Chapter 4: Killing the Shark

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Killing the Shark

"CRUNCH, CRUNCH." The sound of gnawing came from the edge of the raft.

Rowan Rhodes immediately activated the Heart of Life, instantly restoring her condition to its peak. She gripped her long spear and thrust it viciously at the shark biting the raft.

The shark kept its eyes entirely on the raft, completely ignoring Rowan, as if it had no interest in players whatsoever. In reality, during the novice protection period, a shark could only eat a player after destroying their raft. During this novice period, the raft was the final layer of defense the Sea Survival Game provided to its players.

The long spear pierced flesh, and the shark’s health bar plummeted. The corners of Rowan’s lips curled up slightly. As long as it had a health bar, she could slowly grind it to death.

Her gaze firm, Rowan struck swiftly, accurately, and ruthlessly, landing every blow on the shark’s vital spots. After several consecutive strikes, the shark let go of the raft in pain and began to retreat. As it backed away, Rowan’s eyes remained fixed on it.

Sure enough, after its retreat, the shark lunged directly at Rowan, baring its large, sharp white teeth. However, it ultimately slammed into an invisible wall just a few centimeters away from her; the shark simply couldn’t break through the raft’s barrier. Seizing the opportunity, Rowan thrust her spear viciously into its underside.

Suffering double the damage, the shark crashed heavily back into the sea with a massive splash.

The next instant, a massive head breached the water again, clamping its jaws onto the edge of the raft. It was still unwilling to leave empty-handed.

Rowan felt fortunate. Thank goodness for the novice protection period, or this shark would have been a real hassle. However, once the protection period ended, the sharks’ movements would no longer be restricted. Not only would they be able to leap out to hurt people, but they would also attack if a player entered the water. Therefore, in the later stages, players always had to deal with the sharks before diving in.

There were two ways to handle them. One was to injure the shark until it reached critical health, prompting it to leave on its own. It would return once its health was fully restored, a process taking about two hours. The other was to kill it outright, which would grant a five-hour grace period.

After a few more vicious stabs, the shark’s health bar bottomed out, and it immediately switched into retreat mode. But Rowan was well-prepared. She directly used her Hook Claw to snag it firmly, dragging it onto the raft to deliver the finishing blow.

[Congratulations, Player. You have killed an F-level shark and obtained Shark Meat x4, Shark Skin x1, Shark Oil x1, and shark headgear x1. Inventory space is insufficient; the items have been placed on the raft.]

Shark Meat, once roasted, was a highly satiating food. Shark Skin could be used to craft waterproof Equipment. Shark Oil was used to produce fuel. The shark headgear was merely a decoration with no practical use.

After taking care of the shark, Rowan fed another Wooden Board to the campfire and continued salvaging by its light. Her current condition was excellent, and she couldn’t waste it. This time, however, Rowan didn’t push herself to her absolute limits. After all, she had already used the Heart of Life for the day, and she would have to deal with sharks again when she woke up in the morning. She needed to preserve her stamina.

Once she felt her condition had dropped to an acceptable level, Rowan stopped and prepared to sort through her haul.

[Bread x5, mineral water x5, Wooden Board x58, iron nails x19, trash x7, bandage x4, scrap iron x10, rope x10, clay x6, Shark Meat x4, Shark Skin x1, Shark Oil x1]

Because her inventory was full, the Shark Meat, Shark Skin, and Shark Oil were sitting off to the side on an empty section of the raft. Rowan took out the bandages, ropes, and clay. These didn’t take up much space, so leaving them on the raft only made things look slightly messy.

As her raft level increased, she would encounter more and more materials. Without finding a Space Stone to expand her inventory, she could wait until Level 3 to build a Storage Box, setting up her own personal warehouse then.

Only after organizing her loot did Rowan finally open the world channel.

[District 122: (99,839/100,000)]

"Isn’t this the novice protection period? Why are there still shark attacks? It’s a scam!"

"Sob... It’s too dangerous! Thankfully I did an Expansion on my raft, otherwise, I would’ve died in the shark’s jaws by now."

"So many people have died! This is terrifying."

"I fought the shark barehanded and got cut by its teeth. Luckily, I had a bandage, or my Life Value would’ve kept dropping."

"As long as fists work, we’re fine. I just beat one back."

"Celia Lynch: Upgrade your raft to Level 2 as soon as possible. You can craft a long spear to deal with the sharks."

"@Celia Lynch, who on earth can upgrade their raft on the second day of the novice period?! I’m still missing so many iron nails!"

"Upgrading to Level 2 is too far off. Everyone, do an Expansion on your rafts! Then focus entirely on fighting the sharks. Even if they bite off one piece of the raft, you won’t fall into the ocean."

"I’m desperate for iron nails just to do an Expansion!"

"@Celia Lynch, do you have any extra? Give me some, please!"

"@Celia Lynch, I can trade with you."

"Harold Thompson: You’ve already upgraded to a Level 2 Raft, help us out!"

"Simon Quinn: We’re all compatriots here. Don’t be so selfish! This is a matter of life and death!"

"So many people have died already!"

"..."

Perhaps because Celia Lynch had spoken up, all the players’ attention suddenly converged on her.

Watching the crowd gang up on Celia, the corners of Rowan’s mouth twitched slightly. This sort of thing wasn’t just happening now; it wouldn’t be uncommon in the future, either. That was why, in the later stages, the top-ranked players disliked showing up in the world channel. Of course, there were a few exceptionally high-profile players who used their ranks to attract throngs of followers. These players eventually became the progenitors of the game’s later looting and pillaging factions.

As for Rowan, even though she was reincarnated, aside from some experience, she started at the same line as everyone else when it came to her raft and supplies. Her current goal was to use her advantage as a Prophet to gain some benefits and boost her strength.

There was nothing wrong with being a little selfish. She just wanted to survive longer. Staying hidden behind the scenes made it much easier to quietly farm resources and grow stronger.

However, she also took note of Celia Lynch. Rowan had relied on her Prophet knowledge, her Skills, and the Heart of Life to do an Expansion and upgrade her raft in such a short time. To think Celia was just as fast.

This Celia Lynch had definitely been assigned to a very high-level sea zone. Although they were in the same district, the sea zones varied. In high-level sea zones, while other people’s rafts floated past all kinds of trash, their rafts floated past various treasure boxes. Back in her previous life, she had been incredibly envious seeing that.

Now, though, she was perfectly calm. There was no need to compare herself to others. Living her own life well was what mattered most. Besides, her luck was already good enough. Reincarnation was the ultimate cheat code.

Still, she memorized a few of the more obnoxiously loud names in the world channel, like Harold Thompson and Simon Quinn. They were simply too conspicuous! They were all too happy to stir up trouble and manipulate public opinion.

Her early memories from her past life were far too distant. She couldn’t remember who else was in her district—including those two. She did have some impression of a few big shots, but none of those names had appeared in District 122 yet. Even if they did, she wouldn’t try to cozy up to them. After all, in this game, the only person she could ever rely on was herself.

Rowan ducked into her thatched house to rest. She would get a good night’s sleep first, then continue grinding once she was well-rested. Tomorrow, she would do her utmost to push her raft to Level 3. Only by endlessly improving her strength could she cope with the ever-present dangers of the Sea Survival Game.