"Noob"

Whoosh!

After a roll, Rogue cleanly slew a Tidal Sandworm. As he collected the loot, he also kept watch on the player's situation through the Spirit Candle.

Seeing Li Miao kill the Mudflat Merman in a counterattack, he gave a slight nod.

Though Li Miao had made plenty of mistakes and had not used any skills or weapons at all, relying only on his strong physique and the effects of a small accessory... at least he had not been killed by the weakest Mudflat Merman.

He should soon become familiar with combat techniques and grow into a qualified player.

Squelch!

While thinking, Rogue drove the Worn Sword in his hand into the sand beneath his feet, killing another Tidal Sandworm that had tried to ambush him.

Though he had no precise status panel, Li Miao could clearly sense that he had only about a quarter of his vitality left.

It had clearly been a narrow victory.

If he made another mistake, he would probably lose his first life right here...

"This game... is kind of hardcore..."

Li Miao could not help thinking to himself.

But when he saw that droplet-shaped blob of wax oil, a faint sense of accomplishment rose in his heart.

I counterkilled a powerful enemy in my first battle. I'm pretty good!

What an exhilarating fight!

Not bad, not bad. This game was made well!

"Roar..."

Howls echoed from the distant shore.

Li Miao came back to his senses.

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×1]

"I should go back and heal up first." He picked up the wax oil and returned to the Reef Cave.

When he sat cross-legged beside the Spirit Candle, Li Miao could clearly sense his vitality slowly recovering, while the wounds on his body rapidly healed.

He estimated that he would be fully recovered in about a minute.

The dim candlelight illuminated the pitch-black cave. Water dripped somewhere in the corner, while the battered warrior gradually recovered in the warmth...

"This really has a nice atmosphere..."

Li Miao sighed inwardly.

Then he began reviewing his earlier battle.

"I should've rolled away the moment it lunged at me..."

"I should've used my knife. How did I end up brawling with it without even realizing it..."

Li Miao smacked his fist into his palm, feeling somewhat annoyed.

In truth, his reaction had been perfectly normal.

Before this, he had only been an ordinary person. Let alone a fight with the goal of killing the opponent, he had little experience even with ordinary brawls.

Only battles tempered through countless trials could forge a qualified warrior...

Before long, Li Miao's injuries had fully recovered.

He raised his knife again, filled with fighting spirit.

"Next time, I'll roll out of the way and finish it with one slash!"

With his head held high and chest puffed out, the player charged toward the shore again with fierce momentum.

Time passed, and several hours went by in the blink of an eye.

Li Miao had gone from a complete novice to a warrior with a rudimentary grasp of combat.

"Roar!"

A Mudflat Merman lunged at him.

Li Miao performed a clumsy side roll, narrowly avoiding the strike. He quickly got up and slashed the Mudflat Merman across the back, tearing open a huge wound.

I missed again!

Li Miao cursed inwardly. Attacking after a roll really was hard to control—he had been aiming for its head...

Splash!

Yet the injured Mudflat Merman seemed to feel no pain at all. It opened its mouth and spat a gob of mucus at Li Miao.

Quick-eyed and quick-handed, Li Miao rolled forward and took the opportunity to slash again.

This time, he did not miss. He chopped the fish head cleanly in half.

[Obtained: Wax Oil ×1]

"Just a Fishman. Two slashes and it's done!"

Li Miao grinned. This was the first time he had killed a Mudflat Merman without taking any damage.

However, just as he was rejoicing, a series of low growls rose from behind him.

"Roar..." "Roar..."

"Roar!"

Several Mudflat Mermen spotted Li Miao while wandering about, then lunged at him like mad.

Li Miao's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly rolled away.

But this time, more than one monster had set its sights on him.

Amid several howls, one Mudflat Merman after another pounced on him.

As the saying went, three dogs could slaughter a god, let alone Li Miao, who was still just a newbie.

No matter how quickly he rolled, he could not evade so many Mudflat Mermen attacking at once.

So, before long, he was knocked to the ground. A group of Mudflat Mermen then swarmed him and tore him apart.

His senses blurred at that moment. Li Miao's body gradually vanished, turning into a small pile of faintly glowing ash.

[Death]

Still dazed, Li Miao saw that huge word in his field of vision.

It clearly said "Death," yet the more he looked at it, the more it seemed to say "Noob"...

"I got happy too soon."

Li Miao regretted it bitterly.

He had rolled right into the area where those Fishmen were wandering, yet he had been so pleased with himself that he had not noticed at all.

Well, that was that. He had lost his first life here.

It left Li Miao feeling rather depressed.

After looking around, Li Miao realized that he seemed to be in a soul-like state, floating in midair.

[Return to the Spirit Candle and reshape your body]

[Notice: After your death, your equipment and items will temporarily remain in "Wax Ash." Please retrieve them as soon as possible, or they will disappear after a period of time.]

"Fuck!"

Seeing the word "disappear," Li Miao's heart jolted. He hurriedly flew toward the Spirit Candle.

Upon reaching the Spirit Candle, he quickly chose to reshape his body.

[Wax Oil -2]

[Reshaping body...]

His vision went dark. When Li Miao opened his eyes again, he was standing before the Spirit Candle.

After rushing back to where he had died, Li Miao reached out and touched the pile of Wax Ash. His familiar knife and Merman Scale reappeared equipped on his body.

That made him breathe a slight sigh of relief.

This was all the wealth he had. He could not afford to lose it...

Rogue also noticed Li Miao's first death and could not help smiling.

It was not anything unusual. After all, the island was fraught with danger.

But the notification was not actually as frightening as Li Miao had imagined. Wax Ash could remain for a very long time, especially the closer it was to a Spirit Candle.

The reason he had given such a notification was to make players suffer fewer meaningless deaths.

After all, he still had far too little wax oil...

Then Rogue opened his Spirit Candle panel.

[Spirit Candle]

[Burning Point: Cinder]

[Remaining Wax Oil: 63]

[Spirit Candle Building: None]

[Anchored Islands: 0]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 1]

After several hours of fighting, Rogue had accumulated 63 wax oil. He would soon be able to summon a second player.

Naturally, this included the wax oil contributed by little player Li Miao... After all, monsters like Mudflat Mermen would occasionally drop two drops of wax oil, but Li Miao could only obtain one...

Rogue felt slightly guilty about this, but he had no choice.

Only this way could he use the excess wax oil to summon more players and develop other functions.

Otherwise, what was the point of summoning players at all?

A new book sets sail!

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