* * * In the Grey Fjord Inner Seas, many small boats were slowly making their way to the fishmen island which was descending from the skies.
And the one charging at the front was the famous five-man party led by Edward the Quest Maniac, the questing demon.
Still, the boat was not in good shape.
"Urgh. There are more cracks beneath the boat. We're not going to reach the fishmen island at this rate!" Jessica cried out in panic even as she frantically buffed the others.
"We miscalculated. I didn't think that there would be so many seals around here …" Joe was using his massive chest plate as a basin to scoop water out of the boat. "And the bottom of the boat is so brittle that it would crack if the seals hit it."
"This must be a test from the God of Games. He must be warning us not to let our guard down no matter what!" Edward reflected seriously as one of the top three braggers of the God of Games among all Players. "We're too weak to have guessed that this would happen from the name 'simple boat'. We're just too weak. We could have used ice or other materials to reinforce the bottom of the boat if we knew. "
"I'm going to blow up those damn seals' heads the next time I see them!" Left with no choice, Joe grumbled unhappily.
Since Joe and Gou Dan, who were in charge of rowing the boat had lost their oars in a panic when the bottom of the boat was leaking, the boat was now being pulled by Eleena's attendant, Croakatoa the frogman, with a rope attached to it.
Meanwhile, Eleena was sitting at the bow of the boat with a serious expression, cheering her attendant on with her cute voice.
"I say." Gou Dan, who was at the rear of the boat was using his helmet to scoop water out of the boat (his chest plate was leather and couldn't) while turning to Edward, who was using ice magic to stop the leak. "Actually, we don't have to be at the front every time, do we? Let the other Players … it's called pioneering in the forums, right? Why can't we let the others do it? "
In almost every version update, new quests, new dungeons or even new activities were announced, their party would be the first to charge at the front.
Then, the other Players would just have to refer to their strategy to avoid many detours.
To put it simply, Edward's party was crossing the river by groping for the stones, while the other parties were groping for Edward's party …
Even though being touched by others would gain the respect and admiration of most players and would gain quite a bit of fame among the players, as the most agile ranger in the party, Gou Dan, who was often the victim of all sorts of first sightings, felt a little angry. Damn it, I'm going to go bald if I'm always touched by others while crossing the river.
"Because although pioneering is dangerous, the rewards are often the greatest."
Edward said, but then he sighed. "You won't believe me if I say that, right?"
Eggface did not reply, but the expression on his face said 'That's right, you're right!'.
"Actually, my reason is simple. If we don't count the mysterious Uncle Xi Wei, we might be the earliest believers of the God of Games," Edward said slowly.
"Eh? But wasn't Princess Leah a believer of the God of Games since young? "Gou Dan asked in surprise.
"Theoretically, yes. No, I should say that I still thought so a few days ago. But when I was doing quests with her guards, I inadvertently learned that Princess Leah didn't get the System at the start … she only got it when winter approached, and even later than us! "
Edward said confidently. "Moreover, we have the Saintess with us."
Eleena, who was sitting at the bow and swinging her legs to cheer Croakatoa, seemed to have heard someone calling her, and turned curiously.
Edward gave her a 'it's okay' gesture, and the girl turned again, swinging her twin ponytails and humming a song.
Eggface still couldn't let it go, but at least he didn't object to the pioneering.
"I'm not against you guys chatting, but could you lend me a hand? Don't stop scooping water, or the boat will sink! "
Joe, who had been doing his best to scoop water said, scowling.
Regrettably, the boat still couldn't be saved. When it was less than ten meters away from the fishmen island's beach, the skiff crashed into a coconut. The coconut's hard shell tore a hole in the boat like a torpedo, completely nullifying all their efforts for half a day.
In the end, the boat slowly sank into the sea. It was fortunate that the party had cleared the Grey Fjord Inland Sea dungeon, and while they weren't that good at swimming, they could still swim. That was why they didn't get swept away by the waves, and instead managed to make it to the fishmen's island's beach.
Compared to the tidal flats where the Frogmen Village was, the fishmen's island was clearly much more dangerous, and Edward and the others had to face their first enemies the moment they landed — not fishmen, but Killer Fiddler Crabs the size of small elephants that ran amok on the beach!
This kind of crab that fed on Fishmen could be said to be the natural enemy of Fishmen. Their big pincers were more powerful than table pincers. Ordinary Fishmen couldn't withstand it at all. They would be directly cut in half by the big pincers and eventually become food.
Moreover, the crab's shell was clearly not made of chitin, but mixed with metal. It was a thick shell that resembled armor, and the fishmen's weapons made from conch shells and corals simply couldn't penetrate its defenses. No matter how many came, they would just end up as food for the giant crab, which was why there wasn't a single fishman on the beach …
Still, the specialized organs of the fishmen's killing machines weren't that effective against humans, especially the Players.
After all, it was just a shell that was comparable to armor, and the Players wouldn't care even if it was real armor. Come, come. Learn about the physical defense debuff, the armor-piercing arrow, the steamed king crab …
Therefore, when the second wave of Players finally arrived at the most suitable beach to land on the fishmen's island after much difficulty, they found that the first wave of Players were unable to extricate themselves from the gluttonous feast of steamed crab — the God of Games was merciful, and only took a little of the crab meat and shell, leaving most of the edible for the Players.
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