The whole tag thing also allowed Finn to meet his essence core quota and more. When things were calmer, Finn would also get a few materials.
It was why he had a big basket on his back even during this clearing mission. Not only did it allow him to carry more spores to spread, but it also to place new things in. What if he saw materials he hadn’t seen before?
Not to mention, they were heading Southwest, which was a direction he hadn’t foraged in before!
And he did find new stuff! Not only did they find lovely fungi called [Duskmire truffle] and [Whispercap Mushroom], which would go great with so many dishes, they also found...rock salt!
It was not too far from the lake, and it was not too big. They found it by accident while running away from a mob that got too big. It wasn’t dangerous, but troublesome because they were quite far away from the barrier, and they’d rather not get injured, even by just a little.
After all, even a bit of blood from them could cause the monsters to go crazy . Crazy monsters outside the barrier, while they were outside, was a big no-no.
The rock salt mine was hidden away by dense foliage as well, and because they attracted such a large mob, the vegetation got pushed away, revealing these things.
It was like something was carved into the ground, a tiny hill made of cloudy white crystal. It was also beautiful to look at, looking like opaque glass.
Finn knew what it was the moment he saw it. Gone were the days he was dependent on the pale saltiness of purplestep seeds! Hoorah! This should also have much higher preservative effects, as well.
That said, they weren’t exactly in a position to mine rock at the time, but he sure made use of the large mob to get a small pile of it!
That night, dinner was especially delicious, and several jars—also fired in the kiln—were filled with things to pickle and ferment!
Since they didn’t lack salt anymore, he was sure to take advantage of it.
...
Three days later, after some back and forth, they managed to finally create a decent path hundreds of meters long!
It was not too big, less than two meters in width, and would not yet be able to take in carriages yet, but mounts could pass by easily, and a few people walking side by side was no problem. They took their time doing other things, so they took a while.
Oddly, they still hadn’t encountered a single person. He had hoped he would’ve. This area was at least a common pass through, Durgan said so.
Durgan blinked, also a bit confused.
"Before we headed out for the mission before, it seemed like there was a large beast mob that formed in the West, not far from the other dungeon," he said. "It was why there were so many missions when we took that Class C mission. It seemed like the activity died down for a while because of it."
"It should recover soon. Don’t worry, boss."
"Hmn," Finn said, definitely feeling worried. Any business owner would.
The goblins were with them this time, helping clear the mess and place the tiles, while Finn put up the signs, and Durgan guarded the place.
They also took this time to place signs every hundred metres or so, hoping people would find their place eventually, though there was still no such luck during this time.
Durgan told him that because there were few established places to rest. Adventurers, mercenaries, and the like tended to take different approaches. Most adventurers would also only take dangerous missions once a month, but when they do, they definitely need the Inn.
Once they discovered the inn, they could stay even longer in the danger zone.
The two also took advantage to train and, also gather some materials for the Inn. That said, he wasn’t as stressed as he should be.
Even if there were no customers, he was too busy to wallow in worry for too long. He still had to absorb more and more cores, kill more and more monsters, cook more and more food, and lately, he was also focusing on his sauces, as well as his pickles.
By this time, they had made a few more pots filled with varying things. He fermented a few fruits and herbs, trying to make different types of alcoholic beverages. Other than this, he also made some sauces that needed to ferment.
For example, the legitimate and tasty alternatives to soy sauce and vinegar have been made. Well, this world’s version of them, anyway.
For vinegar, they made it from sunberry, because of its high natural sugar content (which would be needed to feed the yeast), and had natural acidity.
It was then crushed and juiced, and placed into the crude clay pot they made. He added some veilroot blossoms and surgefern spores as natural fermentation starters.
The breathable cloth to filter it out was a challenge, but they managed to find an alternative by combining surgefern leaves like how linen was made from plants. This was something Ranran knew, based on her inherited skills.
They would have to sit for at least a few weeks (stirred occasionally) to become sour and sharp enough to be considered vinegar.
For soy sauce, they used bindergrain. It had high starch content, which would break down into sugar when fermenting, and it had a protein-rich husk, which would bring great umami taste. In theory, it was effectively soy sauce and MSG combined.
They managed to make quite a few jars of each one, and they grouped them together in the cellar. They’d need time to be truly tasty, and he couldn’t wait until he tasted them. This little happiness definitely made him make more and more.
Unexpectedly, one day, while they were placing several jars in the cellar, a familiar ding sounded in his head.
[Cellar Upgrade Condition met!]
[/] Store ten (25) different types of edibles at one time
[/] Store three (5) types of inn-processed food in the storage.
[Would you like to upgrade for 2000 Hearth Points?]