Chapter 73: Selling Magma for Money, Hundred Years' War
The lively atmosphere vanished in an instant.
At that moment, Usopp realized:
"Wait, this isn't right! They're all gone—what do we do?"
Nami also sensed the seriousness of the situation. Suddenly, the air around them felt dangerous.
"Na... Nami..."
"What is it?" Nami looked at Usopp, panicked.
"Protect me!"
"Get lost!" Nami smacked Usopp on the head with an iron fist.
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Cheng Lang walked steadily toward the volcano he had spotted earlier.
He hadn't seen any blind dinosaurs along the way, but the plants reminded him of Rare Beast Island in the East Blue.
They had that same vibe.
It seemed many of the plants there were ancient tree species.
"Should I save a seed?" Cheng Lang wondered.
Since arriving in the world of One Piece, he'd noticed a gap between the trees here and those in MC.
For him, the difference wasn't noticeable—whether he used his hands or an axe, the result was the same.
But for others, it was significant.
The minimum requirement was ten hits, and most trees could only be destroyed with ten hits.
But hematite, the wood used for shipbuilding and the keel of the Going Merry, was much tougher.
It could take up to fifteen hits.
After chopping down a tree and collecting seeds, he sold everything to the conversion table.
Eventually, he reached the volcano.
The air reeked of sulfur and rotten eggs.
Cheng Lang prepared to move forward, but to be fully ready, he pulled out an enchanted golden apple.
He was nervous about crafting it—hoping it wouldn't work.
If it did, it would mean this world was just another version of MC.
Unfortunately, reality was cruel. Cheng Lang, unwilling to give up, still tried building a line-farming machine.
Of course, it failed.
Clearly, that feature didn't exist here.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be stressing over the 80 million price tag.
He climbed halfway up the volcano.
Pulled out his pickaxe and started digging.
The temperature rose steadily. Sweat dripped from his forehead to the tip of his nose.
"It's really hot..."
After digging the final block, Cheng Lang saw the volcano bubbling and erupting on a small scale.
Just then, magma splashed from the center.
He narrowly dodged it.
Quickly, he ate the golden apple.
A five-minute fire resistance status appeared.
The scorching heat around his body faded.
He could still feel the warmth, but it wasn't unbearable.
Curious, he wondered how far his fire resistance could go.
Cautiously, Cheng Lang reached out and touched a small splash of magma on the ground.
It was hot—but that was it.
Like soaking in a hot spring.
"Not bad..."
Thinking further, Cheng Lang approached the edge and moved his hand closer to the still-reacting magma.
It still felt hot.
"Perfect!" Cheng Lang said, excited.
If this worked, he had plenty of room to maneuver.
First, he used an iron bucket to scoop up some magma.
Placed it on the conversion table.
Lava Bucket: 1048 EMC
"Loss."
He had considered collecting magma in iron buckets and selling it to test the price.
If it exceeded the cost of three iron ingots, he could profit.
Unfortunately, buying three iron ingots from the conversion table cost 1296 EMC.
Selling three gave him 648 EMC.
Magma was worth 400 EMC.
Clearly, this resulted in a 248 EMC loss.
So the magma-for-profit idea wasn't viable.
But Cheng Lang had another thought.
He dipped his hand into the lava.
Still hot, but no health loss. His armor and clothes didn't burn.
"This is... magical."
He didn't care why his clothes resisted fire.
With a thought, he placed the magma into the conversion column inside the table.
It worked.
Magma conversion required 120 EMC.
"This is doable! I can make 280, right? Wait—gotta factor in the golden apple cost: 3456 EMC. That's enough to cover at least thirteen buckets of lava in five minutes."
Cheng Lang leapt into the magma pool. It felt like a hot spring—surprisingly comfortable.
But he couldn't waste time.
Almost one minute of fire resistance had passed.
Luckily, MC-style magma conversion was instant—no waiting required.
Soon, the magma that had been about to erupt visibly sank.
Cheng Lang stood in the center, unmoving, as the magma touching his hands seemed to be sucked into a black hole.
He watched his EMC value steadily rise.
A smile crept across his face.
The money was coming in faster than expected.
Just four minutes in, and his EMC had already increased by 40,000.
And that was just surface magma—there was a delay in flow.
If he dove deeper, he wouldn't have to wait for magma to reach him. It'd be faster.
He ate another golden apple.
This time, he held his breath and dove headfirst.
The descent speed was no longer visible to the naked eye.
Like a sieve with a hole, a vortex soon formed in the crater's center.
Countless magma blocks vanished.
And the speed kept increasing.
Cheng Lang noticed the conversion window had eight slots that could process simultaneously.
If timed right, he could convert 8 cubic meters of magma at once.
He was thrilled to see his EMC multiplying by eight, but he still had to watch the status bar.
He wasn't about to gamble on whether his body could withstand raw magma heat.
"EMC increases by about 100,000 per minute. To reach 80 million... that's just thirteen hours."
"Can I go faster?" Cheng Lang wondered.
Soaking in magma for thirteen hours didn't sound ideal.
And he wasn't sure if magma would make him swell up.
"Wait—I've never tested obsidian's price. If it's higher than 280, it might be faster."
Cheng Lang stopped diving and grabbed his bucket.
Soon, he saw the sky again.
He placed the bucket on the wall.
Obsidian blocks formed.
Cheng Lang pulled out his diamond pickaxe and started a chain mine.
But first, he retrieved the bucket—didn't want to waste magma.
What if it was limited?
With a thud, the obsidian fell into the lava.
"Shit!"
Luckily, real magma didn't instantly melt MC-style dropped items.
He checked the price.
Cheng Lang grinned.
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