Quick Solution

Markus looked at the server time.

{00:30}

He had only been playing for thirty minutes and suddenly became overworked. He cursed and almost broke into tears. He had an ominous feeling about his talent [Lazy Genius] and it was now showing its ugly head. He knew that this [Overworked] condition was related to his talent because of the rank. Based on his gaming experience, the rank of a condition should be the same as the rank of the ability that caused it.

While contemplating whether to start resting, a timer popped up over the Badger's body. It was counting down from five minutes. Markus didn't know how long he needed to rest, but he couldn't bring himself to waste the loot and experience. Therefore, he expanded the hiding place of the badger and made himself comfortable.

While he rested, he began browsing the forums. He was curious about other people's experiences. He put in the filter 'hero' and 'skill' and only one post appeared. It was someone who got a mortal ranked ability that seemed to suggest the possibility of upgrading it to hero rank.

[Lust Level 1

Rank: Mortal

Effect: Pleasure is increased by 10%.

Message: Seek the ultimate experience and become the hero of pleasure.]

Many players already noticed that the message was more than just lore or jokes from the developers. It seemed that some of them contained insights into the game and mechanics. However, the number of players that were truly inquisitive and curious about this finding were few. Over 90% of the comments on this players thread were either asking how he gained this skill or confirming the same skill.

GeneralFlakes: "The developers weren't lying when they said this game is immersive. Also, since it's a game you don't get tired easily… Anyway, just take off your robes and have at it. Even you can acquire this skill!"

LloyaLlama: "Doesn't it take a hundred actions to get a skill? It took the poster only eight minutes to acquire this skill! I don't know whether to congratulate you or feel bad for you…"

Markus couldn't help but praise the original poster. It takes a true pioneer to immediately remove their pants and 'grind for a skill.' Looking down at his avatar, it resembled his body in real life. However, due to the modifications of his class, he was taller and more chiseled than in real life. His muscles were very well toned, and his skin had a bronze hue to it.

The timer for the Badger had reached a few seconds remaining while Markus was resting, so he decided to cut his losses and just loot it. Since the abnormal condition didn't go away, he would have to rest longer. Based on his quick search through the forums, he seemed to be amongst the top players in terms of skills and abilities.

[Looting…

Normal Fur x2]

[Level 1 Badger looted… 1 exp gained.]

Seeing the numbers, Markus was very disappointed. He still had hope that the condition was a bug. He went back to resting and browsing the forums. He checked any random post and read every game guide and review that came out in the early stages. Many people weren't playing to become experts but to earn tips or gain attention.

Markus originally thought the newest post in General was one of those attention seeking, but immediately sat up when he saw the contents.

>I Got High In Olympus!

"I entered the tutorial area in a field of strange looking plants. After collecting a few, I discovered the fresh buds about to bloom. After inspecting them, I discovered they had… medicinal properties. Being an explorer in game mechanics, I decided to put it to the test. Now I am here to report the results. I posted images below. I just wanted to say, highly recommend trying this plant called Little Elysium."

Markus saw the picture and the abnormal condition was very intriguing. Many people already posted their analysis of the description. The condition itself wasn't important, but the implications were.

[Intoxicated

Rank: Mortal

Effect: Physical and Mental attributes -10%. Removes [Overworked] condition.

Message: I am walking in a straight line!]

LloyaLlama: "Wow! A lot of creative pioneers in the forums. Doesn't this mean I can be overworked in game and in real life? I wonder what the effects of [Overworked] are, ugh!"

Kev001: "Oh, I spawned near that plant also. I wasn't as brave as OP to try it…"

…

Markus was reading the comments and saw a name he recognized. He checked his regional chat and saw that it was indeed the same person. That meant that someone had already found the plant in his starting area. He brought up the chat menu and sent a private chat request to kev001.

Kev001: "Hello, I only team up with cute girls sorry!"

Markus: "I don't want to team up, I'm looking for that plant Little Elysium…"

Kev001: "Oh, in that case, sure. Let me send you the map link."

[Little Elysium location <01> /Add]

Markus selected it and added it to his map. He hadn't revealed much of the starting area, but it wasn't that large. He saw that the location was north of him and decided to head over immediately. Everyone that could attend the midnight release event was part of an organization or had a lot of money, so Markus wouldn't be stingy.

Markus: "How much do you want? Let me tip you."

Kev001: "Ah, don't worry about it. Just pay me back later."

Markus wasn't going to argue with that and closed the chat. Many rich players or professional gamers didn't care about minor things like that. Besides, the information was already out there, and Markus would eventually find the plant if he really wanted to. There was only so much to do in the starting area. He sent a friend request and made his way to the field.

Because of his Stealth skill, he naturally moved in a stealthy way. Markus found this remarkable because he didn't know how to do this mentally, but his body moved on its own. Things like avoiding crunchy ground and steadying his breathing. When he arrived at the location, a large open field with hundreds of flowers was in front of him. Some of the flowers were bloomed while others were still buds. Before he stepped past the tree line, he happened to see two players crouched behind a log.

Suddenly, Markus realized what was happening. The reason that player would give him the coordinates so easily was made clear to him: Player Killer! PKing in games wasn't rare, and most competitive games revolved around Player versus Player content. However, since this was a midnight release event in an instanced area, Markus didn't expect to run into a PKer.

However, if they thought he was an easy target, they would be suffering today. Although his skills in real life had waned, this was purely a physical issue. His wrist and body weren't what they used to be. In game, the power of the mind and the system was all that mattered. He snuck through the underbrush and arrived behind them. Before they could even react, Markus activated his [Vital Strike].

-5

-1

-1

…

The initial strike dealt five damage and caused a bleed effect because it hit the vitals. The player wasn't even able to react when his health bottomed out. Markus didn't wait at all and immediately attacked the player next to him. Unfortunately, it seemed that his sneak attack only worked once. The player managed to defend. This is where the difference between having skills came into play.

Markus easily overpowered the other player. It helped that the player seemed to be a Caster. His weapon was a wooden staff. After two quick thrusts, his health bottomed out as well. Two notifications appeared.

[You have slain kev001 and earned 1 exp.]

[You have slain vik001 and earned 1 exp.]

Their bodies turned to light and disappeared. Since the problem was resolved, Markus went forward and began gathering the plants. Meanwhile, two pods opened in a high-rise building and two familiar looking people sat up.

"That bastard! How dare he PK us!"

"Bro, you wanted to PK him first…"

"Shut up!"

…

[Little Elysium /Gather]

[Gathering…

Little Elysium x1]

[Little Elysium

Rank: Mortal

Effect: After consumption, the user will become [Intoxicated].

Message: Are you smoking yet?]

Markus finished the automatic gathering action and decided to consume the handful of the flower buds right away. He wanted to get rid of his [Overworked] condition as soon as possible. He was afraid that the difference in rank would make it impossible to remove, but his worries were soon relieved when he saw the message.

[Abnormal Condition: Intoxicated]

Markus checked his status and saw that Overworked had disappeared. He heaved a sigh of relief and began collecting more plants. His mind was a bit fuzzy, and his muscles felt weaker, but the difference wasn't huge. After collecting the second unit of [Little Elysium], a notification appeared.

[New Skill Naturalist learned.]

[Naturalist Level 1

Rank: Mortal

Effect: Increase the efficiency of gathering by 25%

Message: A pocket full of posies.]