Chapter 119: A New Ticket
After conducting various experiments,
I learned more about the space known as the Safe Zone.
First of all, this place wasn’t somewhere I could access anytime.
Only when there were no enemies nearby.
Only when I was already in a safe situation could I open the silver portal.
In other words, I couldn’t use it as a refuge during combat.
Not just for me as an explorer.
But also for my assistants and tamed monsters.
Well, monsters couldn’t open the silver portal on their own anyway.
Unlike Trinity-grade assistants, monsters could only enter this space if I opened the portal for them.
And.
It seemed like there was no limit on the number of people who could enter the Safe Zone.
I brought all the monsters from the hideout, and there was no restriction.
For reference, I experimented briefly and then sent them all back outside the portal.
The more people that stayed, the greater the burden of the stay cost.
The stay cost had nothing to do with strength and was 1 coin per minute per person.
Even summoned creatures like Hedgehog’s undead spirit were considered part of the group.
“No matter how you look at it, this isn’t a place for long-term stays. Even just breathing costs coins…”
【Bubble Bubble】─1 coin per minute really is too much.
【Pururu】─For real, 10,000 won per minute?
【Mysticism】─😠 That’s 600,000 won per hour!
【Yumi】─And that’s for just one person. If five people stayed for an hour, it would be 3 million won.
Coins were continuously draining even now.
Recently, I’d received so many coins that it wasn’t noticeable yet, but just like a full hourglass slowly empties grain by grain, if I stayed here thoughtlessly, my coins would eventually be depleted.
Of course.
I didn’t plan to stay here long, but the assistants were a different story.
I didn’t intend to interfere with how long Trinity-grade assistants stayed in the Safe Zone.
After all, the coins being used were the ones they sent me in the first place.
“Hmm… I’ll figure out the Trinity-grade authority slowly… For now, we should at least bring a luxurious round table into this space.”
While Rize was mumbling to herself, looking around the Safe Zone,
I discovered something new.
It was that I could use coins to expand the space.
No matter how large I expanded it, the stay cost wouldn’t increase.
If, someday.
The day came when coins were supplied almost infinitely… then, maybe I could use this Safe Zone as a base of operations.
Though that would be difficult for now.
Anyway.
Until then, I decided to use this place as a meeting space for the assistants.
For now, all of them except Rize were low-ranking, but in the not-so-distant future, they’d likely achieve the Trinity-grade.
The assistants from Earth had the solid backing of a third-generation chaebol.
And Elise, being a hero, would easily be able to obtain golden, valuable, and desirable items.
‘…Though the assistants from Earth might struggle a bit.’
If the funds were lacking, there was a way to solve it.
I could reverse-support them with special items and tell them to sell them.
‘Or, I could send Omega to Earth to hack the system and transfer money… no, no. That’s going too far. I can’t do that—it would weigh on my conscience more than it being a crime.’
I quickly dismissed the impure thought that had momentarily risen from my desire.
I couldn’t harm innocent people.
I turned my gaze to look at Rise.
“Sir Gauntlet. I brought an expensive round table to use for important meetings in the future.”
Rize was currently going back and forth through the silver portal, bringing in various items.
Oh, I forgot to mention.
You could bring items from the dimension you lived in to the Safe Zone, but you couldn’t transfer them to other dimensions.
In other words.
If Rize brought an item into the Safe Zone, neither I nor any other assistant could take it out.
Only Rize could take it back to his own dimension.
Anyway.
Staying here any longer was a waste of coins.
“Rize. I’ll head back first.”
After a quick farewell to Rize,
I left the Safe Zone without any hesitation and returned to the hideout.
We’d be seeing each other frequently from now on anyway.
***
On the 63rd day in the labyrinth.
I changed the members of the search team again today.
Kinogine Arachne and the Necro Puppet Master were fixed members.
And there were three new members.
［Jafaaaan!! A picnic with Dad!!!］
［Doomba, Doodoomba! This is a great place to sweat while dancing!］
［Walking here is uncomfortable.］
Jafan, Hedgehog Summoner, and lastly, a Centauride.
There was no problem with them being S-rank.
In any other place, maybe, but
This desert wasn’t dangerous to us.
Now, it was more like going on an outing under the guise of searching.
【Pururu】─The more I see Jafan, the cuter they seem. Not their looks, but their actions.
【Mysticism】─🤭
【Bubble Bubble】─Rize hasn’t been chatting much today. Is she busy with national affairs?
【Yumi】─No, she’s decorating the Safe Zone, so she’s probably not chatting.
【Mysticism】─But why didn’t you bring Bastet to the desert? 🤔
“She didn’t want to come.”
I hadn’t brought Bastet Daong.
She wasn’t keen on coming to the desert.
She said it was more fun to explore new areas and discover strange monsters.
So, I just sent her to explore the labyrinth today as well.
Anyway.
As usual, we were riding the Giant Caterpillar across the desert, recruiting village residents.
Then.
Out of nowhere, Solorb, who had been quiet today, suddenly spoke to me.
［Heh heh. Explorer.］
“What?”
［I have found something that will be of use to you.］
“I don’t know what it is, but don’t expect me to beg you to tell me where it is.”
［……..］
Solorb’s voice cut off for a moment.
It seemed like they were planning to tell me if I begged for it.
［I was going to tell you if you begged earnestly… don’t come crying to me later, explorer.］
“I won’t regret it.”
［……..］
Shortly after,
A faint beam of light descended from the sky.
It didn’t come down where I was, but instead shot straight toward the horizon.
I glanced up at the sky.
As expected, it was a beam of light emanating from Solorb.
‘It doesn’t seem like it’s intended to harm anyone.’
Unlike the intense light that had turned the Dune Strider to ash, this time it felt more like warm sunlight, with no threat at all.
So, why was Solorb emitting that light?
“Solorb. What’s that light?”
［Don’t worry about it. It’s just because my body was itchy.］
“Hmm…”
I had a rough idea.
They were subtly pointing out the location of the item they had discovered?
No, this wasn’t subtle—it was blatant.
Anyway.
I had a feeling that if we followed Solorb’s light, we’d find the item they mentioned.
It seemed my assistants thought the same.
【Pururu】─That’s clearly showing the location. Haha.
【Yumi】─Solorb’s not being very honest.
【Mysticism】─🌞🤭
【Bubble Bubble】─What an odd personality. Is Solorb just shy?
We traveled for 30 minutes toward the place where the light was shining.
Finally, we arrived at the spot where Solorb’s beam was descending.
And there, on top of a sand dune,
Next to the gently flowing sunlight, stood a solitary vending machine.
“What did you find? Turns out it was a vending machine. Thanks for showing the location, Solorb.”
Solorb remained silent.
The more I observed them, the stranger they seemed.
［Jafaaaan!!!］
Jafan jumped down from the Caterpillar.
Then, they ran toward the vending machine, greeting it excitedly.
［Friend! Hello!］
It seemed like they had mistaken it for one of their own.
Well, I could see why.
It did look a bit similar.
［Friend! Why aren’t you answering? Greet me!］
“Jafan. That’s not a living creature.”
［Ja… Jafan?! Is… is it dead…?］
“No, it was never alive in the first place.”
I walked past Jafan and stood right in front of the vending machine.
I checked what tickets it was selling this time.
“…Huh? What’s this? There’s a ticket I’ve never seen before.”
At the very top,
A ticket called the Dimensional Altar Installation Permit caught my eye.
***
While Kang Geon was examining the vending machine,
High in the sky over the desert,
A crocodile lightly landed on Solorb’s surface.
［This is the perfect place to warm my body.］
［Crocodile. Don’t come up here without permission.］
The crocodile was none other than the Wandering Merchant, Crocodile Merchant.
The crocodile flopped down onto Solorb and spoke.
［Haha. Can’t you let this much slide? I did install a vending machine for you as you asked. Vending machines usually generate naturally, you know, not through manual installation.］
［…Well, I am grateful for that.］
Kang Geon couldn’t hear their conversation from the ground.
They were speaking in low voices, so the sound didn’t reach the surface.
The crocodile looked down at Kang Geon below and spoke to Solorb again.
［I’m surprised, though. I didn’t expect you to favor a particular explorer.］
［I’m not favoring anyone. I’m just offering a little help to the explorer who’s taking care of my child, Bastet Daong.］
［A little help, huh…］
It seemed like a lot of help to the crocodile, but he kept that thought to himself.
［But you like that explorer, don’t you?］
［I don’t particularly like him. As I said, I’m helping him because of Bastet.］
［So, you don’t plan to be tamed by him?］
［Of course not. I’m not going to submit to anyone.］
［Haha, let’s just leave it at that.］
The crocodile laughed heartily and pulled a bottle of liquor from his pocket.
He lit a cigarette and gulped down the alcohol.
［By the way, I see you don’t lose strength even when the explorer is near.］
［…You just realized that? You really had no interest in me, huh. I’m hurt.］
［There was no reason for me to be interested in you. Anyway, why don’t you lose strength?］
［The reason is simple. When the Ancient Labyrinth revived me, it gave me several missions, one of which was to maintain order in the labyrinth. To fulfill that mission, I have to retain my full strength, so my power doesn’t weaken. Ah, but there’s a restriction. I can’t harm anyone who isn’t a threat to the labyrinth. If I kill someone the labyrinth doesn’t want me to, I’ll cease to exist.］
The crocodile emptied the bottle and continued.
［Since you seem uninterested, I’ll add that… I can retaliate against anyone who attacks me, even if they’re not a threat to the labyrinth.］
［Well, that’s only natural. You can’t just take hits.］
［Oh, and one more thing—I don’t have the power to weaken others. I’m no longer an explorer, after all.］
［That much I already knew. There’s no way the power to weaken would be left with someone who was stripped of their explorer status.］
Solorb said that and immediately asked the crocodile a question.
［By the way… Crocodile, are you satisfied with your current situation?］
The crocodile pulled out a new bottle of liquor and replied.
［I’m more than satisfied just with the fact that the Ancient Labyrinth brought me back to life. My life now isn’t so bad. Haha.］
［I see.］
The two continued talking for a while.
After some time,
The crocodile, having emptied five bottles, stood up.
［Well, I’ll be on my way.］
［Are you just going to leave? Since you’re here, why not sell something to the explorer?］
［That’s asking too much. A wandering merchant is supposed to be found by the explorer, not the other way around. I’m not supposed to approach explorers first to sell goods.］
［Is that a rule set by the Ancient Labyrinth?］
［No, it’s a rule I made.］
［…….］
［Be satisfied with the vending machine I set up for you.］
［…Fine.］
The Crocodile Merchant placed his hat on his head.
He bowed gracefully and bid Solorb farewell.
［I’ll be going now. Until we meet again.］
［Yes. Thanks for today, Crocodile… or rather, First Explorer.］