"There have to be stronger Sea Monsters in the ocean!" The only thing on Brother Mangzi’s mind was battle.
’I wonder if there are any pretty shells in the coastal waters...’ As one of the girls, Guagua was also extremely interested in this prospect.
The group of players was already dreaming about the exploration to come.
"Keep up the good work, everyone."
Luo Ge gave them a slight nod, then transformed into Wax Oil and returned to the Spirit Candle.
Seeing the Candlekeeper leave, Brother Yu, a seasoned angler, immediately scurried over to the Spirit Candle.
[Craftable General Tool: Fishing Rod.]
[Required Materials: Wax Oil ×10, Tidal Sand Worm Hide ×3.]
[Craftable Item: Ordinary Bait ×10]
[Required Materials: Wax Oil ×1, Worm Meat ×1.]
SHING—
After learning how to craft the fishing rod, Brother Yu immediately drew his starter weapon, a Longsword, his eyes burning with fierce determination.
He then marched resolutely out of the cave.
Without a doubt, the island’s monsters were in for another round of suffering.
"What’s with Brother Yu? Why the sudden bloodlust?"
Seeing him like this, Guagua felt a little scared.
"Brother Yu has been waiting for this for a long time," Li Miao said, finding the situation rather amusing. "If the Candlekeeper hadn’t told him you could fish in this game, he probably would’ve quit already."
Hearing this, even Brother Mangzi couldn’t help but crack a smile.
’So fishing is the main goal, and fighting monsters is just a side quest?’
He didn’t quite understand Brother Yu’s obsession with fishing, but he figured it must be like his own love for battle—it brought him joy.
"If Brother Yu loves fishing that much, he must be really good at it,"
Guagua said.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Let’s get back to killing monsters. We should unlock the fishing rod and check out the situation in the coastal waters while we’re at it."
Faraway spoke up.
The group of players immediately sprang into action, with Brother Mangzi looking particularly thrilled.
"Battle!"
Brother Mangzi hefted his Wolf Fang Club onto his shoulder, looking for all the world like a Berserk Goblin.
...
[Pink Little Sea Snail]
[Type: ?]
[Explanation: A Little Sea Snail that retains its life force and awaits metamorphosis. It must be placed in seawater.]
Looking at the exquisite and delicate Pink Little Sea Snail in his hand, Luo Ge felt a little puzzled.
The question mark under "Type" didn’t surprise him.
After all, when he first arrived in this world, the information for many things was nothing but question marks.
That was right.
The information on everything—from the monsters currently on Candle Island to the starter weapons he gave the players and the equipment dropped by monsters—was all added by Luo Ge after he appraised them.
In other words, if the players encountered a creature or piece of equipment they hadn’t seen before, it would simply be displayed as an unknown question mark.
To obtain complete information, exploration was necessary.
This mysterious Pink Little Sea Snail was clearly no exception.
As the reward for anchoring an island for the first time, Luo Ge had no idea what it did.
’I’ll just set it aside for now.’
Since he didn’t know its purpose, all he could do was set it aside.
After dealing with the Little Sea Snail, Luo Ge began to commune with the Spirit Candle, carefully sensing for other important information.
[Spirit Candle]
[Tier: Residual Ash (Upgrade Requirement: 1,000 Wax Oil)]
[Remaining Wax Oil: 8]
[Spirit Candle Building: Spirit Fire Port (Not Built)]
[Anchored Island: Candle Island (Small, Isolated Island)]
[Summoned Candle Spirits: 5]
Anchoring the island hadn’t just brought him obvious rewards; it had also provided some unannounced benefits.
For example, the Spirit Candle’s sensory range.
Luo Ge and the Spirit Candle were one and the same. After anchoring Candle Island, he could clearly sense that his own perceptual range had increased significantly.
At first, his senses could barely cover the entirety of Candle Island. Now, however, he could clearly perceive the whole island and even a small portion of the surrounding circular sea.
However, this perception diminished the farther it was from the Spirit Candle’s center.
The farther from the island’s center, the blurrier his perception became.
But even this blurry perception allowed him to get a rough sense of the situation beyond Candle Island...
Darkness, chaos, and cold, intermingled with a torrent of emotions like malice, hatred, regret, despair, and Madness...
However, it wasn’t all just these bone-chilling things.
Islands of various sizes and auras, drifting aimlessly without rhyme or reason, would also occasionally appear in Luo Ge’s hazy perception...
’If I had enough Power, I could find a way to explore these islands and unlock new zones...’
’But before that, it’s probably best to build the Spirit Fire Port. Otherwise, the players won’t even be able to fully explore the waters near Candle Island,’ Luo Ge thought.
...
SHK!
[You have killed a Beach Sand Worm.]
[Obtained: Wax Oil ×1.]
[Obtained: Tidal Sand Worm Hide ×1.]
[Obtained: Worm Meat ×1.]
On the beach, to the east of Candle Island’s center, the sands were a total mess.
Though there were no blood or corpses, the tracks left in the sand indicated an exceptionally fierce battle.
"Never Air Force Fisherman," a.k.a. Brother Yu, was in a killing frenzy with his Longsword.
Finally, after skewering the last Sand Worm, he saw the Tidal Sand Worm Hide among the drops and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Hahaha! I finally have enough!"
Excitement flashed in Brother Yu’s eyes. He sheathed his Longsword and prepared to leave.
However, just as the Fish People had a leader, the Sand Worms had their king.
With a loud BOOM, the sand directly in front of him erupted. A monster with vicious mouthparts and dark yellow, python-like skin burst forth, snapping at Brother Yu.
[Beach Sand Worm King]
[Tier: Residual Ash]
[Level: 7]
[Talent: Blood Absorption]
[Skills: Concealment, Spiral Blade]
[Explanation: The king of the Beach Sand Worms. Cunning and tenacious.]
Brother Yu’s brow twitched. He immediately dodged with a roll.
"What the hell is this thing? So annoying."
Brother Yu turned and ran.
He’d just painstakingly gathered the materials for his fishing rod; he had no time to waste fighting this Sand Worm King.
These Sand Worms were far more trouble than the Beach Fishmen. If he accidentally died here, it would be a pain to retrieve his Wax Ash.
But the Sand Worm King clearly had no intention of letting him go.
With a shriek, the blade-like teeth in the Sand Worm King’s vicious maw began to spin rapidly, turning it into a terrifyingly lethal blender!
It then dove headfirst into the sand, charging toward Brother Yu at incredible speed.
Brother Yu hadn’t invested any points into his Agility Attribute, so the Sand Worm King quickly closed the distance.
The next moment, the sand burst upward. The Sand Worm King erupted from the ground and shredded Brother Yu’s lower body, sending Wax Oil splattering everywhere.
[DEAD]
A moment later, Brother Yu’s Wandering Soul floated in the air, silently watching as the Sand Worm King slowly departed.
He wasn’t particularly angry about dying to the Sand Worm King.
Thankfully, the Wax Ash he’d dropped was relatively far from the Sand Worm’s patrol area, so recovering his body would be fairly easy.
"That worm really holds a grudge..."
After muttering to himself, Brother Yu’s Wandering Soul drifted back toward the cave.