Chapter 132. Cats Pouring Down
69th day in the labyrinth.
Centaurides…
No, Artpega Unibicorn had briefly left the hideout.
She said she wanted to show off her evolved form to her brothers.
She didn’t go alone.
Jafan and Merino Ula said they wanted to go on a picnic, so I sent them along.
Of course, for safety, I assigned three escorts to go with them.
Black Magma Slime, Azeras, and the Blood Jellyfish Princess.
Plus, Iris too.
It wasn’t overprotection.
This level of protection was just right for the fragile Merino.
【Pururu】—Jafan is S-rank, so I’m not too worried, but is our little lamb going to be okay? Seems dangerous.
【Mysticism】—😟 I’m worried! Where does an F-rank think they’re going?!
【Luna-chan】—o_O
“Don’t worry. The Princess has cast protection magic, and I even wrapped him in Black Magma Slime as an extra safety measure.”
【Mir-Stin】—Indeed, if he’s covered in Black Magma Slime, he’s definitely safe! Even regular humans like us would be invincible!
【Yumi】—If it’s Black Magma Slime, I’m relieved.
【Rizenova】—The Black Magma Slime is unbeatable.
【Bubble Bubble】—Even Merino wrapped in Black Magma Slime is practically SS-rank.
【Pururu】—Got it.
“But I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you, Dan-bi, to worry about Merino.”
【Pururu】—I wasn’t that worried.
【Mysticism】—Liar! You were super worried! 🤭
【Mir-Stin】—Haha, Purderere.
【Bubble Bubble】—I’d like to punch Pururu’s face just once.
【Pururu】—?
As I chatted with the assistants,
I was working on building doors at the entrances to each passage.
This was also for Merino Ula’s safety.
Unlike the other monsters, Merino was far too fragile.
So far, we hadn’t had any monster attacks while we were asleep, but it would be foolish to assume this peace would last forever.
[Father, the installation is finished.]
“Good job.”
There were a total of eight passages.
I installed doors made of Arachne’s threads at each one.
Only those recognized as allies by Kinogine Arachne could pass through these doors.
And beyond the thread doors,
I installed high-tech doors provided by Omega last night.
【Pururu】—The doors fit perfectly.
【Mir-Stin】—Omega measured all the passage sizes yesterday. They’re custom-made.
【Mysticism】—😶
The doors made by Omega were equipped with a biometric recognition system.
They were set to automatically open for registered users.
With this, our hideout became even more secure.
“We plan to move later anyway, but it’s better to have this level of security for now.”
【Yumi】—Huh? You’re planning to move?
【Luna-chan】—Where to? o_O
“We haven’t decided yet. It just feels a bit cramped here now, so when we find a bigger, safer place, we’ll move the base.”
Even if we moved,
I wasn’t planning to abandon this stronghold.
The labyrinth exploration would continue to be based here.
Leaving the warp device in place,
I’d use it as a waiting area before heading out for explorations.
Anyway.
Now that the doors were all set, it was time to head to the desert village.
Omega had stopped by this morning and said the construction would likely be finished today.
[Son, I’ve activated the warp device. Come on over.]
Nyara Nepenthis activated the warp device, reading the situation.
And so we stepped through the portal to the desert village.
***
The construction had finished even earlier than expected.
It took less than ten days to complete the desert village.
[Take a look at the village from a high vantage point. Ta-da.]
We ascended into the sky with Omega.
There was no need to use levitation magic.
Solorb, perched high above, had lightened all of our bodies as if we were feathers.
Naturally, I thanked her.
“Thanks, Solorb.”
[Hehe…]
【Pururu】—Hehe-monster. lol
【Yumi】—Hehe…
Once we floated into the sky, we gazed down at the newly completed desert village, taking it all in slowly.
From high above, the desert village looked like a giant mandala pattern.
At the center was an oasis.
Three concentric circles radiated out from there.
Each circle had its own distinct features.
The innermost circle, where my severed arm had been placed,
featured a brilliantly shining house made from modified crystal spheres.
Beside it, the towering Tower of Life continuously poured out clear water, which spread throughout the village via an underground water system.
The middle circle.
Here, houses built from the trees where the Poison Apples lived were tightly packed together.
The narrow, winding streets created shade, giving a cool atmosphere, and fountains and resting areas scattered throughout expanded the oasis’s refreshing vibe across the village.
The outermost circle housed the commercial district, small industrial facilities, and buildings like Omega’s factory.
‘The devices attached to the rooftops—those must be what Omega mentioned.’
Every building had gleaming devices installed on their roofs.
These devices converted the desert sand into energy.
It also seemed that the barrier system installation had been completed.
I could feel the transparent protective shield surrounding the entire village.
“…This is more than I expected.”
[Proud. Ta-da.]
Seeing the completed village in person left me in awe.
It was like a giant flower blooming in the middle of the desert.
A village where cutting-edge technology and nature were perfectly harmonized had risen as the new oasis within the labyrinth’s desert.
【Mir-Stin】—Wow! This is awesome!
【Yumi】—This is a total utopia.
【Rizenova】—I want to live there too. It’s that perfect of a village.
【Mysticism】—😃 Omega’s technology is the best in the dimension!
【Bubble Bubble】—You did an amazing job. If Omega gets dispatched to Elemencia later, she could probably build a whole country in no time. I wonder if there’s a ticket for a long-term dispatch.
【Luna-chan】—Elemencia…
【Mir-Stin】—But wasn’t it built too quickly? I’m worried about shoddy construction.
【Mysticism】—Don’t underestimate Omega’s technology! 😡
【Pururu】—Omega isn’t like your uncle’s company.
【Mir-Stin】—Ah!
【Mysticism】—🤔 Does your uncle do shoddy construction, Mir?
【Mir-Stin】—Yup. My uncle’s trash. I badmouth him to Dan-bi all the time. lol
【Yumi】—Wow…
【Pururu】—Anyway, Kang, don’t you think it’s better if you just move there too?
“I’m not really a fan of the desert.”
【Mir-Stin】—But wouldn’t it be better to live there temporarily? It seems safer than where you’re living now.
【Rizenova】—It’s definitely safer. Solorb is protecting the village, after all.
“Our current place is safe enough. I’ve installed double safety measures, remember?”
Unless it was an SSS-rank intruder, our current hideout was as safe as this village.
If an SSS-rank enemy with malicious intent attacked, whether Solorb was nearby or not, we’d all be dead in an instant anyway.
In other words, in terms of safety, the desert village and the hideout were about the same.
“Anyway, let’s head back down now.”
[Ta-da.]
We descended back to the ground.
Then, we gathered the village residents in the square.
Even though the village was complete, there was still plenty of work to be done.
Everyone had to decide where they’d live,
and the interiors of the buildings still needed to be set up.
Oh, and we needed more residents.
The current number of villagers was way too low compared to the size of the village.
To list the current villagers:
The village administrator, Pharaoh Devil.
The deputy administrator, Anubis Dragon.
The other deputy administrator, Giant Caterpillar.
Snake Head.
Mummy Skeleton.
Lionheart.
220 Cat Crabs.
The puppets, Dune Striders.
Sand Ravens.
I had tamed five more ravens recently.
So there were six ravens now.
On a side note, the first Sand Raven I tamed was still the only one that couldn’t fly properly.
It seemed to be a bit of a dim one.
I called the other ravens over while keeping the dim one by my side.
“Ravens that joined late, come forward.”
[Kaa.]
[Kraa!]
“This raven next to me is a bit dim, you know? But that doesn’t mean you can ignore or exclude it, got it? Be friendly with it, okay?”
[Kaa!]
[Got it!]
【Mysticism】—🧐 One of them sounds weird.
【Mir-Stin】—I think the whole species is just dumb.
Anyway.
The way to increase the number of villagers was simple.
We’d bring some of the cats living inside Solorb’s inner world.
I’d already discussed it with Solorb.
She had set one condition, but it was a simple one.
To place a large number of Irises throughout the village.
This was Solorb’s condition.
The reason for this condition was simple.
Once the cats left the outer world, they wouldn’t be able to watch me through Bastet anymore, so Solorb wanted me to place Irises around the village to broadcast my image, ensuring they wouldn’t get bored and could keep watching me.
So, last night, I tamed fifteen more Irises.
Our Irises used their kin tracking function to locate some of the cats living in groups.
Unlike the other Irises, these ones were very wary and hostile, but thanks to the Necro Puppet Master’s mind control, taming them wasn’t difficult.
Anyway, it was now time to welcome new villagers.
“Solorb, have you picked the cats that will move?”
[Of course. Should I send them now?]
“Yes, send them right away.”
[Understood.]
A short while after Solorb’s voice faded,
[Mrowww!]
[It’s outing time!]
[It’s not an outing, we’re moving!]
[Waaahhh!]
【Pururu】—Massive birth. 😱
【Mysticism】—😮
From high above, a flood of cats began pouring down.