The Gardener in a Hunter World

Disclaimer: This is an edited MTL. Thus, I can’t 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.

Stamina potions can act as a healer.

If a soldier Theradrone is wounded and flees to the rear, the potion helps recover his health.

Poison Resistance potions are equivalent to hazardous defensive armor.

To withstand the poison of those detestable Devil Ants, a raise in the Poison Resistance stat in advance is needed.

The sap jelly becomes a reliable battle food for Theradrone.

These three ammunitions were almost ready so that Yoo Ji-Ha could support the Theradrone Legion.

‘If there’s a wide-area buff here, wouldn’t it be great?’

Since he received five Essences, he applied the Worker’s Blessing buff to support the legion…

Well, it was true that he thought it was easy that way.

However, the moment the Theradrones advanced and the dwelling of the Devil Ants was revealed, Yoo Ji-Ha was at a loss.

‘This is insane. How big is their nest?’

Although the size of the Devil Ant is smaller than a fingernail, the cone-shaped structure made of soil reached up to his head.

It is said that ants in real life build houses that are several tens of meters high over hundreds of years, and the Devil Ants act similarly.

How many Devil Ants are hiding there?

Dozens of ants were patrolling outside of the anthill, but when they saw the Theradrone Legion, they disappeared one by one.

‘Isn’t this a full-fledged war?’

Yoo Ji-Ha gulped.

In his heart, he wanted to directly control the Theradrone Legion, but it was impossible.

And it seemed that it would be better to leave it to the instinct of Theradrone than to direct them with his clumsy knowledge.

A particularly large Theradrone among them stepped forward, opened its carapace, and flapped its wings.

It’s amazing to see the other Theradrones moving in unison according to his signal.

‘They’re like soldiers.’

This is a war for the fate of the race. Theradrones can only reproduce and prosper the race by rescuing their queen from the Devil Ant’s nest.

When they were just approaching the ant nest, the Devil Ants suddenly appeared.

Aren’t they only sticking their head out in the middle and spewing poison?

‘They’re clever.’

Yoo Ji-Ha marveled at the cunningness of the ants.

Even with some distance, it accurately hit the Theradrones since it was shot from a high place, it would go farther.

The Theradrones were taken aback by the attack.

If they clashed head-on on a flat surface, Devil Ants can’t be considered a hard opponent, but the enemy was using projectile strategy.

【The war between your Theradrone Legion and the invader Demon Ant Corps has begun. Would you like to help your legion? YES/NO】

He thought about giving the Worker’s Blessing buff but decided to wait a little longer.

‘I believe in them.’

The Theradrone Captain paused for a moment, then moved his feet and began to charge towards the anthill.

He seems to have decided to believe in the Poison Resistance potion and march head on.

Dozens of Theradrones followed him and broke through the line.

A few were poisoned but were not fatally wounded. The Theradrones, who were waiting in the rear, quickly evacuated the wounded ones to a wooden bowl containing a Health potion.

‘Are these guys acting like ambulances?’

There have been a number of times when he still gets surprised by these fingernail-sized insects.

When the Theradrone Captain and the legion were about to arrive at the entrance to the anthill, something came out of the hole.

It wasn’t as big as a Theradrone, but it was larger than the usual soldier ant..

It sealed the entrance with their body and faced the Theradrones.

It looked like they were blocking the hole with meat shields so that the Theradrone couldn’t go inside.

‘Hey, that’s great.’

If the fight between the two races were to be replaced with humans instead, it could only be described as a really gruesome blood battle.

‘Can’t the ants drag the Theradrones inside and fight? They’re in their home territory, so they should be used to the surrounding geography.’

Maybe the ant nest doesn’t have enough troops.

While Yoo Ji-Ha was thinking of that, a Devil Ant was secretly trying to leave using another exit of the anthill.

The guy was a winged variant.

The system sent him a warning.

【The Devil Ant corps is about to send a messenger! It looks like they’re calling the main unit from somewhere. You can only intervene directly with your own power once.

1)  Take out the winged Devil Ant with an intense slap attack – 3 Essence】

‘What, what is this saying?’

3 Essence for one shot is too expensive!

But it was very important to impede that messenger and keep it from leaving.

When he chose the option, the Theradrones moved out of the way as if they understood.

Yoo Ji-Ha screamed as he watched the winged ant take flight.

pak!

The palm of his hand smashed the wing ant, creating a large mark on the floor.

The wing ant could not even make a sound and just turned into a gruesome corpse, and the Theradrones, who witnessed the scene, gained courage to rush forward.

Yoo Ji-Ha felt a soft force pushing him away.

Now that the messenger ant is dead, the main unit cannot return.

Knowing that, it was evident that the morale of the Devil Ants decreased significantly.

‘At this point, I’ll use the buff.’

When the Worker’s Blessing was applied, the Theradrones ran rampantly with their full force.

The Theradrone Legion took the victory.

***

Once we got the win, the ants were wiped out.

The legion, led by Captain, killed all the remaining Devil Ants at the entrance and dug into the ant nest.

Perhaps because of the ant queen, the inside was surprisingly wide.

It’s unknown what’s going on inside, but from time to time a rotten Devil Ant corpse popped out.

‘Is it going well?’

When Yoo Ji-Ha was getting nervous, a few Theradrones dragged the Devil Ant Queen out.

It had an exceptionally large belly, the size of his little finger.

‘It’s dead.’

The ant queen was limp and motionless.

He felt a little sad, but on the other hand, he felt that it deserved death because it was a monster that threatened the forest.

‘By the way, where is their queen?’

Eventually, the entrance collapsed and the Theradrones came out.

Dozens of Theradrones, assisted their queen out.

Her stomach was so large that she could not move by herself.

The Theradrones placed their queen at Yoo Ji-Ha’s foot next to the dead ant queen.

【Theradrone Queen】

‘It’s a little creepy.’

The opaque milky-white belly was full of eggs.

Yoo Ji-Ha gently stroked the queen.

Instantaneously, the message in the status window was updated.

【The Theradrone Queen wants to swear allegiance to you. If you make a contract with the Theradrone Legion, you can become its supporter and receive various items. Subsequently, you will have to listen to their requests as well. YES/NO】

There was nothing to worry about.

Besides, Yoo Ji-Ha and Theradrones are living under the same roof, so it seemed like they could live by helping each other.

‘It’s not that difficult, is it?’

The objects and Essences he gathered are because of the Theradrone Legion’s significant help.

They brought him various items such as seeds, Essences, and Ether stones.

It’s a really ideal symbiotic relationship,

‘They are standing still.’

Are they waiting, wondering what option this person will choose?

When he selected YES, a new message appeared.

【The Theradrone Queen and the Legion have sworn allegiance to you. Now you will be able to support the legion more directly.】

‘More directly… Is it talking about outside of the fog?’

It would be great to be able to do something more helpful other than just as a support.

At that moment, the Theradrone Captain spreads its carapace and wings out and then gets surrounded by a golden glow.

【Theradrone Warrior】

This guy evolved from being a normal soldier.

Yoo Ji-Ha couldn’t help but marvel at that.

Did the Queen congratulate him for his achievements on the battlefield?

The Theradrones moved only then.

Essences and Ether stones have been collected. Various seeds and food items from the anthill have been brought out. At the same time, the miniature forest was once again hidden by fog.

It was a pity that Yoo Ji-Ha couldn’t see the beautiful forest a little more.

Be that as it may, what did they bring?

A few Theradrone soldiers came and brought 10 Essences, Ether Stones, and seeds.

‘Is this enough?’ They seemed to ask.

Yoo Ji-Ha laughed and decided to accept their offer.

“This is enough. Use the rest for your household.”

After absorbing the Essences, the Theradrones took their queen back.

After putting the Ether stone in the backpack, Yoo Ji-Ha was analyzing a seed on the palm of his hand.

【Shadow Grape Seed】

【Tree Fruit Seed】

‘What is the seed of a Tree Fruit?’

All the seeds that Yoo Ji-Ha has seen so far contain the species name. Could it be that the Tree Fruit is the seed’s name?

He wanted to see how it looked once it grew, so he dug a hole in a suitable place in the forest, sprinkled the seed and watered it.

He doesn’t need extensive gardening knowledge to grow plants.

Because the forest takes care of it.

Yoo Ji-Ha went around the forest to harvest Solar Apples and Winter Strawberries.

He wanted to go to the beach, but soon ran out of time, so he decided to refrain from going.

‘I can sell the Ether Stones, but where should I use the Essences on?’

10 Essences are required to raise the first stat by 1.

In other words, if he invests 10 pieces, he can increase his strength by 1.

But which stat should Ji-Ha upgrade?

He can’t even dare increase his Characteristics and Skills because it needs a huge amount.

‘In the end, it’s great to store them like an ant. But not like Devil Ants.’

After organizing his backpack, Ji-Ha closed his eyes.

It’s not good to keep sleeping on a rock like this, so he hopes to build a house next time.

A smile came to his lips as he thought of going out to sea and cutting down palm trees to make a house.

***

Dungeons in Korea are mainly concentrated in Seoul, but there are also quite a few dungeons in cities such as Busan and Gwanju.

There are also Hunters who mainly attack in these areas to avoid rankers.

The reason is, of course, to avoid competition.

The Hunters in the Hunter Rankings 2nd up to the 9th are monsters, so instead of competing directly with them, they target a relatively quiet place.

The Busan Seagulls, the most powerful guild in Busan, was waiting for a dungeon to open these days.

It is a dungeon where Devil Ants appear intensively.

Hunters are reluctant to enter dungeons where Devil Ants appear, but there was one exception.

The dungeon where the Devil Ant Queen is located.

If you somehow defeat the anthill and the queen, you can rake in a huge amount of Essence and ether stones.

So, the Busan Seagull guild was waiting for the dungeon to open by gathering up Hunters from nearby small towns.

Since the Devil Ant dungeons are frequently opened these days, they guessed that the ant nest dungeon would appear soon.

Finally, the gate appeared.

The soldiers stood guard, and the Hunters entered and checked the quest.

But they came out bewildered.

“Brother, the quest was already cleared”

“The dungeon just opened, what nonsense are you talking about?”

“Check it out for yourself. The goal and the time limit are empty.”

“What the hell.”

Kim SeongCheol went directly to the gate, checked the quest, and came out with an absurd expression.

“No, what kind of guy…”

“Maybe it’s from another region?”

“Don’t you know that dungeons that have already been cleared will not open again? Damn, I can’t believe it, I’ll have to check it out myself.”

Kim SeongCheol and the Busan Seagull guild members made their way through the dense forest and finally found the anthill in question.

“It’s big…”

The party was overwhelmed by the size of an anthill the size of a building.

How many devil ants are there in an ant nest of that size?

However, there were no traces of the Devil Ants.

Kim SeongCheol found the entrance to the ant nest, but it was completely destroyed.

“Hey, find the traces of the ants quickly! And find out where they went!”

Dozens of people scattered around looking for traces of the Devil Ants, but they didn’t know whether they had risen to the sky or were extinguished to the ground.

It really was cleared.

However, one Hunter’s face turned blue and shouted.

“Guild Master! Here, the floor! There’s a mark on the floor…”

“What marks are there?”

Kim SeongCheol, who accidentally looked at the floor, gasped and stopped breathing.

A huge handprint was left behind.

The size of one finger was wider than a power pole.

How big of a monster would it take to leave a mark like this?

Even the Hunters felt it, so they were all speechless.

Someone came to his senses and guessed.

‘“Guild leader, this is the palm of a giant…”

“There is no giant around, what are you saying? It’s a monster.”

“In order for a palm to be of this size, it must be one with a very dangerous grade.”

“Isn’t this a Destruction level?”

People murmured, and SeongCheol made a decision.

“Retreat.”

“What? We should look for more info…”

“There is something here that wiped out the Devil Ants. You probably don’t want to face it.”

“Of course!”

The group immediately prepared to withdraw.

Meanwhile, SeongCheol was thinking of something to stop the party’s mouths, and at the same time, tried to infer the being who left the palm mark.

‘The others may not know this, but I do. The fact that there are monsters beyond Extinction grade…”

Myth grade.

When the Destruction grade monsters poured out of the first dungeon, those were the leftover monsters, and not the ones who were more calamitous.

At that time, most of the Awakened who witnessed them had died, and now, Myth grade monsters have been forgotten.

SeongCheol was one of the few people who knew about Myth grade monsters,

‘I’m sure it’s not. It just shouldn’t be.’

The appearance of a Myth grade monster meant the reappearance of Extinction grade ones.

The Hunters left the dungeon with hard faces.

Unknowingly, Yoo Ji-Ha, who had become a Myth grade monster, was cleaning the front of the store with a refreshing feeling.

“The weather sure is great.”

A good morning.

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