It’s been 35 days since I arrived in the Labyrinth.
I’ve categorized my tamed Monsters into two groups.
First, let’s list the 1st group Monsters.
SS-Class, Kinogine Aracne.
SS-Class, Black Magma Slime.
SS-Class, Azelas.
S-Class, Jellyfish.
S-Class, Medical Mushroom.
S-Class, Psycho Clown.
S-Class, Centauress.
S-Class, Hedgehog Summoner.
S-Class, Melody Fox.
That’s nine of them.
Next, the 2nd group Monsters.
SS-Class, Pharaoh Devil.
SS-Class, Anubis Dragon.
SS-Class, Bastet Daong.
S-Class, Snake Head.
S-Class, Mummy Skeleton.
S-Class, Giant Caterpillar.
That’s six of them.
And the Iris are exempt from the count.
If the number of Monsters increases, I intended to incorporate the 1st group into the Headquarters Team.
Just because they became the Headquarters Team doesn’t mean they wouldn’t explore.
I plan to appoint them as Exploration Team Leaders while belonging to the Headquarters Team.
Of course,
I haven’t properly revamped the exploration teams yet.
The number of Monsters is still too low for a full-scale reorganization.
It was merely dividing them for the future.
There hasn’t been a proper restructure.
Naturally, with the addition of new Monsters, there were minor reorganizations.
Team 4.
Kinogine Aracne.
Snake Head.
Iris No. 5.
They were assigned to explore Cave No. 5.
Team 5.
Anubis Dragon.
Bastet Daong.
Iris No. 7.
These guys were in charge of exploring Passage No. 4, specifically the desert area.
For reference, I had tamed a few more Iris.
There was also Team 6.
Azelas.
Mummy Skeleton.
Iris No. 8.
They were assigned to Cave No. 3.
Lastly,
I appointed Pharaoh Devil as the manager of the Desert Rest Area.
The sub-manager, Giant Caterpillar, and Iris No. 6 would also work together to guard the rest area.
I handed out a severed arm to each exploration team.
It wasn’t a problem to increase the severed arms.
I’ve become accustomed to the nerve connections.
Plus, thanks to having one seal lifted, I’m no longer an ordinary human but in a superhuman state.
Oh, and I also prepared a severed arm for the rest area.
A severed arm to connect the nerves, mind you,
for near and backup use.
And today was a rest day from exploration.
*
There was a change in Assistant Ranks.
Rize Nova.
Boglebogle.
The two assistants whose ranks increased are like this.
Boglebogle has been promoted to Black rank,
and Rize Nova leveled up to the “DIAMOND” rank.
I heard that Diamond is the second highest rank.
The highest rank is “TRINITY.”
While I rolled around on the mattress, bored, I got up and stepped out of my Crystal Home again.
As I stepped outside, I could see the Monsters taking a break.
In the shaded area beside the Crystal Home,
there was Aracne frowning with her hands on her hips.
「Once again, please repeat after me. I am irredeemable trash.」
Anubis Dragon hung his head in front of Aracne.
「I am irredeemable trash!」
「Louder!」
「I am irredeemable trash!」
「Good. Repeat it a hundred times.」
「I am irredeemable trash! I am irredeemable trash! I am irredeemable······」
Anu’s resonant voice echoed throughout the hideout.
I wasn’t surprised or startled.
They had been doing this every day since they were tamed.
Just think of it as some kind of repentance.
He was previously an explorer hunter and had declared he would kill me before being tamed, after all.
So, Aracne made him have daily sessions of repentance for having those feelings back then.
Of course, not just Anu.
Pharaoh Devil was also reciting the same thing in the Desert Rest Area.
─「I am irredeemable trash!」
Aracne was monitoring to see if Para was saying it properly through Iris.
This wasn’t my command.
It was something Aracne took upon herself, holding a grudge against those two.
She couldn’t easily forgive them for trying to kill me.
‘At least they’re not using violence, but how long are they going to keep this up…’
I shook my head in disbelief and shifted my gaze to the other Monsters.
Surrounded by many Monsters, there was Melody Fox standing with a serious expression.
「Kkyuu.」
All eyes were on Melody Fox.
「Kkyu!」
Melody Fox curled up, lowered her head, and pushed with her hind legs, throwing herself forward.
Deguuruuru—
With a soft sound, her fluffy body rolled along the ground in a circle.
After finishing her forward roll, Melody Fox gracefully stood up and swayed her tail.
With a proud expression,
「Kkyuhuh.」
At the same moment.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Applause erupted,
「Amazing!」
「Pii!」
「Oroorooro! Chiiiii!!!」
「Kirik. It was a fantastic forward roll.」
「Doo Doom Bar! It’s a work of art!」
「Biii! Bii Pobi Pobi!」
Cheers from the Monsters watching the performance poured in unison.
「Kkyuhuh!」
Melody Fox’s tails flapped even more vigorously.
She must have been in a really good mood.
‘…They’re having fun.’
While some among them might genuinely find Melody Fox’s performance cute,
most were definitely flattering to receive beneficial Buffs from becoming close to her.
If they get the Buff, they might be able to evolve like Aracne, after all.
What blatant intentions they have.
*
I took out a notebook from a box.
It was also a rest day from exploration, so
I thought I’d finally create the Assistant Index that I had been procrastinating on.
Not gonna draw it right away.
I haven’t received the pictures yet.
The Assistants said they didn’t like the photos they took last time, so they’d retake and send them later.
Since there’s no rush, I’ve decided to wait patiently.
Today, I have plenty of time.
Just as I placed the notebook on my lap and was taking a break,
「Gauntlet!」
Bastet Daong approached me, waving her tail and sat beside me.
「I heard fish have appeared in our world!」
“Fish appeared? How?”
「Solorb created fish!」
“What? Solorb could create life too?”
「That’s right!」
…Isn’t that impossible?
Well, being a Monster that encompasses a world, creating within its own world shouldn’t be too far-fetched.
“So, does that mean all of you were created by Solorb?”
「Correct!」
Hmm.
Life was created…
Since he must have created the world, it makes sense that he created life forms too.
‘Gotta befriend Solorb more. If I become friendly, I could receive strong Monsters like Bastet as support.’
If the opportunity arises,
I’d casually try taming him as well.
Finding the spots on such a huge body would be challenging, but then again, a bit of struggle in taming an SSS-Class isn’t too much to worry about.
I could just ask him to extinguish the sun-like flames for a bit like last time.
That should allow me to endure with my current body, I hope.
If it doesn’t work, then it can’t be helped.
As I was pondering these thoughts, the chat of the Assistants, which had been quiet, erupted.
Did they finally finish taking pictures?
There were no chats from the Assistants who went for the photos.
They must still be taking them hard.
Can’t they just send some random ones?
The remaining Assistants seemed bored and were chatting among themselves.
Having nothing to do, I began throwing various questions at Alice.
Most of the questions were about the recent status of Elemenzia.
In the midst of conversing with Alice,
I heard about the being called the Peaceful Demon King.
It emerged during the War Between Humans and Monsters.
Its name is Hek Hek Sil Sil Sha I I Ik, shortened to Hek Sil.
I referred to it as the Dog Spider tribe.
And the Peaceful Demon King claimed to hail from the Ancient Labyrinth.
“That’s interesting. I didn’t know an Ancient Labyrinth Monster crossed over into Elemenzia.”
“That might be true. But you said that Hek Sil is gentle in nature, right?”
“Then, befriend him. He would be a great help if he’s around. His Nullification Web ability is fantastic.”
“Even if he evolves, he probably won’t become like Kino. Though Kinogine Aracne indeed evolved naturally without using the Evolution Ticket, thanks to receiving the Buff from Melody Fox, it’s a special evolution. Oh, and there was also a species transformation.”
“You could argue that he might not.”
An SS-Class Monster that had been hiding could potentially be a former Demon Lord or Demon King.
Just as I was about to respond,
The chats from the Assistants who went to take pictures started pouring in.
Simultaneously as if it were an agreement.
“Yeah, upload them in the chat.”
【Mysticism】─[Photo]
The first photo to be uploaded was Missy’s.
It looked like it was taken in an alley.
Not a selfie but rather someone else had taken it.
‘She seems a bit more mature compared to her school days. She also cut her hair into a bob.’
But her freshness remained intact.
Her appearance was undeniably stunning.
【Yumi】─[Photo]
This time Yumi’s photo was uploaded.
Ha Yumi’s photo was also not taken by herself but by someone else.
Though there’s a slight difference from her appearance in memory,
that’s probably just some edits made to it.
It wasn’t a drastic transformation from what I remember.
Just a moderate touch-up.
Thinking of it, Yumi stated she had uploaded a selfie previously.
I didn’t see it since I was sleeping during the nap.
【Pururu】─[Photo]
Lastly came Pururu’s photo.
Looking at it, I blinked in silence.
‘…Who is that?’
The look of Seo Dan-bi in the photo was completely different from my memory.
I felt the same as Ha Yumi for a moment.
Was this someone else’s photo?
But as I scrutinized the photo, I could vaguely recognize remnants of her past face.
Probably,
after becoming an adult, she took off glasses, wore makeup, and styled her hair, making it feel different.
Plus she also edited the photo a bit.
“Dan-bin, is this really you?”
“Not at all. You’re pretty.”
【Pururu】─Hehe
Anyway, it didn’t seem like it was stolen.
Pururu wouldn’t have a reason to steal someone else’s photo.
Though there still is a significant gap from what I remember, it’s understandable.
Seo Dan-bi is the person I haven’t seen the longest among Assistants.
And she did not dress up much back then.
Anyway,
now that all the Assistants’ photos have been uploaded, it’s time to start working on the Assistant Index.
I opened the notebook and picked up a pen.
*
■Mysticism (신소망)
─Danger Level: F-Class.
─Assistant Rank: BLACK
I drew Missy first.
She uploaded her photo first, after all.
‘Ah, I don’t want to draw the background.’
And I decided not to draw the backgrounds for Seo Dan-bi and Ha Yumi.
Since they uploaded their photos later than Missy.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.