Genius Chapter 108: East Sea Fishing Village

Global Boss: Lord of the Deep Sea

Chapter 108: East Sea Fishing Village

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

When they first heard the description of a team quest, the others were a bit confused. Quests were generally either solo or for two players; they’d never seen one with a team emblem before.

“Has Small Bear Biscuit completed the prerequisite tasks?” Yu Zhen asked after hearing the details, “Are the story points separate?”

“The prerequisite tasks are done, but they seem more like side quests and don’t relate to the main storyline,” Su Mo explained. “Currently, his friend received the final task, which requires them to find a fisherman in a small fishing village east of Sunset City. Before looking for the fisherman, they noticed the task had a 10-player team emblem, and they guessed the final part might be a large-scale quest, so they asked if I was interested.”

Team quest types are not something they weren’t interested in, especially for such unique quests where the rewards are sure to be substantial, and the mechanics are bound to be challenging.

After confirming that the team had time, Su Mo messaged Small Bear Biscuit, and not long after, they replied, bringing their teammates into the group.

Su Mo had met Small Bear Biscuit’s teammates once before when they had been blocked outside the Desert Inn and had come to help as a healer. With Su Mo’s team, they had a total of seven people, still three short of the full ten-person group.

“We’ll clear the tasks and organize the team in the morning, and we’ll start the mission over there in the afternoon,” Small Bear Biscuit said to Su Mo. “Should we invite a few more? I remember your schedule is pretty fixed, so we can adjust to your time.”

“Don’t you have any friends over there?” Su Mo asked.

Small Bear Biscuit was casual about it, saying, “Nope, Momo, you take command. Shout if you need any specific professions.”

With the initiative back on Su Mo’s side, he didn’t hesitate. He quickly scanned the team composition. Currently, they had the main tank and healers covered, so they just needed to recruit three more high-DPS players. Su Mo didn’t think too much about it and decided to send out a recruitment message directly. As soon as he started sending it to his friends list, several applications to join the team instantly popped up.

Seeing Su Mo silent for a while, Yu Zhen asked, “Who applied?”

“Quite a few…” Su Mo glanced around. “CloudTraveller, HealsFor25000, Apple, FireworksAndLanterns…” Well, most of his online friends had applied, but they only had three spots available.

Yu Zhen asked again, “What professions do we need?”

Su Mo shared the team application interface within the group. Since this wasn’t their own raid, but organized by Small Bear Biscuit and his friends, they needed to review the professions they were selecting.

“No need for another warrior. Little Bear handles aggro well on his own.”

“And we don’t need another healer either. We’ve got a cleric and a healer already, adding another healer would be redundant.”

He immediately declined the first warrior, CloudTraveller, and also turned down the first healer, HealsFor25000.

Seeing all these impressive IDs, Small Bear Biscuit couldn’t help but ask, “What professions do you need then?”

“I was thinking of bringing in a few high-DPS players randomly, but for stability, I suggest no duplicate professions. We have plenty of DPS professions already. Since this is a quest-type mission, having some flexibility with other professions might be beneficial for adjustments and changes.”

Su Mo finished speaking and scanned through his friends list. He realized there were only a few professions that weren’t already duplicated. Players like CloudTraveller and HealsFor25000 with duplicated professions were definitely out. They already had a physical swordsman and an assassin for melee roles… In terms of flexibility, they needed either a long-range magical profession or a profession that could provide both output and support.

“Apple is good to go. The magical swordsman has fewer self-preservation skills but plenty of sword techniques, including a great sword array. Plus, their output capability is solid, and their positional awareness is good.” Su Mo allowed Apple to join and then proceeded to reject ChatMasterWu, FireworksAndLanterns, and others in succession.

When Apple joined the team, they sent several “congratulations” emojis in the team channel and said, “Thanks for letting me join, big bros. Whether I can defeat FirstUnderHeaven depends on this one.”

ScarletFruit saw this and remarked, “You still haven’t surpassed him?” 

“Not yet. Who knows, he camped a PvP quest a couple of days ago. I’ve been waiting for two days after finishing Journey Through Wind and Rain, but no luck,” Apple sighed heavily. “It wasn’t in vain for me to wake up early to camp the quest. Now that I’ve hitched onto your team, it should be steady.”

“One more in, two more to go.”

“What profession are you targeting? I can ask around for you,” Yu Zhen offered.

After some thought, Su Mo replied, “Maybe a Daoist priest or a mage. I teamed up with Daoist Priest Doesn’t Understand Love last time, and they have a lot of skill changes. Mages are versatile and powerful, and we already have duplicates of other professions.”

“Wait a moment,” Yu Zhen said.

He closed several friend mails and opened the Exploration group chat, where he saw several mentions, all from people in the group asking him questions.

Momo hadn’t joined the Exploration group, but had added quite a few players from the group. When the recruitment message was posted, it was essentially posted in the Exploration group. For a moment, some people sent friend requests, while others asked in the Exploration group if they needed more people.

Nowadays, Momo’s reputation was no longer like it was before. He had consecutively cleared several quest dungeons. In the eyes of most players, joining Momo’s team was equivalent to getting a first clear ticket. Would they be interested in joining? Previously, there was a chance to buy tickets for Desert Inn, but now Momo rarely recruited publicly. It was harder to join his team than to reach the sky.

“No tickets for sale? @ReturnToSimplicity” 

“Give me a chance, bro. @ReturnToSimplicity” 

“Bro, any backdoor available?” 

“ScarletFruit told me they’re not selling tickets anymore. Do we still have a chance?” 

“Stop talking. Even with friend requests, it’s useless.”

Apple proudly exclaimed in the group, “Hahaha, I’m different. I’ve already joined the team.”

Yu Zhen was about to search for a mage and a Doaist priest in the group chat when he suddenly heard the voice of a warrior in the team.

At that moment, Small Bear Biscuit suddenly remembered, “We encountered a lot of group monsters during our missions. Should we bring along some professions with excellent AoE skills?”

Su Mo hesitated upon hearing this. “Are there many small monsters?”

Small Bear Biscuit ‘s friend, Honey-roasted Goose, replied, “There were a lot. It was quite challenging for us back then.”

Su Mo immediately changed his mind and scanned through his friend list. He noticed that WhatAHugeWatermelon’s avatar was dimmed. “Too bad, Watermelon isn’t online.”

ZenSlasher volunteered, “I can tank.”

Su Mo replied, “One isn’t enough. I didn’t think much earlier, but the invisibility of assassins might work wonders in this quest.” He scrolled through the application list. “No worries, I found another assassin.”

[(Flaming Thunder Mountain · Shadow) ChatMasterWu has joined the team.]

“Ah, here he is,” Su Mo said.

ChatMasterWu chuckled, “Long time no see! Finally got a chance to join the team.”

The first assassin, ChatMasterWu, was a high-attack and high-health type, a king in the wilderness maps, ranked first in the Eclipse faction’s wilderness kill list.

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the peculiar gazes from the team. “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

ScarletFruit smiled broadly, “No, we’re just in need of a high-attack, high-health assassin like you.”

High attack for damage output, excellent at fighting monsters, high health for stable tanking.

ChatMasterWu reassured them, “You can count on me for DPS.”

Apple chose to remain selectively silent.

The last member was found by Yu Zhen in the Exploration group chat, ranked fifth in the mage leaderboard of the Abyss faction, an elite from the guild “Celestial Wandering,” with the ID “Saltless Salted Fish.”

The raid was scheduled for 2 PM in the afternoon, at a small fishing village on the eastern side of Sunset City.

The Celestial Horizon continent was vast, with endless lands to the east bordering the Eastern Sea. The small fishing village is located near the Eastern Sea, a place initially part of the main storyline but later transformed into a scenic spot for players to enjoy and take photos of the local customs.

There weren’t many players around here, only a few scattered ones doing quests. Most were busy NPCs, villagers in the small fishing village. The fisherman they were looking for was named Liu Da, who was out in the Eastern Sea, fishing with his net.

Honey-roasted Goose took on the role of the raid leader, leading a team of nine to the shore of the Eastern Sea. Several fishermen were gathered together, talking, and as the quest giver, he had just approached when one of the fishermen recognized him.

“Honey-roasted Goose, are you here to see Liu Da again today?” the fisherman asked.

“Yeah, is Liu Da around?” Honey-roasted Goose replied.

At the same time, everyone in the team received a quest notification.

“[Player Honey-roasted Goose] has initiated [Eastern Sea Fishing Village], inviting you to join the challenge. This quest difficulty is ★★★★★. Do you accept the invitation?”

“Whoa, is this a five-star quest?” ScarletFruit exclaimed.

“That’s strange, it was four stars before,” Honey-roasted Goose also hesitated. When they initially accepted the quest, it was rated four stars. Now, for the final stage, it suddenly became a five-star challenge. “Did the difficulty increase?”

Su Mo wasn’t surprised by this. During their exploration of the dungeon earlier, they encountered situations where the star rating increased due to hidden gameplay features. From their current situation, it seemed that the game’s quest challenges weren’t fixed star ratings like before but adjusted based on the player team and their capabilities.

The game adjusts its difficulty according to the player’s adaptation and skill level. With their team’s overall strength at an A-S level, which leaned towards the higher end, adjustments in difficulty were expected.

“Something’s not right with him today, it’s been three hours since he went out to sea. Normally, he’d be back by now.”

“He’s still not back yet. Could something have happened?”

“It’s getting dark already.”

“How could something happen? The sea’s calm today, and Liu Da has been out so many times before. This shouldn’t be happening.”

The fishermen discussed one after another. The players in the team were seasoned gamers who understood that they were being asked to go out to sea to search for someone. Honey-roasted Goose listened to them and quickly responded, “Gentlemen, in this situation, could you please take us out to sea?”

“Out to sea? Are you really planning to go out to sea?” one of the fishermen asked.

“Yes, please find a way for us,” Honey-roasted Goose replied.

The fishermen had built a good rapport with Honey-roasted Goose from previous quests, so when he made the request, they hesitated briefly before agreeing, “It’s not impossible. We have one boat available right now, which can take three people. We can’t accommodate all of you.”

They decided to send three people out to sea, leaving seven behind in the small fishing village.

“Damn, is this a split quest from the start?”

“Ten people, I thought we were going to fight a boss. Is the boss out at sea?”

“Three groups, two DPS and a healer.” Su Mo frowned slightly at this. With the uncertain situation at sea, sending three people meant taking away one healer. Regardless of who they took, the remaining healer in the village would have to look after more players… Are they really starting with reduced healing?

ScarletFruit needed landing points for some summoned creatures, and the depth of the seabed was unpredictable. The fishing boat was small, so having a healer would provide more flexibility in healing. However, ScarletFruit’s resurrection cooldown was too long, and emergency healing wasn’t as effective as that of a dedicated healer. From this perspective, leaving the healer in the small fishing village would be better.

Yu Zhen saw Su Mo contemplating and added, “I’ll take the mage and healer on the boat. Both of them have similar healing capabilities, but clerics excel more in group healing, so staying here will be more supportive for you all. I just noticed that the resurrection symbol is lit up, so we should be able to leave a resurrection symbol here. We shouldn’t worry about resurrection cooldown.”

ScarletFruit was a bit moved to hear this. “Brother Wanderer, after so much cooperation, this is the first time I’ve heard you praise my healing.”

After considering for a moment, Su Mo ultimately decided to go with Yu Zhen’s plan. Initially, he had considered going without a healer, but the limited space on the sea meant it was impossible to completely avoid damage. Healing potions had cooldowns, so bringing a healer was the most reliable option.

Once the plan was confirmed, the three of them boarded the boat.

“So, where are we going?” ScarletFruit asked.

“Come rest at my place. It’s scorching outside with the big sun. Come to my place, have a few sips of cold tea and rest. They’ll be back soon,” one of the fishermen warmly invited. “It’s just behind the small fishing village, cool and shaded by the mountains.”

Su Mo didn’t refuse. Their current task progress was still focused on finding Liu Da. With three people split off, they naturally expected other task-related information on their end.

The area behind the small fishing village was shady due to the mountains, and with the in-game time approaching dusk, it grew darker the further into the mountains they went.

“This is so out of line. Going out to sea in the evening, isn’t that asking for trouble?”

“Spending the night at sea? Sounds pretty romantic.”

“If we’re not up to something during a quest, what are we here for? Don’t you think these fishermen are strange too? Are you still following them?”

“There’s a saying in Huaxia: ‘If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how will you get the tiger’s cub?'”

The fishermen led them to a courtyard at the foot of the mountain. The place was quite spacious with several vacant houses, all smelling of fish inside, and outside the courtyard, there were many dried fish drying in the sun. After pouring them some cold tea, the fishermen mentioned they had something to attend to and left them to their own devices. They cautioned them not to wander into the mountains at night and assured that their friends would be brought over once the boat returned.

Su Mo stared at the tea bowls on the table with floating green leaves, noticing the cracks on the surface, but didn’t act.

“Could this tea be poisoned?”

“No way, at worst, it might have some negative effects. If you’re worried, don’t drink it. I’ll test it out.”

“You guys are really pushing it for the sake of quest progress.”

Honey-roasted Goose, already far out at sea, overheard their conversation and asked, “Is it the big guy in the black hat by the sea? Don’t worry, I know that fisherman guy well. He helped me a lot during the preliminary tasks. He’s a good NPC.”

The evening breeze blew into the courtyard where the seven of them sat. A few walked around nearby. Unexpectedly, night fell, and neither the fishermen returned nor did they maintain contact with those at sea. The three who went out to sea had disappeared without a trace. ZenSlasher and ChatMasterWu, being assassins capable of swift movement, were dispatched to the seaside to investigate immediately upon losing contact.

Su Mo instructed the others to stay in the house while he went to check the situation in Vicinity.

“Why did it suddenly turn eerie?” ScarletFruit asked while staying inside with the others. “We’ve barely been on this quest for half an hour, and it’s already dark. The surroundings haven’t changed either.”

“Hasn’t Chief Momo returned yet?” Apple asked.

Su Mo communicated over the team’s voice chat, “I’m still outside. Have you finished searching the courtyard?”

“We’ve searched it,” Apple replied, “but didn’t find anything unusual.”

With a loud bang, a gust of wind slammed the door shut, startling everyone around. Vaguely, they seemed to see flashes of lightning and hear thunder outside.

ClearWind stood up to push the door open and check the situation. “Seems like it’s windy. Is it raining outside?” He approached and tried to push hard.

ScarletFruit walked over. “Are you kidding? Can’t even open a door?”

As soon as he reached the door and pushed a couple of times without success, there were several thuds behind him. He quickly turned around to see his teammates sprawled on the ground, the only one still standing being himself.

ScarletFruit was dumbfounded. “What’s going on with you guys?”

ClearWind also looked puzzled, trying to struggle to his feet but unable to move an inch. “Suddenly can’t move.”

Apple lay back, feeling completely limp. “Could that tea really have been poisoned just now?”

Small Bear Biscuit looked embarrassed. “Honey-roasted Goose said he’s a good guy.”

ClearWind fell silent. “Honey-roasted Goose has disappeared!”

With thunder rumbling loudly, ScarletFruit hurried over to prop his teammates against the wall. None of them showed any signs of abnormal status. He attempted to dispel skills, but it was completely ineffective. Trying to call for help using team voice chat was useless; the thunder drowned out everything.

Apple noticed something was wrong and reminded them, “Switch to Vicinity voice chat. Team chat isn’t working.”

Just then, a dark figure appeared outside the door. Under the gaze of everyone in the room, there came a knocking sound.

ClearWind noticed and said, “Someone’s here? Fruit, go open the door.”

The knocking grew louder, and the dilapidated door seemed like it would be smashed open in the next moment.

ScarletFruit involuntarily took a few steps back. “Open the door?! Let it in to face four of us?”

Silence spread among everyone.

Apple spoke up, “Fruit, how about you sacrifice yourself and go block the door?”

[East Sea Fishing Village] Night has fallen. Will we survive?

As Su Mo was moving, he suddenly heard a clap of thunder, drowning out the voices in the team channel. The continuous thunder made him stop in his tracks, and a quest-like notification appeared before him.

“Fruit? ScarletFruit?” Su Mo called out to his teammates in the team channel, but the mixed sounds were engulfed by thunder, making it impossible to hear clearly. He quickly changed direction and ran towards the courtyard.

Midway, amidst a gap in the thunder, a piercing cry for help rang out.

“Brother!! Help!!!”

Author’s note: 

ScarletFruit: The heavy responsibility suddenly rests upon my shoulders.