Chapter 27. Body Collector
『GOLD-grade Assistant ‘Pururu’ runs toward you and stares at you intently.』
【Pururu】─Good morning.
【Mysticism】─😉
【Pururu】─Failed the entrance message gacha again today.
【Mysticism】─🤭
On the shelf, many preserved specimens were displayed.
Amidst what appeared to be various monster body parts, two human fingers particularly caught my attention.
“This is…”
I carefully picked up the fingers.
“They look like my fingers.”
【Mysticism】─😱
【Pururu】─???
【Pururu】─Did you find where the guy who stole your fingers yesterday lives?
The shape of a finger varies from person to person.
The size, thickness, location of the joints, even the shape of the nails—everything differs between individuals.
And these fingers, down to the nail length, matched mine perfectly.
The odds that a human, who had drifted here before I was dragged into this labyrinth, possessed fingers exactly like mine and that two of them were severed and stolen by a monster were incredibly slim.
There was no doubt about it.
These were definitely my fingers.
【Pururu】─There’s a ton of other body parts besides your fingers. This is seriously creepy.
【Pururu】─A monster that collects body parts as a hobby? He must be completely insane.
【Mysticism】─🤮
I placed the fingers back in their spot.
There was no point in taking them back now.
Afterward, I slowly examined the other specimens displayed on the shelf.
‘Not a single one is decayed.’
There was a strange power present in this space.
I couldn’t be certain, but it felt similar to a psychic ability.
It seemed like the decay was being prevented through some sort of power.
【Pururu】─There’s so much here. It’s too gross to even look at.
【Mysticism】─🤢
I picked up one of the large spider legs.
“This looks like a Dog Spider leg.”
[Ssssss…]
After putting the spider leg back down, I picked up a pink object displayed next to it.
“And this must be the cap of a Medical Mushroom?”
[Squeak.]
【Pururu】─Looks like it. Probably part of the cap.
“Mushie, have you ever been attacked by a monster and had your cap torn off?”
[Squeak, squeak.]
The Medical Mushroom shook its head.
It was a gesture of denial.
“Then it must be the cap of another Medical Mushroom.”
[Squeak.]
There weren’t any specimens that appeared to be parts of a slime.
As I continued browsing the shelf, a familiar sound echoed.
[Screee?]
We both turned around at the same time, our eyes focusing on the entrance.
[Who are you people?!]
【Pururu】─?? The monster just talked!
【Mysticism】─😠
From the direction of the entrance, the figure of a child appeared.
It was clearly a humanoid monster.
This must be the one responsible for severing and stealing my fingers, as well as the owner of this space.
[Screech! Get away from my beloved children immediately!]
【Pururu】─Children? Is it talking about those specimens?
【Pururu】─This psycho is seriously insane.
【Mysticism】─😡
The monster walked toward us with steady steps.
Only then did its appearance, which I hadn’t clearly seen before, come into focus.
【Pururu】─Wait! It’s a goblin, a goblin!!!
【Pururu】─It really looks just like the ones from the comics.
【Mysticism】─🤡
It did look quite similar.
The difference from a regular goblin was its clown-like attire and the black wings sprouting from its back.
Perhaps it was one of the highest evolutionary forms of a goblin.
Of all the goblins I had encountered so far, the strongest had been the Infinity Evolution Goblin.
It grew stronger by devouring its opponents, and its danger level was classified as A-rank.
But this one in front of me was even stronger.
No, to be precise, it was a superior specimen.
‘This is the first time I’ve seen an S-rank goblin.’
Its current danger level was B-rank.
But the true danger level was probably S-rank.
In any case, since it was B-rank now, it was something I could handle with my current strength.
[Didn’t you hear me?! If you don’t want to get hurt, step away from my children!]
Its eyes were filled with hostility.
It seemed to cherish these specimens deeply.
This monster was more unhinged than I thought.
“Calm down for now…”
I decided to try reasoning with it first.
Since it could communicate, there was no need to fight right away.
Of course, we wouldn’t be able to talk in the usual way.
I picked up the two fingers from the shelf.
They were the preserved remains of what had once been my fingers.
“Stop approaching and raise your hands. Before I melt your trophies.”
I held the fingers close to the Magma Slime and spoke.
【Pururu】─Threatening a monster. Darn.
【Pururu】─You’re telling it not to do anything stupid for the sake of its kids! You’re like a professional at this. Veteran-level threat.
【Mysticism】─😦
[No, don’t!]
The threat worked.
The monster stopped in its tracks, trembling as it raised its hands in the air.
【Pururu】─Wow, it really must care about those things a lot…
【Mysticism】─😶
“Good. And from now on, don’t even think about using your psychic abilities.”
[Screech?]
“You can use psychic abilities, can’t you? Am I wrong?”
[…]
If my guess was right.
There was a psychic power flowing through this space that prevented decay.
That meant this monster likely had the ability to use psychic powers.
Its unnaturally fast speed from before must have been thanks to those powers as well.
“If I see even a hint of you using psychic abilities, these fingers are toast. Got it?”
【Pururu】─Fingers don’t have lives.
The monster clenched its raised hands tightly, gritting its teeth as it nodded.
[I understand… I swear, on the lives of my children, that I will not use my abilities. So please don’t harm my children.]
Now we could have a proper conversation.
***
I asked the monster several questions.
Starting with why it had taken my fingers.
[Collecting the body parts of other creatures. That is the purpose of my life.]
【Pururu】─I can’t understand this disgusting hobby at all.
Then I asked why it hadn’t killed me, even though it clearly could have aimed for my heart at the time.
[You cannot be killed. If the owner of my children dies, my abilities no longer work on them.]
【Pururu】─What’s it even talking about? I don’t get it.
“You mean, if the owner of the preserved bodies dies, the specimens decay, right?”
[Correct.]
【Pururu】─Ah, so that’s what it meant.
“So, you’re not using a preservation ability?”
[No. My power keeps the children connected to their original owners, even when they are separated.]
【Pururu】─This guy is just spilling all his secrets. Those things must be really important to him.
“Connected? Does that mean I could control these fingers, too?”
[Screech. Since they are your fingers, yes. However, unless I permit it, you cannot control them.]
After asking a few more questions, I finally posed the most important one.
Did it have the ability to track someone?
If so, could it track someone it had never met?
The monster responded.
[I can track. Even if I have not met them, I can still track them, but I must have a part of their body.]
“You can’t track them with just a body part from someone of the same species?”
[Screech? A body part from the same species? I can expand the range and track the entire species, but I cannot pinpoint a specific individual unless I have their part.]
“So, in other words…”
I pointed to the Dog Spider leg on the shelf.
“You could track all the Dog Spiders with just this leg, even if you couldn’t identify a specific one?”
[That species isn’t called Dog Spiders, but yes, that is correct.]
“Great, that’s all I needed to know.”
【Pururu】─What’s that supposed to mean?
The reason I asked this question.
It was to find the Drifters.
With the monster’s abilities, I could likely track them down.
The Drifters were of the same species as Rizenova, and there were no others of Rizenova’s species in this labyrinth.
[Are your questions over? Then please return my child.]
“Not yet.”
[Screech?]
I slowly approached the monster.
“Don’t move. I’ll return it once I’m done.”
[I’m not sure what you’re planning, but understood…]
I pressed my index finger against the spotted part of its nose.
【Pururu】─Are you planning to tame it?
【Mysticism】─🧐
“There’s something I can use it for.”
【Pururu】─Oh, to track the Drifters?
“That’s part of it, but I think I can also use its abilities for taming.”
【Pururu】─?? How?
“You’ll find out later.”
【Pururu】─Okay.
【Pururu】─But wait, aren’t you going to get revenge on the guy who cut off your fingers?
【Mysticism】─😠
“After I tame it.”
As I conversed with my assistant, I checked the speed at which the spot changed color
.
As expected, the transformation was painfully slow.
“Hey. Get rid of your hostility toward me.”
[Screech?]
【Pururu】─That’s ridiculous. How is it supposed to just get rid of hostility? LOL.
【Mysticism】─🤭
“What are you waiting for? Get rid of it. Can’t you use mind control or something? A Demon King-level monster that can’t use mind control? That can’t be right.”
[It is possible. But you told me earlier not to use my abilities…]
“Only use that ability.”
[Understood… but I cannot maintain it for long.]
“That’s fine. I only need it for a little while.”
【Pururu】─Wait, what? It really can do that?
【Mysticism】─🤭
The monster slowly closed its eyes.
Then, the rate at which the spot changed color noticeably sped up.
It was still slow, but faster than before.
“Focus more on the mind control.”
[…]
The monster clenched its eyes shut.
It seemed like it was focusing its mind even harder.
Finally, the color-changing process accelerated dramatically.
Not long after, the following appeared:
<Tamed Monsters>
『Dog Spider – 001』
『Jellyfish – 002』
『Black Magma Slime – 003』
『Medical Mushroom – 004』
『005』
A new 005 was added to the list.
By using a trick, I had successfully cut the taming time drastically.
[Screech. This feels strange.]
【Pururu】─Strange feeling?
I decided it was time to release the hostage.
Even if the mind control broke, the monster wouldn’t hold any hostility toward me.
[This is odd. I only wanted to remove my hostility, but now I suddenly like you. As much as I love my children. It’s really strange.]
【Pururu】─Dude, you’ve been tamed.
【Mysticism】─🤭
I gently placed the two fingers back on the shelf.
[Screech? Th-thank you. You kept your promise.]
Now that the taming was complete…
“Magma Slime.”
[Sssss?]
“Melt these two fingers.”
[Sssss!]
After all, I had to pay it back for what it had done.