The Taurus Great Canyon is vast.
So far, based on the testimonies and records of hunters, the estimated area of land measured has been said to be comparable to or bigger than the size of the state of Texas in the USA. However, some hunters and dungeon analysts have even hypothesized that the Taurus Great Canyon is a continent on par with Australia.
Nevertheless, the Taurus Great Canyon was indeed a place full of limitless possibilities for beginner hunters.
It’s not to say there was absolutely no danger, but the average danger level rarely exceeded D to C grade, and there were no overwhelmingly strong predators present.
Most of the monsters in this area were mere lackeys for honing hunters’ skills. In fact, the top 10 guilds in Korea would test or train the skills of their new recruits by using the entrance tickets they had for the Taurus Great Canyon.
Moreover, various small and medium-sized guilds would harvest various byproducts and resources in this vast dungeon.
Given its endless size and the multitude of gates opened simultaneously, there was little concern about competition or friction with other guilds, making the Taurus Great Canyon a golden land for underperforming hunters, being both a source of livelihood and a motherlode.
And there was a party of hunters.
“It’s completely desolate…”
“What should we do?”
“Sigh…”
At the words of the party leader, the other party members sighed in unison.
They belonged to a party called “Jeokjasung Guild,” which was known as a small to medium-sized guild. These hunters relied on the Taurus Great Canyon as their main farming spot.
Since the Jeokjasung Guild was small and lacked exceptionally strong members, even the Guild Master would join the party to farm directly.
As a small guild, its members were composed of hunters below C grade. The hunters of the Jeokjasung Guild entered the Taurus Great Canyon through a gate that had opened in Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do.
The Jeokjasung Guild was a small guild made up of hunters ranked C and below, and they received minimal equipment and potions through provincial support from Hapcheon-gun, using the farming opportunities in the Taurus Great Canyon as their livelihood.
Without needing to engage in dangerous battles, they could harvest Mandragoras, Fugu Doves, and Se-gu minerals found only in the Taurus Great Canyon.
They would also hunt low-level monsters to gather profitable items. Reporting their findings while exploring the canyon to the Hunter Association would count as achievements, enabling them to receive rewards or level-ups.
Well, leveling up would only get them to C grade, but still.
When they would bring the Mandragoras from the canyon back to Hapcheon-gun, the province would sell them as local special products, whether as medicinal materials, juices, or seasonings made from ground Mandragora, while the minerals from the canyon would be used to produce ammunition and bombs for the Capital Region.
This was possible only because of the vast size of the Taurus Great Canyon and the many gates opened simultaneously.
Of course, if luck was against them… it wasn’t unheard of for a farming spot they relied on for their livelihood to be raided by someone else.
“Who the hell took all the Mandragoras? There were more than 80 just last week…”
“Sigh, the delivery deadline to the county office is approaching…”
“No, I mean, isn’t this what happens when you keep procrastinating, Guild Master?”
“Oh, you cheeky brat! Don’t act like you didn’t benefit from indulging in it!”
“But, Guild Master, you were the one who said it was fine and kept pushing it off!”
“Hey, back in my day…”
“Boss, now’s not the time for that! We need to find those damn roots first for the delivery, right? Our scout should be back soon, so let’s find the Mandragoras for now.”
“Ugh…”
The hunters resting in the shade noticed their scout returning from reconnaissance and exploration.
The Guild Master of Jeokjasung Guild tossed bottled water to the exhausted comrades.
“Hey, good job in this heat! Any findings?”
“Guild Master.”
“Wow? Did you find nothing?”
“Not a single Mandragora, nor even a flock of Fugu Doves.”
“What the heck!”
“Boss, it really looks like someone cleaned the place out, doesn’t it?”
“What kind of bastard did this…”
However, the Jeokjasung Guild also relied on provincial support for their livelihood. If they missed their delivery deadline, they wouldn’t receive the advance payment from the county office.
“Ugh, Guild Master, if there are no Mandragoras and no Fugu Doves, should we at least raid a goblin village?”
“Hey, even if we catch one goblin, it won’t even pay 50,000 Won. When are we going to eat with that? Didn’t you say your wedding anniversary is coming up?”
“Wait, is it already our wedding anniversary?”
“Urgh, I was just about to negotiate a trip to Thailand…”
“Guild Master, then shouldn’t we split up and take down some goblins?”
“Didn’t you hear me? We get only 50,000 Won for a goblin. What do you—”
“Then is there any other option?”
“………”
At the mention of other options, the Guild Master’s expression stiffened as he gathered his guild members.
With a wary glance around, as if checking for eavesdroppers, he spoke in a low voice.
“Do you know what the highest danger level monster here is?”
“Isn’t it the Fugu Dove flock?”
“Even they can only burn a bit of clothing; they’re not that lethal.”
“The screams of Mandragora can hurt a bit, but they only faint; they don’t kill humans, right?”
“There is one that is truly dangerous, but it’s non-aggressive.”
“Non-aggressive?”
Monsters generally possess hostility and hatred towards humans, but not all monsters attack humans on sight.
Among those, there was a classification of non-aggressive monsters, which would refrain from attacking unless they were provoked.
“Do you know that Elder Mandragora is here?”
“Elder?!”
“Are you crazy? How could one be here?”
“I mean, with all the hunters coming here daily and cleaning the place out, doesn’t it take at least thirty years for a Mandragora to grow into an Elder?”
In fact, when the Taurus Great Canyon first eroded the Earth, it had hosted many high-grade monsters, including Elder Mandragoras, and was considered quite dangerous.
However, since the first-generation hunters fought a war to clear the canyon, monsters exceeding C grade have seemingly gone extinct. The only potential high-grade monster left that could grow into an Elder Mandragora safely over a long time was this Elder Mandragora.
Of course, numerous hunters have plucked Mandragoras by the handful every time they entered the Taurus Great Canyon. There were even guilds that regularly raided them through requests from the Hunter Association or the city and county offices.
The Jeokjasung Guild was one of those guilds that survived off such Mandragoras.
“Actually, this is a bit of an old story, but I once found Mandragora in the middle of a very deep valley. At the time, I was D grade and couldn’t even climb the cliff properly, so I just passed by. But one day, I noticed that what used to be a root had changed into something resembling a human arm.”
“Eh!?”
“Were you not aware of that!?”
“No, I didn’t even realize that it was a Mandragora to begin with…”
The somewhat embarrassed Guild Master cleared his throat.
It was fine to leave or grow Mandragoras, but since the Taurus Great Canyon had implicitly been agreed upon as a “beginner dungeon,” if an Elder Mandragora were to appear here, it would likely result in a major disaster. If such a Mandragora existed that hunters couldn’t collect, they were obligated to report it to the association.
Of course, few people did that.
“And who would take the time to report that to the association? If there’s an Elder Mandragora, all the other Mandragoras around it will grow faster and increase the harvest too!”
“True. Other guilds probably do that discreetly too.”
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is…”
“Are you suggesting we capture the Elder Mandragora and deliver it to the county office?”
“No way, not at all. I’m not a fool who’d put my guts on display…”
“………..”
However, as the Guild Master remained silent, the other hunters began to sense that something was off.
“G-Guild Master, we’re only C grade, right?”
“I know that! But Elder Mandragoras are non-aggressive monsters. And they sell for way more than regular Mandragoras.”
“That’s true…”
But the biggest problem was that estimating the danger level of the Elder Mandragora was very difficult.
Elder Mandragoras absorb nearby mana and nutrients to grow, resulting in varying levels of growth and power accumulation, with some Elder Mandragoras potentially reaching S grade.
Of course, it would be rare to find an Elder Mandragora at S grade, but at the very least, B grade would be expected.
The Jeokjasung Guild had no capability to handle a B grade monster.
“Boss, this isn’t right. We’re a harvesting guild, not a combat guild.”
“Think about it! This isn’t just about Mandragora; we can earn a hefty amount of money!”
“But even so, how could we low-grade hunters deal with an Elder…?”
“Listen up! I have a plan!”
While the words of the long-time C grade hunter, Guild Master, might not carry much weight…
‘What now?’
‘Even if the Guild Master is a fool, let’s at least hear him out.’
‘He wouldn’t propose something entirely stupid, would he?’
The hunters, who’ve shared life together for a long time, didn’t fully trust the Guild Master’s words, but they decided to listen.
Even if it wasn’t reassuring, it was still the Guild Master.
It wouldn’t be something that was entirely impossible.
“What’s this plan? Let’s hear it.”
“That’s right!”
Beaming with a grin, the Guild Master continued.
“I told you that the Elder Mandragora is a non-aggressive monster, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, even though the Elder is human-sized, its nature remains the same as a Mandragora, right? It won’t scream or attack unless we pull out its head first.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Despite our weaker strength, how many years have we spent cautiously gathering herbs around the Mandragora in the canyon? If we carefully dig up the ground near the Elder, exposing its body, we can unleash simultaneous attacks on it.”
“……….”
“The only reason it’s tough is that it’s buried in the ground. You know their body is quite squishy, right? You’ve touched enough Mandragoras to know how soft their bodies are.”
“……Hoh. Do you think that could work?”
“It’s possible! We just need to grab the Mandragora stem and carefully dig away the dirt without waking it up. Then, we simultaneously attack it to incapacitate it, and we’ll take the Elder Mandragora and make a fortune!”
As they listened, it really did sound plausible.
As gatherers and harvesters, it might be possible to extract the Elder carefully without waking it up, and while their individual powers were weak, they could still unleash a significant amount of firepower together as C grade hunters.
“Furthermore, considering the time since I found it, the Elder is most likely only B grade.”
“B grade means that…”
“If it’s B grade, we can take it down together!”
So, the Jeokjasung Guild decided to hunt the Elder Mandragora under the Guild Master’s command.
With a potential windfall waving right before them, and seeing that it wasn’t entirely unattainable, they prepared their perfect plan.
.
.
.
.
SWOOSH!
“Uwaaaah!”
“Run!!!”
This was until the moment the Guild Master felt the ground shift beneath him, getting blindsided by the Elder’s first attack.
“What just happened!!?”
“Why the hell is there an S grade Elder Mandragora here!!?”
“Run for your lives!!”
Initially, their plan went smoothly.
They moved to the center of the cliff, carefully digging into the earth, exposing the Elder Mandragora’s body to the air.
The Elder, resembling a human woman’s body, lay sleeping, breathing softly like an infant. The Jeokjasung Guild managed to completely excavate the area around the Elder without disrupting its slumber.
“Wow, she’s actually pretty cute…”
“Looks can be deceiving, but once she wakes up, we’re all dead.”
“Be careful. A hunter who judges a monster by its appearance usually meets a quick end.”
And they had prepared for the attack flawlessly.
Once they dug everything out, the hunters readied flame and ice type attacks, while those lacking those abilities coated their weapons with fire magic using expensive enhancement potions.
Then, all at once, they unleashed their simultaneous attacks on the defenseless sleeping Elder Mandragora, and for a fleeting moment, C grade hunters focused together could unleash B grade caliber firepower.
If the Elder was newly transformed, that kind of destruction surely would incapacitate it.
However…
PLOOP!
“Eh?”
Its body didn’t even have a scratch.
No, not a scratch. With one eye rubbing itself awake, the Elder stretched like it was just waking up from a nap.
Even after being attacked, it remained relaxed, as if it didn’t even realize it had been struck.
In that overwhelming display of ease, the masters and hunters of Jeokjasung Guild came to a dreadful realization.
‘I’m dead.’
‘This isn’t B grade…’
‘What the hell?!’
This was no B grade.
It was A grade.
If it were A grade, it would at least have been hurt enough to scream in pain.
However, without a scratch, the Elder Mandragora didn’t even seem to acknowledge that it had been hit.
That absence of injury meant this Elder Mandragora was above A grade.
“…It’s an S grade.”
“No way, why is there an S grade Elder here in the Taurus Great Canyon…”
It was utterly unreasonable.
They had no luck whatsoever.
Why was this Elder… this S grade Elder Mandragora buried here!?
“Everyone! Run! I’ll hold it off!”
“Are you crazy!?”
“You’re lower grade than me!”
“Isn’t it the same C grade we are!?”
“We C grade hunters have lower attack ratings than me!!!”
“Damn it! I suggested we attack, but I can’t let you all die!!”
At that, the expressions of the fleeing guild members changed in an instant, teary-eyed and moving, but unfortunately, the S grade Elder Mandragora seemed to have no intention of letting off the intruders waking it from its slumber, and its roots and stems began to rise.
The roots and stems that had been hidden beneath the canyon and stones began to writhe like giant tentacles, and the Guild Master halted in his tracks, glaring at the Elder.
“Stop! You shall not pass—UWAHH!?”
PLOOP!
For the record, the Elder Mandragora had no idea who the Guild Master was.
The Guild Master was caught off guard by a tentacle that had sprung out while the Elder was stretching, flung into the air.
THWACK!
“G-Guild Master!!!”
“Damn it!!!”
“Run!!”
No joke, when the Elder Mandragora made a light jab, the Guild Master nearly became a star in the sky.
“Are you alright?”
“Uggh!?”
If not for Shia, who had flowing silver hair, swooping down to catch him midair.
“Huh?”
“W-Who…?”
“I don’t know who you are, but thank you for saving the Guild Master!!!”
Shia smiled at the fleeing hunters before confirming the Guild Master’s safety, placing her hand on his abdomen.
[Miracle – Great Healing]
The Guild Master of Jeokjasung, who thought he would die from a light jab from the S grade Elder, suddenly felt the pain completely vanish and opened his eyes.
“Wait, I’m… not dead…?!”
“Are you okay?”
“Wha—?!”
Seemingly startled by the beautiful girl’s face that suddenly came into view, the Guild Master soon realized she had saved his life.
“Th-Thank you! Really, thank you, miss! But, I’m sorry, we have my comrades down there… Ugek…!?”
“Oh, don’t worry.”
Checking that the Guild Master was okay, Shia tossed him nonchalantly to the ground and then jumped from the cliff’s edge.
Despite falling from quite a height, Shia made no sound upon landing and faced the slowly awakening S grade Elder Mandragora.
Shia zoomed past the fleeing hunters, reaching the Elder in an instant.
SWOOSH!
Finally, the Elder rubbed its sleepy eyes, staring at Shia.
Perhaps the Elder Mandragora realized that the ones who awoke it were not the hunters but the girl standing before it.
“Hehehe…”
So big.
Real big ginseng.
Shia began to smile widely at the sight of the Elder.
They say something that looks good usually tastes good too.
In that sense, the S grade Elder Mandragora was more than qualified in her eyes.
However, the other hunters seemed to see Shia as engaging in an act of suicide.
“Miss! That’s dangerous! That’s definitely an S grade Elder Mandragora!”
“S grade?”
“Not just A grade, but S grade! Stand back, miss!”
“Yeah! If it’s an S grade Elder, we need to report this to the Association and come back with a raid!”
However, for Shia, the danger level didn’t register as S grade; it sounded just like S grade ginseng in her ears, and her smile only widened.
The Elder Mandragora seemed to feel an ominous intent from Shia’s gaze, trembling with its shoulders.
“Hehehe… S grade ginseng… Nom nom.”
………!!!!
Despite not knowing what ginseng was, the Elder felt an immense threat and fear emanating from Shia’s gaze. In response, thousands of Mandragora stalks surged from the crevices between rocks.
The S grade Elder Mandragora had the intelligence and mana to match its classification.
Moreover, at the S grade level, it unconsciously absorbed the human language and knowledge, and feeling threatened by Shia, this Elder could relate the most fitting words to the human in front of it.
Transmutation…!
“Huh?”
Perverted, Lust…!
“Ew….”
Lecherous, Filthy…!
“………..”
What the heck, I didn’t even do anything yet, and I’m getting insulted by a monster…?
Shia felt a tad annoyed.
Fine. You’re going to be my houseplant.
