The Gardener in a Hunter World

Disclaimer: This is an edited MTL. Thus, I can’t guarantee that my editing to be proficient. But I hope you enjoy this story with me. If there are any corrections, it is highly encourage to leave a comment.

Seo HyeJin is a Sword Master.

If you ask how it’s different from the Swordsman class, it is said that it can summon intangible sword auras and perform various techniques.

When the dazzling movement of the sword aura in the battlefield is added to her beautiful appearance, only admiration is felt.

However, it’s known that her personality is not good.

Most people get ignored by her, and even some of the skilled Hunters say it’s difficult to talk to her.

A Hunter who was acquainted with her said:

“HyeJin is not a bad girl. She only became like this because of SeungHyuk’s disappearance… I hope you don’t hate her too much.” 

Han SeungHyuk. The Number 1 Ranked Hunter in Korea.

He was the envy of all Hunters.

He was Korea’s representative Hunter with endless strength, pleasing appearance, and good leadership.

He, who was her lover, went into a Category 5 dungeon with his guild members and disappeared.

HyeJin, who was absent at the time of the incident, was said to weep while wandering around for a few days after the dungeon disappeared.

It was probably from then on.

Seo HyeJin’s face turned cold, and her personality changed.

She jumped into dungeons recklessly regardless of the difficulty.

The purpose of her actions was unclear.

People could only guess that she’s trying to find even the smallest of clues of Han SeungHyuk’s disappearance.

She would not decline even a low-difficulty dungeon thus protecting junior hunters unintentionally.

Today, she jumped into a Category 2 dungeon.

The scenery within the dungeon, which is slightly different from the forests on Earth, was already familiar to Hunters.

At the splendid sword aura shower performance by the Sword Witch, monsters, big and small, were swept away as a group,

The Hunters assigned to this dungeon had nothing else to do but pick up the dropped Ether Stones when they got tired of her massacre.

Three sword auras floated in the air and pierced the bodies of the five earthworms hiding underground.

The mole-shaped corpses disappeared and all that was left was a brilliant golden Ether Stone.

In this era, Ether Stone is treated as money.

But HyeJin didn’t even give it a glance, and the hunters hurriedly took the small Ether Stones.

“We have nothing to do.”

“It’s nice to be comfortable, isn’t it? But we also need to hone our skills.”

“What about the guild?”

“The Sword Witch has jumped in, so you should just give up and follow her. If you touch her, you’ll hurt yourself.”

Out of nowhere, the atmosphere of the forest changed drastically.

Unknown birds flew in the air, and bizarre cries were heard everywhere.

The gloomy air distinctive to a dungeon that covers the light was spread all over.

When the hunters tensed up, Seo HyeJin unsheathed the sword behind her back.

“Run away.”

“Yes? I beg your pardon?”

“I told you to run away.”

“But, suddenly….”

When a male Hunter tried to object, something roared and popped out of the forest.

Sassaak!

A scorpion monster the size of an armored car.

Where the eyes should have been, a half-squashed human body stood tall.

Manstalker.

A Hate-grade monster that only appears in Category 4 dungeons.

The frequency of its appearance was extremely rare, so not much information was gathered about it.

The only thing Hunters know about this bastard is that it exhibits agile behavior that is unimaginable for its large size, and that its venom is dangerous.

As soon as it appeared, the quest received upon entering the dungeon was updated, however only HyeJin noticed.

“Everyone, run away!”

In the end, Seo HyeJin ordered loudly.

The rookie hunters’ complexion changed when they saw the Manstalker’s ugly appearance.

In particular, its thick tail which contains extremely lethal venom that they won’t be able to withstand for a minute even after they boosted their Poison Resistance.

They ran away, knowing that staying would only make them hindrances for HyeJin.

Instead of chasing after the hunters, the Manstalker glared at Seo HyeJin.

Growl.

Her Arondight was pulled out of its scabbard and floated in the air.

Sword auras unique to a Sword Master spread left to right.

The moment HyeJin raised her eyes, the Manstalker’s tail trembled, and something popped out of its tip.

***

The Manstalker called its cubs.

Although HyeJin has superhuman reflexes and agility, it was unreasonable to completely evade the pincers and stingers of a dozen Manstalkers.

Despite her high Poison Resistance, her stamina kept dropping, so HyeJin hid in the forest and found a Stamina potion from her belt and drank it.

“Ha… Well.”

The taste and smell of potions were terrible, so she already frowned in advance without even drinking it.

It’s kind of a defense mechanism.

But the liquid flowing down her throat was very sweet.

It was to the point that she thought she mistakenly drank something else rather than a potion right now, and it smelled good.

“Why does it taste like this?”

Even if you pour sweeteners like sugar while making the potion, it doesn’t taste like this.

Anyway, the stamina she consumed from evading attacks and from the Manstalker’s venom began to recover.

Thinking about the ether consumption of the Arondight Sword, she confirmed that the ether stat in her status window changed to golden.

Is this what happens when you drink Ether potion?

Could it be that the potion she just drank had a hidden effect that reduced ether consumption to 0?

“I need to check.”

The thought of running away was gone.

Among the Skills she learned, the Big Sword Rumbling consumed the most ether.

The time has come to unveil that Skill.

Attribute Swordsmanship.

HyeJin’s feet slammed into the ground, and the long sword Arondight floated her into the air.

In an instant, she looked down at a dozen Manstalkers.

They still haven’t noticed her.

Hurrying up before they realize…

A golden glow emanated from her body.

Arondight was split into dozens of sword auras in an instant and was directed at the Manstalkers.

Papapapa….

It was a wave and a dance of swords.

After cutting off the tail of the young Manstalker, the sword aura HyeJin produced followed her hand gesture, drew an arc, and returned to target them again.

Dozens of swords were fired, so there was no time to react for the group of Manstalkers.

kyaaah!

‘I can do it… I’m doing it!’

HyeJin felt extreme bliss.

The ether consumption of the skill was so great that it was difficult to extend it to even 3 seconds, and this sword dance continued for nearly 10 seconds.

The sword auras cut the Manstalkers’ pincers and separated their tails.

And when several sword auras stabbed the back of the mother Manstalker, it spat out a scream and swung its tail as if in a frenzy.

Puck!

HyeJin’s armor shattered, and a searing pain spread to her shoulder.

The Manstalker gave her Essence, the essence of life, as the group was annihilated with one blow.

But her condition was not so good.

The venom entered her body even with her 25% Poison Resistance.

She fell off Arondight and crawled on the floor.

“Aww, damn it….”

She took out a Poison Resistance potion from her gear belt.

It’s an unreliable potion, but it’s still better than nothing.

Her vision blurred and her hands trembled.

She popped the cork and poured the potion into her mouth.

Now all that was left to do was pray for the potion to overwhelm the poison.

“Ha… Ha…”

Fortunately, the potion overcame the Manstalker’s venom.

However, the aching pain and lethargy that weighed on her whole body remained.

HyeJin moaned in pain, got up, and forcefully stood with her shaking legs.

“What the hell happened?” 

If it wasn’t for the potion that supplied her ether for over 10 seconds, she wouldn’t even dare deal with the Manstalker horde.

Did she buy it at the general store?

“Uncle Hunter, no, that, Hunter…”

He’s too young to be called an uncle, but somehow, she remembers buying a potion from his general store.

She needs to check where she got it.

HyeJin only took the largest Ether Stone and collapsed while walking.

The pain from the venom did not subside easily.

She was only panting for a bit before she was rescued by new Hunters who ran late.

They were astonished to learn that about a dozen Manstalkers had popped out.

“Ten, eleven, twelve… Thirteen, alone?”

“Hey, isn’t this a Manstalker’s Ether stone? Aren’t you crazy?”

“I think it really is a Manstalker… Look at the discoloration of the ground. Manstalker venom doesn’t go away easily.”

“Yeah…”

“She must really be…”

“A real witch…”

“Hey, shhh.”

“We don’t have time. Let’s go quickly before the dungeon closes.”

The three Hunters supported HyeJin and quickly escaped the dungeon.

The soldiers, who were on the lookout for monsters from outside, applauded all at once.

Hunters had difficulty explaining why the dungeon didn’t break.

***

“You’re here again.”

That Hunter came again.

Yoo Ji-Ha bookmarked the book he was reading, stood up, and greeted her.

As a result of belatedly searching for information, he just knew that she was Seo HyeJin, the 12th ranked Hunter.

The reason she, a top hunter, came back here is probably…

Her lips opened.

“The potion you sold to me; something was strange.”

“How was it strange?”

“For a low-level potion, it filled up my stamina too quickly and had a strange effect. I didn’t know the ether consumption would vanish.”

The effect was real.

He smiled inwardly but didn’t say anything.

She informed him that she had dealt with a group of Manstalkers.

“Isn’t that a Hate-grade monster? It’s amazing to be able to handle that alone…”

“I am not great. If it wasn’t for that potion, I’d be dead. Where did you pick it up? Did you make it?”

Instead of answering, Yoo Ji-Ha took out a yellow fruit from the basket on the shelf.

“I named it Solar apple, would you like to eat it?”

“Oh, that’s…”

HyeJin also knows the identity of the yellow fruit.

It can sometimes be found while wandering in the dungeon.

Most dungeon quests have a time limit, and Solar Apples are usually located far away, so they had no choice but to only look at it longingly.

She can’t believe that that same fruit is coming from this young man’s hand.

Gulp.

HyeJin swallowed her saliva without realizing it.

She didn’t know if the yellow fruit was delicious or not.

But she could read the thoughts from the young man’s good-looking face.

‘It’s delicious, you won’t regret eating it.’

Maybe she will be the first hunter to eat the fruit called Solar Apple.

No, is she the second?

She nodded and pulled up a small chair and sat down.

She came to ask about the effect of the potion, but she laughed at the fact that she was waiting for the young man to cut the fruit.

‘I’m laughing.’

It was a strange thing.

She swore she wouldn’t laugh until she found him again.

HyeJin bit her lip and frowned.

Meanwhile, Yoo Ji-Ha was perplexed because he couldn’t figure out why this lady was laughing one minute then frowning the next.

What do you not like?

Maybe a silent protest to prune the fruit quickly?

When the skin of the solar apple was peeled off, yellow flesh revealed itself.

He cut it into cubes, placed it on a plate, put a fork, and gave it to her.

HyeJin hesitated, before she took a bite of the Solar Apple, and opened her eyes wide.

It was so sweet and fragrant that she thought it was sprinkled with honey.

“Did you put this fruit in the potion?”

“You’re right, but I don’t know what effect it has. Did the ether consumption go down?”

“What exactly happened is that…” 

She glanced at the young man and said that she used her skill for over 10 seconds to deal with a horde of monsters.

He said he wasn’t a proper hunter, but he knew that it wasn’t normal.

He looked a little surprised when he heard that she had dealt with the monster horde alone.

“I see. I managed to pick this Solar Apple thanks to a small dungeon that opened behind the shop. I was lucky.”

Finally, the answer she had been waiting for came.

Category 0 dungeons appear for a short time and then close.

“How was it inside? The scenery.”

“It was a small forest. I didn’t take any quests. There were no monsters. The time was too short so I could only bring a Solar Apple. “

“Hmm. So that’s how it happened.”

Category 0 dungeons are also called safe dungeons.

There are no monsters, but the resources are small, and the duration it can stay open is short.

The mystery was solved.

There was no need to ask how the Solar Apple was processed into a potion.

It was the work of the alchemists, not hers.

“First, let me say thank you. And I said that because I think I bought a potion too cheap… Call the price.”

“No, I think I sold it properly.”

HyeJin lowered her eyes slightly.

“Isn’t that the only potion that makes ether usage 0 for more than 10 seconds?”

“Because that’s how I sold it. I wasn’t sure about the potion’s effectiveness, so I sold it moderately high. After selling it to a customer, I ate a delicious lunch. That’s it.”

This man is not very greedy.

She noticed what kind of person the young man was and did not push further.

“You, what’s your name?”

“Yoo Ji-Ha.”

“I think I’ve heard it somewhere.”

He laughed a little.

“He’s famous as a Hunter without Skills and Characteristics.”

“Oh.”

Only then did the name and face match.

He is famous for being the lowest Hunter in the world. There was also a saying that if you want to know the number of registered Hunters in Korea, you can look at his ranking.

She looks at the bright golden eyes, he must have awakened.

HyeJin took out her wallet, placed a bundle of banknotes on a chair, and left the store.

“Excuse me…” 

Without a moment to react, a loud rumble of a sports car was heard.

Yoo Ji-Ha glanced at the money.

A thick stack. Looks like a few hundred thousand won.

It’s already been given, so let’s make it useful.

He happily waited for the time to return to the forest.

As he fell asleep, an amazing scenery greeted him.