---o---
Along the way, the group's pace was ridiculously slow.
Sampo, walking at the very front, turned his neck to glance at Caelus, who was still crouched in the trench, hammering away at the snow. He finally couldn't hold his tongue any longer.
"Big Bro, at the rate you're digging, I'm afraid we won't even reach Belobog by nightfall."
Caelus didn't stop, nor did he even look up as he replied.
"Don't rush me. This is the last one."
Caelus raised his fist one more time and brought it down on the packed snow. As the final block crumbled into powder, the progress bar in the corner of his vision jumped to its maximum value, and a system notification popped up.
[Auxiliary MOD proficiency has reached 400. Obtained Auxiliary-type MOD: Chain Destruction MOD]
[Auxiliary MOD proficiency cap increased to: 800]
Caelus stared at the two lines of text for a full three seconds, the corners of his mouth curving into a grin he couldn't suppress.
It's here, it's here! The invincible MOD is finally here!
[Chain Destruction MOD: Allows customization of destruction method, no chain limit, but increases hunger consumption (blocks destroyed via chain destruction do not count towards proficiency)]
Caelus saw the fine print in the notes and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He had originally hoped to use chain destruction to grind his proficiency to the heavens, but the system had actually anticipated this and prevented him from exploiting the loophole!
---o---
Still, even without the proficiency bonus from chain destruction, maxing out these few hundred points was a breeze. It was nothing like those modpacks that demanded an insane amount of grinding, where you could play for weeks and still not craft a single piece of end-game gear.
And while the Chain Destruction MOD couldn't help him grind proficiency, that didn't mean it was useless. On the contrary, its utility was enormous!
Just the fact that it had no chain limit meant that as long as he had a tool with enough durability, destroying an entire planet in three seconds was entirely possible!
By any measure, he was now a 'planet-buster'!
After a moment, Caelus placed a block at the bottom of the trench to use as a foothold, then pushed himself up over the edge with both hands. He turned and bent down, extending a hand to the person below.
"March, come on up."
March 7th took his hand and used the leverage to climb out of the trench. Standing up straight, she brushed the loose snow from her knees.
Seeing the two of them finally out of the pit, Sampo let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, they were done!
If he could just get these three ancestors to Belobog, he could find a chance to slip away. If he stuck around any longer, who knew how many more beatings he'd have to endure.
He turned to leave, taking half a step before his peripheral vision caught Caelus still standing motionless in the same spot.
Sampo turned back to see Caelus with his head lowered, turning his left hand over, then his right, staring intently at his own two fists.
"Big Bro, what is it now?"
What kind of new trick was this ancestor planning to pull?
---o---
Caelus half-squatted, aiming his right fist at the snow beneath his feet.
"Naturally, I'm going to test out my well-trained fists."
What was the point of getting a new mod if you didn't even try it out?
Just as Sampo was about to speak, Caelus had already thrown a punch, and the Chain Destruction MOD activated simultaneously.
A muffled thump erupted from under their feet. The two-to-three-meter-thick layer of snow beneath the group instantly disintegrated. A cloud of fine snow dust billowed into the air as the ground gave way beneath them.
All four of them simultaneously lost their footing and began to fall. Dan Heng adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed steadily. March 7th squatted and wobbled twice upon landing but didn't fall. Sampo stumbled and barely managed to stay upright.
Caelus, however, landed perfectly stable, without so much as a tremor.
Once Sampo regained his balance, he spun around. Forget the ground directly beneath them—as far as the eye could see, the snow that had covered this land for centuries was completely gone!
In every direction was hard, slick, frozen earth. The exposed surface stretched from their feet to the edge of their vision. Under the gloomy gray sky, it was as if the entire snowfield had been peeled back a layer.
He swallowed hard, turned his head to look at Caelus, and his voice came out shaky.
"Big Bro... did you do this?"
Even though he had watched Caelus punch the ground with his own eyes, the sheer, terrifying scale of it made him unwilling to believe it.
---o---
Caelus had no energy to deal with him right now. That single punch had chain-destroyed hundreds of thousands of snow blocks, and his saturation bar had instantly bottomed out. He pulled a piece of bread from his inventory and began to chew.
Thank goodness he had asked Pom-Pom for emergency rations before they left. It was a real lifesaver right now.
March 7th moved closer to Caelus, taking his empty left hand in both of hers. She turned it over and over, examining his palm and the back of his hand, her mouth agape.
"Caelus, you were serious about the training? You got this strong just from punching snow for a little while?!"
Dan Heng stood a few steps away, his gaze slowly sweeping across the barren, frozen earth. After a long moment, he squeezed out a single word.
"Impressive."
Caelus chewed his bread, quite enjoying their reactions. He hadn't intentionally tried to show off; he had just genuinely wanted to test how awesome the limitless chain destruction was. But their current reactions made him feel incredibly smug.
Appearing divine before others was, indeed, one of the most satisfying things in the world.
However, the satisfaction was short-lived, as a problem immediately followed.
Sampo muttered, "What a monster," and turned, preparing to obediently lead the way.
But the moment his left foot came down, the sole of his shoe slipped on the frozen earth. He nearly went flying sideways, flailing his arms in several wide circles before he managed to stabilize himself.
He then bent down and touched the slick, smooth ground, a complex expression on his face. He looked back at Caelus, who had just finished his bread.
"Big Bro, that move of yours was a real eye-opener for this little brother, but—how are we supposed to walk now?"
Dan Heng and March 7th noticed this as well. The lingering awe on their faces faded, replaced by identical expressions of helplessness as they all turned to look at the culprit.
Caelus, however, remained quite calm. "Don't panic," he said. He took the crafting table from his inventory and placed it on the ground, fed five wooden planks into it, and pulled out a brand-new wooden boat. He placed it on the ground, then took out the one he had from before and set it down beside the new one.
Seeing the boats, Sampo couldn't help but laugh. As Caelus's gaze swept over, he immediately wiped the smile off his face and said with a serious expression, "Big Bro, this isn't a lake. Using a boat here is no different from sliding on our butts, is it?"
"How would you know if you don't try?"
Caelus stepped into the left boat and sat down. Patting the hull behind him, he looked back at March 7th and said half-jokingly, "My lady, please embark."
March 7th shot him a glare, but the corners of her mouth were clearly turned up. She stepped into the boat and sat down behind Caelus.
"Hold on tight."
Caelus gave a push with the boat's oars. In the next second, the wooden boat shot forward across the frozen earth with a whoosh, its speed no slower than an off-road vehicle.
Dan Heng stood where he was, watching the boat carrying the two of them shrink into a tiny dot. March 7th's screams faintly carried back on the wind. After a moment of silence, he turned to Sampo.
"Let's go."
Sampo snapped out of his daze, his eyes locked on the rapidly moving dot in the distance, shining with an unmistakable light.
This thing can go almost as fast as a car on frozen earth! This is a treasure!
He decided then and there that he had to buy one from Caelus later.
He plopped himself down into the boat on the right. Dan Heng vaulted in and landed behind him. Sampo grabbed the oars and began rowing furiously in the direction Caelus had disappeared.