The Gardener in a Hunter World

Chapter 9: Cold Dungeon (2)

Disclaimer: This is an edited MTL. Thus, I cant guarantee that my editing to be proficient. But I hope you enjoy this story with me. If there are any corrections, it is highly encourage to leave a comment.

Fortunately, Park SeongHo, Lee Jumi, and Seo HyeJin knew each other.

Of course, that doesnt mean theyre on close terms.

Nobody is close to HyeJin.

Except for one.

So, even when the Hunters met HyeJin, they went by unnoticed.

SeongHo and Jumi were gentle, but they werent kind to those who were known to ignore people,

HyeJin feels lonely again and goes out coldly When things get messed up like this, theres no way to fix them.

But there are still people who dont care about that kind of atmosphere.

Hello.

Silence fell for a moment.

The party of the Happy Hunters guild wondered why Yoo Ji-Ha pretended to know Seo HyeJin.

I didnt expect to see you here.

The strange thing is that HyeJin reacted.

SeonYoung was not interested, but SeongHo and Jumi were greatly surprised.

Seo HyeJin, the Ice Princess, greeted Ji-Ha.

Yoo Ji-Ha smiled softly, not paying attention to their reaction.

Im lucky. I know some good people, so I got a chance.

I hear that word quite often.

Because its true.

Is that so By the way, no matter how much I saw the effect of the potion, I couldnt believe that it had actually taken me this long to come this far.

Why does it sound like HyeJin went through a lot of hardship?

I think it took at least three or four hours.

Didnt we arrive early? I dont think it has been 30 minutes.

Jumi said and checked her watch.

SeongHo looked at it together and nodded.

Exactly 28 minutes have passed. HyeJin, did it really take that long? We just arrived here.

Strange Did you receive a quest? Now its updated to kill a horde of Frost Trolls.

No.

Jumi felt saddened by HyeJins curt answers.

How heartbroken would you have to be for your personality to change like this?

Before SeungHyuks disappearance, HyeJin wasnt this cold.

Even though she had difficulties in interpersonal relationships, somehow she was still able to talk to other people

At the same time, it was strange for Ji-Ha to have a conversation with HyeJin.

What kind of relationship did they have? Between a general store owner and the 12th ranked Hunter.

Then SeongHo stepped in.

As I just said, we have been given a quest. I dont know why HyeJin wasnt given one, but we must deal with it anyway. We must stop the breakout.

The breakout of the dungeon means that all monsters inside it run out to the outside world.

Although the monsters stats received a burst, it would not mean much because soldiers and Hunters were camped outside.

However, in the case of a breakout, those who received the quest will be recorded on the Hunternet, their points will be greatly reduced, and their ranking will drop.

So, the Hunters spent a lot of time trying to complete the quest.

Let me join.

HyeJin said, SeongHo and Jumi tilted their heads to see if they heard it wrong.

Uh Youre coming with us? Are we doing it?

You dont want me to?

No, its not that I dont want to, but since you didnt receive the quest, your points wont go up if you complete it, right?

It doesnt matter.

Oppa, we dont have time, we have to go quickly.

We dont know where the location is We really should hurry.

Huh, okay. Lets go.

At the urging of the two women, SeongHo lowered his shield and took the lead.

As the three of them walked around Yoo Ji-Ha, HyeJin had no choice but to follow behind him.

But its really strange.

Something strange happens when you encounter this person.

It was the first time she had discovered such a huge tree root in a Polar dungeon.

Above all, she never imagined that the surroundings would be this warm.

In addition to the effect of the potion, it started to get hotter by wearing winter clothes.

Maybe other people felt it too, so she opened the zipper area of her neck.

Its really baffling.

***

The Frost Troll is a variant and enhanced version of a regular troll.

Its 1.5 times larger in size and has superior stats, especially its stamina.

The troublesome thing is that the trolls Characteristic, Wound Regeneration, is incredibly potent.

What further annoys Hunters is that it knows how to take advantage of their size when setting an ambush.

The story of a rookie Hunter who lost his life when he was attacked by a Frost Troll while wandering in a snowstorm unique to the Polar dungeon is often heard.

Fortunately, their party were veterans upon receiving the quest.

Besides, there is also Seo HyeJin, whos placed 12th in the Hunter Rankings, so there is no big problem Everyone thought so.

There are a lot of them. Ten trolls.

Heading northwest, the group went through a snowstorm and found a cave within the valley.

The Frost Trolls Ice Nest was right there.

At first, they hid to understand the trolls movements, and they found out that there were ten trolls.

If you drink all the potions and walk towards them, it will work out somehow. It would have been better if there was a Hunter that uses Fire-based skills, but there is nothing we can do about it.

SeonYoung opened her book and muttered.

Trolls are weak against Fire-based skills, but Frost Trolls are even more so.

Because they melt completely, guilds with flame magicians have great strength in polar dungeons.

The problem is that resources and materials are scarce, so their strengths are meaningless.

Ill take the lead.

Are you sure? No matter how strong you are-

HyeJin took the lead without saying a word.

Looking at her hands on her belt, she seems to be drinking a potion right before the battle. The group got ready and followed her.

Except for one.

Yoo Ji-Ha, you have to hide here quietly, okay?

Yes.

Jumi covered Yoo Ji-Has hand with hers and advised him again and again.

It would be the end if he, who was only a normal person, went out.

I will be fine, I know myself well. You can go.

Okay.

SeongHo and SeonYoung followed HyeJin along the ridge of the valley.

Down there, they could see the entrance to the nest the Frost trolls had built.

Luckily, the trolls dont seem to have noticed them.

SeongHo took a potion from his belt and poured it into his mouth.

Ugh. Everytime I taste it, Im sick of it. HyeJin, we will go down first, so all you have to do is support us.

HyeJin, who was walking, stopped, and nodded.

At this point, its time to stop talking.

Jumi, help me not to be taken down like you used to, and SeonYoung scatter out a few of the Frost Trolls to attack, okay? Like how youve been doing so far.

Dont worry, Ill beat them with this book.

SeonYoung looked at the book and smiled.

Those who didnt know about Paper magicians laughed.

Will the trolls get hurt by those thick old books?

SeongHo looked at the trolls and said one last time.

A wide range of skills is good, but it is important to reduce the number of them. Its sufficient to take them down one by one.

Lets start from the left.

Well Okay.

HyeJin and SeonYoung matched their words.

If the attacks of the two damage dealers are disorganized, they will be pushed back by the trolls regenerative ability.

Of course, HyeJin has a destructive power that surpasses the rate of their regeneration, but its better to match up.

Lets go, I want to get rid of them quickly and rest in a warm place.

SeongHo pulled out his wooden shield and sword at the end of Jumis words.

When skills such as Battle Cry and Beast Power were applied adding Stone Skin to the combo, the surrounding ether shook violently.

Waaaaaaaaa!

His aura became like that of a bears and began to gallop down the valley.

The trolls quickly found him and started yelling at him.

A fight between ten monsters over 3m tall and a 195cm human.

No matter how you looked at it, the human side was at a disadvantage.

However, the person who supported SeongHo was Lee Jumi, a Specialized healer.

Following her gestures, a soft ether enveloped SeongHos body.

The trolls claws were torn like a piece of paper, and the armor was broken and damaged, but it healed quickly.

bang! bang! Kook!

The trolls got excited and smashed SeongHos shield.

There were trolls who couldnt keep up, but they noticed it in advance with the sense of a seasoned knight, and retreated back to form the ranks again.

At that moment, Seo HyeJin, who flew with a sword, spread the ether.

The intangible sword aura was concentrated on one point and separated the body of a troll.

SeonYoung concentrated on the cliff with her open book.

Pararack.

The pages of the book were torn apart, hovering around her at high speed, and then flew away. She is a Paper magician.

Paper is easier to handle than limbs.

Hundreds of sheets of paper wrapped around two trolls and threw them away.

They collapsed without even knowing a thing, and their necks were separated by the sword aura.

Three trolls at once!

The eyes of the trolls who lost their comrades shone red and fiercely smashed SeongHos shield.

They were starting to get frenzied, but SeongHo couldnt do anything.

As long as there are two damage dealers, the tank can only serve as a sandbag.

While the party was killing the trolls, Yoo Ji-Ha was hiding and watching their activities.

The battle of Hunters sure is great,

Theyre superhumans.

The wooden shield that SeongHo casually slaps contains the power capable of smashing concrete walls.

The ether that flies away with Jumis gentle touch heals any wounds on the spot.

The stark contrast between Yoo Ji-Ha and them, where he has to hide because he doesnt have any combat skills can be seen.

But he doesnt regret it.

Ill have something else to do.

Do what you can and dont be overly greedy.

As he was thinking, something appeared right in front of him.

Waaah!

Yoo Ji-Ha fell backwards in surprise, when a Frost Troll suddenly leapt out, growling with its glowing red eyes.

One of them was hiding, waiting for an ambush.

SeonYoung, who was nearby, hurriedly pulled out another book, but it was already too late.

The troll slammed the ground with its long arms and rushed into Yoo Ji-Ha.

Ah!

His body stiffened, and he couldnt move.

Yoo Ji-Ha, who suddenly became a prey from being a bystander, had to stand still and watch the trolls attack.

Ji-Ha!

SeonYoung clenched her teeth and threw papers his way, but it was still quite a distance.

In her eyes, the trolls arms seemed to slash Yoo Ji-Ha.

Before the scream could end, something shot out the ice and rose.

A dark pincer cut the Frost Trolls waist and retreated back in the ice.

It happened so quickly, that Ji-Ha or SeonYoung couldnt even figure out what it was.

Huh What, what was that?

Ji-Ha are you okay?

Im okay, Im okay But Noona, did you see what just happened? What kind of pincer did it belong to?

Yeah, I saw it too. It looked like a monster But it was a quick one! You stay, there might be more monsters here

Ill run away on my own, so please help them, Noona!

Yeah! Take care of yourself!

But there were no trolls left to attack.

SeongHo, Jumi, and HyeJin were looking at the troll who had its waists cut off with a shocked look.

What happened?!

I dont know! Out of nowhere, something popped out!

It was a pincer! Like that of a stag beetles! It looked like that!

To summarize, a monster-like being popped out all of a sudden, killed the trolls then disappeared.

Is that possible?

Why didnt it attack them?

Various questions popped up in the groups minds, but it wasnt the most important thing.

There is no reason to delay here since the quest window shows that its completed.

SeongHo called Ji-Ha and told him to absorb the Essence left by the troll.

But I didnt do anything.

Im here to support you, come on, dont worry.

Ji-ha, eat it quickly. You said you wanted to try the Essence right? I wonder if youll feel something.

Is this your first time eating it? Maybe you will feel good.

Essence is the source of life that comes out when you defeat a monster.

Because its probability to drop is low, there were some who fought for it during distribution.

Essence upgrades your stats, various resistances, and skills, so if you are a Hunter, you must do your best to try to secure it.

The golden mass was floating in front of Yoo Ji-Ha.

Okay, then Ill just take one.

You can take two. We were going to give them to you excluding HyeJins share anyway. But the Ether stone is ours okay? We also have to live.

How grateful Ji-ha was to these people.

He looked at HyeJin.

As she nodded, without further ado, he brought his body into contact with the golden mass.

Ah So thats how it feels.

It felt like snuggling in a warm blanket during winter.

Like how cloth absorbs water, the essence is absorbed into the body and the Essence stat in his status window is updated.

Class: Worker

Primary stat:

HP: 80      Vitality: 70      Ether:       Essence: 2

Secondary stat:

Endurance: 7      Strength: 8      Agility: 8      Talent: 9      Spirit: 9

Resistance:

Physical: 5      Element: Cold: 32      Poison:       Abnormal Status

Characteristic: XXX Blessing WI

Skills: Plant-friendly LVI, Animal-friendly LVI, Alchemy LV2

Oh.

Of course, obtaining an Essence did not change anything other than the essence stat indicating he absorbed 2 Essence.

For now, he is satisfied with this.

Yoo Ji-Ha escaped the Polar dungeon with the party.

As they exited, the gate surface shook violently, signaling the end of the dungeon.

The Hunters who were inside came out in bewilderment.

***

So, in the end, what was it?

How would I know that? Ive only seen this ambiguous battle report.

Cha HwaYeon threw the papers on the desk.

The place where she was located was the office of Kim HyungSeok, who is said to be the most credible Hunter force in Korea.

He was a man in his early thirties, and he had an appearance that anyone would like.

Tall, sleek muscular body, and a neat suit that accentuates him greatly.

Hmm To clear a Polar dungeon out of nowhere Even trolls are understandable, but suddenly there are monsters with pincers? Was there a monster with pincers in the Polar dungeon?

If you think about it, the monsters with pincers are Kroxis, Devil Ants, and KangOh. Is it a new monster?

Why dont we raise the rating a little bit? To Destruction-grade.

Are you kidding me right now? Theres no way those monsters will appear in Category 3 dungeons.

Oh, Im sorry. Thats true. They werent supposed to come out.

Their eyes were directed at the wall at the same time.

Hanging there was a picture of the monsters that appeared when the first dungeon was opened.

Also known as Destruction-grade monsters.

A disaster that should never happen again.

Humanity had to make great sacrifices to kill them.

And now, 10 years later, the sea was inhabited with monsters and they barely managed to defend the land and sky.

The damage humanity suffered in the war against them is that great.

HwaYeon turned her gaze away from the picture and looked at HyungSeok.

And that huge tree root Its a bit unreasonable to say that Yoo Ji-ha is simply lucky.

Its the first time Ive heard that name. But I think it will be important.

Hes the person who makes potions by picking strange fruits. Isnt your information a bit late?

HwaYeon smiled, but her face hardened when she saw the fruit HyungSeok was taking out of the safe.

This is a Solar Apple that has not been touched yet.

Are you talking about this?

Sly snake.

I think it would be better to describe me as a decisive person. Anyway, I heard the story about the special potion. But this fruit we got had no particular effect.

Wait a minute, then that means

He either has special abilities, or he lied.

He didnt seem like a liar.

HyungSeok whistled at her words.

Already have a crush? He seems to be a young man with great charm.

Dont be silly. I have no hobbies playing with children. Anyway, youre sure that fruit doesnt have any effects, right?

I have no reason to lie to the Guild leader.

For once, and its only because the two are allies.

If thats the case Then, what really happened?

Does he really have special abilities?

It doesnt make sense, if I had that kind of ability, I would have made a lot of money

In the light of HwaYeons common sense, it was nonsense for Yoo Ji-ha to stick with that shabby general store.

What is it?

While she was still contemplating, HyungSeok put the fruit back in and said:

If you cant figure it out, ask around. Ive already sent someone.

You arent going to threaten him, are you?

What do you view me as? I understand that I have a bad image as a chaebol, but Guild leader Cha should know better that I am not that kind of guy.

I dont know. Youre such a sneaky person, so I dont know what youre plotting.

Hey, even though this is an alliance, you still have a grudge against me. Well, for the time being, I wont approach him and just observe.

Is that true?

When HwaYeon looked at him as if she was gauging if hes reliable or not, he smiled and spread his arms.

I love talented people. If that young man is a talented person who fits my plan, I must pay him millions of dollars to attract him. If they have the right talent, I can give them the right position.

Its not my problem, so take care of it yourself.

She turned and left the office.

In the end, the important questions were not resolved, but HwaYeon had a lot of problems, so it was quickly forgotten.

After HyungSeok confirmed that she had left, he took out a file folder from the safe.

It was a document that recorded the monsters of Extinction-grade or higher that mankind had faced. His eyes flipped through the page.

Theradrone.

The name of a Myth-class monster.

Surely, its not