Chapter 19
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Gardener of the Mother Goddess (1)
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After my hot spring bath with Gono, I lay down in the bushes to sleep.
It was truly a sweet respite.
The ‘kyuit’ sounds of the Pygmalets nearby weren't a bother at all.
In fact, to my drowsy body after the bath, it was no different from a lullaby.
And so, six hours later.
[Please choose to either exit or enter the deeper floors. Time remaining: 10 minutes]
“Time to get a move on. Gono, wake up.”
I dismissed the blinking status window before my eyes and woke Gono.
“Kereuk… haum.”
Still half-asleep, Gono yawned and rubbed his eyes.
He then stared at me with a slightly disgruntled expression.
“If you keep being lazy, I'll send you back to the Lord's Castle.”
I'm even paying you overtime to keep you around since we went through all that trouble together, so what's with that look?
“Ki, kereuk!”
At the mention of being sent back to the Lord's Castle, Gono shot up, club in hand.
From the looks of it, being reverse-summoned to the Lord’s Castle meant he couldn’t rest and had to work there too.
Well, as long as he moves quickly, it's good for me.
Part of the reason I hadn't reverse-summoned him was to prepare for the deeper floors.
Once Gono returns to the Lord's Castle, I can't summon him again for twenty-four hours.
There’s no telling what might happen on the deeper floors during that time.
[Would you like to proceed to the deeper floors?]
It was time to enter the deepest part of this dungeon.
I fiddled with my earlobe.
[Entering the deeper floors of the Garden of Deep Water. A gate has been generated.]
“A gate?”
I narrowed my eyes.
I looked around, but I couldn't find a gate or anything that even remotely resembled one.
“Kyuit!”
Just then, the Pygmalets that had gathered nearby cried out for the first time in a while.
“Alright, lead the way.”
“Kyuit!”
The Pygmalets bounced around before suddenly diving into the lake.
I see, so this time it’s deep water.
This dungeon really lives up to its name.
With a wry smile, I threw myself into the water.
‘I can’t see a thing.’
The moment the cold water enveloped my body, my vision went completely dark.
It felt like I was sinking into the depths of an ocean trench, not a lake.
But before panic could set in, a bright light began to spread from far below.
Bglrglrgl!
Thanks to the light, I could see the plump behinds of the Pygmalets sinking ahead of me.
I swam after them.
Strangely, despite the vigorous movement, I didn't feel short of breath.
About three minutes passed.
I finally landed on the bottom of the lake.
‘First time seeing a gate generated on the floor.’
A portal, large enough for a truck to pass through, was open like a puddle.
The Pygmalets circled it, as if in a dance.
- Kyuit!
As I stood before the portal, the Pygmalets’ cries echoed in my head.
They stared at me with their big, round eyes.
I knew this was their final farewell.
‘Yeah, you guys take care.’
I waved once in the water.
This Hunter took care of the Lizardmen, so they’ll live happily ever after, grazing on grass.
I gazed at the portal swirling on the floor.
Then, as if diving, I crossed my arms, grabbed my shoulders, and threw my body in.
[Entering the deeper floors of the Garden of Deep Water.]
Darkness consuming all.
Within it, the only glimmer of light was the status window before my eyes.
[The Gardener of the Mother Goddess welcomes you.]
‘Gardener?’
Right after I confirmed the new message on the status window.
Just like that, the abyss swallowed me.
* * *
“Kiruk, kereuk!”
As I regained consciousness, the goblin’s voice pierced my ears.
Clutching my splitting head, I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing to enter my vision was the blinding sunlight.
Next to it, I saw Gono's face, shaking me with a worried expression.
“I'm fine, Gono.”
Gono seemed relieved and stepped aside with a ‘kiruk’.
Once he was out of my line of sight, my surroundings came into proper view.
“Is this the deeper floor?”
I had definitely dived into a gate deep underwater, but strangely, there was a sky.
A blue sky with bright sunlight, at that.
Around me stood orderly walls made of grass and trees I had never seen before.
These weren't just random thickets growing here and there.
Though they were of a kind I'd never seen, it was clear that someone had meticulously cared for all of them.
There were even small waterways trickling alongside the beautiful trees.
‘This is like…’
And then, a familiar voice echoed from the sky.
[Welcome to the deeper floors of the Garden of Deep Water, ‘The Garden’.]
Finally, the deeper floors.
I swallowed hard with tension.
My conversation with Yoon Suhyeok from before replayed in my mind.
- Then is there nothing you can tell me about the deeper floors of the Garden of Deep Water?
- Nothing. I’ve never been that far, so how would I know?
- Still, wasn’t it a waste to clear the lake and not go further?
- I thought about it. But I couldn’t just lead my guild members into a death trap.
- There must have been a reason you thought it was a death trap.
- First, the ‘Lake’ itself was so ridiculously tough that our combat strength was seriously depleted after clearing it. And my Divine Seat warned me. It said it couldn’t take responsibility for the deeper floors.
Honestly, there was no more convincing reason than that.
If a being that was practically a transcendent being gave a warning, the danger was self-evident.
Yoon Suhyeok would have made the same choice even if it had been a personal expedition, not a guild one.
‘Just how tough is it?’
The ‘Lake’ was by no means easy.
Without me, the Indomitable Guild members would have floundered and lost their lives to the Lizardmen.
Even if they had somehow reached the trial, they would have been wiped out by Jen Karuk’s ancient magic.
Even I would have been in danger without Odolph (the former Ogre Berserker), who possessed the knowledge of a great archmage.
[Your mission will now be announced.]
This time, I might really have to put my life on the line.
[The Garden of Deep Water is facing an unprecedented crisis. An endless drought has parched the land, and death looms everywhere. Now, the fangs of the surviving beings are turned towards the last paradise on earth. The master of the garden is seeking a guardian to protect this paradise.]
“Hmm?”
Huh, I’m getting a strong feeling about this.
A very strong feeling that I can score some easy loot.
[You must protect the last paradise. Change the garden's layout and set traps using the garden's abilities. Fend off the endless invasion!]
This is that, right?
It’s that thing.
A defense mission.
[The Lord’s Castle has provided a bird's-eye view map of ‘The Garden’.]
Perfect timing, support from the Lord’s Castle arrived.
I unfolded the map.
This time, the map had simple descriptions for each area.
“This place is laid out just like the Lord's Castle.”
Though it wasn't rendered in pixels, ‘The Garden’ had a structure almost identical to the interior of the Lord’s Castle in MonMonMak.
The stone walls that divided the passages and areas of the castle were now ‘grass walls’.
The Audience Chamber had been replaced by an area called the ‘World Tree’s Nest’ in the innermost part of the garden.
The monster waves would surge from the west.
There was a difference, though: starting from the entrance, there were two paths divided by the ‘grass walls’.
It could be summed up in one sentence.
“This is a real-life version of MonMonMak.”
But I didn't let my guard down just because of that.
I had only confirmed the nature of the mission.
I still knew nothing about the details.
And since no more status windows were appearing, it was now up to me to figure things out.
“It said to fend them off using the garden's abilities.”
Abilities, huh.
Looking around, there were no monsters or moving creatures.
The garden was composed solely of plants and trees.
In that case.
“The clues must be in these plants.”
I took the silver-rimmed glasses from my pocket and put them on.
First, I looked at the grass wall that divided the garden’s areas.
[Activating Sage's Eye. This is a special structure. No count will be consumed.]
After the sleek status window, a jagged pixelated window appeared along with a description.
[World Tree's Grass Wall]
[A wall made of vines that grow parasitically on the World Tree. The World Tree's roots are embedded within the wall. It is harmless to humans, but it emits powerful magic to block the approach of monsters.]
It seemed to be a kind of electric fence.
How terrifying.
It looked like just a well-trimmed grass wall, but it concealed magic capable of blocking most monsters.
And then there were the trees to my right, laden with fist-sized flowers.
[Ari Tree of Bewitchment and Tears]
[At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary magnolia tree. However, when a monster approaches, this tree bursts its flower buds, scattering pollen. This pollen can bewitch even very powerful monsters. A bewitched monster will wander around the tree for 5 minutes.]
There was also something like this.
[Man-eating Plant, Zaira]
[Resembling a water lily, Zaira swallows any monster that approaches within a 1-meter radius. A swallowed monster will suffer eternally at Zaira's roots before dying. Most monsters know the danger of this plant and avoid it.]
Each one of these was at least a 3-star equivalent in MonMonMak.
A lightbulb went on in my head.
“Could this be…?”
Would I get magic stones for damaging these structures or plants?
If so, couldn't I use them in MonMonMak?
But as soon as I had that thought, a status window flashed as if in warning.
[The guardian cannot arbitrarily damage ‘The Garden’.]
Well, it could happen.
I have to move these plants for defense, so some might get unavoidably damaged in the process.
Like a damaged package during delivery.
Some cases are inevitable, right?
[To place a plant, stand in front of the desired plant and say ‘Change Position’. Then, face the desired location and say ‘Place’.]
“Change Position…?”
I didn't even have to wonder what that meant.
Rumble!
The moment I spoke, the man-eating plant Zaira right in front of me stood up.
It literally stood up.
Thick roots, like legs, extended from beneath its water-lily-like flower bud, supporting its main body.
“…Place.”
As I muttered again, the man-eating plant settled back into its original spot as if nesting.
But more than this bizarre scene.
I was disappointed by the fact that I couldn't send these to the Lord's Castle.
What a waste.
It was a chance to expand my collection for free.
“Tch!”
“Ki, kiruk.”
As I clicked my tongue, Gono shook his head with a fed-up look.
I’m disappointed, Gono.
I thought you, of all creatures, who values money and profit above all, would understand me.
“Kiruk.”
The goblin shook its head.
Its expression was very firm.
Feeling awkward, I decided to focus on the mission again.
The key was to move these plants to appropriate locations to prepare for the monster invasion.
“Anyway, let's get start—huh?”
It was just as I was about to move to continue gathering information on the plants.
[Analysis result: Presence of an A-rank or higher monster detected.]
My head snapped around in an instant, and I saw a status window flash in the empty air and disappear.
“A monster?”
There was nothing but blue sky in the empty space where the status window had been.
“Gono, do you see anything over there?”
“Kiruk?”
Gono just looked at me with a bewildered expression.
I stared intently at the spot where the status window had flashed.
“Hmm.”
A normal person might have dismissed it as their imagination.
But I, tempered by the crappiest game of all time, never let anything slide.
That was precisely the reason I was able to become the top-ranking veteran in MonMonMak, a game filled with all sorts of hidden Easter eggs.
Whoosh!
My arm shot forward like a flash of lightning.
Exactly in the direction where the status window had appeared.
And in the empty air where there should have been nothing, my hand squished something.
It felt like a slime toy or a water balloon.
I immediately clenched my fist around it.
Wriggle!
I could feel the ‘something’ in my hand struggling to escape with a silent scream.
But the more it struggled, the tighter I squeezed.
Then I muttered in a low voice.
“Show yourself, unless you want to be crushed to death.”
My grip was indeed squeezing the water balloon-like object in my hand to its limit.
About 30 seconds later.
Ssssk.
Finally, the invisible something in my hand began to reveal its form.
“An eyeball?”
At first, I thought it was a giant eyeball.
But thankfully, it had a body.
A round, baseball-sized body, though a single, round eye took up more than 80 percent of it.
A purple, smoke-like substance flowed around its body, making it look like a will-o'-the-wisp.
Wriggle!
The unidentified monster was glaring at me with all its might through its single eye.
It was definitely a monster I had never seen before.
That left only one option.
“Let's see what you are.”
[Casting Sage's Eye. Analysis result: C-rank or higher monster. 1 count will be consumed.]
I then checked the information that appeared before my eyes.
[Beholder Sage]
The silver-rimmed glasses I was wearing slid down my nose.