Chapter 211: Opening the Treasure
The plants and trees here were all common species, none of them worth collecting. She searched and searched, even raiding the nests in the trees for eggs, but still found nothing else.
’Damn it! I know I saw more. This feels like I’ve lost a fortune.’
She stomped her foot in frustration, and after another wave of dizziness, she was suddenly back in the empty underwater space.
AAAAAH!!
Faye Yardley felt that this Ludo was being incredibly unfair to her.
’You hid everything away but still let a Treasure Map get out—weren’t you just waiting for people to come digging? What would’ve been the harm in letting me find a couple more things?!’
It was no use. After several more tries, she finally had to accept that she couldn’t get back in. Disheartened, she gave up and left.
As the pressure closed in on her from all sides again, Faye Yardley began the difficult swim upward.
She realized that the descent had been much easier than the ascent.
Just as the pressure around her eased, she noticed several other people in the water not far away.
They spotted her the moment she emerged from the depths.
Seeing them swim toward her, Faye Yardley didn’t wait around. Instead, she continued toward the surface.
By the time she finally broke the surface, summoned a small wooden boat, and climbed aboard, the others had surfaced too. They swam over and surrounded her.
The bright moon high in the sky illuminated the surface of the sea with perfect clarity.
When Xavier Thatcher got a clear look at her face, his expression grew complicated.
Hugh Langdon summoned a small wooden boat of his own and paddled closer. "Miss Yardley, I didn’t expect to run into you out here. What brings you to this area?"
Faye Yardley wiped the seawater from her face with a cloth. Hearing his question, she just chuckled. "Last I checked, you don’t own the ocean. And it’s not like I boarded your raft. I can go wherever I please in the sea."
Taken aback for a moment, Hugh Langdon didn’t get angry. Anyone who could take first place on the leaderboards during a server-wide event deserved his respect.
"You’re joking, Miss Yardley. Of course the ocean isn’t mine. But this particular stretch of it belongs to our team for now, doesn’t it?"
"Did you lease it from the System?"
Hugh Langdon: ...
"Miss Yardley, why don’t you come aboard our raft for a while?"
"No, thank you. It’s late, and it’s probably not wise for a girl to just board a stranger’s raft. Mr. Langdon, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way."
If Faye Yardley wanted to leave, they couldn’t stop her. Besides, Hugh Langdon didn’t dare to needlessly offend her.
Xavier Thatcher, who was beside him, had tugged on his arm, warning him not to do anything rash.
As they watched Faye Yardley’s small boat paddle away, Hugh Langdon couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Thatcher, why did you stop me from saying more?"
"Even with all of us here, we couldn’t have stopped her."
"Mr. Thatcher, I think you’re giving her too much credit." Hugh Langdon had never seen Faye Yardley in action. He’d admit she was probably strong, but he refused to believe she was so strong that all of them together couldn’t take her down.
"You yourself were so polite to her, Mr. Langdon. Were you really going to attack her? It’s better to find a chance to dive down and see if there’s anything special about the spot where she surfaced."
"You’re right, Mr. Thatcher. I’ll go get the Water-Repelling Pearl and we’ll take another trip down. I don’t want my brother getting back and saying I didn’t get anything done."
Someone at his side spoke up, "Mr. Hathaway, we can’t go down again tonight. A school of large fish just started attacking us."
"Perfect. We can have a feast."
Faye Yardley paddled her small boat away at a leisurely pace. She didn’t want to reveal her ability to stay underwater for extended periods. Looking up at the moon hanging high in the sky, she felt like it had been a very long time since she’d last seen it.
She paid no mind to the shadowy figures of fish that began to gather around her boat.
She took out a Fire Pit and placed it on the boat. The shadows retreated a little, but they didn’t leave, continuing to trail her.
Once she was a good distance away from the other rafts, Faye Yardley stowed her boat, gripped Light Wound, and dropped into the water. She slaughtered every last one of the fish that had been following her, then happily sped off in the direction of her own raft.
After swimming for a while, Faye Yardley surfaced and whistled. Back in its stable, Bella instantly shot to its feet, leaped off the raft, and galloped across the water toward her.
Back on the raft, Faye Yardley realized it was already past midnight.
She dismounted and patted Bella’s head. "Thanks for picking me up, Bella. Go get some rest."
"Sister."
"You’re still up? Turn us around. Let’s get out of here."
"Okay."
Faye Yardley went to her room for a shower, then sat down on the sofa on her small balcony and took out the Silver Treasure Chest.
She took a deep breath and clasped her hands together. "Praise the heavens, praise the earth, but praise the System most of all... Open!"
[Acquired Energy Stone x2, Water-Repelling Pearl x1, Invitation Card to the Merfolk’s Coralisle x1, Rare Island Entry Order x1]
Her Talent triggered... Rewards doubled.
Faye Yardley felt like she’d just struck it rich.
With three Rare Island Entry Orders now in her possession, the System prompted her that she could combine them into one Legendary Island Order.
’Legendary!’ What was there to think about? Faye Yardley synthesized it immediately.
In a moment, the three yellow items merged into a single purple one.
[Legendary Island Order: Upon landing on an uninhabited island, this will automatically trigger an Island Master quest. Complete the quest to take ownership of the island (optional).]
???
Faye Yardley stared at the system notification, her mind reeling. This Legendary Island Order seemed completely different from the others; it was basically a provisional Island Master title.
’This is a little weird. And I can just give it up after I get it? Just decide I don’t want it and that’s that? How capricious.’
She stored the Legendary Island Order in her inventory. ’Never know when I might stumble upon the right island,’ she thought.
’Best to be ready.’
Her supply of Energy Stones had been running low, so this was a welcome restock.
She sent one of the Water-Repelling Pearls and an Invitation Card to her brother.
After sending them, she took a closer look at her own Invitation Card. It looked perfectly ordinary. ’So, is Ludo one of the Merfolk, or just a friend of theirs?’
’Maybe I can ask Bella Dillon. She mentioned she was going back to the Merfolk. Does that mean she went to Coralisle?’
’An island named Coralisle... the heart of the sea. It must be something special, right?’
She stored everything in her inventory, went back to her room, and flopped onto the bed. She was asleep in seconds.
Faye Yardley hadn’t expected her internal clock to get so strange. She had only fallen asleep around 2 a.m., but she woke up right on schedule at 4 a.m. and got out of bed.
After she was already out of bed, Faye Yardley looked back at it and had a delayed realization. ’Does this mean I’ll never get to enjoy sleeping in again?!’
Letting out a barely audible sigh, Faye Yardley quickly washed up and went downstairs.
’Well, I’m up now.’ She had no intention of going back to bed; it was just a small moment to lament her "lost youth."
’I’m really a completely different person now than I was in my "past life."’