New Players

"That should be enough."

Yuanfang thought to himself.

Before long, he gripped his dagger and launched an attack on the towering Fishman Leader.

Under his assault, the Mudflat Fishman Leader swiftly flew into a rage, roaring madly as it smashed and struck at him.

Yet Yuanfang remained incomparably calm, effortlessly evading every attack from the Fishman Leader.

"Roar!"

The Fishman Leader thrust its Bone Fork fiercely, but missed again.

Yuanfang, having dodged into its blind spot, attacked once more and wounded it.

With his Agility stat at 10, Yuanfang could already fully react to the Fishman Leader's attacks and evade them.

He had tested it before. This Fishman Leader had a severe weakness—its eyesight was terrible!

Now, he exploited that weakness to the fullest.

After every attack, he would dodge into the Fishman Leader's blind spot before launching his next strike.

The Fishman Leader could do nothing about it and could only be led around by Yuanfang.

"Roar!"

The Fishman Leader was beside itself with rage, wildly pounding the surrounding beach and sending dust flying, yet it could not harm the eel-like Yuanfang in the slightest.

Although Yuanfang's Strength was not high, and his dagger's attack power was low as well.

After more than two minutes of nearly continuous chipping away, the heavily wounded Fishman Leader's HP gradually bottomed out...

Squish!

With Yuanfang's final strike, the life and madness in the Fishman Leader's eyes gradually faded away, vanishing completely.

[You have slain the Mudflat Fishman Leader]

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×8]

[Obtained: Merman Bone Fork (Fine)]

[Merman Bone Fork]

[Type: Weapon]

[Description: A bone fork used by the Fishman Leader. The user gains a slight attack bonus when throwing it.]

Boom!

The Fishman Leader crashed to the ground, turning into ashes and slowly fading away.

Yuanfang picked up the Merman Bone Fork, studied it thoughtfully for a moment, then equipped it.

After that, he resumed slaughtering Fishmen.

"That kid..."

Rogue, who was killing monsters to stockpile Wax Oil, could not help feeling surprised when he noticed how quickly his Wax Oil reserves were rising.

Yuanfang's monster-killing efficiency had nearly reached half of his own.

"At this rate, we should be able to anchor the island soon..."

"Let's save up enough Wax Oil to anchor the island after summoning three more players..."

Rogue thought to himself.

Time flew by, and two days passed in the blink of an eye.

After yawning, Li Miao put on his helmet and activated Spirit Candle once more.

The darkness gradually brightened, and his vision slowly cleared. It was still the familiar Reef Cave.

"Yo, Bro Miao's here?"

A booming voice came from beside him.

It belonged to a player whose physique was absurdly muscular. His firm pectorals alone could make most girls feel inferior. His ID was "Battle Thrill."

He was the island's fourth player, possessing an exceptionally high fighting spirit and enthusiasm.

He just... did not like thinking very much.

Aside from Yuanfang, who had done it deliberately, he was the second player to receive a "discouragement" prompt from the Candle Keepers.

"Brother Mangzi, don't tell me you haven't logged off all day?"

Seeing this, Li Miao could not help asking.

When he had logged off in the morning, he had seen Brother Mangzi recovering HP beside the Spirit Candle. Now that he had even slept, Brother Mangzi was still recovering HP beside it...

"Listen to yourself. How could that be? I definitely logged off to eat."

Brother Mangzi said.

Honestly, Li Miao suspected that all he had done after logging off was eat...

"Where's Yuanfang?" Li Miao asked.

Yuanfang had now become the undisputed number one among the players.

His feats of soloing the Fishman Leader and killing a Poison Mist Bird with a single spear thrust had won everyone's complete admiration.

"Oh, he's outside helping Guagua Sis farm equipment."

Brother Mangzi pointed outside the cave, then continued warming himself by the fire.

Li Miao did not waste any time. He headed straight outside the cave and toward the Fishmen's activity area.

However, on the way, he encountered Fisherman Who Never Misses a Catch, who was spacing out by the sea.

He was the third player after Yuanfang. He had a decent talent for the game and had basically mastered its various controls, making him a qualified player.

Since he was the oldest of them in real life, everyone called him Brother Yu.

"Brother Yu, what are you spacing out over?" Li Miao asked curiously.

Brother Yu turned to look at him and sighed softly. "...I don't know when the Candle Keepers will be able to anchor the island and unlock the nearshore waters and Fishing Rods."

"It'd be such a shame to have such a great fishing spot and not be able to fish..."

Only then did Li Miao notice that Brother Yu was standing at an excellent fishing spot on this isolated island.

"..."

Li Miao did not know why the other players played this game, but he knew why Brother Yu did.

Fishing.

When Brother Yu had first entered the game, the first question he asked the Candle Keepers was, "Can you fish in this game?"

If the Candle Keepers had not told him that he could fish after anchoring the island, Li Miao figured he might have quit the game long ago...

"Brother Yu, is fishing really that fun?"

Li Miao could not help asking.

Honestly, he truly did not know what kind of magic this sport possessed.

"...You wouldn't understand."

Brother Yu gave him a melancholy look, then turned back toward the sea and continued spacing out.

Seeing that, Li Miao could only scratch his head and leave for the time being.

Before long, he arrived at the Fishmen's fixed spawn point.

After they had fully explored the island, this place could also be called "directly in front of the cave."

To the right of the cave were Tidal Sandworms, while the area directly behind it was home to Poison Mist Birds.

As for the lower-left corner of the cave... that was the most dangerous area in the entire game so far.

A monster called [Nearshore Specter] guarded the place, and the players currently had no effective means of dealing with it.

"Roar!"

Before he saw it, he heard it.

When Li Miao drew closer, he saw his familiar old friend, the Fishman Leader, being toyed with by Yuanfang.

Boom!

The Fishman Leader smashed down furiously, but Yuanfang easily dodged aside.

Yet Yuanfang did not seize the chance to attack. Instead, he instructed a female player beside him, "Now, stab it."

"Okay! I'll stab it!"

"Hah!"

After receiving Yuanfang's approval, the female player whose ID was "My Hamster is Called Guagua" brightened. With a loud shout, she fiercely thrust out the spear in her hand.

After suffering that final heavy blow.

The Fishman Leader let out a mournful cry and crashed to the ground, finally ending its miserable life.

[You have slain the Mudflat Fishman Leader]

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×8]

[Obtained: Ashen Remains: Fork Toss ×1]

[Ashen Remains: Fork Toss]

[Type: Skill Book]

[Quality: Cinder]

[Effect: Enhances the power of spear-type weapons you throw.]

[Description: The ashes of a combat skill left behind after the Mudflat Fishman Leader's death. (Requirements must be met before this Ashen Remains can be used.)]

"Huh?"

"Yuanfang, look at this. What is it?"

Guagua Sis looked at the glowing ball of ash in her hand in surprise, then handed it to Yuanfang.