The Gardener in a Hunter World - Chapter 22

“Yoo Ji-Ha, did you see the news yesterday? It’s about a myth grade monster called Theradrone.”

“Cough.”

The dimension in the dungeon was flat.

It was a forest with no end in sight, but if he makes a mistake, he might separate with the party, so everyone moved together.

He never knew that HyeJin was such a talkative person.

“I don’t know if it’s okay to say this, but Ji-Ha-ssi1 is also a hunter… There was even an uproar these days because of the traces of giants.”

“Traces of giants?”

It was information he couldn’t help but ask.

Were there any giants among the monsters?

When he heard the story, something was strange.

“A guild from the Busan entered the devil ant dungeon, but there were no ants and only a large palm print was left. Estimating those marks as a basis, we conclude that it was the work of a giant almost the size of a building.”

“A giant as big as a building?”

Yoo Ji-Ha, who thought it was absurd, thought of something and stopped walking.

Hasn’t he swung his palms at the messenger ants of the miniature world?

It was too coincidental to say the least.

He looked at his palm and asked HyeJin,

“Are there no footprints?”

“Surprisingly, no traces other than the palm were found. Come to think of it, if you were a giant of that size, your footprints would have been far away, but he ran away quickly.”

“Well, it would be scary if the devil ants were nowhere to be found and there was only large palm print.”

“Originally, the plan was to attack the anthill, but it was canceled due to the palm of the hand. It is like an unknown world.”

It’s an anthill…

This made it clear that the palm print was left by Yoo Ji-Ha.

The miniature world beyond the fog is somehow connected to the dungeons.

‘As well as the Theradrone… I don’t know exactly what this is.’

What does the being talking to him want, what does he want to show him?

After realizing that he was falling behind in the ranks, he hurriedly made his steps.

HyeJin approached him and said softly.

“Ji-Ha-ssi? There are other good places besides this one.”

“Other places are good, but if I separate for no reason, I will hear a word.”

It doesn’t end with nagging if you irritate the nerves of the hunters who came as guides.

And while the group is moving, he knew that individual actions should be restrained as much as possible.

But her thoughts are a little different.

“I saw precious plants there. I think it can be used as a good material.”

“A precious plant? Well… Thinking about it, I think it’s fine…”

After all, this person seems to be quite interested in the material.

HyeJin was a little overjoyed as it seemed that she had discovered Yoo Ji-Ha’s interest.

“If I tell them in advance, those hunters won’t be offended either. Because the scope of responsibility narrows. And it’ll be uncomfortable if I continue to follow like this.”

“I think so, too.”

There was a hunter who was treated as a single number, so even those new hunters seemed to be restless.

‘From the point of view of those people, they must be worried that the senior would nitpick them.’

In fact, HyeJin has no desire to do that at all, but that’s what the human heart is.

This is also the dungeon where the quest has been cleared… It’ll be okay, right?

“Thank you for guiding me.”

“I will take the lead. “

When she told the Hunters something, her face was noticeably happy.

She should take care of her facial expressions not to embarrass people, but HyeJin didn’t seem to care.

When the two of them went into the forest separately, people were gossiping.

Beom struggled and jumped down from the backpack, and HyeJin held out her hand, but stayed by Yoo Ji-Ha without looking.

For a while, nothing unusual happened.

HyeJin talked about what had happened in this dungeon, and the conversation progressed in a way that Yoo Ji-Ha responded.

But suddenly the forest darkened.

They both stumbled, feeling dizzy.

“Just now?”

“Uh, something strange.’

It’s like entering the cave in the dream forest.

Have they entered a different dimension?

The warm green forest has changed to a grotesque purple.

Familiar trees and plants were transformed into bizarre creatures that he had never seen before.

HyeJin couldn’t hide her uneasiness.

It’s like a Category 5 dungeon where he disappeared.

 

***

 

If the dungeon has been changed to Category 5, it is wise to run to the gate immediately.

Up to level 4, the terrain is relatively familiar, and the monsters are not very powerful, but from level 5 onwards, the attribute is different.

It was in this forest where the powerful No. 1 Han SeungHyuk disappeared.

HyeJin’s frozen expression completely collapsed.

“It’s here, here… The place where SeungHyuk oppa disappeared…”

Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-Ha was silently observing the surrounding moving plants.

It had a large and ugly appearance that made him doubtful whether it was a real plant.

He didn’t know he’ll get to see the cannibal plants he has only heard of.

‘But something is a bit strange.’

Cannibal plants are very hostile to animals, and most of them attack by all means.

There are those who stay still until someone approach them and then suddenly attack.

But these wild cannibal plants were too quiet.

‘By the way, what should I do with this person?’

Yoo Ji-Ha comforted HyeJin, who was stamping her feet to find SeungHyuk as soon as possible.

“HyeJin, calm down a little. I don’t know if SeungHyuk’s disappearance is around here, but a lot of time has passed by now, right?”

“That… yes, time had passed. But what about that? He must be waiting for me; I need to find him soon…”

“Let’s calm down and look around. We don’t know if there are any monsters that’ll pose a threat to us.”

HyeJin finally came to her senses and looked around.

When she saw a colony of cannibal plants making strange noises, her eyes widened in shock.

“Why don’t these monsters attack us?”

“I don’t know.”

When Yoo Ji-Ha was about to talk about something else, something not even funny happened.

Why are the cannibal plants that were drooling and dripping sap suddenly uprooting and running away?

They were desperate as if someone was trying to eat them.

Beom, who had been watching silently, said, “Wow,” and rushed in, biting the stem of the cannibal plant.

The wind caused the seeds to be blown, and the stem wilted and ran away.

“Oh my God, Beom is amazing.”

HyeJin proudly tried to stroke Beom’s head, but he changed his direction and was cut in vain.

Whether she was embarrassed or not, Beom laid the seed at the foot of Yoo Ji-Ha.

“Why did you bring this? It’s a cannibal plant.”

wow.

It sounded like a voice telling him to grow it.

Come to think of it, the cannibal plants ran away all at once because they noticed Beom’s identity?

It seems that HyeJin still doesn’t know.

Yoo Ji-Ha put the seeds in his backpack and told her.

“It is a strange thing that the cannibal plant is escaping. By the way, where should we go?”

“Wait.”

She pulled the compass out of her arms, but the needle kept moving and she couldn’t get a direction.

“What is wrong with this?”

“If it keeps going like this, we won’t be able to find the gate. It’s a big trouble.”

It’s not only a trouble, but a really big deal.

Since there is no such thing as a map in the dungeon, all hunters use a compass to find the gate.

If the needle continues to spin like this, it was confirmed that they are missing.

HyeJin stroked the compass with a gloomy face.

Would he have been in this situation?

It reminded her of the man who fell alone to lure disaster grade monsters.

But Yoo Ji-Ha tapped her shoulder.

“There’s a golden glow flickering over there, why don’t we go and see it?”

“Where… What is that?”

She looked up and was amazed.

A golden light was glimmering beyond the forest.

It’s good to find anything in a dungeon like this, so they decided to go for now.

She drank all kinds of potions and finished full doping2.

“Let’s go.”

As she took the lead, Ji-Ha and Beom followed.

 

***

 

What would happen if monsters took over Earth?

How will the Earth change if the hunters surrender, and the day comes when even the military cannot stop them?

The answer was here.

Yoo Ji-Ha and HyeJin forgot what to say as they looked at the earth that had changed like hell.

A foul-smelling blue smoke continued to rise from the cracks in the ground, and some areas shook intermittently as if an earthquake had occurred.

What was even more unbearable was the terrible stench coming through their nose.

They both covered their noses and frowned.

“It’s really odd. There are no monsters in this place.”

‘There was, but there isn’t.’

It would be accurate to say that there were here originally, but everyone packed up and ran away.

The guy who caused it, wandered around peacefully and clinging in Yoo Ji-Ha’s back, howling.

“Here is… Is this a land eroded by monsters?”

“Maybe it is where the monsters originally were. Anyway, it’s hard to endure.”

HyeJin, who has a strong body, seems to be in good shape, but Yoo Ji-Ha’s head has a dizzy feeling, and it was difficult to hold out.

It felt like power was draining out of his body.

Why did someone want to show him this hellish land?

Was it the intention right in the first place?

‘Maybe you’re showing me this scenery because you need my help.’

There may be some warnings in it as well.

Comparing the earth and the landscape in his dreams with this place made him shudder.

He’s not very greedy, but he didn’t want to spend even a second in such a terrible place.

‘The Theradrones purified the earth as well… The reason why mysterious things keep happening to me.’

Maybe someone is asking him for help?

Please help me, please help me not to change the world like this.

‘I’ll help you.’

The moment he answered that inside, the scenery returned to its original state.

HyeJin stayed silent, then sank down on the floor.

“We were on the same space but…”

It seemed that she had a strong feeling that she was with SeungHyuk at the time he disappeared.

There was a little water in her big eyes.

At that moment, Beom, who was hanging on Yoo Ji-Ha’s back, slapped him in the ear.

“Huh? Why are you hitting me?”

When he turned around, there was a large cave with its mouth open on the cliff.

Did it originally have something like this?

When he raised the glowstone torch and went inside, he heard HyeJin stand up and follow him.

Not long after, the two found traces of someone.

Almost ragged armor and a sword broken in half were lying around without their owner.

Seeing this, HyeJin almost lost her mind and ran past Yoo Ji-Ha.

“Oh my god!”

She frantically embraced the shattered artifacts and repeatedly called SeungHyuk’s name.

‘You’re here.’

There are dark red marks here and there, indicating that he bled.

But it did not appear to have been fatally wounded.

Because there was only one blood stain.

He must have suffered serious injuries when he entered here, but it was clear that he had thrown away his armor and sword to lighten his body.

He told HyeJin, who was crying almost as if she was crazy, and when he said that she came to her senses.

“Wow, definitely… It’s possible, I think so. That’s probably what happened! That’s right!”

“For now, let’s collect the stuff and get out.”

“Oh, okay.”

She sighed, gathered his armor and sword, and stood up.

There was a little bit of vitality in her face, which was always expressionless.

Is it because she confirmed his chances of survival?

The two looked around more but couldn’t find any traces of him.

HyeJin clearly felt it as she looked at the shoulder of Yoo Ji-Ha who is leading the way.

Only good things happen around this person.

‘I have to stick with him, then…’

Maybe one day she will meet SeungHyuk.

She’s not sure, but she felt that way.

There wasn’t even a mood to continue gathering anything, so the two went straight out to find the gate.

The management center employee wondered why they came out so quickly, and the two sat down on the bench.

“Really… thank you. Had it not been for Yoo Ji-Ha-ssi, I would have continued to live in despair. I haven’t confirmed that my oppa is alive, but there’s still a possibility.”

“Well, I didn’t do it.”

“You think so? Is all this a coincidence?”

“Haha.”

Yoo Ji-Ha took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth.

He doesn’t know why he suddenly found such traces, but it was nice to see the bright color returning to HyeJin’s face.

‘That’s all that matters.’

He separated with her and returned to the store.

He stopped by the dungeon after a long time, but the only income he got was the seed of a cannibal plant.

He was thinking about getting another job tomorrow, but a notification popped up on his phone.

 

—Korea 4/5 15:37 270003****** Jin SooHee deposit 1,000,000,000. Balance 1,008,532,790.

 

Suddenly, 1 billion came into his account.

‘Who is Jin SooHee?’

He thought it had entered Yoo Ji-Ha’s account by mistake and quickly forgot about it.

In today’s world, when unexpected money comes in, it’s probably because it’s been deposited incorrectly.

Soon after, the phone rang.

“Yes, Yoo Ji-Ha. That’s right Yes… Oh, you’re a manager? You’re coming to pick me up? Excuse me, but who. Oh.”

It was then that he found out whose manager Jin SooHee was.

“Isn’t 1 billion wrongly deposited?”

Something absurd happened.