~ Chapter : 03 ~
They say if you wish for something desperately, it will come true.
Seems like old sayings aren’t wrong after all.
Hyoji slowly turned her head to check the now-still monster.
“Gasp!”
The monster’s face was right in front of hers.
Meeting its pitch-black eyes head-on made her heart pound wildly.
“W-what is this?”
Even when she waved her hand in front of its eyes, the monster didn’t move.
A vine-like plant had grown huge and tightly wrapped around the monster. Its arms and legs were completely bound, leaving it unable to move at all.
“H-Hyoji, come here.”
“Y-yes!”
Keeping her eyes on the monster, Hyoji slowly stepped back.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. What about you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine too. But that……”
Both of them looked back at the monster.
Only after confirming it wasn’t moving at all did they finally sigh in relief.
“Why… did the plant grow?”
At that, Hyoji also became curious.
“Yeah… why suddenly……”
At that moment, a status window appeared in front of her.
[Plant Guardian Passive Activated!]
[The Plant Guardian can control dungeon plants.]
[Warning Plants behave differently depending on your stats.]
What is this…? You never said anything about a passive skill!
If it had told her earlier, she wouldn’t have had to run like that.
“Did someone help us?”
“I-I’m not sure. Let’s get out of here first. The monster isn’t dead—it’s dangerous.”
Afraid her ability might be discovered, Hyoji quickly grabbed Harin’s hand and ran outside.
She thought it was a useless ability, but it was somewhat useful.
Still, it wasn’t something impressive enough to tell others, so she didn’t want anyone to know.
If you’re an “Awakened,” the first thing that happens is you end up in the news.
What kind of ability you have, what level you are—
You even have to go through testing at official institutions.
And then…
It would only be a matter of time before everyone found out how pathetic her awakening was.
My face would be all over the news.
She absolutely hated that idea.
Her ex-boyfriend Kim Hyun-min had turned his life around with amazing abilities.
But not me!
If people found out she became a Plant Guardian just picking plants…
No way!
She remembered Hyun-min throwing money at her when she asked him to repay the academy fees.
So pathetic.
And Baek Gayeon laughing beside him.
“Ugh.”
Hyoji shook her head to stop thinking about it.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did you get injured?”
Harin grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
“Unnie, I’m fine.”
“Then why are you shaking like that?!”
Unnie…
It’s just that my awakening class is ridiculous.
Haha.
“A monster appeared in a cleared dungeon?”
“Yes. Thankfully, it was a D-rank dungeon, so it was handled quickly.”
“Hm… Still strange. I’ve never heard of monsters appearing again in a cleared dungeon.”
“Yes. It’s currently under investigation.”
This incident had caught the attention of the Hae-yeon Guild, one of the most powerful guilds in Korea—and even the world.
It was unprecedented.
When Hunters clear a dungeon, it means they protect civilians.
But what if a cleared dungeon is still dangerous?
This isn’t normal.
Thankfully, since it happened in a D-rank dungeon, the media hadn’t picked it up.
If it became public, people would panic like when dungeons first appeared.
“We should finish the investigation quickly before others notice.”
“Yes, Master. I’ll relay it to the field.”
The Master pressed his temple as his head throbbed.
“But—”
“Yes?”
“What was the condition of the monster?”
“Well… it was caught by a plant.”
Even as he said it, the man scratched his head awkwardly.
“It was a common low-rank dungeon plant, but it had grown dozens of times larger.”
“And that plant subdued the monster?”
“I couldn’t believe it either. If anything, dungeon plants usually help monsters—but this one helped humans.”
He was right. This shouldn’t be possible.
That’s why the guild was paying attention.
“But it only restrained the monster. It didn’t kill it.”
“I see. Continue the investigation and report back.”
“Yes.”
After the man left, the Master sat by the window.
Under the warm sunlight, the Han River shimmered beautifully.
Everything looked peaceful, yet dungeons kept appearing in the middle of the city.
A warning sound rang from the dungeon radar system floating in the air.
[A dungeon gate has opened. Please check the information.]
The Master checked it.
An A-rank dungeon.
“Where is Hunter Kang Jinhwan right now?”
—He is currently in Japan.
“Tell him to return. Immediately.”
—Yes, Master.
High-rank dungeons were appearing more frequently.
And now, monsters appearing in cleared dungeons.
Even though the number of awakened people was increasing, it still wasn’t enough.
“If even plants in dungeons become dangerous…”
That would be a serious problem.
The man sighed.
The only solution was to recruit stronger Hunters.
Only then could the world be freed from dungeons.
“So this is the special plant?”
Hyoji stared at the plant she brought back.
“How am I supposed to eat this?”
Should she chew it raw?
Or cook it like before?
She remembered the fluffy plant she failed with earlier.
“That one was really inedible…”
If this tasted like that too…
She shuddered.
Maybe eating it raw was better.
“Sigh. Even lettuce tastes better with meat…”
What should she eat this with?
It didn’t look like something you could wrap meat in—it was too thick.
“Whatever.”
It’s needed to level up. It won’t kill her, right?
She plucked a leaf.
Sticky liquid dripped out. She smelled it—it wasn’t bad.
“Alright, here goes. Please taste good.”
Better to get it over with.
She took a big bite.
Crunch.
A fresh sound filled her mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
“It’s not bad?”
It had almost no taste.
Like cucumber, but with even less flavor.
“I can eat this!”
She had been so scared it would taste horrible again.
Lying on her bed, she kept eating the plant like a snack.
“Hahaha! This is hilarious!”
While watching a popular HunterTube channel, she finished everything.
“I ate it all…”
Her body didn’t change much.
But she was full.
“Do I need to eat more to level up?”
Feeling sleepy, she decided to rest.
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
“AAAH!”
She woke up to nonstop system alerts.
Her vision was filled with windows like a lagging computer.
“What is this?!”
No matter how much she pressed confirm, the windows wouldn’t disappear.
“Is this a bug?”
After pressing repeatedly, the windows finally vanished.
[Plant Guardian LV. 54]
“Huh?!”
She was level 1 before.
Now she was level 54.
[You can now use skills suitable for your level.]
“Oh, finally skills?”
Excited, she opened the skill window.
Many skills were now unlocked.
“Let’s see…”
[Grow Fast: Plants grow quickly.]
[Harvest Speed Up: Increases gathering speed.]
[Run Faster: Increases escape speed when encountering monsters.]
“…What?”
She reread them.
“These are skills?”
There must be something better.
She scrolled down.
But—
[Extraction Bonus: 3% chance to create one extra potion.]
[Stealth: Hide for 3 minutes when facing a boss monster.]
She sighed and closed the window.
“Useless and not even cool.”
What kind of awakened is this?
Good thing I hid it from Unnie.
If people found out, it would be embarrassing.
Her ex-boyfriend was living a successful Hunter life—
While she had this pathetic class.
She got up and went to the bathroom.
The dungeon she visited earlier would be cleared soon.
“I should just work.”
This class wouldn’t feed her.
Just as she picked up her toothbrush—
[Quest Alert!]
“No! No!”
She immediately tried to cancel it.
But—
[Quest Alert!]
[A special plant suitable for your level is required!]
“Please…”
She couldn’t even handle a low-rank monster.
[Collect a special plant from a B-rank dungeon!]
“B-rank?!”
Impossible.
B-rank dungeons weren’t accessible to normal cleaners.
“They take longer and are more dangerous…”
“How am I supposed to go there?!”
To enter, she needed to belong to a guild.
That meant—
“I need to join a guild…”
But those positions usually required connections with Hunters.
“Who would accept me?”
She regretted eating all those plants.
“Please cancel this awakening!”
Her desperate cry echoed—unheard.
