While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: First Landing on the Island — Pyralia

Once the windsock and sails were completed, Rowan Rhodes secured the windsock to a wooden railing on the raft. Almost instantly, the flag caught the ocean breeze, pointing straight in one direction. Southeast. With the wind direction confirmed, Rowan placed the two crafted sails squarely in the center of the raft, positioning the canvas to face the wind directly. The next moment, the raft’s Speed noticeably increased.

Watching the raft icon moving on her interface and charting a course, Rowan began preparing to land on the island. First, the raft needed an iron anchor to keep it securely moored. Second, she had to gather supplies for the excursion—plenty of food and water to replenish her Fullness Value and Thirst Value at a moment’s notice. That way, if she stumbled upon valuable resources, she wouldn’t miss out due to poor physical condition. Finally, weapons were essential. Currently, she had a long spear and an Iron Axe. She decided to add an iron shovel and a machete. The iron shovel could be used to dig Stone, while the machete was perfect for harvesting plants.

Having formulated her plan, Rowan took the required materials to the Workbench. Once the iron anchor, iron shovel, and machete were crafted, she stored them in her backpack.

[Steamed Bun *20, Cake *5, Water *99, long spear *1, Iron Axe *1, iron anchor *1, iron shovel *1, Machete *1]

Out of ten slots, only two remained empty in her backpack. The island would undoubtedly hold more than two types of resources. When she ran out of space, she could simply take her tools out and carry them by hand, allowing for greater flexibility. She could even make multiple trips back and forth!

Thinking about the island she was about to explore, Rowan’s heart filled with curiosity. In her past life’s memories, by the time she managed to reach an island, it would be largely stripped of resources, completely scavenged by waves of earlier players. This time, she would finally be the very first player to thoroughly explore an island.

Glancing at the Map, the island’s location hadn’t popped up yet. Rowan took the opportunity to open the World Channel. She wanted to see if her recent trading activity had drawn the attention of the players in District 122.

[District 122: (99,499/100,000)]

”Why am I seeing so many people buying mineral water?”

”Because someone offered a lot of food in exchange for mineral water earlier. They’re just following the trend!”

”Haha, people are guessing it’s the same big shot who was buying empty wooden chests before. They feel like mineral water is going to be useful soon.”

”Then I’m definitely not trading my water away. I’m going to try and trade for some more myself.”

”A lot of people are hoarding it right now!”

”I’ve already gathered enough resources to unlock the Freshwater Collector.”

”Me too, me too.”

”Following the big shot’s lead is the right move anyway. Who would have thought empty wooden chests would actually be useful!”

”Harold Thompson: Stop calling them a ’big shot’ in every sentence. They probably just predicted the empty wooden chests would be useful and hoarded them early. Plus, we don’t need their reminder this time. The weather forecast already said to beware of heatstroke. It’s obviously going to be high temperatures.”

”Celia Lynch: @Harold Thompson, that’s not what you guys were saying before.”

”Simon Quinn: Oh, Lady Celia graces us with her presence.”

”Celia Lynch: You think I’m afraid of you? Come at me if you have the guts, and let’s see who runs.”

”...”

Reading this, a hint of admiration for Celia flickered in Rowan’s eyes. Earlier, Celia had stayed silent because she realized she was being targeted and needed time to mentally prepare. Now, Celia was stepping up, understanding that since she was already marked, fear wouldn’t make her enemies spare her. She was choosing to face them head-on. Of course, she would definitely work hard to improve her strength and ensure her ”enemies” would never return if they dared to strike. That was true confidence.

Rowan thought of herself. Her own experience was summarized from dying once, while Celia had figured this out all on her own. Celia was much stronger than she was. Rowan had no memories of Celia from her past life, but she genuinely hoped a player like her would survive for a very long time.

The thought fleeting by, Rowan closed the World Channel. Since so many people were now paying attention to the high temperatures and heatstroke, as long as they were prepared, the death toll would likely drop significantly.

Just as she closed the chat, she noticed an icon suddenly appear on the raft interface to her right.

[Pyralia]

With the route confirmed, Rowan adjusted the raft’s sails and advanced toward Pyralia at full speed. The closer she got to Pyralia, the more clearly she could see the lush, verdant plants blanketing it, even in the dim light of the night. She had to admit, the sight was incredibly soothing to the eyes. Spending every day on the boundless ocean, surrounded by nothing but water, sky, and the raft, placed a constant, heavy psychological burden on her. Green had always represented vitality. She was determined to transplant the island’s trees onto her raft.

Amidst her anticipation, the raft finally approached Pyralia. Rowan skillfully dropped the iron anchor, mooring the raft to the island so it wouldn’t drift away with the current. However, the iron anchor also had Durability. Rowan needed to return to the raft before its Durability ran out, or she would have to drop another iron anchor.

[F-level Iron Anchor: Mooring duration for raft - 2 hours.]

Having noted the time limit, Rowan disembarked and set foot on the island. The moment she stepped onto the island, a system notification popped up.

[Server-Wide Announcement: Congratulations to player Rowan Rhodes for being the first to land on an island. Reward: Wooden Treasure Chest.]

Looking at the reward, Rowan immediately materialized the Wooden Treasure Chest, tossed it back onto the raft, and gripped her tools to continue exploring. Or rather, she didn’t need to explore just yet—her very first foothold was soft sand. And sand was a rather important resource.

One word: Dig!

Wielding the iron shovel, Rowan began digging up sand. Once an inventory slot was full, she moved forward, immediately spotting palm trees, coconut trees, and mango trees lining the beach. Seeing these resources, Rowan couldn’t help but feel a momentary daze. Wasn’t this a bit too abundant?!

Especially the Coconuts. Just the thought of that sweet, refreshing coconut water made her mouth water. The early bird truly did get the juiciest worm.

Chop!

Harvest!

Throughout the process of chopping and collecting, Rowan brought out her tools in a frenzy. At this moment, only one thought echoed in her mind. Chop, chop, chop.

[Congratulations to the player. By chopping down a palm tree, you have obtained: Palm Leaves *10, Palm Seed *5, Wooden Board *20.] [Triggered C-level Collection Skill.]

[Congratulations to the player. By chopping down a coconut tree, you have obtained: Coconut *10, coconut seed *5, Wooden Board *20.] [Triggered C-level Collection Skill.]

[Congratulations to the player. By chopping down a mango tree, you have obtained: Mango *10, Mango Seed *5, Wooden Board *20.] [Triggered C-level Collection Skill.]

[...]

During this process, Rowan’s C-level Collection Skill began showing its true power. The higher the Skill Level, the greater the quantity of resources obtained. A C-level Collection yielded five times the resources of an F-level collection. Because of this, the entire collection process was pure enjoyment for Rowan. She would plant all these seeds on her raft later; then, she would have an unlimited supply of fruit. No wonder it was called Pyralia. Judging from the harvest, this was clearly a tropical island.

Of course, Rowan didn’t spend all her time chopping. After cutting down nine of each type of tree, she headed back to the raft, crafted Storage Box No. 7, dumped all her fresh loot inside, and returned to the island.

Now, looking at the island, a gleam of pleasant surprise flashed in Rowan’s eyes. Even though she had known that the first player to land would reap a massive haul, it still exceeded her wildest imagination. And this was only the coastline! There were definitely more things deeper inland. She was determined to fight for it and wouldn’t leave a single resource behind.