The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 47

Taegyeom realized his limits once again.

 

A-rank.

 

The title was respectable, but at this very moment, it felt infinitely trivial.

 

If only he were S-rank right now.

 

If he were, at the very least, he wouldn’t be pushed back so one-sidedly.

 

Whoosh.

 

Just then, the golem’s massive arm lunged forward again.

 

Taegyeom barely managed to roll out of the way, and the missed attack struck the massive rock behind him.

 

The impacted rock shattered into pieces, and in an instant, it came tumbling down on top of Taegyeom.

 

His field of vision darkened in an instant. 

 

Fortunately, he avoided the catastrophe of being crushed flat by the falling boulders, but he was now trapped between them.

 

Gasping for breath, he tried heaving his body, but the rocks surrounding him on all sides did not budge in the slightest.  

 

Taegyeom gritted his teeth. 

 

Was it a mistake for him to have followed along for no good reason? 

 

It would have been better if Lee Haechan or another hunter had come instead.

 

A sense of frustration washed over him at the thought that because he was weak, even Hana would end up in danger. 

 

“I talked so big, telling her to just trust me. I’m dying of embarrassment.”

 

But just as Taegyeom finally lowered his head.

 

Thump!

 

A heavy striking sound echoed from outside the rocks.

 

Taegyeom’s eyes flew open.

 

Wondering if it was a hallucination, he pressed his ear close to the wall.

 

Thump!

 

As if to prove he hadn’t misheard, the sound of something hitting the rock rang out again.

 

Then, the next moment, the crevices in the rocks blocking his view began to split apart.

 

Hana’s clear face appeared through a hole created by the crumbling, cracked stones.

 

“Oh? Here you are.”

 

“Yoon… Hana-ssi?”

 

“I was just about to go look for you because you were taking so long, when suddenly the rocks in front of me started collapsing. I was so surprised.”

 

Taegyeom was speechless for a while.

 

Until a moment ago, this entire rocky terrain had been overwhelming him. And the person responsible for breaking it was standing there talking to him nonchalantly.

 

Hana casually cleared away the remaining pile of stones and reached out her hand.

 

“You can stand up, right?” 

 

Taegyeom took her hand hesitantly.

 

And like being pulled out, he easily escaped the pile of rocks.

 

His body was covered in scratches and bruises, but there were no major injuries.

 

Seeing that, Hana nodded.

 

“That’s a relief.”

 

Along with those words, something was shoved into Taegyeom’s mouth.

 

“Whah ih thih?” (What is this?)

 

“A wrap. Try eating it.” 

 

Since the situation was so surreal, Taegyeom felt dizzy.

 

So, without even knowing what he was doing, he chewed the wrap, and not long after, his fingertips began to itch strangely.

 

“…!”

 

Then, the existence of the golem he had briefly forgotten flashed back into his mind.

 

Taegyeom reflexively stood as if to block the path in front of Hana.

 

Thump! Thump!

 

Sure enough, the golem was charging toward them, shaking the ground.

 

Even though he knew he was no match for it, Taegyeom cast his skill again.

 

‘I wish I could move this terrain itself.’

 

Or if he had the ability to hold it down even for a moment, he could at least let Hana escape, even if he couldn’t.

 

Wishing for that, Taegyeom imagined pressing down on the golem with his telekinesis.

 

The moment he reached out his hand toward the golem.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<Casting skill ‘Telekinesis—Invisible Hand’s Pressure (S-rank)’.>

 

“Eungh?” 

 

As soon as a skill name he had never seen before appeared in his vision, the charging golem’s movement came to a dead stop.

 

Then, it crumpled flat as if crushed by a giant iron ball. 

 

Crr-ack.

 

Boom!

 

Under the intense compression, the rocks shattered and exploded into pieces.

 

“Uh, uh-uh?” 

 

Taegyeom didn’t understand what had happened.

 

He just frantically looked back and forth between his hand and the ‘thing that used to be a golem,’ which had already become a handful of dust.

 

“Did I… did I do this?”

 

【SYSTEM】

 

<Yoon Taegyeom’s Hunter rank increases due to the effect of ‘Hop Over Your Limits, Mushroom-Lettuce Wrap🥬 (A-rank)’.>

 

<A-rank → S-rank>

 

Taegyeom’s jaw dropped as if it were about to fall off.

 

Taegyeom flailed his hands toward Hana.

 

“W-What is this? Wh-What did you feed me?”

 

Only after seeing that reaction did Hana feel certain.

 

Ah, it worked.

 

Then, she beamed a bright smile.

 

“It’s my new item. The effect is pretty good, right?”

 

* * *

 

Kanghyun, who had entered the Rocky Tomb gate with Han Taeho in the lead, paused for a moment.

 

Then, with a cold face, he slowly scanned the inside of the gate.

 

While Kanghyun’s back was turned for a brief second.

 

“Damn you, Seo Kanghyun!”

 

Han Taeho’s hammer swung toward the back of Kanghyun’s head.

 

But Kanghyun didn’t even look back.

 

He simply swung his sword lightly, and the back of the blade easily parried the hammer.

 

Zing—.

 

As the shock traveled up the handle, Han Taeho’s hands trembled.

 

“Urgh!”

 

Only then did Kanghyun turn his head.

 

“Why. Are you trying to kill me or something?” 

 

Han Taeho grit his teeth, but his momentum had already been broken.

 

As Kanghyun approached, Han Taeho instinctively backed away.

 

The aura of the Red Moon Guild Master who had been snarling until a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

 

It was only natural.

 

Han Taeho’s abilities were Tracking and Transformation.

 

Although he was holding a weapon, Han Taeho was not a melee combat type in the first place. 

 

Tap.

 

Just then, Kanghyun’s foot caught on a pebble.

 

Looking down, he noticed a concave depression in the ground.

 

It looked as if something massive had pressed down from above.

 

Scattered around it were the crushed remains of a golem.

 

Traces of the entire space being compressed and then released in an instant.

 

Kanghyun’s gaze sank even lower.

 

“Now, Han Taeho.”

 

Kanghyun’s light-gray eyes turned slowly toward him.

 

“From now on, pray hard. Pray that my guild members are safe.”

 

Han Taeho’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.

 

“Because if they aren’t, I’ll blow your head off first, regardless of the Red Moon Guild or anything else.”

 

* * *

 

“Wow, this is truly amazing.”

 

“Right? What did I tell you! Meat eaten here is the best!”

 

Meanwhile.

 

Hana and Taegyeom were peacefully grilling and eating pork belly on a broad stone slab.

 

In the very place where a fierce battle had taken place just a few minutes ago.

 

Hana, smacking her lips as she looked at the meat, glanced around.

 

“By the way, is it okay for us to be lounging around like this? What if a boss monster comes out at this rate?” 

 

Since no notification for conquering a boss monster appeared on the system window, it seemed the polluted golems they had dealt with were just elite monsters.

 

When she asked worriedly, Taegyeom waved his hand, telling her not to worry.

 

“I only left it alive because the gate closes once the raid is complete. The boss monster is basically in a neutralized state anyway. It’s almost entirely destroyed, with barely the monster core remaining.”

 

“Ah. I see.”

 

“Yes, so without worrying about a thing, we just have to eat the meat deliciously!” 

 

With those words as the end, Hana and Taegyeom began wrapping wraps aggressively. 

 

Meat fat splattered along with the heat rising from beneath the stone slab.

 

The surroundings were a mess because of the scattered rocks, but the two of them were as peaceful as if they were out on a picnic.

 

Taegyeom, in particular, was shoving lettuce and cherry tomatoes into his mouth as fast as he could.

 

To anyone watching, he looked like a person who had been starving for days.

 

Thanks to Hana’s crops, the bruises and torn wounds he’d received from the golem earlier had vanished completely, as if they had never existed.

 

Taegyeom stuffed a wrap half the size of his face into his mouth, chewed, and tapped on his watch.

 

Tap, tap.

 

“Seriously, did this jerk Seo Kanghyun see my message or not?”

 

Taegyeom muttered through his chewing.

 

“I sent a message saying I was fine because he might have been surprised by the gate rank changing.”

 

After fiddling with the watch a few more times, he eventually decided he didn’t care and focused back on the meat.

 

“Anyway, I’m so glad you didn’t run into any monsters while I was away, Hana-ssi.”

 

“Huh? I did meet one, though. A monster.”

 

“What?! A-Are you hurt anywhere?”

 

Startled, Taegyeom checked Hana over.

 

Hana calmed him down.

 

“I’m fine. The monster I met must not have been that strong. It broke after one hit.”

 

At Hana’s words, horizontal wrinkles formed on Taegyeom’s forehead.

 

“Fortunately, it seems the golem you met wasn’t a polluted one.”

 

Quite naturally, Taegyeom assumed the monster Hana met was just a regular D-rank monster.

 

“But even so, it should have been tough for Hana-ssi to handle. Hana-ssi, are you really an F-rank?”

 

“Yes. Of course.”

 

To the question she had been hearing often lately, Hana nodded reflexively.

 

Hadn’t she just checked the system window a few minutes ago to look up the effects of the wrapping vegetables?

 

It was an undeniable fact.

 

However, Taegyeom looked like he didn’t believe it at all.

 

“Honestly, just tell me. I won’t tell anyone.”

 

“Hey, I told you I’m an F-rank. More importantly, did you really become an S-rank, Yoon Taegyeom-ssi?”

 

At Hana’s question, Taegyeom’s lips twitched simply.

 

Then, overcome with emotion, he covered his mouth.

 

“That’s right, I’m an S-rank now— sniff.”

 

Suddenly leaping to his feet, Taegyeom couldn’t contain his excitement and began running circles around the stone slab.

 

“Wow, I’m an S-rank now! S-rank! Hahaha!”

 

He seemed to have completely forgotten that they were in the middle of a gate.

 

It was then.

 

Another voice echoed from over the rocky hill.

 

“Even so, I’m a Guild Master of a top-three guild; this kind of treatment is too much! I’m even your senior, older than you! Wait, do you smell meat grilling somewhere?”