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.

Hunters are often referred to as drug addicts.

When a dungeon opens, the army calls in the hunters on duty and guard around them, and the hunters carry dozens of potions.

The kind of monsters and ecosystems in the dungeon is unpredictable, so it’s better to be prepared for any situation.

Although it is said that they’re all potions, the effect varies depending on the material and the manufacturer.

The Stamina potions Yoo Ji-Ha made cost less than 100,000 won, but those made by artisans far exceed 1 million won.

It was natural to invest in expensive potions because with just a single category 3 dungeon, billions of won worth resources will be poured out.

Yoo Ji-Ha’s potions placed from the store shelves were brought to the studio.

“Let’s put it together first. The recipe…”

Thin fingers fumbled through the book in which the potion recipe was written.

As the resources from the dungeon are there, the recipe is almost standardized.

One or two ingredients are added or omitted, and depending on the purity of the ingredients, the price varies dramatically.

The potions made by Yoo Ji-Ha were reliable, but it was not popular because the store was small and shabby.

“Prepare purified water… Where are the Undine’s tears… Ah, here you are.”

There is one thing common to potions, and that is purified water.

Water stagnating at the roots of huge trees that can be seen in dungeons is the purified water essential for making potions.

If you use bottled water instead of purified water, the effect is halved.

‘First, we start by refining the ingredients…’

His slender white hands were busily moving back and forth on the alchemy table.

On the table are all kinds of equipment necessary for making potions.

The potion’s production method is almost standardized, and the four steps are grinding, mixing, concentration, and purification.

The performance of the crafting tool is meaningless, and it depends a lot on the purity of the materials and the talent of the manufacturer.

Pong, Jorororok. Pushishit.

The studio was filled with pungent smoke, and suspicious air bubbles rose from the small cauldron.

Potions made this way have one thing in common: they have no taste.

Even if you blast it with sugar and flavoring, there is no change.

To be precise, it felt like the taste was out of place.

So, when hunters drink potions, they often have distorted faces.

They’re already sick and tired, and the potion they have to drink is not delicious, so they can’t help but get annoyed.

‘Finally, if I add an Etheric Herb solution.’

The golden liquid flowed down the glass tube, dripping into the potion bottle.

Finally, as soon as he filled the bottle and sealed it with a cork, a message on the status window popped up.

【XXX Blessing. Applies LV1 characteristics】

【Applying the Great Success Judgment】

【Special Potion LV1. Completed】

【Special Potion LV1: Ether consumption of all skills becomes 0 for 14 seconds】

【Alchemy LV1 Skill. Acquired.】

“…”

‘Why can I see this?’

Yoo Ji-Ha remained frozen and stared blankly at the status window for a while.

Was this window supposed to come out when making potions?

Moreover, it was awkward to have the descriptions listed next to the potion bottles.

It was like seeing an augmented reality that was popular in the past.

Furthermore, it was an alchemy skill that he had never heard of before.

Many self-proclaimed alchemists manufacture potions, but none of them obtained alchemy skills.

‘It must have been the influence of entering the forest in my dreams.’

The description did not disappear even after tapping and shaking the bottle.

Considering the reliability of the system used by hunters, the accuracy of this explanation can be said to be 100%.

In other words, if you drink this potion, the ether consumption of all skills becomes 0 for 14 seconds.

‘This… Can I sell it?’

Yoo Ji-Ha shook the bottle and fell into a dilemma.

How much should he sell it for?

Can Hunters understand this rare effect?

What if they ask him where he got it?

‘I can say that I have been raking resources from Category 0 dungeons. They’ll treat me like a lucky guy.’

After that, the plan to make them believe the effect of this potion was left.

It is difficult to sell alone, so he decided to mix it with a Stamina potion.

‘Let’s mix some Solar Apples.’

Make a juice out of it and add it to the Stamina potion.

If you make a potion like this, it usually gets messed up, but he thought it would work for some reason.

When he took the juice of the Solar Apple and mixed it with the Special potion, a surprising thing happened.

The description of the potion was changed after the Characteristic: XXX Blessing and the phrase “Great Success Judgment” appeared.

【Special Potion LV1: Ether consumption of all skills becomes 0 for 14 seconds. Recovers 14% of max HP over 15 seconds.】

“The effect is amazing.”

Although the exact number was not known, it seemed that this result was obtained by mixing the 20% increase in the effect of the Solar Apple with a Great Success Judgment.

‘The Blessing characteristic is great.’

In addition to the Great Success Judgment, what kind of function it has can be tested gradually in the future.

How does this taste?

After tasting the potion, Yoo Ji-Ha fell in love with the sweet scent and taste.

“This one is delicious.”

Compared to most potions boasting their disgusting taste and scent, this has heavenly taste.

He continued to make potions.

The new phrase appeared in the status window and then disappeared.

【Alchemy LV1 Skill. Applied.】

【Great Success Judgment. Applied】

***

There are days when potions run out of stock.

This phenomenon occurs when a dungeon is concentrated in one area and hunters flock to it.

Demand is overflowing, but the supply is limited, so it’s difficult to obtain them even though the price is skyrocketing.

In ‘Hunting Ground’, which aims to be a high-quality hunter supply store, employees were trained to deal with the hunters who flocked to them.

There are as many as five dungeons open in Area 7 right now.

The entire area of Area 7 was very noisy with armored vehicles, police cars, ambulances, and luxury vehicles carrying hunters.

“Are there any paralysis resistance potions left?”

“Sorry, we have run out of paralysis resistance potions in stock.”

“When are they coming in?”

“I think it will take at least an hour. Dungeons are open in other areas as well.”

“NO! Jihoon they don’t have any! Have you been to another place?”

“The Witch’s Cauldron doesn’t have it either! I’m contacting the Pyramids right now!”

“If we don’t prepare this properly, the chance may be stolen by another guild!”

“Oh, I’ll also contact the Five Star Alliance!”

“Call quickly. To those who can, bring it right now. I will pay for it later.”

“Yes.”

Hunters in and out of the ‘Hunting Ground’ were on the verge of death and contacting here and there.

Some hunters even instructed Guild’s warehouse to urgently airlift potions.

At that time, a sports car appeared in the parking lot in front of the Hunting Ground.

In this era where oil cannot be easily imported because the sea is blocked by monsters, driving a personal vehicle was only possible with a wealthy person.

Hunters paid attention to the vehicle because they knew who the owner was.

Seo HyeJin, ranked 12th in the Korean Hunter Ranking, appeared.

“Hey, it’s Seo HyeJin, Seo HyeJin.”

“Wow… That’s what she’s wearing, right? The armor from a Category 4 dungeon?”

“That’s what armor looks like these days?”

“It’s a rare artifact. An artifact!”

Seo HyeJin had an appearance that was enough to attract the attention of many hunters.

Jet-black hair that reached the waist, armor that sticks tightly to her body, and even a sword on her back.

In the past, people would have criticized her for what kind of cosplay she was doing, but now everyone looks at her with envy.

This is because of how strong Seo HyeJin is and how much money she makes.

Some hunters fell in love with her appearance rather than her abilities, but the probability that she would pay attention to any man other than Han SeungHyuk was close to zero.

“…….”

Seo HyeJin got out of the car and looked up at the colorful signboard of the Hunting Ground for a moment.

As if on cue, the manager came out of the store and bowed in front of her.

“We are preparing potions. If you wait a little bit…”

“Are there really no Stamina potions?”

Her voice was very cold.

The manager was quick to respond.

“Yes, not now, but it will be ready in an hour!”

“That’s difficult.”

It’s really difficult.

This is because she must finish all preparations and enter the dungeon within the next 30 minutes.

Ignoring the manager, she took out her smartphone, looked up something on it, and found one.

There is another place that sells potions around.

Soon, Seo HyeJin’s sports car drove down the road with a loud engine sound.

She was headed to an old general store.

***

HyeJin entered the general store located on the outskirts of District 7.

She looked down at the young man who seemed to be the owner of the store.

The white-skinned man with black horn-rimmed glasses looked up from reading a book.

Overall, it was a harmless impression.

“Welcome.”

HyeJin looked around the store instead of answering.

There was the Stamina potion she wanted.

But can she trust the potions of this old shop?

It’s not a place run by a large corporation like ‘Hunting Ground’ or ‘Witch’s Cauldron’.

HyeJin glanced at the clock and asked him.

“How about the potion effect?”

The young man smiled softly at her question.

He had a good-looking face, but when he added a smile, she felt that he was quite handsome.

Of course, HyeJin is not interested in any men except SeungHyuk.

You’re handsome, that’s the end of it, what’s important now is the potion.

“It’s not great, but it won’t disappoint the customers.” 

Any trader would say so.

However, she liked the young man’s non-exaggerated way of speaking.

Trust is important because potions don’t always have the right effect.

But in this store, it’s a bit difficult to follow through.

“What is the price?”

“Ah, the price is….”

The price the young man spoke of could be said to be cheap by today’s standards when prices are skyrocketing.

This is especially true for HyeJin, who drinks potions worth more than 1 million won like water.

She stopped as she ran her fingers through the shelves. “From here to here. I don’t have much time.”

“I don’t have much time” means “I want you to finish the calculation quickly”.

Yoo Ji-Ha packed the potion bottles well and the black card was handed to him to complete the transaction.

“Thank you.”

HyeJin nodded her head once and went out of the store with the potion.

There was the sound of glass jars hitting each other.

“It will be fine.”

It is unreasonable to expect great effects from cheap potions bought at old general stores.

There are existing potions, so she thought this was back-up so there was no need to use it.

If you do something, you should at least do it right.

If it doesn’t meet her expectations… Then she’ll never come to this place again.

She thought as she drove towards the designated dungeon.