Chapter 19: Garden of the Earth Mother God (1)
After bathing with Gono, I lay down in the bushes to rest.
It was truly a honey-like break.
The kkyuit-kkyuit sounds of the Pigmallets around me did not disturb me at all.
On the contrary, after the bath, they served as a kind of lullaby for me.
Six hours later.
[Please choose to either exit midway or enter the Deep Layer. Remaining time: 10 minutes]
“Shall we start moving? Gono, wake up.”
I dismissed the blinking Status Window in front of my eyes and woke Gono.
“Keruk… Haum.”
Still half-asleep, Gono yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Then he stared at me with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“If you laze around, I’ll send you back to the Castle.”
I had kept him nearby, paying extra since we had shared hardships—but look at those eyes.
“Ki, Keruk!”
At the mention of being sent back to the Castle, Gono grabbed his club and sprang up sharply.
Judging by his expression, it seemed that if he were summoned back to the Castle, he would not be able to rest there either and would have to work.
Well, as long as he moves quickly, I’m happy.
The reason I didn’t recall him was also to prepare for the Deep Layer.
Once Gono returns to the Castle, he cannot be summoned for 24 hours.
During that time, anything could happen in the Deep Layer.
[Do you wish to enter the Deep Layer?]
It was now time to venture into the deepest part of this Dungeon.
I pinched my earlobe.
[Entering the Deep Layer of the Garden of Mind. A Gate has been created.]
“A Gate?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Even looking around, I couldn’t see a Gate or anything resembling it.
“Kkyuit!”
At that moment, the Pigmallets that had gathered nearby let out cries for the first time in a while.
“Good, lead the way.”
“Kkyuit!”
The Pigmallets bounced and suddenly jumped into the lake.
I see. This time it’s Depth.
This Dungeon really lives up to its nickname.
I threw myself into the water with a bitter smile.
‘I can’t see anything.’
As the cold water enveloped my body, nothing came into view.
It felt as if I had sunk to the bottom of a deep ocean trench rather than a lake.
But before panic could set in, a bright light started spreading from below.
Brgrr!
Thanks to that light, I could see the plump hindquarters of the Pigmallets sinking ahead.
I swam after them.
Despite moving vigorously, I strangely didn’t feel out of breath.
After about three minutes, I finally reached the bottom of the lake.
‘I’ve never seen a Gate generated on the bottom before.’
A dimensional portal large enough for a truck was open like a puddle.
The Pigmallets swirled around it as if performing a ring-around-the-rosie.
Standing in front of the portal, the cries of the Pigmallets echoed in my head.
They looked at me with wide, bright eyes.
I knew it was their final farewell.
‘Alright, take care.’
I waved once underwater.
The Lizardmen, handled by this Hunter, would probably live happily grazing on plants.
I fixed my gaze on the swirling dimensional portal at the bottom.
Then, crossing my arms over my shoulders, I dove.
[Entering the Deep Layer of the Garden of Mind.]
Darkness consumed my surroundings.
The only thing shining was the Status Window before me.
[The Gardener of the Earth Mother God welcomes you.]
‘Gardener?’
I confirmed the phrase I had never seen before on the Status Window.
Then, the abyss enveloped me.
***
“Kiruk, Keruk!”
When I regained consciousness, a goblin’s voice pierced my ears.
Holding my pounding head, I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing that struck my vision was the bright sunlight.
Next to it, Gono’s worried face shook me.
“It’s alright, Gono.”
Gono stepped aside with a relieved kiruk.
Once he moved out of view, my surroundings came fully into focus.
“Is this the Deep Layer?”
Though I had dived into a Gate deep underwater, strangely, the sky was present.
And it was a vivid blue sky with bright sunlight.
Around me were orderly rows of trees and grass I had never seen before.
These weren’t just random growths.
Though the species were unfamiliar, it was clear someone had carefully maintained them.
Flowing waterways meandered around the beautiful trees.
‘This is like…’
Then, suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from the sky.
[Welcome to the Deep Layer of the Garden of Mind, entering the ‘Garden’.]
Finally, the Deep Layer.
The tension made my Adam’s apple bob.
The conversation I had with Yun Su-hyeok replayed in my mind.
There was no more convincing reason than that.
If an existence akin to a Transcendent warns of danger, there’s no need to explain further.
Yun Su-hyeok would have made the same choice even on a solo expedition.
‘How insanely difficult could it be?’
The lake had been no easy challenge either.
Without me, Indomitable Guild members would have panicked and died at the Lizardmen line.
Even reaching the trials, Zen Karuk’s ancient magic would have swept them away.
If not for Odolf (former Ogre Berserker) with Archmage-level knowledge, I’d have been in danger too.
[Mission briefing will commence.]
This time, I may truly need to risk my life.
[The Garden of Mind faces unprecedented crisis. Endless drought has parched the land, and death looms everywhere. The surviving beings’ fangs point toward the last paradise. The owner seeks a guardian to protect it.]
“Hm?”
I felt a strong sensation.
As if I could suck honey intensely.
[You must protect the last paradise. Modify the Garden’s structure and use its powers to set traps. Repel the endlessly incoming invasion!]
This, right?
That’s it.
Defense.
[A top-down view of the ‘Garden’ has been provided from the Castle.]
Support from the Castle arrived just in time.
I opened the top-down view.
This time, each area had simple descriptions.
“This looks exactly like the Castle.”
Though not represented in pixels, the ‘Garden’ closely resembled the internal structure of the Castle in MonMonMak.
The Castle’s corridors and partitioning stone walls became ‘Grass Walls’.
The Audience Chamber became the innermost area, ‘Nest of the World Tree’.
Monster waves would attack from the west.
Two paths divided by Grass Walls led from the entrance.
In short:
“Real-life MonMonMak.”
But I didn’t relax yet.
I had only confirmed the mission’s essence.
Details remained unknown.
No more Status Windows appeared, so it was time for me to investigate personally.
“They said to use the Garden’s powers to stop them.”
Powers, huh.
Looking around, no monsters or moving creatures were present.
The Garden consisted solely of plants.
Then.
“There must be hints in these plants.”
I took out my silver-rimmed glasses and wore them.
I first observed the Grass Walls dividing the Garden.
[Activating Sage’s Eye. Special Structure. Count not consumed.]
After a sleek Status Window, an uneven Dot Window appeared with a detailed explanation.
[Grass Wall of the World Tree]
[A wall made of vines parasitizing the World Tree. Its roots are embedded within the World Tree. Harmless to humans but emits strong energy to block monsters.]
It was like an electric fence.
Terrifying.
It looked like a neatly trimmed Grass Wall but hid powerful energy that blocked most monsters.
Next, a row of trees with fist-sized flowers hanging from them:
[Enchanting and Tearful Arin Tree]
[Appears as a normal magnolia tree. When a monster approaches, it explodes its flower buds, scattering pollen. Even powerful monsters can be charmed. Charmed monsters wander around the tree for 5 minutes.]
There was more:
[Plant Monster Zaira]
[Zaira, resembling a lotus, devours monsters within a 1-meter radius. Monsters swallowed suffer eternally at Zaira’s roots until death. Most monsters avoid this plant.]
Each structure or plant was at least 3-star level from MonMonMak.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head.
“Could it be…?”
Could I get Magic Stones from destroying these structures or plants?
If so, could they be used in MonMonMak?
But before I could dwell, the Status Window blinked as a warning.
[Guardians cannot arbitrarily damage the Garden.]
Still, I thought, it should be unavoidable in defense.
Like package damage.
[To place plants, call ‘Change Position’ in front of the plant you want to move, then call ‘Place’ at the desired location.]
“Change Position…?”
No need to ponder what it meant.
Kurururu!
As soon as I spoke, Plant Monster Zaira in front of me rose from its spot.
Its thick roots acted as legs to support its body under the lotus-like buds.
“…Place.”
Muttering again, it settled back into its original position.
But more than that, I regretted that these couldn’t be sent to the Castle.
Such a waste.
A free opportunity to expand my collection.
“Cheh!”
“Ki, Kiruk.”
Clicking my tongue, Gono shook his head in dismay.
Disappointing, Gono.
I thought someone like you, who values money and benefit, would understand me.
“Kiruk.”
The goblin shook its head firmly.
Feeling awkward, I focused back on the mission.
Moving these plants to strategic locations to counter monster invasions was key.
“Anyway, then, let’s start… huh?”
As I moved to collect more info on the plants:
[Detection result: Presence of A-rank or higher monster detected.]
I quickly turned my eyes, and a Status Window flashed through empty air.
“Monster?”
Besides the blue sky, there was nothing in the empty space where the Status Window passed.
“Gono, do you see anything there?”
“Kiruk?”
Gono looked equally puzzled.
I fixed my gaze at the direction where the Status Window had passed.
“Hm.”
An ordinary person might have ignored it, thinking it was a trick of the mind.
But having trained in the most broken game ever, I overlooked nothing.
This was why I could dominate MonMonMak as the ultimate veteran, finding all the Easter eggs.
Huk!
My arm shot forward like lightning.
Exactly in the direction where the Status Window had appeared.
And I felt something squishy in the empty air where nothing should have been.
Like touching a slime toy or water balloon.
I grabbed it immediately.
Wriggle!
The thing in my hand struggled silently to escape.
The harder it tried, the tighter I held.
Muttering quietly:
“If you don’t want to burst, show yourself.”
My grip nearly crushed the water-balloon-like object in my hand.
After about 30 seconds.
Slrrk.
Finally, the transparent thing in my hand started revealing its form.
“An eyeball?”
At first, I thought it was a giant eyeball.
Thankfully, it had a body.
A spherical body the size of a baseball, with over 80% covered by a single round eye.
Purple mist-like smoke flowed around, looking like a small flame.
Wriggle!
The mysterious monster glared at me with its single eye.
It was certainly a new monster.
That left only one choice.
“Let’s see what you do.”
[Casting Sage’s Eye. Result: C-rank or higher monster. Count decreases by 1.]
After confirming the info that appeared before my eyes:
[Beholder Sage]
The silver-rimmed glasses I was wearing slid down.