Chapter 22
◎ Beautiful Mushroom, oh, Beautiful Mushroom ◎
Yu Chi stood on the deck, the sea breeze making her clothes rustle and her hair flutter. Her gaze was fixed on the path ahead, her eyes not daring to blink for a moment.
—At dusk, just as the sun was about to set, her small boat passed through a vast white fog and arrived at an island shrouded in ethereal mist.
Yu Chi’s heart pounded uncontrollably. The afterglow of the sunset pierced through the mist, dyeing the entire island the color of honey. The sea breeze, carrying the fresh scent of unfamiliar plants, rushed towards her. In the distance, a few crisp bird calls could be heard, just like in a perfectly normal world.
She saw them, those few large white birds flying in the sky… they were not contaminated creatures.
Yu Chi tightly gripped the violently vibrating compass in her hand—her nails almost piercing her skin. This was clearly the destination she had been sailing towards for days.
【Ding!】
The system’s notification sound suddenly rang in her ear, breaking Yu Chi’s inner excitement.
【Congratulations, player [DazedFish], on being the first in the entire server to discover an island! Reward: [Island Pioneer] title (All attributes +3), Level 5 Resource Chest x1!】
【Congratulations, player [DazedFish]…】
…
The notification sound repeated a full three times before it stopped, strangely giving the impression that the system was also very excited.
This was the first time since the game began that someone had received a server-wide announcement. At this moment, players, no matter what they were doing, all stopped their actions in unison, listening to the notification sound in their ears with uncertain expressions.
The chat channel exploded, and Yu Chi’s private messages blew up.
She opened her personal information panel. Her HP had increased from 220 to 280. The increase in her other attributes was not yet obvious.
Yu Chi then continued to check her skills. The time to create bandages and adhesive bandages with [First Aid] had been reduced from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, but the time to create a First Aid Pill remained unchanged.
The accuracy of [Fine Forging] had increased to 70%, and the duration of each form change in [Morph] had increased again, from just over 1 minute to 2 minutes.
Yu Chi only glanced at it briefly. After all, her attention was now focused on the island.
【Choose to use the Island Exploration Card?】
【Yes】
The moment she confirmed, Yu Chi’s body was instantly moved from the deck of the small boat to the shallow beach of the island. She turned around but did not see her small boat.
【Congratulations on arriving at Cold Moon Island.】
They wouldn’t steal my boat, would they? Yu Chi thought, simultaneously tightening her grip on the Shark Dagger in her hand. The seawater had just covered her ankles when a piercing cold suddenly shot up from the soles of her feet to her spine.
“Click.”
A faint, crisp sound came from under her feet. Yu Chi looked down and saw that the originally soft white sand had actually frozen into ice crystals. The ice layer spread out in all directions at a visible rate. In the blink of an eye, the entire shallow beach had turned into an ice field.
Yu Chi: “…?”
Hot damn. Although there are no contaminated creatures here, it’s obviously a far cry from a normal world.
She tried to lift her foot, but the sole of her shoe was stuck fast to the ice.
Should I take off my shoes? Yu Chi rubbed her chin in thought.
“Swoosh—”
A sound of something cutting through the air came from above. Yu Chi instinctively looked up. She saw three pure white birds diving down, their wingspans a full two meters, their beaks glinting with a cold metallic light. The feathers they shed as they circled touched the ice surface and immediately created spiderweb-like cracks.
【Species: Frostfeather Bird
Level: 4
Description: Has a very strong sense of territory and will actively expel strange creatures.
Traits: Frost Domain, Feather Blade Storm】
Hmm, have I entered their territory?
Yu Chi stared at the “Level 4” marker. This was the first time she had fought three level 4 creatures. What was more troublesome was…
“Crash!”
The ice layer suddenly shattered, and dozens of silver-blue vines broke through the ice. These vines were covered with ice crystal barbs, and at their tips bloomed bewitching blue flowers. Slender tentacles extended from the pistils, rapidly coiling towards her ankles.
【Species: Froststar Vine
Level: 3
Description: Hates being pressed down.
Traits: Paralyzing Toxin, Group Hunt】
Yu Chi’s eyes widened: I’ve been wronged! It was clearly the ice pressing down on them, what does that have to do with me!
Unfortunately, communicating with animals was difficult, and communicating with plants was naturally not simple either. The two crises were getting closer and closer. Yu Chi had no choice but to activate her Cinnabar Finch form. The heat wave from her crimson-gold wings melted the ice layer under her feet, and the scorching airflow, carrying sparks, crashed into the three Frostfeather Birds.
I’m just a life-skill player, Yu Chi thought indignantly, while continuously spitting fire from her mouth.
The three giant birds let out angry cries, their wings flapping to stir up a snowstorm. Ice crystals and sparks collided in the air, exploding into large clouds of white mist. Yu Chi used the mist as cover to dive down, the Shark Dagger in her beak stabbing fiercely into the root of a Frostbite Vine.
This vine really had to go. It had been causing trouble from below, trying to drag her down by her feet. Yu Chi opened her mouth and spat out another mouthful of fire.
The moment the dagger stabbed in, the entire vine suddenly convulsed violently, then was burned to ashes in the flames, revealing only a crystal-clear crystal.
“Huh?”
Yu Chi hastily snatched up the crystal in her beak, then turned to continue dealing with the three large birds.
It wasn’t that she was bent on killing them all, but… well, what she meant was, she was hungry.
I can finally eat something other than fish meat. Yu Chi was so moved that tears dripped from the corners of her mouth.
The Cinnabar Finch form only lasted for 2 minutes. Yu Chi didn’t dare to waste time and spat fire at the large birds with all her might.
Perhaps because of the elemental advantage, the battle was easier than she had imagined. With the Shark Dagger in her beak, when the Cinnabar Finch form ended, her body fell from the sky. Before the Frostfeather Birds could reach her, she once again transformed into a Cinnabar Finch.
The Frostfeather Birds’ small, black-bean-like eyes widened: How the hell can you transform?
Yu Chi smirked, “Gaga—” We’re not the same kind.
…She had forgotten she couldn’t speak. Wait, was that the sound of a duck?
Yu Chi: “…”
She decisively ignored it and, out of shame and anger, continued to spit fire at the large birds.
Besides their frost abilities, the Frostfeather Birds were extremely fast. After realizing they were no match, they immediately flew towards the depths of the island, leaving only the most seriously injured Frostfeather Bird to fall.
Yu Chi followed the falling Frostfeather Bird to the ground and finished it off with the Shark Dagger.
The battle was over. From start to finish, it had lasted less than ten minutes.
Yu Chi landed on the ground and returned to her human form. She leaned against a large tree and gasped for a few breaths. Because of the Froststar Vine’s sneak attack, she had been maintaining her Cinnabar Finch form and hadn’t landed, which had consumed a huge amount of her Spirit.
Fortunately, I’ve never been afraid of heights, Yu Chi thought nonsensically, while choosing to disassemble the Frostfeather Bird.
This bird weighed about seven or eight kilograms. After removing the inedible parts, there were still four or five kilograms left, which was almost enough for 10 meals for her.
Yu Chi was happy.
She stuffed all the disassembled bird meat into her backpack. The Shark Dagger twirled at her fingertips. Yu Chi planned to go back and look for the Froststar Vines. She had just dealt with one, but there were clearly many Froststar Vines on this island.
The description of the crystal she had picked up from the root of the Froststar Vine was as follows:
【Item: Frost Crystal
Grade: Excellent
Use: Forging ice-element weapons / making cold-resistance potions, items, etc.】
This was truly good stuff. Yu Chi flicked the ponytail behind her head. The temperature on this island was much lower than on the sea, conservatively estimated to be only around 10 degrees Celsius.
Since she had just recovered from her Cinnabar Finch form, she didn’t feel too cold. However, she still took out the sweater from the [Two-Sided Mirror] and put it on.
Thinking it wasn’t enough, she opened the player trade section and urgently bought woolen pants, woolen shoes, and a hat. Only then did she feel much more secure.
…
Overall, the Froststar Vines were not very strong, especially since the Cinnabar Finch form completely countered these plants. A few mouthfuls of fire, and the Froststar Vines could only flee.
However, there was a forest in the distance, and Yu Chi was worried about starting a forest fire, so she was more restrained with her fire-breathing. Before the Froststar Vines could escape, she had obtained a total of 13 Frost Crystals.
She happily put the spoils into her backpack, rested on the beach for a while, and roasted a piece of Frostfeather Bird meat over a fire made of branches.
The Frostfeather Bird was a level four creature, and its meat was extremely delicious. Even without any seasoning, a single bite was incredibly tasty.
Yu Chi’s white teeth tore off a piece of meat, and she suddenly thought of the fish meat she had caught with the All-Purpose Fishing Rod. Neither of these two creatures were contaminated, yet their description panels were completely different.
One was a description panel for a normal creature’s level, while the other was a description panel similar to an item’s.
Could it be that the fish she caught with the All-Purpose Fishing Rod were not creatures of this world, but rather items?
Yu Chi tilted her head, then took another bite of meat.
Who cares.
After finishing dinner, Yu Chi clapped her hands and stood up, extinguishing the fire. She turned to look at the depths of the island. She felt that it was inexplicably dangerous inside, and with her strength, she could probably only move around the periphery.
But thinking of those Frostfeather Birds, perhaps she could turn into a Cinnabar Finch and fly to the depths of the island to have a look?
But there was no rush. She only had 12 hours of exploration time. She probably wouldn’t even be able to explore the periphery.
Yu Chi had to spend the night on this island, but time was limited, and she didn’t plan to waste it on sleeping. So she took out her flashlight for illumination, held the Shark Dagger tightly in her other hand, and walked quietly towards the forest in the distance.
【Species: Beautiful Mushroom
Grade: Excellent
Trait: Can gain a random buff after consumption (lasts for 1 hour)】
Just as she entered the edge of the forest, she saw a group of small, blue-glowing mushrooms on the ground. They were beautiful and looked very dangerous. However, after Yu Chi saw the description…
This is the most beautiful mushroom in the world!
I must be sick, sir, to have started judging mushrooms by their appearance. Yu Chi covered her mouth in sorrow, but her movements were swift as she picked all the small mushrooms she could see.
Good stuff, good stuff, all good stuff. Yu Chi was as excited as a little girl picking mushrooms, bending over constantly, not feeling tired at all.
Since entering this island, the materials she had obtained had not been below excellent grade… although none had been above excellent grade either.
She hadn’t expected coming to the island to be so rewarding. Yu Chi was thoughtful. Could she keep her small boat parked near the island and use the Island Exploration Card to come up for a stroll whenever she was free?
In any case, drifting on the sea was boring. It was better to develop sneakily here. Yu Chi was overjoyed, thinking that this was an excellent idea!
The sky was gradually darkening. Yu Chi turned her flashlight to its maximum brightness, always on the alert for her surroundings.
***
【Author’s note】
Sailing Log 7:
The fish has landed on the island, she says… she’s dying of thirst.
Turning into a shriveled, rolling, salted fish [Helpless]