Chapter 8: The Workbench

Linde was a bit confused by Victoria extending her claw to ask for something.

Amidst her expectant gaze, he placed his right hand on hers and joked, "I do."

"Do what? I'm not asking for a handshake."

Victoria swatted his hand away, extended her right claw again, and stared at him with eyes gleaming. Seeing Linde remain unmoved, she frowned. "What about the promise to let me play with the blocks?"

"Oh, that..." Linde slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing. If she hadn't mentioned it, he would have truly forgotten. They had collected sixty-three wooden blocks in total, so giving her a few wasn't a problem. "I'll give you ten for now. Go stack them and play. Remember, when the little blocks hit something hard, they grow larger, so don't throw them at your head—be careful not to bonk yourself. Other than that..."

"Fine, fine, I'm not a silly dragon. I'll figure it out myself."

Seeing how impatient Victoria was, Linde decided to say no more. After honestly handing the blocks to her, he went to a clean corner to attend to his own business: building a crafting table. He hadn't used the synthesis function in the system yet and needed to study it properly.

"First, synthesize four wooden planks from one log..."

In Minecraft, one could simply adjust the panel, but the system didn't seem to allow that directly; it likely required triggering specific conditions. Linde stroked his chin, eyeing the one-meter-tall log in front of him, and sank into thought.

"Linde, why won't they change back? Help me look!"

The young dragon's voice interrupted his train of thought. Victoria, holding the wooden blocks in her arms, hurried to his side and sat down on the spot, her eyes full of anxiety. Linde glanced at her and placed his palm on the wooden surface. Three seconds later, the blocks reverted to their miniature size.

*It seems that aside from me, other creatures cannot shrink the blocks, only enlarge them,* he thought.

"Yay! Human, you're amazing." Victoria clapped her hands, hugged the little blocks, and trotted back to play.

[Prestige Points +1]

Linde shook his head helplessly. With that interruption, his original train of thought was derailed, but it also gave him a new idea. What would happen if he touched the shrunken blocks with his hand for another three seconds?

After trying it out, he was surprised to find that the wooden block turned into four lighter-colored wooden plank blocks. When he touched the plank blocks again, they wouldn't change into anything else. It seemed they were the most basic units.

*If one turns into many by touching, then how do many turn into one...*

After some experimentation, Linde basically understood the principle of synthesis. Turning one into many required touching; turning many into one required bumping. For example, to synthesize a crafting table from four wooden planks, he needed to use three blocks to strike the first one in succession.

Heh, there were new mechanics to develop later. Things like material priority, the time limit for placing blocks... This would offer different tactical options once he got gunpowder and started using TNT. Maybe he wouldn't even need a head-on confrontation with the red dragon; he could just blast it into a moribund state. Linde drifted into a fantasy.

After browsing through the list of items that could be crafted with the table, he stretched and decided to call it a day and get some sleep. He would finish the rest of the work tomorrow.

*By the way, what is Victoria doing? I haven't heard a sound for a while.* At first, he could hear the *thump-thump* of her throwing blocks, but now it was quiet. Everyone knows that a mischievous child being quiet is more terrifying than when they are noisy, because they might be up to some mischief you haven't discovered yet. Victoria hadn't reached the level of a brat in his heart, but she was a little silly dragon with a penchant for pranks.

"Victoria..."

He turned his head to see her sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and her forelimbs folded, mimicking his exact posture. She was unexpectedly well-behaved, with no signs of having caused any trouble.

"Uh, is this a pose a dragon should have?"

"I saw you sitting like this, so I learned it. Maybe I'll gain human magical abilities too," Victoria said, squinting her eyes with a smile.

*Wouldn't that make you a god-human?* Linde thought to himself. However, he didn't dampen her enthusiasm. Perhaps one day, Victoria would write a book titled *Gem Dragon: Becoming Human*. He could then use the system to create an immersive game of the same name, allowing every dragon to experience the wonder of becoming human. *From then on, dragons become as humans. Fun.*

The next second, Victoria's voice pulled him back to reality. "Linde, are you done working? Can you play with me?"

The little gem dragon wasn't used to this human sitting posture, and her hind legs were getting a bit numb, so she sprawled onto the ground, kicked her legs back, and did a move just like a horse kicking its hooves.

"Play what?"

"Let's play 'Push the Blocks'." Victoria pointed to the wood pile stacked nearby. They were piled in a pyramid structure: four blocks at the bottom, then three, then two. The remaining block was placed at her feet.

"Playing by myself is boring. It's only fun if we compete. I finished stacking them a long time ago, but I saw you studying something, so I didn't disturb you. Father taught me not to bother other dragons when they are busy. I thought humans were the same, so I waited. Now that you're done, can you join me?"

"Victoria, you..." Linde sighed, walked over to her, and rubbed her cheeks firmly with both hands. "You're so cute!"

"Are you asking if I can? Of course! *Gwa*, such a sensible and cute little dragon, you were born to be made into a little dragon cake and eaten in one bite, *hehehe*..."

"So, so scary... I want to sleep, I don't want to play anymore." The young dragon's eyes welled up with tears, and she began to retreat.

"It's too late for regrets now." Linde let out a villainous laugh. "Tell me how to play."

"We use this block to push and hit the small wood pile. You get points based on how many blocks you knock over. Whoever has more points wins. Best of three, how about it?"

Linde felt the game was similar to bowling and readily agreed. "What's the reward or punishment?" he asked.

"Isn't the point of playing games just to be happy? Why would we need those?" Victoria looked at him, confused.

"Uh, that's true. Friendship first, competition second." Linde extended his right hand.

"Friendship first, competition second." Victoria repeated, placing her claw on his.

...

Three rounds later, Linde, having been thoroughly beaten, sat expressionless, staring coldly at Victoria, who was giggling.

"Victoria, do you know what 'social nuances' are?"

"I'm a dragon, I don't understand that." The gem dragon blinked her eyes wide, feigning innocence.

Linde clenched his fists. *Damn it, don't act cute at a time like this, trying to get away with it...* Although he was quite susceptible to it. Such a lovable and cute young dragon—he couldn't bear to say anything harsh. Forget it, he could only blame his own skills for being inferior to a dragon. He would have to think of a strategy later; he couldn't just use brute force against a dragon.

"Let's sleep, I'm a bit tired."

"Mm, lean on me. That way you'll be warmer."

"Thanks."

Watching Linde close his eyes, Victoria gently draped her wings over him. Under the glow of the night pearl, she quietly recorded her observations of the human in the Book of the World.