Papa really did serve up the [Universal Elixir Stew] in just three days.
A unique dish with extremely rare chances of appearing, even among unique-grade cooking, where even attaching a few more stars wouldn’t suffice.
Not to mention the enormous advantage of eating a dish that might only come out during the fourth year when the continent’s situation is chaotic, right at the beginning.
[Unique dish [Universal Elixir Stew] has been collected in the Cookbook.]
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Collecting 30 types of herbal dishes – Acquired the function [Immortality].
Unique dish [Universal Elixir Stew] collected – Disease resistance increased by 10000%.
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A tremendous bonus that grants almost complete immunity to all types of attacks and status ailments classified as diseases.
Even a mere 100% would nullify most effects, but a staggering 10000% means it’s nearly impossible for your physical condition to drop below 100% even with worsening conditions and special debuffs reducing percentages.
Now I can roll around in the snow and fall asleep with my clothes soaked and not catch a cold.
Maybe I should give it a try this winter?
Hmm… somehow, if it catches Isabel or Arcadia, I feel like they’ll strip my clothes messily and throw me in a hot spring.
[Understanding of character [Arcadia] is increasing.]
[Understanding of character [Isabel] is increasing.]
Hmm? But is that a bad thing?
If a hot spring event opens up, that’s super sweet!
I can’t resist the chance to collect steamed eggs and sweet rice drink.
I have to make sure to try it this winter.
I should write it on my wishlist so I don’t forget!
Three days to wait for the next banquet.
The students’ lodging is divided into two places.
The special lodging facility on the 10th floor.
Or the cruise ship outside the mansion.
Those who gave up on climbing the mansion returned to the cruise ship.
There weren’t many bold students who would linger in a place their hearts rejected; if they had the mental toughness for that, they wouldn’t have given up on staying in the mansion in the first place.
Mob was one of the few students who went against that trend of the lower class.
“Are we going to the Layer of Wooden Dolls again?”
“It’s the easiest after the first floor since it’s right at the front.”
“Just because it’s fast doesn’t mean it’s the easiest. Once your level raises and the tasks get harder, the difficulties are nothing like those early days.”
“Is that a revelation of mercenary life?”
“Yeah. Cutting is really a difficult task, you know.”
In Jaku’s reply, Mob realized he was still fumbling through the depth hidden in the simple technique of cutting.
Once you become an expert at anything, your perspective is entirely different from when you were a clueless novice.
“It doesn’t matter. Fighting against hardship is the longest job I’ve had since entering the Academy.”
The cursed equipment item surrounding Mob was a trial in itself.
With every day he overcomes the pain inflicted on his body, he grows steadily stronger.
Doing difficult things has become as natural to Mob as breathing, a part of living.
“I have good news to share with you. Oknodie said to pass on a message to those heading downstairs.”
“Oknodie?”
“Every time you last for 30 minutes on each floor, you can earn special rewards. Apparently, this place is one of those.”
“…!”
“Now that a goal has appeared, do you feel like challenging it?”
“Quite a bit. It was something I wanted to do even without the rewards, so it feels like a bonus. Jaku, do you plan to aim for this too?”
“The Layer of Wooden Dolls is a good opponent to test [Weapon Skills]. If I can grow my strength steadily without relying on Dark Mana, it’ll ease the burden on my body.”
Of course, I know.
Doing this won’t let me catch up with strong ones like Hestia or Sing, who are genuinely powerful.
That being said, it’s not realistic to live by constantly comparing myself to those who only appear as vague silhouettes if I look up too much.
There is a life for the weak, too.
Whether it’s the Director’s Mansion, the Tower, or the Training Facility, the weak must seize their opportunities to grow and become stronger in their own way.
If I waste the Academy’s summer vacation, the second term that will follow upon my return, and eventually the promotion to Second Year, won’t come easily.
“Just enduring is boring. It’s been a while since we had a bet match.”
“Are we competing on who lasts longer?”
Even with a helmet on, Jaku could feel Mob smiling.
Right.
This guy never refused my challenges.
Receiving Oknodie’s invitation for summer vacation may not have been such a bad thing after all.
With a smile as light as a feather, Jaku dove into the Layer of Wooden Dolls.
Sing felt a strong desire to challenge.
What is a dungeon for?
It’s for going deeper.
Valuable rewards are sleeping at the deepest depths.
What is a tower for?
It’s for climbing higher.
Valuable rewards are sleeping at the very top.
He enjoyed achieving things.
Above all, the information that Oknodie hinted at fanned the flames in his heart.
“This place is called the [Tower of Training]! Originally an abandoned facility, it was surprising to find someone taking care of it like this!”
“Was it a place you knew?”
“I used to visit a lot in the past.”
…He used to frequent such a deadly facility at a younger age than now.
Well, considering Oknodie’s strength, it wasn’t an unbelievable story.
Even the ghost sister looked nice, wandering around here and there in a strange tower, intrigued in her ghostly form.
“How should I utilize this facility for maximum efficiency?”
“Hmm~ If you’re not aiming for the special rewards that increase every 30 minutes per floor, then it’s normal conquest, right?”
“Normal conquest?”
“The tower gives rewards when you finish using the facility and go outside based on the highest floor climbed!”
In this case, is Papa giving us rewards?
Oknodie’s answer became a strong motivator.
Someone hiding their strength.
Sing recognized it at a glance.
The Director is not an ordinary strong person.
It’s a special gift he personally arranges for us.
It may be dangerous and unsettling, but I’m sure the performance will be warranted.
He certainly doesn’t look like a petty villain packaging worthless trash under a nice pretext.
“Wake up. I’ll be the first to reach the top.”
“It’s an overqualified reward for someone who only knows magic. You should just give up easily.”
Sing and Irene led the way up every floor.
Climbing so quickly that even the Warrior felt a lack of momentum came from the difference in desperation.
The Warrior was already strong.
Even if two of them charged at once, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
He wants to grow stronger.
If he could fulfill that longing by climbing this tower, there’s no reason to refuse.
However, you can’t live in this world just with desperation.
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The Director’s Mansion
39F – Silent Floor
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The wall of sound relationships arrived.
In the Silent Floor, making noise would unleash a storm of blades from all directions.
In a room where noise was inevitable, Sing found himself in a tight spot.
Unlike Irene, who broke through the floor with the Mute Spell, Sing was stuck.
Zhuang, who had been climbing leisurely as a latecomer, lightly stepped forward and dodged the sound traps.
The warrior used [Holy Mirror] to create noise in another direction to throw off the attack’s aim and slipped past the storm of blades.
Sing couldn’t showcase the same skills as them.
All he could do was swing his sword.
Cutting everything that came close to his vicinity.
“…I can’t get past this.”
Even Hestia, who was fiercely swinging her weapon to clear the path, was blocked by the walls of the 39th floor.
The more forcefully she swung her weapon, the fiercer and more numerous the blade winds grew.
No matter how cautious she was with her first strike, the increasing noise from her weapon only garnered more incoming blade winds.
For close-combat users, it was practically a tomb.
Realizing that his climb had failed, those who understood this gave up and returned to the lower floors, planning to endure for over 30 minutes to earn special rewards.
Even martial artists like Lotto, the stamina fool Son Ohchun, and many other students turned back.
Even Hestia wasn’t an exception.
Only Sing, in that floor, didn’t give up and continued his lonely battle.
Clang!
Every time his sword deflected the storm of blades, larger and more numerous winds surged forth.
Even in a desperate situation where he felt he might be killed by the blades if he pressed on further.
‘I fought the Apostle of Anrage and felt acutely. With my current skills, helping Oknodie would be tough. I might not even return home to finish my revenge.’
If he couldn’t grow, he might as well die here.
With a resolute determination, he heard Oknodie’s innocent voice.
“Hmm~ Should I give a hint?”
“Oknodie. Weren’t you disinterested in climbing this tower?”
“Lin’s big brother wants to see you!”
Always tied around Oknodie, Lin.
A fake ghost borrowing the form of his real little sister.
He had known long ago that she wasn’t real.
Yet, the existence of something that shares the same face dulled his feelings.
Especially since it was about someone he could not protect.
‘This time for sure—’
Without thinking, he harbored such soft thoughts.
For the ghost, it was merely a survival strategy.
If he died, the reason for pretending to be his sister and staying by Oknodie’s side would disappear.
So, the fake Lin likely urged Oknodie to bring him here out of sheer instinct to survive.
Logically, he comprehended all of this, yet he was stirred by the inexplicable tingling sensation.
-Big brother. I’m satisfied as long as I have you by my side.
Words spoken with shyness, as if ticklish, scratched out letters with her hand.
A kind child, without greed.
For such a child, Sing had been wielding a knife, wanting to create a good environment, doing what the adults entrusted him to do.
While he was away, Lin had been tossed around and abused by the elders of their clan.
‘If it were the real Lin, she wouldn’t worry about me.’
What could he expect from himself when he couldn’t even ensure that small wish would be protected?
All that remained was resentment.
Whether it was unable to read his thoughts or deliberately avoiding them, the fake Lin exhibited subtle concern instead of resentment.
Whether that was a joy or a sorrow, Sing couldn’t tell; he simply focused on channeling strength into his sweeping sword.
“Relax!”
Oknodie’s advice pierced through his inner thoughts.
Startled, he listened to Oknodie.
“What difference does it make to cut the wind with brute force? The wind isn’t cut; it’s deflected!”
Not cutting but dodging.
His sword, filled with only resentment and anger, called to mind the face of the ghost peeking out behind Oknodie.
The relaxed sword moved lighter and faster, and the noise produced from its tip diminished.
As the strength of the storm of blades decreased, the burden he felt lifted.
Before he knew it, Sing began to feel the change.
The blade winds of the 39th floor no longer felt so burdensome.
What had made it arduous for him was the accumulated echoes of his own resentment and anger.
Clattering.
As Sing reached the exit of the floor, he thought of the special rewards granted to those who had survived for over an hour.
Rather than placing his hand on that reward, he first turned to look at Oknodie, who was smiling broadly behind him.
“Did you feel the same way?”
“Hmm~ I did have quite a tough time! It was a challenging gate for a full-strength character who doesn’t use his head to triumph with sheer force.”
Sing realized.
It was easy to forget due to her smiling face, but Oknodie’s past was on par with his own.
Her darkness might still be continuing as a current issue.
Oknodie, too, carries resentment and anger.
While he kept his emotions in check by recalling his sister, what about Oknodie? What does she suppress?
‘Could it be about food?’
Thinking he might understand Oknodie’s obsession with gourmet food just a little, Sing thought.
