Chapter 94: Maritime Competition 1
Right now, on all of Caelus, the only place that sold these kinds of ox hooves was Moira Lynch’s [Don’t Miss It] shop.
However, Kai York hadn’t bought them from Moira Lynch.
During this period, Moira Lynch would sell large quantities of food at a fixed time each day. After figuring out her pattern, other people would specifically camp out at that time to buy from her.
Besides eating the food themselves, they would also resell it at a markup to ordinary people who weren’t players, earning a profit from the price difference.
That was how Kai York had gotten his ox hooves.
Seeing Kai York get swindled like that, Moira Lynch opened her mouth to speak but then closed it. In the end, she didn’t say anything.
’Forget it. He meant well.’
After finishing their meal, the group lay motionless in their chairs. That meal had been incredibly satisfying.
"Hugh, can you try to divine what the next game round will be?" Kai York suddenly asked.
"I’ve tried," Hugh Finch replied truthfully. "But I either get no answer, or the answer is ’unknown’."
He had tried using his divination ever since awakening his Divination Talent, but he never got a result.
"I remember back during the third game round, SoySauceDrunkard was selling information about the game. I have no idea how they managed that."
Hearing this, Moira thought to herself, ’How did I manage that? It was because the system needed a favor and revealed the information to me.’
She opened the game forums for a look. Right now, almost all the players were discussing when the next round would begin.
Previous rounds had always started at midnight, but the last one had begun in the morning.
In the last game round, aside from the wages provided by the game, they had also brought back a lot of things like Nutrition Supplements.
But after half a month of consumption, those supplies were almost gone.
Now on the game forums, everyone was discussing why the game hadn’t started yet. If it didn’t start soon, they were going to starve to death.
Just as the players were complaining, a familiar, mechanical voice rang in every player’s ears.
[Dear official player SoySauceDrunkard, a new round of the game will begin in five minutes. Please prepare yourself.]
At almost the exact same time, Moira Lynch, Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch all shot up from their chairs.
Without wasting a single second, they ran to their respective rooms to change into their gear.
They had prepared all of this well in advance, so getting ready was very quick.
Moira Lynch even had time to braid her hair into a scorpion tail that hung down her back.
[Three, two, one.]
Five minutes later, everything went black for all the players.
Before Moira Lynch could even open her eyes, she smelled the thick, briny scent of the sea.
’This game’s location is by the sea,’ Moira Lynch immediately concluded.
Coincidentally, a batch of Yoyo Fruits had ripened just a few days ago, so she wasn’t afraid even if the setting was the sea.
Moira Lynch had experimented with them before. A single Yoyo Fruit allowed her to move freely underwater for about an hour, and it also greatly increased her swimming speed.
Opening her eyes, she found herself on a golden-yellow beach. The sun was bright, and a salty sea breeze blew against her face.
The players, having regained their senses, didn’t move. Instead, they stood in place, waiting for the system to issue the tasks.
The familiar system voice once again rang in every player’s ears.
[Planet Aelmar, a planet whose surface is ninety-five percent covered by water—a true water world. Today, the annual Water Race is about to begin. All contestants will form teams freely, with a minimum of two and a maximum of seven members per team.
The seas of Planet Aelmar may seem calm, but in reality, danger lurks everywhere. All competing players, please be careful.
Note: This competition is both a team event and an individual one.
The competition will last for three days. The rules are as follows: Complete the three randomly issued system tasks—one star per completed task. For every ten contestants eliminated, you gain one star. For surviving until the end of the competition, you gain one star. If your teammates suffer no casualties, you gain one star.
After the competition ends, those with fewer than five stars will be eliminated and have their player status revoked.]
After the system’s voice faded, a black and gold Task Book appeared in Moira Lynch’s hands. It listed her three tasks.
However, she wasn’t in a hurry to check her tasks. Instead, she scanned her surroundings, looking for potential teammates.
The system had said a team needed at least two people, which meant she had to find at least one teammate.
According to the rules, as long as you had five or more stars, you would pass. This meant that even without eliminating other contestants, a team could pass successfully just by completing the three tasks, surviving to the end, and ensuring no teammates died.
In that case, having too many or too few people on a team was not ideal.
Too few, and you’d be easily targeted; too many, and it would be hard to look out for everyone.
Just then, Moira spotted Kai York in the crowd.
At 1.88 meters tall and dressed in camouflage, he stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.
Someone like him was naturally a prime target for recruitment by other players.
Just then, Kai York spotted Moira as well. Ignoring the people around him trying to strike up a conversation, he strode toward her on his long legs.
Kai York walked over and said to Moira, "Let’s go. I’ll take you to find our leader and Hugh."
"They’re all here?" Moira was surprised. ’What incredible luck! All four of us were sent to the same place.’
The four of them successfully formed a team.
At that moment, a blue screen appeared before the four of them.
Moira’s heart skipped a beat. She suddenly had a bad feeling. ’Am I about to be exposed?’
Just then, the blue screen flickered, and a line of text appeared.
[Players Moira Lynch, Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch detected. Form a team?]
All four of them selected "Yes" at the same time.
[Congratulations on successfully forming a team. Please proceed to the harbor to claim your competition vessel.]
"Strange. It’s actually showing our real names," Kai York said curiously.
"It’s probably showing our real names because we all know each other. Let’s go." With that, Shane Rhodes took the lead and headed toward the harbor.
When they arrived at the harbor, they found many boats docked there, some large and some small.
The small boats were the most numerous—simple wooden vessels that relied entirely on oars. Then there were the medium-sized boats, which were a significant step up. Of course, the most eye-catching of all were the large ships.
However, there weren’t many large ships—only a few.
The players who had arrived first all rushed toward the large ships without hesitation.
When it came to boats, bigger was obviously better.
Kai York wanted to go fight for one, but Hugh Finch stopped him, then pointed to a medium-sized boat and said, "We’ll choose that one."
"A large ship isn’t necessarily the best choice. Don’t forget, there are only four of us," Shane Rhodes said, then led the group toward the medium-sized boat.
By the time they were on board, the other players were still arguing over ownership of the large ships.
A medium-sized boat was just right for the four of them. They assigned their roles: Shane Rhodes and Kai York would be the main combatants. The power of lightning combined with a hurricane would be incredibly potent at sea.
Hugh Finch was in charge of observation and navigation, while Moira Lynch was responsible for communicating with the fish underwater.