He looked at the chest with annoyance.
"Damn chest! Luckily it wasn't my hand!" he exclaimed with a slightly ragged breath.
He hit the chest with the iron crowbar, but the wooden chest was not even damaged or broken.
Ash snorted, turned away, but quickly turned his upper body around to throw the chest with the crowbar.
Clang! Clang-Clang!
The crowbar hit the chest and fell to the floor noisily.
He took big steps out of the cabin and slammed the cabin door.
"Who needs gold coins like that!" he shouted from outside the cabin.
***
Ash sat in the cockpit with a slightly sour face. The incident with the wooden crate still upset him.
He opened the system and browsed through the Guide to find out how gold coins were used in the game.
But he could not find anything.
Not giving up, he opened the Captain's Diary, but there was still no information about what the gold coins were for.
'Then, why are there so many gold coins on this ship? Guarded by a dog in the form of a crate?'
At that moment, a black dot appeared in the distance sea.
He narrowed his eyes and tried to identify what the spot was.
'Hmm. I can't see it.'
He ran to the cabin where he was sleeping, grabbed his binoculars, and returned to the wheelhouse.
Gasping, he immediately tried to start the ship's engine.
BRRRMM
BRRRNN
The engine still won't start. He panicked and kept trying.
After the seventh attempt, he managed to start the engine to get away from the black spot.
Through the binoculars, he saw that black dot turned out to be a large wooden ship.
With a large sail depicting a pirate ship.
***
Ash steered his ship in the opposite direction of the pirate ship.
Sweat dripped down his back and forehead.
BAM!
BAM!
There was the sound of cannon fire from the ship.
Swooshh!
Splash!
Cannonballs fell on the right and left sides of the ship that Ash was piloting, making his ship swayed left and right.
He tried his best to stabilize the ship, then glanced at the pirate ship through his back.
The ship was starting to take shape as it getting closer and closer. And its size was six times the size of his ship!
He stomped his feet as he steered the ship in panic, and shouted, "Hurry up, you useless ship!"
The cheering and shouting from the people of the pirate ship could be heard, making him more and more panic.
The pirate ship was getting closer, making their distance only a few meters away between the two.
Suddenly, large tentacles came out of the sea and grabbed the pirate ship, pulling it into the sea.
The pirate ship immediately torn into several parts.
And those pirates who had been cheering, jumped to sea, and screaming for help.
Ash didn't stop, but his eyes remained locked into those massive tentacles, with a look of fear.
His ship continued to move away from the wrecked pirate ship, leaving those pirates that were floating on the sea.
With his hands trembled and shaky feet, he continued to steer his ship toward the setting sun.
"Who says it's safe at sea?" he muttered.
***
The ship arrived at a rocky cliff on the coast. He drove slowly around the cliff and found a cave at the edge of the cliff.
He directed his ship into the cave carefully, while praying that no more danger would befall him anymore.
The cave was dark, but because the sun had not completely set, so he could see the state of the cave.
The ceiling was quite high and there was a sloping sandy area inside it.
He parked his ship at the ramp and took a torch from his cabin, then lit it to see the condition of the cave.
"Seems safe," he muttered as he moved the torch around to get a better look.
Feeling relieved, he raised the anchor that he had thrown into the sea yesterday. He felt a bit foolish for leaving it down there.
'It's a good thing the anchor didn't stick anywhere.'
Then he hooked the anchor to the nearest rocks and went down to moor his ship.
After everything was done, he fell limply on the sand.
His life in this game was like playing a game of luck.
'So be it. The important thing is that I am still and must stay alive,' he steeled his heart, and returned to the ship to rest in the cabin until dinner time.
***
With nothing to do, he opened the Captain's Diary and looked for a continuation of what he had read this morning.
Day two hundred and eighty-nine.
Today I remembered that John once told me that in this game there is a cheat item to return to the real world.
Ash's eyes widened at that sentence, and continuing to read impatiently.
It's called the Dimension Control Ring.
But no one knows the whereabouts of the ring.
John, who had lived in this world for thirty years, didn't even know.
We have all tried to look for the ring, but there is no sign of it at all.
Ash stopped reading.
Dimension Control Ring.
'If other people don't know where the ring is, it must have never been used.'
Ash clenched his fists on the table, the diary papers crumpled a bit by his movement.
He had to get it. He must get the Dimension Control Ring. And returned to the real world.
***
The next morning, he began to investigate the state of the cave.
The cave had several other caves that led into the cliff. In total, there were four caves. And this place was not recorded on the System Map as well.
Ash realized yesterday that there was no need to bother bringing a backpack. Just put every item he had into the Inventory. So, he entered the cave on the far left carrying only a torch and flashlight.
The fist cave was dark and had a smell of damp and animal waste.
Kwiakkk!
Kwiakkk!
Kwiakkk!
The bats flew out of the cave, past Ash who was trying to protect his face and body.
Not long after, he reached the end of the cave. It was a dead end.
With a slight curse, Ash returned back to the entrance and proceed to enter the second cave.
The second cave had the same smell as the first. The difference was that its ceiling was higher, so the bats inside only glanced at Ash from behind their wings then went back to sleep.
He continued to walk until he found a ramp that led down to ground level.
Following the path, he arrived at the cave entrance, which were covered by small plants.
He peeked out from among the plants and looked out carefully.
The light from outside dazzled his eyes, but after he got used to it, the first thing he saw was the pyramids of the American native tribes, similar with what he often saw in his history book.