The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 5

“No. Our response team hasn’t received orders to enter yet. There are no external entrants either.”

 

However, the energy levels were clearly and steadily dropping. The unstable, turbulent vibrations were also gradually quieting down. Everyone looked bewildered.

 

“How is this happening?” 

 

“Did the boss monster self-destruct?”

 

The only one whose gaze didn’t waver was Seo Kanghyun. He watched the Gate as its readings dropped and quietly pressed the vibrometer on his wrist.

 

“Entering.”

 

“But Hunter Seo Kanghyun. If the boss monster really self-destructed, the Gate will close soon. If things go wrong, you might not be able to get out.”

 

Gates begin a ‘natural collapse’ once a certain amount of time passes or the boss is eliminated. And right before collapsing, a massive shock hits the internal space, and it completely vanishes. This was something learned through the sacrifices and research of countless hunters.

 

“What if the boss monster isn’t dead?”

 

Everyone fell silent at the question Kanghyun raised. If that were the case, missing the right time to raid the Gate could lead to the worst-case scenario.

 

“It could be dangerous, so I’ll go in alone.”

 

Seo Kanghyun walked into the Gate just like that, without any protective gear.

 

* * *

 

Inside the Gate.

 

The cool, damp air bit into his skin. Taking one step after another, Kang-hyun scanned for any unfamiliar presence. His senses scanned the surroundings like radar.

 

Kanghyun’s eyebrows rose as he confirmed the boss monster, ‘Bubblepuff,’ lying collapsed with its head cleanly severed.

 

“As expected.”

 

It was just as he thought.

 

“It’s clean. Too clean.”

 

The cut was accurate and precise, as if dissected in a lab. With this level of skill, they had to be at least S-rank, maybe even higher. Kanghyun’s eyes sharpened.

 

“Who on earth is it?”

 

He slowly circled the boss’s corpse, examining the traces nearby. Amidst the grass, small scratches in the dirt lined the ground—signs that someone had carefully dug up the earth with a small shovel. Fragments of half-torn plastic gloves and scraps of disposable fertilizer bags were also scattered about.

 

Following the trail of a dragged bag, he observed traces of an atypical crack behind a rock on the Gate wall. Kanghyun touched the rift with his fingertips. He felt a faint residual mana.

 

“It’s not a portal trace. This is a skill.”

 

It was different from the regular entry points used by ordinary hunters. Both in form and structure.

 

Was there a skill like this?

 

Just then.

 

Thump.

 

A heavy footstep echoed behind him. One of the remaining monsters in the Gate launched a sudden surprise attack. Without even turning around, Kanghyun reached out his arm and activated a skill.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Casting skill ‘Imprint of Embers (S-rank).’ >

 

Red flames erupted like an explosion. The air trembled, and the monster turned to ash without even a chance to scream.

 

Boom! Rumble!

 

The remnants of the flames licked the floor, and charred black ash slowly drifted over it.

 

Dust. Dust.

 

Kanghyun brushed the ash off his shoulders. Then, as if nothing had happened, he finished examining the dead Bubblepuff’s body. The mana core was partially exposed between the cleanly removed flesh.

 

“They didn’t retrieve this?”

 

A mana core, especially one from an A-rank monster, could fetch tens of millions of won. Leaving something like that behind meant one of three things:

 

1. A novice who doesn’t know the value of a mana core.

 

2.Someone with so much money it’s practically rotting.

 

3. An overwhelming ranker who has no need for level-ups.

 

The first case was impossible. It’s impossible for a novice to handle an A-rank monster this cleanly. No matter how S-rank or higher they are, one cannot control skills so delicately right after awakening.

 

Putting Case 2 aside, there was only one person Kanghyun knew who fit Case 3: the world rank #1 who was no longer of this world, Hunter ‘1.’

 

For a moment, a flicker of hope passed through him. But soon, a self-mocking sneer appeared on Kanghyun’s lips.

 

“…What are you expecting again, Seo Kanghyun?”

 

All this time, Kanghyun couldn’t let go of his lingering ‘what-ifs.’ Could ‘1’ still be alive? Because of that thought, if he saw even a trace of ‘1,’ he would chase after it no matter where it was or how dangerous.

 

Among those were often high-risk Gates. However, he could never confirm ‘1’s’ survival anywhere. This time would be no different. Vain expectations only ended up making his heart ache more.

 

‘1’ is dead. Kanghyun whispered that fact, which everyone in South Korea already knew, once again to himself.

 

“Then, there’s only one answer.”

 

His gray eyes, which had sunk into darkness, soon regained their clarity as he calmly scanned the area. Normally, a Bubblepuff’s habitat should be covered in sticky slime and foul-smelling droppings.

 

But the area was strangely clean. There were marks where someone had scraped away every bit of the droppings. There was no one else who would do such a thing except for the ‘Monster Dung Collector.’ 

 

That psycho showed up again.”

 

Just then, the radio crackled.

 

-Hunter Seo Kanghyun, the energy level has dropped below 20%! At this rate, the Gate will close soon! Please come out!

 

Seo Kanghyun placed a hand on his hip and pressed the radio button.

 

“Situation clear. I’m heading out.”

 

Kanghyun was about to turn around when he stopped, feeling something bump against his toe. When he looked down, something neither heavy nor light rolled away. Small, round, red, and glossy… It was undeniably a cherry tomato.

 

“What’s this now?”

 

It was absurd. A cherry tomato in a Gate? Could there be a more mismatched combination? 

 

“Good grief.”

 

Kanghyun let out a breath like a hollow laugh and picked up the tomato.

 

* * *

 

Returning to the garden, Hana spread open the mouth of a heavy sack. 

 

“This should last a while, right?”

 

As she lightly sprinkled the fertilizer made from Bubblepuff droppings onto the soil, the cherry tomato stems momentarily trembled and squirmed.

 

Shhh—

 

Bright red fruits poked their heads out one by one from between the leaves.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Crop grade has increased. C → C+ >

< Effect increase: Stamina +15% → +30%, Fatigue –35% → -45%, Wound healing effect increased. >

 

“Ohh…”

 

Hana looked down at the skill window with a satisfied face. Then, she noticed a green stem poking out sharply between the leaves.

 

“Huh?”

 

Hana lowered herself to examine the stem. At the end of a small, round stem she had never seen before hung a thick, ochre-colored lump.

 

“What is… this?”

 

As she carefully lifted the stem, information automatically appeared in the skill window.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Unidentified crop: No Name (D-rank) >

< Effect: Unknown >

< Potential: Estimated B-rank >

 

“Wow…”

 

A small exclamation escaped her.

 

Ding-dong—

 

Right at that moment, a familiar notification sound rang from her pocket. Hana took out her phone while still holding the unidentified stem.

 

[Received Message: 1]

[Sender: Yoon Taegyeom]

 

“Huh? It’s the person who bought the cherry tomatoes last time.”

 

Hana quickly checked the message.

 

[Hello! Those cherry tomatoes from last time, they’re truly a miracle. I ran all night right after eating them. ㅠㅠ Do you happen to have any extra stock?! I’m in a real hurry, so would a direct trade be possible? I’d like to meet in person rather than using delivery! As for the price, I’ll pay double what you listed last time! P.S. I’m not a suspicious person. I can even provide Hunter certification! If you click the link below, our guild will show up!]

 

Hana’s eyes widened.

 

“Double?”

 

She had actually set her own price a bit higher than the market rate, and he’s offering double that?

 

“Young lady, what are you looking at so intently?”

 

Just then, someone approached, patting their lower back. It was the patient from room 301, the grandmother who was out for a walk. Hana hurriedly lowered her phone.

 

“It’s nothing special. I just got a text saying someone wants to buy my tomatoes at a high price.”

 

“Oho, isn’t that smishing?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

The grandmother from 301 adjusted her glasses and spoke with a firm gaze.

 

“Weren’t they using sweet words and telling you to click a link? Don’t click any strange links! I heard all your money disappears in one go if you do?”

 

“Oh my, really?”

 

Hana glared at the message window, now on high alert. Sure enough, there was a link sitting right there on the last line of the message.

 

‘Now that I think about it, I’ve seen this on the site’s bulletin board! There are people who scam like this!’

 

The Hunter Exchange was a site that even civilians could use without necessarily being registered as hunters. Of course, hunter registration is required to view professional categories like high-rank items or Gate raid information.

 

However, hunter certification wasn’t strictly necessary for buying and selling goods at C-rank or below. Thanks to that, Hana, who hadn’t registered as a hunter, could use it. It had been convenient. But because identity verification wasn’t required, the downside was that there were strange people like this.

 

“The world is a dangerous place.”

 

Hana quickly tapped the block button.

 

“Thank you, Grandma. That was a close call!”

 

“Oh my, it was nothing.”

 

The grandmother from 301 chuckled ‘ho-ho-ho’ and leisurely walked away. Hana focused back on pulling up the stem.

 

Drrrk. 

 

The round fruit that came out glittered in the sunlight.

 

“Wow, it’s sturdy! This will sell well too!”