Forced Grouping

While Markus sat around cooking, he checked regional chat to catch up on the local activity. What he saw shocked him. Many people complaining about being PKed by a duo. They were ruthless and whenever they caught someone, they asked about a player named 'Markus.' Regardless of their answer, they were killed. Due to this, Markus became infamous in regional chat. Many "righteous" people were calling for him to come out of hiding and appease the PKers anger.

The mere thought of this was ridiculous. Only the people who played solo came out to say this, none of the experienced or professional players said anything. This is a game, why should anyone listen to what others were saying? Just beat the PKers on your own! Can't beat them? Join a team! Everyone who was here paid to play, and some people were even here as their job.

Markus didn't bother saying anything in regional. If those two that he counter-PKed found him, they would die even quicker than before. Although he didn't like these kinds of players, he wouldn't seek them out just because of this. Just as he was about to close his chat menu, his private chat suddenly lit up.

Onefingerdeathpunch: "Hey, we just saw what's happening in regional. Do you need any help?"

Markus: "Its fine. Even if someone finds me, I can deal with them."

Onefingerdeathpunch: "Okay let me know!"

"Well, what did he say?" Tenthousandfists asked with an impatient expression.

"He seems confident. Didn't accept my offer for help." Onefingerdeathpunch replied.

"As expected of a top player."

…

Markus bit into the cooked meat and slurped up the juice that poured out. He wasn't sure why he didn't earn a skill just then. He wondered that perhaps the system didn't recognize his barbeque as cooking. Alternatively, doing any activities could be considered as working too hard with an injury. Something he wondered about was why he didn't receive the [Overworked] condition, despite the timing.

'Hmm, I started resting a few minutes before I would have gotten [Overworked]. Maybe this is a clue for my future playstyle.'

A blurry image appeared in Markus's mind as he imagined what kind of player he would be in the future. One that didn't exert himself or lift a finger unless absolutely necessary. The idea of being able to overturn a fight with a flip of his hand was addicting. He finished his meal and continued to rest.

Meanwhile, he took out the two coins and inspected them. They weren't perfectly identical, but within a few fractions of a percent similar. It seemed the variation was based on their minting. That meant that these coins were minted by hand. He put them away seeing that there was no change from owning two. After, he began his search through the forums.

With a quick search, he found a few articles of teams defeating level 2 and level 3 predators. They posted the list of loot they acquired but they didn't get a coin. He searched more specifically about the coin and didn't see any news. Either he was the only person to acquire one, or the people that acquired it are hiding it.

This guaranteed something about the coin: It was extremely important. Whether it was going to be used as a currency for something, a hidden quest, or otherwise, Markus knew he was lucky for getting them. The next thing he found on the forums was someone complaining about the food mechanism. The original poster seemed to be a big fan of eating and was satisfied with the game's options.

What amazed Markus was the person already reached level 3 Cooking, and it was a hero ranked skill! He was complaining to the developers that he couldn't eat all the food he prepared because of the condition he acquired.

[Overeating

Rank: Mortal

Effect: All statistics reduced by 50%. Unable to eat.

Message: Food coma is kicking in…]

Apparently, there were three total conditions before reaching the final [Overeating]. The first one was known by most as [Nourished]. The second one was [Satiated] which increased the interval between [Overworked] conditions. And finally, [Gorged] which reduced statistics by 20%. The information was very valuable to Markus. Seeing the second step was very useful for him, he immediately grabbed a piece of bird meat and began barbequing it.

"It seems that I must play indulgently to maximize my growth."

Markus bundled up some of the furs and put it behind his head while putting the damaged hides on the ground to make his seat more comfortable. He leaned back and put his legs on a log he had dragged over. He stared at the sky that was slowly getting darker while the fire crackled. A smell similar to barbequed chicken wafted over. His muscles relaxed and he felt the tension leave his body.

[New skill Survival learned.]

[Survival Level 1

Rank: Mortal

Effect: The quality of campsites and food is increased by 10%.

Message: Nothing like camping under a starry sky.]

'Hah… Well if that isn't a proof of concept I don't know what is.' Markus thought to himself and chuckled a little.

Before his second meal was finished, he received the rested notification. Looking at the server time, he recognized that the launch event would be mostly at nighttime. It seemed the first three hours was just letting players get acclimated to the new environment. He wondered what would happen at nighttime. No one knew, since the spoilers were all during the day.

[Warning: Night falls in 30 minutes. Monsters are stronger and more aggressive at night. Groups are recommended.]

The regional chat exploded as soon as the notification came down. Markus looked at people scrambling to team up and turned back to his campsite. His food was finished, so he decided to not stress about the night buff to animals. Worst case scenario, he would reach out to the group he traded with earlier.

After finishing his meal, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and started to pack up. Although his camp was nice, it was made before he received a survival skill. After getting the skill, he was able to recognize that this spot was not that good. There were many issues with it that he didn't notice before.

While packing everything, he stomped his campfire out and threw several rocks into the embers to prevent a forest fire. Then, he took his crude torch that was still burning and headed into the woods. Just as he walked out, he received a notification and a private message.

[You have become [Nourished] due to excess food.]

[Your [Nourished] condition was increased to [Satiated] due to excess food.]

[Satiated

Rank: Mortal

Effect: Increased temporary health by 5. Increased length of time before [Overworked] condition by 25%.

Message: Anymore food would be unhealthy.]

Onefingerdeathpunch: "My team wants to hire you temporarily for nighttime. We are willing to split half the loot we receive from any monsters killed."

Markus was moved by their sincerity. He was also a bit warry of their insight. They seemed to have recognized that he wasn't just a regular player. Despite the negatives, a Minor God rank talent was incredible. It seemed that they had someone on their team that was able to recognize him as very skillful. Giving him half the loot meant that their group of four wouldn't even get a quarter of the loot each.

Markus: "Okay. But I will only take loot from kills I help with. Meet me at the same spot."

[Name: Markus (mortal) Level 2

Status: 20(+5)/20 hp | [Crippled] 22:21 | [Satiated]

Experience: 17

Talents: [Lazy Genius]

Skills: [Survival Level 1], [First Aid Level 1], [Deception Level 1], [Block Level 1], [Stealth Level 3], [One-handed Weapons Level 2], [Naturalist Level 2], [Looting Level 2]

Abilities: [Vital Strike Level 2], [Danger Sense Level 2]

Message: You're pretty skilled for a mortal.]

Seeing that the timer for his injury dropped considerably, he wasn't paying close attention, but it was either resting or eating that helped him heal quicker. Looking at the timing for his injury, he will fully heal before the night sets in.

Markus arrived at the meeting location first and didn't bother hiding himself this time. His [Danger Sense] was already back off cooldown and most animals wouldn't approach fire. Markus gained a lot of confidence moving around in the forest after gaining the survival skill.

Although it was basic, for someone that had almost no knowledge about surviving, to suddenly having a system-recognized level of skill was a big gap. He understood how those survivalists on TV were able to walk around dangerous places with ease. He heard a rustling in the nearby underbrush and turned to see a familiar face.

"Hi! Oh, what happened to your arm?" She asked with a trace of worry. Markus could tell it wasn't for his well-being, but because they had already confirmed the partnership. Turning back now would offend him, and they were still hoping to be close with him in the future.

However, when she remembered he only wanted loot from monsters he helped kill, she was relieved and had a funny expression. 'So, he just wanted some safety but was too shy to ask directly, hehe.'

Meanwhile, Markus was unaware of her wandering thoughts as he started walking toward the group. "I'm fine. Just a small wound."