The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log - Chapter 31
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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 31
At the same time, black lines began extending from beneath Lee Haechan’s feet along the ground.
Those lines slid smoothly toward the feet of Hana and Kang Hyeon.
“Huh?”
Hana, who had been walking ahead, turned around with an inexplicable feeling of unease.
“What is this?”
Discovering the black traces clinging like threads to her shoe heels, Hana brushed them off.
In the meantime, her steps had slowed slightly, causing Kang Hyeon, who had been walking ahead, to turn his head.
“Ms. Yun Hana, what are you doing?”
“Ah, yes! Let’s go!”
How did he notice so keenly that she had fallen just a few steps behind and urge her on? Hana’s lips jutted out after being scolded by Kang Hyeon.
“Why does he only act like that toward me?”
“What did you just say?”
Hearing her quiet grumbling, Kang Hyeon stopped and looked back at Hana.
Startled, Hana smiled awkwardly and quickly ran to Kang Hyeon’s side.
“Ah, I didn’t say anything! Come on, let’s hurry!”
* * *
“I’d like you to wait inside here.”
Kang Hyeon spread a red barrier around Hana.
It was a safe zone created with his skill.
“Don’t go around startling people again.”
“Hey, don’t worry. Earlier was just too sudden, so I didn’t have time to respond properly.”
“Sure.”
Even at Hana’s words, Kang Hyeon didn’t look particularly convinced.
In the end, Kang Hyeon added another layer to the red barrier and left Choi Kwon beside Hana before heading toward the center of the Gate.
The deeper they went, the more the scenery changed.
Puddles scattered across the ground and a sky filled with gray storm clouds created an eerie atmosphere.
Moreover, what had been a drizzle had now turned into a heavy downpour.
And the most striking thing among all this was the massive Boss Monster standing like a tree in the center of the Gate.
The Boss Monster, shaped like a tree, had roots spreading in all directions, and something like black sap flowed down between its trunks.
【Boss Monster: ‘Melancholy Kudzu Root (A+ Grade)’】
Kang Hyeon’s eyes turned cold upon spotting his opponent.
Yun Taegyeom also immediately readjusted his grip on his spear.
Meanwhile, Lee Haechan stepped back.
Mental-type Hunters weren’t meant to take the front lines directly.
As the long sword moved in a circular trajectory, Yun Taegyeom’s spear followed, piercing through.
The impact sent puddles splashing up, and black sap from the severed roots scattered across the ground.
Thanks to Lee Haechan’s skill, the battle seemed to be going smoothly. At this rate, they might be able to easily deal with the Boss Monster.
It was then that a system window appeared before Hana’s eyes again as she watched Kang Hyeon wielding his sword from afar.
Ding!
【SYSTEM】
【Surprise Mission Occurred!】
【Mission: Fun Ecological Exploration – Investigate the ecology inside the Gate!】
【Condition: Secure the Gate Core】
【Reward: Gate Ownership Rights – You can connect existing Gates you own with portals. Seize this golden opportunity to expand your garden!】
Just as she was wondering why another surprise mission was appearing during such a tense situation.
Something bumped against Hana’s foot.
“Huh?”
When she bent down, she found a large mushroom growing at her feet.
It was much larger than the mushrooms she had seen before, and its color was much deeper. With its dark red glow, it looked more like a mushroom-shaped jewel than an actual mushroom.
Hana’s eyes narrowed at the mushroom that looked suspicious to anyone.
“Could this be… it?”
Even so, it was a mission, but she wondered if she could find it this easily.
Still, just in case, the moment she poked the mushroom-or-jewel thing with her toe.
【SYSTEM】
【You have discovered an artificially modified Gate Core!】
The system window appeared again.
“Oh.”
Hana’s eyes sparkled.
This actually works?
At that moment,
Boom-!
The entire Gate shook violently from an explosive roar.
“Whoa!”
Startled by the sudden roar, Hana quickly looked toward where Kang Hyeon was.
Fortunately, Kang Hyeon seemed to be fine.
Not only that, seeing how the ground was cracked along where his sword had struck, Kang Hyeon was the cause of the roar.
“What a scare.”
After confirming that Kang Hyeon was safely casting his skills, Hana calmed her pounding heart and focused on her feet again.
This is supposed to be a Gate Core?
“This is my first time actually seeing one.”
It was the moment Hana bent down and placed her hand on the core.
As if sensing that contact, the Boss Monster suddenly twisted its body.
The massive trunk that had been stretching like a tree convulsed as if having a seizure, and the roots spreading in all directions thrashed about, scraping the ground.
“Grrrk! Kyaak!”
A shriek that seemed to tear through the air echoed throughout the Gate.
Kang Hyeon’s eyes flashed at the Boss’s momentarily unbalanced movement.
Kang Hyeon closed the distance without hesitation.
A wailing sound flowed from what was presumed to be the Boss Monster’s head, severed by Kang Hyeon’s sword, and the massive body swayed.
“Is it done?”
But as soon as Yun Taegyeom muttered, sticky fluid flowed from the severed cross-section, and new roots began growing from the Boss Monster’s cut parts, slowly restoring its form.
“Crazy. That thing’s regenerating!”
Choi Kwon, who had also been watching the battle, was horrified.
Unlike the relatively relaxed atmosphere from moments before, tension instantly pressed down on the air.
Seeing the Boss Monster’s roots extending toward Kang Hyeon’s chest again, Hana’s hand tensed up.
The problem was that Hana was holding the Gate Core.
Unable to control her strength, the Gate Core shook in Hana’s grip.
Pop!
With an incongruously cheerful sound, the core was pulled up by its roots.
And simultaneously.
Thud.
The Boss Monster’s regenerating movement stopped as if by magic.
【SYSTEM】
【Mission Complete. You have secured the Gate’s core.】
【Reward Distribution Complete:</p】
-Environmental Understanding has increased.
-This area will be converted to farmland under the user’s management.
-Integration with existing garden is possible.>
Beyond the system window that filled Hana’s vision, the mushroom in her hand began to change.
Tssss—.
It shriveled rapidly as if losing moisture, then contracted into the shape of a hollow black seed.
Kang Hyeon and Taegyeom, unaware of Hana’s situation, found the Boss Monster’s sudden stillness puzzling.
However, Kang Hyeon soon activated his skill.
“Skill, Ignition.”
With a quiet murmur, bright red flames shot out from his sword tip like a bullet toward the Boss Monster.
Whoosh.
In an instant, the Boss Monster’s body was engulfed in flames and crumbled to ash.
With the Gate core removed, the Boss Monster could no longer regenerate.
As the blazing Monster turned to thick ash piled on the ground, the seemingly endless rain gradually began to stop.
【Gate Clear Complete】
Yun Taegyeom, confirming the message floating in the air, let out a sigh of relief.
“Wow… I really thought it was going to regenerate. So is it really over now?”
Instead of answering, Kang Hyeon lightly shook off his sword.
The black sap clinging to the blade flowed down to the ground along with the subsiding rainwater.
But then Yun Taegyeom tapped Kang Hyeon’s back.
“Hey, Kang Hyeon. But something seems strange?”
“What is?”
“I don’t see an exit.”
No matter where they looked around, the familiar light of an exit was nowhere to be seen.
Not only that. Gate collapse after clearing should take at least 30 minutes to begin, but the scenery inside the Gate was already starting to distort.
Kang Hyeon’s gaze quickly swept the surroundings.
Then he realized someone who should be there was missing.
“Where is Hunter Lee Haechan.”
“Huh? That’s right? He was here just a moment ago, where did he go?”
Taegyeom belatedly looked around, but the spot where Haechan had been was completely empty.
* * *
Meanwhile.
In the Association Chairman’s office, the Gate situation that occurred at the front of Haechi Guild was being broadcast in real-time through drone footage.
The Vice-Chairman stood before the wide desk with his arms crossed, looking down at the screen.
A leisurely smile hung on his lips.
“Currently, Hunter Seo Ganghyeon and Hunter Yun Taegyeom have entered the Gate.”
The Secretary standing beside him carefully continued the report.
“The S-rank psychic-type Hunter Lee Haechan is also accompanying them. It seems the F-rank and A-rank Hunters who were nearby got swept up as well.”
The Secretary finished speaking and glanced at the Vice-Chairman’s expression.
“Although it’s a high-grade Gate, wouldn’t Hunter Seo Ganghyeon clear it quickly? If that happens, your plan, Vice-Chairman—”
“I wonder about that. Even Seo Ganghyeon won’t find it easy.”
Then the Vice-Chairman stretched his lips into a grin.
“The Boss Monster in that Gate won’t die from simple slashing. Unless you remove the special core buried underground, no matter how much you cut up its body, it will endlessly regenerate.”
However, the Vice-Chairman’s arrogant attitude didn’t last long. Red system text appeared on the screen.
【Gate Clear Complete】
“…!”
The Vice-Chairman’s smile froze instantly.
“Clear complete? That can’t be right?”
But that was only momentary. The Vice-Chairman forced himself to appear relaxed as he lifted his chin.
“Well, I suppose he used his head somewhat. But still, he won’t be able to get out of the Gate.”
As the Vice-Chairman spoke, something that looked like either a black dot or a bean rolled in his hand.
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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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