Chapter 49: The Boss’s Garden

Labyrinths were humanity’s treasure houses.

The new crops, ores, and monster bones and hides discovered within them provided humanity with elixirs, energy, and weapons.

However, Labyrinths were also fractures and entry points for invasions under another name. A fracture would vomit out a certain level and quantity of monsters and then close, but the moment a Labyrinth burst, an endless swarm of monsters would pour out.

Indeed, while fractures were strictly one-way streets, Labyrinths were not. It only appeared as though humanity controlled them because they were usually discovered first. A Labyrinth that escaped control would create an Erosion Zone.

That was exactly what was about to happen in Go Nam-tae’s hometown.

Jeong Sang-myeong, who had been leading the way, shouted, "It’s a Labyrinth, confirmed!"

The entrance was still faint. However, the shimmering red veil was clearly a gateway connecting reality to another world. The other team members widened their eyes as they confirmed the new Labyrinth. The youngest member among them turned to Park Ki-beom with a question.

"Guild Master, do Labyrinth entrances usually look like that? The color is a bit different."

"The entrance of a newly forming Labyrinth looks like that. As the color deepens and turns red, people can enter. Once people start going in and out, the color changes again to navy blue."

"Then we can’t enter the Labyrinth yet?"

"Looking at the color, it should change within a few days. But I can’t guarantee the timing. It could be today, or even tomorrow."

Park Ki-beom gave a more detailed explanation. "If a little more time passes after the entrance turns completely red, monsters will start coming out from that point."

"Then monsters could be waiting when a person enters?"

"It’s not 'could be,' they will be waiting. If we can't stop them then, this place will turn into an Erosion Zone."

"Oh my god...!"

As a member of the search party directly under the Guild Master, the question was far too basic. However, anyone who saw the questioner would be shocked. It was Park Seong-yeon, the Guild Master’s biological nephew, who was rumored to have been secretly dying over the past few months. Yet, far from dying, Park Seong-yeon looked perfectly healthy. Furthermore, he was standing here proudly as a healer.

Jeong Sang-myeong spoke with a serious expression. "How did Go Nam-tae know about this?"

"Maybe Brother Nam-tae saw it and asked us to check?"

"If he had seen it, he would have said so. He asked me to check if a Labyrinth had actually formed here."

"Ah..."

"Perhaps the emergence of this Labyrinth is related to his awakening."

"In any case, if we hadn't discovered this Labyrinth now, it definitely would have become an Erosion Zone!"

Following Jeong Sang-myeong, who breathed a sigh of relief, the other members also let out small sighs.

The front was covered in a mound of earth, looking as if a landslide had occurred. If it weren't for the faint remains of a path and the old truck thrown down below, there would have been no signs of human presence. The Labyrinth was opening its massive mouth in a space cleverly hidden between the mound of earth and the hill. If Go Nam-tae hadn't asked them to investigate, they would never have known about the Labyrinth’s emergence.

*Thud!*

At 그 moment, one of the members who had approached to measure the mana levels was flung back and slammed into the ground. He had been caught in the mana field swirling around the Labyrinth. Despite its calm appearance, the actual pressure it exuded was more intense than expected. The fact that the terrain had hardly changed except for a small landslide had caused the member to let his guard down.

The member, who protected his measuring device even as he fell, looked at the screen with wide eyes and shouted, "The mana value is 380,000!"

"What!"

A stunned Jeong Sang-myeong pressed him. "Look again! Not 3,800, but 380,000?"

"To be precise, it’s 388,831!"

Jeong Sang-myeong ran over to recheck the screen. The numbers on the screen were slowly dropping, but the first digit recorded remained vivid. 388,831 — it was 40,000 higher than the initial measurement of Labyrinth 17, the largest Labyrinth in South Korea.

Jeong Sang-myeong clicked his tongue and said, "Sir, if we hadn't found this, this entire area would have become an Erosion Zone."

"The whole area?"

At Park Ki-beom's question, Jeong Sang-myeong simply shook his head. The largest Erosion Zone in North Korea had swallowed nearly two provinces. Since the mana value of that Labyrinth was estimated at around 400,000, a similar Erosion Zone could have been created here. It was a chilling realization.

Jeong Sang-myeong said, wiping his chest, "Bowing to Go Nam-tae a hundred times wouldn't be enough."

"Mr. Go Nam-tae."

"Yes?"

Jeong Sang-myeong nodded at Park Ki-beom's correction. "Yes, if it weren't for 'Mr.' Go Nam-tae... it’s terrifying just to think about. I could bow not just a hundred, but a thousand times!"

"We should. I could do it 10,000 times."

Park Ki-beom wasn't joking.

The mana field generated during the creation of a new Labyrinth indicated its nature. While conquering it floor by floor was the same, the quality and quantity were different. This Labyrinth’s emergence, in particular, was too quiet. To have such a mana field with such minimal terrain changes... this kind of stealthy invasion was a first in history. The brows of those who understood the situation furrowed deeply.

Jeong Sang-myeong asked, "How should we manage this place?"

"Manage it? We wait right here."

The first entry into a Labyrinth is the most dangerous, but it comes with immense rewards. This was because the right to manage the Labyrinth was given to those who discovered it and entered first. Go Nam-tae had given them an incredible gift.

"I will lead the first entry."

"Of course. I’ll be right behind you!"

"And have Seong-yeon join us too."

Jeong Sang-myeong, who had been smiling and nodding, was shocked. "What? But not for the first entry. He needs to adapt to Labyrinth mana... Oh!"

The most dangerous thing about a first entry was Labyrinth sickness. However, Park Seong-yeon was eating food almost every day that cleared not only Labyrinth sickness but also Labyrinth fatigue. Additionally, there was a symbolic meaning to him being part of the first entry.

Meanwhile, Park Seong-yeon had approached the member who had been thrown by the mana field.

"Are you okay, Brother Do-hyun?"

"Haha, there’s no way I’d be hurt by something like — Ahhh!"

A scream erupted the moment Park Seong-yeon touched him, drawing everyone's attention. A dark, whirlpool-like streak was etched across Lee Do-hyun's abdomen. But there was something that surprised people more than the scream.

"Was Do-hyun injured?"

"That guy, pretending he wasn't hurt again... M-My god!"

"Seong-yeon... was a healer?"

"That too, but that’s a mana field wound!"

"Wait, the mana field wound is disappearing...!"

In that short moment, the members were confused whether to be surprised that Lee Do-hyun had suffered a mana field wound or that the wound was disappearing under Park Seong-yeon's hands.

It was Park Seong-yeon’s debut as a healer.

***

*Splash, splash!*

Seawater fell beneath Go Nam-tae's feet. Go Nam-tae's grumpy sea neighbor still didn't welcome him. From the moment he stepped onto the white sand beach, it had been showing an increasingly neurotic reaction.

"Yeah, thanks!"

However, the creature's showy water bombs were actually helpful to Go Nam-tae. All he had to do was catch the water it sprayed. Thanks to that, he quickly finished making all the salt he needed for today. He also filled up the bittern for tofu, and his work for the day was done.

When he first made salt, his mana had fluctuated in the yellow bar, making him rush to return, but things were different now. Even after finishing his work, the outing of the little ones who had gone exploring was still in full swing.

"Maybe I'll look around the neighborhood too."

'Let’s go!'

The one who had been chirping the whole time, claiming to help with the salt-making, quickly took the lead.

The beach was wide. After passing the area where the Labyrinth Shark loomed, he continued forward until he reached the edge of his territory.

"Shall I make a small path?"

A place where Go Nam-tae only made a path was merely a temporary territory. It would only be incorporated into his domain once he finished clearing the land and planted crops. Therefore, the Earth Dragon habitat was still outside his territory. To put it another way, the path he walked every day was his territory.

Outside the coastal area, a completely different environment unfolded. It was a landscape where different pieces were joined together as if God had left them unfinished. Cliffs of rock jutted out here and there, with meadows between them, fields behind those, and the sea surging again when he turned his gaze.

It was a strange landscape, but an interesting place in Go Nam-tae's eyes. Danhong asked.

'Boss, do you like it here?'

"How did you know?"

'Your eyes were sparkling like thi — s!'

Just as Danhong said, Go Nam-tae liked this place. He couldn't find any elixirs or good timber, and it was full of rocky obstacles, but the 'good farmer' Boss saw something else.

"Don't you think it would be perfect for something like a theme park?"

'What's a theme park?'

"A play space built with a special theme. If I just add some flowers, trees, and a few rides here..."

Go Nam-tae's mind raced. One might wonder why he was getting sidetracked when he was busy expanding his territory, but a strong impulse arose. Planting trees and flowers would also make this his territory, so technically, it wasn't a completely random idea.

Even if they were jagged rocks, they could be broken with a few pickaxe swings, but they were fine as they were. They acted as boundary stones, so secret spaces could be created, and it seemed like it would be fun to decorate the spaces in between.

"Toto, draw a map of this area. I should plant a lot of fruit trees and flowers over here."

**[Yes, I will create several versions of the design.]**

**[However, a more perfect design can be produced only if we first grow the fruit trees and flowers in the Boss’s garden.]**

"Of course. I'll start planting near the house first. Oh! Come to think of it, I can plant red beans today, right?"

**[Yes, that is correct.]**

"Then let's stop looking around and head back."

Cheongryong and Norangi, who were guarding Go Nam-tae's front and rear, immediately turned around.

'I know that place!'

'We want to go with the Boss too!'

'Boss, what about us!'

He almost turned back at the clamor of the other creatures he met along the way, but surprisingly, one of them stepped forward.

'Are you guys going to trouble the Boss? The Boss has to plant something important today!'

At Danhong’s firm words, the others flinched.

'Sorry, Boss.'

'Let's go tomorrow.'

'Tomorrow for sure.'

"Okay, let's all go together tomorrow."

That Danhong fellow was secretly acting like the eldest of the Kin. To borrow Toto's words, it was a relationship naturally formed because his rank was high. Then what was his relationship with Heung-bok...?

As soon as Go Nam-tae returned home, he first planted the red beans in the garden and checked the seeds. The plums and apples he had sent to the warehouse first were finally ready. Among the other seeds to be sent to the warehouse, flower seeds were included for the first time.

Actually, he hadn't even thought about flowers, but as Go Mi-young sent them one by one, dozens of types were waiting.

"What should I plant first?"

**[If we're talking about the queen of flowers, the rose is representative.]**

"Isn't the peony the queen of flowers?"

**[Both are correct.]**

**[The West calls the rose the queen of flowers, while in Korea, the peony is given that title.]**

"Fine, then I'll just plant both."

While moving the seedlings, Go Nam-tae suddenly searched the storage again, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

"I'll have to order those..."

**[What is it?]**

"There’s something... a flower my mother supposedly loved. I should plant a lot of those."

Go Nam-tae opened the Needle Hole door and sent a message.

"Mr. Kim, could you find some flower trees for me? Starting with magnolias..."

Kim Gu-bok, who received an order from Go Nam-tae for the first time in a while, shouted happily.

"Of course! I'll sweep the entire flower tree market for you!"

This was the beginning of how the area around Go Nam-tae's house, and the Boss’s garden, came to be covered in flowers.