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.

Fortunately, Park SeongHo, Lee Jumi, and Seo HyeJin knew each other.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’re on close terms.

Nobody is close to HyeJin.

Except for one.

So, even when the Hunters met HyeJin, they went by unnoticed.

SeongHo and Jumi were gentle, but they weren’t kind to those who were known to ignore people,

HyeJin feels lonely again and goes out coldly… When things get messed up like this, there’s no way to fix them.

But there are still people who don’t care about that kind of atmosphere.

“Hello.”

Silence fell for a moment.

The party of the Happy Hunters guild wondered why Yoo Ji-Ha pretended to know Seo HyeJin.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

The strange thing is that HyeJin reacted.

SeonYoung was not interested, but SeongHo and Jumi were greatly surprised.

Seo HyeJin, the Ice Princess, greeted Ji-Ha.

Yoo Ji-Ha smiled softly, not paying attention to their reaction.

“I’m lucky. I know some good people, so I got a chance.”

“I hear that word quite often.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Is that so… By the way, no matter how much I saw the effect of the potion, I couldn’t believe that it had actually taken me this long to come this far.”

“Why does it sound like HyeJin went through a lot of hardship?”

“I think it took at least three or four hours.”

“Didn’t we arrive early? I don’t think it has been 30 minutes.”

Jumi said and checked her watch.

SeongHo looked at it together and nodded.

“Exactly 28 minutes have passed. HyeJin, did it really take that long? We just arrived here.”

“Strange… Did you receive a quest? Now it’s updated to kill a horde of Frost Trolls.”

“No.”

Jumi felt saddened by HyeJin’s curt answers.

How heartbroken would you have to be for your personality to change like this?

Before SeungHyuk’s disappearance, HyeJin wasn’t this cold.

Even though she had difficulties in interpersonal relationships, somehow she was still able to talk to other people…

At the same time, it was strange for Ji-Ha to have a conversation with HyeJin.

What kind of relationship did they have? Between a general store owner and the 12th ranked Hunter.

Then SeongHo stepped in.

“As I just said, we have been given a quest. I don’t know why HyeJin wasn’t given one, but we must deal with it anyway. We must stop the breakout.”

The breakout of the dungeon means that all monsters inside it run out to the outside world.

Although the monster’s stats received a burst, it would not mean much because soldiers and Hunters were camped outside.

However, in the case of a breakout, those who received the quest will be recorded on the Hunternet, their points will be greatly reduced, and their ranking will drop.

So, the Hunters spent a lot of time trying to complete the quest.

“Let me join.”

HyeJin said, SeongHo and Jumi tilted their heads to see if they heard it wrong.

“Uh… You’re coming with us? Are we doing it?”

“You don’t want me to?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want to, but since you didn’t receive the quest, your points won’t go up if you complete it, right?”

“‘It doesn’t matter.”

“Oppa, we don’t have time, we have to go quickly.”

“We don’t know where the location is… We really should hurry.”

“Huh, okay. Let’s go.”

At the urging of the two women, SeongHo lowered his shield and took the lead.

As the three of them walked around Yoo Ji-Ha, HyeJin had no choice but to follow behind him.

But it’s really strange.

‘Something strange happens when you encounter this person.’

It was the first time she had discovered such a huge tree root in a Polar dungeon.

Above all, she never imagined that the surroundings would be this warm.

In addition to the effect of the potion, it started to get hotter by wearing winter clothes.

Maybe other people felt it too, so she opened the zipper area of her neck.

It’s really baffling.

***

The Frost Troll is a variant and enhanced version of a regular troll.

It’s 1.5 times larger in size and has superior stats, especially its stamina.

The troublesome thing is that the troll’s Characteristic, Wound Regeneration, is incredibly potent.

What further annoys Hunters is that it knows how to take advantage of their size when setting an ambush.

The story of a rookie Hunter who lost his life when he was attacked by a Frost Troll while wandering in a snowstorm unique to the Polar dungeon is often heard.

Fortunately, their party were veterans upon receiving the quest.

Besides, there is also Seo HyeJin, who’s placed 12th in the Hunter Rankings, so there is no big problem… Everyone thought so.

“There are a lot of them. Ten trolls.”

Heading northwest, the group went through a snowstorm and found a cave within the valley.

The Frost Troll’s Ice Nest was right there.

At first, they hid to understand the trolls’ movements, and they found out that there were ten trolls.

“If you drink all the potions and walk towards them, it will work out somehow. It would have been better if there was a Hunter that uses Fire-based skills, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

SeonYoung opened her book and muttered.

Trolls are weak against Fire-based skills, but Frost Trolls are even more so.

Because they melt completely, guilds with flame magicians have great strength in polar dungeons.

The problem is that resources and materials are scarce, so their strengths are meaningless.

“I’ll take the lead.”

“Are you sure? No matter how strong you are-”

HyeJin took the lead without saying a word.

Looking at her hands on her belt, she seems to be drinking a potion right before the battle. The group got ready and followed her.

Except for one.

“Yoo Ji-Ha, you have to hide here quietly, okay?”

“Yes.”

Jumi covered Yoo Ji-Ha’s hand with hers and advised him again and again.

It would be the end if he, who was only a normal person, went out.

“I will be fine, I know myself well. You can go.”

“Okay.”

SeongHo and SeonYoung followed HyeJin along the ridge of the valley.

Down there, they could see the entrance to the nest the Frost trolls had built.

Luckily, the trolls don’t seem to have noticed them.

SeongHo took a potion from his belt and poured it into his mouth.

“Ugh. Everytime I taste it, I’m sick of it. HyeJin, we will go down first, so all you have to do is support us.”

HyeJin, who was walking, stopped, and nodded.

At this point, it’s time to stop talking.

“Jumi, help me not to be taken down like you used to, and SeonYoung scatter out a few of the Frost Trolls to attack, okay? Like how you’ve been doing so far.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat them with this book.”

SeonYoung looked at the book and smiled.

Those who didn’t know about Paper magicians laughed.

Will the trolls get hurt by those thick old books?

SeongHo looked at the trolls and said one last time.

“A wide range of skills is good, but it is important to reduce the number of them. It’s sufficient to take them down one by one.”

“Let’s start from the left.”

“Well… Okay.”

HyeJin and SeonYoung matched their words.

If the attacks of the two damage dealers are disorganized, they will be pushed back by the trolls’ regenerative ability.

Of course, HyeJin has a destructive power that surpasses the rate of their regeneration, but it’s better to match up.

“Let’s go, I want to get rid of them quickly and rest in a warm place.”

SeongHo pulled out his wooden shield and sword at the end of Jumi’s words.

When skills such as Battle Cry and Beast Power were applied adding Stone Skin to the combo, the surrounding ether shook violently.

“Waaaaaaaaa!”

His aura became like that of a bear’s and began to gallop down the valley.

The trolls quickly found him and started yelling at him.

A fight between ten monsters over 3m tall and a 195cm human.

No matter how you looked at it, the human side was at a disadvantage.

However, the person who supported SeongHo was Lee Jumi, a Specialized healer.

Following her gestures, a soft ether enveloped SeongHo’s body.

The troll’s claws were torn like a piece of paper, and the armor was broken and damaged, but it healed quickly.

bang! bang! Kook!

The trolls got excited and smashed SeongHo’s shield.

There were trolls who couldn’t keep up, but they noticed it in advance with the sense of a seasoned knight, and retreated back to form the ranks again.

At that moment, Seo HyeJin, who flew with a sword, spread the ether.

The intangible sword aura was concentrated on one point and separated the body of a troll.

SeonYoung concentrated on the cliff with her open book.

Pararack.

The pages of the book were torn apart, hovering around her at high speed, and then flew away. She is a Paper magician.

Paper is easier to handle than limbs.

Hundreds of sheets of paper wrapped around two trolls and threw them away.

They collapsed without even knowing a thing, and their necks were separated by the sword aura.

“Three trolls at once!”

The eyes of the trolls who lost their comrades shone red and fiercely smashed SeongHo’s shield.

They were starting to get frenzied, but SeongHo couldn’t do anything.

As long as there are two damage dealers, the tank can only serve as a sandbag.

While the party was killing the trolls, Yoo Ji-Ha was hiding and watching their activities.

‘The battle of Hunters sure is great,’

They’re superhumans.

The wooden shield that SeongHo casually slaps contains the power capable of smashing concrete walls.

The ether that flies away with Jumi’s gentle touch heals any wounds on the spot.

The stark contrast between Yoo Ji-Ha and them, where he has to hide because he doesn’t have any combat skills can be seen.

But he doesn’t regret it.

‘I’ll have something else to do.’

Do what you can and don’t be overly greedy.

As he was thinking, something appeared right in front of him.

“Waaah!”

Yoo Ji-Ha fell backwards in surprise, when a Frost Troll suddenly leapt out, growling with its glowing red eyes.

One of them was hiding, waiting for an ambush.

SeonYoung, who was nearby, hurriedly pulled out another book, but it was already too late.

The troll slammed the ground with its long arms and rushed into Yoo Ji-Ha.

“Ah!”

His body stiffened, and he couldn’t move.

Yoo Ji-Ha, who suddenly became a prey from being a bystander, had to stand still and watch the troll’s attack.

“Ji-Ha!”

SeonYoung clenched her teeth and threw papers his way, but it was still quite a distance.

In her eyes, the troll’s arms seemed to slash Yoo Ji-Ha.

Before the scream could end, something shot out the ice and rose.

A dark pincer cut the Frost Troll’s waist and retreated back in the ice.

It happened so quickly, that Ji-Ha or SeonYoung couldn’t even figure out what it was.

“Huh… What, what was that?”

“Ji-Ha are you okay?”

“I’m okay, I’m okay… But Noona, did you see what just happened? What kind of pincer did it belong to?”

“Yeah, I saw it too. It looked like a monster… But it was a quick one! You stay, there might be more monsters here”

“I’ll run away on my own, so please help them, Noona!”

“Yeah! Take care of yourself!”

But there were no trolls left to attack.

SeongHo, Jumi, and HyeJin were looking at the troll who had its waists cut off with a shocked look.

“What happened?! “

“I don’t know! Out of nowhere, something popped out!”

“It was a pincer! Like that of a stag beetle’s! It looked like that!”

To summarize, a monster-like being popped out all of a sudden, killed the trolls then disappeared.

Is that possible?

Why didn’t it attack them?

Various questions popped up in the group’s minds, but it wasn’t the most important thing.

There is no reason to delay here since the quest window shows that it’s completed.

SeongHo called Ji-Ha and told him to absorb the Essence left by the troll.

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“I’m here to support you, come on, don’t worry.”

“Ji-ha, eat it quickly. You said you wanted to try the Essence right? I wonder if you’ll feel something.”

“Is this your first time eating it? Maybe you will feel good.”

Essence is the source of life that comes out when you defeat a monster.

Because its probability to drop is low, there were some who fought for it during distribution.

Essence upgrades your stats, various resistances, and skills, so if you are a Hunter, you must do your best to try to secure it.

The golden mass was floating in front of Yoo Ji-Ha.

“Okay, then I’ll just take one.”

“You can take two. We were going to give them to you excluding HyeJin’s share anyway. But the Ether stone is ours okay? We also have to live.”

How grateful Ji-ha was to these people.

He looked at HyeJin.

As she nodded, without further ado, he brought his body into contact with the golden mass.

‘Ah… So that’s how it feels.’

It felt like snuggling in a warm blanket during winter.

Like how cloth absorbs water, the essence is absorbed into the body and the Essence stat in his status window is updated.

【Class: Worker

Primary stat:

HP: 80      Vitality: 70      Ether: –      Essence: 2

Secondary stat:

Endurance: 7      Strength: 8      Agility: 8      Talent: 9      Spirit: 9

Resistance:

Physical: 5      Element: Cold: 32      Poison: –      Abnormal Status –

Characteristic: XXX Blessing WI

Skills: Plant-friendly LVI, Animal-friendly LVI, Alchemy LV2】

‘Oh.’

Of course, obtaining an Essence did not change anything other than the essence stat indicating he absorbed 2 Essence.

For now, he is satisfied with this.

Yoo Ji-Ha escaped the Polar dungeon with the party.

As they exited, the gate surface shook violently, signaling the end of the dungeon.

The Hunters who were inside came out in bewilderment.

***

“So, in the end, what was it?”

“How would I know that? I’ve only seen this ambiguous battle report.”

Cha HwaYeon threw the papers on the desk.

The place where she was located was the office of Kim HyungSeok, who is said to be the most credible Hunter force in Korea.

He was a man in his early thirties, and he had an appearance that anyone would like.

Tall, sleek muscular body, and a neat suit that accentuates him greatly.

“Hmm… To clear a Polar dungeon out of nowhere… Even trolls are understandable, but suddenly there are monsters with pincers? Was there a monster with pincers in the Polar dungeon?”

“If you think about it, the monsters with pincers are Kroxis, Devil Ants, and KangOh. Is it a new monster?”

“Why don’t we raise the rating a little bit? To Destruction-grade.”

“Are you kidding me right now? There’s no way those monsters will appear in Category 3 dungeons.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s true. They weren’t supposed to come out.”

Their eyes were directed at the wall at the same time.

Hanging there was a picture of the monsters that appeared when the first dungeon was opened.

Also known as Destruction-grade monsters.

A disaster that should never happen again.

Humanity had to make great sacrifices to kill them.

And now, 10 years later, the sea was inhabited with monsters and they barely managed to defend the land and sky.

The damage humanity suffered in the war against them is that great.

HwaYeon turned her gaze away from the picture and looked at HyungSeok.

“And that huge tree root… It’s a bit unreasonable to say that Yoo Ji-ha is simply lucky.”

“It’s the first time I’ve heard that name. But I think it will be important.”

“He’s the person who makes potions by picking strange fruits. Isn’t your information a bit late?”

HwaYeon smiled, but her face hardened when she saw the fruit HyungSeok was taking out of the safe.

This is a Solar Apple that has not been touched yet.

“Are you talking about this?”

“Sly snake.”

“I think it would be better to describe me as a decisive person. Anyway, I heard the story about the special potion. But this fruit we got had no particular effect.”

“Wait a minute, then that means…”

“He either has special abilities, or he lied.”

“He didn’t seem like a liar.”

HyungSeok whistled at her words.

“Already have a crush? He seems to be a young man with great charm.”

“Don’t be silly. I have no hobbies playing with children. Anyway, you’re sure that fruit doesn’t have any effects, right?”

“I have no reason to lie to the Guild leader.”

For once, and it’s only because the two are allies.

If that’s the case… Then, what really happened?

Does he really have special abilities?

‘It doesn’t make sense, if I had that kind of ability, I would have made a lot of money…’

In the light of HwaYeon’s common sense, it was nonsense for Yoo Ji-ha to stick with that shabby general store.

What is it?

While she was still contemplating, HyungSeok put the fruit back in and said:

“If you can’t figure it out, ask around. I’ve already sent someone.”

“You aren’t going to threaten him, are you?”

“What do you view me as? I understand that I have a bad image as a chaebol, but Guild leader Cha should know better that I am not that kind of guy.”

“I don’t know. You’re such a sneaky person, so I don’t know what you’re plotting.”

“Hey, even though this is an alliance, you still have a grudge against me. Well, for the time being, I won’t approach him and just observe.”

Is that true?

When HwaYeon looked at him as if she was gauging if he’s reliable or not, he smiled and spread his arms.

“I love talented people. If that young man is a talented person who fits my plan, I must pay him millions of dollars to attract him. If they have the right talent, I can give them the right position.”

“It’s not my problem, so take care of it yourself.”

She turned and left the office.

In the end, the important questions were not resolved, but HwaYeon had a lot of problems, so it was quickly forgotten.

After HyungSeok confirmed that she had left, he took out a file folder from the safe.

It was a document that recorded the monsters of Extinction-grade or higher that mankind had faced. His eyes flipped through the page.

Theradrone.

The name of a Myth-class monster.

“Surely, it’s not…”