For the next several days, Arya did nothing except read. She did not even light a fire to brew potions. If Rogers had not delivered meals to her door on time every single day, she might have completely forgotten to eat.
The violent winds and lightning caused by the mana turbulence appeared every night and disappeared again by morning.
After several repeated cycles, even people living in Level Two Shelters had grown used to it, let alone Arya's Level Three Shelter.
Whenever they had nothing else to do, people gathered in the channel to joke, tease, and pass the time.
Of course, there were also timid people who were too afraid to go outside. After running out of stored food, they began begging in the channel for help.
But Sector 666 had no sympathy for tears.
No one paid attention to those people. Worse, some short-tempered individuals found them irritating and began to curse them out directly. After venting their frustration, they disappeared again without a trace.
Despite how monotonous these homebound days felt, Arya gained several benefits from them.
The first benefit was knowledge.
She had read many useful books, and even texts that seemed unrelated at first gave her valuable inspiration. The more she read, the more she understood how vast and complicated alchemy and magic theory really were.
The second benefit was far more concerning.
After the Novice Protection Period ended, new entities began appearing in the world.
Most of these were monsters.
During the protection period, the forest had been relatively peaceful. Aside from occasional wolves, only small creatures such as horned rabbits and colorful feathered chickens existed.
Once the protection ended, monsters began appearing like bamboo shoots after spring rain.
And they were everywhere.
There were plant-type Man-Eating Flowers, earth-type Sludge Monsters, water-type spitting fish, fire-type jumping pigs, and the familiar wind-type Dire Wolves.
No one needed to ask how these monsters were named.
Some brave individuals had brought back monster remains for appraisal. Others had even cooked and eaten them.
Fortunately, all of these creatures were classified as Grade E monsters. Although troublesome, they did not cause large-scale disasters.
At most, ten or so people died each day.
When Arya heard this, she felt both relieved and ashamed.
She was relieved that she had stayed inside.
But she also sincerely admired those people who dared to fight.
Knowing that mana turbulence still existed, they did not run away when faced with monsters. Instead, they chose to confront them head-on.
How could she not admire that kind of courage?
At the same time, group formation had become a hot topic.
This did not only apply to Sector 666.
Across the entire world channel, people were either searching for missing relatives or recruiting teammates.
There were even cases where two groups from the same sector argued furiously in the world channel.
Since there was no censorship in this world, everyone could clearly see just how filthy and vicious their insults were.
Arya could not understand what kind of mentality drove people to curse so publicly.
Were they trying to entertain the world?
She did not know.
But one thing was certain — she had witnessed the full diversity of human behavior.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
One afternoon, while Arya lay on her recliner on the second-floor terrace, quietly sunbathing with a book in her hands, the familiar beeping sound of the Magic Desk rang out below.
A message appeared.
Natasha: "When will you start selling potions again?"
"…."
Floating down beside the desk, Arya stared at the message in silence.
This was not the first time someone had asked her that.
A few days earlier, Roy had asked the same thing.
Because she had spent the last few days entirely immersed in reading, she had not brewed a single potion. The external market had completely run out of her stock.
On the black market, the prices of +30 Magic Potions and Healing Potions had skyrocketed to an outrageous ratio of 1:100.
They were anxious.
But Arya was even more desperate.
If someone like Natasha ran out of mana, he could still rely on physical strength, weapons, movement techniques, and experience.
But if Arya ran out of mana?
She would only have one option.
To wait for death.
After her intensive studying, she had finally realized something terrifying.
Developing specialized medicine was unbelievably difficult.
No — not just specialized medicine.
Developing any new potion at all was extremely hard.
It was filled with uncertainty, failure, and countless dead ends.
Many potions were not born from skill but from coincidence.
Some books even claimed that the creation of new potions was nothing more than a prank played by the gods.
A god's prank.
When she thought about their forced transmigration to this world, that description felt painfully accurate.
Arya closed the friend chat and returned to the terrace, sinking back into her chair and reopening her book.
The next day, Natasha messaged again.
Natasha: "The mana turbulence has disappeared. We can go outside now."
"Sigh…"
Arya pinched the bridge of her nose and typed a reply.
Arya: "I know you're anxious, but don't rush."
Although she had never met Natasha in person, she could tell from his behavior that he was most likely in his thirties and possessed an extremely strong Talent — probably something that consumed massive amounts of mana.
That was why he depended so heavily on her potions.
Natasha: "What do you need?"
Since he had asked so directly, Arya could not refuse.
After all, Natasha was a capable combatant. In the future, if she ever lacked anything, this could be considered a form of mutual aid.
Since she had not brewed potions for almost a week, it was time to become active again.
Arya: "Obsidian × 100, magic crystal × 10, D-grade monster crystal core × 10."
Natasha: "I'm not sure about the others, but I know where to find obsidian."
Arya: "Name your price."
Natasha: "Two +50 Magic Potions per piece."
Arya: "What level are you now?"
Natasha: "Level 6."
Arya: "Did anything change after leveling up?"
Since Arya had never gone out to fight or level up herself, she was curious.
Natasha: "Attribute points increase. Only one point per level. And the distribution tends to favor your specialty."
Arya wanted to scream.
Developer! Where is the developer?!
Only one attribute point per level? What kind of cruel game system was this?
If the distribution favored specialties, didn't that mean that if she leveled up, she would only gain Spirit?
Would all other attributes have to be raised only through items?
Arya: "Understood. I'll take one hundred pieces of obsidian."
Although the exchange rate was not favorable, Arya still accepted it.
It only required one batch of brewing, and she could complete at least one major material requirement for a Level Four Shelter.
On top of that, she had gained valuable intelligence.
That alone was worth it.
Natasha: "Um… could I get a portion in advance…"
Arya could practically imagine Natasha lowering his head while typing that message.
Arya: "I only have +30 potions right now. Take them all."
Natasha: "Thank you."
Arya instantly teleported the twenty potions she had saved and checked the channel chat.
As expected, everyone was discussing the disappearance of the mana turbulence.
It had been about a week.
Was there some kind of cycle?
Since she was not completely sure, she decided not to brew potions immediately.
Instead, she chose to go outside and gather herbs.
Her recent studies had taught her an important truth:
Stockpiling and diversifying alchemy materials was essential.
The more materials she had, the less likely she would be trapped when inspiration for new potion formulas suddenly struck.
As for Magic Potions, she could make them after returning at noon.
As long as Natasha received them today, she would not be breaking their agreement.
After preparing herself, Arya flew out of her room.
She did not leave the shelter immediately.
Instead, she approached the stone that marked the boundary of her Shelter's Magic Shield.
She lowered her altitude and slowly floated forward.
Only after passing the stone without incident did she finally relax.
Although the mana turbulence had disappeared, she had no intention of wandering far.
She only planned to explore the nearby area.
The previous incident had left a deep psychological shadow.
To be honest, if Albert had not mentioned that it was better to gather materials personally when it wasn't an emergency, she might never have wanted to step outside.
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