The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log - Chapter 42

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

Chapter 42

 

Since I was told not to make holes in the side of Gates, I’d have to enter through the official entrance from now on.

 

I thought that if anyone would know of a Gate that was reasonably safe and also gave decent experience points, it would be Seo Ganghyeon.

 

“A Gate suitable for you to enter? Do you need monster excrement again or something?”

 

Still seeming half-asleep, Ganghyeon asked while lazily flowing flame energy into rice seeds, his eyes cast downward.

 

Hana smiled awkwardly.

 

“Well, you could say that’s about right?”

 

As gentle heat flowed from Ganghyeon’s fingertips, the rice seeds glimmered faintly.

 

He paused for a moment, lost in thought.

 

“There are quite a few low-grade Gates, but hmm.”

 

Thanks to becoming a member of the temporary Haechi Guild, Hana could now enter Gates without separate applications.

 

But the regulations were still in effect.

 

At least one C-rank or higher Hunter must accompany.

 

So the problem wasn’t whether there were suitable Gates to enter, but who would accompany him.

 

Ganghyeon slowly stroked his jawline while looking around.

 

There were three candidates.

 

Lee Haechan, who was timidly nibbling at the mushroom Hana had given him?

 

Or Choi Kwon, who until just moments ago had been clasping his hands together toward the rice seeds glimmering from Ganghyeon’s energy, chanting something like a spell: “Grow… sprout… quickly…”?

 

Or perhaps Yun Taegyeom, whose cheeks were puffed up as he munched on potatoes?

 

A strange sense of complexity flashed through Ganghyeon’s eyes.

 

One S-rank and two A-ranks.

 

In terms of pure power, it should be a reassuring combination, but why didn’t he feel confident about it?

 

Anyway, Ganghyeon still picked the most trustworthy person among the three.

 

‘Taegyeom hyung should be fine.’

 

Even though he might look laid-back on the surface, Yun Taegyeom was the only colleague Ganghyeon trusted to watch his back.

 

“Hyung.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Taegyeom, who had just taken a big bite of another potato, looked up awkwardly.

 

“Did you call me?”

 

Hana briefly averted his gaze at the sight of him approaching with his cheeks puffed up like bread.

 

Ganghyeon spoke calmly.

 

“Hyung, could you go into a Gate with Yun Hana sometime soon?”

 

“Me?”

 

“Yeah. Is there a problem?”

 

For a moment, Taegyeom’s expression became serious.

 

But soon Taegyeom returned to his carefree expression as if nothing had happened and swallowed his potato.

 

“What problem could there be? Got it.”

 

Then he turned toward Hana and smiled brightly.

 

“Just trust me, Hunter Yun Hana!”

 

* * *

 

And at the same time.

 

A completely different atmosphere was flowing through the Crimson Moon Guild.

 

In the heavily settled silence, the Crimson Moon Guild Master’s gaze slowly swept over those standing before him.

 

His eyes were so piercing that just their intensity was enough to make one’s skin tingle.

 

Gulp.

 

The sound of someone swallowing dry saliva echoed clearly.

 

“So you’re telling me that you went and got humiliated by a Haechi Guild member, and a mere F-rank at that?”

 

Those standing before the Crimson Moon Guild Master were the hunters who had bullied Lee Haechan a few days ago, only to return in disgrace.

 

A file folder flew toward the hunters who couldn’t even lift their heads and were sweating profusely.

 

Along with the Guild Master’s ear-splitting shout.

 

“Are you all out of your minds right now?”

 

The Crimson Moon Guild Master’s anger showed no signs of subsiding.

 

It was because of the guild members who had gone after Lee Haechan claiming they would do something he hadn’t even ordered, only to return in shame.

 

Far from getting agricultural items, they had only confirmed that Lee Haechan and Choi Kwon had completely attached themselves to the Haechi Guild.

 

“Haechi and Taesan. How many years has it been since we’ve only been pushed around by them?”

 

The Guild Master ground his teeth and growled lowly.

 

Crimson Moon had once been ranked 1st among Korean Hunter Guilds.

 

Until Haechi and Taesan raised their heads.

 

But now?

 

They were barely maintaining 3rd place.

 

And even that wasn’t enough – they were on the verge of being pushed down to 4th or 5th place.

 

The Yangpyeong Gate was the same.

 

He thought he could bundle it as a guild achievement since Choi Kwon had handled it.

 

But some crazy bastard with a fertilizer sack over his head appeared out of nowhere, conquered the Gate, and disappeared.

 

Nothing had been going right lately.

 

The Crimson Moon Guild Master’s temples trembled.

 

“If we fall out of the Vice-Chairman’s favor at this rate…”

 

The Crimson Moon Guild Master frantically rubbed his face with agitated gestures.

 

There was only one reason Crimson Moon was still holding this position.

 

The deal with the Vice-Chairman.

 

After being pushed aside by Haechi and Taesan, Crimson Moon had gotten in line with the Vice-Chairman.

 

In exchange for maintaining their guild ranking, they would handle troublesome matters that he couldn’t deal with directly.

 

And among those ‘troublesome matters’ was the distribution of illegal items that induced Hunter rampage.

 

The Crimson Moon Guild Master picked up a black dot-like item that had been lying on his desk.

 

The same form as the item that had been attached to Haechan’s hand.

 

Small and minute, but once activated, it would tear a human’s mind to shreds.

 

He rolled it with his fingertips.

 

It was also he who had whispered Lee Haechan’s trauma to the Vice-Chairman, encouraging the use of rampage-inducing items.

 

But as everyone knew, the result was a failure.

 

Far from Haechi’s prestige falling due to Haechan’s rampage, somehow through some trick, all the personnel who had entered the Gate walked out completely unharmed.

 

“There shouldn’t have been anything wrong with the item.”

 

No matter how S-rank someone might be, resolving this shouldn’t have been so simple.

 

There was no way to know exactly what had happened.

 

The situation was not good at all.

 

Lately, the Vice-Chairman’s reactions had been strangely cold.

 

If they failed to produce results, it might be Crimson Moon that gets abandoned.

 

“I need results.”

 

Not simple conquest records, but clearly visible outcomes.

 

Conveniently, there was someone the Vice-Chairman was showing interest in.

 

That mysterious hunter with a bag over his head who had appeared at the Yangpyeong Gate.

 

He seemed to covet that individual, estimated to be high-grade power, so if he could find that hunter and present him before the Vice-Chairman, he might be able to score points.

 

And the Crimson Moon Guild Master already had a clue.

 

Since his main abilities were tracking and transformation.

 

Following the minute residual energy remaining inside the Gate, he had confirmed that the trail ended near a nursing home in Yangpyeong.

 

Finding that hunter who had caught public attention was now just a matter of time.

 

But this alone wasn’t enough.

 

The Vice-Chairman was a greedy man, so he would need to offer something bigger.

 

In that case, he would also need to strike at Seo Ganghyeon, the person the Vice-Chairman openly regarded with wariness.

 

But since directly attacking Seo Ganghyeon to inflict damage would be difficult, the Crimson Moon Guild Master chose a more vile approach.

 

People naturally break down when they lose someone they cherish.

 

This would be especially true for someone like Seo Ganghyeon, who had once lost someone close to him.

 

After pondering for a moment, the Jeokwol Guild Master activated his second ability with an unreadable expression.

 

Then the item in his hand flashed briefly before dimming.

 

Along with a system message.

 

【SYSTEM】

 

【Casting skill ‘Transformation (A+ rank)’. ‘Transforming’ the rampage item’s target to monsters.】

 

【Casting skill ‘Tracking (S- rank)’ targeting ‘Yun Taegyeom’.】

 

After casting transformation followed by tracking ability, a translucent map visible only to him appeared in the air.

 

On the map, a red dot labeled Yun Taegyeom was slowly moving.

 

Following that trajectory, a red arrow extended long before fixing on a single point.

 

At a Gate location in the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do.

 

When the Jeokwol Guild Master flicked his finger, the transformed rampage item seeped toward the red dot on the map.

 

Rather than scattering into the air, it felt like it was flowing along coordinates.

 

Like an invisible thread being pulled taut, the item was sucked precisely to that point.

 

The Jeokwol Guild Master stared at that flow for a long while.

 

“I really hope it succeeds this time. So I can finally appease that damn Vice-Chairman.”

 

* * *

 

Kang Hyeon moved faster than expected.

 

It hadn’t even been a few days since he said he wanted to try entering a Gate, yet he had immediately arranged a Gate for him to enter with Taegyeom.

 

The place Hana would enter was a D-rank Gate that various guilds had been using together for field experience for new guild members for a long time.

 

It had a rocky structure, with many monsters but relatively low danger level.

 

Hana looked at the Gate entrance swirling blue.

 

“It would be nice to use our exclusive Gates, but all the Gates Haechi owns are B-rank or higher.”

 

No matter how much Taegyeom was accompanying him, B-rank had high danger levels, so this was a Gate he had considerately obtained.

 

Just then, a cautious voice was heard from beside him.

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