As Nick had hoped, the creatures were drawn to the lotus’s potent magic instead of its scent. Magic that had been completely absorbed by his energetic core over the last few seconds. Confirming that the danger had passed, and the event was complete, a System message appeared in front of his eyes.
When he read the last word, his heart began to race. It seemed that his adventure wasn’t quite over yet.
System message: Event update.
Event: 'The jewel of the night', is complete.
Now that you have consumed the star lotus fruit, you have five minutes to decide which skill to raise or its magic will be lost forever. Be advised that this bonus cannot raise a skill above its class-governed maximum.
Nick fired up his gamer’s perspective for the first time in weeks and then kicked it into high gear. He had to think fast and decide which skill he wanted to raise before time ran out. Thanks to his new Kineticist class, he had quite a few options to consider.
Sword and wand were both top contenders, but he had a hunch that he would be able to raise those skills over time without the need for an additional boost. More evasion would be nice too, but it was still low enough that it was going to improve rapidly with every battle. Shield was out of the running since he hadn’t found one yet. Maybe I should just go with sword after all.
Somewhere around the time that the clock struck the two-minute mark, it hit him. Foraging.
He hadn’t been able to raise his foraging skill to ten while he had it unlocked by his original Survivor class. Nick had thought that the opportunity to max it out had been lost, but maybe he still could thanks to the lotus’s magic. Now that foraging was inactive, this might be his only chance to improve a skill that had saved his life on numerous occasions.
After a final moment of consideration, he was certain it was the best choice. On top of everything else, he had noticed that each time he increased a skill, it became more difficult to raise further, similar to the process of conditioning his baseline attributes. This meant that even if it were still unlocked, boosting foraging would be more efficient than any of his other options, since it was already at nine.
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His decision made, Nick sent his intentions to the System, adding, “I’ll take a point of foraging please,” for good measure.
Selection confirmed.
By taking advantage of a rare opportunity, the following skill has been improved:
Foraging has increased from [9] to [10].
A perfect ten. Enjoying the warm glow of satisfaction that came with watching the numbers tick up, especially when capping a skill at its maximum, Nick carefully made his way back to his campsite. He was hoping to catch another hour or two of shuteye before dawn broke over the bog. Although he kept an eye out for predators along the way, nothing dangerous crossed his path before he settled down to rest.
He woke up early the next morning, completely refreshed thanks to his enhanced Survivor trait, despite his scant hours of sleep. He met the rising sun with a grin plastered on his face, thrilled to have successfully completed the midnight event without being injured in the process. He had even scored a delicious free meal in the process. It was the most pleasant event that he had experienced by far, and he strongly suspected that he wouldn’t enjoy the next one.
He began planning out his day while strapping on his gear. Right now, his goal was unchanged. Nick needed to head for the tower as quickly as possible, so he picked up his pace and started hiking across the marshlands, enjoying the fierce beauty of the wetlands as he put some miles beneath his boots.
Be it through luck, coincidence, or other factors beyond his understanding, it was his most relaxing day on Blackmist Bog to date. Nick didn’t run into any hostile critters or rough terrain as morning gave way to noon, and the patches of blackmist he encountered were thin and quickly flew past his position. He made remarkably good time as a result, the tower gradually growing larger, although the distance was deceptive given the sheer scale of the edifice.
Late in the afternoon, he came across a small pond filled with silver fish the size of his hands. Size up told him that they were regular animals, not beasts, and posed no danger whatsoever.
After scouting the area to make sure that no predators were lurking nearby, Nick approached the water’s edge. At this time of day, it was easy to peer below the surface, revealing that nothing besides the fish and a few aquatic insects called this pool home.
Since his foraging skill was convinced that the fish were good eating, he decided to take a break and try out one of the items he had been given for completing the tutorial for the first time. The fishing pole he had chosen for one of his basic item picks.
Nick reached into his pack and pulled out the rod, which was made of flexible fiberglass the color of bamboo. It took him a few minutes to figure out how to attach the fishing line he had found in the tutorial dungeon, and the hook that had come with his adventurer’s toolbelt.
Once he was sure that everything was properly assembled, he used a stick to dig into the muddy soil running along the pool’s edge. He eventually unearthed several fat worms, and after sizing them up to make sure they weren’t dangerous, he placed one on the end of his hook, then cast his line into the water.