That night, 11:59 PM.
A sudden burst of white light surged up from the ground, swallowing the forest cabin whole.
A system prompt appeared in front of them:
World evolution in progress. Installation estimated to complete in 8 hours…
Gong Qu didn't bother testing whether the white light could be exited—he wasn't about to do something that suicidal.
With nothing better to do, he pulled Keqing into his arms and returned to the bedroom. Drawing from his experience with the previous life's Dragon Adventure Modpack, he patiently explained the relevant basics to her while they waited out the loading process in silence.
The modpack was called Dragon Adventure. Unsurprisingly, the most iconic creatures in it were dragons—primarily drawn from the Ice and Fire mod.
In this volatile world where lightning clashed with flame and frost, true dragons came in three elemental types: Fire, Ice, and Lightning.
Each type had four distinct color variants, and the scales dropped upon their death reflected this elemental and chromatic diversity.
Dragons were exceedingly dangerous. Their breath could destroy blocks outright, reshaping the terrain with terrifying ease—a single battle could level a hill into a valley.
Dragons progressed through five growth stages: starting from a freshly hatched stage one, to flight-capable stage two, and then full adulthood at stage three. Most wild dragon lairs contained dragons of this third tier.
These beasts couldn't be tamed. The only way to obtain a dragon egg was to channel one's inner war god and slay a stage four or five mother dragon—a feat both rare and brutal.
That made acquiring a dragon no small feat.
Still, unlike in some games where villains get triple power-ups and reformed characters are nerfed to oblivion, Minecraft didn't follow such dramatic narrative logic. Once a player hatched a baby dragon, they could raise it to stage five rather quickly. At that point, they were effectively unmatched in the world.
Beyond dragons, the modpack included a variety of fantastical creatures.
Take the Highland Drake, for instance. Despite the name, it wasn't part of Ice and Fire, but rather came from the Wyrmroost mod. Killing one would yield medium-tier meat—edible for players and usable to craft dragon chow. They were tameable, too.
The Leviathan, akin to the drake, offered top-tier meat instead and dwelled in the deep sea. It, too, could be domesticated.
Sirens, creatures of coastal waters, could enchant and mesmerize. Not particularly powerful, but with a realistic texture pack, Gong Qu figured they'd probably be quite the lookers.
Then there was the Sea Serpent—a ferocious marine beast that dropped materials needed to craft the Serpent Armor Set.
This armor was a cut above the standard Dragonbone Set and second only to the endgame-tier Dragonsteel gear.
It granted passive underwater breathing and came with Strength IV by default—a must-have for any aspiring midgame dragonslayer.
And then, of course, there were others: Hydras, Krakens, Griffins, Cyclopes...
"Stellar Magic is a ritual-based mystic art that draws power from the constellations," Gong Qu explained softly. "By observing celestial alignments, one can empower themselves or enchant items…"
Mid-sentence, he noticed something odd.
It had gotten very quiet.
He turned to look.
Keqing had dozed off, eyes closed, clutching his arm like a plushie. She hadn't been listening at all.
"Guess she really has been exhausted lately."
Gong Qu gently eased his arm free, guided her head to the pillow, and tucked the blanket around her with care.
The past few days, they'd dug more than 10 kilometers down to mine diamonds, and Keqing had been indispensable in that feat.
Gong Qu had told her repeatedly not to push herself so hard, but once she got into work mode, she was practically unstoppable.
So he did what he could—channeling his mastery of Grass elemental magic to help her recover.
He had even developed a series of elemental techniques akin to healing and attack-speed boosts.
Thanks to the synergy between Grass and Lightning—Amplification, they called it—the attack speed effect was greatly enhanced. As a result, Keqing fought like she was putting in triple the effort.
She had been passing out the moment she hit the bed lately, and even their nightlife had become increasingly rare.
"Mmm… Ah Qu… heehee…"
A smile curled on Keqing's lips, as though dreaming of something delightfully mischievous.
Gong Qu caught snippets in her sleep mumbling—something about Ayaka, Shenhe, and "defeated rivals."
She kicked off the blanket and rolled left, hugging his waist as she burrowed into his chest.
Her brows arched like a crescent moon, and she let out soft, purring sounds—like a pampered Persian cat snuggling in contentment.
Gong Qu gave a helpless sigh and propped the pillow upright behind his back.
He cradled Keqing's upper body and began gently patting her back.
"Sleep well, Ah Qing. I'll keep watch tonight—something about that white light's still bugging me."
"M'kay~" she mumbled sweetly, head nuzzling into his thigh as she drifted back to sleep.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The quartz clock on the bedroom wall ticked softly, the second hand pointing straight at eight.
Gong Qu's eyes snapped open mid-dream, his senses instantly alert.
"Huh. Strange. Nothing's changed?"
Unlike the dramatic spectacle when the mod first initialized, this update had ended rather… quietly.
He instinctively opened the Random Shop to check.
As expected, new items from the modpack had been added:
[Ring of the Seven Curses: 100 World Coins]
[Dragonbone (6): 150 World Coins]
[Wither Bone (16): 50 World Coins]
[Balloon: 2000 World Coins]
"So they're just selling the Ring of the Seven Curses as a starter pack now?"
Gong Qu glanced at its properties—enough to make any player wince:
Upon equipping, this ring will be eternally bound to your accessory slot, cursed-style.
The Seven Curses shall befall the wearer:
All damage received is doubled
Neutral mobs become hostile (even Endermen)
Armor effectiveness reduced by 30%
Deal 50% less damage to monsters
If ignited, fire burns eternally (only water can extinguish)
Each death fractures your soul (max HP decreases)
Incurable insomnia (cannot skip night by sleeping; instead, you'll be dragged into the Abyss)
But for those who endure, seven blessings await:
+1 Looting
+1 Fortune
+400% EXP drops
+10 Enchanting Power (Enchantments can exceed level 30)
Unique mob drops
Ender Ring effect
Ability to craft and wield relic items
Now that he didn't have to worry about being force-fed the cursed ring at the start…
He could finally stop turtling until he crafted a scroll that lifted curses. That alone was good news.
Let the accursed thing gather dust in the shop.
Skipping the overpriced "starter pack," Gong Qu immediately bought two batches of Dragonbone and Wither Bones.
According to crafting logic, two Dragonbones plus one Wither Bone would yield a Dragonbone Sword—with a base damage of 8, one point higher than the Diamond Sword's 7.
"Pretty sure that balloon is from the Terraria-style accessory mod," he mused. "Boosts jump height and reduces fall damage."
Jump height was a very useful trait.
In vanilla Minecraft, most mobs couldn't climb over two-block walls, but the balloon let players leap three blocks high—perfect for kiting enemies.
"Too bad Ah Qing runs on a maid AI template. Aside from the equipment she brought from Teyvat, which got converted into accessories, normal gear can't be equipped by her."
With that in mind, Gong Qu only bought two.
One for himself. The other for later, once he got a horseshoe from a dungeon and combined it into a Horseshoe Balloon—so he could equip both balloon-type accessories at once.
Then he'd have immunity to fall damage and a five-block jump height.
At that point, he could even cosplay as the Sapphire Star from the New World.