Lord Of The Lost

After William and the others vanished, Sophia sat there in silence.

She pulled her knees close, leaning against the cold, crumbling wall of the ruins.

Her broken ribs ached as they slowly healed.

She bit her lip, enduring the pain without making a sound.

This place…

The ruined church-style architecture reminded her of another church—

That small, rundown chapel in Moonlight Village.

The one barely standing, patched together by the priest's hands, shielding them from the wind and rain.

She missed that place.

She missed her home.

She closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, she'd be back there—

Back to a bright afternoon, waking up from a peaceful nap.

Back to a time when she was just a child, unaware of the world's cruelty.

But she couldn't go back.

Not anymore.

Everyone who cared about her was gone.

She couldn't return to the village, couldn't live in peace.

Everything had shattered.

She was trapped in this endless maze, suffering in pain and loneliness.

Why did this happen?

Would anyone still tolerate her stubbornness?

Her arrogance?

Her bratty attitude?

Her fingers brushed against the bottles of medicine William had left behind.

Her lips moved, so soft that even she barely heard the words escape.

"Come back soon…"

A voice echoed in her mind.

"I'm back, Sophia."

Sophia froze, her breath catching in her throat.

That voice—

Elegant. Familiar.

Her eyes widened.

"Sister?!"

For a moment, the ruins around her felt less empty.

---

Meanwhile…

The cat car's group had returned earlier.

William checked the forum, scanning for their progress.

For their first run, survival alone was a victory, they weren't expected to make the same kind of deep exploration as William's team.

Still, they had held their ground.

More importantly—

Metatron had leveled up four times in one day.

From level 4 to level 8.

She had officially entered the ranks of advanced players; not quite a top player, but no longer a beginner.

To be considered a true high-level player, one needed at least one of the following:

Level 8+

A unique talent

Extraordinary skills

Excellent equipment

Metatron had just barely reached the minimum level requirement.

But raw level wasn't everything, most people who hit level 8 without a special skill, talent, or gear wouldn't be taken seriously.

Yet, early-game players who reached level 8 this quickly were usually not ordinary.

Her progress was insane, but not unreasonable.

She had a huge margin for improvement.

And thanks to William's intervention, their team had become an overflowing bucket; sturdy, well-prepared, and built to handle challenges.

Their real test was only beginning.

A bucket's capacity isn't determined by its longest plank, but by its shortest.

That's why Maoche and the others deliberately let Metatron gain a lot of experience, to strengthen their weakest link.

The result?

Metatron leveled up four times in a single day, barely reaching the threshold of self-defense.

The cost?

The cat car had to resurrect her four times within eight hours.

A process so ridiculous, it was better left unexplained.

William typed into the team chat:

> "If anyone reaches level 10, join us."

But judging by the current XP progress, this group wouldn't hit level 10 until at least the day after tomorrow.

Among the six, William valued Cat Car the most.

Once Cat Car's talent was fully formed, the team's overall survivability would increase by 50%.

Metatron, despite reaching level 8, still had an underdeveloped talent.

Her ability, [Purification], was useful for clearing negative status effects, but its full potential remained unknown.

For now, she wasn't a top priority.

---

To William, every player could become a burden in a fight.

But exploring a maze wasn't just about combat.

Metatron provided the path, ensuring they didn't wander blindly into death.

The Forum Master could identify treasures, turning what looked like junk into priceless loot.

Alex, an assassin, was deadly in the shadows.

Even the Gambler could turn the tide of battle at critical moments.

Exploring as a team was far more efficient than running solo.

William wasn't arrogant—he knew that even with his Desperate Situation ability maxed out, he couldn't take on a Sequence 8 transcendent alone.

The way Desperate Situation worked was simple:

> The more dangerous the situation, the greater the boost to William's attributes.

But if Desperate Situation was pushed to its absolute limit, it only meant one thing—

> The only option left was to run.

---

Meanwhile, the Forum Master and Metatron had recovered.

They had chugged high-tier potions like they were free samples at a festival, burning through gold coins without hesitation.

This was the pioneering phase, every second counted.

Alex would be back online tomorrow with a fresh supply run.

But William would need to personally pick him up, or Alex wouldn't be able to find their exact location in the ever-shifting maze landscape.

More importantly—

> A wave of high-level players was preparing to descend into the maze.

The Forum Master had stationed coordinators at the Magic Castle, ensuring that too many players didn't enter at once.

But even with controlled entry, the risk of environmental shifts attracting powerful creatures remained high.

The forums exploded with excitement.

Advanced players flooded in, eager to be the first wave of pioneers into the Lost Maze.

Despite the chaos, the Forum Master managed to maintain order.

Having led battles against the Thieves' Alliance, he was used to dealing with top players and commanding large groups.

William and the Gambler occasionally spoke in the forum, ensuring their presence was felt among the new arrivals.

Within just a few hours, the senior players were sorted into teams, each with a clear mission.

Then—

Metatron suddenly sent a message in the group.

> "I've successfully made the physical fitness potion."

William blinked. That fast?

---

Before Metatron logged off, he had asked for an extraordinary trait, hoping to refine a warrior's secret potion.

But there was a problem—

> Their secret medicine formula was incomplete.

Logically, the Forum Master, with his Identification talent, was the best choice for refining potions.

He could analyze the potion's composition in real-time and avoid failures.

But surprisingly—

Metatron was even better.

Why?

> [God's Perspective] didn't just observe the future—it simulated the best possible outcome.

With it, Metatron could directly absorb refining experience and pinpoint the method with the highest success rate.

Of course, after reaching level 10, [God's Perspective] had expanded significantly—

But so had its energy consumption.

The fact that Metatron successfully refined the potion within twelve hours meant one thing—

He hadn't slept.

He had likely spent the entire time running simulations, experimenting in real-time, and pushing his talent to its absolute limit.

---

He stared at the message for a moment, then typed back:

> "How many did you make?"

A few seconds later, Metatron replied:

> "Only two successful batches. The failure rate is high."

Their formula was incomplete, meaning every attempt was a gamble.

But even two doses were valuable.

A proper physical potion could permanently enhance a player's base stats, which was critical for breaking through Sequence 9 to Sequence 8.

William knew that high-level players would kill for even a single bottle.

> "Can you refine more?" William asked.

> "Not without better ingredients," Metatron replied. "We need purer extraordinary traits. Otherwise, the process is too unstable."

William exhaled.

The message was clear.

> If they wanted more physical potions, they needed to hunt stronger monsters.

It was time to prepare for a bigger challenge

The Warrior's Secret Potion, also known as the Constitution Potion, is a secondary enhancement elixir designed to accelerate the transformation of warrior apprentices into full-fledged transcendents.

It serves two key functions:

1. Accelerates the condensation of extraordinary traits – shortening the time required to awaken a transcendent's true potential.

2. Boosts physical attributes – increasing overall strength, endurance, and resilience.

While the second effect is valuable, it's actually just a bonus.

The true game-changer is the first function, which helps warriors rapidly stabilize their extraordinary traits.

Think of leveling up in Sequence Games:

The primary improvement is mystic characteristics, which dictate a being's physiological limits.

If a human had a natural strength limit of lifting 10,000 pounds, an awakened warrior could lift several thousand pounds without any training—as long as they consumed enough energy to sustain it.

Now, imagine a lucky player who fully absorbs and digests an entire batch of Warrior's Secret Potion.

Their physical stats would skyrocket in an instant.

However—

> Transcendents who rely solely on potions to ascend cannot immediately master their newfound power.

Their skills and traits need time and experience to fully manifest.

Like floodwaters rising, their physical attributes will continue to increase naturally over time, gradually unlocking their full warrior potential.

Although warrior potions focus on physical enhancement, true transcendents rarely have imbalanced attributes.

Even if a player maxes out their stat allocation, one attribute cannot exceed the others by more than double.

If an attribute becomes too high, the body will instinctively seal part of the excess power—just as humans naturally limit their full punching force to prevent self-injury.

Over time, the body self-regulates, gradually balancing strength, endurance, and energy flow.

However, this self-balancing process takes years, even decades to stabilize.

Players, of course, take shortcuts through sequential leveling.

Yet despite this, most players still fixate on attribute points, often overlooking the true importance of extraordinary characteristics, which are essential for unlocking advanced class transitions.