The ship looked old but in good condition. Its dark brown wood was covered with moss in places, and its bottom was filled with barnacles.
Inside, some parts were overgrown with moss, and large mushrooms had even grown on certain areas. The ship had a wheelhouse and two passenger cabins.
Ash entered the cabins and found everything surprisingly clean, with no moss. Most importantly, the ship seemed free from other players or hostile creatures.
After putting his backpack in a cabin, he quickly untied the rope and pushed the ship out to sea. With a gentle sway from the waves, the ship slowly drifted out to the open water.
'Finally, I can rest,' he thought. After a whole night of fighting Rogues and an Assassin, he was mentally exhausted. Healing potions could heal wounds and physical fatigue, but not mental exhaustion.
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 found no items. The ship's steering wheel still worked well. 'Good, I won't need to worry about direction.'
He went 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 he would sort the items after he had slept. Inside the second cabin, there was a large wooden chest in the corner; otherwise, 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 risk actually floating out to sea and having difficulty returning to land.
After finishing his exploration and confirming the ship was safe, he went to the first passenger cabin. Using his jacket to cover the hand, he shifted all the items on the bed to the floor, then collapsed onto the bed, falling 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 players killing each other in this world. Survival and the desire to kill were two slightly different things, yet both required killing other players.
Ash exhaled deeply. He regretted that this mother used to like this game, given its cruel theme: kill or 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 calmer because he found items such as food, drinks, clothes, and several other important necessities.
What made him most happy was finding rare items: maps and the ship captain's diary. The diary contained information about the game 'Finding Objects'! The accompanying 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 of his sword made his level rose by 0.1.
As 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 by some snacks, he opened the diary and started reading.
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, Warrior, Rogue, Apprentice Mage, and Mystic.
The point is in this game, we have to find items and defeat the monsters that guarding it, and we also have to be able to protect the items from other players. And I choose 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 Warrior 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.
Ash 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 slowly rocked the ship Ash was on. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. The moonlight reflected on the surface of the sea.
About fifty meters below the surface, directly under the wooden ship, the shadow of something massive with very long tentacles moved slowly past it. The shadow passed beneath the ship and dissappeared into the deep seawater.
***
Ash continued to weep silently for some time, the captain's words echoing in his mind. Ten years. The sheer weight of that number crushed him
His own fear for his mother intensified, turning his despair into a cold determination. He couldn't afford to break down; he had to find a way out, faster than Jonathan Smith.