The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log - Chapter 2

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 2

* * *

Three years later.

“S-Seo Ganghyeon Hunter is coming out!”

A man carrying the scent of a battlefield mixed with mud and blood walked out from the Gate’s remains.

His black combat suit was torn and burned in various places.

His square shoulders rose and fell slightly beneath blood-stained bandages.

Though he was catching his breath, the man did not bow his head.

Cool, sharpened gray eyes.

Korea’s new SS-rank.

World ranking 2nd, Seo Ganghyeon.

Sharp eyes beneath black hair proved the weight of the Haechi Guild’s signboard.

After ‘1’ disappeared, he had been handling almost all A~S rank Gates alone.

Korea’s prestige rested entirely on the shoulders of one person named Seo Ganghyeon.

“Ganghyeon!”

A-rank Hunter Yun Taegyeom, who had been pacing anxiously at the Gate entrance, rushed toward Ganghyeon like a spring.

Yun Taegyeom quickly examined Ganghyeon’s condition.

“Are you okay? This won’t do. You really need to rest today. Okay?”

Seo Ganghyeon shook his head dismissively.

“Hey, you crazy bastard, you’re really going to die at this rate!”

“You know there’s someone I need to find, hyung.”

“That person is already dead! The living need to stay alive. How long are you going to keep rushing into every Gate like a madman?”

“…”

“You’re really going to collapse, you bastard.”

Yun Taegyeom muttered while ruffling his hair. Though his words were harsh, his eyes showed concern.

That’s when it happened.

Beep-!

A high-pitched sound rang from the Hunter communication device.

[Yangpyeong area, A-rank Gate occurrence. Haechi Guild’s Seo Ganghyeon Hunter, deploy immediately.]

“Haaa… shit.”

Taegyeom spat out a curse.

“Are you the only Hunter in Korea? What are the S-ranks doing, making soup? No matter how SS-rank you are, humans aren’t made of iron. How can they work you without letting you sleep or eat!”

Seo Ganghyeon, who didn’t even pretend to listen to Taegyeom’s complaints, had already finished preparing to head to Yangpyeong with his radio and sword.

There was no expectation that he could be stopped anyway.

“That damn stubborn bastard.”

Yun Taegyeom pulled something from his pocket.

A ripe cherry tomato rolled across his palm.

“If you’re going, at least eat this.”

“…Tomato?”

“This isn’t just any tomato. It’s an item. Called ‘Stamina Boost Tomato’!”

Ganghyeon’s brow furrowed at the ridiculously childish name.

“Lame.”

“Ugh.”

Yun Taegyeom took a breath, then opened his mouth like a show host.

Enthusiastically enough to spray saliva.

“Hey, it may look like this, but the effects are amazing! Do you know how hard it is to get these on Hunter trading sites these days? They started appearing a month ago, but only people in the know can get them.”

“Hyung, are you collecting weird stuff again?”

“Weird stuff? It’s real! One of these can do fatigue relief, stamina recovery, wound healing. Everything!”

If the world hadn’t become like this, Yun Taegyeom would have been the best show host creating sellout legends.

Taegyeom even pulled out a leaflet about the cherry tomatoes.

When did he even prepare that?

Seo Ganghyeon indifferently turned his gaze away.

Normally he would have played along appropriately, but he wasn’t in condition for that now.

No matter how monster-like an SS-rank Hunter’s recovery ability was, it had already been three months without rest.

Fatigue had accumulated, and his mind was becoming dull.

He was slowly reaching his limit.

However, Taegyeom didn’t give up.

Then, a cherry tomato suddenly slipped between Ganghyeon’s closed lips.

“…?!”

“Don’t frown. It’s really edible.”

The cherry tomato that burst with a ‘pop’ in his mouth had a refreshing sweetness and, strangely, contained a vibrant energy.

He couldn’t spit this out.

Seo Ganghyeon reluctantly moved his jaw.

As he chewed reluctantly, a system window appeared.

【SYSTEM】

【Stamina increased by 15%】

【Wound recovery in progress】

【Fatigue -35%】

Seo Ganghyeon’s thick eyebrows twitched slightly.

Yun Taegyeom didn’t miss that small reaction.

“How is it, how is it? Really amazing, right? I could only buy exactly 3 of them.”

“What grade is this item?”

“Uh, um…”

Yun Taegyeom looked away and mumbled.

“C…rank?”

C-rank? With those effects?

Seo Ganghyeon’s brow furrowed deeply.

After blurting it out, Yun Taegyeom quickly rattled off additional explanations.

“But you can tell from eating it, it’s not really C-rank stuff, right? In my opinion, it’s at least B, no, A-rank!”

Yun Taegyeom passionately argued that he had no idea why the system window showed C-rank.

This time, Seo Ganghyeon agreed.

With this level of efficacy, it should be at least B-rank if not A-rank.

“Where did this come from?”

“Hunter Trading Post. Why? Getting interested? Want one more? For you, Ganghyeon, I’ll specially-.”

“Send me the seller’s ID.”

“Huh? Ah, that’s…”

Taegyeom scratched the back of his head.

“Nobody knows who it is. It’s an anonymous seller.”

Then, the communication device rang with a call tone once again.

At the urging sound, Seo Ganghyeon reached his hand into the air.

As he applied force to his fingertips, space tore open and flames spread along the gap.

【SYSTEM】

【Skill ‘Space Slash (S-rank)’ activated. Connecting space to user-set coordinates.】

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Find out by the time I return.”

“Hey, Seo Ganghyeon! Didn’t you hear me? I said it’s anonymous? I can’t find out!”

Yun Taegyeom waved his arms emphatically, but Seo Ganghyeon had already torn through space and disappeared inside.

“That bastard, he might really drop dead at this rate… Sigh, but how am I supposed to find out the seller’s identity.”

Taegyeom muttered while taking out a tomato and putting it in his mouth.

The tangy taste that wrapped around her tongue was exquisite.

Though not as much as Seo Ganghyeon, he too had been running raids non-stop without rest.

However, that fatigue melted away completely with just one small tomato.

“Ah! Come to think of it, the timing when that crazy bastard appeared seems similar to when the cherry tomatoes hit the market…?”

Taegyeom narrowed his eyes.

The item ‘Cherry Tomato’ had started circulating in the market exactly one month ago.

And around that time, an unidentified Hunter began quietly appearing at A-grade and higher Gates.

No official affiliation, no identity.

A strange guy who would clear Gates without a sound and take only one thing—the boss monster’s droppings.

The Hunter Community called him this:

‘Monster Dung Collector’.

…That was just his nickname, of course.

Though it seemed unlikely such a crazy bastard actually existed,

“…No way.”

Yun Taegyeom swallowed the tomato he was chewing and gave a meaningful look.

It seemed unlikely, but you never know how things work out in this world.

“There’s no way it’s related to the dung collector, right?”

* * *

“Hana, what are you doing again? How long has it been since you woke up?”

Yangpyeong, a modest convalescent hospital nestled at the foot of a mountain.

The elderly hospital director poked his head out.

Then a woman holding a small hoe inside the greenhouse startled and turned around.

“S-sorry! I was just pulling a few weeds!”

She was a woman with a small, gentle appearance.

A frail build that looked like it might collapse at any moment, hair damp with sweat, hands covered in dirt.

She was a patient who had been brought here in a coma three years ago after being caught in a Gate rampage.

With her identity unknown.

The only thing they could determine was the name ‘Yun Hana’ written on a photo inside a blood-stained rocket pendant.

And a month and a half ago, the woman who had been in a coma for nearly three years woke up. Having lost all memories from before being brought here.

But aside from that, she showed monstrous recovery abilities.

Her internal injuries had been so severe that even rehabilitation seemed difficult, yet the woman had completely recovered her health in just two weeks.

Not only that.

She even volunteered to manage the greenhouse that had been set up as a hobby on one side of the hospital, saying she wanted to help with the work.

Claiming she wanted to repay the free treatment she had received all this time.

“It’s already been an hour. Come inside now. You might really collapse at this rate.”

“Yes, I’ll clean up right away!”

After the hospital director left, Hana stealthily pulled out her phone.

A message notification was displayed at the top of the screen.

[Hunter Trading Post – Message Received]

[Can you get more of those tomatoes? The effects are insane. They really restore stamina. They’re the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten!]

Hana, who had been carefully reading through the message, covered her mouth and stomped her feet excitedly.

“Really? Do they really have effects?”

Hana plucked a cherry tomato that was in front of her.

Then a blue window appeared before her eyes.

【SYSTEM】

【’Stamina Boost Tomato🍅(C-grade)’】

【Effects: Stamina +15%, Fatigue -35%, Wound Healing (Minor)】

This was the first crop Hana had ever grown.

Tomatoes she had grown pushed by the system window’s ridiculous demands.

The performance was good for C-grade, but… was this really that amazing?

Hana tilted her head and touched the handwritten packaging paper she had made like a leaflet to attach to the tomato boxes.

Anyway, she felt proud.

To think that the first crop she grew with her own hands was helping someone!

Yun Hana gazed into the air with an excited expression.

There was a system window ringing ding-ding- ding-ding-.

【SYSTEM】

【Mission in progress: Trading crops on ‘Hunter Trading Post’ (15/200 items)】

【Reward: Access to clues that can help recover lost memories】

【SYSTEM】

【User, I’m hungry. System performance is declining! ㅇㅁㅇ!】

【System efficiency will drop to 80%.】

【Mission: Supply 1 ‘Stamina Boost Tomato🍅’ to the system window.】

【Reward: System efficiency recovery】

【Upon failure, system efficiency will drop to 50%.】

“Okay, okay. Here you go.”

Hana brought the cherry tomato she had just picked to the system window.

Then the round tomato was absorbed into the window and converted into dot form.

【SYSTEM】

【Energy boost! (∩˃o˂∩)♡】

Though she couldn’t tell the hospital staff, Yun Hana was actually an Awakened, or what people commonly called a Hunter.

Probably a somewhat unusual one…?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————