AFK System: Level Up By Doing Nothing!

Chapter 6: The Idle Loot Shop

Selena Vance stood deep within the shadow of the massive trees, her breath caught in her throat. Her sharp eyes remained locked onto Austin, who was currently and gleefully plucking wild apples, taking casual bites out of them. Selena felt as though she had just run into an invisible wall.

"How is this even possible?" Selena whispered to herself. "He’s just a support faction student. There’s no way he was the one who wiped out that pack of wolves."

Selena closely observed how Austin chewed his apple, looking completely oblivious and entirely indifferent to the remnants of the battle that still reeked of blood nearby. To Selena, Austin’s innocence appeared far too natural. If Austin truly was the one behind that energy burst, he was a world-class actor. But if he wasn't, then who was it? Could a hidden Grandmaster be cloaking themselves and watching over this "leftover team"?

Selena decided to pull back. She could no longer detect anyone else's presence within a one-kilometer radius. Ultimately, she chose to monitor them from a distance, keeping a massive seed of doubt planted firmly in her mind. The Floor 1 trial still had a few hours left, and Selena had to ensure no other threats were lurking.

Austin, of course, was completely unaware that an S-Rank Valkyrie had just been spying on him. He only cared about the sweetness of the apple he had just picked. After feeling sufficiently full and satisfied with his rest, Austin picked up his bamboo broom once more and continued walking toward the gate's evacuation point with incredibly lazy steps.

That night, inside the quiet academy dormitory, Austin was finally able to throw himself onto his bed, which was hard but felt like absolute heaven. The Floor 1 trial had ended in success, at least for Sarah and Budi, who had managed to collect enough low-tier Monster Cores, while Austin simply went along with the flow.

The moment his body hit the mattress, Austin wasted no time. He closed his eyes instantly, letting the 'Cosmic AFK System' take full control.

"Sleep," he muttered softly, and within seconds, he was adrift in the realm of dreams.

Deep within his consciousness, system notifications began popping up one after another, lining up like a highly productive shift report:

[Ding! AFK Session concluded.]

[Duration: 8 hours.]

[Mirror Dimension Performance: Floor 1 (Mist Forest) fully cleared.]

[Summary of Loot Collected:]

 * [245 x F-Rank Mist Wolf Core (Total value: 2,450 Gold)]

 * [12 x F-Rank Goblin Dagger (Salvageable)]

 * [1 x Rare Drop: Mana Purifying Elixir (Grade: Mid)]

 * [3 x Skill Scroll: Silent Footstep (F-Rank)]

Austin’s closed eyes twitched slightly within his dream. He felt immensely satisfied with tonight's harvest. A 'Mana Purifying Elixir'? That was a rare item that couldn't easily be bought even on the academy's black market. The price of a single bottle could easily equal a student's entire living expenses for a full year.

"System, transfer all loot to the Inventory," Austin commanded in his sleep.

[Ding! Loot successfully transferred to Inventory.]

Austin didn't wake up immediately. He allowed his body to enjoy the rest of his sleep until morning arrived. When the sunlight finally began to peek through the gaps in the dormitory window, Austin finally opened his eyes, feeling an extraordinary sense of refreshment. He no longer felt the usual tightness in his chest, and the chronic fatigue that usually haunted him every morning seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Austin sat up on the edge of his bed, then called up his Inventory panel. There, a small bottle filled with a crystal-blue liquid that glowed softly looked incredibly tempting. It was the 'Mana Purifying Elixir'.

"This is the moment," Austin murmured. He uncorked the bottle, and a fresh aroma resembling morning dew instantly filled the entire room. Without hesitation, he downed the contents in one go.

The moment the liquid hit his throat, a burning sensation that wasn't painful, but rather soothing, immediately spread through all his blood vessels. Austin felt as though thousands of gentle hands were clearing away the harsh blockages inside his mana pathways—the very pathways that had always been deemed crippled.

BZZZZT!

A heavy, throbbing sound echoed inside his body, like a water pipe that had finally burst open after being clogged for years.

[Ding! Mana Purifying Elixir processed.]

[Warning: Mana blockage cleared by 40%. Compatibility with external Mana increased.]

[System Update: Mana Capacity limit increased beyond standard human limits.]

Austin could feel a new, massive surge of power surging through him, far surpassing anything he had ever imagined before. His body, which used to feel like a leaking vessel, had now transformed into an incredibly vast reservoir of energy. He clenched his fist, and he could feel sparks of mana energy, something that was never supposed to exist in his body, crackling softly at the tips of his fingers.

"Incredible," Austin whispered with a faint smirk. "This illness... turned out to be nothing more than a padlock waiting for the right key."

He stood up from his bed, feeling as though he could leap over the entire dormitory building if he wanted to. But of course, he wouldn't do that. It was far too exhausting. He just wanted to enjoy his first breakfast with an completely full tank of energy.

"With a mana capacity this massive, I won't even need to wake up when I fight," he muttered while stretching his body.

Suddenly, the loud ring of the academy's grand bell chimed, marking the start of the general assembly in the main hall for the distribution of trial results and advanced announcements. Austin sighed, feeling his sleep and leisure time being disrupted once again by insignificant matters.

"Well, it can't be helped," he said as he put on his uniform. "Let's just look at this as a morning workout."

Austin stepped out of the dormitory with a completely new feeling. He no longer looked as pale as a corpse. The aura around him felt calmer yet carried a completely different weight. He walked toward the main hall with casual strides, entirely unaware that there, someone incredibly arrogant was already waiting for him with burning malice.

To Austin, this was just a routine meeting. But to Jaxon Cross, whose resentment had been festering ever since the selection stage, this was the perfect stage to crush Austin Carter's life once and for all.