The Gardener in a Hunter World - Chapter 11

Stamina potions can act as a surgeon.

If the Theradrone soldier is wounded and flees to the rear, he recovers his health.

Poison resistance potions are equivalent to chemo preventive protective clothing.

To withstand the poison of those detestable devil ants, a raise in resistance stat in advance is needed.

The sap jelly becomes a reliable battle food for Theradrone.

These three ammunitions were almost ready so that Yoo Ji-Ha could support the Theradrone Corps.

‘If there is only a wide area buff here, wouldn’t it be nice?’

Since there are five essences, he applied the Worker’s Blessing buff to support the Theradrone Corps…

Well, it was true that he thought it was easy that way.

However, the moment the Theradrones advanced and the dwelling of the devil ants was revealed, Yoo Ji-Ha was at a loss.

‘Crazy. How big is their house?’

Although the size of the devil ant is smaller than a fingernail, the cone-shaped structure made of soil reached his head.

It is said that ants in real life build houses that are several tens of meters high over hundreds of years, but the devil ants act similar.

How many devil ants are hiding there?

Dozens devil ants were patrolling outside of the anthill, but when they saw the Theradrone Corps, they disappeared one by one.

‘Is this a full-fledged war?’

Yoo Ji-Ha gulped.

In his heart, he wanted to directly control the Theradrone Corps, but it was impossible.

And it seemed that it would be better to leave it to the instinct of Theradrone than to direct them with his clumsy knowledge.

A particularly large one among the Theradrones stepped forward, opened the carapace, and flapped its wings.

It’s amazing to see the other Theradrones moving in unison according to his signal.

‘They’re like soldiers.’

This is a War for the fate of the race. Theradrone can produce posterity and prosper the race by bringing the queen from the devil ant nest.

When they were just approaching the ant nest, the devil ants suddenly appeared.

Aren’t they only sticking their head out in the middle and spewing poison?

‘They have good brains.’

Yoo Ji-Ha marveled at the cunningness of the devil ants.

Even with the same distance, it accurately hit for reason that when it was shot from a high place, it would go farther.

The Theradrones were taken aback by the attack.

If they clash head-on on a flat surface, devil ants can’t be an opponent, but the enemy was using a projection strategy.

[The war between your Theradrone corps and the invader demon ant corps has begun. Would you like to help your legion? YES/NO]

He thought about giving the worker’s blessing buff but decided to wait a little longer.

‘I believe in them.’

Captain of Theradrone paused for a moment, then moved his feet and began to charge into the anthill.

He seems to have decided to believe in the poison resistance potion and march head on.

Dozens of Theradrones followed him and broke through the line.

A few were poisoned but were not fatally wounded. The Theradrone, who was waiting in the rear, quickly evacuated the wounded to a wooden bowl containing a health potion.

‘Are you acting like an ambulance?’

Anyway, there were many times when he was surprised to see these nail-sized insects.

When Captain of Theradrone and the corps were about to arrive at the entrance to the anthill, something popped out of the hole.

It wasn’t as big as Theradrone, but it was a larger soldier ant than a normal ant.

They sealed the entrance with their bodies and faced the Theradrone.

It looked like they were blocking the hole with meat shells so the Theradrone couldn’t go inside.

‘Hey, that’s great.’

If the fight between the two races was replaced with a human, it could be described as a really terrible blood battle.

‘Can’t they (devil ants) drag them (Theradone) inside and fight? They’re in their house, so they’re used to the geography.’

Maybe the ant nest doesn’t have enough troops.

When Yoo Ji-Ha thought of that, a devil ant was secretly trying to leave from another entrance of the anthill.

The guy was a winged variant.

The system has sent a warning.

[The Devil Ant Legion is about to send a messenger! It looks like they’re calling the main unit somewhere. You can apply directly with your own power only once.

‘What, what are you doing?’

3 Essence in one shot is too expensive!

But the urgent thing was to stagger that wing ant and keep it from leaving.

When he chose the option, the Theradrones spread out as if they understood.

Yoo Ji-Ha screamed as he watched the winged ants take flight.

thud!

The palm of his hand smashed the wing ant, creating a large mark on the floor.

The wing ant could not even make a sound and turned into a gruesome corpse, and the Theradrones, who witnessed it gained courage, rushed forward.

Yoo Ji-Ha felt a soft force pushing him away.

Now that the wing ants are dead, the main unit cannot return.

Knowing that, it was evident that the fighting power of the demon ants had decreased significantly.

‘At this point, I’ll use the buff.’

When the worker’s blessing buff was applied, Theradrone ran rampantly with their full force.

The Theradrone Corps took the victory.

Once we got the win, the ants were destroyed.

The corps, led by Captain, killed all the devil ants at the entrance and dug into the ant nest.

Perhaps because of the queen ant, the inside was surprisingly wide.

It’s unknown what’s going on inside, but from time to time the corpse of a rotten devil ant popped out.

‘Is it going well?’

When Yoo Ji-Ha was getting nervous, a few Theradrones dragged the devil ant queen out.

He had an exceptionally large belly, the size of Yoo Ji-Ha’s little finger.

‘It’s dead.’

The queen ant was limp and motionless.

He felt a little sad, but on the other hand, he felt that it deserved death because it was a monster that threatened the forest.

‘By the way, where is the queen?’

Eventually, the entrance collapsed and the Theradrones came out.

Dozens, including Theradrone soldiers, brought their queens out.

Her stomach was so large that she could not move by herself.

Theradrones placed their queen at Yoo Ji-Ha’s foot next to the dead queen ant.

[The Theradrone Queen]

‘It’s a little creepy.’

The opaque milky-white belly was full of eggs.

Yoo Ji-Ha gently stroked the queen.

Instantaneously, the message in the status window was updated.

[The Theradrone Queen wants to swear allegiance to you. If you make a contract with the Theradrone corps, you can become a supporter of the corps and receive various items. Subsequently, you will have to listen to their requests as well. YES/NO]

There was nothing to worry about.

Anyway, Yoo Ji-Ha and Theradrones are living under the same roof, so it seemed like they could live by helping each other.

‘It’s not that difficult, is it?’

The objects and essence he possesses are of significant help to the Theradrone Legion.

Theradrone brings him various items such as seeds, essences, and ether stones.

It’s a really an ideal symbiotic relationship,

‘They are standing still.’

Are they waiting, wondering what option this person will choose?

When he selected the YES option, a new message appeared.

[The Theradrone Queen and the corps have sworn allegiance to you. Now you will be able to support the corps more directly]

‘More directlly… Are you talking about out of the fog?’

It would be nice to be able to do something nicer instead of a support.

At that moment, Captain Theradrone spread its carapace and wings and is surrounded by a golden glow.

[Theradrone Warrior]

This guy has evolved from a terminal soldier.

Yoo Ji-Ha couldn’t help but marvel at that.

Did the Queen congratulate him for his achievements on the battlefield?

The Theradrones moved only then.

Essence and ether stones have been collected, and various seeds and food items from the anthill have been brought out. At the same time, the miniature forest was hidden by fog again.

It was a pity that Yoo Ji-Ha could not see the beautiful forest a little more.

Anyway, what did they bring?

A few Theradrone soldiers commanded and brought 10 Essences, Ether Stones, and seeds.

‘Is this enough?’ they seemed to ask.

Yoo Ji-Ha laughed and decided to accept the offer.

“This is it. Use the rest for your household.”

After absorbing the essence, the Theradrones took the queen back.

After putting the ether stone in the backpack, Yoo Ji-Ha was analyzing by placing a seed on the palm of his hand.

[Shadow Grape Seed]

[Seeds of Tree fruit]

‘What is the seed of the tree fruit?’

All the seeds that Yoo Ji-Ha has seen so far contain the species name. Could it be that the tree fruit is the species name?

He wanted to understand it once he grew it, so he dug a hole in a suitable place in the forest, sprinkled the seeds and watered it.

He doesn’t need extensive gardening knowledge to grow plants.

Because the forest takes care of it.

Yoo Ji-Ha went around the forest to harvest solar apples and winter strawberries.

He wanted to go to the sea, but soon ran out of time, so he decided to refrain from going.

‘I can sell 15 Ether Stones, but where should I use the Essence?’

10 Essences are required to raise the first stat 1.

In other words, if he invests 10 pieces, he can increase his strength by 1.

But where should Yoo Ji-Ha be strengthened?

He can’t even dare to increase his characteristic and skills because it need a huge amount.

‘In the end, it’s great to collect them like ants. Not like the devil ant.’

After organizing his backpack, Yoo Ji-Ha closed his eyes.

It’s not good to keep sleeping on a rock like this, so he hopes to build a house next time.

A smile came to his lips as he thought of going out to sea and cutting down palm trees to make a house.

Dungeons in Korea are mainly concentrated in Seoul, but there are also quite a few dungeons in cities such as Busan and Gwanju.

There are also hunters who mainly attack this area to avoid rankers.

The reason is, of course, to avoid competition.

There are only monsters in the 2nd to 9th rank in the rankings, so instead of competing directly with them, they target a relatively quiet place.

The Busan Seagulls Guild, the most powerful in Busan, was waiting for a dungeon to open these days.

It is a dungeon where devil ants appear intensively.

Hunters are reluctant to dungeons where devil ants appear, but there was one exception.

It is the dungeon where the queen devil ant is located.

If you somehow defeat the anthill and the queen, you can rake in a huge amount of Essence and ether stones.

So, the Busan Seagull Guild was waiting for the dungeon to open by gathering up hunters from nearby small towns.

Since the devil ant dungeons are frequently opened these days, they guessed that the ant nest dungeon would appear.

Finally, the gate appeared.

The soldiers stood guard, and the hunters entered and checked the quest.

But they came out bewildered.

“Brother, is the quest already broken?”

“The dungeon just opened, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“Check it out for yourself. The goal and the time limit are crossed.”

“What the hell.”

Kim SeongCheol went directly to the gate, checked the quest, and came out with an absurd expression.

“No, what kind of guy…”

“Maybe it’s from another region?”

“Don’t you know that dungeons that have already been solve will not be reopened again? Damn, I can’t believe it, I’ll have to check it out myself.”

Kim SeongCheol and the Busan Seagull Guild members made their way through the dense forest and finally found the anthill in question.

“It’s big…”

The party was overwhelmed by the size of an anthill the size of a building.

How many devil ants are there in an ant nest of that size?

However, there were no traces of the devil ants.

Kim SeongCheol found the entrance to the ant nest, but it was completely destroyed.

“Hey, find the traces of the ants quickly! I mean, find out where they went!”

Dozens of people scattered around looking for traces of the devil ants, but they couldn’t see whether they had rose to the sky or were extinguished to the ground.

It really was hunted.

However, one Hunter’s face turned blue and shouted.

“Guild Master! Bottom, the floor! Traces on the floor…”

“What marks are there?”

Kim SeongCheol, who accidentally looked at the floor, gasped and stopped breathing.

A huge handprint was left behind.

The trace of one finger was thicker than a power pole.

How big of a monster would it take to leave a mark like this?

Even the Hunters felt it, so they were all speechless.

Someone came to his senses guessed.

‘“Guild leader, this is the palm of a giant…”

“There is no giant around, so what do you mean? It’s a monster.”

“In order for a palm to be this size, it must be difficult with a certain grade.”

“Isn’t this a destruction level?”

People murmured, and SeongCheol made a decision.

“Retreat.”

“What? We should look for more info…”

“Here is something that wiped out the devil ants. You probably don’t want to face it.”

“Of course!”

The group immediately prepared to withdraw.

Meanwhile, SeongCheol was thinking of something to stop the party’s mouths, and at the same time, tried to infer the person who left a palm mark.

‘The others don’t know, but I do. The fact that there are monsters beyond the extinction level…”

Myth grade.

When the destruction grade monsters poured out in the first dungeon, it means the monsters, not monsters who fought against them.

At that time, most of the Awakened had died, and now, the myth-grade monsters have been forgotten.

SeongCheol was one of the few people who knew about myth class monsters,

‘I’m sure it’s not. It shouldn’t be.’

The appearance of a myth class monster meant the reappearance of an extinct class monster.

The hunters left the dungeon with hard faces.

Unknowingly, Yoo Ji-Ha, who had become a myth grade monster, was cleaning the front of the store with a refreshing feeling.

“The weather is great.”

Good morning.