Chapter 358 - 357: Idle

Chapter 358: Chapter 357: Idle

"Were there any signs before the Sunflower started refusing sunshine?"

If anyone else had been asked this question by the waiter, they probably would have only been able to say something like, "It suddenly went on a hunger strike. Everything was fine before that."

But the waiter was facing Seraphina Sinclair, who could hear the Sunflower’s thoughts. Her answer was straight to the point: "It seems to think the quality of the sunshine is too poor."

The waiter wasn’t sure how Seraphina could be so certain, but this was the partner it had chosen itself, so naturally, it wouldn’t question her words.

It pondered for a moment, then followed her line of reasoning. "In that case, we need to improve the quality of the sunshine."

As it spoke, the waiter’s gaze swept past Seraphina to glance at the Sunflower behind her, as well as the row of Black Fog Lamps next to it.

After confirming its suspicion was correct, it turned its eyes back to Seraphina. "You’re right. It does feel that the sunshine you can provide is too poor. Even though sunshine holds a fatal attraction for a Sunflower, right now, that attraction can’t overcome its disdain for the quality."

Seraphina was speechless.

Even though she’d known this was the truth, hearing the waiter state it so bluntly made her feel a bit ashamed.

’It’s as if I’m some parent who abuses their child.’

Seraphina glanced at the Sunflower, reminding herself that it was just a little flower, a big sunflower, not a child. Only then did that strange emotion finally subside.

"Now... how do I solve this problem?"

She looked back at the waiter, awaiting the all-important answer.

But under Seraphina’s gaze, the waiter just shook its head in silence.

"I can only help you identify the problem. As for solving it..." It paused, seeming a little embarrassed. "That’s still up to you."

Seraphina had expected as much and wasn’t the least bit disappointed. Her tone was calm. "I just need you to point me in a direction."

The waiter understood and nodded. "Then let’s start with some popularization. That’s your human term, right? Pop-sci, popular science. Here in the Black Mist World, we should call it Pop-Mist, or Common-Mist. For ’Common Black Mist World Knowledge Popularization’!"

’What in the world is this nonsense?’

Lines of frustration formed on Seraphina’s forehead as she raised a hand to her temple. "These theories are useless. Just tell me how to solve the problem, or at least give me a general direction."

’It’s one thing for this guy to learn useful things from the human world, but why is it picking up useless stuff like this too?’

Fortunately, the waiter was here to answer Seraphina’s questions. It immediately accepted her suggestion and said seriously:

"The sunshine here is different from your original world. Here, sunshine is divided into three grades based on the quality of the light—that is, its intensity and purity. They are Dim Light, Radiance, and Holy Light!"

"Dim Light is what you’re using now, produced by basic lighting devices like hand-cranked flashlights and Black Fog Lamps, or certain other weak light sources."

"Radiance is of higher quality, typically originating from items that contain Light Element energy. Or the natural daylight in specific regions. Of course, that’s assuming the area hasn’t been completely devoured by the gray mist."

"Holy Light is the highest quality light, usually associated with certain powerful, sacred beings, specific miraculous lands, or extremely rare top-tier Light Element items. Its energy is not only pure and powerful but often comes with special buff effects."

As the waiter spoke, it pointed a finger at the Gloom Hatchling cowering to the side. "You might not understand what I mean by ’sacred beings,’ so let me explain it this way."

"This thing following you is called a Gloomdrake. It has a sacred counterpart known as the Lucent Drake. The two are natural enemies and will fight to the bitter end whenever they meet. Our restaurant had to close several times before because two of them were fighting. We were just collateral damage."

Seeing Seraphina’s thoughtful expression, the waiter continued, "Your Sunflower has evolved to a certain point. Now, it requires light of at least the Radiant Level."

Hearing this, Seraphina also glanced at her Sunflower.

She was a bit puzzled by the waiter’s use of the word "evolved."

After all, the Sunflower hadn’t reached any sort of milestone in its Growth Rate recently. Why had it suddenly evolved?

Seraphina remained silent, mentally reviewing recent events.

Then, the most likely cause locked onto one thing.

In the instance, the Sunflower seemed to have devoured far too much flesh from the Rotsea Emberfiends.

’Could it be because of that?’

’Is the flesh of a C-level monster really that nourishing?’

’So nourishing that it made the Sunflower unable to stomach Dim Light anymore?’

For a moment, Seraphina didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but it was then that she truly understood what it meant for every blessing to hold a hidden curse.

The waiter continued, "But directly searching for Radiant-level items is too difficult. The best way is to upgrade the Black Fog Lamps you already have."

The waiter’s finger pointed to the Black Fog Lamps on the floor. "Find a way to improve the quality of the Dim Light emitted by these Black Fog Lamps. The best method is to improve the blueprint and directly craft a more advanced lamp."

After all that, they were back at square one.

Seraphina felt a little helpless, but she still pressed on, "Are there no other ways?"

The waiter seemed not to understand why she was pushing, but it answered truthfully, "The other methods are even harder, completely beyond your reach."

Its gaze fell back on the Black Fog Lamps as it pointed. "This is your best option."

Seraphina was unconvinced and pressed for other methods. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

’What if there was a method she could access that the waiter didn’t know about?’

The waiter was also a good-tempered being and did its best for its partner, Seraphina, explaining every single method it knew.

Seraphina finally stopped being stubborn. She now confirmed that the waiter was right: improving the Black Fog Lamps was indeed the best way.

She gave the waiter a mental five-star review and sent it off with great enthusiasm before turning her attention back to the Sunflower.

In any case, it wouldn’t be sunbathing anytime soon.

This meant that for the next few days, Seraphina couldn’t advance, nor could she obtain any sunshine.

In this godforsaken place, it was nearly impossible to move an inch without sunshine. Except...

By using a Mist Beacon and a Navigation Card.

Seraphina agonized inside the mobile cabin for a while, even opening the regional channel and sneakily searching for information on an Engraving Master.

The result was obvious: she found nothing.

Out of options, she stood up and stared blankly out the window. After confirming that she was well and truly stuck, she finally resigned herself to her fate.

’If I can’t move, then I can’t move. I might as well go train in the Wind-carved Fissure for a few days and grind some attribute points.’

Speaking of attribute points, Seraphina suddenly remembered the three Random Attribute Potions from the Advanced Survival Pack she got as a reward from the instance.