Chapter 24
There was a bit of a challenge.
Red Ginkgo Tree (D)
Red Ginkgo Tree (D)
Two ginkgo trees stood rigidly on either side, like medieval knights guarding a noble’s chamber, keeping watch over their surroundings.
Would they just run into the wall on their own if I dodged quickly again this time?
I looked back.
Although the dungeon was closed off, it was still a dungeon. Reaching the wall opposite the chairman’s office seemed quite far.
Before I could get there, they would turn back and charge at me.
In that case, there was no choice.
“I’ll have to take them out myself.”
At that moment, the system opened a window, offering help.
You have 6 stat points remaining after leveling up.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t assigned any stat points after reaching level 5.
“Then I should allocate my stats before taking on the boss.”
I opened the stats window.
Base Stats
Name: Kang Sori (26 years old)
Class: Restaurant Owner (Expanded Edition) (Lv. 5)
Strength: 10, Muscle: 7, Cooking: 6, Luck: 10
Remaining Stat Points: 6
“Oh, looks like the base stats are a bit higher this time.”
Strength used to be 8. The system usually told me to spend leftover points, but this time it had shown mercy. Muscle and Luck were also increased by 1.
“Where should I put these points?”
I considered putting everything into Cooking, but since this was a boss, Strength would also be crucial.
I decided to put 2 points into Strength and 4 into Cooking.
Updated Stats
Name: Kang Sori (26 years old)
Class: Restaurant Owner (Expanded Edition) (Lv. 5)
Strength: 12, Muscle: 7, Cooking: 10, Luck: 10
“Now the balance feels right.”
Sori smiled faintly and touched the rune necklace hanging around her neck.
May this necklace give me great power!
All preparations she could make were now complete.
“I’d like to meet your chairman.”
She pulled down the hood covering her head.
The two red ginkgo trees, realizing her presence, went mad, putting all their strength into their roots and rising up.
―Uuuuuu!
―Uuuuuu!
Although it was her first time fighting D-rank monsters directly, she felt confident that these dumb monsters were worth trying.
She didn’t have time to fight them one by one. She had removed her hood, but now faced the fury of both at the same time.
The faster of the two charged first.
“Grill in one shot!”
The red ginkgo caught fire.
―Uuuuuu!
The smoke from the burning ginkgo was thick as their screams.
The tree attempted its ultimate move: indiscriminate ginkgo attack.
“Huh!”
Sori quickly held her breath and pinched her nose. Smelling that again could knock her out.
Soon, the ginkgo was reduced to black ashes.
Red Ginkgo Tree (D) has been defeated!
Gained 100 EXP!
“Ah, shouldn’t have burned it. The smell’s insane.”
The mix of ginkgo and burning scent was even worse.
Then the second red ginkgo charged.
“Freeze in one shot!”
The charging ginkgo froze instantly in its tracks.
“Good job.”
Red Ginkgo Tree (D) has been defeated!
Gained 100 EXP!
Acquired Frozen Red Ginkgo Fruit (C) x10!
Sori passed the frozen tree and stood before the chairman’s office.
Inside, she could hear a sound like a flowing stream.
“Is there a valley in there?”
It was a dungeon, so anything was possible.
She flung the door open.
The chairman’s office was far larger than expected, with walls as tall as a castle, covered in wriggling living vines.
A luxurious chandelier hung from the ceiling.
And an amazing sight appeared.
Inside, as expected, was the boss red ginkgo, lying on a bed draped with golden cushions, seemingly enjoying a CD of “Sounds of Nature.”
…Even monsters need healing?
Boss Red Ginkgo Tree (D) has been found!
Unfortunately, it was now time to end the healing session.
The boss was about three times the size of a normal red ginkgo.
Each time its massive trunk and sprawling roots moved, the floor cracked and broke.
―Uuuuuuu…!
It seemed unwilling to tolerate intrusion. Sori immediately used a skill.
“Freeze in one shot!”
As expected, the skill didn’t work on the boss.
The branches froze briefly, then melted, dripping water.
―Uuuuuu!
The boss looked furious that its precious branches had been attacked.
If ranged skills didn’t work, the only option was to go in and finish it.
Sori drew her mithril knife.
She saw something pulsating like a heart inside the boss’s body.
Could that be the source of its energy?
She aimed and threw the mithril knife in one strike.
Shuk!
―Uuuu… Uuu!
It was indeed like a heart. Suddenly, the trunk began splitting around it.
A liquid smelling even worse than ginkgo poured out.
The boss, in pain, seemed intent on swallowing the mithril knife.
How precious was that knife!
Sori rushed to the boss.
“Don’t touch my knife, you bastard!”
She barely pulled the mithril knife from the boss’s mouth.
The thrashing branches wrapped around her body.
But her precious mithril knife was not weak.
Its power was immense, instantly cutting through all the boss’s branches.
The trunk was splitting but still wasn’t dead yet.
It was time to cut the roots.
Then the system window popped up.
Congratulations!
Skill Acquired: Chop Vegetables in One Shot (B)!
“Chop Vegetables?”
The boss immediately became the first target of this skill.
Perfect.
With her innate chef talent, she neatly cut the roots, peeled the trunk appropriately, and removed the rotten branches!
Boss Red Ginkgo Tree (D) has been defeated!
Gained 1000 EXP!
Acquired Prepared Red Ginkgo Fruit (B) x10!
Acquired Prepared Red Ginkgo Leaves (B) x10!
“Yes! Another skill!”
She put the stealth hood back into her inventory.
The newly spawned dungeon (D) has disappeared.
Soon, the dungeon vanished, and the familiar street scenery returned.
“Am I a bit OP…?”
Sori’s cheeks flushed again, intoxicated with confidence.
Congratulations!
Quest ‘Defeat the Boss of the D-Rank Newly Spawned Dungeon’ completed…
Ding—
“Hello? Already arrived? Sorry, I’m on my way. Wait 10 minutes.”
Sori hurried along again.
Across the street, someone tilted their head, watching her.
A, working night shift at the Dungeon Management Headquarters, had just spilled her coffee after nodding off with a cup in hand, finally coming to her senses.
“Ah, really! Why spill coffee now? Will the color fade?”
One of the many monitors in front of her flashed a warning.
“What? A dungeon?”
Energy detected from a D-rank dungeon!
She urgently pressed the call button.
“Hello? How’s the situation there? I heard a dungeon appeared.”
—”Really? When did this happen?”
“About… an hour ago…?”
A discovered the trace of magic from the newly spawned dungeon only after it had disappeared.
“Are those two not on good terms?”
Sori asked Minjeong while eating fries.
“Who?”
Minjeong asked back.
“Him and Cha Yoon-min.”
‘Him’ usually referred to Lee Gijun.
Minjeong put a fry in her mouth, pretended to think, then answered slowly.
“Ah. The guilds they belong to… The two guilds don’t get along very well.”
“I’ve heard a little, but why not?”
Was it really because of that? Sori tilted her head, recalling Gijun’s teasing.
“Why, you ask? Well…”
Minjeong briefly explained the issues between the Blue Guild and the Seohan Guild.
“…When Seohan Guild grew bigger, some of the potions made by Cha Yoon-min, which Blue Guild had exclusive contracts for, sold less.”
“Why?”
“Because people tend to follow the name value of the potion maker.”
“Potion?”
I need to buy potions too, Sori thought.
“He’s so popular that everyone wants to know what potions he uses.”
“Ah….”
“So maybe that’s why they don’t get along well? But I don’t really know all the details. That’s it.”
“I see.”
Just because of that, he came all the way to the restaurant to tease her.
Sori couldn’t understand Gijun any more.
She stuffed multiple fries into her mouth at once, her full cheeks moving busily.
“But to come all the way to the restaurant and say something because of that? That’s not okay. Totally rude.”
Then she sighed and recounted what Gijun had done.
“Really? He came?”
“Don’t even talk about it.”
Sori told Minjeong what Gijun had said. Minjeong’s lips twitched in a smile she couldn’t hide.
“Does he still like you? He’s childish at times like this.”
“No! Like what.”
“Pretending not to know.”
“No, really.”
Minjeong giggled.
“So he’s coming again? What did he say?”
“Why do you care so much? I’m not curious at all… He didn’t say that. If he had any thoughts, he wouldn’t come.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Minjeong continued watching Sori with curious eyes. Then she reached out and grabbed something from Sori’s shoulder.
“But what’s this?”
Between Minjeong’s fingers was a red ginkgo leaf.
“Oh.”
“Isn’t this a ginkgo leaf?”
“Ah… well.”
Sori quickly pretended not to know.
“Why is the ginkgo leaf red?”
Minjeong examined the leaf with curiosity.
“I-I don’t know. Me neither.”
“Where do you go to stick things like this on your shoulder?”
“Nowhere. I didn’t go anywhere.”
Sori snatched the red ginkgo leaf.
“Just throw it away. Let’s have some beer. Hey! One more beer, please.”
“Are you okay today?”
Minjeong asked with concern.
“Nothing’s wrong!”
Sori crushed the red ginkgo leaf under her foot.
