Leuf’s Garden was located in Cheokcheon Village, an abandoned area of Jinbu township in Gangwon province. The area became deserted because people relocated to safe zones when they appeared. 

Screech.

A man who was clearly irritated got out of the self-driving taxi in the rural area. 

“Goddammit. Why do I have to do this nonsense everyday…”

The man whined as he grabbed his camera. He was promptly greeted by the other reporters who were already there.

“Hey, Reporter Jung! Just got here?” 

Shivering, Reporter Jung ran over to his peers. 

“Yep. Brrrr. Today’s freezing as well. I can’t believe we have to go through this torture everyday.”

“That’s what I’m sayin’. There’s not even a guarantee that whoever cleared the Curse of Dawn will also attempt Leuf’s Garden.”

“Nope. There’s none whatsoever. They want to find some big story before the major news networks, but they don’t have any real leads, so they’re abusing us little guys.”

“Fucking hell. I swear I’m going to catch a big fish ASAP, so I can go join a major news network. 

The reporters continued to shit-talk their bosses to pass the time, when suddenly, a self-driving taxi pulled up on the dirt road.

“…Huh? Is it another reporter?”

“Seems like it. Another poor soul joins the grind.”

“Well, it’s not like we have it any better. Why don’t we go introduce ourselves?”

A young man in his mid-twenties got out of the taxi. He looked around for a bit, before confirming the Gate and heading towards it.

“Huh? Wait a sec, is he headed inside the Gate?”

“What? Is he nuts? Stop him!”

The reporters rushed to block his way. The man that got blocked had a confused look on his face.

“What’s the problem?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Were you just trying to enter that Gate?”

“Yeah.”

“Sigh…”

Pissed, one of the reporters let out a deep sigh before putting his hands out.

“Let me see.”

“What?”

“I’m saying, let me see your player permit.”

“…What has the world come to.” The man sighed, handing his permit with an attitude that said he couldn’t give a flying fuck.

“Player… Seo Jun-ho?”

“Hold up. It says here that it’s only been 2 weeks since he got his permit?”

“Are you kidding? Hey, do you have any idea where you were about to enter?”

“Leuf’s Garden.”

“And you still wanted to go in there?”

The reporters couldn’t believe Jun-ho’s attitude. They looked at him up and down, and noticed that despite his high-quality equipment, he physically looked weaker than them.

Why is he so fucking scrawny?

Is he really a player?

He’s clearly not a physical-oriented player. Is he possibly a magician?

Does he even eat properly?

The reporters all silently looked down on him. But then, one of the reporters brought something to the group’s attention.

“Huh? Isn’t that the Player Association’s emblem on the spear?”

“It really is. Are you part of the Player Association?”

“Yeah.”

“Oooh, is that so?” One reporter exclaimed, as he exchanged quick glances with the other reporters. They thought that they would finally be able to write a headline story if they took advantage of this dim-witted-looking guy. 

Stealthily, they turned on their recorders before pruning him.

“Wow, you’re so hard at work, despite your age.”

“Do you get looked down upon by people because you work for the Association?”

“Uhm, I don’t really think so.”

When Jun-ho denied it with a blank face, one of the reporters patted him on the back, getting overtly friendly.

 “Come on! I’m looking out for you because you remind me of my younger brother~ I mean, they sent you to this ghost town by taxi first thing in the morning to enter a Gate. How is that fair treatment? Don’t you think so, Reporter Jung?”

“Of course. They’re really treating you harshly. I don’t think any guild would ever treat one of their members like this.”

“Ain’t that right. Did the Association lose their marbles or something? How dare they send such a youngster to an Uncleared Gate by himself?”

…Ah.

* * *

After watching the reporters’ 3rd-rate acting, Jun-ho finished connecting all the dots. He could clearly tell what article they wanted to write. 

I see. So they want to write an article about the Association forcibly sending in a player to an Uncleared Gate.

 A Gate was a bomb of sorts. If people didn’t regularly enter it, it would forcibly Open Gate. It was a phenomenon where monsters inside the Gate overflowed into the outside world. 

Safe zones prevented the appearances of Gates. It didn’t protect people from monster attacks.

That’s why Uncleared Gates were a pain in the ass for the Association. It’s not like they could just force unwilling people to enter them. That’s why these tabloid journalists kept spreading conspiracies. 

It’s a conspiracy that will be on all the front pages if they can just obtain conclusive evidence.

The Association that should be protecting the rights of players is sending them to their doom? Even if it was just rumors, if it circulated enough, it would be enough cause for guilds to tear the Association apart. 

Tabloid parasites will never change, huh.

Not caring about facts, they only care about exciting gossip. The title of ‘journalist’ is too good for them. Their articles had no ethics nor any objectivity. Since long ago, Jun-ho refused to recognize these scum as ‘real journalists.’

Jun-ho brushed aside the reporter’s hand off his shoulder, and he mumbled in a blood-chilling tone. “There should be a limit to how much of a disgrace you can be as journalists.”

Jun-ho massaged his neck, feeling drained before he even got to enter the Gate. 

“Come on. Just spit it out. What did the Association tell you before sending you here?”

“You keep pleading the fifth. Is that because you’re facing pressure from the Association?”

Without giving him any room, the reporters swung their mics in front of his face, annoying the hell out of him. Unable to take it anymore, Jun-ho finally snapped. 

“Hey, fucking scram.”

“…Wh-what?”

The reporters were shocked by his sudden swearing. No matter how famous of a player someone was, they never made enemies out of the media. With only a few exceptions, star players were all created by the media. 

“D-did you actually just say ‘fucking scram’ to us reporters, the voice of the people?”

“Seriously? I treat you like a brother and this is what I get?”

“Don’t you know that you can get cancelled if you act like this?! Huh?!”

Angry reporters, not knowing their place, yelled and glared at him. 

“Reporters? I don’t see any reporters in front of me.”

When Jun-ho exuded killing intent, the reporters all flinched. Though his stats were at rock bottom, he was still someone who had faced all sorts of life-threatening trials. His killing intent was not something keyboard warrior office pigs could handle. 

Uhh… How can he have such a look in his eyes…

I might end up dying for a story at this rate.

Is this guy an actual psychopath?

The reporters had no choice but to turn tail and slowly back away. They could see the immeasurable irritation in Jun-ho’s face.

“These nobodies are really pissing me off.”

He could never imagine a reporter spouting bullshit in front of him, nor asking Specter for his identification. To be more precise, some idiots tried that and ended up bankrupting their news organization after worldwide criticism. 

Ahh, I miss the old days.

Jun-ho sighed at his current pathetic condition before entering the Gate.

Woooom.

The reporters all snapped out of it when the Gate’s color shifted from blue to red.

“…N-no way.”

“A red Gate means… that it’s really locked, doesn’t it?”

“So he actually went in? Without even leaving any last words?”

Their faces gradually changed from shock to anger. 

“That fucking disrespectful greenhorn!”

“I-isn’t he a real son of a bitch?”

“Don’t the people have a right to hear about this? Player Seo Jun-ho’s true self!”

“How dare he glare and speak to his elders like that… Let me tell you, back in my day…!”

After having a swear fest, one of the reporters started packing up his belongings.

“I’m gonna call it a day.”

“…Huh? But hyung-nim*, are you really going without seeing the results?”

(TN: Hyung-nim is a Korean honorific used by men to refer to older males in a respectful manner.)

“Do you really think it’s worth seeing? Why? You think such a degenerate piece of shit can actually clear that Gate?”

After cackling, the reporter pointed towards the Gate. 

“That guy. He’s for sure gonna die in there. So why should I wait up?”

“That’s true… It’s an Uncleared Gate, so his chances of clearing it is extremely slim.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not slim. There’s zip. Nada. I’m telling you, the chief editor is going to agree with me.”

Sold on his logic, the reporters started packing up their belongings. Their mood had also been soured by Jun-ho making a mockery of them.

“Why don’t we have some gukbap* at a rest stop on our way home?”

(TN: Gukbap literally means soup(guk) and rice(bap). It’s a popular, wide category of Korean food.)

“Sounds good. I think this shitty feeling also calls for a drink.”

The reporters each got in their vehicles and started driving off the curvy rural road. The last reporter to remain looked back towards the Gate before getting in his car.

But, what happens if he actually succeeds in clearing the Gate while none of us are present?

He tried to think things through. If this guy named Seo Jun-ho actually managed to clear the Gate, he would never get another chance to personally point a mic at him. Because by then, he’d be a super rookie that is at the center of everyone’s attention.

Cutting his daydream short, the reporter snickered. “Nah, this isn’t some light novel.”

Sure that it would never happen, he also got in his car. 

* * *

“This is pretty,” said Jun-ho. 

It was his first impression of Leuf’s Garden. It was a garden that rivaled The Huntington Library Botanical Gardens in America. Flowers of all kinds were in full bloom. 

It was an objectively astonishing sight, yet Jun-ho said the following, “Such pretty trash.”

Anyone who was ignorant of Leufs would refute his claim. They’d exclaim, ‘How can you call such pretty flowers trash?’ 

However, when the sun goes down, these flowers turn into the worst kind of monster. They were monsters derived from flowers called Leufs. 

Woosh, swoosh.

Jun-ho swung around his spear as a warm up. 

“Compared to the spear I used to use… it’s pretty crappy.”

That was unavoidable. His favorite spear was a Unique-grade weapon. Compared to his old spear, this one not only had a very plain design, but the weight was also slightly off-center. Though Jun-ho did have a tendency to use whatever weapon, he still couldn’t call this spear ‘decent.’

“Maybe I just have too high a standard.” 

After pompously talking to himself, he spun the spear around in a flashy maneuver. After practicing for two days, he had gotten well used to the spear’s weight. 

“Gate info.”

⟪Leuf’s Garden⟫

Entry Requirements: Level 5~10

Party Cap: 4 people

Clear Conditions: Eliminate all monsters

Difficulty: Difficult

“Hmm.”

Leuf’s Garden was a Gate that allowed up to four players per party. So, Jun-ho was the first person to ever enter this Gate by himself. 

Even the super rookie from India brought 3 teammates.

If they were acquainted, they should have worked well as a team. But the fact that they still failed meant that there is a dangerous trap hidden in this Gate. 

“And that’s probably…”

Jun-ho’s eyes drifted beyond the garden. He spotted a maze with 3m-tall walls made of branches and vines.

There’s probably a trap hidden there.

Without stepping on any of the flowers, Jun-ho walked down the dirt path, sitting down at the gazebo in the center of the garden. Now, he just had to wait patiently until the Leufs woke up.

“I’m glad I bought some e-books.”

Laying down on the bench, Jun-ho started reading a novel that was saved into his Vita. He continued to read peacefully until the sun set.