The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 6

After returning to the guild, Seo Kanghyun took out the cherry tomato he had tucked in his work pants pocket. After staring at its glossy surface for a long while, he tossed it into a glass cup.

 

“Hyung. Did you find out who the seller is?”

 

“Kanghyun-ah, who do you think I am? I’m Yoon Taegyeom.”

 

“So. You found out?”

 

Yoon Taegyeom, who had been following Kanghyun, gave a bear-like grin. Lifting a majestic thumb, Taegyeom pointed it at his own chest.

 

“Nope. I got blocked by that seller.”

 

“…?”

 

Seo Kanghyun felt a headache coming on.

 

But the real show was just beginning. Yoon Taegyeom stuffed his own handkerchief into his mouth and began to writhe with a look of extreme sorrow.

 

“It’s not like I acted like a creep or anything! I wrote it politely, with manners! I even offered double the money! But a block? Getting blocked?!”

 

Seo Kanghyun covered his ears as the rapid-fire complaints poured out. 

 

But Yoon Taegyeom was tireless.

 

“I need to buy those cherry tomatoes… and this happened because of you, Seo Kanghyun! What are you going to do? Take responsibility!”

 

As if a mere tomato mattered that much. 

 

Yoon Taegyeom wailed while pounding the floor, then suddenly snapped his eyes open.

 

“Hey, Kanghyun. You haven’t joined the Hunter Exchange yet, have you?”

 

Feeling an ominous sensation, Seo Kanghyun took a step back.

 

“…Why.”

 

“With your personality, you wouldn’t have bothered with that. Right? Right.”

 

As expected. His bad premonitions were never wrong. 

 

Yoon Taegyeom licked his lips and approached Kanghyun.

 

“I knew it! Let’s just make an ID in your name. Give me your phone!”

 

Yoon Taegyeom unilaterally snatched Seo Kanghyun’s phone and installed the Hunter Exchange app. 

 

Kanghyun let him be, knowing that if he stopped him, Taegyeom would spend at least three days sulking.

 

“What should the ID be? ‘Kanghyun-Jjang,’ ‘I’m-the-real-SS-Class,’ ‘Milk-skinned-Haechi-Billboard-Seo-Kanghyun’?”

 

“Don’t you dare pick something like that.”

 

At the savage warning, Yoon Taegyeom clamped his mouth shut. Just when it seemed it might get quiet—

 

Yoon Taegyeom suddenly shot up from his seat.

 

“Hey, hey! Kanghyun! A new one is up!”

 

“What is.”

 

“The item from that person you told me to look into! A new one is up! Look!” 

 

Yoon Taegyeom muttered with an excited face, pointing at the screen.

 

“I’m buying this. No matter what!” 

 

Just what was it? 

 

Kanghyun cast his gaze toward the screen.

 

[Item: ‘Potatoes are Perseverance🥔 (D-rank)’]

 

• When pulled, it shouts a thunderous ‘Et-cha!’ Growing big and sturdy from eating lots of fertilizer.
• When consumed, Defense increases by 20% for 10 minutes.

 

p.s) Try shouting ‘Et-cha!’ while eating the potato.

If you’re lucky, your Defense might increase by an additional +5%.

 

Shout…… what?

 

As Kanghyun read the additional description, his face became increasingly distorted.

 

“Just what on earth is this person selling?”

 

* * *

 

「Hunters’ Hideout_B99」

 

[Question] Anyone tried the ‘Cherry Tomatoes’ that showed up on the Hunter Exchange recently?

Nickname: TowerClimber_333

 

It was C-rank so I didn’t expect much, but maybe because of the recovery trait, my concentration went crazy after eating it. It felt like it was getting etched into my brain?

 

(42 Comments)

 

⌎ Anonymous1: Concentration from a mere C-rank? Lololol

⌎ Anonymous2: I ate it too, it’s legit;; I ate it right before a boss fight and my skill damage proc’d 1.4x 

⌎ Anonymous3: Is that stuff drugged?

⌎ Anonymous4: The cherry tomatoes are the real deal. Yup.

⌎ Anonymous5: Hey, it’s just a C-rank, what’s with this random hype…

⌎ Anonymous6: If you haven’t tried it, keep your mouth shut man ㅡㅡ

 

[Review] Blew up a boss after eating a potato

Nickname: StylishTomato

 

I ate a potato at the Gate entrance and shouted Et-cha☆ and the defense boost was seriously insane. I got hit hard by a B-rank monster and only lost one front tooth.

I’m joining the Cult of Crops immediately.

 

(67 Comments)

 

⌎ Anonymous1: What’s with the ‘Et-cha☆’ lol crazy ㅋㅋㅋ

⌎ Anonymous2: I heard rumors the effect is halved if you don’t do the ‘Et-cha☆’?

⌎ Anonymous3: No no. It’s not halved. Instead, you get a 5% extra defense boost if you’re lucky.

⌎ Anonymous3: The effect is real. Defense +20% + Comedy Power +300%

⌎ Anonymous4: The problem is… lately everyone in the guild has turned into Et-cha parrots. Ugh.

⌎ Anonymous5: Hyung, I’m too embarrassed to shout it ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

⌎ Anonymous6: Wait, if your front tooth got knocked out, doesn’t that mean the defense didn’t work?

⌎ Author: I’m C-rank.

⌎ Anonymous5: Then I acknowledge it. The potato effect is insane.

 

* * *

 

“Et-cha☆!”

 

Somewhere in the guild lounge, someone in a combat suit shouted.

 

“Ee-ee-ee-et-cha☆!!!!!”

 

One person jumped, and another daintily stood on their tiptoes. Muscular men were cutely bending their legs like magical girls.

 

Seo Kanghyun’s brow twitched. 

 

As if that wasn’t enough, an A-rank hunter rolled on the floor and traced a star shape with his hands. 

 

Next to him, a B-rank defense-specialized hunter was shouting, “Potato Power! Et-cha!”

 

All for a random chance at a +5% Defense bonus.

 

“…Seriously, has everyone lost their minds.” 

 

He’d rather not look. 

 

Kanghyun covered his face with his hands. Veins popped on his smooth forehead.

 

“Taegyeom Hyung.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I think my ears are going to rot.” 

 

At those words, Yoon Taegyeom, who was still fiddling with Kanghyun’s phone, actually burst into laughter.

 

“Kanghyun-ah, don’t you know what’s trendy these days? ‘Et-cha☆’ is the trend. Potatoes are all about grit!” 

 

Even this guy. 

 

Feeling the limit of his patience, Kanghyun leaned back in his chair, draping an arm over it. 

 

Being inside a Gate felt better than this.

 

“I really can’t watch this.”

 

Unable to take it anymore, Seo Kanghyun snatched his phone from Yoon Taegyeom’s grip. 

 

Then, with swift finger movements, he opened the Hunter Exchange app and composed a message.

 

* * *

 

Unaware of the suffering Seo Kanghyun was enduring, the potato harvest was in full swing at the garden.

 

“Potatoes are all about the manual touch.”

 

Yoon Hana was roaming the garden with her sleeves rolled up, oblivious to the fact that the sun was high overhead. 

 

Freshly pulled potatoes were piled high in the baskets. 

 

The cherry tomato vines sparkled in the sunlight, and the scent of damp earth was refreshing.

 

It was a peaceful and cozy scene. 

 

It was so much so that it was hard to believe they were on the same planet as the red Gates that once covered the world, the monsters that poured out of them, and the cities that collapsed overnight because of it.

 

After the Gates opened and the world turned upside down, in a reality where everyone lived with the fear of when the next Gate might appear, this little garden alone felt like a different world.

 

In this unrealistic garden, Hana found herself humming a tune.

 

“Mmm-hmm~.”

 

The melody was a bit off-key, but let’s just overlook that. While she worked, a vibration rang from her waist. Bzzz—

 

“Huh? What now?”

 

Hana wiped the sweat from her forehead with her palm and pulled out her Hunter Exchange-dedicated phone from her pants pocket. 

 

Notifications had been frequent lately, ever since she registered the potatoes as a new listing.

 

[Received Message: 1]

[Sender: IfTheKingFallsKingKong]

 

“The nickname is……”

 

Hana’s jaw tightened.

 

“Lame.”

 

It was the kind of name that would appear in the ‘Top 100 Best Jokes’ book that the patient in Room 205 always kept under their arm. She had wondered who would use such a pun, and apparently, someone actually did.

 

[I will purchase the entire stock of potatoes.]

 

However, the moment she confirmed the message content about buying all the potatoes, her impression flipped completely.

 

“The—The whole thing?”

 

She couldn’t believe the numbers on the screen.

 

“He’s really buying them all?”

 

The ID that had made her grimace just moments ago now felt somewhat endearing. Hmm, so he was a person with a sense of humor.

 

With a much more generous outlook on his sense of humor, Hana put down her basket and jumped into the air.

 

“Whoa! Amazing!”

 

She spun around the garden and thrust her fist into the sky. At that moment, as if celebrating this joy, the system window appeared.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Farming Reward Distribution Notice >

< Congratulations! You have maintained stable crop production and trading for over a month. >

< Stat Changes:

-Stamina +2

-Intelligence +1

-Endurance +3

-Agility +1 >

< Farming Skill Lv. 2 Achieved → New crops can be cultivated! >

 

【SYSTEM】

< Mission: Trade crops at the ‘Hunter Exchange’ (200/200 units) – Complete! >

< As a reward, you obtain ‘Access Authority to Clues for Recovering Lost Memories.’ Upon accumulating a certain amount of experience, you can view lost memories in stages! >

 

【SYSTEM】

< Additional Mission: Upon reaching 2,500pt cumulative experience, a ‘Fragment of Lost Memories’ will be given as a reward. >

< Current Experience: 20/2,500pt >

 

“Ehh?”

 

Gaining the authority wasn’t the end? She had wondered why she was being given cumulative experience, and it turned out it was for this.

 

“Let’s see, since my experience is at 20pt now……”

 

Still a long way to go, yup. A long way to go. 

 

Although the steam had been let out of her high expectations, she decided to be satisfied with gaining the authority for now. If she farmed hard, it might go up quickly!

 

Hana then clicked around her status window.

 

“I even leveled up. But is it okay for leveling up to be this easy?”

 

Thanks to her constant searching, she at least had basic knowledge about hunters. So she knew. Leveling up wasn’t something that happened just by playing with some dirt.

 

“Is leveling up just easier for F-ranks……?”

 

Just then, another message appeared.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Try planting a new crop! >