Before entering the forest,
Calvin carefully checked the surroundings but saw no other players.
After all, when two cube platforms collide, it's possible for two teams to land on the same floating island.
Yesterday, that "good man" had revealed to everyone that killing players could grant attribute points.
Because of that, encountering unfamiliar players would most likely result in a fight.
The winner would take the loser's resources and attribute points.
The loser would lose their life.
So, caution was essential.
Seeing Calvin's cautious demeanor, Charlotte felt a sense of security.
Looking ahead, she noticed a deer curiously staring at her.
Without thinking, Charlotte raised her Red Iron Sword and swung at it.
Her short legs sprinted as fast as they could.
Startled, the deer immediately fled in a flash.
Charlotte was dumbfounded.
"Seriously, Charlotte, are you stupid?"
Calvin, who had just taken out his bow, looked at her speechlessly.
Charlotte's eyes showed a hint of guilt.
"I didn't think it would run so fast… I almost forgot you had a bow. Sorry..."
One of Charlotte's rare good traits was that she sincerely apologized when she made a mistake.
Calvin sighed.
"Just follow me. Even if you've never hunted before, you should at least have some common sense.
If someone chased you with a knife, wouldn't you run?"
Charlotte stuck out her tongue, looking sheepish.
Calvin ruffled her hair wordlessly.
...
After exploring the dense forest for half an hour, they finally found another deer and to their surprise, a small pond.
The pond was bottomless, and the deer was drinking water by the edge.
There were also several wildflowers nearby.
"Finally! There seem to be plenty of deer here, and there's even a spring! We can take a good bath now!"
Calvin said as he pulled out his Bow, aiming at the drinking deer and firing an arrow.
The next moment,
the arrow veered off and fell into the pond.
Startled, the deer turned around, saw two terrifying upright apes, and bolted.
Another arrow flew!
This one pierced through the deer's body.
The deer collapsed in a pool of blood.
"As expected, ordinary animals don't have attribute panels.
Only aggressive beasts like the Blue Wolf and wild men display data panels..."
Calvin muttered as he cautiously approached the deer.
Seeing that it still had some breath left,
Calvin didn't hesitate, he picked up his Red Iron Sword and swiftly slit its throat.
...
[Deer Meat ×20 Acquired]
[Deer Hide ×1 Acquired]
[Deer Antlers ×2 Acquired]
"It's dead? That easily?"
Charlotte asked curiously.
"That's probably the difference between regular animals and beasts like the Blue Wolf.
Their stats are likely similar to yours."
Calvin glanced at Charlotte.
At this point, Charlotte's attribute points were still in the single digits, pretty weak.
"No way, this deer died from one arrow! If it were me, at least I could survive a few arrows!"
Charlotte argued, shaking her head stubbornly.
Since they weren't hungry, they stored the items first.
Charlotte then looked at the pond.
[Ordinary Small Pond. Drinkable.]
"Calvin, this pond water seems drinkable!"
She exclaimed.
"So?"
"Should we sell water?"
Charlotte suggested seriously.
Calvin shook his head.
"The price of water has dropped. Hundreds of merchants are already selling it on the trading market."
"Why? How come?"
Charlotte asked, confused. Just a few days ago, water was a lifesaving treasure!
People were even trading blueprints for just 100ml of water.
"Check the market yourself. Water prices have plummeted to material trades.
Still profitable, but you need empty bottles.
Empty bottles aren't easy to sell either; everyone's smart now.
Many players found water sources yesterday or this morning, stocked up on bottles, and started selling water..."
Calvin explained his observations from earlier.
He himself had the same plan.
Find a water source, buy empty bottles from the market, fill them up, and sell them for profit.
Unfortunately, too many players had the same idea.
There were already "first movers" in this area.
Now, what's valuable?
Calvin's Red Iron Sword and Healing Gloves.
But these items weren't for sale, they were too rare and powerful.
Selling them would be the same as arming potential enemies.
If he sold to a nearby player and encountered them later, it could end in a deadly fight.
Unwilling to give up, Charlotte checked the trading market.
There were endless listings of spring water, creek water, river water, and lake water.
Prices were being fiercely slashed, making her very tempted.
"Can't believe water devalued so fast...
But at least it still needs resources to trade, not cheap enough to waste on bathing yet..."
Charlotte mumbled.
Calvin spent some high prices buying a few empty bottles.
Because of the water-selling craze, even empty bottles were overpriced, requiring several units of wood to trade for just one.
They filled about 5000ml of water from the pond and stored it in their backpack.
...
"Let's bathe, Charlotte. If you don't, I will. No peeking!"
Calvin said, and without waiting for a reply, stripped down right in front of her.
Charlotte was stunned.
Instinctively, she glanced downward and took critical damage.
Calvin jumped into the pond.
"Ahh! Calvin, you pervert!"
"Haha, didn't you peek at me before? Now I'm letting you see openly, and you're mad?"
"It's not the same!"
"How's it different?"
Charlotte looked at her yellowed JK uniform and sighed.
"Calvin, hurry up. I want to bathe too."
"Got it. Watch for enemies with the Red Iron Sword while I'm in there."
Charlotte knew the importance of sticking together.
Even though they hadn't encountered danger yet,
she didn't want another savage man situation like before that had scared her to death.
She held the sword tightly, trying not to peek below the water's surface.
"I got it, just hurry up, Calvin!"
Ten minutes later,
Calvin finished scrubbing the dirt and grime off his body.
He also washed his clothes,
and although they were soaking wet, the bright sun quickly dried them.
Charlotte couldn't help staring at the muscles on Calvin's chest and abs, swallowing hard.
"Someone keeps calling me a pervert, but she's the real one, isn't she?"
Calvin teased when he noticed Charlotte almost drooling.
"I—I'm not! I didn't!"
Charlotte shook her head frantically.
"Go bathe already. I won't peek."
Calvin grabbed the Red Iron Sword and guarded the pond.
"O-okay..."
Charlotte quickly took off her yellowed JK uniform,
scrubbed her filthy body and clothes thoroughly,
and happily hummed a song as she cleaned herself.
Half an hour passed.
She enjoyed the bath so much she lost track of time.
"Come on! We've already been on this island for an hour, only nine hours left!"
Calvin called out, glancing at her white, glistening figure in the water.
"I know, just a minute!"
With Calvin nearby, Charlotte felt completely safe.
For a moment, she thought back to their vacation trips like when they stayed in hotels,
Calvin waiting on the bed while she bathed in the bathroom.
It felt almost like they were a real couple.
But in reality,
their relationship was both friendly and hostile, love and hate intertwined.
When they were friendly, they were as sweet as real lovers.
When they fought...
slapping and spitting at each other wasn't out of the question.
While Charlotte was washing, she was suddenly drawn to a golden light shimmering in the pond.
"What is that thing?"
At first, she wanted to call Calvin over, but then she thought, Why do I have to rely on him for everything?
Swinging her slender legs, she dove down.
Once she got a clear look at the golden light, a glimmer of excitement flashed across Charlotte's eyes.
Quickly, she dug out a buried treasure chest from the soil.
A Talent Chest.
[Talent Chest: A small chance to obtain a talent.
An extremely small chance to obtain a talent of grade A or above.]
Seeing the chest, Charlotte excitedly mumbled, "Blub blub..."
Cough cough...
She pinched her neck with her tiny hands. Damn, she almost drowned.
She had completely forgotten she was still underwater.
Hugging the chest tightly, she shot up to the surface.
Suddenly, she saw Calvin, who was in the middle of undressing, preparing to enter the water.
Seeing Charlotte emerge from the pond, Calvin first breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at her angrily.
"You little brat... how reckless."
However, the next second, his eyes widened in shock.
"Is that... a Talent Chest!?" Calvin exclaimed.
On the regional chat channel, a few people had also reported finding Talent Chests.
It was similar to fishing for talents.
But according to some rumors, it seemed each person could only obtain one talent!
Back then, Calvin hadn't paid much attention to it.
Finding a Talent Chest was as rare as fishing for talents the first time.
It wasn't even worth thinking about, the odds were insanely low.
He stared at Charlotte, who was now showing off in front of him.
Then a thought struck him.
Wasn't it because of Charlotte that he managed to obtain an S-level talent last time too?
...
This girl's luck was off the charts!
"Still laughing? Still mocking me? Hmph! Thought I was slacking off, didn't you? Look what I found!"
Charlotte said triumphantly, twirling the Talent Chest as if doing a pole dance.
Calvin was about to shoot back with a sarcastic comment, but seeing Charlotte's perfect curves, slim waist, and those drenched clothes clinging to her, a flash of admiration crossed his eyes.
Catching Calvin's lecherous gaze, Charlotte shot him a glare.
But then she thought, I sneak glances at him sometimes too, so she let it go.
If I can ogle him, he should be allowed to ogle me. Otherwise, that's just double standards...
Forget it, she decided to forgive this little pervert.
"Open it already, Charlotte," Calvin said, retracting his gaze.
Charlotte was undeniably a beauty , sexy and cute at the same time but now wasn't the time for distractions.
If she could get a good talent, it would be a huge boost for both of them.
Charlotte warmed up her tiny hands, then quickly opened the chest.
In an instant, a rainbow light shot into her head.
She closed her eyes and began absorbing the information.
As her teammate, Calvin also naturally received the notification about her new talent and he was stunned.
[Congratulations to player Charlotte for obtaining an S-grade talent: Insight Sense.
Insight Sense:
Passive Ability: Speed attribute will equal maximum HP.
Active Abilities:
Battle Sense: Greatly enhances awareness, allowing for prediction of enemy moves during combat and making correct judgments in decision-making.
Mind Sense: Can consume stamina to sense others' thoughts.
At higher levels, it can even predict the future.]
Reading the description, Calvin was completely speechless.
Isn't this basically Observation Haki from One Piece?
And even stronger!
The active ability was already insane, allowing her to predict enemy actions and dodge attacks.
But the passive ability was even crazier, her speed would match her maximum HP!
To put it in perspective, Calvin's speed was only in the teens right now.
Charlotte's HP was 70.
As long as they kept boosting her HP, she'd become a tanky and agile powerhouse.
A perfect combination of tank and assassin.
Just like how Charlotte had the figure of a mature woman but the height of a loli...
Holy crap.