Back in the Inn, Finn was wearing a shit-eating grin of happiness of finally graduating from poverty and the constant state of red.

Because even if he couldn't sell more than 3 copies of the same food or super similar dishes a day, he could sell them the next day! This meant that at least 6 gold a day was guaranteed! The past two days, he sold two batches, gaining him a dozen extra gold effortlessly.

Not to mention, he could make more types of D-Class food if he practiced long enough. By this time, it was clear: As long as he was in the Inn kitchen, his chances of making Essence food were 100%!

He needed to figure out new recipes anyway. To increase chances of unique recipes, of course, he'd also need an unusual ingredient or two in the meals.

For the braised ones, nettleflame and veilroots were relatively uncommon in this world, so the locals making a wide variety of dishes with them was a bit of a challenge, and the development there was understandably slow, giving him the chance to get the pioneering status!

Anyway, it was a lovely daily goal and practically a dream come true—to make new food and get stronger at the same time!

Even Pang was amazed, and the more he watched this Innkeeper, the more he saw how unique he was compared to the other two. Compared to anyone, really.

"I should cook more and more… gather more and more materials…" he rubbed his hand, looking like a greedy gremlin.

Thank goodness for the long daylight hours here. He still had a couple of hours of light.

Pang looked weirdly at him. "Shouldn't you be thinking of absorbing cores? You're quite leisurely for someone so weak."

He couldn't help but feel a bit imbalanced and confused. The first Innkeeper absorbed as much as he could and went out to hunt when he couldn't. The second innkeeper literally jumped out into monster mobs in his mecha for nearly every waking hour.

This one, in contrast, spent his time in a kitchen.

He wasn't exactly complaining (he thought this as he patted his tummy), but it was difficult to wrap his head around.

"Didn't you say it would take months to upgrade to tier 2?" he asked.

"Do you think a few hours of foraging would affect that? And don't forget my potential stat increases!" With the bonus stats he occasionally got, his base stats were basically more than those of the same level! Wasn't that more useful?

Not to mention, his one true passion was cooking (and now farming, apparently). Even if he did sit down, meditate, and try to absorb the cores, he doubted he'd be able to concentrate for long enough.

Might as well scratch his 'itch'!

"What are the chances of making a completely unique dish? Maybe you got lucky."

"Who cares. I'll still do it."

Besides, cores were expensive; maybe he could also buy a few extra ones.

Thinking about how cores were priced, it seemed like essence food was quite valuable.

"Is it that valuable though?" he couldn't help but question. After all, the effects would only last, like, what? 15 minutes? Sure, it could be great during emergencies, but it was perishable goods in the end.

"First of all, don't underestimate the power of regeneration buffs, la," Pang said, looking at him with a cute reprimanding expression on his furry face. "Aren't you alive because of that?"

"Oh, right," he said. He remembered the single digit HP he had after awakening. If he hadn't eaten so much regenerative food and stayed in the room, he… wouldn't have woken up.

"There's another advantage to essence food—it can actually improve one's physicality permanently. However, it is negligible if only done once every few days. The permanent effects can be felt if it's taken often enough, though naturally the stat increases are still limited, especially during the first few months of consistent eating."

Finn grinned. "So that means I can get stronger by eating, right?" So…technically speaking, he wasn't putting aside his 'training' by not absorbing cores!

"..."

Eating Essence food could make his body stronger, while making essence food could make him both rich and gain a potential increase in stats! It was no loss at all!

So, for the greater good and for the sake of practicality, he should be improving his food-making skills!

To maximize this strategy, he had to start to forage farther away. While he might be able to find a few more new recipes with the two ingredients, it was still good to widen his choices.

He tended to enter a zone when experimenting (and could stay in the kitchen for several hours at a time), anyway, so it would be more advantageous to find a few more things and also to stack up more on what he already has.

Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to go out even farther away without arming himself well. For equipment, he could only afford the boots and the gloves, both of which were only E-class equipment (which was how he could afford them).

Yesterday, he bought gloves, and today, another useful piece of equipment was fortunately available for him.

[Hissmal-Crocus Gloves(E)]

[Information: Simple gloves made of rough-stitched Hissmal hide sewn with Crocus thread. Offers light protection to the hands while improving grip onto weapons.

Durability: 250/250

Cost: 20 Gold, 200 Hearth Points]

[Grathound Boots (E)]

[Information: Basic footwear crafted from awakened Grathound beast, known for their relative durability comparable to toughened-level hide. Provides protection for the feet and ankles, offering decent comfort.

Durability: 250/250

Cost: 20 Gold, 200 Hearth Points]

He nodded, putting them on. They weren't the most comfortable equipment, but they were comfortable enough to move around, and he knew they'd have to do.

He was planning on going up to a hundred meters away now, probably slightly west of the stream. If he could find a way to go farther, he'd probably take it.

As he continued to prepare himself for what would be his most dangerous excursion yet, a part of him couldn't help but feel a bit excited.

Who knows what he'd find this time?

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