The Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City.
With the Candlefire Trading Company's auction concluded, the players who had rented private residences hurried off to claim them. The moment these expert players teleported into their residences, however, every single one of them froze in stunned silence.
"How is this possible?!" they all exclaimed, staring in disbelief at a new status icon that had appeared in their status windows.
High Mana State!
Resting for a mere eight hours granted a player a 20% boost to both Stamina and Spirit, lasting for twelve hours. Resting for twelve hours could extend the buff to a maximum of eighteen hours.
This single buff sent a wave of euphoria through everyone who saw it.
What was the scarcest resource in the Bottomless Abyss?
Without question, it was Stamina and Spirit. Only by preserving those could players remain in the Abyss for longer stretches. Now, with sufficient rest, any player with a private residence enjoyed a 20% edge in both stats over everyone else—effectively granting at least one-fifth more active time compared to players without one. The implications were staggering.
The news spread to every major faction almost instantly.
"What's going on? Staying at inns in Stone Forest City before only stored double experience points. How can private residences now grant stat boosts?"
"If this is real, then players with private residences will level up in the Bottomless Abyss at least 20% faster than everyone else!"
"If that's the case, we absolutely have to secure more private residences tomorrow!"
Every major faction that received the news immediately reassessed the value of Stone Forest City's private residences.
Previously, they had treated the residences as nothing more than a convenient way to shuttle players back and forth. But now that they could enhance Stamina and Spirit, the calculus was entirely different—especially for the major powers. If a faction could rent even twenty private residences, an entire team could benefit. A full team running with a 20% boost to both Stamina and Spirit was worth far more than a single player receiving the same buff.
The combat effectiveness of a coordinated team and that of a lone individual were not even on the same level, and team-based combat drastically reduced the rate at which Stamina and Spirit were consumed.
A 20% boost across an entire team meant at least 30% more operational time compared to other teams, and their effective range could expand dramatically.
This was especially relevant on the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss.
Large swaths of the first layer were controlled by the Dark Demon People.
These beings bore a human-like appearance, but their bodies were inscribed with demonic runes, and a third eye sat between their brows. They possessed innate, exceptional control over and affinity for mana—rivaling even the Elves.
Combined with the hostile environment of the Bottomless Abyss, even a Level 65 Leader-rank Dark Demon was enough to send ordinary expert players to their graves in the Bladewind Mountains. If an expert squad stumbled upon a Lord-rank Dark Demon and handled the encounter poorly, the six-person team would likely suffer more than fifty percent casualties before managing to bring it down.
Worse still, the Dark Demons used magic to conceal their auras. Unless a player spotted them with their own eyes, detection was nearly impossible. Because the Dark Demons excelled at ambushes, players had to remain in a state of constant, maximum vigilance. If Stamina and Spirit dropped too far, even a Grandmaster-level expert could be cut down.
As a result, the major faction teams currently operating in the Abyss dared not push any deeper into the first layer. Running out of Stamina and Spirit on the return trip meant days of effort going to waste. The expert squads of every major power stayed near the periphery, content to operate in the outer regions.
But now, with private residences providing reliable rest and recovery, any team that could assemble enough members would be fully equipped to venture deep into the first layer of the Bottomless Abyss.