Leuf’s Garden was located in a remote town named Cheokcheon in the Jinbu Township of Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province. After safe zones had started to appear across the world, Gates had stopped forming in populated areas.

Creak.

A self-driving taxi stopped in a rural area, and a scowling man stepped out.

“Dammit, why do I always have to put up with this bullshit…” He grumbled while grabbing his camera. The other reporters who had arrived before him waved warmly at him.

“Hey, Reporter Jung! You’re here!”

Jung rubbed his arms as he jogged over to them. “Yeah. Man, it’s cold today too. I can’t believe we have to go through this every day.”

“That’s what I’m saying. There’s no guarantee that the man who cleared the Curse of Dawn will clear Leuf’s Garden.”

“Of course, there isn’t. The higher-ups just want to release articles before the bigger news outlets do, but since there’s not much of a story, they just send lower-ranking people like us.”

“Dammit, I’m so tired of this. I just want to make it big and get into one of the major journals.”

The reporters continued to complain endlessly about their superiors. While they were talking, another self-driving taxi came up the unpaved road.

“...Huh? Looks like another reporter’s coming.”

“Seems like it. Another poor soul to join us.”

“Shall we go greet them? We’re all in the same boat, after all.”

The young man who stepped out of the taxi seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He looked around, saw the Gate, and started walking over.

“H-Huh? Is he trying to enter the Gate?”

“What? Is he crazy? Stop him!”

The reporters dashed over, cutting him off. The man frowned when they blocked his way.

“What are you doing?” asked the man.

“What do you think? Are you really trying to enter the Gate?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Wow…” One of the reporters let out a long sigh, clearly annoyed. He gestured with his finger. “Show me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Show me your Player license.”

“...Geez, the world’s gone crazy.” The man sighed and held out his license, annoyed.

“Player…Seo Jun-Ho?”

“Wait a second. It’s only been two weeks since he got his license?”

“Gah, I’m going to go crazy. Hey kid, do you even know what kind of place you’re trying to go into?”

“Leuf’s Garden.”

“So why’re you trying to go in even though you know that?” The reporters scoffed as they studied his appearance. His armor seemed very high-quality, but his body seemed even weaker than theirs.

‘What’s with this scrawny body of his?’

‘Is he really a Player?’

‘He doesn’t look like he’s a physical-type Player. Is he a mage?’

‘Is he even eating enough?’

They didn’t intend to, but they ignored the man himself. Just then, one of the reporters discovered something while observing him.

“Huh? The emblem on his spear… doesn’t that belong to the Player Association?”

“You’re right. Are you with the Association?”

“I am.”

“Ohh, I see,” a reporter exclaimed. He quickly exchanged glances with the other reporters. If they used this skinny-looking man, they could create a scoop that their superiors wanted. They casually turned on their voice recorders and started to talk.

“Goodness, you must have a lot on your shoulders despite looking so young.”

“I bet people look down on you because you’re part of the Association.”

“I don’t know about that,” Seo Jun-Ho said dryly. The reporter patted his shoulder, acting all friendly.

“Come on, I’m only saying that because you remind me of my younger brother and I feel bad~ Just think about it. You had to take a taxi from the crack of dawn and came to this ghost town all by yourself just so you can enter a Gate. How can they treat you like this? Right, Reporter Jung?”

“Gee, they can’t be doing this to you. If you were in a Guild, they’d never treat you like this.”

“Right? I don’t know what the Association is thinking, sending a kid like this to an Uncleared Gate.”

‘Ah…’

Seo Jun-Ho’s eyes darkened as he watched the reporters’ terrible acting. He realized just what kind of article they wanted to write with this terrible acting of theirs.

‘Seems like they want to write about how the Association coerced a Player to go to an Uncleared Gate.’

Gates were ticking time bombs. If no one entered them for some period of time, they would become Open Gates. Naturally, once they opened, the monsters from inside would come flowing out to Earth.

‘Safe zones prevent Gates from being formed, but they don’t provide protection against monsters.’

Uncleared Gates were thorns in the Association’s side since they couldn’t force people to go into those Gates if they didn’t want to. Because of this, tabloid journalists were always promoting conspiracies.

‘If they can just get some form of proof, they’d be able to print an exclusive news.’

The Guilds would surely rip into the Association if even a rumor came out that the Association was sending the Korean Player population to their deaths instead of protecting them.

‘Whether it’s back then or today, these trashy journalists are always creating problems.’

They would push aside facts and push forward sensationalized topics. They didn’t deserve to call themselves journalists. They had no morals or objectivity. Seo Jun-Ho had always refused to acknowledge them as real journalists. He slapped away the reporter’s hand off his shoulder.

“There’s a limit to how much you should disgrace yourself as journalists,” he grumbled coldly. He hadn’t even entered the Gate yet, but he was already exhausted. Seo Jun-Ho massaged the back of his head.

“What? Speak up. Why did the Association send you here?”

“You keep pleading the Fifth. Am I right in saying that this is because you are facing pressure from the Association?”

The tactless journalists pushed their mics in his face, trying to provoke a reaction. Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t take it any longer, and he scowled. “Hey, fuck off.”

“...W-what?”

The reporters blinked, surprised by the sudden profanity. Even high-ranking Players wouldn’t make an enemy out of the press. With a few exceptions, star Players were always created through the media.

“W-we reporters are the voices of the people. Did you just tell us to fuck off?”

“I gave you advice because you reminded me of my younger brother, but this is what I get?”

“If you keep acting like this, your reputation will be destroyed! Don’t you know that?!”

The angry reporters glared as they yelled at him. To Seo Jun-Ho, their appearance went beyond ridiculous; they were pathetic in his eyes. He lightly summoned his magic energy as he stared at them.

“Reporters? I don’t see any reporters around here.” As an explosive bloodlust burst from Seo Jun-Ho’s body, the reporters flinched. His magic stat was uselessly low, but he had the bloodlust of a man who had faced countless life-or-death situations. It was too much to handle for these pigs who simply sat in office chairs all day.

‘Ugh…How can a human’s eyes be so…’

‘I just wanted to find a scoop. I don’t want to die.’

‘Is he crazy?’

The tabloid reporters backed away with their tails tucked between their legs. Seo Jun-Ho still looked thoroughly fed up with them.

“You nobodies are pissing me off.”

Back in the day, no reporter ever dared to spew such nonsense, and none of them arrogantly requested his Player license. The few who crossed the line received worldwide criticism, and the associated journals even closed their doors.

‘Ah, I miss those days.’

Seo Jun-Ho was starting from the bottom now. He sighed and stepped right into the Gate.

The blue Gate turned red, but the reporters were too late. Their jaws dropped.

“...W-what?”

“The Gate is red…He really went in.”

“Are you serious? He could die, but he didn’t even leave any last words?”

Their dumbfoundedness quickly turned into rage.

“You’re telling me that rude youngster just left?”

“That bastard!”

“This is precisely what we need to tell the citizens. We need to tell them the truth about Seo Jun-Ho’s character!”

“He doesn’t know how to respect his elders…Dammit, back in my day…”

The reporters cursed him out for a considerable amount of time until one of them started to pack up.

“I’m going home for today.”

“...Huh? But hyung-nim, aren’t you gonna wait to see if the Player comes out of the Gate?”

“Do you think that’s necessary? Why? Do you think that bastard will actually clear it?” He snorted and looked at the Gate. “That little bastard will die inside anyway. Why would I wait?”

“That’s true…The success rate of Uncleared Gates is very low.”

“It’s not just low, it’s impossible. The department head won’t say anything either.”

His words convinced the others. The reporters started to pack their things, getting ready to leave. It was also partly because they were still feeling annoyed by what Seo Jun-Ho had said earlier.

“Let’s get some stew at the rest stop over there.”

“Sounds good. Everyone’s in a bad mood, so let’s get some drinks.”

The reporters got into their cars, leaving through the bumpy, unpaved road. The last reporter to get in his car looked back at the Gate.

‘But what if I leave and he actually comes out of the Uncleared Gate?’

He considered this for a second. If the so-called Seo Jun-Ho managed to succeed, the reporter would never have another chance to interview him. If the Player actually succeeded, he would become a famous Super Rookie. The reporter snorted as he let his imagination unfold. “No way. This isn’t a movie.”[1]

He was absolutely sure that it wouldn’t happen. He got in the car.

***

“It’s pretty,” Seo Jun-Ho whispered in admiration as he entered the Leuf’s Garden. Its beauty rivaled the Huntington Library Gardens in America. The large garden contained large flowers of every shape and color in full bloom.

Jun-Ho scanned the picturesque scene. “Pretty trash.”

Anyone who didn’t know about Leufs would have quickly refuted his claim. How could anyone call these beautiful flowers “trash”?

But once the sun set, those flowers would become vicious monsters. They were Leufs, creatures hiding under the guise of flowers.

Jun-Ho casually swung his spear. “Compared to the spear I used to use…It’s really bad.” After all, the spear he used to use was a Unique-Grade weapon. Compared to that, the spear he was currently carrying had a crude design, and the center of balance was slightly off. Even though Seo Jun-Ho had used all kinds of weapons, he simply couldn’t say that this was a decent one.

“Well, I do have high standards,” he said haughtily. He spun the spear elegantly. After practicing for the past two days, he had gotten used to the weapon’s weight.

“Gate information.”

[Leuf’s Garden]

Level requirement: Level 5-10

Party cap: 4

Clear requirement: Defeat all monsters

Difficulty: Hard

“Hm.” The maximum number of people who could enter Leuf’s Garden was four, which was probably why Seo Jun-Ho was the first person to ever go in alone.

‘Even India’s Super Rookie brought three of his own team members.’

That meant that their teamwork must have been impeccable in battle. The fact that they still failed meant that there had been some sort of deadly trap.

“That would probably be…”

Seo Jun-Ho turned his gaze over the garden. Beyond it was a 3-meter-tall maze made up of winding branches and ivy.

‘There’s probably some kind of trap hidden there.’

Seo Jun-Ho walked down the dirt path, careful not to step on any of the flowers. He sat down on the bench in the middle of the garden.

All he needed to do was to wait until the Leufs awakened.

“It’s a good thing that I bought some e-books.” He laid down on the bench and opened the fantasy novel he had downloaded on his Vita. He continued to read until the sun set.

1. The original Korean phrase used here was “This isn’t a novel” but it was changed to a more commonly used English phrase. ☜