The scenery flashed and returned back to the fountain in the intersection.
The next second, Yoshino Aruven collapsed on the concrete floor. He gasped,
"Po..tions! Hurry… please!"
Fortunately, the female student named Ariana Aries approached. She then nervously asked,
"What recovery do you need? HP, MP, or SP? Which exactly?"
Yoshino had trouble identifying which ailment he was feeling. He felt cold but he was sweating. He felt fatigued, but he was shivering at the same time. His muscles ache, but he was also hungry.
By sheer will, he was able to shout out three words. These were:
"All of them!"
Ariana reached out for her storage pouch. She handed out several bottles.
Yoshino forced himself to stand-up. But he felt dizzy. The best he could do was sit up on the floor. He reached out for the bottles that was near him.
He had no time check on their labels. He opened three bottles of different colors. He gulped them as quickly as possible. He then gulped another three afterwards.
He tossed the empty bottles beside him. He then allowed his upper body to fall down the floor. He could no longer contain the spasms of his muscles.
In [Roku Shiki Online], one could immediately receive the effects of a potion consumed. This was not a mechanic that carried over when the world transmigrated though.
One would have to wait for a while before the body could digest the potion. The concoction would typically work once it entered the bloodstream.
Yoshino shivered. He wanted to puke out what he just drank. But he fought the urge to do so. He remained lying on the concrete floor. He then curled up and crossed his arms. This was the only comfort he had against the pain.
It had to be mentioned that drinking potions haphazardly was not recommended. These consumables were made from resources found in the dungeons that contained compounds which was originally foreign to the human race.
Heck even when the world was yet to transmigrate, people should not intake any strong substance without proper prescription or instruction. This was also applicable to daily consumables.
Take ethanol for example. It was a compound that was deemed to be potable for human consumption. And yet manufacturers still had to dilute it into a mixture before they could sell it to the public.
And even then, consumers had to drink this beverage moderately and responsibly.
This was because living beings had a certain tolerance limit when consuming any kind of substance. Going beyond that limit could cause fatality.
In games, this was referred to as toxicity level. [Roku Shiki Online] of course had this functionality. And unfortunately this was a mechanic that was carried over when the world transmigrated.
Yoshino began to remember the past twenty years of his existence. Memories suddenly flashed before him.
Was that it? Did he lived his life with no regrets?
Of course he did not!
Yoshino struggled. He refused the call beyond the light.
"Haaaah!"
He gasped for air. He increased the pace of his breathing.
Pant. Pant. Pant.
Yoshino had no idea how much time he spent on this sorry state. Seconds? Minutes? Hours?
He could no longer be bothered by that. He closed his eyes and focused on his new battle.
He had to survive. No matter what!
After a few moments, the effects of the potions finally kicked in. His breathing started to stabilize and his shivering began to subside.
He then opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the worried face of a female student. She had brown eyes and shoulder length black hair with a tinge of pink.
University of Saint Benevolent had quite a strict observance of regulations when it came to proper decorum. Except for the natural hair color you are born with, students were prohibited from dying their hair.
But this did not stop the fashion specialists to find a way around the ruling. Thus hair tinging and highlighting had became the new trends in the student decorum.
And surprisingly, the disciplinary committee of the university never refuted such activity.
Yoshino was not a fan of this fancy coloration though. He preferred his natural jet black hair anyway.
However, seeing a beautiful lady with a hair tinging was still a very much welcomed scenery in his eyes.
"Are you alright?"
The female student named Ariana asked. Her legs were folded as she sat on the floor. She was right beside the curled up young man.
The female student uniform of USB comprised of a button blouse and slacks.
Why? Why was it not a short skirt instead?!
"No. I'm not alright."
Yoshino answered as he kept the grief deep in his heart. He tried to stand up. But he still felt dizzy. His muscles were still aching too.
Although he could bear with these subsided ailments now, he would still need a few more time to rest.
Since he could still not stand-up, he decided to somewhat crawl his way towards the fountain. It was only around five meters away. He could do this if he believed.
Ariana offered her help. But Yoshino gestured that he must do this alone. It was also a way to estimate how much recovery he still needed.
After a few grunts and pants, he arrived at the fountain. He leaned his back on the ledge and sat on the floor.
He now have the chance to survey his surroundings.
Thankfully, the defeated participants did not return to the fountain intersection. They were probably transported outside the dungeon.
That would be a good thing because a medical team was probably stationed back in the open field area. Plus, they would not see his pitiful state right now.
Otherwise he would have been beaten up while he was still lying down.
The recovery rate of a Tier 2 was faster compared to a Basic-Tier. And this would become more apparent as one develops his realm further.
He sighed weakly,
"I really almost died."
He contemplated on what had happened a while ago. Although it felt really cool to go up against three Tier 2s when he was just a Basic Mage, the truth was far from it.
Yoshino had to activate a seven-fold skill combination multiple times just so he could keep up with those three participants.
What was that again? Seven-fold!
In a world where people struggled to cast a four-fold skill combination, he had to go way beyond that and overwork himself just so he could compete with the Tier 2 skills of his opponents.
He might have a Perk level of seven but that did not mean he could keep on firing multiple series of skills all day long.
And then he was hit by a true Tier 2 physical attack. And it was casted by a Warrior nonetheless. The hardest hitters among the Main Classes!
He was only able to mitigate some of the damage because of his Scanner + Danger Perception combo.
But even with it, the punch still hurt as heck!
Yoshino only managed to stand back up because he remembered that he would be expelled if he did faint inside the dungeon. That single thought motivated him to go beyond his limits!
And then that rumor-monger of a Mage had to go crazy like that.
It was a given fact that people would faint once they either use up their SP or MP or even both.
However there were extremely rare talents in the world who could tap on to an energy pool that was beyond the stamina points and mana points.
The ability to consume one's life force. This kind of capability do manifest on some skills at the higher realms.
But it usually does not show up in Tiers 1 or 2. This was because this trait could be dangerous for the user if left unchecked.
In other words, that young Trogan officer was actually shortening his life span to allow his elements to go haywire. It could have cost him his life!
Although if somehow, someday he could master the usage of such trait. He could become a powerful mage that can challenge the world.
But that was neither here nor now. The young Trogan officer had recklessly put his life in danger as well as the people around him.
Yoshino had to overexert himself once more just so he could stop that crazy guy.
Fortunately, he was able to detect a different element around the field aside from the haywire fire and electricity.
It was the grass element that the plant monsters in the dungeon possessed. The young Trogan officer was probably carrying the corpses of those creatures with him.
They had most likely defeated enough monsters that [Scanner] could actually detect their presence that time. This allowed [Enchant] to boost his affinity on that element.
The grass element of those monsters was fortunately the perfect counter against the young Trogan officer. It could not just resist the electricity but could also cause the fire to be detrimental to the guy.
The grass element on this dungeon would produce harmful fumes when burned. This was the factor that had actually taken out the haywire mage.
But Yoshino had to suffer from it too. He had boosted his grass affinity that time. Not poison.
And even though he was able to switch out affinities quickly. He had already suffered some damage while doing so.
Thankfully, the haywire mage fell first before he did.
And now that Yoshino thought about the events that happened, everything was just full of 'fortunately' and 'thankfully' factors.
He could not possibly do this in every single instance.
How many times could he rely on the special characteristics of a dungeon just to even out the playing field?
How many times could he expect someone else to provide him immediately with recovery potions afterwards?
How many times could he refuse that call of the light?
The answer here was, definitely, not every day.
I really have to increase my Tier.
Yoshino thought. Fortunately (haha), he was close to completing his preparations. He only needed to settle a few more details before he could attempt a breakthrough.
"I really almost died."
He repeated his words. This time, he had a clearer voice. A sign that he was recovering at a steady pace.
"Yes, you actually did."
Ariana replied. Perhaps she heard him better this time which prompted her to react. She was now sitting on the floor beside him.
Yoshino smiled wryly. This would have never happened if this Tier 2 participant supported him better during the duel.
Heck, she should have been the one fighting in the first place. She started it anyway!