03
They say that if you wish for something with all your heart, it will come true.
Old sayings never lie, it seemed.
Hyoji slowly turned her head to check on the now-quiet monster.
“Ugh!”
The creature’s face was mere inches away.
Its pitch-black eyes met hers directly, and her heart thumped violently in her chest.
“W-what… is this?”
Even as she waved her hands in front of its eyes, the monster didn’t move.
A vine-like plant had grown explosively, wrapping the monster tightly. Every limb, every part of it, was bound—completely immobilized.
“Hyo… Hyoji, come over here.”
“Y-yes!”
Keeping her eyes on the monster, Hyoji slowly backed away.
“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine. What about you? You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine too. But that thing…”
Their gaze drifted to the rear.
Only when they saw the monster utterly still, as if dead, did a sigh of relief escape them.
“The plant… why did it grow so big?”
Hyoji’s own curiosity mirrored her sister’s.
“I wonder? Why all of a sudden…?”
Before she could ponder further, a status window appeared before her eyes.
[Plant Guardian Passive Activated!]
[The Plant Guardian can control dungeon plants.]
[Caution Plants behave differently depending on your stats.]
“What… what the hell is this? They never said anything about a passive!”
Would’ve been nice to know earlier—then we wouldn’t have had to struggle running away.
“Did someone help us?”
“Uh… I’m not sure. Let’s get out of here first. The monster’s not dead, so it’s still dangerous.”
Hyoji, worried her powers might be exposed, grabbed Harin’s hand and quickly left the area.
What she had assumed to be a weak ability turned out to have some use. Still, it wasn’t impressive enough to boast about, and she was keen not to reveal it.
The word “Awakened” was enough to get you in the news.
What kind of ability, what level—it all would have to be tested by specialized agencies.
‘If that happens…’
It would only be a matter of time before the public learned about this pathetic awakening.
‘And my face would be plastered on every article.’
Horrible thought.
Her ex, Kim Hyunmin, had flipped his life around with an incredible ability.
‘But not me!’
If anyone discovered she had become a Plant Guardian, running around collecting weeds…
‘I’d die of embarrassment!’
She recalled the time Hyunmin had thrown money in front of her, telling her to repay her tuition.
‘So petty.’
And Baek Ga-yeon, snickering beside him.
“Ugh.”
Hyoji shook her head, stopping the flashback.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You hurt? Are you hurt? Huh?”
Harin shook her shoulders violently.
“Sis, I’m fine.”
“But why are you shaking? What’s wrong with your body? You’re trembling!”
Sis…
I was just laughing at my own awakening. That’s all.
Ha ha.
“Monsters appeared in a cleared dungeon?”
“Yes. Luckily, it was a D-rank dungeon, so we handled it quickly.”
“Hmm… still, it’s strange. I’ve never heard of monsters reappearing in a cleared dungeon.”
“Yes. It’s under investigation.”
Not just domestically, but the renowned Hayeon Guild had taken notice.
This was unprecedented.
When hunters clear a dungeon, they protect citizens from danger.
But if a cleared dungeon remains dangerous…?
‘This isn’t normal.’
It was fortunate that this happened in a D-rank dungeon—journalists weren’t paying attention.
If it became public, chaos would erupt just like when dungeons first appeared.
“We should finish the investigation quickly before anyone notices.”
“Yes, Master. I’ll relay it to the field.”
The Master pressed his fingers to his temples. A headache was spreading.
“But… what was the monster’s condition?”
“It was… trapped by a plant.”
Even he looked awkward, scratching his head at how ridiculous it sounded.
“It was a common low-level dungeon plant, but it had grown dozens of times its normal size.”
“And it subdued the monster?”
“I couldn’t believe it myself. If it had helped a dungeon monster, I could understand. But this helped a human.”
The man was right. This was impossible—and that’s why the Hayeon Guild was concerned.
“Still, the plant only restrained it; it didn’t kill it.”
“Good. Continue the investigation and report back.”
“Yes.”
After the man left, the Master turned toward the window.
Under the warm sunlight, the Han River gleamed beautifully.
The city seemed peaceful, yet dungeons appeared in the heart of urban areas without warning.
An alert sounded from the dungeon radar program floating in the air.
[Dungeon Gate Opened. Check Information.]
The Master checked the details.
An A-rank dungeon.
“Where is Kang Jinhwan Hunter?”
Currently in Japan.
“Tell him to return. Immediately.”
Yes, Master.
Higher-ranked dungeons had been appearing more frequently, and now monsters were reappearing in cleared dungeons.
Even as the number of Awakened increased, it still wasn’t enough to handle these dungeons.
“If not just monsters, but plants are also dangerous…”
That would be truly problematic.
The man exhaled heavily. Recruiting even a single strong hunter was the best solution. Only then could the world be fully freed from dungeons.
“So, this is a special plant?”
Hyoji stared at the plant she’d brought from the dungeon, deep in thought.
‘So… how am I supposed to eat this?’
Chew it raw? Cook it like other plants?
She remembered the disaster that was the Downy Flower she tried before.
‘That was truly inedible.’
If this tasted the same… she shivered at the memory.
Maybe eating it raw would be safer.
“Hmph. Even lettuce is eaten with meat.”
What could she pair this with? Its thick leaves wouldn’t wrap meat like lettuce.
‘Screw it.’
It was a plant meant for leveling up; she couldn’t die just by eating it.
Hyoji plucked a thick leaf.
A sticky sap oozed from the torn edge. She sniffed it—surprisingly pleasant.
“All right. Let’s see if you taste good.”
Better to get it over with. She bit into the leaf.
Crisp.
The refreshing crunch echoed in her mouth.
Crisp, crisp.
‘Not bad at all.’
It had no distinct flavor. Like a cucumber, but milder.
‘I could eat this all day!’
No more terrifying vegetable dishes from hell. Hyoji lounged on the bed, munching on the special plant like a snack.
“Hahaha! This is hilarious!”
After binge-watching the popular HunterTube channels, the plant she’d brought from the Hidden Dungeon was gone.
“All gone…”
Her body showed no significant change. But her stomach was full.
“Do I need to eat more to level up?”
Full as she was, drowsiness set in. Best to sleep first.
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
[Plant Guardian Level Up!]
“Ahhh!”
The system alerts blared endlessly, jolting her awake.
She thought it was a dream, but opening her eyes revealed status windows piled up like a frozen computer.
“What… what is this?”
No matter how many times she pressed confirm, the windows refused to close.
“A system bug?”
Was there a bug in the Awakening system?
Hyoji jabbed at the floating windows, desperate.
Finally, after endless pressing, they disappeared.
[Plant Guardian LV. 54]
Her level had jumped dramatically.
“What?!”
Before eating the plant, she’d been level 1. Just from a few bites… level 54?
[Skills available according to current level.]
“Oh, finally… skills?”
Her shock barely registered before she opened her newly unlocked skill menu.
So many skills were available now that locks had been removed.
‘Let’s see… anything useful…’
[Grow Rapidly: Plants grow faster.]
[Harvest Speed Up: Plant gathering speed increases.]
[Run Quickly: Increases escape speed when encountering monsters.]
Huh? These skills?
She double-checked. No, she wasn’t imagining it. They were exactly as written.
‘These are supposed to be… skills?’
No way. There has to be something better. Awakening classes can’t be this useless.
She scrolled down. Surely something practical existed.
But her hopes were crushed.
[Extraction Boost: Chance to generate one extra potion when making plant potions. (3%)]
[Stealth: Can hide for 3 minutes when encountering boss-level monsters.]
Hyoji sighed and closed the skill menu.
Nothing else worth reading.
“Useless and lame.”
What kind of Awakened has this?
‘Good thing I hid it from Sis.’
If anyone learned she had this pathetic awakening, the embarrassment would be hers alone. Her ex thrived in a top guild, living the ideal hunter life, while she had… this.
She tidied up and headed to the bathroom.
The dungeon from earlier would soon be cleared.
‘Time to work.’
The Plant Guardian wouldn’t feed her, so better at least do janitorial tasks.
She reached for her toothbrush when suddenly:
[Quest Alert!]
“No! No, I don’t want this!”
Before even checking, she hit cancel. But the system wasn’t so forgiving.
[Quest Alert!]
[Special plants suitable for your level are required!]
“Please…”
She’d run from a D-rank dungeon monster already…
[Collect special plants found in B-rank dungeons!]
“B-rank?!”
No. Impossible.
B-rank dungeons weren’t accessible to ordinary janitors. They took far longer to clear than D-rank dungeons, just in case of danger.
‘How am I supposed to get in there?’
You had to be a guild-affiliated janitor, so hunters could respond immediately if needed.
‘Which means… I need to find a guild.’
They earned far more than ordinary janitors. Friendships with hunters usually secured that spot.
‘Who’s going to accept me?’
Eating all that plant got her into this mess.
“Please, cancel my awakening!”
Her desperate scream echoed unheard.
