The next morning, I woke up and turned on the TV out of habit.
On the news channel, Sim Jae-seong of Taesan was giving an interview as the representative of the expedition.
Unlike the tension-filled atmosphere of yesterday, the briefing site was like a festival. Seeing as it wasn’t a live broadcast, it seemed to be an interview conducted immediately after the clear.
— Fellow citizens who have waited late into the night for news of the expedition’s progress, I am here to announce that as of today, South Korean hunters have successfully cleared the 20th floor of The Tower!
Sim Jae-seong’s voice echoed through the microphone.
Cheers from reporters and a barrage of camera flashes erupted.
Sim Jae-seong caught his breath for a moment, then continued with a determined yet grateful expression.
What followed were typical award-ceremony-style remarks—thanking those who helped, which guilds performed well, what crises they faced, and how they overcame them.
The usual content followed.
I prepared some bread and jam for breakfast while listening to the broadcast.
— Lastly, the decisive factor in this success was the Rocket Store.
“Gah! I almost dropped my knife. Why am I suddenly being mentioned there?”
— Just before the expedition departed, we were able to obtain the Dryad’s Blessing thanks to the Rocket Store. Without this blessing, this journey would have been extremely difficult.
“…Was it really that much of a help?”
As soon as he finished speaking, questions from reporters poured in.
— Can you tell us specifically what kind of help you received?
Sim Jae-seong calmly explained the situation.
— As many of you now know, unlike general challenges, the first challenge increases the number of participants tenfold, but the monsters and bosses become just as powerful. The main monsters on this floor are Orcs. We obtained information from the Americans, who climbed first, that the glaives they use have a high probability of causing bleeding. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the American Hunter Association.
Sim Jae-seong used the interval to express gratitude to the Americans before continuing.
— To get back to the point. Having obtained this information beforehand, the expedition prepared potions to counter the bleeding debuff. However, due to the nature of the status effect, even if it could be treated, the temporary withdrawal from the front lines was inevitable. Because of that, everyone was reluctant to stand in the vanguard.
“Reluctant to stand in the vanguard? It’s more like their contribution points would drop if they left the battlefield early. They were just worried about their own profits decreasing.”
— In the end, it was decided that Taesan would take the front, but it wasn’t as if we weren’t feeling the pressure. However, the Dryad’s Blessing we received at the perfect time increased our resistance to bleeding. Thanks to that, we were able to defeat the Orc warriors without any major loss of power and face the Orc Great Chieftain. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Rocket Store.
When Sim Jae-seong’s explanation ended, reporters scrambled to send out their articles.
Beneath the screen I was watching, cringe-inducing captions in massive letters kept scrolling up: “Dryad’s Blessing, the hidden contributor to the 20th-floor clear,” “Rocket Store, Humanity’s new helper,” and so on.
“Man, this is embarrassing.”
They should focus more on the heroes who actually cleared the expedition.
Well, I suppose the Rocket Store content generates a lot of clicks.
Thinking that the media really loved sensationalism, I opened the community forums.
I still had some time before the World Tree branches were finished.
As expected, the place was in an uproar.
[Damn, I knew I could trust Sim Jae-seong]
Even China and Japan failed their second attempts on the 20th floor, but we cleared it in one go. As expected of God Taesan. Let’s go!
— Wow, finally cleared.
ã„´ For real, my heart was racing for days. I knew I could trust Taesan!
ã„´ Same. Taesan is the best.
— The other guilds must feel slighted. You guys should reflect.
ã„´ You’re not wrong.
ã„´ No, didn’t you feel something off during Sim Jae-seong’s interview? The others were worried their contribution would be low, so they just pushed Taesan to the front again.
ã„´ For real lol. He called it “pressure,” but they’re always making Taesan do the heavy lifting. They need to have a conscience.
— So, since our country achieved Condition 2 a long time ago, are we free from monster threats until the end of this month?
ㄴ Yup. It’s not quite the same as when the 5th floor was first cleared, but we’re going to have a long break for the first time in a while.
ã„´ Thanks to that, the high-ranking guilds will have some breathing room. They can clear backlogged rifts and level up.
ã„´ We might even clear the 25th floor easily because of this break?
“I’m thinking the same thing.”
I also had faith in Sim Jae-seong.
No matter how quickly I helped the lower-level hunters achieve Condition 2, it would all be for naught if Condition 1 wasn’t met.
“In that regard, I’d like to give some direct help to the top-tier hunters too.”
The problem was that the Rocket Store didn’t have any items that would entice top-tier hunters yet.
It would be great if I could get such items through this World Tree branch transaction.
[I heard the Dryad’s Blessing lasts for a month?]
Whoa, the Rocket Store is on a different scale. Giving a global buff for a whole month?
I need to grind some levels. I can probably hunt like crazy this month without worries.
Since it’s bleeding and poison resistance, any recommended dungeons?
— Zombies or Marshes?
ã„´ Don’t recommend zombies. The loot is trash. It’s a loss.
ã„´ The grinding efficiency should be high though. Zombies are easy except for the poison being annoying, and the blessing happens to raise poison resistance.
— Then wouldn’t dungeons with snake or scorpion monsters be the best?
ã„´ For real lol. Poison monsters are hella annoying because of their poison attacks, but they’re nothing without it. Let’s sweep them all this time.
ã„´ Looking for a party starting right now!
— Ah, but if the buff lasts a month, does it stack with other buffs?
ㄴ We’ll probably have to try it out to know.
ã„´ Even if it doesn’t stack, it’s still a huge win. Just saving money on expensive status-recovery potions is a profit!
Since the Dryad’s Blessing lasted for a month, the hunters’ confidence seemed to be soaring.
“If you work hard and spend your money in my store, it’s good for me.”
That would also help clear the next condition faster.
The fear of perishing like North Korea would also fade away.
[But seriously, what is the identity of the Rocket Store?]
How did they get a blessing from a Dryad at such a perfect time? The message said the World Tree grew on Earth.
Was it even possible for a World Tree to grow on Earth?
— I’m hella curious about that too. Fruits are occasionally obtained from rifts.
ã„´ As far as I know, there hasn’t been a single success story.
ã„´ Then how did the Rocket Store owner do it?
— The timing is so perfect it’s suspicious.
ã„´ Suspicious of what?
ㄴ We knew about the Orcs, but the fact that their glaives caused bleeding was classified information. Didn’t the store already contact the Association?
ã„´ Oh? That sounds plausible. Did the Association give them information and tell them to prepare a countermeasure?
ㄴ No way, if that’s true, the Association guys are actually doing their jobs for once~.
ã„´ Seriously, then why wouldn’t they make an official announcement lol.
ã„´ There are hella people eye-balling them, why would they? Hiding it is the right move.
ã„´ For real, this is correct.
“Huh? They’re making some wild misunderstandings.”
Contact with the Association?
I was still stuck in my room.
Even the Dryad’s Blessing was completed because it happened to be time to prune the World Tree; it wasn’t like I received it specifically to help the expedition.
“Well, it’s a good thing that it helped.”
My head started to throb at the thought that if these misunderstandings continued, they might become difficult to handle later.
But what could I do, stuck in my room?
“Anyway, there’s still a bit of time left. Oh, isn’t it about time for the requests to refresh?”
When I activated the Dimensional Exchange skill, a new notification was floating there instead of the familiar list of requests.
[Limited Request: The Giant’s Feast]
Content: We would like you to use the Ancient Mammoth we hunted as an ingredient to create the best dish that will satisfy us.
Reward: Varies according to evaluation (*Interaction with the Giants may be terminated if the worst evaluation is received)
“What’s this now?”
Then, the tutorial screen appeared for the first time in a while.
Nice to see you. You haven’t forgotten about me, have you?
[Tutorial: Limited Request]
[A Limited Request involves sponsoring a person with whom you have formed a special bond. As a sponsor, you deliver a request appropriate for that individual and share the rewards upon success.]
“Sponsorship?”
It was another new feature.
I clicked on the word “Sponsorship” written in cursive and read the description.
[Sponsorship Contract]
*Grant Rocket Store VIP Privileges: The sponsored target can purchase all items at a discounted price and gains the authority to check new items before general hunters.
*Exclusive Item Support: The sponsored target has a higher probability of receiving requests that provide special crafting tools or rare materials related to their specialty as rewards, and you can sponsor these.
[Benefits for the Rocket Store]
*Exclusive Request Solver: The sponsored target solves difficult and dangerous special requests that come into the Rocket Store, and in return, you can obtain special rewards that cannot be gained from ordinary requests.
*Business Expansion and Promotion: The outstanding performance of the sponsored target serves as the best promotional tool to prove the excellence of the Rocket Store.
In short, this Limited Request was an exclusive request for the Survival Chef, Lee Jun-ho.
As a prerequisite, the Rocket Store had to become Lee Jun-ho’s sponsor.
I felt like I was losing out a bit for now, but as Lee Jun-ho grew, more Limited Requests would probably pour in, right?
“In the end, it means it’s a win-win for both of us.”
When I proposed the sponsorship to Lee Jun-ho, he accepted without much hesitation.
[The Rocket Store is now the sponsor of Lee Jun-ho!]
[A partnership has been formed between the Rocket Store and Lee Jun-ho.]
[The probability of related Limited Requests appearing will slightly increase from now on.]
“Oh? I can send a short message when I send the request?”
Holy crap!
There were so many things I wanted to say right now, but the limit was only about 20 characters.
I racked my brain to abbreviate as much as possible.
“Please save me. My house address is…”
[Transmission failed: Contains prohibited words]
“Please report this to the Association. My house address is…”
[Transmission failed: Contains prohibited words]
I tried every rescue request sentence that came to mind, but all my efforts ended in failure.
I was getting annoyed.
“This damn system.”
[Transmission failed: Contains inappropriate words.]
“Sigh.”
In the end, I chose and sent one of the few permitted sentences while delivering the Limited Request.
“Please keep climbing The Tower.”
I didn’t bother to write “until the 100th floor.”
He might get scared and give up beforehand, right?
“This much should be fine.”
After sending the message, I watched Lee Jun-ho through the hologram.
Lee Jun-ho looked visibly flustered by my sudden message and the Limited Request.
He checked the details of the request and hesitated for a long time, then eventually accepted the request as if he had made up his mind.
[Alright! I’ll give it a try]
Upon his acceptance, a massive piece of mammoth meat appeared in Lee Jun-ho’s kitchen, roughly prepared.
Lee Jun-ho’s mouth hung open at its immense size.
He looked full of questions, like “How am I supposed to cook all this?”
“Even from my perspective, it’s huge…”
However, after contemplating for a while, Lee Jun-ho pulled out his kitchen knife as if he had made a decision.
He tried to prep the mammoth meat using the professional skill he received from his master, O’Donnell.
But his knife couldn’t withstand the tough muscles of the mammoth and began to get nicked.
[The meat is too tough. The skill isn’t even working!]
He swung the knife with force, but the blade eventually snapped and the handle shattered.
Lee Jun-ho stared at the broken knife with a hollow expression, falling into despair.
[I can’t cook like this. Is there any way to get a tougher kitchen knife?]
I was just as frustrated.
I wanted to find him a tougher kitchen knife.
As soon as I saw the situation, I looked for one, but there were no listings.
“Maybe for low grades, but there aren’t any separate high-grade kitchen knife items, are there?”
There were some used by existing chef classes, but they weren’t much different from the ones Lee Jun-ho broke.
The reason was simple.
“Because there’s been no news of a rift boss dropping a kitchen knife as loot…”
It wasn’t that human hunters lacked a blacksmith class, but their level wasn’t high enough yet.
For equipment where a crafting recipe hadn’t been discovered, they could only make items at a beginner level.
“The equipment used by the top-tier rankers are all obtained through rewards for climbing The Tower or as boss loot.”
I wanted to find a solution for Lee Jun-ho’s predicament, but I felt stifled because there was no immediate answer.
“To be at risk of failure because the tools won’t work before he can even show off his cooking skills… this isn’t some comedy show.”
The blunt blade was a problem, but the handle was also an issue.
He needed a sharp blade that could cut into mammoth flesh and a tough handle that could withstand Lee Jun-ho’s skills.
“A handle?”
I didn’t know about the blade, but I saw one material that could be used for the handle.
“Hmm.”
Two World Tree branches, which had finished their coating after being submerged for a full day in a tank filled with Dryad’s Essence and World Tree Dew.
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