Chapter 7: Mushrooms Galore

The musky, cool, and damp air lightly hinted with the fresh spore of mushrooms permeating the light smells as Florence began to investigate. He took up a mushroom and observed it as a window popped up, it seems like appraise was once again back at it again.

"Wild Mushroom, an unknown mushroom that grows out in the wild. The system is unsure if it is edible and only by player eating it will divulge information"

Florence was a little off-put by this new discovery, it seemed like the devs wanted him to take a leap of faith when it came to learning what might be available. His heart raced a bit as scattered decisions patterned his mind as he took up the mushroom and bit into it without a second thought, the pungent and overwhelming taste filled his nose even as he choked down each splinter of the bite. It was hard to force himself to swallow, no pain perspiring from the ingested mushroom when a small icon popped up as a buff.

"Enhanced regeneration for 2 minutes"

Well, that's one decent buff and from a simple mushroom as well. He needed to make quick work of the rest of these mushrooms if he didn't want to die. He quickly grabbed a small flat cap shroom, shoving into his mouth, it tasted much sweeter than the other but the taste didn't go down as easy. Violently his stomach did a triple backflip rather than accept the mushroom. He moved his head away from the mushrooms as his stomach emptied its contents rather quickly all over the cave floor as he made a mental note to steer clear of the white flat caps. After vomiting his guts up he saw that a minute remained on the counter, best to get to work as he grabbed another, a rather bulbous stem and a large blue and white spotted cap. He bit into it and was surprised by its crisp taste, a rather awkward taste almost like honeysuckle dusted in fiberglass bit at his taste buds as a small notification appeared before him.

"Mana recover up by twenty percent for ten seconds, Subpar Mana Circuits has increased by ten percent"

This message was welcomed as well. A simple little mushroom had improved his circuits and that was rather convenient to him as he watched the last few seconds tick out of the regen. He yawned as he looked outside of the cave at the impending darkness. He needed a fire and would rather skip using the rations if possible as the cracker haunted his taste buds, the gross paste it turned into was something he'd rather skip eating if able. Florence sat and looked at the mess of mushrooms as his stomach growled, perhaps opening his circuits would allow for magic or even something else. It mattered for it could mean the difference between life and death in this fake game life, he was being told to play a minimum of eight hours anyhow so he might as well try his hardest to keep his head above water and survive for the time being as it was the task given to him. Gently he pulled out his standard sword, laying it in front of him as he got a bit comfy where he sat. The game said he needed to meditate and better open his magic circuits so that's what he would do as he crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Florence tried to concentrate on the surge of energy he had gained from the mushroom, trying to feel that pool spread through him. A minute passed, then two, five minutes had passed, and no longer was he actually meditating as had passed out where he sat but something was eating at him even in a dream-like state. If he was in a game and now asleep in the game, could he dream or rather would it be like endless darkness as that the beginning? Instead, he was met with a network of streams each one had a series of rocks blocking the water, flow. He took a deep breath as he began to move the stones at a rather slow race, wading through the water and placing the stones on the shore while letting the water breakthrough. It didn't seem like this process was rather quick due to the depth of the streams, mud, and other obstacles that proceeded to trample over him as he worked on two streams, finishing them finally as he placed the last stone on the ground as a light ding echoed through the space. A small menu popped up, he had a not even known that he was still in the game, his mind slipping a bit as he shook his head gently as he looked over the menu message.

"Circuits have been opened in the left lower extremity and right lower extremity. Skill: Subpar Mana Circuits have gone up by twenty-five percent! A new skill is available to learn and unallocated stat points remained unused. Please direct your attention to your stats to add said stats"

Florence smirks as he looks over to his stats and sees ten unallocated points, plusses sitting next to each stat as he thought for a moment. He was unsure just what to do, figuring that for now, it is best to save them for a time where what stat needs to be upgraded will become evident before rushing into something and forcing himself into a corner when it came to play style. With a sigh, he looked further as he remembered the words of Dave-Sama saying he gained a new skill. It seemed this game was rather adamant about securing the player plenty of skills to use at a later time though he kind of liked the idea of being able to gain skills and see what each one allowed him to further enhance his experience, gameplay and all-around fun. He began to pull down his skills when suddenly a cold feeling on the back of his neck drew his attention as his eyes fluttered open, the cave returning to his sight as the light chased away the inky darkness and allowed a better view of the cave as he slowly stood to mess he had made in his mushroom induced state. He shook his head at the smell of vomit, his skin crawling with disgust as he quickly gathered up all the mushrooms including the ones he has yet to test. With a deep breath, he nearly vomited as he ducked out of the cave with his sword, no need to leave things lying behind as he noticed a small notification in the corner of his eyes. With a simple click, his skills popped up in much more detail which offered a very flavor filled description. Truly it was a treat to see a person's heart and soul in their work as his eyes grazed over each one with interest and curiosity, his mind was always rather curious as he looked over each skill's description.