Lan Qingyou turned and slowly drifted back toward the shelter.
The moment she passed a certain rock, she suddenly felt the mana inside her stabilize!
Her flight posture was still shaky at best, but compared to a moment ago, far more controlled.
Glancing sidelong at the rock on the ground, Lan Qingyou thought for a moment and quickly grasped the reason.
The Magic Shield.
The shelter's Magic Shield kept the mana turbulence from seeping inside, which in turn protected the occupant's mana from interference.
In other words, as long as she stayed within that rock's radius, the mana turbulence couldn't touch her.
This time, Lan Qingyou's heart was truly at ease.
For now, at least.
Back in the shelter, she pulled up her personal information — something she hadn't checked in a while — to see if the "crash" had cost her any Health Points.
What she saw gave her a jolt.
Name: Lan Qingyou
Race: Blue Star Earthling
Level: Lv.1
Strength: 2 (+30)
Agility: 1
Stamina: 2
Spirit: 8
(Blue Star Earthling peak value: 10)
Health Points: 15
Mana Points: 80
Talent: Light Body (E)
"Magic Skill: Gathering Skill (E)"
"Knowledge: Herbology (E), Alchemy (E), Symbology (E), Drawing (E), Potioneering (E), Magic Circuitry (E)"
"Equipment: Moonbright Stone Dagger, Worn-Out Herb Gathering Bag"
'Since when do I have a Knowledge and Equipment section?'
Confused, Lan Qingyou tapped on it to see if something would pop up, the way it did with talents.
And something did.
"Knowledge: Unlike magic, which cannot level up, knowledge continuously improves as you study, research, and practice — eventually advancing to higher tiers."
'Hm? So magic can't level up?'
She looked at her Gathering Skill, thought about it for a moment, and filed it away.
She was going to study what she was going to study, and make what she was going to make.
Knowing or not knowing this particular detail didn't change much for her.
She pulled two healing potions from the herb bag on the Magic Desk — one to drink, one to apply.
The wound on her forehead healed instantly, and the 5 Health Points she'd lost in the crash began slowly recovering.
While waiting for her HP to fill back up, she glanced at the desk.
"The sun's out! The sun's out! Haha, I made it through!"
"After a whole night of sweating bullets, I finally survived."
"Quick, head out and start collecting materials!"
"Whoa, don't go outside!"
"Why not?"
"It looks calm out there, but the mana turbulence is still active. Magic can't be cast properly. I almost died just now."
"No way!"
"What would I gain from lying to you?"
"I'll go test it."
"Me too."
"No need to test — it's real. I got injured. If I didn't have healing potions, I probably wouldn't have made it back."
"I just tried as well. It's true. Step outside your shelter's radius and your mana goes haywire, which messes up your magic."
"This sucks. I'm a mage with 70 Mana Points, and I'm getting hard-benched?"
"Check the channel numbers — they dropped by over a thousand."
"What's so surprising? Look at the world channel. Over 2.2 billion gone overnight."
"Last night was terrifying, but I'm guessing most of the casualties were people who never upgraded their shelters."
"Pretty much. The world channel is blowing up about it."
"Forget the world channel. Focus on yourself. Get to Level 3 fast, or one of these days another storm might rip your Level 2 Shelter right off the ground."
"You're at Level 3?"
"No."
"Then shut up. You're sitting here talking big for nothing."
'So everyone already figured this out...'
'If I'd just checked the desk before storming out with my bucket, I could've avoided the whole disaster.'
Reading through the chat, Lan Qingyou scratched her head.
Then she looked at the district population counter.
Sure enough, it had plunged from 9,961/10,000 to 8,857/10,000.
That meant 1,104 people had died overnight.
As for the world channel — Lan Qingyou didn't bother. It was too remote to matter. Taking care of herself was more than enough.
'From now on, before stepping outside, I should check the chat channel the way people used to check the almanac before leaving the house. Get the latest intel first, then move — so today's fiasco never repeats.'
'Oh well. Shower first.'
'As for water... why make life difficult? I'll just order it all through Shang Chuan from now on.'
The "crash incident" had made one thing crystal clear to Lan Qingyou: she knew her weaknesses now.
After her shower, she began crafting Luminous Potion.
She desperately wanted to sit down and read — to absorb knowledge and grow stronger.
But her magic carriage lantern only had a few days left. If she wanted to hole up at home and read for the long haul, these preparations were essential.
The mushrooms she'd gathered from Albert's basement were plentiful, but just barely enough for one crucible batch.
A little after six in the evening, three batches came out: one of Luminous Potion, one of +30 Healing Potions, and one of +30 Mana Potions.
"Luminous Potion (E)"
"Effect: Glows continuously for 10,080 minutes."
"Description: A potion that glows, keeping you from stumbling around in the dark. Pairs wonderfully with a magic carriage lantern for best results."
Same as the one in the complimentary lantern — seven days of continuous light.
She kept ten for herself, sent one each to her three friends — Gu Xiaobei, Li Huai, and Shang Chuan — and tossed the rest into the exchange.
As for the mana and healing potions, Lan Qingyou didn't sell any of them. All went toward her emergency reserves.
"New listing in Lan Qingyou's shop."
"Luminous Potion?"
"Why is Lan Qingyou making this? Just make more mana potions and healing potions!"
"Shut it, you moron. Can't you read? It says 'pairs with the lantern.' How did you not die last night along with the rest? This level of stupid is honestly impressive."
"For real. Someone this dense being alive is an insult to the entire District 666 Villain Valley."
"Screw off!"
The Luminous Potion wasn't a combat aid like mana or healing potions, but it was a lifeline for daily living.
Especially after enduring an entire night without a single source of light.
Even for people who'd been forcibly transported to another world, that kind of total darkness was deeply unsettling.
Seventy base units per potion, seven days of light — averaged out to just ten units a day. If anyone thought that was expensive, they were welcome not to buy.
Others would.
Over a hundred and seventy potions went up and vanished within minutes.
Pretty satisfying, no?
Whether anyone else was satisfied didn't really matter. Lan Qingyou got what she wanted, and immediately threw herself into a comprehensive study session.
Every book she could get her hands on, she pored over, determined to master them all. Developing a potion capable of healing her legs was the single greatest upgrade she could achieve — and the most practical path forward.
Healing potions were called "healing" potions, but they had no effect on her legs.
Which meant her only hope lay in developing a custom "special remedy" of her own.