Chapter 26: Increased Difficulty and the Next Marine Creature

Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Increased Difficulty and the Next Marine Creature

"Damn it, my Hook Claw is already scrap after just a few uses. Can this high temperature actually affect Equipment?"

"Not just Equipment, but the raft too. Its Durability keeps dropping from time to time and needs to be repaired with Wooden Boards."

"This is sickening. The game is absolutely torturing us."

"Just when I thought there was hope for survival, reality dealt another heavy blow."

"Yeah! When will this temperature stop rising? It’s already over forty degrees."

"What about at night? Will it rise then too?"

"It will! It started rising last night, and I’m afraid it’ll be the same tonight."

"There must be a peak and a time limit to this extreme heat disaster. Otherwise, no one would survive, and what would be the point of this game?"

"Right, don’t be too pessimistic! Just repair it."

"Most people have upgraded to a Level 3 Raft now, so they have more materials. Wooden Boards, rope, scrap iron, and so on are all basic resources. Repairing is very easy."

"I also think there’s a limit. We just need to tough it out."

"Celia Lynch: You can upgrade your raft. A higher raft level will have higher Durability. Or you can upgrade your Wooden House; an E-level Wooden House can increase the raft’s Durability by 200 points."

"@Celia Lynch, thanks."

"..."

At first, the harsh reality made many players pessimistic, but even more stepped forward to analyze the situation. Admittedly, once such discussions started, many players regained their spirits.

After all, drifting on an endless ocean with only a tiny raft, they couldn’t see any trace of other people. Without any companionship, they also had to face extreme weather, a raft that frequently broke down, constantly dwindling resources, and marine creatures that popped up to attack from time to time... Everything was challenging the players’ nerves. Fortunately, the World Channel provided a place to communicate; otherwise, they would have been driven mad. Sometimes, venting was also a form of crying out for help.

Rowan Rhodes watched as people stepped up to comfort others and guide the conversation, feeling a bit emotional. The atmosphere had indeed changed. She actually found the other players quite endearing now.

Just as Rowan was thinking this, she was suddenly mentioned on the World Channel again.

"Let me tell you all something. On the leaderboard, Rowan Rhodes’s raft level has gone from Level 5 to Level 6. She’s seriously awesome!"

"Which goes to show, as long as you’re strong enough, any natural disaster is just trash."

"How does she upgrade so easily!"

"Zelda Parrish: It’s not easy. Getting to Level 5 isn’t hard, but going from Level 5 to Level 6 requires a massive amount of resources."

"Is the poster above at Level 5? Wow, another big shot."

"Definitely a big shot, she’s in the top ten on the leaderboard!"

"I’m so jealous! We all started from the same point, yet some people are just this strong."

"So, if we play the game well, it’s possible to live a good life."

"Right."

"I feel like I have a goal now."

"..."

Seeing the endless stream of praises directed at her on the World Channel, Rowan felt a bit uncomfortable. She was used to people tagging her, demanding that she hand over her strategy guide. Now, she had actually become a role model in their eyes? This shift was truly a bit unimaginable. It probably had to do with the change in the atmosphere!

Admittedly, Rowan felt a little bit flattered. It also allowed her to see a beautiful side of humanity she hadn’t witnessed in her past life! Even though she didn’t know how long this beauty would last.

As for this Zelda Parrish who stepped forward to mention the difficulty of upgrading from Level 5 to Level 6... Rowan instantly perked up.

In her past life, this person was also considered a big shot on the leaderboard. But no one knew how she rose to power; she was a very low-key individual. She hadn’t expected her to suddenly appear in District 122 in this life.

Putting the pieces together, the figure of the person who had appeared behind her when they landed on the island faintly surfaced in Rowan’s mind. It was highly likely to be her. Even the one who made the homemade long shovel and the homemade sun hat was her! Her ability should also be Manufacturing. Possessing the ability of Manufacturing Equipment, no wonder she could become a big shot.

Rowan felt the pleasant surprise of seeing an old acquaintance. It seemed she should camp in the trading hall more often in the future; the Equipment made by a big shot would definitely be excellent.

Seeing that the players had also noticed the anomalies under the extreme heat disaster, and having discovered another big shot, Rowan happily withdrew her attention and turned to her newly upgraded Level 6 raft.

[Territory: Initial Raft]

[Level: Level 6] [Upgrade]

[Introduction: You can now call the raft your home]

[specification: 36 square meters] [Expansion]

[Durability: 800/800 (Wooden House +200)]

[defensive power: 800/800 (Wooden House +200)]

[Current Equipment: Hook Claw, fishing net, campfire, long spear, Wooden House, wooden fence... (E-level)]

[Unlockable Equipment: raft (Metal Raft) | Production (Furnace) | Survival (Engine) | Weapon (Fish Spear Gun)]

Looking at the Unlockable Equipment for Level 6, compared to Level 5, she had immediately entered a whole new level.

[Metal Raft: 10 Wooden Boards + 10 Metal Ingots + 10 iron nails (per square meter)]

[Furnace: 4 Wooden Boards + 6 Dry Bricks + 4 fragments + 6 iron nails]

[Engine: 20 Wooden Boards + 5 Metal Ingots + 5 rope + Engine (requires Steering Wheel to use)]

[Fish Spear Gun: leather + bandage + 2 Wooden Boards + 10 Metal Ingots + oxygen bottle]

[fish spear ammunition: Wooden Board + rope]

As soon as the required materials for each piece of Equipment appeared, Rowan let out a long breath. Because she lacked many of the materials inside, she would even have to rely on luck to get them. Even the ones not reliant on luck required multiple intermediate steps to acquire.

Looking closely, she only had all the materials for the Metal Raft, but the number of Metal Ingots was limited. She currently only had 19 left on hand. With a 36-square-meter area, she could only upgrade 1 square meter, which was meaningless.

This was her first complete wipeout!

But this was normal. If the game were really that easy, so many people wouldn’t have died. The further they progressed, the more difficulties there would be. She wouldn’t complain about her fate; she would only work hard to overcome them one by one.

Continuing to check the Equipment, her eyes finally landed on the Furnace. The Furnace could smelt resources, allowing the raft to enter the metal age. For example, it could turn metal ores into Metal Ingots, sand into glass, and Seaweed into vine goo... Smelted resources were also crucial for the mid-to-late stages of the raft.

Among the materials required for the Furnace, only the bricks needed to be obtained indirectly. Using 2 units of sand and 2 units of clay, she could craft wet bricks, which would become Dry Bricks after being left to dry on the raft.

Rowan took out the sand and clay and started working at the Workbench. Soon, 6 wet bricks were neatly arranged on the raft.

[Dry Bricks: Requires 1 hour to dry]

Watching the timer begin its countdown, Rowan checked the time and turned her attention to crafting simple Arrows.

Because the next marine creature was about to wake up.