The turmoil brought by the pirates disappeared quickly.
Sea Serpent Island returned to its usual calm.
After completing the daily updates, Rogel embarked on a brand-new day in the Mysterious Sea.
The morning was supposed to be the beloved cave exploration session.
But instead, Rogel sailed a small boat to the sea area east of Sea Serpent Island.
He intended to catch two stronger sea creatures to serve as clones.
After all, with the voyage imminent, having a clone underwater is crucial and can provide a lot of help.
Of course, he didn't expect to catch suitable clones in the sea.
Inside the Harmony Cave, there's a waterway direction, where powerful monsters reside, perfect for being used as clones.
So he planned to catch them in the cave's waters.
As for the upper level of the cave, he decided to put it aside for now.
Rogel's clone control ability requires control over the target to complete.
And the underwater monsters inside the cave certainly wouldn't allow themselves to be manipulated like sea fish or octopuses.
Therefore, he needed to find a few suitable sea creatures to cooperate with his actions.
While contemplating, the small boat had already reached the appropriate area.
Splish.
Rogel leaped from the small boat, diving into the water, descending rapidly.
In this vast ocean, Rogel didn't have to be overly cautious, as it wasn't a dangerous cave.
After descending, Rogel quickly searched for targets in the Deep Sea Area.
The seawater here was neither too deep nor too shallow, filled with coral and reefs, and plenty of sunlight, ideal for marine life to inhabit.
Soon, Rogel surfaced, holding a small shark and an unknown hard-shelled crab.
The shark initially resisted, ready to make Rogel bleed.
But it was soon knocked unconscious by two powerful punches from Rogel, obediently becoming a clone.
After finding suitable clones, Rogel took out the key and brought the two clones to the cave's stone gate.
Slap, slap.
The shark landed on the ground, thrashing its tail fin vigorously.
Rogel immediately realized he had to send the shark clone into the water quickly.
Thinking of this, he picked up the shark clone and sprinted away.
Fortunately, the distance wasn't too far, and Rogel's stamina was quite sufficient.
He successfully placed the shark clone into the cave's water region.
After placing the shark, Rogel followed suit and put the large crab into the water.
Soon, a view from underwater appeared on the phone screen.
Due to the upgrade in talent, Rogel now had an additional clone perspective.
A phone split into three screens would surely be challenging for a normal person to view.
Yet, perhaps because the talent also extended to reality, Rogel didn't find it difficult, feeling three perspectives clearly.
This sensation was truly magical.
After the shark clone and crab clone went underwater, they took entirely different paths.
The shark clone remained in the upper layers of the water region.
The crab clone directly sank to the bottom.
Thus, Rogel also gained a preliminary understanding of the underwater scene.
Though this water region was within a large rectangular room, below the water were twisted hard rocks and purple seaweed-like plants, crisscrossing like a spider cave, obstructing visibility.
Moreover, the water quality was somewhat murky.
The shark clone, due to its size, found it incredibly arduous to move in this water region.
In contrast, the crab clone moved freely.
Thankfully, he didn't rush into the water; this water region was far too unfriendly to humans...
Rogel sighed in relief, realizing that diving would have surely resulted in being tightly trapped by these purple seaweeds.
Rogel was just about to control the two clones for exploration when he suddenly realized a problem.
Wait, why do I have to dive?
Can't I just fish with the rod?
Once he realized this, Rogel smacked his forehead, feeling a bit frustrated for not thinking of it sooner.
But it wasn't too late now.
Rogel eagerly took out his fishing rod, skillfully baiting and casting.
He didn't even need to chum the water; the Fishing Master would take action.
During the wait for fishing, the two clones wandered around idly.
Rogel began to wait.
But within ten seconds, something happened with the shark clone.
Swarms of sharp-toothed, brown bone-spine-covered fish emerged from all directions.
[Cold-toothed Monster Fish]
[Type: Monster]
[Quality: Common]
[Level: 2]
[Tier: Extraordinary]
[Explanation: A highly savage underwater monster fish that tears prey with its sharp teeth, carrying a certain freezing effect, and has a particular fondness for eating small bugs, so don't swim naked in front of them.]
Before he could bother with the unserious explanation, Rogel hurriedly controlled the shark clone, attempting to escape.
Although these Cold-toothed Monster Fish were small, seemingly no match for the shark, there were nearly ten of them.
In this situation, the shark clone had no choice but to flee.
But this swarm of Cold-toothed Monster Fish had no intention of letting Rogel's clone go.
Their speed was astonishingly fast, surrounding the escaping shark clone in no time.
Then, they pounced together, frenziedly tearing into the shark clone.
Soon, blood spread through the water, and the shark clone disintegrated into a heap of shredded remnants, sinking to the bottom.
Rogel was somewhat at a loss; the shark clone's demise was far too swift.
However, the crab clone remained safe and intact.
Holding the fishing rod, Rogel didn't hurry; even if the crab clone was lost as well, he could obtain a clone through fishing.
This group of Cold-toothed Monster Fish seemed quite suitable as cannon fodder.
While Rogel was pondering, there was movement with the fishing rod.
He raised an eyebrow, skillfully reeling in.
However, an unexpected situation unfolded.
[Your fishing rod broke.]
Rogel looked at the snapped in half fishing rod and fell into contemplation...
Perhaps it was because of the higher level and tier of things within this water region.
Rogel thought for a moment and took out a spare fishing rod.
Could he possibly upgrade the fishing rod?
[Fishing Rod (Upgradeable)]
[Type: Tool]
[Quality: White]
[Explanation: A plain and unremarkable fishing rod.]
Indeed, it is upgradeable.
[Fishing Rod (White) → Fishing Rod (Green)]
[Upgrade requirements: Tenacious Bamboo ×1, Artisan Lv2.]
Damn!
How is this any different from being unable to upgrade?
Rogel couldn't help grumbling inwardly, feeling an impulse to flip the table.
Though he would soon learn artisan skills, upgrading the fishing rod required a level of two and finding Tenacious Bamboo.
Such hassle, he might as well buy a better fishing rod directly.
Despite the frustration, Rogel had no better solution; he could only take out the key, preparing to return to Sea Serpent Island first, and see if a better fishing rod was available.
Just as Rogel was about to leave, the crab clone, however, made a new discovery.
"Huh?"
Rogel looked at the tiny creature in the crab clone's claw, somewhat astonished.
This thing resembled a small bug, with a slightly translucent body, deep blue and white stripes, and four long thin appendages on each side of its body.
At the moment, it was adhering to the crab clone's claw, moving its appendages, and sucking floaty debris from the water.
What kind of creature is this?