The Double Drop Buff Surviving The Endless Ocean novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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Myron knew Emmett’s whole deal: the guy was the ultimate trust–fund screw–up, a spoiled rich kid who’d flushed his inheritance down the drain on one flop after another.

Only now did the full picture click into place. Emmett had been Rodger’s errand boy the whole time.

If Myron had known Rodger was the one pulling the strings, he would have deleted the blueprint and eaten the loss before letting it fall into enemy hands.

He and his brother already had enough bad blood with the Spangler siblings; handing their rivals a money–making scheme. was the last thing he would ever do.

After mentally tearing Rodger apart, Myron shifted his rage to Leeanne.

Everyone in the district knew Rodger and Leeanne were close. Rodger never would have gone to all that trouble to scam the blueprint unless he already knew how to unlock it, and the only person who could have told him was Leeanne.

“They’re going to regret this, Myron promised himself. ‘Both of them.”

The public chat was overflowing with grateful messages for Leeanne, players thanking her for keeping them alive through the cold night. Myron scrolled past them, teeth grinding.

She paid the chatter no attention at all. She was focused on the new system prompts glowing in front of her.

[Congratulations, Leeanne Dillion! For your outstanding contribution to player survival in this zone, you are awarded 2 auxiliary skills. Please select…]

A long list of options unfolded: Trapping, Pharmacology, Poisoncraft, Cooking, Commerce, and dozens more.

She could only choose two.

Leeanne took a slow breath and considered her situation. Trapping and Pharmacology were the clear winners right now.

Her strength was low and her direct combat power wasn’t impressive; she much preferred clever solutions over brute force, and she had never been comfortable with outright violence anyway.

As for Pharmacology, medicine was ridiculously scarce in this world. She didn’t believe for a second that everyone would keep playing nice forever.

Sooner or later, things would turn bloody, and having reliable drugs could mean the difference between life and death.

She selected Beginner Trapping and Beginner Pharmacology. The moment she confirmed, the system blocked any further choices.

The list dissolved.

[You have acquired Beginner Trapping and Beginner Pharmacology. Detailed information is now available in your personal panel under Skills.]

Knowledge flooded her mind, practical instincts and mental images settling in like they had always been there. She opened her panel and watched the new lines appear.

(ID: XY90056

[Name: Leeanne Dillion

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Chapter 31

[Age: 24

Strength: 9

Agility: 10

Constitution: 9

Class: None

Skills: Basic Trapping, Basic Pharmacology

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Beginner Trapping: 1. Spike Trap: A simple trap capable of taking down Tier–1 beasts. Required materials: Iron x1, Wood x1.]

Beginner Pharmacology: Grants the ability to identify common medicinal plants and craft beginner–level medicines at a >harmacy station.]

Leeanne immediately crafted one spike trap. A menacing iron ring studded with sharp upward–pointing spikes materialized n her hands, cold and gleaming.

She slipped it into her storage backpack.

The bison was Tier–1 beast. The trap should be more than enough.

Still, she had never hunted anything that large before.

A few nervous flutters stirred in her stomach, but she pushed them down. Time was slipping away; she needed to get

noving.

She gathered her gear, hopped off the raft, and jogged toward the area where she had last seen the ox.

When she arrived, the clearing was empty.

She stayed calm. The island was small, and fresh grass only grew in this half. If the ox wasn’t here, it was close by. A quick sweep would find it.

She moved carefully through the tall grass, circled a willow tree, and heard a soft system ding.

Yarrow: A common medicinal herb. Can stop bleeding, reduce inflammation, treat dysentery, detoxify, and strengthen the body. Harvest with a small herbal trowel.]

Leeanne raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? That obvious?‘

She had just learned the basics of herb gathering, but yarrow wasn’t some fragile ginseng. Anyone could yank it out of the dirt.

She pulled out her iron shovel, dug the plant up cleanly, roots and all, and tucked it into her backpack

She would plant it later in Mystical Cherry Grove.

Five or six minutes farther on, she found a small pond, maybe ten or twelve square feet of clear water.

Just beyond it rose a gentle slope about eight to ten feet high She climbed it quietly and peered over the top

Two bison grazed in the grass below.

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Chapter 31

Her eyes slid past them almost immediately. Something else had caught her attention.

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She turned and backtracked a few steps to a bush near the pond. Half–hidden beneath its branches grew a plant with striking

red leaves.

[Locoweed: A common medicinal herb. Juice from the leaves has anesthetic and sedative effects; the root is highly toxic. Legend says horses that eat it stagger around drunk, hence the name. Harvest with a small herbal trowel.]

Leeanne’s pulse quickened.

‘Oh yeah, she thought, a slow grin spreading across her face. ‘This just got a whole lot easier.‘

The locoweed was nothing more than a small cluster of red leaves, easy to overlook, and there was only one patch growing there anyway.

She dug it up with care, pulled out her spike trap, squeezed the juice from the leaves, and coated every spike.

She knew enough about herbs and traps to handle the sap without letting it touch her skin, so she worked slowly and methodedly.

It took a good ten or fifteen minutes before every spike carried a faint red sheen.

She moved up the slope, dug a pit a short distance from the bison, placed the spike trap inside, and covered it with the leaves they loved to eat. Then she scattered a trail of fresh leaves leading straight to it.

Bison went absolutely crazy for sweet–potato vines. She had hauled a bundle back with her, and even though it hurt to part with them, she tossed a few along the path.

We’re getting close, Leeanne thought to herself.

She stood up.

One of the bison nearby glanced at her with mild curiosity before lowering its head to graze again.

Leeanne exhaled slowly. “This one doesn’t seem aggressive at all. Probably just a regular low–level beast, weaker than those silver–black rats.

This might actually work.

She doubled back, draped two more vines over the trap, then gritted her teeth and dropped a couple of big sweet potatoes

on top.

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