The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 45

Because that seriousness was so utterly absurd, Hana raised her thumb right along with him. 

 

And then, neither of them could hold it back any longer and burst into laughter.

 

“Since we have the potatoes and corn you brought, Hana-ssi, let’s eat them together. They go great with meat. Ah—.”

 

Taegyeom, who had been chatting away, suddenly let out a lamentation.

 

“If I had known, I would’ve brought some wrapping vegetables too. What a shame. Anyway, I’ll go find a stone slab we can use to grill the meat.”

 

Taegyeom stood up, dusting off his hands.

 

“I’ve cleared out all the monsters nearby, so it’s not dangerous. Take a little break.”

 

And so, Taegyeom disappeared among the boulders to find a stone.

 

Hana sat there blankly and read through the system window once more.

 

Not that the lettuce, which hadn’t shown its face until now, would suddenly drop from the sky just because she did that.

 

Hana clutched her head in frustration.

 

“But seriously, where am I supposed to find lettuce?”

 

Despite what her mouth was worrying about, however, Hana’s gaze kept drifting toward the pork belly.

 

“Stone plate pork belly……” 

 

It’s going to be so delicious, seriously.

 

It wasn’t even some conditioned reflex or anything, but saliva gathered full inside her mouth yet again. 

 

EXP was EXP, but the existence of lettuce became even more desperate.

 

“If possible, I want to find it right now. So I can wrap and eat it together with the meat.” 

 

The word ‘Polluted’ was attached to it, but…

 

‘Could it be something edible?’ 

 

That was probably why the system window told her to mix it with the mushroom too, right? 

 

There was a rule that even food dropped on the floor was fine if you picked it up within three seconds, so surely a bit of polluted lettuce would be okay.

 

Hana smacked her lips.

 

It was right at that moment. 

 

Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine.

 

“…?”

 

This was already the several-th time today she’d felt this.

 

Hana let out a weary sigh.

 

“I already know that even if I turn around, there’ll be nothing there again—.”

 

Muttering as if resigned, she lowered her head as if looking down, only to abruptly whip around.

 

“—is what you thought I’d say!”

 

She shouted lustily.

 

It was a feint she’d come up with in the heat of the moment.

 

However, making Hana’s efforts look foolish, the area behind her was empty as expected.

 

No, to be precise, it wasn’t empty. There was a large rock sitting a short distance away.

 

She doubted the rock had seen anything, but Hana felt embarrassed remembering how she’d just put on a whole one-woman show.

 

“K-Kehem!”

 

So, she cleared her throat for no reason and turned her head back to look forward.

 

But at that moment.

 

Rattle. 

 

A sound like a pebble falling rang out.

 

It was a very small sound.

 

But Hana turned her body back around faster than light and came face-to-face.

 

With a large rock sitting right squarely in front of her eyes. 

 

“Was this boulder here earlier too? I feel like it was further away?” 

 

Huh.

 

Hana narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.

 

“That’s strange.”

 

Hana, staring intently at the rock, suddenly sprang to her feet.

 

“Oh! Could that be!”

 

Hana’s eyes flew wide.

 

The green leaf fluttering atop the boulder was—

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<You have discovered ‘Undergrown Lettuce🥬 (D- rank)’.>

 

“I-I found it! Lettuce!”

 

It was the lettuce Hana had been searching for so desperately.

 

The moment she saw the lettuce, an imaginary scene of placing a well-done piece of pork belly on top and bringing it to her mouth automatically unfolded in Hana’s mind.

 

Hana, who had let out a cheer, soon harbored doubts about the item’s name.

 

“But why is it undergrown lettuce?” 

 

The system had clearly told her to find ‘Polluted Lettuce.’

 

Hana’s brow furrowed.

 

Was that not it?

 

“But then again, who cares? If it’s not polluted, isn’t it even better for wrapping meat?”

 

She could just find more lettuce later, so Hana grabbed the lettuce with the intention of harvesting it first.

 

And she pulled hard.

 

However, unlike its fragile appearance, it didn’t budge, causing Hana’s round cheeks to twitch.

 

“What the, you’re just lettuce, so why won’t you come out?”

 

Adjusting her posture, Hana went as far as to plant one leg on the boulder and pulled the lettuce with all her might.

 

But still, the lettuce showed no sign of being pulled out. It felt as if something was holding onto it tightly.

 

The lettuce that was supposed to be pulled didn’t come out, and instead, the boulder itself started to heave.

 

As if it were slowly stretching toward Hana. As if it were a living, moving thing.

 

However, to Hana, even that rocking was merely annoying. 

 

Since the rock kept moving, she couldn’t apply her strength properly.

 

“Oh, seriously!”

 

When the lettuce showed no intention of being pulled out no matter what, Hana, getting riled up, raised her hand high up. 

 

“If I break it, it’ll come out!”

 

Eventually, Hana’s patience snapped, and her fist dropped straight onto the boulder without hesitation.

 

Bang!

 

She had clearly only tapped it lightly, but a sound louder than expected erupted, and it was Hana who was more surprised.

 

Small cracks that started from where her small, white fist touched began to spread endlessly.

 

Cra-ack!

 

The next moment, along with a gruesome noise, a loud thump was heard.

 

“Huh? I didn’t hit it that hard… though?”

 

Dismayed by the massive boulder crumbling into pieces, Hana quickly pulled out the lettuce, roots and all, hugged it, and stepped back.

 

The shattered rock fragments poured down like hail, and among them, Hana’s eyes discovered a stone with a black spot.

 

“I’ve seen that somewhere before.”

 

Hana hugged the bunch of lettuce tightly and craned her neck further forward.

 

And soon, she let out an exclamation of realization.

 

“A rampage item!”

 

Yes, it was definitely the item that had caused Haechan to go berserk.

 

“But why is that item coming out from between the rocks?”

 

Hana blinked rapidly.

 

Could it be that the boulder from earlier wasn’t just a rock, but a host for that item?

 

“Then it was a golem?”

 

For a moment, Hana looked back and forth between her fist and what was presumed to be a golem that had been reduced to powder.

 

“Was my fist… this strong?”

 

Did she gain conditioning just because she did a bit of vegetable patch work all this time? 

 

To begin with, the idea of trying to break a rock with her fist wasn’t a typical thought for an F-rank, but Hana didn’t even harbor any doubts about that part.

 

She was merely interested in the sturdiness of her fist.

 

Just then, the black spot, having lost its host, fluttered powerlessly in the air before falling onto the bunch of lettuce Hana was clutching.

 

“Ah!”

 

The black spot, recognizing the lettuce as a new host, instantly took root.

 

Black roots spread across the lettuce leaves like ink bleeding.

 

Soon, black spots bloomed here and there on the fresh, light green leaves.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<You have acquired ‘Polluted Lettuce🥬 (D-rank)’.>

 

Hana stared blankly down at the lettuce.

 

It was an overwhelming visual that looked as if mold had bloomed on it. 

 

A wrinkle like a shriveled walnut formed on Hana’s chin.

 

“Ew, what is this.” 

 

Hana fell into a dilemma while holding the mottled lettuce.

 

As to whether she should eat this or not.

 

To the point that the bravado she had earlier when throwing a punch at a rock to have a wrap shriveled away, the appearance of this lettuce was closer to a failed biological experiment than a food ingredient.

 

Then, the system window appeared again.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<‘Undergrown Lettuce🥬 (D-rank)’ combined with a rampaging item and transformed into ‘Polluted Lettuce🥬 (D-rank)’.> 

 

“Uh… I guess it’s okay to eat it then.”

 

While she was looking at the lettuce with an unenthusiastic expression, the next notification appeared in succession.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<You have defeated a ‘Polluted Golem’. As a reward, a new ability is unlocked.>

 

<You have acquired the skill ‘Get Those Stones Out of Here! Perfect Land Leveling (F-rank)’.>

 

Hana’s mouth clamped shut in dissatisfaction.

 

Just why on earth were her skill names all like this?

 

But the embarrassment lasted only for a moment, and Hana became serious again.

 

She had wondered why the adjective ‘Polluted’ was attached, and it turned out the Berserk item was the cause.

 

“Who on earth keeps doing this kind of thing…?”

 

Determined to inform Seo Kanghyun of this fact as soon as she left the gate, Hana let out a deep sigh.

 

“First, let’s do what needs to be done.”

 

Hana pulled the oyster mushroom out of her backpack.

 

“Please let it succeed this time.”

 

With a trembling heart, Hana began to mix the mushroom and the lettuce.

 

Along with a desperate prayer.

 

‘Please hit it, the EXP jackpot!’

 

In truth, calling it ‘mixing’ was a grand term, but—

 

It wasn’t like other combat hunters who combined spears and guns to make a new weapon, or combined mana and attributes to create a finishing move.

 

The ‘mixing’ the system spoke of was simply eating it. The two ingredients together.

 

Hana wrapped the mushroom in the spotted lettuce, squeezed her eyes shut, and shoved it into her mouth.