“I saw everything that happened on the shore. Since he still dares to come over, it means he’s truly capable. Let’s give him a chance to make some money.” The young woman said this, then turned her attention back to her book. To her, this was just a trivial matter, not worth worrying about.

Lester had no choice. He walked out of the captain’s cabin and waved at the sailors blocking Rowland from boarding, shouting, “Let him come aboard.”

Rowland was able to board the ship.

“Set sail!”

The First Mate shouted, and the sailors in the lower deck began to vigorously pedal the paddle wheels, while those on deck raised the sails to catch the wind. The Dawei slowly left the port, heading toward the shipwreck site.

On deck, Gates saw that Rowland had finally made it up and shook his head with a sigh. “Kid, you really don’t know your limits.”

As he spoke, he walked over to the First Mate on deck, pointed at Rowland, and exchanged a few words. Then the First Mate called a sailor to bring over a dagger and handed it to him. He walked back and gave the dagger to Rowland. “Underwater, seaweed might tangle your legs. Take this to deal with emergencies. When you’re done, remember to return it. A dagger like this isn’t cheap.”

“Thank you, uncle.” Rowland sincerely thanked him for his care, then took the dagger. The moment the dagger touched his palm, a stream of information flowed through his mind.

“Iron Dagger.

Quality: Common.

Craftsmanship: Common.

Minimum Strength Required: 1.0.

Special Attributes: None.

Maximum Target Level: 4.

Triggers Basic Skill: Thrust.”

Rowland was very familiar with this information; it was exactly the same as in the game. Once equipped, the dagger could only be used for stabbing—other warrior skills like slashing, hacking, chopping, or sweeping couldn’t be used.

Rowland then focused on ‘Thrust’, and the skill description surfaced in his mind:

Thrust.

Description: Coordinate the strength of your whole body, using the tip of the dagger as the point of force explosion to deliver a powerful strike, dealing massive damage to the enemy. If successfully executed, it can be fatal to a target of the same level in one blow!

Skill Proficiency: 1/10 (Basic)

Activation Time: 1 second (this time decreases as proficiency increases)

In the game “Ancient Gods,” digitized damage had already been removed, making it more lifelike. Just like in the real world, any attack you make—if it breaks through the opponent’s defense and hits a vital spot—can kill in one blow. It’s not like the early online games, where even if you stabbed a thousand spears into someone’s chest, they could still run around full of life.

With the dagger in hand, Rowland, relying on his in-game experience with Thrust, practiced a bit on deck. The familiar feeling surged up instantly—it was almost exactly the same as in the game.

“Smart Brain, you were right. The simulation for warriors is really high.” Rowland felt a surge of joy. In the past, he used to complain about how hard it was to use skills in Ancient Gods, because playing the game was almost the same as practicing martial arts in real life, making it hard for ordinary people to play well. Now he finally understood the purpose behind this design.

“Basic physical attacks are simulated almost 100%. If players have the corresponding physical fitness, with a little practice, they can reproduce any warrior attack skill from the game in the real world. This is an important part of the ‘New Continent’ project.”

“You’re right, but this body of mine is really terrible—just a poor-quality level one.”

“Please rest assured, I am doing my best to improve your physical quality, but you need to eat more. Eat whatever you can, and especially eat more meat.”

“Got it.”

After this brief exchange, a few sailors carried over a one-meter-long cargo box and began demonstrating to the divers how to tie the ropes.

Rowland glanced at it and found it simple. He tried tying the box himself a few times and quickly got the hang of it.

The shipwreck site was near the port, so the Dawei soon arrived at the destination.

The First Mate, a sturdy man with a full beard, began shouting loudly, directing the sailors to get busy: “Alright, get ready! Ropes, bring the ropes over! Hinge frames, frames—you idiot…”

Soon, Rowland was assigned a heavy coil of rope, which he could barely lift. This was for tying up the cargo underwater. Then, ropes with iron hooks at the ends were lowered from the side of the ship—these were for hauling up the cargo boxes from the seabed.

“Alright, ‘mermen’, it’s your turn now.” The First Mate shouted.

Gates took off his clothes, revealing a strong, bronze body, and was the first to leap into the sea. The other four followed him in. Rowland hesitated as he looked at the pitch-black water, but gritted his teeth, took off his clothes, and once again his skinny, bony body was met with skepticism.

The First Mate came over, squeezed his thin shoulder, looked at his two rows of ribs, and frowned. “Are you sure you want to go down there and die?”

The other sailors all chuckled. “This guy really values money over his life.”

Rowland scratched his head and grinned foolishly. “I didn’t eat enough earlier. If you give me a few more pieces of black bread, I’ll definitely work harder.”

“Alright then, since you insist, I’ll let you be a well-fed ghost.” The First Mate frowned, but still waved his hand, and a sailor brought over a large piece of oat bread.