After purchasing three items from the Wanderer Merchant…
A day had passed since returning to the Hideout.
On the 42nd day of the Labyrinth.
Today continued like any other day.
Each Exploration Team was assigned a designated Passage to explore.
I either rested at my shelter or sometimes wandered around the areas finished with exploration, looking for Vending Machines or aimlessly roaming to increase the records of my newly acquired map generator.
And at the moment, I was warming my body in a Pond located in Cave No. 8.
Naturally, with the Black Magma Slime.
【Mysticism】─🧐
“Drifters? Just a moment.”
I raised my hand and gestured in the air, checking the remaining number of Drifters.
Yesterday there were forty-six.
Currently, there were forty Drifters remaining in the Ancient Labyrinth.
“Six died overnight.”
【Pururu】─ㄷㄷ
“Even with the tracker, it doesn’t tell me the exact location; it only provides vocal guidance on the direction where the Drifters are, so going to find them feels a bit off. I don’t know how far they are.”
I couldn’t spend time looking for Drifters.
No matter how I thought about it, I deemed it a waste of time and resources.
“And there’s no real reason to find them.”
Unlike before,
My life in the Labyrinth is quite comfortable now.
If I need something, the Assistants support me.
Thanks to the water provider named Rize, I have plenty of coins.
So, there’s no need to awkwardly,
Demand rewards in exchange for granting Drifters a Transferable Return Ticket… No way!
‘I could just rescue the Drifters out of goodwill and send them back to their original world, but… I’m not some gallant hero helping others without compensation.’
Of course,
If I happen to meet them, I would help.
As long as the Drifters weren’t villains.
It’s a simple task of just providing protection and handing over the Return Ticket; there’s no reason to heartlessly ignore someone in distress. Ignoring them might make Alice uncomfortable.
“I bought it just in case there’s a time I might need it.”
That’s what I replied, but…
The real reason was different.
Since I finally found the Wanderer Merchant, I thought I should buy something, and I chose the item that seemed the most useful.
Among the trash-like items,
The Drifter Tracker was practically a rare item.
*
When I returned to the Hideout after washing up,
Other Assistants began to trickle into the broadcast one by one.
【Mysticism】─🤔
While the Assistants were chatting among themselves,
I was separately calling the Blood Jellyfish Princess for a meeting.
“So, you’re telling me… if you defeat the leader of your group, the rest of the Jellyfish will naturally come under your command?”
［Yep! That’s our species’ tradition! But I have to fight and win! Other species won’t acknowledge me!］
Under the cliff located in Cave No. 3.
A group of Jellyfish resides in a spacious cavern.
I was planning to tame all of them, without leaving a single one behind, soon.
I intended to prioritize those living near our shelter.
However, there was one problem.
Taming and capturing over a hundred of them would take too long.
Since I had to forcefully tame them.
Unlike Dog Spiders, Jellyfish are not docile creatures.
The method of feeding them, like last time, would likely not work.
The Jellyfish probably accepted that method because it was young and simple-minded.
Anyway,
It was obvious that a hundred Jellyfish would be full of hostility, and I couldn’t extend my severed arm to a hundred.
So I had quite a dilemma.
Wondering if there’s a fast way to tame them.
But just then, all those concerns vanished.
Because our Fish just told me how to solve the issue.
“If those Jellyfish recognize you as their leader, they will become friendly to me as well, significantly reducing the taming time.”
［Yep! That’s right!］
Come to think of it, I think I read something like that in the Explorer’s Log.
It was indeed written that they witnessed a Jellyfish War.
It seems it’s quite common for Jellyfish leaders to fight and for the winning side to absorb the other faction.
“So, do you think you can win?”
［Um… to be honest, I’m not confident! That guy is super strong!］
The Fish scratched its cheek as it replied.
［Just from what I know, it has killed over ten leaders from other Jellyfish factions and absorbed their forces!］
“Over ten times? It sounds like a tougher opponent than I expected.”
［Yep! And it’s cruel too! It definitely kills the opposing leader and mercilessly slaughters any Jellyfish that doesn’t live up to its expectations!］
When we first met,
The Jellyfish was alone, estranged from its group.
According to the additional stories I heard,
It sneaked out from its group, realizing it might get disposed of.
In other words, it wasn’t a scout but a runaway.
It turned out that the thing was among the weaker ones in that group.
【Pururu】─So, that’s your past…
Originally, I considered telling them not to kill even if they managed to defeat the Jellyfish Queen.
I wanted to tame one more S-Class.
But I changed my mind.
I told them it was fine to kill if they wanted to.
No matter how tyrannical she is, if she gets tamed, she might turn friendly towards me, but I doubted it would improve relations with other Jellyfish.
Especially not with our Fish.
［If I succeed in claiming the leadership, everyone will surely be happy. They all dislike that one. They’re just following because it’s strong.］
It doesn’t matter if our Fish loses.
As long as it doesn’t lose its life.
As long as it doesn’t die, any injuries could be treated by the Medical Mushroom.
And after retreating, it can try again.
Keep going until it wins.
“Fish, didn’t you say the leadership challenge has to be won by fighting one-on-one?”
［Yep. The others cannot interfere! Otherwise, they won’t recognize me as their leader!］
“Right, so if you think you’re about to lose, just ask for help immediately. There are many chances, so don’t worry.”
［Yep! I’ll raise my hand high to ask for help!］
Even if the thing doesn’t ask for help,
If it looks like its life is in danger, I was planning to send in our monsters to rescue it immediately.
［Dad. But are we going right now? I’m nervous!］
“No. Let’s go tomorrow. Let’s recover and rest today.”
The expedition will be tomorrow.
The Jellyfish Princess engages in a power struggle to take the dominion from the Jellyfish Queen.
This was dubbed the ‘Rebellion of the Princess.’
*
On the 43rd day of the Labyrinth.
I arrived at the location where the Jellyfish group was, leading a significant number of monsters.
The Jellyfish would fight alone.
However, I brought all my strongest forces just in case.
On one side stood the Jellyfish Queen and over a hundred Jellyfish lined up.
On the opposite side,
Our monsters were positioned, maintaining a safe distance.
And between the two factions.
“Eek! Scary people are appearing again···!”
A human with sheep characteristics.
One sheep beastman was trembling, alternating glances between our side and the Jellyfish side.
【Mysticism】─🤔
What’s she doing here?
Before I could ponder that question, I noticed the words hovering above her head.
Her identity was none other than a Drifter.
“I have nowhere to run now··· I’m a dead soul··· after doing this and that, I will end up dead···!”
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