"Target—Nether Fortress!"

……

Cross a speed bump made of soul sand (walking on it feels like stepping in glue).

The legendary Nether Fortress has finally revealed its hideous true form.

It was an extremely magnificent fortress, entirely constructed of "Hell Bricks" (dark red to black bricks).

It was not built on land.

Instead, it's like a bridge across the sea, or even a maze, suspended above a vast sea of ​​lava.

Huge brick pillars extend deep into the magma, supporting this colossal structure.

The entire architectural style is gloomy and oppressive, full of a kind of ancient violent aesthetic.

"What a huge illegal building."

Jiang Li stood at the entrance to the fortress—a narrow, open-air corridor.

"The bricks here..."

He touched the wall.

"It's very hard and has an ominous aura."

"Be careful, this is a monster spawn point."

Before he could finish speaking...

A strange metallic scraping sound came from around the corner of the corridor.

"Click...click..."

Three tall, dark figures emerged from the shadows.

They were a head taller than ordinary skulls.

It was completely black, like charred bones.

What he held in his hand was not a bow and arrow, but a gray stone sword.

Wither Skeleton.

Elite guards of the lower realm.

"Intruders..."

There were no words, only the malice flickering in those empty eye sockets.

They charged forward, their long legs swaying and their stone swords wielding them.

Extremely fast!

"A black skeleton?"

Abel sneered, drew his square-bladed sword, and charged forward.

"Let me see how hard your bones are!"

"when!"

Swords clashed.

Abel's expression changed.

"What incredible strength!"

Moreover, at the very moment their weapons clashed.

A wisp of black smoke trailed along the blade and coiled around Abel's arm.

[System Warning: Under the influence of the "Wither" effect!]

Abel's health bar instantly turned black.

And it started losing health continuously!

"poisonous!"

Abel took a step back, feeling the life force being rapidly drained from his body.

The feeling was like my body was withering and decaying.

"Don't get cut by them!"

Jiang Li shouted.

"This is [Withering Toxin]! It deals true damage that ignores armor!"

"Odin! Use your long weapons to suppress them!"

"good!"

Odin charged forward with his spear.

"The spear is still here!"

One inch long, one inch strong.

Odin used his superior attack range to force the three Wither Skeletons back.

"Crush it for me!"

The spear tip swept horizontally.

Under the effect of the [Explosive Attack] (although the tofu buff has expired, Odin's divine power is still present).

"Snap!"

A Wither skeleton's ribs were broken.

It staggered, before it could even regain its balance.

Jiang Li's frying pan has arrived.

"when!"

A crisp sound.

The black skull was sent flying, tracing a graceful arc in the air before crashing into the sea of ​​lava.

The remaining two were also dealt with by the group working together.

……

The battle is over.

Several black bones and a piece of coal lay on the ground.

"So poor."

Er Gou kicked the bone in disgust.

"Not even a single piece of equipment dropped."

"Who says there aren't any good things?"

Jiang Li picked up the skull (surprisingly, it didn't fall into the lava, but landed on the side of the bridge).

[Wither Skull]

This is a rare drop.

Looking at that dark, somewhat sinister skull.

Jiang Li's culinary instincts kicked in again.

"This thing..."

"Can we use it to make soup?"

"For example... [black bone broth]?"

"Or grind it into powder and make a seasoning for [black squid ink pasta]?"

A chill ran down everyone's spine.

Boss, are you a devil? That's a monster's head!

……

Go deeper.

The interior of the fortress is like a giant maze.

There were intersections, dead ends, and staircases everywhere.

Moreover, the "indigenous people" here clearly do not welcome them.

Besides the Wither Skeletons, there's something even more troublesome.

When everyone arrived at a spacious terrace.

The surrounding temperature suddenly rose sharply.

It even exceeds the temperature of a magma ocean.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

A sound similar to a blower operating rang out.

In the center of the terrace, there is a rotating monster spawner.

And around the mob spawner.

Several golden, spinning... [fire sticks] appeared out of thin air.

They consist of a core head and twelve short golden rods that rotate around it.

Its entire body was engulfed in flames, and it emitted a crisp metallic clanging sound.

Blaze.

A ranged turret in the lower realm.

"Intruder detected!"

"Burn it!"

Those fiery beings didn't waste any words.

Their bodies instantly lit up, turning into a dazzling bright yellow.

then.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

Three consecutive fireballs, trailing black smoke and flames, bombarded the group.

"Get out of the way!"

Jiang Li shouted.

Boom! Boom!

The fireball struck the ground, instantly igniting a large area of ​​hell bricks.

The fire was raging.

If it were an average player, they would have panicked by now.

But Jiang Li and the others...

"hehe."

Odin stood in the sea of ​​fire, letting the flames lick his blocky body.

He patted the dust off his clothes.

"this one?"

"Are you tickling this old man?"

With the [Fire Resistance Potion] buff, this level of fire attack deals zero damage.

Only the physical impact of the fireball was slightly noticeable.

The people in the flames were stunned.

They had clearly never seen such a stubborn intruder before.

Taking a bath while standing in a fire?

This is a provocation against their dignity!

"For glory!"

The Flame People flew into the air, preparing to launch an even more intense air attack.

"fly?"

Jiang Li sneered.

"Playing aerial combat in front of me?"

"Ergou! Go to heaven!"

"Woof?"

Er Gou hadn't reacted yet.

Jiang Li had already taken out a fishing rod.

Yes, it's that abyss fishing rod.

In this world, fishing rods can not only be used to catch fish, but also... [fish for monsters].

Jiang Li suddenly flung it away.

The fishhook precisely caught a flaming man flying in mid-air.

"Get down here!"

Pull hard.

The blazing man was pulled down like a kite.

"Odin! Attack!"

Odin slammed it against the wall with a single shot, like hitting a baseball.

wow-

The Flame Man fell apart.

All that remained was a golden stick, still radiating heat.

Blaze Rod.

"nice one!"

Jiang Li picked up the stick.

It gets very hot to the touch and feels heavy.

"This is top-grade fuel!"

"One stick can burn for a long time!"

"and……"

Jiang Li held the Flame Stick and waved it around like a glow stick.

"This stuff, ground into powder (flame powder), is the best [high-temperature seasoning]."

"It's even more powerful than that gunpowder stuff!"

"It's a perfect match for barbecue!"

Jiang Li looked at the few remaining flaming figures in the sky.

His eyes changed.

That wasn't the look of someone looking at a monster.

That was the look in his eyes when he looked at... [the barbecue skewers].

"Brothers!"

"This is a flying barbecue grill!"

"Don't let them get away!"

"Grab it! Tonight we're having—[Flaming Stick Skewers]!"

……

A battle ostensibly for "exorcising demons" but actually for "purchasing goods" unfolds on the fortress terrace.

With the invincible buff from the fire-resistant potion, plus Jiang Li's superb fishing skills...

These Blazing Men, who usually strike fear into the hearts of players, have become lambs to the slaughter.

A short while later.

Jiang Li now had a set of Flame Rods in his backpack.

"A very fruitful harvest."

Jiang Li patted his backpack with satisfaction.

The terrace has been cleaned.

The group continued their ascent deeper into the fortress.

The further you go in, the more bizarre the surrounding scenery becomes.

Some purplish-black gibberish that didn't belong to this world began to appear on the walls.

A distorted, electrical sound filled the air.

Even gravity began to become unstable.

Occasionally, while walking, my body will suddenly feel like it's floating.

"Ha..." (before...)

The village chief, who had been hiding in the back without saying a word (it insisted on coming along, saying it wanted to witness a miracle), suddenly pointed to a huge black iron gate in front of him.

Its voice trembled.

"Hmph!" (That's... the core area.)

(God...is inside.)

Jiang Li stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the door.

There was no lock on the door.

But through the crack in the door, a pale, unsettling light shone through.

That light carried no warmth whatsoever.

That's... the color of the void.

"arrive."

Jiang Li took a deep breath.

He gripped the frying pan in his hand (and held the newly crafted diamond sword in his other hand).

"Odin, prepare to break through."

"Abel, cover us."

"Ergou, don't run around."

"Tangyuan...is always ready to eat anything unreasonable."

"yes!"

"Open the door!"

Rumbling--

The heavy door slowly opened.

A huge cylindrical platform, suspended in mid-air, appeared before everyone's eyes.

And in the center of the platform.

There were two figures.

One was a square-headed, middle-aged man in a blue T-shirt, bound in mid-air by countless black data chains.

【Notch, the Creator God】.

And the other one.

He stood opposite him, with his back to the door.

It was dressed in the same clothes as the creator god.

but.

As it slowly turned around.

Everyone felt a chill run straight to the top of their heads.

Its eyes.

No pupils.

There was only one...

Dead silence, pure... [white].

【Herobrine】.

That legendary ghost.

The virus that seized control of the world.

It looked at Jiang Li and the others who had broken in.

Those white eyes narrowed slightly, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

[The sound, composed of 0s and 1s, exploded in everyone's minds:]

"Has another new...data package...been delivered?"