The ship looked old but still in good condition. The dark brown wood of the ship's body was covered with moss here and there, and its bottom was filled with barnacles.
Some of the interior parts were overgrown with moss in several places. In some areas, large mushrooms had even grown. The ship featured a wheelhouse and two passenger cabins.
Ash entered the cabins and found everything surprisingly clean, with no moss growing inside.
Most importantly, the ship seemed to be free from other players or hostile creatures that wanted to kill him.
After putting his backpack in the cabin, he quickly untied the rope and pushed the ship out to sea.
With gentle swaying from the sea waves, the ship drifted slowly out to the open sea.
'Finally, I can rest,' he thought.
After a whole night of fighting off robbers and an assassin, he was mentally exhausted.
Healing potions could only heal wounds and fatigue, but not mental ones.
He changed his clothes and started eating his lunch in the bow of the ship.
Once finished, he explored the ship again to ensure his safety and search for any Special or Rare items.
In the wheelhouse, he did not find any items. And the ship's steering wheel still worked well.
'Good, I won't need to worry about direction.'
He headed down into one of the passenger cabins and found many items scattered around, similar to those he had found in the cave.
The items were strewn across the floor, on the bed, inside the cabinet, and on the wooden table. He decided that he would sort the items after he had his sleep.
Inside the second cabin, there was a large wooden chest in the corner of the cabin. Apart from the chest, the cabin was empty.
He walked towards the back of the ship and found a slightly rusty anchor. Without hesitation, he threw it into the sea.
He didn't want to take the risk of actually floating out to sea and having difficulty to return to the land again.
After done with his exploration and confirmed that the ship was safe, he went to the first passenger cabin.
Using his jacket to cover his hand, he shifted all the items on the bed to the floor, then collapsed onto the bed, falling fast asleep.
***
In the afternoon, he woke up with a fresher body and mind.
While eating his lunch and sitting at the front of the ship, he watched the sun set over the horizon.
The atmosphere was so peaceful and quiet that it was hard to imagine the players killing each other in this world.
Survival and desire to kill were two slightly different things. Both of them had to kill the other player.
Ash exhaled deeply.
He was a little regretful about why his mother used to like this game.
Because this game has a cruel theme. Kill or to be killed.
But there was no point in regretting everything. He had to focus on returning to his mother's side, as he couldn't bear to leave her all alone.
Ash got up and walked towards the cabin he had been sleeping in.
With a pair of gloves he had taken earlier, he began to rummage through the pile of things.
He started to feel a little calmer because he found items such as food, drinks, clothes, and several other important necessities.
What made him most happy, was that he found rare items such as maps and the ship captain's diary.
The diary contained information about the game 'Finding Objects'! The following map contained all the locations in the game.
Ting.
[You have found the Captain's Diary.]
[Item Rank: Rare.]
[Level: Up 0.2 Level]
[You have found the Captain's Map.]
[Item Rank: Rare.]
[Level: Up 0.2 Level]
Truly Rare Items!
But this game was incredibly stingy, the increase was only 0.2 for Rare Items. Yesterday Special Items rose by 0.1.
Ash could only roll his eyes in slight annoyance.
He removed all the items piled on the table and placed the Rare Items there, and lit the oil lamp.
Accompanied with some snacks, he opened the diary and started reading it.
Day 1,
My name is Jonathan Smith, I am thirty-seven years old today if I am correct in counting the days I have been here.
I found myself trapped inside the fucking game I'd been playing for three months.
At first, I liked this game. Unlike other hidden objects games, this game has MMORPG features. And all the players have different professions and skills, from Finder, Hunter, Robber, and Theft.
The point is in this game, we have to find items and defeat the monsters that become several items, but we also have to be able to protect the items from other players who are after this game.
I chose a Finder, so I can only search for items, without fighting skills. And this is absolutely the wrong choice!
I can only look for items and hide.
Until finally I was defeated by a Hunter and fell into the sea.
But I'm still lucky.
Some dolphins took me to a remote island. There I could survive, and the dolphins accompanied me there.
But all that luck made me long to go home even more.
My son probably is twelve by now, and I haven't seen him in ten years.
Ten years trapped in this fucking shitty game!
The first page ended there.
He closed the diary with an uncertain feeling.
This person was trapped in this game for ten years without being able to return.
What about him?
He put his hands on the table, rested his head on his hands, and began to cry silently.
***
The calm sea waves rocked the ship that Ash was on, slowly.
The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. The light of the moon was reflected by the surface of the sea.
About fifty meters below the surface, right under the wooden ship, the shadow of something massive with very long tentacles moved slowly past it.
The shadow passed through the ship and disappeared beneath the surface of the deep seawater.