Chapter 186. Venom Banainsect
Poison Apple, Poae.
It had evolved into a humanoid monster with some insect-like characteristics.
And it seemed the transformation into a banana egg wasn’t entirely meaningless, as it was confirmed to have the ability to control poisonous bananas.
After quickly confirming its abilities,
I gave Poae a new name: “Venom Banainsect.”
The name didn’t have a deep meaning.
It was simply a combination of venom, banana, and insect.
Since it could create venom that was injected through bites or stings, I chose the word “venom” over “poison.”
Venom just sounded cooler than poison.
—
■ Venom Banainsect
─ Danger Level: SS-rank.
─ Abilities: Insect summoning, control, venom creation, poisonous banana creation.
The Monster Guidebook was updated by Artpega Unibicorn.
For reference, it could also create non-poisonous bananas.
【Yumi】─ They’re no longer listing nerf risk levels, I see.
【Rizenova】─ That’s only natural since its weakening abilities are gone.
【Mysticism】─ Wow! SS-rank! 😃
【Pururu】─ Everyone and their grandma is SS-rank now.
【Hwang Mir】─ SS-rank just for creating poisonous bananas… really?
【Bubble Bubble】─ Must be some incredible bananas.
【Luna-chan】─ I never realized bananas were such amazing fruits. o_O
As the guidebook showed,
Venom Banainsect wasn’t limited to just banana creation.
It possessed the ability to forcefully control plant-type monsters.
In other words, it was akin to the king of plant monsters.
To be precise, it would be more fitting to call it a tyrant.
Furthermore,
Its domination ability was not the same as the Dominant One trait found in Explorers.
It controlled and manipulated plant-type monsters by having the summoned insects infiltrate their bodies.
Simply put, it was a domination ability achieved through parasitism.
“You weren’t very good-looking before, but you’ve become prettier after evolving. Congratulations.”
［Puhuhu. Thanks.］
【Bubble Bubble】─ I can’t believe even that thing turned out to be female…
【Luna-chan】─ The whole world is female!
【Mysticism】─ But are bananas really stronger than apples?
【Yumi】─ I haven’t made them fight, so I wouldn’t know.
【Pururu】─ Hold on.
【Pururu】─ I just grabbed an apple and a banana from the fridge and made them fight. The apple won.
【Rizenova】─ ?
【Hwang Mir】─ How exactly did it win?
【Yumi】─ Was that even a fight?
【Mysticism】─ 😱 You have apple and banana monsters at home, Pururu?!
【Bubble Bubble】─ Of course not.
【Pururu】─ I just smashed an apple and a banana against each other. The apple won because it was harder and crushed the banana.
【Yumi】─ Hmm.
【Luna-chan】─ As expected, Pururu seems a little off.
【Pururu】─ Anyway, evolving from an apple to a banana is a lore error. Apples are stronger. I tested it myself.
【Mysticism】─ 🤔
【Rizenova】─ I regret reading this seriously. I’ll skim through Pururu’s comments from now on.
Poae… no, Venom Banainsect, grinned wickedly and activated the warp device.
It was returning to its home and workplace, the apple orchard.
As Venom Banainsect disappeared through the portal,
Curious about what it would do to the Poison Apples, I discreetly followed it through the portal.
［Inferior creatures! I have returned!!!］
Venom Banainsect’s booming voice echoed across the apple orchard.
The Poison Apples froze in terror the moment they saw it.
It seemed they immediately recognized Venom Banainsect as Poae.
［Traitor Poae, step back…!］
［Traitors must take their own lives…!］
The Poison Apples continued to hurl insults.
Their former vigor was nowhere to be found.
They seemed instinctively subdued before the SS-rank entity standing before them.
［I am no longer Poae. From now on, address me as Lord Bana.］
Venom Banainsect furrowed its brows and spoke.
Then, it lightly swung its right arm.
Countless swarms of insects poured out of its body, instantly engulfing the entire apple orchard.
［Wh-what are these insects…?!］
［Kyaaaa!!!］
［Don’t cling to me!!］
The swarms began invading the bodies of the Poison Apples.
Despite their desperate struggles, they couldn’t stop the insects from infiltrating.
【Yumi】─ Ugh.
【Mysticism】─ 😨
【Pururu】─ Ew, that’s so gross.
【Hwang Mir】─ Ugh, I can’t watch this scene.
Their resistance didn’t last long.
The Poison Apples soon ceased all movement.
Visibly, there were no major changes.
The entry points where the insects had invaded healed almost instantly.
The only noticeable difference was in their eyes.
The lively gleam in their eyes faded,
And they became hollow, empty orbs.
All at once, they turned to face Venom Banainsect.
Then, they began chanting praises in unison.
［Hail Lord Bana.］
［Long live Lord Bana.］
［Lord Bana is great.］
It appeared they had fallen completely under Venom Banainsect’s control through the insects.
At least now there wouldn’t be any more uprisings.
【Pururu】─ So, why did it evolve into an insect form?
【Yumi】─ No idea.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Evolution is a profound phenomenon. Don’t overthink it.
—
Leaving the management of the apple orchard to Venom Banainsect, I returned to the forward base.
Currently,
I was selecting a monster to delegate taming authority to.
“For now, it makes sense to give it to Iris first.”
【Pururu】─ Yep, Iris must have it no matter what.
【Mysticism】─ 🤔 Why?
【Pururu】─ Don’t reflexively ask why. Use your brain for once.
【Mysticism】─ 🧐 Why?
【Pururu】─ Shut up.
As Seo Dan-bi had suggested,
Even if I wasn’t sure about other monsters, Iris absolutely had to be given taming authority.
Monsters with delegated authority could read the Assistants’ chat and, furthermore, show their appearance to the Assistants like I could.
If Iris were to receive this authority,
She could share her vision with the Assistants, allowing them to freely observe all the villages and monsters I had tamed whenever they wished.
Iris was a monster capable of monitoring all the villages and monsters through crystals.
The crystals had already been distributed to all the villages and monsters.
For that reason,
I immediately delegated taming authority to Iris.
［Authority delegation confirmed.］
【Pururu】─ Hey.
【Pururu】─ Can you see my chat?
［Pururu’s chat. Confirmed visible.］
【Pururu】─ Oh, hahaha.
【Pururu】─ Your response is faster than when Necro used to read the chat with telepathy.
【Mysticism】─ Hi, Iris!
［Hello, Mysti.］
【Mysticism】─ 😃😃😃
【Hwang Mir】─ Haha.
After delegating authority to Iris,
I looked around at the other monsters to choose the next one to receive authority.
Honestly, there wasn’t much need to think deeply about it.
Although the number of monsters that could receive delegated taming authority was limited to ten,
Receiving the authority didn’t mean the monster would have it permanently.
I could reclaim the authority whenever I wanted.
And I could delegate it to a different monster, as long as the total number didn’t exceed ten.
The limit was ten monsters,
Not just ten total instances of delegation.
“Yangyang…!”
Merino gazed at me with expectant eyes.
When our eyes met, I remembered how Merino had been pestering me since yesterday, saying they wanted to read the Assistants’ chat directly.
After some thought, I decided to delegate authority to Merino as well.
Considering the effort it put into cooking every day, it seemed only fair to grant such a small wish.
As I said earlier,
I could reclaim the authority anytime, so there was no issue.
“Merino, I’ll delegate the authority to you too.”
“Yangyang!!! I wasn’t expecting it at all, thank you so much!!”
【Pururu】─ Totally knew you were expecting it.
After receiving the authority, Merino looked around curiously.
When it seemed to discover the Assistants’ chat, its mouth opened slightly, and its eyes widened.
Reading the text wouldn’t be an issue.
Thanks to the blessings of the Ancient Labyrinth, it could translate and interpret effortlessly.
【Pururu】─ Hi, Merino.
“Hello! I’m Merino Ula!”
Merino reacted to Pururu’s chat with an enthusiastic wave.
【Mysticism】─ 😮
“Yang!”
Seeing Mysti’s emoji,
It made the exact same expression.
Merino continued to respond excitedly to each message from the Assistants.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Delegating authority to someone useless, huh?
“Yangyang?! I’m not useless!”
【Bubble Bubble】─ Oh, sorry.
【Bubble Bubble】─ I forgot you can read chat now.
“I can read it perfectly well! Be careful with your words!”
【Luna-chan】─ Kawaii Merino-chan!
“I’m not Merino-chan, I’m Merino Ula!”
【Yumi】─ Merino, the food you sent last time was delicious.
“I’ll send more next time! If Gauntlet approves, that is!”
【Hwang Mir】─ Gangwon-do Yangyang!
“Yangyang?”
【Rizenova】─ You seem very excited.
“Super excited!”
【Pururu】─ [Image]
【Pururu】─ [Image]
【Pururu】─ Here’s a picture of sheep mating. Since you’re a sheep, I’m showing you as a special favor.
【Rizenova】─ Oh, fascinating image.
“Yangyangyang…?”
【Bubble Bubble】─ Pururu, are you crazy?
【Yumi】─ Don’t post weird pictures like that.
【Mysticism】─ 🤬🤬🤬
【Luna-chan】─ So Pururu can draw pictures like this, huh?
【Hwang Mir】─ Isn’t there a save function?
【Pururu】─ Merino, not a fan? Thought you’d like it since you’re a sheep. If you don’t, I’ll send another picture.
“I’m a human! So please send me something proper!”
【Pururu】─ Okay, hold on.
【Yumi】─ Don’t post it. This is your warning.
【Mysticism】─ 😠 Stop distributing obscene material!
【Hwang Mir】─ Animal acts aren’t classified as obscene content.
【Hwang Mir】─ Besides, it’s just a drawing, so what’s the problem?
【Rizenova】─ Calling an artistic work obscene is quite disrespectful to the artist.
【Pururu】─ [Image]
【Pururu】─ How about this?
“Not interested.”
【Pururu】─ [Image]
【Pururu】─ Then how about this? It’s an erotic story I wrote.
“Yangyang. I’ll read it!”
【Luna-chan】─ Wow, Pururu even writes erotic stories…
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“This is amazing! Give me the next part!!!”
【Bubble Bubble】─ Hurry with the next chapter.
【Yumi】─ Is there a second part?
【Mysticism】─ 🤔
【Pururu】─ Haha, okay, give me a bit.
While Merino chatted enthusiastically with the Assistants,
I, watching its cheerful demeanor, smiled to myself without bothering to check the chat.
Then—
Flash!
“Huh?”
A bright light emanated from the corpse collection and revival site set up at the forward base.
I was startled for a moment.
There was only one situation where light would appear there.
“…Did someone die?”
One of the monsters equipped with Omega’s device had fallen, and its body was being retrieved.
If that wasn’t the case, the light wouldn’t appear unless there was a malfunction.
［Beep, beep!］
Medical Angel flailed its arms and rushed toward the revival site.
I quickly stood up and followed it.
When we arrived,
The site was scattered with unrecognizable chunks.
Fortunately, the face was intact, making it easy to identify the corpse.
It belonged to Lionheart, the lion-shaped beastman from the desert village,
And an S-rank monster.