Chapter 38: Ancient Spirit Shop

“Before entering the gate, I’ll share the information we’ve gathered so far.”

Neatly tied-up hair.

Eyes brimming with confidence.

The figure commanding the awakeners with a single word, the Baekya Guild Leader…

• How did you tame those spirits!?
• Please, tell me the secret!!

Even looking at her again, she didn’t seem like the same person who’d pestered me about ‘how to tame spirits’ at the café.

She’s perfectly normal when doing her job…

At the café, she was nothing short of a nuisance.

In the heavy silence that followed—

The Baekya Guild Leader snapped her fingers, pointing at the air.

Instantly, a 3D map resembling a ‘tower’ appeared midair.

“The gate’s interior has a vertical structure, divided into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors. So far, we’ve mapped up to the central area of the 2nd floor. Beyond that is unknown territory.”

“What’s that…?”

“I’ve never seen a structure like this…”

“The 3rd floor is unknown?”

“They haven’t even reached the boss room…?”

Murmurs rippled among the awakeners.

The unfamiliar structure and unknown information naturally sparked anxiety.

But—

“Despite the potion usage limit, this is a mid-tier gate based on the detector.”

“With me here, clearing it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Her firm tone and confident gaze—

Her certainty that this gate would be cleared as long as she was present—

Were enough to quell the vague anxiety gripping the awakeners.

“Maintaining ‘condition’ and ‘formation’ is more critical than combat, so the healers’ roles…”

Her gaze, scanning the healers’ faces, stopped on me.

After a brief silence, she narrowed her eyes and asked, locking gazes with me.

“…Have we met somewhere before?”

“What!? N-No… This is our first meeting…”

I reflexively bowed my head, fumbling, as cold sweat trickled down my spine.

The Baekya Guild Leader kept staring at me suspiciously before finishing her briefing with a look of unresolved doubt.

“…Maintaining formation is key, so the healers’ roles are paramount. That’s all.”

As we entered the gate, all eyes naturally turned upward.

Gray stone walls.

A spiral staircase stretched toward the sky from the center.

The awakeners looked up at the sight with a mix of awe and curiosity.

“I’ll take the lead.”

Following the Baekya Guild Leader, who stepped forward, each step up the staircase brought a strange sensation in the air.

A faint floral scent.

A subtle cling of moisture.

Finally, at the end of the staircase—

A massive door stood tall.

“Minimize breathing as soon as we enter, and don’t touch the flowers.”

The Baekya Guild Leader issued a stern warning before opening the door.

Some awakeners chuckled, showing off their equipped artifacts.

“S-grade artifact! This’ll protect me!”

“I came fully armed with A-grade artifacts, just in case.”

Watching them, the Baekya Guild Leader gave a wry smile.

“Well… experiencing it firsthand is better than a hundred warnings.”

BOOM—

As the door opened, a garden filled with blooming flowers came into view.

Pastel petals fluttered gently.

Soft mist clung to the ground.

It was like walking through a watercolor painting—a dreamy scene unfolded before us.

And at that moment—

A translucent hologram window appeared before all the awakeners, including me.

[Confirmed entry to Zone 1]

• Garden of Abyss Flowers

[※ This area is contaminated with harmful pollen in the air.]

[※ Continuous stamina depletion will occur.]

[Clear conditions updated.]

• Destroy infection zone cores (0/3)

So this kind of message pops up in a tower-style gate.

It definitely felt different from the gates I’d experienced before.

Bzzz—

Then, the weapon in my right hand vibrated faintly, and another unfamiliar message window appeared.

[A secret quest has been unlocked by the will of nature.]

[Seeds scattered on the ground are requesting help.]

• Relocate the seeds to a safe place (0/5)

[Reward: 100 Coins]

A secret quest?

Relocate seeds to a safe place?

…Could it be?

A message from when I advanced my weapon to Stage 2 flashed through my mind.

• Low chance to unlock a secret quest based on nature’s will, granting special rewards.

I looked around.

“We know the core locations; the 1st floor’s no big deal.”

“Let’s clear it fast and move to the next floor.”

The other awakeners showed no interest in the seeds.

Instead, their careless steps crushed the seeds scattered on the ground.

Were those seeds really calling out to me for help?

I moved quietly, picking up the scattered seeds.

I relocated them one by one to the safest-looking corner of the garden.

Finally, after moving all five seeds—

[Secret quest completed.]

[Acquired 100 Coins.]

[The ‘Ancient Spirit’s Shop’ has been unlocked.]

Another unfamiliar message appeared.

The Ancient Spirit’s Shop?

Just as I was about to check it—

“Urk…!”

A burning pain seared my throat, and each breath brought a sharp sting to my nose.

“Cough, cough! M-My eyes… they’re stinging…”

“Ha… I can’t… cough! I can’t breathe!”

“Achoo! Argh, what is this…!”

Coughs and sneezes erupted all around.

Awakeners covering their noses began collapsing to the ground.

Some gasped for air, others staggered, saying their vision was blurring.

“…Cough, healers! Don’t use your skills yet! Wait for the core destruction signal!”

The Baekya Guild Leader’s firm command cut through her ragged breathing.

Three awakeners, already aware of the core locations, sprinted to the garden’s edges.

“One, two…”

“Three!”

BOOM—!!

As the three cores were destroyed in perfect timing, a massive tremor echoed from the garden’s edges.

RRRUMBLE—!

The ground shook violently.

Plant-like monsters began to emerge.

BOOM—!!

As the cores shattered, the magical barrier surrounding the garden broke apart.

The exit was completely sealed, and the pollen gnawed at our lungs with every breath.

Awakeners hunched over, covering their eyes with both hands, stumbling.

It was time for the healers to step in, but—

The healers were too busy casting skills on themselves, struggling to manage their own conditions.

Then—

A faintly glowing circular healing field spread out in the center of the garden, where the awakeners were most densely gathered.

“…Huh?”

An awakener, slumped and gasping, looked up in surprise.

The burning sensation in their eyes calmed, and their ragged breathing began to steady.

“Cough… Huh…? I can breathe now?”

“My vision’s clearing up!”

“The itching in my eyes is gone…!”

At the end of their gazes was a girl holding a unique weapon.

While other healers were busy tending to themselves—

This small girl had cast a healing field in the center of the awakeners, clutching her eyes in pain from the pollen.

Seeing her, the awakeners’ eyes reddened with emotion.

“Healer-nim…”

“She’s suffering to save us…”

Witnessing a healer sacrificing herself for the group—

“We can’t let Healer-nim’s efforts go to waste. Let’s finish this flawlessly!”

“Focus firepower! Let’s do this quick!”

The awakeners rose one by one.

ROAR—!

The ground trembled as a monster wave erupted from the garden’s far end.

Grotesque plants, adorned with twisted vines and vibrant petals—

They gripped the ground with thick roots, spewing toxic pollen from gaping petal mouths.

POOF—POOF—POOF—!!

The pollen clouded the air, obscuring vision again, but the awakeners on the healing field didn’t hesitate.

“Don’t panic! The healing field’s got us covered!”

“Stay in the field and focus on dealing damage!”

Watching this, Han Jiye, the Baekya Guild Leader, strode toward two healers with a furious expression.

“…What are you doing?”

She stopped, glaring at them.

“We… our vision’s blurry, and we can’t breathe…”

One healer mumbled an excuse, but Han Jiye’s voice grew colder and lower.

“Didn’t I say multiple times during the briefing? Maintaining ‘formation’ is critical. Did you all forget?”

Her gaze shifted to the tank line, out of the healing field’s reach.

“Move to the formation now. If this raid fails, you’ll bear the responsibility.”

“S-Sorry!”

Only then did the healers scramble toward the formation.

But some tanks were already barely holding on, afflicted by severe status effects.

Watching this, Han Jiye muttered with a cold expression.

“These are our national healers? Unbelievable.”

Her gaze turned to the small girl, still maintaining the healing field in the garden’s center, rubbing her eyes.

…There’s a healer like that?

Healers were so valued that their mere presence was cherished, no matter their performance.

She herself had overlooked underperforming healers more than once.

In this era, just having a healer was something to be grateful for.

But—

Seeing a healer who prioritized others over herself…

The healers merely staying alive nearby seemed utterly pathetic.

Glaring at the healers running to the formation, her eyes drifted back to the small girl.

… I really want her.

A healer with such skill and mindset.

She wanted to bring her to every raid.

But why does it feel like I’ve met her before…?

Was it from the news?

No, it felt different…

Narrowing her eyes and tilting her head, Han Jiye stepped back into the battlefield.

BOOM—!!

The Baekya Guild Leader’s strike obliterated the final monster wave.

The tangled vines and petals withered, and the floating pollen slowly settled.

[Zone 1 Cleared]

[Survivors: 20/20]

Relief and admiration erupted among the awakeners as they straightened up.

“Wow… A massive gate cleared this smoothly?”

“All thanks to Healer-nim.”

“No wonder everyone raves about her.”

“I saw how much she struggled to care for us… Thank you so much, Healer-nim…!”

Blushing from the sudden praise, I smiled awkwardly.

“Ah, haha… My weapon’s performance helped a lot…”

I glanced at the weapon in my hand.

After advancing the growth-type weapon to the next stage—

This was my first time using the upgraded skills in combat.

It’s way more useful than I expected…

Honestly, I didn’t know it’d be this good.

Then, the Baekya Guild Leader’s clear voice cut through the noisy awakeners.

“We expected to use 3 potions per person, totaling 60 for this Zone 1 raid.”

“But the actual usage was 22. Over half were used by healers on themselves, with the frontline combat team using less than 20% of the total.”

Her gaze turned to me, and she bowed respectfully.

“This is all thanks to you, Healer-nim. Truly, thank you.”

As she finished her bow, someone broke the silence with enthusiastic clapping.

“Come on, everyone, applause!”

Drawn by the lively claps, the stunned awakeners began joining in.

Soon, the garden echoed with resounding applause.

“Please take care of us in the next zone too, Healer-nim!”

“This raid was so smooth!”

“Great job, everyone!”

In the spreading warmth, some exchanged high-fives, while others slumped, removing gear.

“We’ll take a short break before tackling Zone 2. Consume your water and supplements now.”

As the garden’s tension eased, the break time arrived.

Awakeners paired up, eating snacks or checking gear while catching their breath.

I decided to take a breather too.

Oh, right!

The Ancient Spirit’s Shop…

Didn’t it say something about that being unlocked?