No grand preparations were necessary.
He just had to pull out a wide, flat stone plate, place the shellfish and fish on top, and grill them.
Crackle!
Crackle!
Along with the sound of the campfire burning, he picked up a clam that was already opening its shell and sizzling.
Because it was simply grilled, there were no grand options, but it restored consumed stamina and increased the mana recovery rate.
Particularly, if these ingredients were consumed over a long period, they could permanently increase mana or physical abilities, much like an inner core.
How did he know?
It was because a system window had popped up not long after he started eating the meat and fruit from the Tower every day.
[You have satisfied certain conditions by repeatedly consuming rabbit meat. Your mana permanently increases by a small amount.]
After this message appeared a few times, he had even developed a routine of not eating at home and instead having his meals in the Tower.
“I was starting to get tired of it, so this is perfect.”
Perhaps because he had been on a meat-oriented diet, Min-hyuk, looking relieved that seafood had appeared just as he was getting sick of meat, began to devour the grilled fish and shellfish in earnest.
After eating for a long while, Min-hyuk looked around with a satisfied smile.
Although he had crossed over to the opposite side, this place was larger than expected.
He could see a small island connected by a wooden bridge in the distance, and a place that looked like an undersea cave.
“It’s going to take some time to explore everything.”
His tone sounded like he was grumbling about it being a chore, but a thick smile was hung on his lips.
That was because the elixirs he discovered one by one during the exploration process were quite lucrative.
The rewards he earned just by searching every nook and cranny of the 6th floor far exceeded the mana and physical abilities gained as level rewards while climbing the 4th and 5th floors.
Furthermore, if he consumed the inner cores obtained by repeatedly clearing each floor, he would experience monstrous growth.
‘It’s a shame that the efficiency decreases the more you consume them…’
If the first time he ate one was 100%, the effectiveness would be halved from the next dose onward.
Then, at some point, they would have no effect at all.
However, looking at it long-term, this wasn’t bad either.
From the moment he no longer saw any effect, he could just sell them at the auction house.
The moment even a low-grade inner core was posted on the auction house, hunters would be lined up to buy it, so his pockets would soon be full.
Then, the basic equipment made by production-class hunters would develop even faster.
“I hope they develop before the 10th floor is over…”
Even now, there were movements from the production classes to try and make something, but it was too slow.
More than anything…
“It doesn’t exactly make me good at cooking.”
Min-hyuk stared at the campfire with a disappointed expression.
There, he saw fish that had been burnt black while he was trying to cook.
Despite being someone who could remove fish guts and even fillet them instinctively in one go, even after throwing in all the ingredients from the 6th floor, he ultimately couldn’t make ‘delicious food.’
He was only able to make something edible because he had been living on his own for quite a long time.
“What a waste.”
If it were fish that had been well-aged like meat, something equivalent to an elixir might be created when cooked.
If he continued to experiment, Min-hyuk would eventually make something, but just as other hunters couldn’t produce ingredients of the same quality as Min-hyuk even with the same materials, there would inevitably be a difference compared to what a professional chef could make.
“Still, I have to keep trying.”
Just as Min-hyuk was about to try cooking again, thinking that a skill would eventually pop up if he kept at it, a brilliant idea crossed his mind.
He didn’t necessarily have to do it all himself.
Did he say it took time for chefs or production classes to grow?
Then, couldn’t he just pull that time forward?
With that thought, he hurriedly tapped on the system window.
“Camera.”
At Min-hyuk’s call, the camera emerged from subspace and floated up.
Min-hyuk, who had originally planned to film and upload videos starting tomorrow, changed his plan.
Intending to film and upload a video right now, he laid out the fish and shellfish again by the still-burning campfire and began his explanation.
As soon as the explanation was over, he filmed everything with the camera even while he began exploring the 7th floor.
Since it wasn’t a place where intense attacks came from the start like the 5th floor, or a space that was difficult to deal with like the Millee on the 6th floor, there were no issues with filming.
After traveling all over the 7th floor like that, the news that he had succeeded in a Flawless Clear spread to all the hunters as he exited the Tower with an exhausted expression.
Then, the rampaging hunters suddenly began to flock to one place again.
It was because a ‘new’ indicator had appeared on the Anonymous Bulletin Board.
「I would like to make a proposal to everyone.」
– Please create food and basic equipment using materials from floors 1-7 or below. I will give a reward to one person in each field.
※ Reward: Campfire + one of each material from floors 1-7.
Not long after Min-hyuk posted the article, the strategy video was also uploaded.
Perhaps it was filmed after he had already cleared it, as the video focused on explanations with seafood piled up next to a campfire.
[Just as there were exploration quests on the other floors, the 7th floor also has exploration quests. I hope there are things like the fruit that increases mana on the 6th floor.]
As if intentionally wanting people to follow him, he moved while showing the entire exploration route.
He even showed off his abilities, which had grown explosively on the 7th floor, by fighting against the onslaught of fish even though he could have avoided them.
[As you can see, you can discover seaweed or marine plants while exploring the 7th floor. Aren’t these all ingredients?]
He showed off to the camera as he picked up clams attached to rocks or stalks of seaweed.
He made it very obvious that he wanted people to collect and research these things.
[You’ll need to break through the schools of flying fish for stable gathering, but the attacks get weaker as you move away from the bridge, so it seems like there’s enough time to gather seaweed before the seawater completely fills up.]
Finally, he gave advice to just grab a torch and run backward as soon as you enter if it’s too difficult, and then he stared at the sea for a moment.
[There are more ingredients here than on the 6th floor. As you all know, your mana and physical abilities improve when you repeatedly eat Tower food. If you’re lucky, one of the traits attached to the food might even become a skill.]
There were still many ingredients in the Tower that had not been discovered.
Even he, who had explored the major areas of the 6th floor, hadn’t found even half of the ingredients.
How many would there be on floors 7-9?
And what about the foods that could be made by combining ingredients from floors 1-9?
[There is a limit to growth with inner cores alone. Therefore, we must uncover all the hidden elements on floors 1-9. To do that, I need your help.]
He bowed his head and made a request.
[We need low-floor food, equipment, and Tower-exclusive lifestyle goods. I will help too. I will film detailed strategy videos for each floor that I’ve been putting off, and I plan to explore floors 1-5 once more. So, let’s explore this low-floor ecosystem together!]
The video stopped after he finished saying they should change floors 1-9 together.
The reaction to this video was also explosive.
― I’m… in the production class, is there anyone to help? ―
ㄴ I’ll help.
ㄴ Me too.
ㄴ Wild boar meat is enough for me, so count me in.
― I’m in the cooking class, someone help!
ㄴ What do you need? For the record, I can hunt up to deer.
└ I can also collect Tower bananas.
ㄴ I can go fetch seawater from the 7th floor or valley water from the 6th floor.
People flocked explosively to Min-hyuk’s small event.
Actually, it was hard to even call it a small event.
It was because a campfire was included in the rewards.
Since a single campfire was worth several times more than a lottery ticket, it was a challenge well worth trying.
Furthermore, knowing full well that Min-hyuk had set the stage, everyone actively formed teams.
This was because if production classes or specialized chefs could quickly establish themselves on the low floors through this event, the clear rate for new hunters climbing the Tower would also rise steeply.
As people responded enthusiastically, Min-hyuk also helped so that a wider variety of equipment and dishes could be produced.
「Deep-Dive Strategy Video for Floors 1-3 – Clear Rate Rank B or Higher ―」
「Basic Strategy for Floor 4 ᅳ Poison, Torch Required ―」
「Basic Strategy for Floor 5 ᅳ Hallucinogen, Torch Required 」
「Basic Strategy for Floor 6 ᅳ Torch Required 」
「Basic Strategy for Floor 7 – ᅳ Torch Required 」
「Floor 1 Exploration Complete Conquest! 」
「Floor 2 Exploration Advanced Course 」
The strategy videos he had been putting off were released one after another, and he even explained all the elixirs found in hidden areas.
Filming and uploading even the advanced courses was a very tedious task, but for Min-hyuk, this work was a long-term investment.
He had already circled floors 1-3 so many times that he no longer grew even if he ate anything from there.
The same went for the inner cores received through repeated clears of floors 1-3.
But what if he made food with them?
Since that was an item created in a completely new way, growth was possible.
Since he was going to eat anyway, shouldn’t he eat something with good efficiency?
In other words, for Min-hyuk, whose growth from inner cores or elixirs on floors 1-5 was gradually slowing down, the development of low-floor cuisine was an essential investment.
The same was true for basic equipment.
Offering a campfire as a reward might seem excessive, but money was no longer an issue for Min-hyuk.
Currently, the most important thing for him was ‘growth.’
Therefore, with the mindset of making a long-term investment, he traveled around the low floors like crazy to film videos, and he posted all the materials he obtained on the exchange, setting them so that only those Level 7 or below could purchase them.
He posted them at a level that was practically free, so it was a matter of first-come, first-served.
I’m doing all this for you, so you better make something proper!
― 1st place is mine! ―
ᅳ If you’re confident you can beat Michelin-star cooking, bring it on! –
– Only those who can make half-armor better than me, step up! ―
Hunters boasted by uploading videos of their progress.
With the event, a supply of materials that were practically free, and even strategy videos.
Min-hyuk, who had properly set the stage, moved immediately without resting.
[Would you like to enter the 8th floor?]
“Yes.”
He wished he could rest even a little bit, but that could wait.
Min-hyuk entered the 8th floor with the intention of quickly clearing up to the 9th floor so that all hunters on the single-digit floors could participate.
“Is it a desert this time?”
The moment he muttered that, system windows popped up one after another.
[You have reached Level 8. Mana and physical abilities grow significantly.]
[Minimum Clear Condition: Survive for 1 hour on the 8th floor.]
[※ Cross the desert and reach the pillar of light.]
[As a reward for the Flawless Clear of the 7th floor, Water Element Affinity increases significantly.]
[Exploration of the 7th floor is complete. You are now able to move freely underwater.]
Min-hyuk, feeling the mana surging through his body, looked at the pillar of light rising in the distance.
“It’s a bit more relaxed this time.”
It was just when he was letting his guard down at the relatively relaxed situation, unlike the previous floor where a school of flying fish had flown in from the start.
The golden sand churned, and a tornado was approaching at a fierce speed from afar.
“Holy crap!”
The moment he hurriedly surged his mana and ran toward the pillar of light, snakes and scorpions began to rise from within the sand.