The orders Lin Yuan had given the skeletons earlier were to collect rare, high-quality materials wherever possible. If they found none, they were to fell trees and bring back some timber.
He had thought there was little left on the island and that the skeletons would mostly bring back timber.
To his surprise, they had brought back quite a variety of things.
"200 units of steel, 100 units of glass, 10 Ordinary Gems, one jade fishing rod, one ornate quill, one damaged cannon, and 2,000 Shell Coins."
The rest was timber, about 1,000 units of it. And it was not Common Wood, but "century-old hardwood."
[Century-old hardwood: Timber that can only be harvested from trees that have grown for a long time. Harder than Common Wood, it can slightly increase maximum durability when used to build ships.]
Apparently, even timber came in different grades. The skeletons understood this quite well and had only felled trees that yielded the highest-quality timber.
According to the skeletons' reports, the other items had come from small treasure chests scattered across the island.
"Since I have all the materials, let's upgrade right away!"
Lin Yuan already had 80 units of steel in his storage. With what the skeletons had found, he now had 280 units in total, leaving him with 180 units after upgrading the hull.
As for the 1,500 units of timber required, he chose to use deactivated life wood for all of it.
The century-old hardwood could be saved for future compartment upgrades, hull repairs, or trading.
With everything ready, Lin Yuan held the Level 2 Hull blueprint in his hand and silently said to himself:
Upgrade the Lin Yuan's hull!
The blueprint, along with the deactivated life wood and steel in storage, turned into countless streams of light that flowed into Lin Yuan's body.
The light lasted for about five minutes. During that time, Lin Yuan distinctly felt his body growing stronger and more powerful.
At the same time, the "Lin Yuan" in his mind grew larger and more imposing.
The Weapon Compartments and power compartments in his hands and feet remained unchanged, but the number of Cabin Under Construction compartments in his torso increased from one to two.
There was also one additional crew quarters compartment, displayed as an empty room.
At his heart, a circular Special Cabin appeared.
[E-Rank Transcendent Core Compartment] [An E-rank or lower Transcendent Core can be installed here to grant the ship transcendent power.]
Aside from these new additions, Lin Yuan's basic attributes had also increased substantially.
[Lin Yuan (Level 2 ship)] [Health/Durability: 50,000/50,000 (the standard 20,000 plus a 150% bonus from constructing the entire ship with deactivated life wood)] [Strength: 100 (replaced by weapon power)] [Speed: 20 (replaced by ship sailing speed)] [Special abilities:] [Active Wooden Armor (passive): Ignores all attacks incapable of penetrating 100 cm of wooden armor. Only effective against physical attacks. Taking multiple attacks within a short period can improve the armor's effectiveness, up to a maximum of double its normal effect.] [Harpoon Attack: Summons and fires a Sharp Man-Eating Shark Harpoon, dealing heavy physical damage and causing continuous bleeding to the target. Anchoring mode can also be selected, causing the harpoon to lodge firmly inside the target after firing. The interval between uses is determined by the rank of the harpoon equipped on the ship.] [Emergency Repair (Paradise only): While out of combat, timber can be consumed to directly restore hull durability. This skill is a benefit for new players and can only be used in the Paradise Sea.]
After carefully examining his attributes, Lin Yuan was quite satisfied with this hull upgrade.
The greatest improvement was naturally durability. Normally, upgrading a level 1 hull to level 2 should have doubled its durability.
But because he had used deactivated life wood, he now had more than twice the durability of an ordinary level 2 ship.
At the same time, the life wood had greatly increased the equivalent thickness of his wooden armor.
With wooden armor one meter thick under normal conditions and two meters thick at maximum, he could effectively reduce damage even against giant sea beasts.
He also had more compartment slots and room to recruit new crew members.
As for the Transcendent Core Chamber, it would probably be important in the future, but it was of no use for the moment.
Still, there was one flaw in this upgrade: Lin Yuan's strength had not increased.
The earlier harpoon upgrade had only added special functions without increasing the weapon's power, so his strength remained at its initial 100 points.
That was strength ordinary people could never hope to attain, but for Lin Yuan, it was not enough.
"Huh? Captain Turtle, you seem a little stronger! Not bad, not bad. Keep it up!"
Lilia had also sensed the changes in Lin Yuan through the crew contract and offered encouragement from beside him.
Thump!
Lin Yuan reached back and rapped her on the head.
"How many times have I told you not to give me nicknames!"
That said, Lilia was not wrong.
His durability and defense were already strong enough, making his defense outstrip his offense. His fighting style really did amount to turtle tactics.
Of course, Lin Yuan now had the Death Seed. If he summoned the Nether River, it would definitely be an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction.
But he could not use that as a regular means of attack.
"Luckily, I also got a damaged cannon this time. Once I build the Production Workshop, I'll see if I can repair it."
"I wonder if the Production Workshop can mass-produce cannons. If it can, I'll really be powerful."
The Production Workshop blueprint's description was fairly brief. Lin Yuan would only learn its specific functions once he actually built it.
"Finally... a little wrapping up."
With a thought, Lin Yuan had the skeletons cut down trees on the spot for 200 units of Common Wood.
After upgrading to a level 2 hull, he could upgrade the storage again with 200 units of timber. There was no need to waste life wood or century-old hardwood on a room like this.
After the storage reached level 2-it had initially been level 0-its capacity doubled again. It could now hold up to 4,000 units of timber.
Upgrading the Weapon Compartments and power compartments required steel, so Lin Yuan decided to wait until the Production Workshop was built before upgrading them.
As for the Crew Cabin, there was no need to upgrade it at all. He could not live in it anyway.
Finishing all this took another few hours.
The three moons already hung high in the sky.
Lin Yuan dismissed the Skeleton Pirates he had summoned and sat by the sea with Lilia, waiting for the instance to end.
He had reaped a rich harvest from this beginner instance. Compared to when he had first entered, the difference was like heaven and earth.
But the more he progressed, the more he felt the vastness of the world.
The parchment's owner, the island ship's owner... I wonder what level they're really at in this world.
Lilia said before that the fellows in the Main Sea weren't strong, and only creatures in the Deep Sea counted as powerful. Now it looks like she really wasn't wrong.
I wonder when I'll reach that level.
And what does the pinnacle of this world look like?
Lin Yuan quietly gazed at the moons in the sky, thoughts stirring in his mind.
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded in his ears:
[The instance time limit has been reached. It will close in five minutes.] [All players, please return to your ships immediately and wait for the instance to close.] [After the instance closes, players will appear at their locations prior to entering. Players who have obtained the Paradise Sea Chart can check their exact positions.] [Players, please take a short rest. The Main Quest will be issued after sunrise!]
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