This time, he anticipated where the dagger would land, aiming straight for the shark’s eye.

In the next instant, the two sides crossed paths again.

At that moment, Rowland suddenly felt an uncontrollable, intense pain in his right arm, as if it were being ground forcefully in a millstone.

“Damn, I lost control of my right hand, made too big a move, and got bitten.” Rowland was startled. Reality was still different from a game; his control over this new body wasn’t perfect, and he’d exposed a small flaw.

Even though he knew his hand had been bitten, the opportunity for attack was fleeting. Rowland forced himself to ignore the pain in his hand, maintaining his stabbing posture. Spurred by the agony, the force in his left hand’s dagger didn’t decrease but instead increased, thrusting swiftly at the shark.

With a ‘puff’ sound, he felt his left-hand dagger hit something, then pierce through easily, meeting much less resistance than the previous strike.

That penetrating sensation made Rowland rejoice inwardly: “I hit its eye!”

Sure enough, the moment the dagger stabbed in, the intense pain in his right hand eased, and the force of the shark’s bite quickly weakened.

A few seconds later, Rowland’s right hand broke free. He glanced at it hurriedly, seeing only a bloody mess, but the shape was still intact. Fortunately, it wasn’t severed and should recover.

Looking again at the attacking shark, he saw a dagger deeply embedded in its eye. The body was motionless, slowly sinking into the sea.

It was dead.

Immediately after, Rowland heard the voice of the AI in his mind.

“Successfully performed Stab ×2, skill proficiency +10.”

“Your Stab proficiency: 1/100 (Proficient)”

“Killed a level 5 elite grayback shark, a difficult and deadly opponent. Gained 110 experience points.”

“You have reached level 2!”

“Your Strength increased by 2 points.”

“Your Vitality increased by 1 point.”

“Your Coordination increased by 1 point.”

With this information, Rowland felt a surge of scorching warmth burst from deep within his body, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones.

In a moment, he was restored to his best state—no, even better than before.

The intense pain in his right hand rapidly diminished, almost disappearing. Rowland looked over and saw that most of the wounds on his right hand had been healed, leaving only a few minor injuries that didn’t matter.

“Life energy flows through the body, rapidly healing all physical injuries,” the AI explained.

Rowland didn’t have time to fuss over the AI’s rigid adherence to game rules. He just felt lucky—he hadn’t expected to kill the shark in one strike.

“This wasn’t luck, Rowland. Your long-term training in the game has given you excellent combat instincts. This is your strength!” the AI corrected Rowland’s thoughts.

“Maybe so, but I know I wasn’t sure I could kill it.” Rowland still felt a sense of relief after surviving the ordeal.

He surfaced and swam toward the Daiwei. As he swam, he felt his strength had increased significantly, his swimming speed was a bit faster, and his fatigue was gone.

A low-quality level 2 body was equivalent to a level 1 ordinary-quality body. Now, although Rowland still looked thin and weak, his body was not much different from an average teenager.

It was truly a wonderful thing.

But his wonderful feeling lasted only a few seconds before bursting like a bubble.

On the sea’s surface, three blue-gray dorsal fins suddenly appeared—sharks, more sharks had come, drawn by the thick scent of blood in the water. At least three of them!

“Oh my god!” Rowland couldn’t help but groan. He was now weaponless—what should he do?

The previously fearless, solo-fighting Rowland, faced with a group of sharks, immediately gave up all thoughts of resistance and desperately swam toward the Daiwei.

He could see the people on the ship had spotted him; they even threw out a rescue rope. But whether he could make it in time was still unknown.

He also noticed something strange: on the deck of the Daiwei, there was a woman in a blue dress, and in her hand, a wisp of white light, as light as a feather, was dancing gracefully.

“A mage! There’s actually a mage on this ship!” Rowland was utterly astonished.

Chapter 7: The Road of Kings

While Rowland was fighting and killing the shark in the sea, the sailors on the deck of the Daiwei also saw the blood-red spreading across the water. The sailors all sighed deeply: “It’s over, that kid Rowland is done for.”

No one believed that such a frail-looking youth could kill a shark. In fact, on this ship, not a single sailor or dockworker could accomplish such a feat.

Everyone in Wandome knew how terrifying sea sharks were.

“That kid’s really pitiful. First time out trying to earn a little silver, and he dies at the hands of a shark,” Gates sighed, but it was just a sigh.

“I have to say, it really is a shame,” the steward Lester shook his head, then turned to the First Mate and said, “It’s getting dark, and we can’t work today. Let’s head back.”

The First Mate nodded and began calling the sailors to weigh anchor and set sail. For an orphan scraping by at the docks, no one really cared whether he lived or died.