Chapter 3: Day 2 of the Novice Period

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Day 2 of the Novice Period

[Thatch Wall: 10 Wooden Boards]

[Thatch Door: 10 Wooden Boards]

[Fishing Net: 2 Wooden Boards + 3 ropes]

[Campfire: 4 Wooden Boards + 5 pieces of trash]

[Long Spear: 4 Wooden Boards + 4 pieces of scrap iron + 2 ropes]

After sorting through the requirements, Rowan Rhodes found that she was short on scrap iron and ropes. These two materials had only started appearing after her raft was upgraded to Level 2.

She turned her gaze toward the surrounding sea. At this moment, since she wasn’t exerting herself using the Hook Claw, her Thirst Value and Fullness Value were at 31 and 32 respectively. However, due to the scorching sun beating down on her, the stats were still dropping, albeit at a slower Speed.

Rowan took out some bread and water to eat. As soon as she finished, her Thirst Value and Fullness Value instantly shot up to 52 and 51. It was time to start salvaging again.

Grabbing her Hook Claw, Rowan surveyed the trash continuously floating past her. Wooden Boards were still the most abundant and conspicuous, but she temporarily ignored them. Since the number of times she could cast the hook was limited, it was better to salvage the specific items she needed.

After making six precise catches, her stats hit a critical low once more.

[Obtained: scrap iron x4, rope x2]

She was still short by three ropes. Well then, she would just have to keep going!

Ignoring the system warnings, Rowan continued to cast her hook. Her Thirst Value and Fullness Value once again triggered zero-level warnings, and her Life Value began to drop. She didn’t stop until her Life Value hit the absolute danger zone. At this very moment, all her stats were practically in a near-death state. But she had gone through this exact experience countless times in her previous life.

Her vision was starting to blur. Rowan licked her chapped lips before taking out her remaining portion of bread and mineral water to consume. Her condition rapidly recovered.

Finding a spot on the edge of the raft to sit down, she pulled up her interface. All the icons for unlockable Equipment were now lit up; she even had a few extra pieces of scrap iron and ropes to spare. Rowan confirmed their construction one by one.

[Construct thatch wall x5, thatch door x1, fishing net x1, campfire x1, long spear x1?]

"Yes."

[Assemble thatched house?]

"Yes."

[All construction complete. Please place the items or put them in your inventory.]

The models for each piece of Equipment appeared on the virtual screen. Rowan directly placed the thatched house on the raft. It took up about two-thirds of the space, leaving only a tiny margin where she was currently sitting. The moment it was placed, a physical thatched house materialized.

She then attached the fishing net to the edge of the raft. The fishing net was considered a simple, early-game piece of Equipment. Once attached to the raft, it could automatically catch nearby resources. The higher its Level, the better the quality and quantity of the salvaged materials. Occasionally, it would even catch some small fish or shrimp, which served as a nice supplement to her meals.

As for the campfire, it essentially acted as an ignition source. It wouldn’t burn unless Wooden Boards were added as fuel. Rowan placed it in a corner of the raft. But the item that gave her the greatest sense of security was the long spear, which she safely stored in her inventory.

With everything prepared, Rowan crawled into her newly built thatched house to rest. Resting could naturally restore her Life Value, so there was no need to waste resources. Furthermore, her mind had been in a state of tense excitement ever since the morning. Having just fought two tough battles that pushed her to her absolute limits, she desperately needed a mental break. After all, there was still another battle waiting for her tonight!

Laying inside the thatched house and listening to the rhythmic splashing of the seawater, Rowan unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

By the time she woke up again, the sky had turned pitch black. Surrounded by boundless darkness, the only sounds were the crashing waves and her own breathing, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere.

Rowan stepped out of the thatched house and immediately took out her campfire. She tossed in a single Wooden Board for fuel, which would burn for two hours. With this flicker of light, the pitch-black sea surrounding her no longer seemed quite so terrifying.

She went over to check the fishing net. Inside were one small fish, two Wooden Boards, and one rope. Seeing the harvest from these past few hours, Rowan felt delighted. She decided right then and there that once conditions allowed, she would craft a few more pieces of Equipment capable of "producing" resources like this.

After stuffing the Wooden Boards and rope into her inventory, she cleaned the small fish and began roasting it over the campfire’s low flames. No matter how small, meat was still meat, and it could increase her Fullness Value. Most importantly, it was a change of flavor. As long as she had the means, she wasn’t willing to treat herself poorly.

While roasting the fish, she opened the World Channel to pass the time.

"I’m so tired. This game actually has a life warning limit. Watching wooden crates float right past me without being able to salvage them breaks my heart!"

"I’m starving and thirsty! Can any kind soul sponsor me a bit?"

"Stop dreaming! Anyone who can even look out for themselves right now is already doing great."

"Waiting to recover my stats is so boring. I’m literally just watching the shark swim in circles."

"Do you guys feel like the shark is getting closer and closer?"

"Has anyone done a raft Expansion? The current size feels so dangerous."

"I want to upgrade so badly! But I don’t have enough wood."

"Well, I completed a 1-square-meter Expansion on my raft. At least I can lie down now."

"What do you guys think happens when the Thirst Value drops below 30?"

"You die. It already warned me. If I don’t drink water and it hits zero, my life will be in danger."

"Aren’t you going to at least try to survive, upstairs? If you have Wooden Boards or other materials, you can definitely trade for mineral water! If one isn’t enough, offer two! If two isn’t enough, offer five or ten! Just focus on surviving first!"

"Just listed it in the Trading Hall: 2 Wooden Boards and 2 iron nails for 1 bottle of mineral water."

"Got the trade. I survived for now, but my Fullness Value seems to be in trouble again. Guess I’ll keep trading!"

"Damn this game."

"Two more people died in our sector."

"Huh? Isn’t this supposed to be the novice period?"

"There are always those who are clumsy or just plain stupid."

"This isn’t a game; it’s a real world where you actually die. Everyone, you’re on your own!"

"..."

An unspeakable sorrow lingered over the World Channel. After all, just the day before, everyone had been living their own normal lives. Now, they had been dragged into a game with an uncertain future, hovering between life and death. How could there not be a sense of whiplash?

But Rowan knew that the novice protection period was already the easiest phase of the game. If they couldn’t even survive the novice protection period, they wouldn’t last long once the game officially started. Moreover, there were still smart players out there. Even though they hadn’t upgraded their rafts, they had performed an Expansion and noticed that the shark was drawing nearer.

That was the nature of the Sea Survival Game. To many players, its crises seemed to appear out of thin air, but if one looked closely, they would find that the warning signs had been there all along.

SPLASH.

The shark brushed past very close to Rowan, sending up a tiny spray of water. By this time, the roasted fish was fully cooked, and a mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air.

Rowan brought it to her mouth and began to eat. The ocean fish had a natural saltiness to it, making it taste quite good.

After finishing her meal, Rowan couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the ongoing chatter in the World Channel. Seeing that her Life Value had recovered more than half its bar after adequate rest, her urge to push her limits began to stir once again. She felt she could keep going because even if her condition worsened, she could just use the Heart of Life to restore her stats to maximum once the clock struck midnight, bringing in the next day!

Using the light from the campfire, Rowan continued to hook the items floating past on both sides of the raft. Time unknowingly ticked closer to midnight.

Almost exactly at midnight, the shark, which had previously kept its distance, finally launched an attack on the raft.