Chapter 8: End of the Novice Period

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: End of the Novice Period

Foreseeing the long-term benefits that increasing the number of fishing nets could bring, Rowan Rhodes returned to the Workbench. Resources would only continue to accumulate. When the time was right, they should be converted into the appropriate Equipment. Earlier, while manufacturing the wooden boxes, she had also noticed two blueprints.

[F-level Simple Wooden Bed: Rest, Life Value recovery Speed +1%. Requires Wooden Board x6, Palm Leaves x10, iron nails x10.]

[F-level Basic Desk and Chair: Rest, Fullness Value recovery Speed +1%. Requires Wooden Board x5, Palm Leaves x3, iron nails x10.]

Right now, the boost was only one percent, but once she found the corresponding materials to upgrade them later, that value would steadily increase. In the later stages of the game, these would practically be god-tier items for recovering her status. As for now, they would greatly improve her quality of life. Sleeping on a bed was certainly better than sleeping on the floor, and having a desk to eat at was a welcome comfort.

After finishing the construction, Rowan placed the wooden bed inside the Wooden House and arranged the desk and chair in the living area. By the time she finished, the sky had grown a shade darker, and it was getting closer to six o’clock.

Rowan sat comfortably in her chair to rest, waiting for the final wave of sharks to arrive. While she waited, she opened the world channel to check on the other players.

[District 122: (99567/100000)]

Seeing that the death toll had increased by hundreds, Rowan subconsciously frowned. In her past life, she had been too overwhelmed taking care of herself to memorize the death toll. Now that she was paying attention, she realized that an unexpectedly high number of players had died during the novice period.

She wondered if they hadn’t salvaged any resources at all. With two whole days, as long as they put in a little effort to gather supplies, they wouldn’t have failed to upgrade even a Level 1 Raft.

"Damn it, I only have one square meter of my raft left! When the sharks come again, I’m dead."

"Upgrade! Hurry up and upgrade."

"Once you upgrade, you can manufacture a long spear to deal with the sharks."

"I traded my Wooden Boards and iron nails for bread and water! My status was too low, and my Life Value kept dropping. What do I do now?"

"You can only wait for death."

"If you can’t even get through the novice period, the later stages will definitely be too hard for you. Better to die early and get it over with!"

"We’re all in this together! Can the pros please help me out? I’ll definitely pay you back later."

"Yeah."

"Harold Thompson: You can tag @Celia Lynch. She definitely has a lot of extra supplies."

"Simon Quinn: @Celia Lynch, don’t be so selfish."

"..."

Seeing this, Rowan once again felt glad about her correct choice. If she had exposed herself earlier, she would probably be the one being repeatedly dragged out and targeted right now.

In fact, scrolling through the world channel, it was obvious that Celia Lynch and a few other kind-hearted players had been providing guidance to others, trying to help as many people survive as possible. And the result? So many people simply acted like beggars on the channel, using moral kidnapping to demand things. People like that weren’t worth any charity.

"@Celia Lynch @Pros, I have an empty wooden box! Can I trade it with you for four pieces of scrap iron and two ropes? I’ve already upgraded to a Level 2 Raft, but my Hook Claw is currently ruined. I need to manufacture a long spear first to deal with the sharks. I’m begging you, please check the trading hall."

Rowan looked at these earnest words, and her gaze lingered. She was becoming more and more certain that the Sea Survival Game harbored malicious intent toward the players. Whether in her past life or this one, the goal of the Sea Survival Game was always to eliminate players. Aside from natural disasters, there was also various Equipment designed to make players slaughter one another.

After her rebirth, her first thought had been to prioritize self-preservation. However, after repeatedly glimpsing the "truth," she realized something else. If the number of surviving players dwindled too much in the end, wouldn’t it be easier for the Sea Survival Game to target the remaining few? Therefore, increasing the player survival rate seemed somewhat necessary.

She didn’t want to pay any attention to those entitled players who only knew how to take. But the ones in the trading hall—the people willing to exchange large amounts of their own resources for a few emergency upgrade materials—were players who were genuinely trying to find a way to survive on their own. A fair trade like this, which wouldn’t expose her identity, was something she could actually agree to.

Rowan took a look at her inventory. She had forty-one pieces of scrap iron and eighteen ropes left. She could afford to trade with a portion of the people.

Rowan began selecting offers in the trading hall. As long as they showed enough sincerity, she would trade. At times like this, it was all about attitude. After trading away all her ropes, she even used the Seaweed she had just salvaged to manufacture more ropes to trade with the other players. Two pieces of Seaweed could manufacture one rope. She had twenty pieces of Seaweed, so she manufactured ten ropes and traded them all away.

Occasionally, when she saw people trading large quantities of Wooden Boards for a small number of iron nails, she would accept those trades as well. After a round of trading, Rowan had exchanged a wave of her resources without suffering any losses.

With this delay, the time reached exactly six o’clock, and the final wave of sharks arrived right on schedule.

This time, the two sharks didn’t attack one after the other. Instead, they charged straight toward the front of Rowan’s raft, taking one side each. They had switched to a new tactic. Looking at those familiar "eyes," Rowan smiled. A moment later, she dispatched them once again.

When it was over, Rowan opened the world channel again.

[District 122: (99499/100000)]

The number of deaths was lower this time; it seemed that her wave of trades had been effective. She figured she definitely wasn’t the only one conducting trades.

"Woo, I survived!"

"Thank you to the pros who were willing to trade."

"Not only did I survive, but I also killed the shark! I got Shark Skin, Shark Meat, and Shark Oil. I absolutely have to taste the Shark Meat later."

"I’ve eaten it. It’s a bit fishy, but it provides a pretty high Fullness Value."

"You guys have no idea, I ate the Shark Meat raw and almost threw up."

"Build a campfire! Four Wooden Boards and five pieces of trash. It’s so simple."

"I don’t even dare to casually manufacture Equipment. I’m afraid some sudden accident will happen, and I won’t have enough resources."

"No matter what, it’s great to be alive."

"Let’s celebrate properly."

"I feel like there are still a lot of good people out there."

"I can finally take a good rest."

"..."

Rowan watched everyone celebrating their survival in the world channel, then looked at the countdown for the novice period. Her lips subconsciously pressed into a thin line. Only after the novice period ended would the true "Sea Survival" begin.

Rowan retracted her gaze and went to inspect the fruits of her labor. It was time for her harvest. In the planting area, the potatoes were ready to be harvested. Ten potatoes lay quietly in the soil pot. Rowan picked them up, replanted five of them, and placed the remaining five into Storage Box No. 2.

In the living area, the Freshwater Collector had yielded a new bottle of mineral water and had already begun producing the next one.

Around the perimeter of the raft, her twelve fishing nets were doing their job, each one packed full of resources. Looking at these newly added supplies, Rowan couldn’t help but let the corners of her mouth rise. They had all been "born" right here on the raft, symbolizing a great start. Life growing endlessly!

In high spirits, Rowan went to prepare dinner. She was having instant noodles again. A moment later, sitting in her chair with a fork in hand, taking massive bites of braised beef noodles, Rowan’s sense of happiness soared once again. This was the way a person was meant to live!

After finishing the instant noodles and fully restoring her status, Rowan got back to the grind.

By the time she finished, the night was already deep. Rowan entered the Wooden House, lay down on her newly built wooden bed, and subconsciously reviewed all her gains from the past two days of the novice period before mapping out her next steps.

As it neared midnight, Rowan stepped outside, her gaze fixed straight ahead. At this moment, under the pitch-black night sky, the boundless ocean looked like a giant, man-eating beast. Starting tomorrow, who knew how many more lives this ocean would swallow? All she could do was work hard to ensure she wasn’t one of them.

Ten, nine... three, two, one.

As the countdown ended, a mechanical voice rang out in the minds of every player.