Global Fog Survival

“I remember this investigation task rewards 99 hardened black breads, three seemingly useless ropes, and one invetory expansion card…”

Colin stood under the large tree that had once been Kimino, observing the area from about ten meters away. He wasn’t planning to take any action for the moment. Who knew what other dangers might be lurking under the coffin if he acted rashly?

Finally having a moment to breathe and a safe spot to rest, it was crucial to take a proper break.

“Let’s rest here for an hour and a half before we proceed with the next step.”

Half an hour to eat and another hour to relax both body and mind to ensure they were in the best state for the exploration ahead. Colin instructed a few of them to stay vigilant and lit the three lanterns they had brought. Two of them were hung on Kimino’s branches to ensure sufficient illumination, making sure no shadows fell outside the light’s range.

Though they had walked outside the lantern’s light several times in the Withered Olive Land without incident, that didn’t mean it would always be safe. Walking within the lantern’s light had become a habit for Colin, reinforced by the painful lesson from the little girl. That had been his most severe injury to date—his shoulder had a hole dug into it, muscles and tendons severed, his entire arm lost strength, blood gushing out, pain causing half his body to cramp…

…No, I can’t think about her. Just thinking of her makes my shoulder hurt… Colin shook his head and looked at some of the condensed light stones in the cave.

Whether by coincidence or not, the Withered Olive Land was filled with “condensed light stones,” and many “sunshine mushrooms” grew on them. In fact, the entire underground area, from the tunnels onward, was dotted with these condensed light stones. While the hints only provided some useless information, Colin speculated that the condensed light stones might be one of the reasons for the spatial anomalies in the underground area.

This also piqued Colin’s curiosity about the source of the condensed light stones in the underground. However, he didn’t dwell on it too much. After picking some “sunshine mushrooms” and combining them with the “flesh mushrooms” he carried to make a new batch of “enhancement potions,” which he distributed among everyone, he set up a stone pot.

Using the crafting table, he quickly made a half-meat, half-porridge dish, distributed it among everyone, and they began replenishing themselves on the spot. The savory and fragrant meat porridge relieved their suppressed and tense nerves, and their rapidly consumed stamina was quickly restored.

The primary feature of the synthesized food was its “standardization”—as long as the material names were the same, the taste would be the same, even seasoning it perfectly. But while satisfying, Colin felt something was missing… Eating meat all the time was getting a bit tiresome…

“I need to get some herbs…”

Wild beasts and plants still existed in this world, judging by the available stock on the trading market. However, there were very few around Colin’s location. Or rather, there were some, but very few. After casually buying some green plants from the trading market, Colin tossed them into the hot porridge, and after stirring and eating, he felt much better. Others also felt a noticeable improvement.

Ignoring their praise, Colin drank his porridge while browsing the chat channel, his mind racing with thoughts.

“The Miracle of Suffering…”

He now had a vague understanding of this. It appeared to be, as the name implied, some twisted “miracle” obtained through extreme suffering, motivated by obsession.

For example, the little girl who starved to death, praying and waiting for the priest until the end; the mourning watchers in the darkness; Engracia, who kept tens of thousands of olive trees alive through the winter; Kimino, who became a hundred-meter-tall olive tree guardian…

They all had extreme obsessions before they died. Except for the priest, all had powers not much weaker than lord-level mutants following their deaths. Colin speculated that the “Miracle of Suffering” might be one of the elements of becoming a lord-level mutant. Even the weakest, the little ghost girl, seemed much stronger when she went mad. When she fully unleashed her power, she might not be much weaker than a lord-level mutant…

Thus, it could be concluded that lord-level mutants were most likely linked to “miracles” caused by extreme obsessions. The strength of a mutant was related to their pre-death obsession. If this obsession was extreme enough to trigger a “Miracle of Suffering,” then the recipient of the miracle would likely become a lord-level mutant after becoming a mutant.

Furthermore, the “Miracle of Suffering” seemed to be compulsory. When it descended, whether willing or not, one had to accept it. However, this seemed unique to the era of suffering and hadn’t happened again since. The only exception seemed to be the priest… No, actually, there was no exception. Colin suddenly remembered that the priest wasn’t considered a saint because his “light” wasn’t seen as a “miracle” of the “Mother of Suffering and Thorns.” Now it seemed that the mutation disaster wasn’t a sudden catastrophe but deeply connected to the Church of Suffering…

If this hypothesis held, it might also explain why the priest, despite his strong will and power, didn’t become a lord-level mutant—his power didn’t come from the “Miracle of Suffering.” This realization invigorated Colin because the priest’s “light” came from the condensed light stones’ source. If Colin could also harness this power, could he face lord-level mutants head-on or even solo them?

After a long breath, Colin stopped his daydreaming brain and closed his eyes for a short rest. An hour passed quickly, and just as Colin was about to close the scroll, a topic caught his attention.

“Tribute to Those Who Died Two Days Ago”…

It wasn’t a very popular topic. The content went like this:

“Today, we discovered a level 1 territory during our exploration. Seeing no activity inside, we assumed the lord was out… But upon approaching, we found that the survivor had died in his wooden hut, slumped over his table.”

“We thought he starved to death, but someone knowledgeable said he probably died on the first day. We then assumed his servants revolted, but they hadn’t, as he had no wounds. So, we guessed he died suddenly…”

“His lantern’s blood had burned out inside the house… His two servants starved to death in the hut, with bread still on the table. What a pity, servants are absolutely loyal… unless their control is taken.”

“Oh, and he had his scroll open, seemingly trying to type ‘only blood is needed to ignite…’ but died before finishing.”

“We don’t need to say what he was trying to do, right?”

“Tribute to this unnamed good person!”