/

Chapter 58




Chapter 58
“What?”
“Family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Of all things, he brings up family here, the one topic I least want to think about.
It was probably just small talk to change the mood, but I really don’t want to talk about it. I vaguely mumbled a response.
“Uh... what.”
But it seemed that Choi Seodric wasn’t particularly perceptive.
Well, an S-rank doesn’t need to be perceptive. It’s more likely that the people around them need to be perceptive.
Choi Seodric, who didn’t understand my subtle hints at all, confidently said,
“Get along. You only have one family.”
“Whoa, you’re lecturing me even though you’re younger?”
“What are you talking about? Why would I be younger than you...”
He pointed alternately at the S-rank in front of him and me.
“You’re twenty-two. I’m twenty-three.”
“What...?”
With just a one-year difference, Choi Seodric hadn’t considered the possibility that I could be older, and his eyes widened in surprise. I asked him grumpily,
“So, you think other people’s families are similar to yours?”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
“Families can have bad relationships or just not get along. Isn’t telling someone to get along with their family a harsh thing to say?”
It would be quite out of place to hear such a response after boasting about one’s own sibling. Nevertheless, Choi Seodric nodded seriously at my words.
“I get it. There are definitely families that are better off not existing.”
...Like the representative’s family.
The words he muttered under his breath were very quiet.
“Anyway?”
“But it’s true that you only have one family. No matter what conclusion you come to, you should try to do what you can before it’s too late. So you don’t regret it.”
“...”
“Why are you like that?”
“...”
Hmm...
Since he’s right, I have nothing to say.
Actually, there’s one thing I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It’s about Kwon Jiwoon.
When I think back to how I used to live before the regression...
I just pretended not to know and lived my life. After a few conflicts when I visited his guild, I kept my distance.
‘Yeah, I don’t expect to benefit from having a Hunter relative.’
Because of that attitude, after moving out of the house we shared, we just maintained a distant relationship. I thought it was best to avoid any emotional conflicts by not bumping into each other.
And now, after the regression.
Originally, I planned to maintain the same distant relationship and avoid any conflicts.
But I can’t ignore the ridiculous misunderstandings and strange behavior he’s been showing recently.
‘It’s impossible to hide the fact that I’ve awakened forever...’
If talking openly doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do. But I should try talking openly once.
He’s right. He’s right, but...
If being right meant immediate action, I wouldn’t have ever procrastinated on my summer homework. And I always wrote a month’s worth of diary entries on the last day of the vacation.
“Anyway! I’ll think about it after we leave here!”
Choi Seodric seemed to agree with my words and immediately got up.
He finished the remaining coffee in his cup and folded the barrier.
Just as he was about to take a step, having dispatched a bug-type monster with one hand, the ground began to rumble.
Thud, thud, thud.
The heavy sound accompanied the movement of the floor.
Vines sprouted nearby and wrapped around my ankles, pulling me forcefully. My body slid down the slope.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Hey, hey, over there!”
Swoosh.
Choi Seodric cut the vine with his sword.
What happens when you cut the vine while hanging in mid-air?
Thud!
“Ouch, ouch...”
Naturally, I crashed to the ground. I almost died before even meeting the boss.
But there was no time to complain.
A strong smell of leaves filled the air, and a sense of pressure was felt simultaneously.
[A Monster Hell (B) has appeared.]
[Monster Hell is currently hungry.]
The dungeon’s boss, Monster Hell, had revealed itself.
* * *
Rustle!
The greenhouse glass shattered.
Thick roots split the ground, and long branches extended to the ceiling.
“Aaaah, no, my greenhouse!”
And at the center, a blue light flickered.
[Monster Hell is blooming. Dungeon: Monster Hell is activated.]
[During Monster Hell’s mealtime, the protective barrier: Don’t bother a monster while it’s eating, is activated. Be careful not to interfere with Monster Hell’s meal.]
When Lee Chorok regained her senses, the two people who were here a moment ago had already been sucked into the crack.
“Unbelievable...”
Lee Chorok covered her mouth with her trembling hand.
She never imagined this would happen when she obtained the seed.
A few days ago, at a stall in Cheonggyecheon.
Cheonggye 3-ga, a monster market that teeters between legality and illegality. While the main products are animal-type monsters, some stores occasionally sell dungeon plants.
‘This is where genuine rare items appear.’
There were even rumors that a rare Long-tailed Phoenix had been traded here.
Lee Chorok, with her hawk-like eyes, searched the clearance sale stand. At that moment, someone spoke to her.
“Looking for a dungeon plant?”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
Lee Chorok turned to the source of the voice with a wary look. In this place, the person who spoke first was often a scammer.
In a corner of the market, there was a person who seemed to have no vitality. Their eyes were as expressionless as if they had glass eyes.
‘...!’
Lee Chorok felt uneasy and tried to step back. But her feet stopped when the shop owner spoke again.
“Don’t you remember me?”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before... Oh.”
A strange memory flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, the shop owner seemed very familiar.
“I’ve never met you... Oh, oh, oh! I’ve seen you before!”
“You seem to remember.”
Why did I forget? It was a regular store I visited several times.
The shop owner smiled and said it was fine, then took out a box.
“A very rare item has come in. Interested?”
It was a seed the size of a fist. When she touched it, she could feel a thumping from inside.
The meaning of this thumping...
‘...!’
Lee Chorok turned pale and pulled her hand away. It was dangerous. But the shop owner just smiled.
“It’s a seed of Monster Hell.”
“The thumping... This, this can’t be...”
“Yes. It contains a crack and is integrated with it.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“No way. It’s completely sealed, so there’s no chance of it awakening.”
...Swallow.
The seed containing the crack emitted a strange light. The light was so beautiful that it could mesmerize anyone.
In the end, Lee Chorok bought the seed.
It’s very rare for a dungeon plant to fully integrate with a crack. The slightest imbalance in the power of either the crack or the dungeon plant can cause the crack to rupture.
As a plant otaku, or rather, a plant scientist, her curiosity couldn’t ignore the seed.
Moreover, there was something in the shop owner’s words that made it hard to refuse.
After bringing the seed back and storing it properly...
“It’s not supposed to rupture...!”
The moment the blue Sereno flower bloomed, the seed grew rapidly, and a dungeon appeared.
Although she was shocked, her first priority was to rescue the people inside.
She reported it to the <Dungeon Management Office>, and soon, a public servant Hunter was dispatched.
A large plant dungeon in the center of the greenhouse. At least Choi Seodric was inside, so there shouldn’t be any casualties.
However, as the public servants began to inspect the farm, Lee Chorok couldn’t relax.
“Teacher, where did you buy these Tooth Carrots?”
“Well... from Cheonggyecheon.”
“Where in Cheonggyecheon? If you fail to report a transaction, you’ll be fined.”
“I... I don’t really remember, hah, hah, hah...”
“Tooth Carrots need to be fitted with a muzzle. You’ll face a business suspension for not doing so.”
“Haha, yes...”
“This dungeon plant was obtained through an illegal company.”
“It’s not a dungeon plant, it’s a Flying Spaghetti Tree! It tells a valuable Napoli ghost story once a day...!”
“You haven’t applied for a permit to handle dungeon plants or registered the company. You also haven’t paid taxes.”
“That... I’m sorry.”
“Seize.”
Red stickers were placed everywhere by the cold, impartial public servants. The word 'Seizure' was written in large letters.
“No, no, no!”
Lee Chorok screamed.
Seizure, fines, back taxes, business suspension...
Even if the dungeon situation is resolved, Lee Chorok would be forced to work part-time at a fruit store.
A fruit store part-timer after getting a Ph.D. in dungeon botany!
It was a common career path, as all her Ph.D. classmates were now frying chicken.
While one Ph.D. was changing her career to a fruit store part-timer, a man rushed into the broken greenhouse.
His pale face and heavy breathing suggested he had come in a hurry after receiving a call.
Lee Chorok recognized the man and was shocked.
‘Kwon Jiwoon from <Silver Guild>? Why is such a big shot here...?’
“Is the rescue operation underway?”
His voice was cold, still trembling. His eyes, filled with anxiety, were wide. Kwon Jiwoon urgently asked the dispatched public servant.