*Ding!*
Mako had received another notification while he was still processing the previous one, and he was feeling quite frustrated about the unjust punishment that the system had imposed on him for missing just one daily quest.
When Mako used the 'Ask' feature to inquire why the system had not canceled the quest as it had done before, the system's response was blunt. It stated that Mako had sufficient time to complete all the tasks from the moment he had escaped from the original cave with the girls until he had started traveling upstream with the group.
At this juncture, Mako felt completely defeated and knew that it was futile to argue with the system any further, so he reluctantly accepted the penalty. However, he chose to view his blocked lightning aura punishment as an opportunity to grow and develop, rather than a setback. He saw it as a challenge to improve himself and not rely solely on his abilities to tackle everything.
Once Mako was over the shock of the penalty that he was just given to him, Mako decided to open the notifications tab to check out what the other notification was all about.
[Daily Quest has been temporarily disabled while the user is stuck inside the cave.]
It was a simple message that informed Mako that since he was stuck inside the small cave with nowhere to go, the system had decided to be a bit lenient and lay him off from the daily quest until he was able to go out again.
After reading the message, Mako experienced a sense of relief because he was anxious about the system's response if he failed to complete multiple daily quests. Being stuck inside the cave, he would have to complete all the tasks while still in there, and he was concerned that his "cavemates" might find it odd if he began running laps around the cave to fulfill his usual running task.
This realization strengthened Mako's belief that the system was more than just a simple machine that operated without any room for compromise. Instead, it was an advanced form of artificial intelligence that almost seemed sentient due to its accuracy and, at times, even empathetic nature. Although it remained strict to prevent Mako from becoming complacent, he appreciated the system's attention to detail and how it pushed him to be his best.
Mako had made a mental note to always pay attention to his daily quest moving forward. He was lucky that there wasn't any immediate danger that prompted Mako to use all of his strength which he couldn't now since his Lightning ability use was restricted. If this were to be a day earlier, when Mako was battling against an advanced-tier beast, he would have been toast.
As a result of the penalty, Mako's main punishment turned out to be the reduction in his overall energy pool. While Mako wasn't necessarily different from others with similar skill levels, what set him apart from them was his over-leveled stats and superior energy pool.
It was his enlarged energy pool and overpowered stats alongside other things that enabled him to compete against multiple opponents simultaneously and match equally against stronger opponents, such as Rhino, which would have been an impossible task for most regular Level 3 Ability users.
Mako was reluctant to give up ten attribute points to regain his lost energy, but he couldn't see any other way to restore it back to 2000 which wasn't even the max limit. However, before he went through with wasting his attribute points, he suddenly recalled a specific prompt that he had received on his first night on the island.
'The crystals!' Mako exclaimed in his head.
Mako reminisced about the first night he had spent on the island with Bill on the beach. During his watch, his curiosity took over as he took out the medium-tier crystal that he had harvested earlier and at that moment, he had received a prompt from the system.
Mako quickly reached for his backpack and took out the same medium-tier crystal that he took out that night and sure enough, he received the same prompt once again.
[User has obtained a Medium Tier Sabertooth Spider Crystal]
[Does the user wish to absorb the crystal?]
[YES/NO]
[Absorbing Crystals] ⓘ
[If the user acquires a raw crystal, they have the ability to absorb it. However, unlike refined crystals, raw crystals do not grant the user a completely new ability. Instead, absorbing a raw crystal may enhance the user's understanding of a particular ability by a certain percentage and boost their energy pool based on the quality of the crystal. The user also has the option to sell the crystal at a shop in exchange for coins.]
Mako didn't know what was the difference between raw and refined crystals, but he had a hunch that the refined crystals were those that were embedded into an ability book that once broken, grants the person who broke it an ability. If this understanding was true then these crystals just had to go through some processes before becoming refined crystals.
If that truly was the case, then Mako could just break the crystals by hand and it would have the exact same effect as when absorbed through the system. To test this theory out, Mako held the small crystal firmly in his hand and crushed it using his strength.
When Mako had crushed the yellow crystal that was embedded in his Level 3 Lightning Ability book, the room was illuminated in a bright yellow light and sparks scattered everywhere, causing the ability to merge into his body. However, when he broke the crystal this time, only a dim green light emanated from his hand, and a few green bubbles materialized around it.
*Ding!*
A notification from the system popped into Mako's mind, prompting him to open the system interface with excitement to investigate what effect a raw medium-tier crystal had on his body.
[Medium-tier sabertooth spider crystal has been absorbed]
[User has gained a preliminary understanding of the poison ability]
[Poison ability: 1%] ⓘ
[+10 Energy]
The raw medium-tier crystal had unlocked the poison ability just like Mako had assumed it would, but instead of giving him an ability, Mako received a percentage bar instead. Mako accessed the information regarding his newfound ability by directing his thought over to the little exclamation icon.
[Poison ability: 1%] ⓘ
[The poison ability allows the user to create different kinds of poisons within their body and utilize them in a variety of ways. The user currently doesn't have a complete understanding of how to manipulate mana into poison. Continue to absorb more crystals that contain the poison and ability to increase the understanding of that ability. Once the bar reaches 100%, The user will gain a level 1 Poison ability.]
Mako felt a tinge of disappointment when he discovered that the raw medium-tier crystal, which belonged to a creature already possessing a level 2 poison ability, had only granted him a meager 1% understanding.
He had a hunch that he was missing some crucial information, and he knew he had to seek guidance from one of the instructors at the military school to get some answers. He suspected that such knowledge would not be readily available to the public.
Secondly, the crystal also increased Mako's energy by a small amount. It seemed that 5 medium-tier crystals would be able to increase the same amount of energy as one attribute point and considering the number of crystals, Mako had accumulated thus far, it wasn't that bad of a trade.
Mako still didn't know how much a high-tier crystal would benefit him, but before he checked that out, Mako wanted to explore the second option that the system had provided him. Instead of crushing the crystal or absorbing it through the system, Mako also had the option to store the crystal in his inventory.
Once in his inventory, Mako could choose to sell the crystal to the shop in exchange for coins. Mako wanted to see just how many coins a single medium-tier crystal would fetch him. He pulled out another crystal from his backpack and was about to order the system to store it in his inventory when a feminine voice finally brought him back to reality.
"Mako, what did you just do?" Iris asked from the other side of the cave.
Mako had been so focused on the system ever since he woke up that he had completely ignored the fact that Bill and Iris were both awake and were watching him stare toward the wall for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Mako appeared to be very absorbed in whatever he was observing, so much so that he didn't even acknowledge Bill and Iris' presence. As they watched, Mako suddenly stopped his intense gaze, retrieved a crystal from his backpack, crushed it, and resumed staring into the abyss.
Iris and Bill became increasingly concerned by Mako's behavior and couldn't decipher what was happening to him. When Mako once again reached for his backpack, Iris spoke up to try and snap him out of his trance-like state.
Mako turned to face Iris and Bill, who were staring at him with weirded-out expressions. On the surface, Mako responded with an awkward smile and pretended to be drowsy, concealing his inner turmoil. Deep down, Mako was panicking and struggling to think of a convincing excuse to account for what Iris and Bill had witnessed.
