(For every +100 Power Stones: a bonus chapter, enjoy ^-^)
Ian stared at the "figurines" before him, feeling more and more satisfied the longer he looked.
Zombies, skeletons, creepers—all lined up neatly inside the glass "display case," each with their own "unique charm." It gave him a strange sense of collector's pride, like completing a stamp album.
"Hm… might as well go all the way and collect every monster that can be transmuted." Ian rubbed his chin, making up his mind.
No sooner said than done. He took out a Chicken and began his grand project of "Monster Transmutation."
"Bawk!"
With a miserable cry from the chicken, a zombie pigman appeared before Ian. It held a golden sword and snorted in confusion, seemingly unsure of its surroundings.
"Not bad. Sell it through the Transmutation Tablet first, then add it to the collection." Ian nodded approvingly and continued his work.
Magma Cubes, Hoglins… he transmuted them all, tossed them into the tablet, and then retrieved them to store in his little figurine house.
However, when Ian tried to sell Piglins and Vindicators, trouble struck.
"Huh? What's going on? Why isn't it working?" Ian frowned at the unresponsive Transmutation Tablet.
He tried several times. The result didn't change.
"Could this be… the Tablet's limitation?" he murmured, thinking hard.
He recalled the monsters he'd converted before—zombies, skeletons, creepers… all of them had some intelligence but still acted mostly on instinct.
Piglins and Vindicators, however, clearly possessed higher intelligence and self-awareness.
"Could it be that the Transmutation Tablet can't synthesize beings with self-consciousness?" Ian guessed.
At that moment, a Vindicator approached. He didn't attack like the others had. Instead, he smiled obsequiously at the sight of Ian's terrifying Gem Armor.
"Honored… mighty one, greetings," the Vindicator said in broken speech. "I am Carlos Axeblade, the Vindicator. Please don't kill me, mighty one—I can trade with you."
He pulled out three emeralds and two Totems of Undying from his pocket, offering them carefully to Ian.
A trade list popped up before Ian's eyes:
[Wheat Seeds ×1 → Emerald ×3]
[Emerald ×1 → Totem of Undying ×2]
Ian's lips curled upward at this "wise" Vindicator.
Carlos kept smiling nervously as Ian confirmed the trade.
Ian clicked to exchange. The Emeralds disappeared from his inventory, and 2 Totem of Undying appeared in his hand. This was a good item.
Totems of Undying could block one fatal blow, remove all debuffs, and temporarily grant regeneration, absorption, and fire resistance buffs.
After completing the exchange, Carlos gave a deep bow. "Boss, please give me a chance—I wish to follow you!"
"Since you're so sensible, I'll give you a chance," Ian said.
"Thank you for taking me in, boss! But I have one small favor—I want to bring my brothers along too."
"Oh? You can bring your brothers? Then the more the better. I'll let you freely develop that small town in the Skyblock island over there."
"Thank you, boss!" Carlos dropped to one knee, trembling with excitement.
"Oh, right. If you're going back to call your brothers, take these." Ian reached into the Transmutation Tablet and tossed him a pile of emeralds.
"These will be your startup funds. The farm's open to you too—help yourself to food whenever you need."
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!" Carlos bowed repeatedly, nearly incoherent with gratitude.
Watching him leave, Ian grinned smugly. "Hehe, my army just got a lot bigger."
Then he transmuted again—this time, an Enderman appeared.
Before Ian could react, the Enderman vanished with a whoosh, reappearing an instant later kneeling before him, babbling in some language Ian couldn't understand.
"What's going on now?" Ian blinked in confusion.
Miss Witch came over, acting as translator. "My lord, he says his distant cousin was one of the ones you transmuted earlier. He wanted to trade with you… but, uh, you kinda just…"
She trailed off awkwardly.
"Oh, so that guy wanted to trade?" Ian scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "I was in a rush back then. He wouldn't stop babbling in a language I didn't understand, so I just… cut him down."
He sighed. "Alright then, I'll take this one in."
The Enderman relaxed instantly after hearing Miss Witch's translation and bowed repeatedly in thanks.
After settling the Enderman, Ian resumed his grand transmutation project.
Finally, the first ordinary villager appeared on the Skyblock.
"Well, look who's here. Isn't this the Emerald Devourer himself?" Ian joked to Miss Witch.
The villager, a blacksmith with a hammer in hand, immediately locked onto the pile of emeralds beside Ian.
"Emeralds! So many Emeralds!" The Blacksmith Villager's eyes instantly turned into the shape of Emeralds. He completely ignored the Vindicator not far from here, pouncing straight into the pile of Emeralds, scooping them up with both hands, trembling with excitement.
"Hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?" Ian pulled him out of the heap.
The blacksmith collapsed to his knees, clutching Ian's leg, tears streaming down his face.
"My lord! Please, just a few emeralds! I'll do anything! I can forge weapons, repair gear, enchant items! As long as you give me emeralds, I'll obey your every word!"
"Alright, alright, stop crying." Ian tossed him a few emeralds. "Can you enchant my armor?"
The blacksmith wiped his tears, clutching the emeralds like treasure, and examined Ian's equipment.
"Um… sir, your armor's far too advanced. I can't handle it alone," he admitted nervously. "But if I can bring my comrades here, we can definitely do it! We're a family of master craftsmen—our skills are unmatched!"
"Oh? You can call your people too?" Ian's eyes lit up.
"Alright, go ahead and call them. For every person you bring, I'll give you a stack of Emeralds! If the people you bring call more people, you get a cut too! And everyone who comes to work for me will be highly paid." (T/N: I'm well aware of this pyramid scam xD)
"Really?!" The blacksmith jumped for joy. "I'll go right now! I'll bring every capable craftsman in my family!"
"Oh, right, Sir. My family's ancestors are specialist in armors, and my wife's family's ancestors are specialist in weapons. Can I bring them too?" The Blacksmith Villager looked at Ian pleadingly.
"Really?!"
"Of course! I'll take anyone talented. Bring them all—I've got tons of emeralds to spare."
Ian waved his hand, and countless emeralds floated into the air, swirling around the blacksmith.
"If you bring enough people, not only will you get these, I'll even build you an Emerald Villa."
The blacksmith's eyes went wide with greed—but against all instinct, he resisted looking at the gems. Instead, he bolted off at full speed.
He was afraid Ian might change his mind. After all, a full belly is worth more than promises of endless feasts.
And truly, no villager could resist an Emerald Villa.
Some might resist the temptation of emeralds themselves—but resisting an Emerald Villa? That was impossible.