CH 58

“What?”

“What about your family? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Of all things, talking about family here, he brought up the topic I don’t want to think about the most.

It was a topic for a change of atmosphere and small talk, but I don’t want to talk about it much. I blurted out my words vaguely.

“Uh … what.”

However, Choi Cedric didn’t seem to have much sense.

Seriously, the S-classes don’t have to be smart. Rather, the people around them must have been the ones who were busy reading the room.

Choi Cedric, who didn’t understand my subtlety at all, said proudly.

“Let’s stay friendly. We only have one family.”

“Gosh, you’re preaching when you’re younger than me?”

“What are you talking about? Why am I younger than you….”

I raised my hand and pointed to the S-class in front of me and myself alternately.

“You are twenty-two. I am twenty-three.”

“What….?”

Although there is only a year difference, Choi Cedric widened his eyes as if he had not thought of the possibility that I was older. I asked sulkingly at the startled face.

“I mean, do you think other people’s families are similar?”

“That’s not it….”

“Even if it’s a family, it may or may not get along well. Still, isn’t it worse to stay friendly when the relationship is bad?”

It would be completely out of the blue to hear what he once boasted about his younger sister. Still, Choi Cedric nodded at my words with a serious expression.

“I know. I’m sure there must be some people that are better off without their families.”

… just like our representative’s family.

The murmur of words in his mouth sounded very small.

“But?”

“But it’s true that we only have one family. No matter how you come to a conclusion, you should try what you can before that. So that you won’t regret it.”

“…….”

“What’s the matter?”

“…….”

Well……

I have nothing to say because he said the right thing.

Actually, there is one thing I keep thinking about these days. It’s about Kwon Jiwoon.

If I recall how we were before the regression….

I just … I lived a life pretending I didn’t know him. Ever since I went to the guild and had a few fights.

‘That’s right, I don’t want to owe something to my Hunter’s relative.’

I’ve had such a hard time. After I left the house we lived together, I’ve just been careless. As long as we don’t bump into each other, I won’t get hurt, so I thought that was the best way.

And now, I’m back.

Originally, I was going to live as quietly as before, without bumping into each other. However, I couldn’t help but be bothered by the ridiculous misunderstanding and his weird behaviour when I came to visit him recently.

‘I can’t hide my awakening forever….’

It can’t be helped if talking openly doesn’t work. Still, before that, we have to talk to each other without hiding anything at least once.

That’s right. That’s true, but ….

If I had put the right thing into practice right away, I would have been a person who never missed the summer vacation homework. And on the last day of each vacation, I wrote a month’s worth of diary.

“Anyway! I’ll think about it after I get out of here!”

Choi Cedric, as if he agreed with me, rose straight up. After pouring the coffee left in the cup into his mouth, he deactivated the barrier. The moment he tried to get rid of the insect-like monster flying around him with one hand and move again….

Thump, Thump, Thump.

The floor began to move with a heavy sound.

A vine that rose nearby wrapped around my ankle and pulled it hard. Slowly, the body slides down the ramp.

“Aaargh!”

“Uh, hey, there!”

Swing!

Choi Cedric cut off the stem wrapped around my ankle with his sword.

What would happen if you cut off the stem while the body is hanging in the air?

Puck!

“Ugh, Ouch, Ouch.….”

Naturally, it goes straight to the floor. I almost went to the afterlife before I even met the boss.

But there was no time to complain.

There was a strong smell of grass leaves, and at the same time I felt a sense of pressure.

[Monster Hell (B) has appeared.]

[Monster Hell is currently starving.]

This is because the boss of the dungeon, Monster Hell, has appeared.

***

Crack!

The greenhouse glass shattered. Thick roots cut through the floor and long branches extended to the ceiling.

“Aaah, no, my greenhouse!”

And there’s a blue light flickers in the center.

[Monster Hell is blooming. Dungeon: Monster Hell is activated.]

[Protective barrier during mealtime in Monster Hell: When eating, do not even touch the monster before it appears. Be careful not to disturb the meal of Monster Hell.]

When Lee Chorok came to her senses, the two people who had just been here had already been sucked into the rift.

“Nonsense … it’s ridiculous.”

Lee Chorok covered her mouth with a trembling hand. When she got these seeds, she never imagined it would be like this.

A few days ago, she was at a shopping street in Cheonggyecheon that she frequented. The Cheonggye 3-ga Monster Shopping District is narrowly between legal and illegal. The main items were animal-type monsters, but there were also shops selling dungeon plants from time to time.

‘This is where the real rare items come out.’

There are even rumors that a rare long-tailed phoenix was traded here.

With the eyes of a hawk, Lee Chorok searched the sale discount stands. Then, there was someone who spoke to her.

“You must be looking for dungeon plants.”

“Yes? How do you know that?”

Lee Chorok looked back to the voice with wary. This is because there’s a high probability that the first person to talk to her here is a scammer.

A shop in the corner. There was a person there who somehow didn’t seem alive. The eyes are expressionless, as if they had been pierced with glass eyes.

‘……!’

Lee Chorok felt reluctant and tried to back down. However, the shopkeeper’s next words stopped her.

“Don’t you remember me?”

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone like you … Ah.”

An unfamiliar memory flashed through her mind at that moment. Suddenly, the store owner in front of her felt very familiar.

“I’ve never met … A, aa, ah! I’ve seen you before!”

“Looks like you remembered me.”

Why did she forget? It was definitely a regular store that she visited several times.

The shopkeeper laughed and took out a box.

“A very rare item has arrived, how about it?”

It was a seed the size of half a fist. When she put her hand on it, she could feel it the thumping from the inside.

What this beat means is….

‘……!’

Lee Chorok turned pale and pulled away. Dangerous. However, the shopkeeper only smiled.

“It is the seed of Monster Hell.”

“There’s a beat inside … This, this, no way…….”

“Yeah, a rift, it’s integrated with a rift.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s not possible. There’s no chance for the rift to awaken because it’s completely sealed.”

….Gulp.

The seed with rift was emitting a strange light. The light is so beautiful that it’s bewitching.

Eventually, Lee Chorok purchased the seed.

It is very rare for dungeon plants and rifts to be completely integrated. Since it’s a rift and dungeon plant, the power of either side can grow, so even a slight loss of balance will cause the rift to burst. As a plant otaku, no, as a botanist, her curiosity could not turn away from the seed.

Furthermore, the store owner’s words somehow had a power that was hard to refuse. She brought the seed and kept it well.

“You said it wouldn’t burst……!”

The moment the Blue Celaeno Flower bloomed, the seed grew at a frightening speed and a dungeon occurred.

It was disconcerting, but the rescue of the people inside came first.

When she reported it to the Dungeon Management Office, a public official hunter was dispatched shortly after.

A large plant dungeon nestled in the middle of a greenhouse. Still, with Choi Cedric inside, there will be no casualties.

However, as officials began to inspect the farm, Lee Chorok could not be relieved.

“Ma’am, where did you buy these toothed carrots?”

“That’s … in Cheonggyecheon.”

“Where’s in Cheonggyecheon? If you do not report after the transaction, you will be fined.”

“I do not know … I don’t remember that well, ha, ha, ha….”

“Toothed carrots must wear a muzzle. Your business will be suspended for not wearing them a muzzle.”

“Haha, yes…..”

“You acquired this dungeon plant through an illegal business.”

“It’s not just a dungeon plant, it’s a Flying Spaghetti Tree! A very precious tree that tells a Neapolitan ghost story once a day….!”

“You haven’t applied for permission to handle dungeon plants or registered your business. You didn’t even pay your taxes.”

“That … I’m sorry.”

“Put it on.”

Red labels were attached here and there based on the cold-hearted public official’s judgment. ‘Foreclosure‘ in large letters.

“Aa nooo!”

Lee Chorok screamed.

Foreclosure tickets, penalty, fines, business suspension….

Even if the dungeon situation was resolved, Lee Chorok was in a position to become a part-time worker at a fruit shop.

She got a Ph.D. in Dungeon Botany, but she’s a part-timer at a fruit store!

All of her PhD classmates are frying chicken now, so it was a common career path.

While a doctor changed course to a part-time fruit shop worker, a man hurriedly ran into the broken greenhouse.

A pale face and a rough breath. It seemed that he had arrived immediately after receiving a call.

Lee Chorok was surprised to find out who the man was.

‘Kwon Jiwoon of The White Silver Guild? Why is such a tycoon here….?’

“Is the rescue going on?”

It was a cold voice that couldn’t hide the trembling. A pair of eyes filled with anxiety fluttered wildly. Kwon Jiwoon urgently asked the public official who was dispatched.