Chapter 498

Deep within the Mini Reaper Garden, the Marshmallow Plains.

The restoration of the Mini Reaper Garden was nearly complete.

It was so evident that even a slow walk through the Marshmallow Plains would make it obvious.

The once badly worn ground was now covered with soft marshmallows, and the many facilities built by the Mini Reapers had been fully restored.

But strangely, a sense of emptiness lingered in a corner of my heart.

It felt like a piece was missing from an old puzzle, like something important had disappeared, but I couldn’t quite place what it was.

‘I’m sure something important is missing… but I have no idea what it is.’

To fill this strange sense of lack, I began to wander the garden.

I also decided to take this opportunity to take a long-overdue look around the Mini Reaper Garden.

The Marshmallow Plains, the Sea of Hot Chocolate, the Candy Mountain Range, the Brown Sugar Desert, the Jelly Jungle, the Shaved Ice Snowfield, and the Caramel Canyon.

As I counted off the areas I needed to visit on my fingers, it suddenly struck me.

‘The Mini Reaper Garden has gotten quite large…’

Not long ago, it was just the Sea of Hot Chocolate and the Marshmallow Plains.

My first destination was the Marshmallow Plains.

I climbed up a high hill and looked down at the plains.

The soft, cloud-like marshmallows stretched endlessly before my eyes.

Well, the Marshmallow Plains were the place I visited most often, so there was no need to inspect it in detail.

In the distance, I could see the white Reapers playing in the plains, with a recently reactivated Reaper incinerator golem walking around, capturing the white Reapers.

“Quing-heeeng…”

The sound of countless Reapers’ cries floated in the wind.

It resonated through the garden, like the sound of the scenery coming from afar.

It was the perfect background noise for the Marshmallow Plains.

My second destination was the Sea of Hot Chocolate.

The warm, chocolate-scented sea was dotted with cookie houses and a Mini Reaper hospital, floating like small islands.

Of course, beneath the Mini Reaper hospital, a giant jelly pig was swimming busily.

It was amazing how the buildings, which had been shattered not long ago, had been neatly restored.

After thoroughly inspecting the secret cave beneath the Sea of Hot Chocolate, I moved on to the Candy Mountain Range.

The Candy Mountain Range, which had once disappeared without a trace, had now regained its grand appearance.

What had changed were the carvings on the walls of the mountains.

Our own and the Mini Reapers’ figures were meticulously engraved, like ancient murals.

As I got closer, I noticed Golden Reapers holding small tools and diligently adding more carvings.

I passed through the Cookie Stick Forest and headed to the Brown Sugar Desert. The desert still held immense popularity among the Mini Reapers.

Like a theme park, Mini Reapers stood in long lines, waiting to raid dungeons.

Some were shoveling dirt to eat delicious sugar, while others basked in the sun, hiding in the corners.

I summoned a Red Reaper when I saw some white Reapers sunbathing in the corners.

Hehe.

I didn’t forget to check the Shaved Ice Snowfield, famous for its fantastic pudding, and the Jelly Jungle’s Wishing Pit, known as one of the most dangerous places in the Mini Reaper Garden.

Finally, I made my way to the most recently discovered area, Caramel Canyon.

But even after exploring all these nooks and crannies, the emptiness in my heart remained.

It was like losing something precious, but not even knowing what that something was. That strange feeling seemed to follow me everywhere.

‘What on earth is it…?’

I ran my hand over the antenna that had grown from the top of my head and let out a sigh.

I couldn’t figure out what was causing this emptiness.

Hmm, if I can’t figure it out this easily, it must not be that important.

I pushed the empty feeling to the back of my mind and turned from Caramel Canyon towards the Marshmallow Plains.

As I was walking from Caramel Canyon towards the Marshmallow Plains, my steps suddenly stopped.

An unfamiliar sight unfolded over the vast Caramel land.

Rows of trees stood in an orderly fashion, almost like a small orchard.

It was clearly an orchard touched by the hands of the Mini Reapers.

‘This is a new facility…’

Curious, I moved closer and saw trees that reached slightly above my waist, lined up in neat rows.

Among them, I could see the Golden Reapers moving busily.

With small faces and innocent smiles, they were darting around, laughing brightly.

The trees didn’t have ordinary fruits hanging from them.

Instead, they bore large, rough-looking stones.

Giant stones hung from the branches, which made the scene appear somewhat bizarre.

I saw one of the Golden Reapers carrying one of these stone-like objects on its head.

‘Ah!’

As I quickly reached out to grab it, the Golden Reaper carrying the stone was startled and dropped it.

When I held the golden stone and checked it, I could distinctly feel the energy of firewood within it.

‘It looks completely different, but this is a gem containing firewood…?’

A mix of astonishment and admiration surged within me.

With the failure of the Golden Horn Reaper’s cultivation, the only hope left for automatic hunting was the firewood gem. And now, they were producing these gems in large quantities.

Moreover, they had done it without any instructions from me, purely out of their own volition. That fact warmed my heart.

The Gem Reapers were truly kind-hearted.

They had prepared such an amazing gift.

I began searching through the orchard, looking for the Gem Reaper, who was likely hiding nearby.

I wandered zigzag through the trees, the soft giggles of the Golden Reapers echoing in the orchard.

It felt like a game of hide-and-seek as I searched for the Gem Reaper.

As I explored, I realized that the orchard where the firewood stones were harvested was more systematic than I had imagined.

It was like a Golden Reaper pudding factory, with each area carefully divided for a special purpose.

In the center of the orchard, trees that bore firewood stones stood in rows.

The small trees bent under the weight of the golden stones hanging from their branches.

Golden Reapers carefully harvested the stones, looking like farmers during grape harvest season.

The harvested stones were moved to a wide storage yard.

There, large and small firewood stones were piled up like mountains, resembling a treasure trove.

Golden Reapers were placing the stones into boxes and stacking them with familiar movements.

Next to the storage yard, a fine workshop stood.

This was where skilled Golden Reaper sculptors polished the rough stones into beautiful gems.

The sound of small hammers tapping created a lively rhythm.

Finally, beside it, there was a Golden Reaper postman’s resting area for transporting the completed gems.

It seemed the finished gems were being sent to places like the Golden Reaper’s First Sword or the Golden Reaper’s Knights, which required a lot of firewood.

It was truly a supply factory for war.

While I was looking around, I noticed a small movement in a corner of the storage yard.

There, a Gem Reaper, shyly half-hidden, was peeking up at me.

I, feeling proud of the Gem Reaper, grabbed it in my hands and petted it relentlessly.

‘Well done!’

At that moment, my released will seemed to serve as a signal, and Mini Reapers who had been working all over the orchard began rushing toward me.

With the sound of small footsteps, their eager wills filled the air.

‘Mom!’

‘Mom, me too!’

The Mini Reapers chattered as they stuck to me, talking about their roles.

One was talking about how fun it was to harvest the stones.

Another was saying how careful one had to be when polishing the gems.

Thanks to the upcoming automatic hunting, I was in a good mood, so I petted each one as I listened to their stories.

It was truly a happy orchard, where both the Mini Reapers and I were filled with joy.

Deep within the Mini Reaper Garden, the Immutable Seal Zone was as quiet as always.

In this peaceful place, the repair specialist Golden Reaper was absorbed in its solitary work.

Each time the small hammer in the Golden Reaper’s hand tapped the fence, the vibrations spread.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

The tiny hammering sound cut through the calm air.

The task of carefully hammering in the Candy Mountain Range stone fence, one by one, into the soft marshmallow ground might have been boring, but the Golden Reaper’s round eyes never wavered in focus.

Perhaps because it was an area marked off-limits, this repair work was being done alone.

Though it was a solitary task, the Golden Reaper worked slowly but carefully, repairing the fence.

Finally, after a long period of work, the Golden Reaper stood up and surveyed its creation.

The shining candy fences stood in neat rows, and its small heart swelled with pride.

It was time to go back.

But before leaving, the Golden Reaper looked up at the only remaining Immutable Sphere for a final check.

A black, obsidian-like sphere hung quietly in the air.

But something was wrong.

‘?’

The Golden Reaper’s little head tilted in confusion.

There was something different in its view. A clear crack was etched on the surface of the Immutable Sphere.

‘!!!’

The Golden Reaper’s round eyes grew even wider in shock.

Using time acceleration, its tiny steps quickly moved around the Immutable Sphere, tracing the crack.

‘No!!’

Finally, the full extent of the damage to the Immutable Sphere was revealed.

It was as if someone had struck pottery and shattered it. A massive hole was visible at the center of the Immutable Sphere.

What was worse was that the inside was completely empty.

This was an emergency that required calling the mother.