Barely Playable

Yuanfang and Li Miao emerged from Reef Cave together, discussing character levels and attributes.

"Player characters currently seem to be capped at level ten. With the corresponding talents, a single attribute can only reach twenty at most."

"These Skill Books should all have attribute requirements, though they aren't explicitly stated in the item information. You can check them at the Spirit Candle."

"Combat skills and spells should be the two major categories of Skill Books. We need to write that down..."

"Players can enter the near seas around Candlewood Island, but their health rapidly drains while they're in Seawater..."

"And then there's the extremely important NPC, the Candle Keepers. From what we can tell so far, he has very high intelligence and serves as a guide for us..."

"Based on the little bit of background story available, he should also play a significant role in the later plot. He's very important, and there also seems to be an affinity system..."

The two discussed and supplemented each other's details.

Considering that a steady stream of newcomers would surely enter Spirit Candle later on, the two of them, as veterans of the game, had already created a group chat.

At that moment, they were writing a "guide."

It might be able to help later newcomers, or at least give them a preliminary understanding of the game.

Of course, their guide was still only in the preparation stage.

Just as the two were talking,

Li Miao suddenly spotted a figure in the distance slowly approaching with two fish in hand.

"...Brother Yu?" Li Miao asked in surprise. "When did you log on?"

Brother Yu was left somewhat speechless by that question. "What do you mean, when did I log on? I never logged off. Didn't Guagua tell you?"

Li Miao could not help but laugh. "We thought you were planning to quit because you didn't like this game's fishing system."

"Ahem."

Brother Yu gave a light cough.

"Well, this game's fishing system... is passable, I suppose. It barely counts as a good game."

"It's playable."

As if he did not know, he lifted the two fish in his hand and asked them, "By the way, do these things need to be appraised?"

Seeing how afraid Brother Yu was that they might fail to notice them, Li Miao and Yuanfang exchanged looks.

So this fisherman had come here to show off?

"Yes. You can appraise their effects at the Spirit Candle, and you can get rewards too." Li Miao found it amusing, but he did not embarrass him. Instead, he sincerely praised him, "Brother Yu, your fishing skills are amazing. You caught two fish this big."

"...Looks like we'll have to leave future fish encyclopedia tasks to Brother Yu." Yuanfang smiled and added his own remark.

Hearing them, Brother Yu's heart immediately blossomed with joy, and the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

"No, no, it was just luck... luck, haha."

"Alright, enough talking. I'll go appraise them first."

"If you ever need fish meat or anything, just ask me."

Brother Yu entered the cave with a broad smile on his face.

After he left, Li Miao stroked his chin. "Brother Yu's fishing skills really do seem pretty good. Those two fish looked fairly rare."

"But his luck still can't compare to Guagua's."

"[Rare Treasure]... I wonder what tier of rarity that is..."

"Come on. Let's record the monster information from all over the island," Yuanfang said.

Li Miao nodded, then left with Yuanfang.

Thud!

With a dull thump, a heavy box landed on the shore.

[You caught: Mysterious Small Wooden Box ×1.]

[Mysterious Small Wooden Box]

[Type: Item]

[Description: A mysterious small wooden box. Before opening it, you will never know what it contains.]

Knock, knock.

Looking at the wooden box she had fished up, Guagua reached out and knocked on it twice, feeling puzzled.

"Why did I fish up a box? Weird..."

"Forget it, I'll take it back and put it away for now. I'll deal with it tomorrow..."

After thinking it over, Guagua picked up the box and left her fishing spot.

It was about time anyway. She could not keep playing; she still had work later.

Wuwu, just thinking about it makes my whole body feel awful. I don't want to go to work...

Guagua pulled a miserable face.

Tidal Sandworm habitat.

After the players' cleansing spree during the day, the area had temporarily quieted down.

The Tidal Sandworms respawned, burying their bodies beneath the beach as they waited for prey to arrive.

However, the arrival of one person shattered the peace.

Brother Yu looked calmly at the beach before him.

He had not been interested in monsters like Sandworms to begin with.

He really was not the type to hold grudges.

But who told the Sandworm King to drop Meat Bait?

Since that was the case, then don't blame me...

With that thought, Brother Yu slowly drew his blade, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.

Sandworm King, help me fish!

Take my blade!

Beside the Spirit Candle.

[Spirit Candle]

[Rank: Cinder (Required to upgrade: 1000 Candle Oil)]

[Remaining Candle Oil: 132]

[Spirit Candle Building: Spirit Fire Port (Not constructed; requires 500 Candle Oil)]

[Anchored Island: Candlewood Island (Small Isolated Island)]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 5]

After looking at his remaining Candle Oil, Rogue began considering his next route of development.

Now that he had anchored an island, he had three paths to choose from.

The first was to raise the rank of the Spirit Candle. Without question, this would most likely unlock more functions and provide more information.

After upgrading it, he should also be able to remove the level caps on both himself and the players.

Yuanfang and Li Miao, the two top players, had already reached the level cap.

But the issue was that upgrading the rank required too much Candle Oil. Even if he and the players gathered it frantically without rest, it would probably still take several days.

The second choice was to construct "Spirit Fire Port."

This was Rogue's preferred option.

The near-sea region was currently open, but players had no way to enter it directly.

Once Candle Spirits entered the sea, their health rapidly dropped.

Hmm... did Candle Oil dissolve easily in water?

Just from its name, Spirit Fire Port sounded like it could solve these problems.

But its construction cost was not low either. Five hundred Candle Oil would take quite a while to save up.

The final choice was to continue summoning players.

There was no need to say more about that. The more players there were, the more efficiently Rogue could accumulate Candle Oil.

After pondering for a moment, Rogue made his decision. "...I'll summon two more players first, then construct Spirit Fire Port."

The Candle Oil accumulation rate with only five players was still not enough.

"Besides that, I should think of another way to encourage these players to kill more monsters..."

Rogue fell into thought.

The "Appraisal Reward" mechanism had naturally been created by him. Its purpose was to encourage players to explore, which was immensely helpful for his understanding of this world.

But that mechanism undoubtedly consumed Candle Oil.

So he needed to find another way to "make money"...

Rogue thought about it for quite some time without coming up with any good ideas.

The candle flame swayed gently.

Suddenly, an idea flashed through Rogue's mind.

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