Server Maintenance
The feeling of lethargy went away after a minute. Overall, he was very satisfied with the incantation's effects. His whole body felt like it was overclocked. Being without that feeling made the lethargy he felt before a lot worse. The sudden jump from 2.5x speed to 0.5x speed was jarring. He still felt like the world around him was in slow motion. Although the [Lethargic] condition was debilitating, after experiencing it once, Markus felt like he could withstand it.
When he walked back toward the campfire, he could smell burning. It had only been a few minutes since he was out of commission, so he was immediately alarmed. However, when he saw it was just Lloyd's cooking, he calmed down. When Baby and Fists saw him run over, they gave him a look.
'Please stop her.' Was what they seemed to be transmitting nonverbally. Unfortunately for them, Markus didn't really care. He leaned back and continued his rest from earlier. He was glad that the boosted state he was in didn't provoke the system to make him [Overworked]. Gaining a level in [One-handed Weapons] was worth the suffering, but now he just wanted to nap. Before he knew it, he was asleep.
'Hehe, sisters look, look who it is.' A child-like voice sounded out from the distance.
Markus groggily looked around and wondered who was talking. However, his vision was blurry.
'Is he the one? He doesn't look like much.' A different childish voice sounded in response. Markus looked around and saw that he was still in the cave, but the entrance was replaced with a large stone door. The back of the cave was a long hallway with bluish-green flames. At the end of the hallway another stone door stood with terrifying monsters carved into it.
'Hehe, you scared him, sisters. What if he runs away?'
'He won't run, I've seen it already.'
'I can't wait for him to play with us!'
Markus couldn't take it anymore and shouted "Who is it? Come out!" But the dream shattered, and he woke up with a jerk. His body shook and he inhaled sharply.
"Oh, you're awake. If you fall asleep in-game does that mean you are asleep outside too? What a strange concept." Punch said while watching him. She was right next to him with her hands on her chin. Based on where she was sitting, she had been watching him the whole time.
"Did anything weird happen while I slept?" He asked suspiciously.
"Er… weird how?" She looked around nervously, afraid she had been discovered.
"Did you hear three children?"
"Umm no I don't think so. Did you watch a scary movie yesterday? Sounds like you had a nightmare." She shrugged unsure of what he was talking about.
"Yeah… a nightmare." He said, but his mind wandered. It definitely felt like he was still in the game, and not a dream, but he didn't voice his thoughts. However, he noticed the weird look she had and made note of it. He quickly checked his status and saw that he already gained the [Rested] state. Lloyd had also finished cooking, so he started chowing down. Although the surface was charred, the meat was cooked thoroughly.
"I wanted to make a stew, but we don't have any containers. I'll be honest with you; my skill lies primarily in stews and soups. What a shame—why are you shaking your head!?" Lloyd was explaining to Markus her 'situation' when Fists started shaking his head furiously at the side as if to warn Markus. However, Lloyd seemed to have eyes behind her head and immediately smacked him.
While Markus ate the charred tough meat, Baby was at the side mass producing leather patches for repair purposes. The previous incident with the decaying claw against Markus's chest armor inspired him to create a set of ready-to-use leather patches. This way, any leather armor damaged could be repaired quickly and efficiently. The main reason for doing this was to spam actions to gain a new skill.
As Markus finished his third charred steak, Baby exclaimed in excitement.
"Yes! Finally, Leatherworking learned. I can make simple armor for us now." Baby was so excited he immediately started on a leather armor for Lloyd. Since she was in the front, she needed the most protection. Having a higher base armor would also remove some of the stress from Punch. The protection incantation used the base defense of the target to protect them, so better gear meant better protection.
Meanwhile, Markus looked at his status and saw the level 2 leatherworking that he acquired offhandedly. It was hard to be as proud or excited as other players since he didn't invest as much time and energy into the skills. However, his vision was focused on overall improvement in every facet. After finishing eating, he stood up and walked around the cave. Baby was focused on crafting, and he needed to wait for the [Satiated] status to appear after digestion. He took this opportunity to investigate the cave.
He was curious about the bioluminescent plants, and when he investigated them he was happy with his discovery.
[Hellboros Moss /Gather]
[Hellboros Moss x1]
[Helleboros Moss
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Small chance to remove negative mental status conditions. Small chance to cause hallucinations.
Message: It's just a little bit of madness.]
'Hallucinations…' Markus thought to himself for a moment before activating the large area gather. The progress bar appeared in front of him, and he patiently waited. Fortunately, his [Naturalist] skill was already level 2. The rate of success and speed of gathering was increased. Otherwise, trying to automatically gather all of the moss in his range would take much longer.
[Helleboros Moss x41]
[Naturalist has increased to level 3.]
[Naturalist Level 3
Rank: Mortal
Effect: Increase the efficiency of gathering by 33->40%
Message: A pocket full of posies.]
Markus decided to keep looking around the cave to see if there was anything else strange about it. When he reached the spring water in the back, his intuition told him that this wasn't the end of the cave. The water wasn't flooding the cave so that means it was being drained at the same rate that it was filling up near the bottom. He contemplated diving in and checking. This was the exact spot that his dream had a hall.
He scanned the whole wall while triggering the system menu, but no prompts appeared. He finished exploring the cave after another few minutes. When he returned to the camp, Baby had already finished the leather body armor. It was much better design than what he made. Although his skill level was higher, he didn't have the practical experience or a supplementary talent to support it.
"Alright let's get going. There's only a few more hours until the servers go down again for maintenance." Lloyd said after donning her new armor. Markus frowned since this was the first, he heard of this. After opening the forums, he discovered a new pinned message.
>Server Maintenance
"Due to high volume of players, we have identified a few areas that need improvement in the server stability. At 0800 server time, we will bring it down for a 10-to-12-hour maintenance period and then open the servers to everyone. Thanks for playing!"
Markus looked at the time and saw that there were only a little over 2 hours remaining. He checked his group messages and realized that they were being bombarded with comments from his team. He selected the 99+ and started scrolling through the chat. Fortunately, everyone was just discussing their progress and then plans for after the maintenance starts. He sighed in relief that he wasn't being targeted again then closed the chat.
He felt a lot more estranged with his team than when he first entered the game today. Perhaps it was because of the realizations he'd made while playing, or the contrast between his old team and the group of four he met today. He shook his head and gave himself a self-depreciating smile. It was his own fault that his old team wasn't as close as Punch and the others.
"Let's a go! The goal is level 3." Punch stood and said in a bad mimicry of a video game character. Markus decided to level up to 3 right away and get accustomed to his strength while they walked. However, as he spent the experience and his level went up, a new prompt appeared in his game log. After opening it, Markus was shocked and excited.
[You meet the minimum requirements to enter
[Edge of the Styx Level 3
Rank: Hero
Description: In the depths of the forest lies a cave that connects to the far edge of the Styx River. Although this is merely a small offshoot of the river, its proximity to the underworld makes it dangerous to mortals.
Cost: 1 Mysterious Coin
Message: The real danger is not the water itself, but the tortured souls which lurk below.]