The sky turned a warm shade of orange, spilling its golden light across the sea's surface.

Ren sat at the edge of the island, his fishing line cast far out toward the waves that shimmered like shards of glass beneath the setting sun.

His hands moved with practiced ease—no longer clumsy.

Since morning, he had reeled in all kinds of drifting debris—plastic bottles, scraps of wood, and even a few floating barrels.

"Two out of three parts... Just one more, and I won’t have to rely on luck to drink anymore,"

he muttered quietly, pulling the line back in again.

Ren wasn’t just searching through the floating barrels. He kept a constant eye on the trade system, hoping to find the final missing blueprint piece.

But so far, there was no sign of the water purifier blueprint he desperately needed.

Just as he was about to give up and rest, a flicker on the edge of his vision caught his attention—

a new notification had appeared.

The screen displayed a trade offer: someone was selling the last part of the blueprint he'd been hunting.

Ren shot to his feet.

"The third piece!"

Without wasting a second, he opened the trade panel.

Unfortunately, the offer from User 0283 was steep. They were demanding a large quantity of food and drink.

---

[Trade System – Active]

Item for sale: Blueprint – Water Purifier (1/3)

Requested price: Food (10+), Water (10+)

---

Ren frowned but still submitted a counteroffer—less than half the asking price.

---

[Offer]

Coconuts (+3), Hard Bread (+1)

---

The coconuts had been harvested by hand from trees he climbed himself, each one hard-earned.

Now, he had only a few left for tomorrow’s supplies.

Still, Ren sent the offer anyway. If it was rejected, he wouldn’t regret it.

After all, food and water were vital for survival.

Coconuts, especially, contained both drinkable water and flesh.

Ren was fortunate to have a few coconut trees on his island—a small stroke of luck that had helped him survive this far.

---

A few minutes passed.

Ren sat back down to fish, occasionally glancing at the unchanged trade screen.

Then suddenly—

Ding!

---

[User 0283 has accepted your offer.]

[Blueprint – Water Purifier (1/3) has been added to your inventory.]

---

Ren squinted, making sure he wasn’t seeing things.

"...Accepted?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He quickly opened his inventory and combined all three blueprint parts.

---

[System: You have collected all parts of the blueprint – Water Purifier.]

[Would you like to begin learning it?]

---

Without hesitation, Ren selected [Yes].

---

In an instant, his crafting system updated with a soft chime.

A new icon appeared.

---

[Blueprint Unlocked: Water Purifier]

Crafting Requirements:

Plastic Bottles ×20

Wood ×10

Broken Glass ×5

Plant Fiber Ropes ×10

Tattered Cloth ×5

Scrap Metal ×5

---

Seeing this, Ren let out a quiet, melancholic sigh.

“Turns out, it’s not as easy as I thought.”

Some of the materials he already had—but the rest... he’d have to fight for.

Still, at least one major milestone had been achieved—the blueprint was complete.

Now only one challenge remained: the raw materials.

In the end, Ren had no choice but to postpone building the purifier and try his luck on the trade system again.

Frustrated, he cast his fishing line once more toward a piece of floating debris near the shoreline.

In the middle of his irritation, his thoughts drifted again to the oddities of this world.

This small island he was surviving on was surrounded by vast, deep-blue waters.

It was strange—there were no shallow beaches at all.

Ren had checked before—the waters around the island dropped straight into darkness.

No seabed, just pitch blackness… and a tightening in his chest every time he looked too long.

It felt like something... was watching him from below.

Ren had never dared to dive in.

Not just because he couldn’t swim—but because his instincts screamed at him not to cross that boundary.

Even stranger, every day, the ocean’s currents would bring a steady stream of trash to his island.

Almost as if there was a fixed path... a measured delivery.

Night had fallen.

As Ren turned to head back toward the center of the island,

he failed to notice the shadow beneath the surface watching him.

The crashing waves—usually soothing—now carried a strange, menacing rumble.

Something felt wrong.

Suddenly—!

A sharp, earsplitting noise erupted from beneath the sea.

A large shadow and dorsal fin burst from the water—leaping straight at Ren!

His heart pounded like thunder. Instinctively, he cursed.

"Shit! Where the hell did this shark come from?!"

The creature’s massive jaws opened wide, revealing rows of jagged teeth ready to tear into him.

Adrenaline surged through Ren’s body.

With strength he didn’t know he had, he ducked just in time—barely dodging the shark’s bite.

He tumbled backward, avoiding the gnashing jaws by mere inches.

His body rolled across the sand, putting distance between him and the beast.

Gasping for air, he looked up at the massive shark now flopping furiously on the shore.

Shaking slightly, Ren didn’t hesitate.

He summoned a stone spear from his inventory.

"Hmph."

With a cold breath, he muttered,

"Since you’re already on land… you might as well stay here."

With one swift motion, he hurled the spear at the shark’s head—

then leapt onto its massive body, gripping the weapon tight.

He used his full body weight to drive the spear deeper into the creature’s flesh.

Dark, thick blood spurted out—its metallic stench filling the air.

The shark thrashed violently, but its movements began to weaken.

Slowly, as the spear pierced its brain, the beast lost its strength.

Stillness.

And then—it was dead.

The spear remained lodged in its skull.

Ren bent over, panting hard, greedily inhaling air as he leaned against the embedded spear.

His hands and clothes were soaked in black blood.

Staring out at the deep-blue sea before him, he muttered:

"Damn it... today’s the worst."

Right as he calmed down, the mysterious white panel appeared again with new text.

---

[Congratulations, Host. You have killed a High-Rank Normal Creature!]

[Host has received 5 Upgrade Points!]

....

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