The Double Drop Buff Surviving The Endless Ocean novel Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A single raft, one fishing rod, and just one person. How long could anybody actually survive drifting on an endless ocean like this?

If you’d asked Leeanne Dillion that question twenty–four hours ago, she would’ve rolled her eyes and laughed. “You’re joking, right? I’d be done for before the day was out.”

Yet here she was, white–knuckling a cheap fishing rod, perched on a flimsy little raft with nothing but shimmering blue water in every direction as far as she could see.

How on earth had this happened?

One minute she’d been at the office, head down and grinding through another late night. The next, she was here.

Leeanne was twenty–four, a full–on workaholic who genuinely believed hard work always paid off.

She’d been pushing herself since college, and the last two years on the job had been relentless.

The past three months had been the worst yet: no weekends, barely three or four hours of sleep a night, every ounce of energy poured into one massive project.

Finish it, cash the big bonus, and finally take a real break. That had been the plan..

Instead, she’d rested her head on her desk for a five–minute power nap and woken up in this nightmare.

She thought maybe she was so exhausted she’d slipped into the mother of all stress dreams.

[Hey there, adorable players!] a bright, almost cartoonishly cheerful voice sang out of nowhere.

A huge glowing panel materialized in front of her, words appearing across it in perfect rhythm with the announcer.

[Welcome to Survival on the Seas! You’re in District 33. Please read the rules carefully.]

[First: This is a real world. Death here is permanent. One life, no do–overs.]

[Second: The first wave of players is everyone aged eighteen to fifty. Seniors and kids are safe back home and being looked after.]

[Third: Everyone starts the same: one raft, one fishing rod, and the open ocean.]

[Fourth: The sea is full of supplies. Random treasure chests will float by. Use your rod to hook them.]

[Fifth: Unless you have proper gear, stay out of the water. It’s seriously dangerous down there.]

[Sixth. Never drink raw seawater. It’ll dehydrate you even worse.]

[Seventh: You’ve got a three–day newbie protection period. Things are relatively calm for now. Use the time to gather resources, upgrade your raft, and prepare for what comes after day three.]

[For more details, check the newbie guide. Players, dive into this world and good luck!]

A minute later the giant panel collapsed into a ribbon of light that looped around Leeanne’s wrist.

In an instant it became a sleek watch: blue strap, silver face showing the time and weather, with one glowing gold button at the bottom.

She twisted her wrist, studying it curiously, then pressed the button.

The panel flickered back into view, smaller now, roughly ten feet tall and sixteen feet wide, the same rules still glowing across its surface.

She swiped across it and discovered she could resize it freely, shrinking it down to roughly tablet size.

In the top left corner were her name, the in–game date and time, and current conditions.

It read: [Leeanne Dillion. Day 1 at sea, 9:00 a.m. Clear skies.]

tom right were neat little tabs: [Newbie Guide, Local Chat, and a few others.]

She skimmed the guide again to burn the essentials into memory, then tapped Local Chat.

District 33 Chat (100000/100000):

[Somebody help me! I’m out here alone on this tiny raft and I can’t see another soul!]

[Same! Just endless ocean. I’m freaking out, I’ve always hated deep water!]

[You all saw that giant screen, right? It literally said Survival on the Seas.]

[Is this seriously a game? Because it feels way too real.]

[Don’t play around. It said death is permanent. No respawns!]

[No way this is real. Tech isn’t this advanced yet. Gotta be some kind of scam. I’m a good swimmer, I’m jumping in to see what’s-]

A huge, vibrant lottery wheel popped into existence right in front of her, spinning so fast it turned into a colorful blur.

Ten seconds later it eased to a stop.

[Beep. Congratulations, host! You’ve drawn a god–tier item: Mystical Cherry Grove. Please select placement location.]

Something dropped from thin air with a light thud. Leeanne snatched it mid–fall.

It was a smooth white wooden token the size of her palm, intricately carved with a delicate pink blossom and flowing script that read Mystical Cherry Grove.

So I just… place it somewhere?‘ Leeanne thought, puzzled.

She scanned the tiny raft, then held the token out toward the front edge.

A faint shadow outlined a section of the planks. [Place Mystical Cherry Grove here?]

“Yes, Leeanne said.

The token vanished in a burst of light. The outlined patch of raft shimmered with a warm golden glow. Leeanne took a breath, then stepped onto it.

Everything shifted.

She found herself standing on soft, damp earth in a roughly a–hundred–square–feet space completely encircled by thick white mist.

A sweet floral scent hung in the air while pink cherry petals drifted lazily down from the fog, carpeting the ground

Through the haze she could just make out the tips of flowering branches

Curiosity pulled her toward them, but an invisible wall stopped her cold at the mist’s edge

She turned back and spotted the token floating in the center of the space, now blown up to massive size with the words “Mystical Cherry Grove glowing in elegant golden script

A soft light pulsed gently from it.

Leeanne walked over and touched it. The glow shattered into warm particles that washed over her skin, sharpening her senses and filling her with fresh energy

The system voice rang clear in her mind. (Congratulations, hout! You’ve received today’s random luck boost: Double Bonus(All resources doubled)]