The Gardener in a Hunter World - Book 1: Chapter 2: Forest of Dreams

*Chapter is written from Ji-ha’s perspective*

“…Where am I?”

Ji-ha looked around in bewilderment.

I must have closed my eyes while lying on the bed, but when I woke up, I was in a forest. I can feel the soil in my hand that is on the ground. The fresh air is on a different level from the air in District 7 of Seoul. A refreshing feeling that seemed to cleanse my lungs enveloped me.

“Did I fall asleep in my bed? Is this a dream?”

I pinched my cheek, but it only hurts. When I stood up and brushed my hips, the status window in my field of vision stood out. Why does it look so dark today?

“It’s rare.”

{Class: Worker

Primary Stat:

Stamina 80

Vitality 70

Ether –

Essence –

Secondary Stats:

Endurance 7

Strength 8

Agility 8

Talent 9

Spirit 9

Resistance:

5 Physical Elements –

Poison –

Abnormal Status –

Characteristic: –

Skill: – }

Nothing has changed. The only difference in the status window from an ordinary person’s was that the class was worker.

“But it is a bit strange here.”

Then Ji-ha looked around. The forest, which looked to be about 30 to 40 pyeong (1067.5 – 1423.33 square ft) was foggy. Only his surroundings were clearly visible, and the rest was shrouded in fog.

“It’s a strange forest.”

All I could see was an old tree that looked as if it had been struck by lightning, a rock, a stream, and a strange plant. It was messy as if it had been hit directly by a typhoon, and as I approached the fog, I saw a strange plant. The height is about 100cm. The tip of the stem spreads out like an umbrella, and several round fruits were dangling from it.

“This……”

{Ether Hub LVL 1: Reduces Ether consumption of all skills to 0 for 10 seconds.}

“Did the explanation originally look like this?”

Of course not. Even if hunters could use the system, all they could do was check their status window and see the monster’s species name. there has never been a report on a system that is kind enough to list material descriptions like this.

“Anyways, that’s great.”

When hunters use skills, they need ether. It’s like a kind of fuel, but reducing the consumption value to 0 is a greater effect than I thought. It means that you can use your skills generously for 10 seconds.

“I thought this only came out of ruins.”

It was also a finished product, found in the form of a potion, so I had never heard of being able to craft it. As a result of testing done by many people, at most 5 seconds was the maximum time seen, but this is for 10 seconds. Ji-ha touched an ambiguous thing, unsure of whether it was a fruit or a flower bud. Even with a slight touch, the golden liquid inside oozes out. But is the effect real?

“I will be able to tell when I make it.”

But where do I put this liquid? I looked around and came closer to the fog, but I couldn’t budge as if I was being blocked by a wall.

The area was confined to a space of about 30 to 40 pyeong.

“There is a sound of water…”

I knelt near a calm stream and scooped the water up with my hand. It was very clean. Can I drink this?  I moistened my lips with it slightly to make sure that there was no taste, and sipped it slowly. It was very cool and delicious water.

“Ah… it’s a good night.”

Ji-ha sat down with his buttocks on a rock that was placed in a lump of soil. I looked around, but there was really nothing to see. Even if I tried to go outside, it was impossible as if the fog had become a wall. Is there any way out of here? No, is there anyone here?

“Hey!”

I shouted loudly, but only an echo was heard. After a long time, there was no answer. Ji-ha came to the conclusion that there was no one in this forest.

“What……”

In his eyes while sighing, he could see the branch still trembling. When he thinks about it, that tree branch is strange. The whole tree is completely smashed, but only the one branch is alive. A single lead on the end of it looked pitiful. He approached the branch. If I cut it off and plant it in the ground……

I cleared a suitable piece of land, dug up the soil with my fingers, and planted the branch. Continuing to tidy up the land, he drew water from the stream into his palm and scattered it around. At that moment, the status window was updated.

{Acquire Plant-Friendly LVL 1 Skill}

{Acquire XXX Blessing LVL1 Attribute}

“What is this all of a sudden……”

I couldn’t even get the scent of a skill for 5 years, but I absurdly got a skill just because I planted a branch. Is it true in the first place that I received skills and characteristics just because I planted a branch?

“Anyway, what happened, happened.”

I need to check later if there is such a thing as a plant-friendly skill. And what is XXX’s blessing trait?

“I don’t know, I don’t know.”

There was nothing else to do, so I cleaned up the surroundings one-by-one. I collected the cluttered twigs and bushes in one place, and evenly compacted the messy dug up ground. Strangely, the branches gathered in one place disappeared. What is this?

“What is this……?”

Something really unbelievable happened next. The old tree, that was split in half and smashed, disappeared. When did it disappear? Who took it? Doubts piled up in his mind one after the other. Ji-ha shook his head thinking about the unanswered questions. It’s a world where monsters pop out into reality, so this could happen. And also, it could be because this is a dream.

“Anyway, it’s really nice here.”

As I was sitting on a rock enjoying the wind, I soon fell asleep. If I sleep here, will I be able to return to reality? I missed the ether herb, but I need to have the courage to put it in it. As I lay down on the rock, I saw a cloudless sky.

“I’m sure this is a world somewhere……”

The world that the hunters witnessed in the dungeon was a bit obscure, but there were many places with traces of civilization. If we could penetrate the fog, we would be able to explore the area. But the fog had no intention of disappearing.

“I don’t know.”

I slowly closed my eyes and fell asleep. He lost consciousness in an instant.

***

“OMG!”

Ji-ha woke up with the same sound he made when he fell into the forest. Looking outside, it was the time just before dawn. His glasses were loosely draped over his face, and his body felt strangely light. It was as if he had woken up from a sound sleep with a clear head.

“That’s interesting……”

It was a really strange dream. To lie down on a rock and fall asleep while doing a trivial job in a small forest. He shook his head and got up. However……

“What? What’s wrong with my hand?”

There was a lot of dirt on my palms and on the bed. Could it be that I had been sleepwalking and went outside? I know better than that and that it wasn’t that. What I thought was a dream forest was actually a reality. If I go to sleep again, will I be able to go to that forest?

“… Let’s experiment.”

Ji-ha, instead of a bed, lay down on the floor and tried to sleep. It was still early in the morning, and he was a man who could fall asleep whenever he had a place to lie on his back. The moment he closed his eyelids and drifted out of consciousness, he found himself lying in the forest. But why is something strange?

“Was there grass here before?”

The dirt floor had disappeared and the green grass was densely packed. Tree branches that were only as thick as a finger had grown quite large, and the range not covered by fog had widened considerably. As a result, I saw things I couldn’t see before. For example, the sun apple tree. It was a tree that was rarely found in dungeons, but was often too far away to approach in time. Ji-ha approached the tree as if possessed by something.

{Sun Apple LVL 1: When combined with a health potion, the amount of recovery is increased by 20%, and the duration is reduced to 80%.}

“Can I mix it with a health potion?”

It was amazing. The health potion restores the health of hunters active in the dungeon. No matter how much sugar was added, the bitter taste could not be hidden, so it was famous as a potion that everyone cursed at. If you hunt in a dungeon, you are bound to get hurt, and you will always receive healing skills. I can’t so I have to use health potions. If the effect can be increased…… Ji-ha swallowed his saliva involuntarily. He had the mindset of only needing as much money as necessary to live, but he had the desire to decorate the store a little more comfortably.

“Isn’t it okay to take a little and sell it?”

These days, there are so many category 0 dungeons open that they are not even counted in the statistics. It is said that there are many dungeons that open for a short time and then disappear after robbing people of resources. Because there are no monsters inside, it is safe, so it is classified as a category 0.

“I’ll try to see if it works or not……”

But I don’t know how to bring it to reality. I came with my clothes on, so can I shove it in my clothes? A leather pouch appeared in his eyes as he pondered what to do. It appeared out of nowhere under the branch that was planted earlier.

“What is this?”

{Dimension Pocket}

Inside of the pouch were several small glass vials closed with corks. When I pulled out the stopper, there was a pop.

“I guess I can put ether herb liquid here.”

I planted a twig in the ground and cleaned up the area, and they give me a gift like this? It was hard to believe, but I had to, because I was experiencing it. Ji-Ha tied the leather pouch to his back and opened the side of it to take out a bottle. When the fruit was squeezed, a fragrant golden liquid dripped into the bottle. I filled five bottles with Ether herbal liquid, picked some Sun Apples, and put all of it into the leather pouch. The reason why he didn’t pick all of them is because of his personality which is usually not greedy. He had the mindset that it was enough to eat moderately and live simply.

“Is this the end?”

I looked around and saw that something was moving. Something long and black wriggles through the grass. Ji-ha knelt down and brought her face close to the creatures. Thick earthworms struggled in the grass.

{Earth Worm}

It’s too impressive, but it must be the name of these guys.

“But why are you here?”

To Ji-ha, an earthworm was nothing more and nothing less than a small creature that was trampled to death while roaming around on the ground on a rainy day. But seeing them lingering on the grass made me feel sorry for some reason.

“Go in, get in here.”

Ji-ha dug through the grass and soil with his fingers, picked one up and pushed it in, and it managed to dig a hole. After the one went in in that way, the others joined in a line. In this way, dozens of earthworms went into the ground and there was no trace of them. Then there was a new skill.

{Acquire animal-friendly skill LVL 1.}

It’s not surprising now. The idea of gaining the skill and saving the earthworms made Ji-ha feel light. Now it is time to go back to his single room. Ji-ha lay down on a rock and his eyes closed with a leather pouch on his stomach.

I wish I could go back to my room as casually as I came here.

His consciousness blurred and he opened his eyes in his single room. A leather pouch was laying on is stomach as if it were a natural thing. After rummaging around in the bag, several bottles and Sun Apples were taken out.

“I can put something in this leather pouch and go back and forth.”

Perhaps the opposite is also possible. Isn’t this a really crazy thing? Ji-ha stood up and headed to the workroom.

I am about to make a potion with Ether Herb liquid and Sun Apple.