"I caught a monster..."
Ji Xinghe gripped the Fishing Rod, which was about to be yanked away, and pulled hard.
After all, anything the Island deemed prey usually wasn't very powerful... At least, it was within the island owner's ability to handle.
But she didn't let her guard down.
Whether it was manageable, a difficult victory, or an easy stomp, the Island's rules judged them all the same.
Never underestimate them, or the monsters would make you pay a heavy price.
The next moment, the monster followed the Fishing Rod onto the Island.
Ji Xinghe took a step back to dodge its pincers, then activated a skill. A white orb of light shot toward the monster's snapping claws.
[-70 Health]
[Rank 1 Ironclad Crab (Level 3)
Remaining Health: 130
Attack: 15
Defense: 20
Skill: Shedding Shell (Automatically triggers when health drops below 15%. After shedding its shell, defense doubles and all health is restored.)]
This was the first monster with a skill that Ji Xinghe had encountered since her rebirth.
That skill... She wanted it so badly!
She could be jealous all she wanted, but she still had to fight the monster.
With such high defense, her past self wouldn't have stood a chance. She wouldn't even have been able to break through its defenses.
But her little orb of light dealt magical damage. Physical defense was useless against it!
Her skill was still on cooldown, so Ji Xinghe pulled out the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and fired two arrows at once.
[-34.2, -34.2]
The arrowheads sank into the gaps in its shell. The Ironclad Crab cried out in pain.
Its eight legs writhed wildly as it skittered behind Ji Xinghe, then its two massive pincers snapped at her from both sides.
Ji Xinghe leaped high, bracing one hand against her knee to steady herself as she stumbled.
Then she ducked and rolled sideways, dodging its second attack.
In the meantime, the crossbow had reloaded.
The Ironclad Crab's health was dropping bit by bit. If she didn't hurry, it would fall below thirty and trigger its Shedding Shell skill!
As soon as she regained her balance, she quickly pressed the button on the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow. Two arrows shot out.
Bang! The Ironclad Crab's health bar hit zero before it could use its skill.
Its hard shell collapsed onto the beach.
[Monster slain while punching above your level: Ironclad Crab. Experience Points +3, Wow Coins +1, Black Iron Treasure Chest +1.]
"Hehe, I timed that just right." Ji Xinghe put away the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and patted her chest in relief.
After the intense fight, she calmed down and reviewed what had happened as she drank some water.
Her little orb of light was her strongest attack so far. The next time she encountered a monster that could restore its health, she'd have to keep its health in check before using her ultimate.
She'd been lucky this time and hadn't been hurt.
Ji Xinghe rested her hands on her knees. In her previous life, she'd been paralyzed and had never stood up once. She'd even used a wheelchair to enter Dungeons.
As a result, her legs weren't very nimble now, and she was unsteady on her feet.
With that in mind, Ji Xinghe decided to set aside half an hour every day to train her balance and her legs' reflexes...
Looking at the Ironclad Crab's corpse, she immediately used her talent.
[Talent activation failed. No attributes drained this time.]
[Talent activation succeeded. Defense +2]
She'd failed once, but gained a defense attribute that was usually hard to come by. It wasn't a bad trade.
She put the Ironclad Crab's corpse in her backpack, too. She could use it as bait later, just like the Great Black Shark.
She continued casting her line.
A little over two hours later, Ji Xinghe had used up all her Fishing Rod attempts for the day.
She'd collected ten Raw Wood Treasure Chests, three Black Iron Treasure Chests, and one Bronze Treasure Chest. With the Black Iron Treasure Chest she'd gotten from the monster, that made fifteen chests today.
She put away the Fishing Rod and walked into her Shelter, which was now a Thatched Cottage.
It was nearly noon, and the sun was blazing. She decided to take a break indoors and sort through her backpack while she was at it.
She'd also completed her beginner missions, so she'd claim the rewards first.
Sitting on the grass bed, Ji Xinghe opened the panel.
[Beginner Missions (Completed) 3: Catch a total of 50 treasure chests. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1 4: Catch a total of 100 treasure chests. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1 5: Upgrade the Island once. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1 6: Upgrade the Shelter once. Reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1]
She claimed all the rewards at once, and the sound of Wow Coins clattering rang in her ears.
As soon as she finished claiming them, new missions appeared.
[Beginner Mission 7: Slay a total of five monsters (Incomplete). Mission completion reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1] [Beginner Mission 8: Slay a total of fifty monsters (Incomplete). Mission completion reward: Experience Points +1, Wow Coins +1]
She still had a way to go on the monster-slaying missions. She'd try to complete Mission 8 before the beginner period ended.
She closed the mission panel.
Ji Xinghe opened the crafting page.
Currently craftable:
Crafting Table: Wood ×10, Iron ×2.
Storage Box: Wood ×6, Stone ×2 (Requires a blueprint placed on the Crafting Table)
Wooden Table: Wood ×4 (Requires the Crafting Table)
Wooden Bucket: Wood ×3 (Requires the Crafting Table)
There were several more pages, all full of blueprints and furniture.
She'd make the Crafting Table first.
[Would you like to spend Wood ×10 and Iron ×2 to build a Crafting Table?]
She clicked Build.
The next moment, a series of banging sounds rang out inside the Thatched Cottage. Then a brand-new Crafting Table appeared before her.
Ji Xinghe walked over to it, placed a blueprint in the groove at the lower left, and clicked Craft Storage Box. As for the quantity... ten would do for now.
[Automatically deducted Wood ×60 and Stone ×20. Crafted ten Storage Boxes]
Before you continue