CHAPTER 3: Collector Fish!

[BEGINNER'S TASKS: Pt. 1

Task: Collect seashells scattered across the ocean floor.

Rewards: Unlocks currency and shop.]

"It's... pretty generic, I guess. I mean, I shouldn't expect anything especially when I'm a fish, right?..."

「That's right lol. I will mark your task location so you could follow it. It's pretty hard to navigate under the sea.」

"Thanks, Dipshit."

「 ...(-_-#) 」

Instantly, a mark with a diamond shape appeared before his eyes. There were some information along with it.

[Sea floor, 300m until destination]

(984 feet)

That's pretty close! He didn't expect himself to be this close to the sea floor already. Without hesitation, he quickly swam towards the designated location. The terrain gradually got closer to him, revealing a charming scenery. It was like a small forest of seagrass and corals. It was colorful, despite it being the on the sea floor. He got to the ground and looked around, trying to find clues of the seashells he had to collect. A speck of a thistle color caught his eyes, and he swam to the spot.

"Is this it? It's a seashell, right?"

He got closer to it to take a look. A small, generic seashell with a light purple color lays on the sand of the seabed.

「Yup, that's it. You can claim it by touching it slightly with your mouth.」

"That's a weird way to do it but ok..."

As he said his line, he got up close and personal with the shell and did like he was instructed. Instantly, the seashell dissolved into some glitchy particles and disappeared.

An information panel popped up in front of him.

[Obtained: Thistle Seashell (commonly called Seashell)

The basic currency of the underwater community. Use this to purchase shop items or trade with other players. Seashells could be obtained by collecting them scattered on the seabed, completing tasks or unlocking achievements.]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked <Shop>. Would you like to open it?]

「There it is. Open the shop! It will become important later on, so it would be best if you get to know it early ^^]

"Hm... Alright, open the shop."

A huge panel appeared with several images of items and name for those items, along with a price tag for each of those items. "Crystal Staghorn", "Ancient Goldfish' Scale", "Golden Algae", ... It was full of game-like names and items. All of them sounded and looked expensive to him.

「The shop will show you the most valuable items first on default. Of course, you won't be able to afford any of this so it doesn't matter to you as of now. However, there are a few basic items that every player needs, so I will intruct you through that.」

"Alright... I've never been that familiar with video games, this feels so new to me..."

「Well, this really demonstrates the concept of a game, isn't it? Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon. ^^ 」

「There's a certain item that every player must have, as it plays an important role in your gameplay...」

Dipshit said as the panel entered the shop settings on its own, as if Dipshit's the one controlling the shop. It turned on an item filter, "Beginner Items", and returned to the shop menu.

「There it is, the "Ocean's Pearl". This item allows you to teleport to any of the public areas of the Server, as long as you remember the name, location of that area and have already visited it. The item can be used up to once, but it only cost a Seashell and it is a pretty common reward, so you should stack them up in no time at all.」

The Ocean's Pearl. Its name may sound quite mystical, but it's a pretty common item. It is very useful, as it barely costs anything and holds an amazing use to itself. It would've made more sense if the item costed more than just a few Seashells. However, the Server itself is very large, and having no ways of transportation other than swimming is a huge inconvenience. That's why this particular item was added with a low price.

「Since this is a first time for you, you can get 5 of these for free (=^_^=) ～ 」

[Obtained: Ocean's Pearl (5) ]

[Task fulfilled: Unlocked basic currency and shop. Obtained exp.]

[You have levelled up to Lvl. 1. Way to go!]