As soon as I woke up in the morning, I headed to the living room. As usual, watering the World Tree was my first task of the day.
“Oh? Guardian, you’re already awake?”
Aria was stroking a leaf with her small hand on top of the World Tree.
“Yeah, good morning. I’m here to water it.”
However, looking closely at the pot, something seemed off. The roots of the World Tree were poking out through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.
“Huh? Since when have the roots been sticking out like this?”
“Ah, I was actually going to tell you about that! The World Tree has grown so much that the pot is too small now.”
Aria wore a slightly apologetic expression.
“I’ll have to repot it. Into a larger one.”
I ordered a large pot and potting soil online. It was a pot large enough that it shouldn’t be a problem for a while. Of course, looking at the growth rate of the World Tree, I couldn’t be entirely certain.
“Carefully, now. Don’t let the roots get hurt.”
“Don’t worry, Guardian. I’ll help too!”
Aria used her small body to diligently brush the dirt off the roots. Once we moved the World Tree to the new large pot and filled it with mana-infused potting soil, the tree looked much more comfortable.
“This is better.”
But after finishing the repotting, a worry began to creep in.
“Aria, if the World Tree keeps growing like this… what happens later?”
“What do you mean? It’ll just grow bigger!”
“No, I mean… what if it gets bigger than this house?”
I mummured while looking up at the ceiling. Even now, the new shoots had grown quite a bit. If it became a real tree, it might punch right through the ceiling.
“Ah… so that’s your concern.”
Aria seemed to consider this for the first time and fell into thought.
“In Terra, it grew in a vast forest, so I never thought about that. But… well… there must be a way!”
“A way?”
“Um… I’m sorry. Honestly, I don’t have a specific solution yet…”
Aria tilted her head as if she were also thinking about the World Tree’s growth issue for the first time.
‘Right, I was expecting too much from her.’
“Just eat well and grow healthy. For now… let’s worry about it later.”
Watching the World Tree planted in the new pot, I felt a mix of emotions. I was happy, yet worried.
Eating a slightly late breakfast because of the repotting, I turned on the TV and switched to a news channel. It happened to be reporting news related to the Tower.
— Currently, the reach rate for Level 10 has reached 38% of all Hunters, a significant increase of over 10% compared to the same period last month. Experts analyze that the Rocket Store’s mercenary service and the Holy Land’s blessing effect played a major role.
“Oh, it went up to 38%.”
— However, a bottleneck is still occurring on Level 8 and Level 9. In particular, the Kobold swarms on these floors are proving to be a major obstacle for Hunters, and the percentage of Hunters passing through this section is barely increasing.
The screen showed a graph provided by the Association showing the clear rates for Level 8 and Level 9. The figures were significantly lower than other floors, which was quite striking.
— An Association official stated that while there is no issue in achieving the Level 10 reach rate goal for this month, they are reviewing additional support measures for the Level 9 section from a long-term perspective.
“Are Level 8 and Level 9 that difficult?”
While the overall upward trend was good thanks to the Rocket Store, it seemed many Hunters were getting stuck in specific sections.
“Many Hunters are being helped thanks to the Guardian’s Rocket Store!” Aria said with a proud expression.
“But it means Level 8 and Level 9 are still difficult. Is there a way I can help more?”
I fell into thought while watching the news. It would be great if there was some way. I sent a message to Manager Yun Tae-seong, but there was no reply, perhaps because he was busy.
‘I don’t have any ideas right now, so I’ll pass for now.’
“By the way, today was the first day of the delivery service’s temporary opening. How did it go?”
When I opened the Rocket Store management screen, a much higher volume of orders than expected was displayed.
**[Delivery Service Status]**
Total Orders: 47
Sales: 155,000 coins
Customer Satisfaction: 4.8/5.0
“Wow, forty-seven orders? And lunch hasn’t even fully started yet? This already smells like a huge success.”
“Guardian, what are you so amazed by?”
Aria, who had been helping a squirrel spirit build a new nest, flew over from the living room and sat on my shoulder as she asked.
“It’s the result of the delivery service that just opened today. It did much better than I thought.”
I showed the screen to Aria.
“Whoa! So many were sold! I wonder how busy Lee Jun-ho’s team is?”
“Right. Shall we check?”
I turned on the hologram to peek into Lee Jun-ho’s kitchen. Since it was getting close to lunchtime, the three of them were busy preparing food. I could see the order slips piling up.
“They really are busy. They don’t seem to have a moment to stand still.”
I watched them working hard with a satisfied heart.
“Guardian, let’s order some too! Yesterday’s lunch box was really delicious.”
Aria spoke with an expectant voice.
“Haha, sure. Let’s order again when it’s lunchtime.”
I answered with a smile. It felt a bit strange to use the service I created, but the lunch box I ate yesterday really was delicious. It would also be fun to compare the taste with yesterday’s, which O’Donnell had participated in.
While checking the sales of the remaining items, I noticed one strange thing.
**[The item ‘Ghoul’s Odor’ is temporarily out of stock!]**
“Huh? Why did this sell so much?”
The delivery service was as expected, but the order volume for Ghoul’s Odor stood out. Until yesterday, the potion only sold once in a while, but this morning, the orders were concentrated.
“Did something special happen?”
Just then, a reply came from Manager Yun Tae-seong.
[I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with meetings and test preparations since this morning, so my check was late. There’s something I want to discuss regarding Level 8 and Level 9, but right now, things are hectic as we prepare for the Level 25 raid.]
— Preparing for the Level 25 raid? Isn’t there still a lot of time left?
Usually, raids on higher floors began officially toward the middle or end of the month after thorough analysis and coordination between guilds. Right now, the month had only just begun.
[Yes, thanks to Ghoul’s Odor, we’ve significantly revised our strategy. Instead of a frontal breakthrough against the undead army, we’re using assassination tactics to only eliminate the commanders. Currently, we’ve recruited the Assassin class from each guild and are conducting preliminary tests in a Large Rift.]
‘Aha, it definitely wasn’t popular before, but there was a reason for the shortage.’
— Would it be possible for me to observe the testing process? I’d like to see the item’s effect for myself.
[Of course! We plan to start the raid on the prepared Large Rift in 1 hour. As the Association official who actively pushed for that perfume, I will also be observing.]
He said he had gotten permission from the higher-ups. It seemed Manager Yun Tae-seong was the one who led the introduction of Ghoul’s Odor for this expedition.
“I see.”
More than that, I looked forward to the expedition’s raid. Battle scenes of top-tier Hunters weren’t something you could see every day. I was also curious if Ghoul’s Odor would work well.
***
Yun Tae-seong sighed as he looked at the Hunters gathered in front of the Large Rift entrance. Ten A-rank assassins recruited from the country’s major guilds had gathered, but the atmosphere wasn’t very good.
“Can a single potion like this really fool the undead?”
Han Min-su, an A-rank assassin from the Black Horn Guild, asked with a skeptical expression.
“And a perfume that replicates a Ghoul’s Odor… just what kind of smell is it?”
Assassins from other guilds showed similar reactions. They were all skilled Hunters, but they still lacked trust in the Rocket Store.
“I understand your concerns.”
Just then, a familiar voice was heard from behind. Turning around, an S-rank Hunter from the Taesan Guild was walking toward them.
“However, the items from the Rocket Store have never once disappointed us.”
The atmosphere settled down slightly at Sim Jae-seong’s appearance.
“Are you also observing, Mr. Sim Jae-seong?”
“Yes. Since I plan to participate in the Level 25 raid, I wanted to check the results of this test personally.”
As Sim Jae-seong nodded, the expressions of the assassins gradually became serious.
“Then, we will begin.”
Yun Tae-seong distributed the Ghoul’s Odor potions. As soon as the assassins opened the bottle caps, they were seen blocking their noses one after another.
“Ugh! What is this smell!”
“It really smells like a corpse.”
“You want us to actually spray this on our bodies?”
All sorts of complaints poured out. However, they weren’t just anyone; as high-ranking Hunters belonging to major guilds, they reluctantly sprayed the potion on their bodies once the operation time arrived.
“Now, we will enter the Rift.”
“I wonder what it smells like.”
Of course, I didn’t feel like checking it myself. I could feel how much the Hunters were suffering even through the screen.
“Guardian, do you think that will really work?”
Aria also watched the screen with a worried expression. The assassins who entered the Rift immediately encountered groups of skeletons and zombies.
But then, something amazing happened.
“Wow! It really works?”
The undead completely ignored the Hunters who had sprayed the perfume and passed them by.
“Huh? It seems the undead can’t see us.”
“You’re right. They’re completely ignoring us!”
“With a smell this foul… if the effect didn’t work, someone would have been killed. Now, let’s look for the commander, the Draugr.”
The undead were perceiving the Hunters who sprayed the perfume as their own kind. The assassins began to search for commander-level monsters, walking through the groups of undead without any restrictions.
Soon, they discovered a Draugr deep within the Rift.
“That’s the commander.”
“I’ll approach it.”
An assassin, unhindered by the undead swarm, cautiously approached the Draugr and drew a dagger. Then, without hesitation, he stabbed the Draugr’s weak point.
“Kieeeek!”
As the Draugr screamed and collapsed, something incredible happened. A portion of the surrounding undead suddenly stopped moving and returned to being piles of bones.
“Let’s handle the rest too.”
“Good.”
As expected of assassins, the process wasn’t flashy, but they scattered in an orderly fashion like top-tier Hunters to deal with the Draugrs. Nearly half of the undead had returned to nothingness without even putting up a fight.
“It’s going smoother than I thought.”
Of course, half of the undead were still moving. They were responding to a loud roar coming from deeper inside.
“This feels unusual.”
“It seems the boss is over there.”
“It’s a Leader Draugr.”
The remaining undead began to rush toward the assassins.
“The smell should still be there?”
“It seems that once the commander recognizes us, the perfume doesn’t help much. We’ve learned some important information.”
“Still, the intended operation is a success! Contact headquarters and tell them to deploy the main force!”
“I’ll go.”
At the signal from the assassin, Chu Seong-jun and other Hunters who had been waiting at the entrance officially joined the battle.
“The number of undead has been cut in half. At this rate, the raid will be much easier.”
As Chu Seong-jun drew his sword, the full-scale boss raid began. What made undead monsters threatening was the constantly increasing size of the undead army. However, because all the Draugrs assisting the boss had already been dealt with, the number of undead rising was fixed.
“It was a perfect operation.”
Sim Jae-seong nodded with a satisfied expression.
“At this rate, we can test this on Level 25 immediately.”
“That’s right. There’s no need to face the undead army head-on.”
Yun Tae-seong also replied with a happy expression.
“Then… do you agree to move up the official raid schedule?”
“Of course. There’s no reason to miss such an opportunity.”
The test was a huge success.
“Wow! It really works!” Aria shouted excitedly.
‘I didn’t know Ghoul’s Odor would be this useful.’
I was also satisfied with the test results. To think Carmina’s perfume would be such a big help.
A moment later, a message arrived from Manager Yun Tae-seong.
[It was a truly amazing result! Thanks to you, we can significantly move up the Level 25 raid. Thank you once again to the Rocket Store.]
— I’m glad to hear that. So, are you heading back to the Association now?
[Yes. As soon as I arrive at the situation room, I will check the related matters and give you an answer.]
— You must be busy. Don’t feel pressured and take your time to review it.
Occasionally, while doing Association work as a Purifier, I saw field staff suffocating under administrative work. There was no way Yun Tae-seong’s work would end just because the actual operation was over.
[… Would you do that? Then I’ll give you an answer as soon as I quickly write the report to the higher-ups.]
The matter was settled for now. But then, an emergency notification suddenly rang out.
**[An urgent request has been updated!]**
“Huh? An urgent request from Leon?”
I should have been sending supplies without any hitches. I re-read the message in confusion.
However, its content was even more shocking. It was the news that the Goddess had selected a Saintess.
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