Chapter 179 - 160: Exploring Void Isle

Chapter 179: Chapter 160: Exploring Void Isle

Rowan Rhodes had no idea that Void Beast Atticus had acknowledged her. Following in Seabird One’s footsteps, she soon stepped into the forest.

After walking only a short distance, Rowan had already spotted the Seagull Family and the Big Turtle. Of course, the most striking sight was the vast patch of purplish-green spherical mushrooms surrounding the Big Turtle. The moment she saw them, Rowan’s pupils contracted.

She recognized them instantly. Acidic Mushrooms? Weren’t these the raw material for batteries? Talk about a stroke of luck!

Who would have thought that Acidic Mushrooms would grow on the Void Isle! In her previous life, she had heard mostly about the Void Isle’s Space Stones; she had never heard anything about Acidic Mushrooms. The only explanation was that the players who had collected these mushrooms had deliberately concealed this primary ingredient for batteries. Furthermore, under the circumstances at the time, batteries had not yet been introduced to players. Even if players had collected them, they might have just hoarded them as some unknown precious resource.

"Can these be planted after Collection?" Rowan asked as she approached the Big Turtle.

"Yes, they can!" the Big Turtle replied cheerfully. "Plants with special effects like these provide an even higher bonus for me once planted. I was just waiting for you to arrive so we could do the Collection, since you have an inventory."

"Then let’s collect them together," Rowan said hurriedly.

"Mm-hmm," the Big Turtle agreed.

Rowan immediately put on her Mask. She hadn’t forgotten the nature of Acidic Mushrooms: when picked, they released an acidic mist that could burn players. The reason she remembered this so clearly was that many players had suffered greatly because of it in the past.

Of course, Rowan didn’t forget to instruct the Seagull Family and Void Beast Atticus.

"Seabird One, these have an irritating effect, so you guys don’t need to help. You can look around for any other resources to harvest or animals to catch. As for you, Atticus, just wait on the sidelines," Rowan said soothingly. After all, Void Beast Atticus was a guest.

The Seagull Family didn’t possess any plant Collection Skill anyway. Hearing Rowan’s instructions, they chirped in agreement and split into two teams, heading off in different directions.

Void Beast Atticus obediently hopped onto a nearby Stone, watching everything with great interest. It wasn’t that it didn’t want to help, but rather that it had no hands! It was still just a little cub. Once it leveled up, it would eventually grow limbs.

With Rowan present, the Big Turtle began the Collection. As soon as it finished harvesting a mushroom, it handed it straight to Rowan.

"Master, put them away quickly! If they’re exposed to the air for too long, they’ll lose their stats," the Big Turtle explained. This was precisely why it had insisted on waiting for her to arrive.

"Got it," Rowan replied, swiftly stowing the Acidic Mushrooms away.

The Big Turtle’s Collection Speed was blistering. Because of this, Rowan felt more like she was the one assisting the Big Turtle. However, with the Big Turtle working so efficiently, Rowan saw no need to intervene herself. After all, the Big Turtle shared her stats. Working in perfect tandem, the two of them quickly finished the Collection of the entire patch of Acidic Mushrooms.

[Obtained: Acidic Mushroom x128, Acidic Mushroom Seed x25]

To Rowan’s surprise, after the Acidic Mushrooms were picked, a line of information appeared over the empty patch:

[Can be stimulated to grow again in 2 hours.]

"These mushrooms can grow back?" Rowan asked aloud.

Before the Big Turtle could answer, Void Beast Atticus chimed in eagerly from the sidelines. "I know, I know! Acidic Mushrooms are capable of Regeneration. As long as you leave their roots intact, they can keep growing. If you don’t want anyone else to get them, you just have to dig up the roots!"

Nipping the problem in the bud seemed perfectly normal to Void Beast Atticus. After all, when many races discovered special resources, they would often eradicate them from their place of origin to maintain a monopoly. That way, those races would have their own exclusive local specialties. Rarity determined value, after all.

"Hmm," Rowan nodded, though she had no intention of digging up the roots. Forget about other players—couldn’t she just come back and harvest them herself in two hours? Why would she do something so detrimental that didn’t even benefit her?

"Let’s keep going deeper," Rowan said, scooping up both the Big Turtle and Void Beast Atticus in one fluid motion before pressing on into the heart of the forest. If Acidic Mushrooms could be found on the outer fringes, she was truly looking forward to whatever other surprises the Void Isle had in store.

While Rowan was exploring the Void Isle, the other players were also working hard to steer their rafts forward. They were desperate to find the fourth island as quickly as possible. Whether it was the Void Isle or not, any island would grant them access to more resources. Only a fraction of the players had their sights set squarely on the Void Isle.

To arrive with greater Speed, many players began installing Engines on their rafts. For a time, the frequency of Engines appearing in the Trading Hall and the Sea Survival Shop skyrocketed.

During their journey, many players began chatting in their respective regional world channels. Unsurprisingly, the focus of their discussions remained centered on Rowan.

"Man, I wonder what Rowan managed to harvest on the Void Isle. I’m so curious!"

"Ever since Rowan took down those tens of thousands of ores, it became obvious that her inventory limit must be incredibly high. Now, whenever she finds something, she just stashes it in her inventory. We can’t even see what she’s getting anymore, which takes away a lot of the fun."

"Are you sure you mean ’fun’ and not ’stimulation’?"

"A bit of both! Being stimulated by her hauls gave us some motivation, but now we’re completely in the dark."

"Well, once another player manages to land on the Void Isle, we’ll find out what’s on it."

"The Void Isle already has the Void Beast, which is a treasure in itself. What else could there possibly be?"

"I feel like after this recent virus disaster, even though we didn’t get a proper harvest day, the overall yields are much better than before."

"Yeah, there’s a wider variety of resources too."

"So as long as we survive, the benefits we reap will only increase."

"The difficulty will definitely ramp up, but with more harvests and better preparation, we’re far more resilient now than when we first entered the Sea Survival Game."

"Exactly! We’ve all made it this far, so we just have to keep pushing through!"

"If incredible items like Space Stones are starting to appear, there are bound to be more good things on the way."

"Besides, haven’t you guys noticed that as our rafts level up, our bodies are being physically modified? It’s basically a form of evolution."

"Danger and opportunity go hand in hand. The Sea Survival Game might be fraught with peril, but it’s also brimming with immense opportunities."

"And let’s not forget the Native People that boss Rowan encountered. As the game progresses, we’ll probably run into them too. Maybe then we’ll finally get to understand the background of this world."

"Honestly, looking at how things are developing, this might actually turn into a battle between different factions in the future!"

"A battle between players, or against the Native People?"

"I feel like it’ll be players against players. The Native People might be there for us to recruit and assimilate. Just think about the Introduction to the raft on our control panels—it’s classified as a Territory!"

"That sounds like the talk of an opportunist. The game has just started, so who knows what will happen? We should just focus on developing for now! If the true enemies are the Native People, fighting among ourselves will only deplete the players’ overall strength."

"Regardless of what happens, banding together is definitely the right move."

"..."

With Rowan acting as the focal point of their discussions, players across all regions remained largely optimistic about the future. After all, they had survived one natural disaster after another, and their strength had continued to grow. They felt far more confident now.

Many of the top and veteran players in the various regions were filled with boundless ambition. Unable to hold back, they began actively recruiting forces within their respective regions.

Previously, the massive, highly publicized movement of players trying to pledge their allegiance to Rowan in exchange for benefits had ultimately failed, but it had left a lasting impression. It directly sparked the ambitions of quite a few players.

Back when everyone was flying solo, they could only engage in petty squabbles. But things were different now. With access to more resources, Positioning Cards, and established channels of communication, they would be fools not to seize this opportunity to expand their power. Almost overnight, numerous players who had already established small factions went into full recruitment mode.