~ Chapter : 02 ~
Hyoji blankly stared at the message floating in front of her.
“……Awakening?”
An awakening alert she never thought would appear in her life had shown up.
And it was a very strange class.
“Plant Guardian?”
She had never heard of such a class before. Usually, they were divided into healing, combat, or magic types.
What was Kim Hyun-min’s again?
“Was it Gladiator?”
Back then, she had no interest in awakening classes, so she didn’t even know what type it was.
Only after he became a Hunter and cleared dungeons did she learn it was a combat-type awakening.
“So what exactly is a Plant Guardian?”
After Hyun-min became a Hunter, Hyoji also studied awakening classes. It was because he said she shouldn’t stay ignorant when her boyfriend was a Hunter.
But even then, she had never once seen “Plant Guardian” among the common awakenings online.
Hyoji calmly pressed the [Confirm] button and checked the class information.
[Protects plants that live in dungeons. As the protection level increases, you can grow or use plants.]
“…Seriously, what is this.”
Even after awakening, this was it?
“I won’t even be able to dream of clearing a dungeon.”
She had never wished to become an awakened person. She had seen many cases of people fighting monsters, getting injured, or dying.
And thinking about how her parents died after being caught in a dungeon, she had no desire at all to become someone who throws themselves into such danger.
But of all things, she became a useless awakened, worse than a dungeon cleaner.
Feeling dazed, Hyoji checked more of the Guardian’s information.
There was also a skill window, but everything was locked.
[You are not at the level required to use this skill!]
[You are not at the level required to use this skill!]
No matter what she pressed, it only showed that her level was too low.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
With a blank face, Hyoji looked at the fluffy plant that had grown up to the ceiling.
Now that she was a Plant Guardian, information about plants appeared in front of her.
[Cotton Plant: A common plant that mainly grows in F-rank dungeons. Extremely bad taste when used as food.]
No wonder. It tasted horribly bad.
Thanks to this helpful system, she could now pick edible dungeon plants.
[Good for decoration because it looks pretty.]
[Effect: Makes you as fast as a flying squirrel.]
At the very bottom, the plant’s effect was written.
Effect?
If it had an effect, that meant it could be used for abilities.
When she lightly touched the enlarged plant—
[Extract Effect]
Along with the message, [Confirm/Cancel] appeared.
“Whoa.”
Of course, confirm.
Without hesitation, Hyoji pressed it.
[Extracting Cotton Plant…]
A system window appeared, and one stem she touched began glowing blue.
“Wait… is it going to explode?”
Thinking that, she instinctively covered her head and turned her body.
A strange humming sound filled the air, and then a bright light burst out.
“Ahh!”
Afraid it would explode like a bomb, Hyoji tightly shut her eyes.
But what appeared in front of her was a small potion in a transparent glass bottle.
“Huh? What is this?”
Potions were items that restored health or mana for Hunters.
They were usually made in pretty colors and tasted like fruit.
“But this looks like dirty water…”
The color was so unpleasant that she didn’t want to drink it.
When she picked up the potion, a message appeared: [Flying Squirrel Potion]
“So if I drink this, I become faster?”
She wanted to check its performance, but didn’t want to drink it herself.
When she opened the cork, a horrible smell spread out.
“Ugh……”
It was a smell she had never experienced before.
How could that pretty plant turn into something like this?
“Is this even a proper class?”
It wasn’t a class that could clear dungeons, nor one that could heal others.
Even if she could extract dungeon plants into potions, what could she do with something that looked, smelled, and seemed so suspicious?
“Seriously… of all awakenings, I get something this useless.”
Hyoji casually tossed the potion aside and lay down on her bed.
This kind of ability was no help to her at all.
She needed to sleep early to go clean dungeons tomorrow just to survive.
“Hyoji, good luck today!”
As always, Harin waved at her with a smile.
Hyoji quietly replied, “Good luck,” and entered the cleared dungeon.
While the men fought noisily over leftover loot, Hyoji moved deeper inside.
Normally, she would stay near the entrance out of fear.
“Damn quest.”
Yes—a truly terrible quest had appeared.
[Collect the ‘special plant’ that can raise the level of the Plant Guardian inside the dungeon!]
What kind of “special plant” was that supposed to be?
A picture appeared, but it was something she had never seen before.
[Special plants live deep inside the dungeon.]
[Warning A hidden dungeon may be found deeper inside!]
Seriously…
Even after seeing such a terrifying warning, she had to complete the quest.
The moment she saw the words “hidden dungeon,” she was shocked.
“Anyone can tell that’s dangerous!”
Not just a dungeon, but a hidden dungeon.
Even someone like her who didn’t know much could tell it sounded like a place where a final boss might be hiding.
Still, there was a reason she forced herself forward.
At first, she tried to give up the quest—
But the system said:
[If the Plant Guardian does not consume a special plant, it may result in death. Do you really want to give up?]
In other words, if she wanted to live, she had to collect it.
“What kind of terrible class is this?”
Thinking that, Hyoji kept walking deeper into the dungeon.
If she might die anyway, it was better to try something.
“Ugh… this is scary.”
The deeper she went, the fewer glowing plants there were on the walls.
In other words—it got darker.
Even the other cleaners disappeared the deeper she went.
They probably knew it was dangerous.
Even cleared dungeons were still unknown places.
“Shouldn’t it appear by now?”
How much farther did she have to go?
She checked every plant she saw, but none were special.
After walking more, she found a pitch-black cave.
“Don’t tell me… here?”
She really didn’t want to go in.
It felt like the word “danger” was written all over it.
“Just check the entrance and leave.”
If she went too far, she might die before finding anything.
“I-is anyone there? Please don’t be… If something comes out, I’ll kill it. I mean it.”
Muttering half-pleading threats, she stepped inside.
It was so dark she had to feel the wall to walk.
Come out… come out… please appear quickly.
But the plant didn’t appear.
“I guess this won’t work.”
Just as she turned to leave—
Flash!
The cave suddenly filled with bright light.
“Ah!”
She shut her eyes, then opened them.
As her vision cleared, she saw the cave clearly.
“It’s not that scary?”
It was actually beautiful.
There were many glowing plants.
Feeling more confident, she went deeper.
“Huh?”
Then she spotted a plant she had never seen before.
“Is this it?”
She reached out and touched it.
It felt soft and thick, like aloe.
[Special Plant: Hamchorom (Exclusive to Plant Guardian)]
“I found it!”
She quickly filled her basket with the plant.
“Since I found it, I should take a lot.”
While she admired her full basket—
Thud!
“…?”
A strange sound echoed through the cave.
“What was that?”
A shadow fell behind her.
“Grrrr…”
“…Haha.”
Cold sweat ran down her back.
She had never seen a monster before, but she knew instantly.
“A monster.”
Which meant this cave was a hidden dungeon.
Slowly turning her head, she saw a giant mantis-like monster drooling.
It was much bigger than a human.
“AAAAH!”
Her terrified face reflected in its black eyes.
“I’m doomed.”
That was the only thought in her head.
There was no way to escape.
“I’m awakened—why is nothing helping me?!”
The monster was getting closer.
“I have to do something!”
She had to survive.
Holding the basket tightly, she stepped back.
“There’s only one… if I lose it, I can escape.”
“Run first.”
What a useless awakened—only able to run.
“Ahhh!”
She started running.
The monster paused briefly, then chased after her.
“Stop following me!”
Even then, she clutched the basket tightly.
“SKREEEE!”
The monster had no intention of stopping.
“Stop!”
No matter how much she ran, the distance didn’t increase.
“Hyoji!”
“U-unnie!”
Harin appeared in the distance, waving.
Hyoji ran with all her strength.
“Monster?! Where did that come from?!”
“I-I don’t know! Help me!”
Harin, seeing the monster, was shocked.
“I-it’s running first!”
“Okay!”
The dungeon exit was visible.
“SKREEE!”
The monster roared close behind them.
“Monster!”
“Run!”
The cleaners ran away with their loot.
“Those bastards only care about themselves!”
Harin shouted while running.
“U-unnie… faster…”
She reached her limit.
Her legs were numb.
“I can’t run anymore!”
“Hyoji, what are you doing?!”
“Run without me!”
“SKREEE!”
The mantis raised its claw.
“If you send me into danger, at least give me something!”
“This useless ability!”
“Anything—just get rid of that thing!”
At that moment—
Vrrrr—
The dungeon shook.
The monster stopped moving.
“…Huh?”
Harin also stopped.
“What… is that?”
The mantis had been caught by a suddenly enlarged dungeon plant.
