Hearing Zachary Pierce mention the Dungeon, Faye Yardley noticed there were only 41 minutes left until the system said it would open. 'Wait, did I really spend that much time just looking at the public channel and organizing my things?'
She opened the system's Dungeon page. As expected, everything was grayed out and unusable. However, in the bottom right corner, it still displayed [Dungeon 1 Fragment 2/4, collect all to unlock.]
"Mr. Pierce, I checked. It's a grayed-out screen for me too. We probably have to wait for the timer to run out. I'm going to trade for some things first."
"Okay. Let me know if there's anything you're missing at the end."
Seeing Zachary Pierce's message, Faye Yardley was certain he must already have a team. Otherwise, how could he guarantee he would have whatever she was missing?
'How nice,' Faye Yardley thought. She also hoped that one day, she could have a group of partners she could trust with her back.
'Huh, I have a Small Group Chat Coupon.'
Although she didn't have any partners right now, Faye Yardley had no intention of giving the coupon to Zachary Pierce or trading it to someone else. She clicked "Use" right away. A small group chat appeared next to the public channel, currently with only one member: the owner.
It really was small. The maximum number of members was 10.
Faye Yardley immediately invited Zachary Pierce, Leo Sloan, and two others she had traded with and found trustworthy, Bonnie Callahan and Wade Warren, into the group.
Faye Yardley: Hey everyone, I just made a group. Please be trustworthy. Group functions are still being explored.
Bonnie Callahan: Oh my god, you can make groups? How did you do it, can you tell us? I can't find the option anywhere.
Wade Warren: It must have been an item or something. The game doesn't have a function for creating groups for free. Thank you, group owner, for the invite. I'll study the group's functions in a moment.
Bonnie Callahan: I have the Oil you need, group owner, but I'm not short on food. What can you offer?
Faye Yardley was writing a group announcement listing the things she needed. Seeing the mention of Oil and that Bonnie Callahan didn't seem to need anything else, she said, "Give me 2 Oil and 4 wood, and I'll make a torch for you."
Bonnie Callahan quickly sent a designated Gift in the group. Faye Yardley accepted it and found enough materials inside for four torches.
Without another word, she placed the materials on the workbench and started crafting the torches. The finished products appeared in just 30 seconds.
Faye Yardley also used a designated group Gift to send two torches to Bonnie Callahan.
Then she took the remaining torches and placed them in her backpack.
Just as she was about to examine the Basic Body Refining Pill, she saw a message from Leo Sloan in the group chat: "Can I trade 20 stones for an Iron Axe?"
Faye Yardley was delighted. 'Just what I needed!' She quickly replied, "Yes, absolutely."
After the Gift trade was completed, Faye Yardley immediately used the Fireplace Blueprint on the wall opposite her workbench.
After a swirl of rolling mist, a square, antique-looking fireplace appeared on the opposite wall, just as expected.
Fireplace: Fuel can be added (wood, charcoal, coal). A burning fireplace provides warmth, drives away darkness, and repels Sea Monsters that try to attack the raft.
Faye Yardley thought for a moment, then tossed a piece of wood into the fireplace. WHOOSH, flames automatically flared up inside. She then discovered that one piece of wood would only burn for 2 hours.
She moved her two-meter-long greatsword over the fire, then took out some fish meat and crab meat, placed it on the blade to grill, and sprinkled a little salt on top.
While waiting for the fish meat to cook, Faye Yardley took out the Basic Body Refining Pill. There was no special notification. It just looked like a big, plain, black sesame ball.
"How did the book describe this Body Refining Pill again? Ugh, I can't quite remember. I only recall that it randomly adds 1-3 attribute points."
Faye Yardley thought for a moment, then took off her clothes and shoes, placing them on the wooden bed to the side. She then moved her wet clothes onto the only wooden crate she hadn't dismantled, placing it near the fireplace. 'The wet clothes should dry in two hours, right?'
She popped the Body Refining Pill into her mouth. She had thought something so large would be difficult to swallow, but to her surprise, it melted the instant it touched her tongue, sliding down her throat as a liquid.
Soon, Faye Yardley felt a pain like ten thousand ants gnawing at her from the inside.
She curled into a ball on the floor, her whole body breaking out in sweat.
Pain, pain, pain!
It hurts so much!
The pain was so intense she couldn't stop herself from rolling on the floor.
Just as she was about to pass out from the pain, Faye Yardley slammed her head against the floor and chanted inwardly: 'I can do this. I can do this. What's a little pain? I can endure it. I definitely can!'
After the pain receded like a tide, Faye Yardley felt her entire body relax. A warm current seemed to generate itself within her, instantly restoring her mind and body to normal.
However, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe. Faye Yardley scrambled to her feet, walked out of her hut, and let the downpour wash over her, treating it as a shower.
After a minute, feeling clean, she dashed back inside. She dried off with the cloth she'd previously used to cover herself and quickly dressed.
When she checked on the fish meat and crab meat on her greatsword, they were already SIZZLING, filling the hut with the aroma of food.
She took out her wooden utensils, used her chopsticks to flip the fish and crab meat, and only then realized that not even five minutes had passed since she had taken the Body Refining Pill.
"System, display personal Attributes."
The holographic screen before her changed, displaying her personal Attributes.
Talent: None
Constitution: 5+1 (You finally have the physical fitness of a normal adult now)
Strength: 3+1 (The extra point of Strength gives you the illusion that you could kill a tiger with a single punch)
Agility: 7
Spirit: 7+1 (You can pull an all-nighter and still feel a hundred times more energetic)
Luck: 9
Charm: 8
Skills: None
Hunger Level: 67 (Max 100. If it drops to 0, you'll starve to death!)
Clenching her fist, Faye Yardley looked at the panel and snorted. "I'm not that arrogant. I know my own limits, okay? If you've got the guts, give me another 10 points at once. Then I might get the illusion that I could kill a tiger with one punch."
'Who is this system looking down on?'
But regardless, she had gotten stronger on only her second day. 'I should be ahead of a lot of people, right?'
The greatsword really was great for grilling fish. She placed the cooked fish and crab meat onto a plate, then took out a bottle of Sprite and began her dinner.
Checking the time, she saw there were 26 minutes left until the Dungeon started, so she quickened her pace of eating.
With only twenty minutes remaining, every player received a system notification: [Dear player, the trial Dungeon will open in 20 minutes. Please prepare for entry. We wish all players a pleasant Dungeon experience.]
[Dear player, you have received a trial Dungeon team invitation. Accept?]
Seeing the invitation was from Zachary Pierce, Faye Yardley chose "Yes."
Soon, she found that the Dungeon interface was no longer grayed out. Furthermore, the entrance to the trial Dungeon now showed two small figures standing side-by-side, holding hands.
"Mr. Pierce, what's your Strength like? Do you like using oversized weapons?"