[Monster Pill (Freshness 99%, rots in three days): Top-tier gourmet food.
Gastronomy level: 25 points.
After consumption, experience +1.
Evaluation: Grab a monster and refine it in an instant.]
Refining is good.
Refining is wonderful!
Natsuyu looked over and met Sakuraba Ema's eyes; she hurriedly buried her head in her food, looking embarrassed.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Natsuyu swallowed the monster pill.
The taste was a bit strange, like eating a smooth gummy candy, but it was savory and a bit unpleasant.
As it went down, Natsuyu immediately heard a notification.
[You have consumed a monster pill, experience +1]
It works!
Natsuyu's spirits lifted.
After taking a monster pill, there was a 30-minute cooldown period.
Excluding sleep time, that meant he could take at least 30 monster pills a day, gaining 30 experience points.
Even if Natsuyu did nothing else and only relied on eating monster pills, he could reach level 8 tomorrow.
If he went to the spider forest to fight monsters, his leveling speed would only be faster, and he could replenish the reserves of monster meat he consumed.
Natsuyu clenched his fists.
Suddenly, life felt full of hope and his motivation was maxed out.
Natsuyu refined a few more monster pills, put them in his backpack, and returned to the spot where the girls were having their picnic. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.
The berry candy had proved that the girls could gain effects from eating gourmet food.
If they ate monster pills, they could definitely gain experience too!
When Natsuyu used appraisal on Kiana and the others, their system panel showed levels and experience values.
It was just that they couldn't gain experience by killing monsters, so Natsuyu hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Thinking about it now, it seemed Natsuyu couldn't just level himself up—he had also mastered a method to increase the overall strength of the team!
If the girls' strength increased:
Sakuraba Ema could make all small mobs lose their ability to fight;
Kushida Kikyo could hard-control elite monsters for a very long time;
Yukinoshita Yukino's attributes would skyrocket after transformation;
Kiana's already powerful stats could become even stronger.
Furthermore, their becoming stronger wouldn't drag down the speed of Natsuyu's own power leveling.
The daily intake of monster pills per person was limited, so everyone's monster-killing efficiency would only get higher and higher. In the later stages, the production of monster meat would definitely exceed consumption.
As the girls became stronger, they could help Natsuyu hunt higher-level monsters, allowing Natsuyu to level up faster and obtain higher-level material.
Natsuyu could use high-level material to make new equipment, which would also benefit the girls, who would then continue to help Natsuyu hunt new monsters...
A virtuous cycle!
Simply perfect!
Natsuyu couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
His team really had both the mechanics and the stats.
Their strength in the early stages wasn't bad, and their potential for the late stages was visibly terrifying.
The path to developing into the late game was very clear and simple—just fight monsters, no need to worry about being stuck at a certain level.
That final boss who defeated Tokisaki Kurumi?
For now, you can be the boss, I won't argue with you.
Wait until we max out our stats, then you can see who is the mob and who is the boss.
After clearing the don't starve world and returning to reality with super strength, the scene would be simply unimaginable.
Natsuyu felt he was getting a bit ahead of himself, actually thinking about clearing the game already. He quickly shook his head to focus on reality and sat in the empty seat reserved for him between Sakuraba Ema and Kushida Kikyo.
Kiana blinked her curious azure eyes. "Natsuyu, you're smiling so happily. Did something good happen?"
Natsuyu didn't hide it and shared the joy with everyone, saying:
"I discovered that gourmet food made from monster meat can increase everyone's strength. You can think of it as an experience potion from games."
"In a bit, I'll make a batch of monster pills for everyone to take once every half hour. Tomorrow we'll continue killing monsters to make more monster pills."
Kiana jumped up in surprise. "Wow!"
"Natsuyu, you are simply my god!"
Sakuraba Ema showed a smile. Recalling the scene of being on Natsuyu's back earlier, her face felt hot again. She said softly and cheerfully, "Can I increase my strength too? Finally, I won't have to hold everyone back."
Yukinoshita Yukino had joy in her eyes. "To think there's such a thing in MC. It seems encountering those monsters wasn't entirely a bad thing."
Kushida Kikyo blinked and gave a cute smile. "In MC, there actually is a potion that adds experience. This is great, Yuu-kun, I won't have to hold everyone back either."
Natsuyu leaned back on his arms and said with a light laugh:
"I never felt you were a burden. Being able to defeat the spider warrior today was thanks to everyone."
To be able to harvest 80 pieces of essence monster meat, the girls deserved a lot of credit.
Natsuyu planned to use 40 monster pills first to let the girls each increase by 1 level to see the effect.
The remaining 47 monster pills were enough for him to eat for a long time, and they would surely hunt more monster meat tomorrow.
Besides, both monster meat and monster pills had freshness issues.
Natsuyu keeping all the monster meat for himself would only result in much of it rotting and wasting resources; sharing it with everyone was the most correct choice.
"What were you talking about just now? I think I heard Kiana mention honkai."
Natsuyu signaled the girls to continue their previous topic.
Kiana bit into some meat, waving her arms and speaking with her mouth full. "Yukino was worried that being away from home for too long would make her family worry. Then we talked about our hometowns and found out everyone actually comes from different worlds!"
"Your worlds don't have Schicksal or honkai. Could it be this isn't our world either?"
Yukinoshita Yukino corrected her, "Kiana, it's only you and Ema who come from different worlds than us."
Natsuyu was surprised. "Ema comes from another world too?"
Sakuraba Ema nodded, looking a bit dejected. "Our worlds are very similar, but the prime minister is different, and development is a bit different. They are different worlds."
It seemed she was the odd one out again.
However, no one excluded her because of this. That was good.
Sakuraba Ema cheered herself up again.
Natsuyu was surprised, yet felt it made sense.
Looking at it this way, his daily life crossover world most likely had no supernatural elements.
Kiana swallowed the food in her mouth with a gulp and used her thumb to wipe the grease from her lips, looking up at Zafkiel in the sky:
"Even though we come from different worlds, we're all trapped here together, so there's no difference."
"I still have to find my stinky dad and give him a good beating!"
Natsuyu analyzed, "Since this place could pull us from different worlds, it should have the ability to connect to our worlds. When the time comes to find a way to our respective worlds and I have time, I can help you look for your father."
"Really? Natsuyu is the best!" Kiana's azure eyes were full of pleasant surprise.
Sakuraba Ema obediently raised her small hand and said softly, "I can help too. Although, I might not be of much use..."
Kiana happily threw an arm around Sakuraba Ema's shoulder like an overexcited husky. "Ema is the best too!"
Sakuraba Ema showed a smile, but immediately noticed Kiana's hand was wiping grease onto her clothes. She blinked, starting to say something but stopping, remaining silent.
Kiana probably didn't do it on purpose... right?