The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log - Chapter 17
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 17
A monster-type plant?
Hana frowned and shook the vine.
That’s when it happened.
The rock he had been feeling with his hands earlier began to tremble.
The lump that had felt like moist soil started to shake slowly, then massive wings spread out with a rustling sound.
Hana slowly turned his head.
And only then did he realize.
What he had been leaning against wasn’t something like a rock.
It was a bird-type monster.
And what Hana held in his hand wasn’t something like a tree vine, but the monster’s crest.
The monster glared at Hana with deep resentment and raised its wing to stroke its own head.
Along with a very sorrowful cry.
“…Kkohing.”
“…”
Hana looked back and forth between the monster and the vine in his hand.
Then he carefully placed the crest he had torn off back on top of the monster’s head.
However, the already plucked crest slipped smoothly off the head and fell to the ground with a thud.
Seemingly quite shocked by this, the monster widened its eyes and opened its beak wide.
“Kkohihihing!!”
【SYSTEM】
【Amazing, user! After tomato stems, now you’ve even plucked off a monster’s crest!】
A fanfare burst from somewhere in the sky with a bang!
The scene was even accompanied by golden ribbons fluttering in all directions.
However, Hana had no time to respond to the system’s teasing.
“Kkohihihing!!!”
The bird-type monster with its crest half-plucked was frantically flapping its wings and charging at him.
Hana stuffed Popcon into his overalls front pocket and started running.
“What kind of bird runs that well!”
【SYSTEM】
【Ostriches are birds but they run too. Ostriches run at an average speed of 70 km/h, with a maximum burst speed of 90 km/h!】
“I’m not curious about that!”
But Hana had to stop running before long.
There was a cliff right in front of him.
Hana bobbed his head back and forth, looking with a pale expression at the monster charging madly from behind.
A status window was glittering above the monster’s head.
【SYSTEM】
【Boss Monster: ‘Screaming Bird (■ Grade)’】
【Attributes: Fire + Sound Wave Attack Type】
【Characteristics:
-Cries “kkohing kkohing”
-So serious about its crest that it spends half the day grooming it!】
I see.
It spends half the day grooming its crest.
“No wonder it was so shiny.”
Hana somewhat understood why the Boss Monster was so excited.
Even so, this wasn’t right.
What kind of chaos was all this in the moonlight?
First Seo Ganghyeon, and now a giant bird chasing him.
【SYSTEM】
【It only looks scary, but it’s probably nothing much? Try hitting it once!】
“What are you talking about? I’m production-type! Not combat-type! Besides, why isn’t the bird’s grade showing properly?”
At least if he knew the grade, he could try something.
Whether there was an error or not, the Boss Monster’s grade wasn’t displayed.
But the system window was as carefree as when dealing with the F-grade monster before.
【SYSTEM】
【A true farmer should know how to chase away birds that peck at their crops!】
【Opening special skill ‘Bird Chasing (D Grade)’.】
“Bird Chasing?”
What kind of skill name is this?
That’s when it happened.
The Boss Monster that had approached nearby suddenly stopped, spread both wings wide, and began flapping.
A hot gust of wind from that movement exploded outward, pushing Hana forcefully backward.
He felt the dizzying sensation of his toes lifting into the air.
One wrong move and he would fall off the cliff immediately.
However, before his mind could think, his body reacted on its own.
His shoulders, pelvis, and knees naturally adjusted his backward-leaning center of gravity, regaining balance right at the edge of the cliff.
“This again?”
It happened before in the Simulation Room too.
Hana felt that mysterious sense of déjà vu again.
When Hana didn’t fall, the Boss Monster seemed enraged and jumped up and down in place.
“Kkohiing!!”
Then, with its characteristic strange cry, it suddenly soared up into the sky.
A massive shadow fell over Hana’s head like an airplane passing overhead.
At that tremendous sight, a murmur unconsciously escaped him.
“Oh… You could fly, huh.”
But his admiration was brief, as the Boss Monster that had shot up into the air soon dove down below the cliff.
Then it disappeared beneath the clouds.
What?
As everything around suddenly became quiet, Hana cautiously poked his head out.
“…Did it… leave?”
Hana courageously peered down below the cliff.
He could only see fog.
At first glance, that seemed to be the case.
But when he squinted his eyes, he could see something like a small dot gradually rising through the fog.
It was the Boss Monster.
“…!”
Before Hana could properly open his eyes, the Boss Monster ascended vertically, drawing a red trajectory.
Like a cannonball fired from below the cliff.
Soon the Boss Monster’s beak came shooting up, precisely targeting Hana’s ankle.
Hana reflexively twisted his body to deflect the attack.
However, the Boss Monster flew toward Hana like a predator targeting its prey, cutting through the air.
“Argh! There’s no answer if I just keep dodging like this!”
Eventually, his feet that had been moving constantly made a momentary mistake and slipped.
Just as his body tilted forward and was about to fall off the cliff, the Boss Monster that had started descending again passed right in front of him.
This time too, his body moved before his reason.
Hana, who had been falling from the cliff, quickly changed direction toward the Boss Monster’s body.
As he tumbled onto the massive back by a hair’s breadth, a new mission window popped up with a ding.
【SYSTEM】
【Surprise Mission Occurred!】
【Mission: Obtain the rice seeds from the Boss Monster’s nest!】
【’Flame Resistant Rice Seeds🌾(Rare Grade)’ – Rice seeds that have mutated after prolonged exposure to the Boss Monster’s feathers, body temperature, secretions, etc.】
【Effects:</p】
-When consumed, flame resistance effect increases by 10~20%
-For someone whose hair was burned by the Boss Monster, it might bring the miracle of hair growth??>
【Reward: 2,000pt】
“Come on, give me some warning…!”
Hana, who was trying to maintain his balance on the Boss Monster’s back to avoid falling, made an exasperated expression.
However, as if it wouldn’t allow even a moment’s respite, the Boss Monster began moving fiercely to shake Hana off.
The Boss Monster folded its large, burning wings and began a vertical dive.
Hana reflexively grabbed onto the nearest handhold.
To be precise, the Boss Monster’s crest that didn’t have much left after being torn and clawed at.
Naturally, the crest that couldn’t withstand Hana’s strength shook with a creaking sound.
“Wait, this can’t come off too!”
Hana tried to move his hand elsewhere belatedly, but with a very crisp pop sound, the crest was pulled out.
Startled, Hana quickly grabbed onto the lush wing feathers instead of the crest.
Then the Boss Monster froze in its flying position and frantically flapped its wings with a scream close to agony.
“Kuhihihihihing!!”
Its massive body swayed wildly from side to side.
Hana, who was being shaken around frantically along with it, realized one thing.
“Huh? This is more manageable than I thought?”
It should definitely be difficult.
Riding upside down on the back of a thrashing monster was unexpectedly comfortable.
Hana cautiously relaxed the tension in his hands that had been gripping the feathers tightly.
Even so, his posture still had considerable stability.
Going up and down like this was just like riding an amusement park ride, so it was kind of…
“It seems fun too?”
Every time the wind passed over his face, his chest felt refreshed.
Along with a strange thrill that came before fear, he even felt a moment of comfort.
The pitch-black sky of the Gate felt strangely familiar too.
“…Are all Hunters originally like this?”
No way.
Along with his self-questioning and answering, Hana tilted his head.
“Or did I frequently enter Gates before losing my memory? But I definitely registered as a Hunter for the first time recently?”
Hana fixed his gaze on the reward text in the system window.
【Upon obtaining 2,500pt experience, ‘A Fragment of Lost Memory’ will be granted】
“A memory fragment…”
His mind was still like a clean blank sheet, so he couldn’t really grasp what a fragment of memory meant.
But looking at his condition, it seemed like he should find his memories.
If only to understand the reason for this inexplicably familiar yet unsettling feeling.
Suddenly, the Boss Monster moved again.
As if properly enraged by Hana clinging to its back like a parasite and refusing to fall off, the Boss Monster flipped its entire body in mid-air and began flying upside down.
In the inverted view, darkness and clouds crossed each other.
The wind poured from top to bottom, and his body was suspended in mid-air in a completely inverted position.
Then Hana naturally held the Boss Monster’s feathers with one hand while carefully cradling Popcon in his overall pocket with the other to prevent it from falling.
“Since it’s come to this, I should solve the mission first.”
Hana took a deep breath and fixed his gaze forward again.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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