Was it because the pillars of light acted as markers?
Even though he had to trudge through the sinking sands of the desert, the journey didn’t take as long as he had expected.
[Mana Necklace]
[Strength Necklace]
[Agility Necklace]
[Health Necklace]
[Necklace of Healing]
These were the items he gathered while traveling between the spots where the pillars of light erupted.
They were all merely basic-level items, but for Min-hyuk, who had started with nothing, even these were something to be grateful for.
For now, wearing them would be better than nothing.
“Is the last one an oasis?”
It was an oasis with towering palm trees.
A statue stood there as well, just as he had expected, and an altar was placed before it.
Min-hyuk briefly wondered if he should offer up some camel meat, but his brow furrowed as he noticed the grooves carved into the altar.
As soon as he realized the grooves were shaped like necklaces, he quietly took out all the necklaces he had collected and placed them on the altar.
Although Min-hyuk was reluctant to give up even a single item, the individual effects weren’t that great, so he stepped back from the altar without much hesitation.
As he did, the pillars of light that had been descending over the entire oasis began to concentrate toward the statue.
Soon, the light focused on the statue before bursting outward in all directions.
Min-hyuk reflexively closed his eyes, and when he opened them, a single necklace sat upon the altar.
[Necklace Blessed by the Desert]
[* Provides a small amount of vitality to the body.]
[* Slightly increases all stats when equipped.]
[* Slightly increases all types of resistance when equipped.]
[* Provides a minor healing and recovery effect when equipped.]
[* No reduction in clear rate for floors 1–9.]
While every description included the word ‘slightly,’ the fact that it covered every category made it the perfect beginner’s necklace.
There was no room for debate that this was the most efficient necklace to have for floors 1 through 9.
However, the oasis had more to offer than just this one gift.
His senses—though they didn’t give him clear system notifications like meat processing did—told him that the oasis water was no ordinary water.
Furthermore, the palm trees growing from that water couldn’t be ordinary either.
[Oasis Water Containing the Power of Purification]
[Palm Fruit Concentrated with Mana]
Just as Min-hyuk expected, he had found quite special water and fruit.
These were ingredients that seemed like they would be effective just by adding them to potions.
‘Could I make high-grade potions with these?’
He was already in the process of making recovery potions similar to high-grade ones using the Tree of Healing.
If the fermentation process was a perfect success, he got a high-grade potion.
If it failed, he got a mid-grade potion.
The ingredients were so overpowered that his minimum result was a mid-grade potion.
What would happen if he mixed these new ingredients into those potions?
He was curious to see the outcome.
Just in case, he even plucked some mysterious grass growing by the oasis, stored it in his sub-space, and stood up.
“Shall I… get going now?”
Feeling that he had stayed in this desert longer than intended, Min-hyuk looked at the fading pillars of light and headed straight for the clear point.
He extinguished the campfire that was on the verge of going out and moved the meat buried in the sand to his sub-space before finally exiting the 8th floor.
[You have successfully achieved a Flawless Clear of the 8th floor.]
Traveling through the desert must have been more taxing than he thought; his body felt like a lead weight.
He took a shower first and then collapsed onto his bed.
However, he didn’t fall asleep immediately.
He was curious to see how the event had progressed while he was in the tower.
“Quite a few decent things have been uploaded.”
In a shorter time than expected, a fair number of decent dishes and basic equipment had been posted.
But it wasn’t enough yet. Min-hyuk had his own set of standards.
For the food, even if the ingredients weren’t boss-level from each floor, they had to possess higher traits than the general ingredients Min-hyuk himself produced.
For basic equipment, they needed at least one base effect and additional traits when worn as a set.
It might seem like a high bar, but Min-hyuk believed that if someone was making food or crafting gear themselves, they should at least reach this level.
“I still have time.”
He didn’t plan on ending the event after just this one round anyway.
It was an event he intended to hold periodically until he moved on to the 10th floor.
‘The time to move on is when I reach the growth limit for floors 1 through 9.’
He had already reached the limit for floors 1 through 3, and he would soon reach it for floors 4 and 5 as well.
Between repeated clear rewards, inner cores, hidden elixirs on each floor, and cooking through ingredient combinations—what kind of change would occur if he went to the 10th floor only after reaching the point where he could no longer grow, even after consuming everything?
The shift was said to be so drastic that veteran hunters claimed the real conquest began from the 10th floor.
Mana and physical abilities would increase as much as the total sum of all stat increases gained from climbing floors 1 through 9.
One would finally be able to use skills worth mentioning.
It was the start of free climbing, where one could form a team if desired.
All of this would begin at the 10th floor.
However, it was unfortunate that even after the 10th floor, he would have to move and climb alone until he decided to reveal his identity.
‘The martial power to withstand villains or agents from various countries on my own.’
Until that was secured, he had no intention of revealing who he was.
This was also why he hadn’t told his parents yet.
He felt bad that they were worried about him suffering from mana disease, but he felt it was much better than the alternative—revealing the truth and burdening them to the point where they would become overly cautious, causing problems in their social lives and narrowing their range of activity.
“Ugh…”
Recalling his struggles with mana disease, Min-hyuk pulled out the ingredients he had made from his sub-space.
He saw numerous pieces of aged meat.
These were foods that neutralized the trace amounts of mana toxicity that accumulated unconsciously while using mana, helping the body become more attuned to mana itself.
By consuming ingredients made in the tower over a long period, one’s body could eventually adapt to the tower.
In the long run, it was a valid treatment method, but if one was already in a state where they couldn’t withstand mana toxicity, consuming these would only make things worse.
There was a reason doctors only performed temporary measures, like directly injecting purified mana liquid.
Then, his eyes landed on the [Oasis Water Containing the Power of Purification] and the [Palm Fruit Concentrated with Mana].
“…Maybe.”
He wondered if the solution to mana disease, which had been called an incurable illness until now, might be right here.
But that wasn’t the end of the problem.
Even if he made a cure, if he was the only one who could produce it, the limitations were clear.
Only a few wealthy people would be saved, and even that would stop once he moved past the 10th floor.
“I can’t let that happen.”
The Tree of Healing, the stamina-boosting octopus and fish, and now even the oasis.
He decided he needed to find a way to obtain ingredients without necessarily achieving a Flawless Clear, and then he logged onto the strategy boards.
— Re-uploading the 9th-floor strategy for Anonymous-nim! —
— The 9th-floor type is a grassland! The horses are insanely fast, so be careful. —
— The zebras are a nightmare. —
— The buffalo will make you want to vomit. If you get hit by their bloodlust early on, your legs will give out. Be careful. —
— Don’t look the rhinos in the eye. You’ll piss yourself instantly. —
These were hunters sharing their own experiences.
They all mentioned different types of animals, but they all said the same thing: the moment you step onto the grass, the attack begins.
They emphasized that the boundary where sand turns into grass is the starting point of the assault.
Additionally, they advised that since the animals moved in massive herds, one shouldn’t touch them unless prepared to deal with the entire group.
“First… should I post my strategy?”
After reading all the posts related to the 9th floor, Min-hyuk immediately wrote a post summarizing what he had learned on the 8th floor.
He included everything from the items obtained after a Flawless Clear to the fact that there were items that might be the key to curing mana disease.
As soon as the post went up, the reaction was explosive.
The strategy information post titled ‘Things discovered from the 8th-floor conquest!’ by Anonymous shook Korea and the rest of the world.
That was how much weight information regarding ‘mana disease’ carried.
— There are ingredients on the 8th floor that may help treat mana disease. —
— Food made by aging meat with lower mana concentration than high-floor meat to remove toxicity also appears to help in recovering from mana disease over the long term. —
These two pieces of information caused a massive stir.
However, he didn’t explicitly state what those things were.
Min-hyuk enjoyed the fame, but he wasn’t a pushover.
Thus, he didn’t teach them everything and only wrote that such things existed.
Perhaps because of this, the heads of various national Hunter Bureaus gathered at the World Hunter Association in an unprecedented move.
“In fact, this trend has been present since the 6th floor.”
The SS-ranks and national bureau heads listening to Park Young-hwan’s words through real-time simultaneous translators all nodded in unison.
Anonymous had released strategy videos and plenty of information for lower-floor hunters, but the core content was excluded.
Even the 1st-floor potions made with 1st-floor ingredients or the basic potions made by mixing ingredients from the entrance of the 6th floor were enough to be profitable, yet the exact ratios weren’t disclosed.
While it would be a huge help to low-floor hunters, it was also information that giant guilds could easily exploit.
Therefore, Anonymous had been withholding information, sending a message: ‘Don’t expect to get it for free!’
“We need a reward significant enough to make Anonymous disclose information more definitively.”
“Are you asking for patent rights?”
At the question from William, a warrior representing the SS-ranks and the Chairman of the World Hunter Association, Park Young-hwan gave a small nod.
“But if we aren’t careful, it could restrict the development of the lower-floor hunter ecosystem.”
“Yes. So, we should limit it to the types that are difficult to replicate…”
As Park Young-hwan hurriedly continued his explanation following William’s comment, William cut him off.
“I’m not trying to reject the proposal.”
When Park Young-hwan, who had been getting excited, paused, Cheon Tae-san, who was sitting next to him, gave a small nod.
Once Park Young-hwan sat down, seeing that the prior discussions were confirmed, William began to speak again.
“For meats or potions requiring special combinations, the Association will pay a commission fee.”
The idea was for the national Hunter Bureaus to pay the fees rather than placing the burden on the low-floor hunters.
“Additionally, we cannot ignore his achievements in changing the current lower-floor ecosystem. Therefore, we will award him a Distinguished Service Medal and a prize for achievements on each floor.”
“For… each floor?”
William nodded at the question.
Special rewards are given to hunters who achieve great feats on each floor.
To honor that greatness, a reward of one billion dollars would be given.
Since Anonymous had achieved Flawless Clears up to the 8th floor and was transforming the ecosystem of those floors, he was essentially set to receive nearly 10 billion dollars in prize money.
“Are you saying… that you will continue to give this reward every time he achieves a Flawless Clear and an achievement that transforms a floor?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
William asked back as if the American Hunter Bureau chief had asked a redundant question.
The room buzzed at the scale of the amount, but soon, one by one, they nodded in agreement.
The amount was staggering, but compared to the legendary feats Anonymous was currently accomplishing, it actually felt a bit small.
If, as Anonymous intended, more Flawless Clearers and a large number of A to S-rank conquerors emerged on the lower floors of the tower, it would become possible to turn the lower floors into a sustainable resource.
“And… we originally intended to announce this when he reached the 10th floor, but it seems our thinking was wrong. Looking at his current trajectory, we must execute the plan immediately.”
As William spoke and looked at the other SS-ranks, they all nodded in agreement.
“As of this moment, all SS-ranks will support Anonymous. Furthermore, the World Association will designate him as a Special Protection Target. All those in favor, please raise your hands.”
The crowd murmured.
That was understandable, as protection targets were usually divided into grades 1 through 5, and even then, there were only a few in each country.
Among them, those classified as Special Grade protection targets were so rare that there were only three in the entire world.
— Saintess (SS) Maria: Rank 1 in healing and potion crafting.
— Henry: Rank 1 in tower material processing.
— Weiss: Rank 1 in tower ecology and monster butchering.
All of them were individuals who had had a profound impact on the hunter industry and still held immense influence today.
However, even if it was on the lower floors, Anonymous had exerted a comparable level of influence in a very short time.
“We are also considering creating a higher rank and permanently dispatching one SS-rank to protect him once he registers with a Hunter Bureau. And as of this moment, until Anonymous comes to register, special agents of the World Association will be stationed around the clock.”
It was William’s declaration that they would block any opportunity for villains to even approach.
He also issued a warning.
A terrifying warning that if any nation attempted to force a choice upon Anonymous, all SS-ranks would mobilize to wipe that nation out.
Was it because this video was being broadcast live to every nation?
Min-hyuk, who was watching, also thought that his original plan might need some slight adjustment.
“It looks like the time to reveal my identity might come sooner than I thought.”
Min-hyuk muttered to himself, and as if to repay the faith the World Association had shown him, he uploaded an item he had just successfully experimented with onto the strategy board.
[Mana Toxicity Neutralizer]
However, people called it by another name.
The ‘Mana Disease Cure’….