The Power of Rice

My feet touched the surface of the water. The cold bit in, and I let the rest of my body follow it under.

"Hahh…"

It felt incredible. I'd been filthy from head to toe, and the chill rinsing it all away left me so clean I could have sighed forever.

"Ah."

The moon lay on the water. I looked up without thinking. Moon and stars were no different from the ones outside the Tower.

"To think this is inside the Tower."

It looked as if it stretched on forever, but there had to be an end somewhere. If even the first floor was this vast, how wide would the second be? Was it even that kind of place to begin with?

I'll climb it someday.

I still didn't know the first floor's clear condition. Enjoying myself a little in the meantime… couldn't hurt that much, could it?

I scooped water in my hands and washed my face. The dust smearing it ran off and left only a faint trace behind.

Nice.

This is nice.

After a light rinse, I headed back into the city.

The hour was late enough that I'd expected the guild to be empty. It wasn't. If anything, it felt more crowded than it had during the day. Drinking parties had broken out in every direction, as if the place had turned into a tavern.

Well. That's not exactly wrong, is it…?

Come to think of it, in every webtoon or manga I'd ever seen, there was always at least one person in a guild hall with a drink in hand.

I cut straight through the middle of it and made for the reception desk. I submitted the request slips I'd torn off that afternoon, along with the materials the jobs had asked for.

"Please confirm these."

"Of course. One moment, please!"

The receptionist was every bit as bright as she'd been in daylight.

"Confirmed. The reward for four requests is 5,500 gold."

Converted to money outside the Tower, that came to around five hundred fifty thousand won. For a single day's work, it was a pretty decent haul.

The moment I took the gold, the system chimed.

The skill that appeared was [Gathering].

Like Mining, it was a skill that improved the quality of items obtained from hunted creatures.

So it really is tied to what you actually do?

That thought had barely formed before the system chimed again, as if it weren't finished.

A hundred TP per request, then? Until I knew how much TP reinforcement actually took, more was always better.

"Please come again!"

Rewards collected, I headed straight outside.

And then—

I left the Tower.

Outside, it was night as well—same as inside. Did time flow the same in both places?

Maybe because of the hour, the streets were empty.

Perfect.

I tugged my hood down tight and ran the rooftops. A few minutes of that, and I was home—the place I'd been missing.

Faster than this afternoon…

The distance between home and the Tower was about twenty minutes at a full sprint. This time it had taken maybe fifteen.

Was I getting stronger?

More importantly…

I went straight into the bathroom. I turned on the tap, and hot water poured down. Steam filled the room. A little later I sank into a tub brimming with warmth.

"Haaah…"

The heat washed the day's fatigue right off me. The lake water hadn't been bad, but it had been far too cold. A bath, by rights, ought to be hot.

Ah. Right. I still had that.

Still sunk to my shoulders, I called up my inventory. It was stuffed with odds and ends, but only one thing caught my eye.

The salt-grilled meat.

"I ran into Ayeon so suddenly I never even got to taste it…"

I took it out. Steam still curled off it, as if it had just come off the fire, and the smell filled the bathroom. I bit off a generous piece.

"Mmm~!"

Maybe because it had been cooked over an open flame, the outside was crisp and the inside stayed juicy. And the salt was just right…

"That's good…"

It'd be even better with something to drink. I was pretty sure there were a few beverages left in the fridge.

I didn't debate it long.

"All right. Going to get one."

I stood up out of the tub. I lived alone anyway—no one was going to see. I opened the bathroom door and made a beeline for the refrigerator.

Drip. Drip.

Water beaded in my hair and hit the floor. I could wipe it up later.

I opened the fridge. A wash of cold air slid over my wet skin.

"Ugh…"

I shivered, but my hand still dug until it found a canned drink buried in the back.

"Nngh… cold…"

A person's body was meant to be warm. I shut the fridge and scurried back into the bathroom.

"Haaah…"

I closed the door and climbed into the tub again.

Pssst—

I cracked the can, and carbonation hissed out. I didn't hesitate—I took a long swallow. My mouth went tingly, and then the coolness rolled in behind it.

"And now."

With my other hand I took a big bite of the salt-grilled meat. Chew, chew…

It had been good on its own, but with a drink it was even better.

Next time I go into the Tower, should I bring drinks with me…?

Anything I put in the inventory had its time stopped. Meaning if I stored a drink cold, it would stay that way.

…Now that I think about it, inventory is an absurdly good skill.

I stayed in the bath a good long while after that.

The day ended, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a new one broke.

I had no memory of anything after lying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down, so I was fairly sure I'd passed out on the spot.

I really was exhausted…

Well. I'd gone into the Tower first thing in the morning and hadn't come out until night.

Was there any information on the Community?

I hadn't checked it all day, and new posts had piled up.

Other Climbers had picked up skills the same way I had. It lined up with my own guess well enough that I could call the theory confirmed.

"So there really is some kind of connection with LSO."

Well. It was probably one of those plot hooks that would never get resolved.

"Nngh—!"

I stretched. Sleep-stiff muscles loosened, and a lazy warmth rolled through me.

"Mm…"

I was hungry. What to eat? I'd gone grocery shopping last time, so the fridge was overflowing with ingredients.

Hmm.

Rice it was, obviously.

Come to think of it, I hadn't had a proper bowl in a while. I wasn't the type to buy microwave rice, either. Time to wash some grain for the first time in ages.

I scooped a cup of rice and rinsed it. When it felt clean enough, I added the right amount of water, set it in the cooker, and hit the cook button.

"Good. Rice is going. Now I just need something to eat with it."

Side dishes, such as they were, didn't have to be fancy. I beat eggs, folded in minced vegetables, and rolled them up into a cooked omelette, then sliced the finished roll at even intervals. I also cut the ham I'd bought last time into thin slices and fried it. Even that much might as well have been a feast.

"Ah. Rice is done."

By the time the sides were ready, so was the rice, and I had a generous breakfast waiting.

I scooped steaming rice into a bowl. One spoonful of rice, then a piece of rolled omelette with my chopsticks. The omelette was savory and varied, and it met the rice as if the two had been made for each other.

Delicious. Maybe because it had been so long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since I'd had rice and proper sides. It tasted even better for that.

"And…"

I picked up another piece of omelette and dabbed it in ketchup. Eggs and ketchup had always gotten along. Warm omelette and cold ketchup made the flavor even more interesting, and the little bits of vegetable gave the texture something extra to do.

"Right—there was ham, too."

Ham and ketchup were a good match as well. The ham's saltiness and the ketchup's sweetness made the rice go down even easier.

A thoroughly satisfying breakfast.

"Well then. Shall I head into the Tower again today?"

I'd cleared four quests yesterday, so I figured I'd try some of the others. There had been plenty that looked fun—not just herb gathering, but coal hauling, delivery jobs, and the like. The clear conditions still weren't showing, so I intended to try everything I could.

"And if I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pick up a skill along the way, even better."

With that, I set out for the Tower once more.