Chapter 7：Seafarer's Relic

Under the starry sky, Da Fei tirelessly struck at the defenseless sea anemones.

Actually, plant monsters were not weak, but their fatal flaw was their inability to move. However, their strengths were eerily powerful too. The cruelest plant monster currently published on the official site was the Man-eating Tree. They formed entire forests on the borders between the Elf Kingdom Faroland and the Human Griffon Empire. If you walked in carelessly, the branches would sweep you up and you would be swallowed by the tree trunks mercilessly. Your level would not matter if you were small-sized, as you would be killed instantly! If you were large-sized, you might still be able to struggle for a few seconds. Even if thousands of soldiers entered the forests, they would still be wiped out instantly! Apart from the Man-eating Trees, Forest Goblins and Tree Snakes occupied the area as well. This made the Man-eating Forest an unsolvable death trap. To survive it, you had to form a suitable army with the right types of soldiers.

Of course, there were very few types of plant monsters. Their living environment was very strange as well. Currently, only the Man-eating Tree, the Poisonous Dandelion, the Psychedelic Poppy, the Explosive Sweet Potato, and a few others were listed on the official site. These plant monsters all possessed insanely powerful abilities to destroy entire armies!

How lucky was Da Fei to encounter a brand new plant monster species in the sea now? No, this was not luck! This was pure skills! There was a reason that the NPC sent such a weak pikeman like me here! I deserve these rewards! After all, I used to be a pro at things like this! Wahahaha!

Finally, as the 100th sea anemone exploded, a ray of golden light descended from the skies!

—System Message: Congratulations! You have leveled up to Level 2! You have received 1 Strategy Attribute point, 1 Skill point, Health +2, Command Power +1.

—Novice Guide: Player can freely assign Strategy Attribute points to Attack, Defense, Magic, or Knowledge. Before transferring occupations, novices only receive one Strategy Attribute point for leveling up each time. Hence, players should be cautious in assigning your points. If unsure of your future development path, you can choose to hold on to attribute points without assigning them. You can also obtain Strategy Attribute points through training in arenas, studying in schools, and various other methods.

—Novice Guide: You have obtained one Skill Point. You can purchase Skill Books at schools, army camps, and Skill Mentors in towns to learn new main skills. Alternatively, you can upgrade your current main skill or develop additional sub-skills. Skill points can also be obtained as mission rewards.

—Novice Guide: Your Command Power has increased by one point. You can now lead one soldier into battle. Stronger soldiers require higher Command Power to lead. The Command Value stated on a soldier's attributes refers to the Command Power required to lead that soldier. Command Power can be obtained as rewards for missions and for obtaining knighthood ranks in countries.

Da Fei wiped his sweat and sighed.

Leveling up isn't very helpful for novices who have yet to transfer occupations. Most importantly, my lethality is still a measly 1-3. If only I learned the Attack Skill. I think more than half the players will select Attack Skill as their first skill of the game. After all, that's an essential skill for battle heroes. The problem is, I only have a Nautical Skill book! There are no Skill Mentors at this deserted place! If I knew that I would land here, there'd be no way I'd choose the Nautical Skill again. What use is there for the Nautical Skill? Where are the ships? Nowhere! So what if I gained some Command Power? There aren't any soldiers to recruit!

Deceiving! Way too deceiving! The System and players are deceiving me together!

For normal players, they would choose either Pikeman or Bowman as their occupation and Attack Skill as their special ability. They would probably be happily accepting missions from mentors in army camps and leading their small troops at this point, right? No wonder this game did not support a random draw to assign players to starting locations. Thankfully I'm a pro at this, so I can find some way to survive. If a rookie came here, he would die easily just from being stranded on this deserted island, right?

Die from being stranded here? Wait! I can't possibly swim back to the mainland from this deserted island, right? There has to be a ship somewhere, right? Wait, could that grounded ship there actually be usable? Could the player's mission be to sail that ship back?

Da Fei's heart skipped a beat! That was a huge ship! If he could really sail the ship, he would save a lot of money and reputation required to buy a ship! However, that Raging Sea of Blood most definitely would not give the ship up! As for whether he would bring Da Fei along? Most definitely not!

Da Fei frowned! In the end, I have to fight that Raging Sea of Blood! Even if I can't defeat him, I have to at least be a threat to him. Otherwise, I don't even have the chance to negotiate!

There was no need to say anything else. Da Fei had to hurry and train! Da Fei used his Strategy Attribute point into his Attack. 1 Attack point could raise the Hero and his troops' damage by 5%. Hence, boosting your Attack could never go wrong!

I'll definitely gain more EXP fighting these defenseless sea anemones compared to him fighting those skeletons!

Da Fei continued to travel from one group of sea anemones to the next. He was unaware of the sky slowly turning bright. As he heard loud waves from the distance, he saw the tide rising!

Da Fei suddenly realized that he was very far from the island now. He could not even see the ship anymore! F**k! No way! I'll drown in the sea like this! It didn't matter when I died before leveling up, but if I die now, I'll lose EXP! That'll be horrible!

What should I do? Da Fei looked around. Suddenly, he saw the tiny tip of an island reef near him. Since he had no time to rush back to the island, he planned to go there to avoid being drowned by the rising tide!

Da Fei hurriedly swam towards the reef and raced against the tides!

Da Fei soon felt the sea level rising rapidly. He did not even make it halfway before his Stamina was drained! Damn! He hurriedly took out a coconut and consumed it in one go. Stamina +100! Oh yeah!

He was close! The sounds of the tides were thunderous! The giant waves towered over him! He was almost there! Go! Da Fei gritted his teeth and went for the final push! Even though gritting his teeth did nothing to help in this game where only stats mattered!

—Boom!!!

The roaring waves slammed against the rocks. In that instant, even though Da Fei was holding onto the reefs, he still felt shocked by the giant waves behind him!

"Finally…" Da Fei sighed and slowly climbed onto the reef. Then, he was completely stunned!

There was someone on the reef! A decomposed dead person with only his skeleton intact!

Da Fei raised his pike up in high alert!

After standing there for a long while, he did not see the pile of bones transform into a skeletal monster. Seemed like it was not a trap! However, if it was not a monster, what did that mean? Something interesting was about to happen!

Da Fei was excited and started examining this skeleton donned in broken armor and clothes.

—System Message: You searched the dead body. You found an old travel bag! You found a broken set of Sailor's Armor!

—Broken Sailor Armor: Increases wearer's Defense by 3 points. Durability: 22/100. (Note: Defense boost only applies to the hero himself. It will not affect the hero's troops)

Wahahaha! I finally have something to wear! Da Fei laughed excitedly! It did not matter how good the items were, the discovery itself was already exhilarating! Da Fei could finally understand how excited Robinson was when he found his first small knife in the "Robinson Crusoe"!

However, the show was just beginning! After Da Fei put on the ragged armor, he anxiously opened the travel bag. A golden light exploded from within. Da Fei's breathing stopped in that instant!

It was a book with a golden cover! The same as the book he was carrying!

—System Message: You received a Reconnaissance Skill book. Spend 1 Skill point to learn Basic Reconnaissance Skill!

—System Message: You received C-class Strategy Treasure, Binoculars!

—System Message: You received an old seafarer's journal (Mission Item).

Haha! Wahahaha! I was just worried about where to learn skills, and this Skill book came to me!

I got it! I understand now! Although nobody is here at this Novice Village, there are still Skill Books! How can the System actually send a novice player to a place where he can't learn any skills? In other words, this deserted Novice Village has to be explored by players! Undoubtedly, the key lies in that sunken sailship!

Once he remembered the ship, Da Fei felt a great sense of urgency. He hurriedly checked the rest of the items.

—Binoculars: Improve Hero's field of vision by 50%. C-class Strategy Item.

Strategy Treasure! Haha! Wahaha! I found a Strategy Treasure on the first day! This stuff isn't just some normal battle gear. This can affect the outcome of entire wars! What does it mean to have your field of vision improved by 50%? You can see 1.5 times further compared to a normal person! I can see him, but he can't see me! This is a great tool that can help me guard against pirates in the future!

Da Fei happily looked at the blurry sunken sailship in the distance through his binoculars. He saw Raging Sea of Blood battling tirelessly on the deck! Damn!

Then, he turned the seafarer's journal to the page with the bookmark.

—To the adventurer who was fortunate enough to find me:

I'm Juan Sebastian, an Imperial Admiral, Seafarer of the exploration ship St. Anthony. I have to record the truth down and reveal it to the world. The scholar and astrologer, Knight Markal, was the culprit behind the tragedy! On the night of April 21st, 156, we were on our return journey. We encountered a thunderstorm and were grounded on a deserted island. As we were all exhausted, Markal seized the chance to murder all of us with his Black Magic. He wanted to claim all the glory of our amazing discoveries solely for himself!

After we discovered the Mithril Island in the Underground Sea, I astutely noticed something off about Knight Markal. I even raised my doubts to the Captain. However, nobody would suspect the reputable Archmage of the Empire, Knight Markal. I was berated by Captain Renoir for this, yet I was always wary of Markal. This made me the sole survivor that night when he attacked us. However, I won't survive as long as I'm stranded here! My sailing logbook here has recorded the entire process of our great expedition and our shocking secret delivery, the underground Mithril Island! To the adventurer who has found me, please bring this journal to my Emperor and stop Markal's wild ambitions!

—System Message: You have obtained the map to Mithril Island in the New World!

—System Message: You have activated an Epic-level mission, "Conspirator on the Great Nautical Route"!

—Novice Guide: Epic-level missions can change the world. They're extremely difficult. The Great Nautical Route was a huge nautical movement started by various different empires in Year 145, in hopes of finding a nautical route to the New World. Countless seafarers were sacrificed during the process. Markal is currently the chief Archmage of the Empire. He has been named the Grand Duke and the Governor-General of the New World Colony.

—Mission Guide: You can directly offer the journal to the Emperor. You may be rewarded greatly and enjoy limitless riches. You may also be ignored by the Emperor because of his concerns. You might also be murdered by the Grand Duke Markal. At the same time, you can keep the map for yourself, or even auction the map off for a high price on the black market. Your decision can change the world.

Da Fei was so stunned that his jaw dropped to the ground! What the heck! I can find an Epic-level mission just by checking dead bodies!