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.
