Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Killing Monsters While Salvaging Trash
If the morning of salvaging trash was just a chance for people to get used to things and practice, the afternoon was anything but calm.
Polluted sea creatures that actively attacked rafts were hidden among the trash. If you were too focused on salvaging and failed to notice them in time, your raft would likely be damaged, requiring wood for repairs.
If you failed to notice, the system would likely only issue a warning once the raft’s damage exceeded 50%.
Faye Yardley’s salvaging work on the sea, riding Bella, was no longer smooth sailing. She, too, encountered those polluted sea creatures. When that happened, Faye Yardley would hang upside down from Bella’s back, fighting with Light Wound.
You couldn’t even call it a battle. The creatures just starting to appear were all low-level mobs, so it was more of a one-sided slaughter.
The system also awarded points for killing these polluted sea-creatures—far more than it gave for salvaging trash.
’It’s as if the system is encouraging people to kill more mobs.’
Faye Yardley didn’t go out of her way to hunt mobs, though. For her, wielding the net with one hand was faster and a better way to train her arm Strength.
In fact, she found those low-level mobs to be a complete nuisance.
Because they would sometimes damage her fishing nets!
That was infuriating. She didn’t have a large stock of fishing nets, and getting more would mean spending points!
Whenever a low-level mob entered the radar’s detection range, the people on the raft would receive an alert.
Eamon would then jump directly into the sea to deal with them.
To be honest, he hadn’t seen any real action since coming here. He’d spent so long in the planting room that he’d almost forgotten he was a capable fighter.
In fact, his strength had increased immensely here. It was only now, actually fighting mobs, that he realized he could take on three of his former self.
He was so powerful, it scared even himself!
And the points from the mobs he killed all went to Faye Yardley. Faye, of course, was delighted by this unexpected windfall.
Her words of encouragement flowed freely; she praised Eamon every time she saw him.
Her praise spurred Eamon to start actively hunting for mobs on his own.
After a busy day, the trash stopped spawning at 6 p.m.
Faye Yardley could no longer see any large patches of trash on the sea, not even small clusters. There were only a few scattered items drifting about.
The polluted low-level mobs had stopped appearing as well.
Her raft hadn’t been touched by trash or mobs all day; the Energy Protection Shield hadn’t been depleted in the slightest.
Once all the trash was in the recycling bin and the final points had been tallied, Willow Yardley stopped Faye Yardley from helping any further. She told Faye to go wash up and get some rest, insisting she could handle the remaining cleanup herself.
Fresh and clean, Faye Yardley stepped out onto the small balcony. Looking at the Magic Plant, which had grown considerably taller, her fingers began to itch. ’I’d love to just pluck a leaf and let Bella have a taste,’ she thought. ’What if she really likes it?’
’But it’s still growing. Wouldn’t it be a bit cruel to the young plant to start picking at it now?’
"My, your leaves are looking great. You wouldn’t mind if I just plucked a couple, would you?" Faye Yardley said, reaching out to do just that. As it turned out, the vine that grew from the Magic Seed was every bit as magical as its name suggested.
It automatically shed its two largest leaves from the bottom and offered them to Faye Yardley. Such generosity made Faye feel slightly embarrassed.
"Thank you for your generosity. In that case, I can’t be stingy either."
Saying this, Faye Yardley watered it with a little more dew.
’You know,’ she mused, ’those islands you can randomly access are quite unique. You can find things there that are impossible to get otherwise.’
’But to use a Rare Island Entry Order for that...’ Faye Yardley felt it wouldn’t be worth it.
"Faye, come on down for dinner!"
Willow Yardley’s voice drifted up from below the balcony, carried on the wind to Faye Yardley’s ears.
"Coming!"
Looking at the table laden with food, Faye Yardley smiled and gestured for Willow Yardley and Eamon to sit. "You both worked so hard today. The trash shouldn’t spawn again tonight, so make sure to get a good night’s rest."
"You’re the one who worked hard, Faye. What I did was nothing."
Eamon quickly echoed her sentiment. "And besides," he added, "I gained experience killing those polluted sea creatures. I’ve gotten much stronger just by following you."
After a pleasant dinner, Faye Yardley settled into her swing chair and scrolled through the public chat to unwind.
[I’m losing my mind. Is this trash ever going to end? I’m drowning in it over here! Somebody save me~]
[If you have time to cry for help in the channel, you’re not in that much trouble.]
[The trash has stopped spawning and I’m almost done clearing it, but I had to spend half my points on wood to repair my raft. o(╥﹏╥)o]
[On the server-wide leaderboard, the top players from our District 101 took 6 of the top 50 spots! Show me another district with that kind of representation!]
[Just having the number one player was enough for us to boast about in the world chat. I never thought there were so many other masters in hiding.]
[Talk about crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Why couldn’t I be one of them?]
[Hey, masters, carry me! I’m easy to carry!]
[Aren’t you guys worried about tomorrow? Did you learn any lessons from salvaging trash and killing mobs today? What if there’s more trash tomorrow, or it spawns more frequently? What’s the plan? Have you thought of a strategy?]
[...]
Faye Yardley couldn’t help but smile when she saw that message about learning lessons. ’What an honest kid.’ It was obvious they, like her, had never been beaten down by the harsh realities of their former, peaceful world.
’Good thing I don’t like to post where lots of people can see, otherwise I’d definitely expose this naive side of myself.’
An innocent heart is something to be protected, so Faye Yardley gave the message a "like" when she saw it.
Eleanor Jonas had published a guide for exchanging points, while Zachary Pierce had posted an efficient method in the world chat for killing low-level mobs while salvaging trash.
Zachary Pierce had asked Faye Yardley if she wanted to post some effective and universally applicable mini-guides on the public chat, but she had shut him down immediately.
’What a joke. I don’t represent the average person at all. I don’t represent anyone but myself.’
Her methods were one-of-a-kind.
Zachary Pierce’s rank on the points leaderboard was fluctuating between 44 and 47. Faye Yardley had asked him why he didn’t try to climb higher first, as his words would carry more weight that way.
He also wouldn’t have to come to her asking about publishing guides.
What she hadn’t expected was just how formidable her brother, Ethan Yardley, was. He was about to break into the top ten, and to her knowledge, he hadn’t received any help from the others in his group.
’It seems Tiberius is quite capable after all.’
’If the mobs become more numerous later on, my brother might actually surpass me in points. After all, Eamon’s combat prowess is nowhere near Tiberius’s.’
DING-A-LING~
Faye Yardley was a little surprised to see the incoming call was from Bonnie Callahan. She answered, but before she could say a word, Bonnie started talking a mile a minute.
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