Especially as the three arrows on the glowing orb pointer in his hand became two, and now just one, all the troubles he had encountered after setting out to sea seemed to have vanished. He grew more and more eager for the treasure he was about to obtain.

Until... the fresh water on the boat was about to run out, and he finally realized that he was on the boundless, endless sea, with no one coming to rescue him. Everything he relied on was on this little boat less than ten meters long. If he ran out of fresh water, he probably wouldn't survive more than three days.

"As expected... I was just an ordinary person in my previous life. How could I suddenly become the chosen one, the center of the world?"

Looking at the water bucket that had been dried out by the sun, Ethan instead became completely calm.

"There's no use worrying. Now I either hope for rain, or I can only pin my hopes on this pointer that I have no idea where it's pointing."

Going all in, Ethan squeezed out every bit of his potential. Not only did he steer the boat as fast as possible, but he also used the few remaining fruits with moisture to sustain his body.

In this way, he barely managed to hold on for another five days. And just as he was about to give up, Ethan noticed that the glowing orb pointer in his hand finally changed.

It no longer pointed forward, but instead pointed firmly downward.

"Here? Is this it?"

He put away the sail, dropped the anchor, and Ethan looked around in confusion. The scenery in his eyes hadn't changed at all; it was still an endless expanse of sea.

"Could it be at the bottom of the sea?"

His expression grew even worse. Ethan had lived on an island all his life and made a living from the sea, so he was naturally a good swimmer. But after sailing for so many days without seeing land, who knew how deep the sea beneath him was?

The only thing he could judge by was the color—strangely enough, after sailing for so long, the color of the sea was still a light blue with a hint of green. Although this meant it wasn't truly deep sea, it still wasn't a place where a person could reach the bottom without any equipment.

"I've been tricked..."

He let out a helpless sigh.

"And tricked to death at that! I just wonder if I'll get another life this time?"

Ethan sat helplessly at the bow of the boat, wondering if he should just jump in and risk it—maybe drowning would be better than dying of thirst?

Lost in wild thoughts, he raised his left hand again, and Ethan suddenly noticed something strange happening to it.

Originally, aside from focusing his mental energy on his left hand to summon the glowing orb pointer, there was nothing special about his left hand. But this time, he saw a complex pattern appear on the back of his left hand.

"This..."

As the pattern gradually became clearer, he could finally make out what it was.

"It looks like a magic circle?"

Just as the magic circle finally took shape and began to emit a soft blue light, a surge of mental energy suddenly rushed from behind his left shoulder back into his brain.

In that instant, Ethan suddenly understood what this thing was all about.

"Hahaha, sure enough, heaven never seals off all exits... cough, cough, cough..."

People really shouldn't get too cocky—Ethan almost choked himself to death. He stopped posing at the bow and instead walked honestly to the most stable spot in the middle of the boat, then knelt on one knee and placed his left hand on the 'ground'.

"I have to use all my mental energy... I'm not in great shape right now, so I don't know if it'll be enough."

No matter what, Ethan decided to try once. If he failed this time, maybe he could try again with the last bit of food he had left. But if he rested, the excitement that had boosted his spirits might fade, and he might not last long enough to try again.

"I have no choice—let's go for it!"

Going all in, Ethan poured all his mental energy into his left hand. Years of practice made this come naturally to him, with almost no difficulty.

And the magic circle that received Ethan's mental focus grew brighter and brighter, finally bursting into a dazzling light. On the 'ground', a magic circle identical to the one on the back of his hand appeared.

"It's done!"

Seeing the magic circle appear, Ethan knew he had succeeded. The mental feedback from the magic circle not only told him how to use it, but also the posture for successfully activating it, and even the function of the magic circle was 'told' to Ethan.

Plane traversal!

That was the function of this magic circle.

Having read countless web novels, Ethan didn't need to think much to know what this meant. Although it still carried immense risks, with death from thirst looming, he had no other choice.

"No matter what, it can't possibly send me somewhere I can't even get a sip of water, right..."

As the light of the magic circle gradually engulfed Ethan and the teleportation was about to begin, Ethan suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, just like the weakness he felt after pulling all-nighters back in his school days, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"To think I'd collapse at the very last moment... what rotten luck..."