Chapter 382 - 381: Work

Chapter 382: Chapter 381: Work

As Seraphina Sinclair followed her daily morning routine and headed to the stone table for breakfast, she finally noticed something was amiss inside the mobile cabin.

Seraphina Sinclair: "???"

’Where did this mist come from?’

And judging by the water stains on the floor, the mist had apparently been there for quite some time.

Filled with questions, she opened the regional channel. Only then did she remember that a new week had just begun.

’So, this mist is the... uh, environmental feature of the path I chose?’

Seraphina Sinclair was a bit bewildered and started scrolling through the regional channel.

’Mist... check. I’ve already seen that.’

’Poison gas... Poison gas?! There’s poison gas, too?!’

Seraphina Sinclair frowned. She sniffed the air cautiously but felt no ill effects.

After searching the regional channel for a long time, she finally found the answer in one of the messages.

"It’s almost dawn. The poison gas is noticeably weaker, and the Spiritual Attacks have also lessened considerably. I guess after sunrise, both these negative effects will fade away, leaving only the mist."

’So that’s how it is. And besides mist and poison gas, there are even Spiritual Attacks.’

’Vicious. This path is utterly vicious!’

Just as Seraphina Sinclair was wondering about the other path, she found the answer in the very next message.

"Fade away?! On what grounds?! The high heat and poisonous fog over here haven’t weakened one bit! It actually got hotter after sunrise! The ground’s hot enough to fry an egg! And the eruptions seem to be happening more often. Why did this path get *more* dangerous after daybreak?"

Seraphina Sinclair read the message and made a quick mental comparison.

It seemed the negative effects of Shadefen were concentrated at night, while Boiling Mycelium was a harsh, all-day environment—possibly even worse during the day.

’Then... why didn’t anything happen to me last night?’

’Was it the training room? Or was it the meditation?’

Regardless, Seraphina Sinclair was certain she had made it through the night perfectly fine without an Immunity Crystal.

She filed the experience away, planning to test her theory again when she entered a new path next week.

The path’s signature monster by the window was characteristic of the swamp—so much so that it was utterly disgusting. Seraphina Sinclair had to kill it with her head tilted away the entire time.

After using the Immunity Crystal, Seraphina Sinclair went to the washroom to wash her hands before returning to the stone table to eat.

What was a deadly environmental threat to others was just a minor, insignificant hiccup for her.

No matter how much they wailed on the regional channel, it had very little to do with her.

Unable to move, Seraphina Sinclair’s life suddenly became uneventful.

For several days in a row, she spent her mornings helping people on the regional channel craft things they needed to earn some Black Fog Coins, and her afternoons training in the Wind-carved Fissure.

Her Black Fog Coin balance grew substantially, but her attribute points barely increased.

She had already grown accustomed to the intensity of the Wind Blades in the outer area, and the difficulty didn’t increase much as she went deeper.

If she kept on like this, exploring little by little only in the afternoons, it would be a pointless waste of time.

Seraphina Sinclair decided to focus on her crafting service for two days, then dedicate an entire day to fully exploring the Wind-carved Fissure.

Aside from the one time she’d offered her crafting services right after the server merge, she hadn’t done it since.

The moment she posted the announcement, the entire channel erupted.

"Master Blacktiger, AHHH! You’re finally offering crafting services again!! HAHAHAHA, I can finally get my precious little lamp!"

"The little lamp ʚෆɞ! The hands-free little lamp! ♡ We love you, little lamp! (heart)"

"My Black Fog Coins! Where are my Black Fog Coins?! Bring them all out, give them to Master Blacktiger, take them all! What other blueprints do you have, Master Blacktiger? Bring ’em out! Bring them all out!"

With the regional channel this enthusiastic, Seraphina Sinclair obviously wasn’t going to have any downtime.

It wasn’t just her—the Gloom Hatchling and Sunflower joined the crafting assembly line too!

The Gloom Hatchling was returning to its old job, only this time there were no jerky treats as a reward. Everything it did now was in an effort to get its human to like it again.

Unfortunately... its human had a heart of stone.

Sunflower’s job was even simpler. It just had to help Seraphina Sinclair by tapping the panel.

Sunflower’s leaves had a limited range of motion, but only a tiny movement was needed to tap the panel!

And so, it qualified as a steady worker.

Thus, the scene inside Seraphina Sinclair’s cabin became rather peculiar:

She was focused on the workbench, while next to her, the Gloom Hatchling pawed at the panel and Sunflower also stretched out a leaf to tap it.

Whatever the case, their efficiency was much higher than when Seraphina Sinclair worked alone.

After two half-days and two full days of work, Seraphina Sinclair had earned a total of 53,467 Black Fog Coins, bringing her balance to a grand total of 168,767.

Seraphina Sinclair had no doubt that with a few more days of hard work, her Black Fog Coin count would break two hundred thousand.

Unfortunately, a week only has seven days. Crafting alone had taken up four days. Tomorrow, Friday, she would explore the Wind-carved Fissure; the day after, Saturday, there was a dungeon; and on Sunday, she would once again have to agonize over which path to choose.

If the path selection prompt didn’t appear after she used the Mist Beacon and Navigation Card right where she was, she’d be completely screwed.

Seraphina Sinclair knew she seemed busy, but in reality, she was using the frantic activity to distract from the desperate predicament she was about to face.

She sighed and sat down on the floor, at a loss for words.

Seraphina Sinclair woke up several times that night.

On Friday morning, she was sporting two dark circles under her eyes. She tilted her head back and chugged an Energy Potion she had just gotten from Pretty Guardian, which made her feel much better.

’If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve just kept meditating last night.’

Seraphina Sinclair got to her feet and finished her morning routine. She gripped Water Dragon Roar in her hand, her expression hardening with resolve, and stepped into the Wind-carved Fissure.

The moment she entered, several Wind Blades rushed toward her with great enthusiasm.

Seraphina Sinclair remained calm. Whether due to her Speed or her long hours of practice, she deftly sidestepped the two sharpest blades. Then, with a casual flick of Water Dragon Roar, she deflected a third, sending it smashing into the rock wall beside her and leaving a shallow gash.

Without breaking stride, she pushed deeper, heading straight into the increasingly dense barrage of Wind Blades.

The outer area posed almost no threat to her anymore. She knew the intensity and speed of the Wind Blades like the back of her hand.

She moved like a fish in water, weaving through the violent air currents. Her movements were fluid and precise, only occasionally needing to parry with her blade.

After about two hundred meters, the environment began to change.

The fissures in the rock walls on either side grew deeper. The howling wind was now laced with shrill whines, as if countless invisible blades were spinning at high speed through the air.

The Wind Blades no longer attacked only from the front. They began to slice in from the sides and even from tricky angles from behind.

Both their frequency and intensity had noticeably increased.

Seraphina Sinclair’s expression remained unchanged. She had reached this point before during her explorations over the past few days.