Falling into the Ancient Labyrinth.
So, Drifters could also use Dispatch Tickets.
That’s why, before Rize returned, I used a Mid-Level Invitation Ticket to make him my Assistant.
The reasons for turning Rize into my Assistant were threefold.
First.
To receive compensation for the help.
Since the dispatched Monsters might not be able to bring back items from that world, I was essentially taking out insurance.
And this guess turned out to be right.
The Psycho Clown who returned said he couldn’t bring back items from another world.
Second.
There was no other choice.
Mid-Level Invitation Tickets could only be used on individuals I had contact with within the past five days, and the only ones meeting that condition were Rize, Ayula, and Terio.
Lastly, third.
To send Monsters near Rize.
I had already connected with Rize.
Thanks to that, I also made a connection with Planet Lumina.
But time was short.
I had to find Rize and join him to take out the Seven Great Commanders within 24 hours.
Even though I could find Rize’s location through the tracking ability of the Psycho Clown, 24 hours was just way too short.
Moreover.
Just knowing someone didn’t mean I could send out Monsters near them. That ability could only be used on Assistants.
Hence, I made Rize my Assistant.
With the condition that he would ask for a considerable amount of Coins in return.
Of course, Rize happily accepted my proposal and became my fourth Assistant.
I muttered as I looked at my Coins.
“Wow, my Coins suddenly increased.”
Pururu—We’re rich now!
Adding the Coins I received yesterday and today, it totaled 55,006 Coins.
I thought I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of Coins to buy tickets whenever I found a Vending Machine in the future.
“Did I just slap my entire fortune into this?”
Pururu—For real, lol
Yumi—I couldn’t help it; I didn’t know this would happen.
Pururu—Yumi, you should hurry up and send Gyeon some Coins. Last time, you said you’d pay for the Dispatch Ticket.
Yumi—Did I say that?
Pururu—Don’t play dumb.
Yumi—Haha, I’ll send it tomorrow. I was planning to upgrade my rank anyway.
Mysticism—🤭
Rize Nova—Hmm. I feel a bit disappointed. I wanted to reach the same rank as Pururu today, even if I couldn’t surpass it…
Rize had been complaining from earlier.
Seems he wasn’t happy still being at the Gold rank after giving a substantial amount of Coins.
I mean, I’d probably feel the same way if I were him.
Yumi—But really, why isn’t the rank going up from Gold?
“Maybe it’s because it’s only been a day since you became an Assistant? I think viewing time affects the Assistant rank to some extent too.”
Yumi—Ah, that makes sense.
Mysticism—🤔
Pururu—No, you must shoot with your genuine feelings! Then your rank will increase fast.
“Pururu, stop the nonsense.”
Pururu—Okay!
Rize Nova—As the Gauntlet said, over time, the rank will naturally increase.
“Right. So don’t be too down about it.”
I moved to a more casual tone with Rize.
He told me to speak comfortably first anyway.
In any case.
I started my meal while reading the chat from my Assistants.
Today’s meal was none other than Pig King.
This guy never gets boring no matter how much I eat.
Well, I’d probably get tired if I ate it for weeks on end.
Rize Nova—Pig King meat… I want to eat it again. I still can’t forget its fantastic taste.
Yumi—I want to try it too. I’m curious about what it tastes like.
Mysticism—😋
Pururu—Rize.
Rize Nova—Why do you call me?
Pururu—I have a question.
Rize Nova—Ask away.
Pururu—Does your world not have its own currency? Why do you use Coins as energy?
Rize Nova—Our world’s currency is energy.
Pururu—Ah, I see.
I thought while looking at the chat window.
Why does the Labyrinth demand currency from another world?
They said the exchanged Coins are used for the Labyrinth Development Fund, but I still don’t fully understand what that means.
Energy from the Lumina world would be helpful.
But I can’t see how currency from Earth would be of any help, no matter how I think about it.
While pondering over my meal, one hypothesis came to mind.
‘…Could it be that this Labyrinth is a world that grows by consuming desires?’
That might be possible.
There is one commonality among the currencies of all worlds.
That is they are all made up of desires.
Currency is essentially the same as desire itself.
And the ancient Labyrinth could very well be a world that absorbs the desires of other worlds to grow.
I couldn’t think of any other reason for needing the currencies of other worlds.
‘If this hypothesis is correct, then it makes sense to demand currency.’
Nodding my head slightly, I concluded my reasoning to myself.
*
Day 15 in the Labyrinth.
The exploration of Cave No. 8 was still ongoing.
During which, I encountered a new Monster after a long time.
A green Sphere made up its body, within which a chilling green light swirled. Countless tentacles danced around the sphere like they were entwining it.
To sum it up briefly.
It was a Monster in the shape of an eyeball.
Pururu—That eyeball is floating around.
Mysticism—😱
Yumi—Oh my!
Pururu—Oh my! For real lol.
Rize Nova—That’s the one we saw last time. It doesn’t seem like an aggressive Monster, so we don’t need to be too wary.
Usually, when one imagines a floating eyeball, one thinks of a gruesome appearance, but this Monster wasn’t surprisingly grotesque at all.
Maybe it was because its eye was green?
Or perhaps it lacked any bloody appearance?
Instead, that Monster gave off a sparkling vibe.
For now, I named it “Iris”.
“Is this a Monster that doesn’t seem to be on guard like the Medical Mushroom? It doesn’t seem to mind us at all…”
Just as Rize said.
Iris didn’t seem to be an aggressive Monster.
“Then taming it will be easy.”
Pururu—What are you going to tame that for?
“Just to try taming it. The more Monsters, the better, right?”
Pururu—Agreed.
The number of Monsters you can tame is unlimited.
So, as long as I find any that catch my interest even a little bit, I was planning to tame them all.
Especially since like Iris, who is non-aggressive, the time it takes to tame it is short, so I needed to tame it for sure.
As for those designated for food like Pig King…
‘Let’s not tame the Pig King. It’s okay to kill the kin of a friend, but eating them feels a bit off.’
Yumi—That Monster looks like a gem, making me want to have it.
Pururu—You have a unique taste. To me, it just looks disgusting.
Mysticism—😐
Yumi—It has a bit of a creepy vibe, but doesn’t the sparkling feeling overshadow the grossness?
Pururu—For real.
Rize Nova—That Monster shines more than the crystals from our Lumina.
Pururu—For real.
Yumi—Pururu, are you making a catchphrase? Stop it; you sound stupid.
Pururu—For real.
Rize Nova—Forging my apologies, but now that I look closely, Pururu seems a bit dim-witted.
Pururu—For real.
Mysticism—😡
I slowly approached Iris.
To be safe, I had Jellyfish reinforce the Protection Magic. You never know when it might suddenly turn hostile against me.
As I got close to it, right before me.
[Approach detected.]
Iris quickly turned and fiercely stared at me while speaking.
In a cold, alien tone.
That voice was closer to a mechanical sound than that of a living creature.
[State your purpose.]
“…”
[State your purpose. Failure to do so will result in removal.]
“Taming.”
Pururu—Hey, don’t just blurt it out like that.
[Purpose identified. Taming. Accepted.]
Pururu—?
Iris floated over gracefully and nudged my hand.
Exactly where the spot was marked.
Yumi—What a really friendly Monster.
Rize Nova—It turned out to be a more harmless Monster than I expected.
Pururu—This is easier than the Medical Mushroom. This one’s probably the most docile of all I’ve met so far.
Mysticism—😶
Iris, proving it had no hostility towards me, underwent a rapid color change.
A Monster choosing to tame itself.
While I was in shock over this unbelievable situation, it happened.
[Purpose identified. Taming. Accepted.]
[Taming. Accepted.]
[Taming. Accepted.]
[Accepted.]
Pururu—???
Suddenly, other Iris appeared from all directions, flocking towards me.
They lined up behind the Iris I was currently taming, as if waiting their turn.
They seemed ready to be tamed when their time comes.
Pururu—What the heck is that?
Yumi—Looks like Monsters that are eager to be tamed…
Pururu—Are they in heat or something? Gross.
Mysticism—🤮
Rize Nova—We can tame them in order.
Accidentally, I ended up taming five Iris.
*
After returning to the Hideout.
■Iris
─Actual Danger Level: S-Class.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-Class.
─Ability: Shared Vision.
Once I finished the Monster Index,
I checked the newly tamed Iris’ abilities and found out it had the ability of shared vision.
And if utilized well,
I might be able to carry out Labyrinth Exploration just by sitting still at the Hideout instead of going out myself.
Since I can do remote taming…
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