Ye Jun looked at the lighter in his hand with a bewildered look.
He had lost countless of those plastic lighters which only cost one yuan.
However, when it came to survival, a lighter was more useful than any resource.
A lighter made it easy to make a fire. Fire not only drove away wild animals and kept people warm; it also served to cook food and prevent illnesses related to eating raw food.
It could be argued that fire was the beginning of human civilization.
Knowing how to use fire was what separated humans and beasts into two separate races.
If anyone else had gotten a lighter, they would have been ecstatic.
But Ye Jun wasn't happy at all.
He only had a small raft at the moment; he didn't need to start a fire.
He wasn't about to light up the raft.
Looks like I'll just have to trade the lighter for some food and water! thought Ye Jun.
The lighter was an absolute savior for other survivalists.
After all, drilling for fire existed only in legend for the vast majority of people.
Life's problems could easily be solved with a lighter, and many people would be happy to trade for it.
Ye Jun began to calculate how he could exchange that lighter for more benefits.
A game announcement was suddenly heard.
"Deserted Island Mode player 'Ed' has successfully built the game's first shelter, earning the title of Beginner Builder and gaining the reward: Construction Hammer (Bronze) 10% increase in attributes of buildings built with this tool (permanent), +1 Builder Level, +10 Endurance, +10 Strength."
The entire world channel instantly went ballistic!
"Did I hear right? The name seems to be Master Ed!"
"Master Ed is indeed a survival god, having built a shelter already. But I'm more curious, what is this Builder title?"
"It seems that leveling up in this game is possible, so hurry up and level up to get more chances of survival!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's build shelters!"
"I don't know how!"
"Seeking a reply from Master Ed, how is a shelter built?"
While many were still talking, the wise had already started to act.
No one expected to be rewarded for building a shelter, and although they didn't know what the title of Builder was for, the attraction of being able to level up and increase physical attributes was too great.
Soon after, another announcement arrived.
"Wilderness mode player 'Bear' has successfully hunted a crocodile, becoming the game's first player to hunt a level 1 beast. First kill reward: Alligator Armor (Bronze) Receives the title: Beginner Hunter. Reward skill: One Hit Kill (10% triggering probability when hunting), +1 Hunter Level, +10 Endurance, +10 Speed, +50 Strength."
"Master Bear! It's definitely Master Bear! Killing an alligator so quickly! Holy crap!" a player exclaimed.
"I just saw a crocodile too, and I ran away! I'm a piece of trash when compared to Master Bear!"
"You did the right thing, or else it would have been a gator replying to the message by now!"
"You can also get rewards for hunting beasts, and you can also get equipment… Isn't this just killing monsters and leveling up? What's there to be afraid of? There's a nest of bird eggs in the tree right in front of me; let me go and empty it!"
"In front of me… is a pack of wolves, and I thought about it: man and nature, they should live together in peace. It's not good to fight and kill…"
"Wolf: As much as you're right, I'm still hungry!"
"Master Bear, what to do if you encounter a wolf? Waiting online, it's pretty urgent."
Unexpectedly, Master Bear replied, "Wolf makes for good food. There's a lot of meat to replenish physical energy, enough to eat for ten days, and their fur can protect you from the cold; it's the perfect prey. Besides, you can gain EXP after successfully hunting the prey and also get equipment to strengthen yourself. The strong should face the difficulties head-on. Good luck brother!"
"Sure enough, it's Master Bear!"
In comparison, it was still Master Ed who was more grounded.
"While in the wilderness, hunting beasts alone is a perilous thing. If the goal is survival, personal safety should be sought first. We have three days of food and water at the moment. First, we should build a shelter to have a place to rest and also to defend ourselves against beasts. Then, find a way to make a fire, then find water and food. First, ensure survival, and then think about leveling up."
Probably after building the shelter and having nothing to do, Master Ed was relishing his anointing as Builder and started to pass on some experience about building shelters in the channel.
That was something that could greatly improve the chances of survival for most players.
Several players were encouraged by Master Ed and Master Bear.
Leveling up was extremely tempting; it gave all of them the hope of becoming stronger.
The bold ones began to chase their prey, while the less daring hurriedly began to build shelters.
For Ye Jun, whether it was hunting or building a shelter, it was all a pipe dream.
However, Ye Jun had an idea.
Since the first player to build a shelter and the first to hunt prey could get a reward…
So, does the first person to build a fire get a reward?
Ye Jun felt that there was a high possibility. After all, starting a fire was also a crucial point in survival.
I can try. There's no harm anyway. I'll trade the lighter to exchange for supplies if it really doesn't work.
However…
Looking at this little raft, is it really necessary for me to light it on fire?
Luckily, Ye Jun eventually figured out a way to peel off a bunch of bark from the raft's wood.
The small vessel was made of pine, and the bark was also laced with oil, making it an excellent combustible material.
Ye Jun carefully set the bark on fire by the edge of the raft, all to ensure that he could readily douse the fire with seawater if the flames got out of hand.
No matter what, he couldn't burn the raft!
The flames flared up and quickly ignited a small pile of bark; they leaped to over a foot in height.
He was ready to put out the fire at any moment, his heart jumping up to his throat.
However, the next moment, he became ecstatic once he listened to a game-alert tone.
"Ding! Congratulations for becoming the first player in the game to successfully start a fire, gaining the title: Beginner Flame Controller. Reward: Fireball (skill), +1 Fire Energy Level, +10 Flame Affinity, +10 Strength. Would you like to announce this?"
This game gave the option to keep the achievement anonymous or choose to make one's name public.
Ye Jun thought about it and chose to make it public.
There was nothing to hide. On the contrary, the greater the fame, the easier it would be for Ye Jun to trade for supplies.
Game Announcement: Death mode player Ye Jun has successfully ignited the first flame—the flame is the hope of survival. Reward Title: Beginner Flame Controller, +1 Fire Energy Level, Skill: Fireball, +10 Flame Affinity, +10 Strength."
The game announcement floated by, and instantly, the entire channel went silent.
Everyone looked at the game announcement in disbelief.
A fire Mage and a fireball spell? There's magic in this world?
But since the whole world had turned into a game, it wasn't impossible to have Hunters and Mages like in online games!
After a short period of deathly silence…
The whole channel was in an uproar!