Chapter 94. Sea
51st day in the Labyrinth.
We halted our previous explorations and formed a new exploration team.
Up until now, we had aimlessly explored various areas to grasp the geography of the labyrinth and the monsters inhabiting it.
But this time, things were different.
We had a clear destination in mind.
“Neo Hyeong-seok, you’re sure about the way to that place, right?”
[Of course. I’ve read Min Hyeong-seok’s memories countless times.]
Our destination was none other than the mechanical factory of the Ancient Labyrinth.
It was a place where machine-type monsters with body modification abilities resided.
【Bubble Bubble】─The monster we’re trying to tame this time, it had body modification abilities, right?
【Rise Nov】─Yes, that’s correct.
【Bubble Bubble】─I’m curious about how an S-rank monster’s body modification works.
【Pururu】─Azeras is already grinning, thinking about having a mechanical arm soon.
【Mysticism】─😀
【Yumi】─Jafan also mentioned making legs for himself.
For reference, the name “mechanical factory” was something Min Hyeong-seok arbitrarily came up with.
It wasn’t an actual factory, but since machine-type monsters mainly inhabited it, he named it that.
Anyway.
Naturally, I had no intention of going there myself.
As usual, I planned to conduct the exploration remotely by sending Iris along with the team.
The roster for this exploration team was as follows:
SS-rank, Kinogine Arachne.
SS-rank, Blood Jellyfish Princess.
SS-rank, Bastet Daong.
S-rank, Three Iris.
SS-rank, Necro Puppetmaster.
And in addition to that:
SS-rank, Jellyfish Queen.
S-rank, Curse Devil Gentleman.
S-rank, Neo Hyeong-seok.
S-rank, Ignis.
S-rank, Lilith.
And five puppets from the Puppetmaster.
Another puppet, Niara Nepensis, didn’t join this expedition.
[Mom can’t leave her son’s side.]
“…Give me some space.”
[I’ll protect my dear son. Hehe.]
She didn’t want to be apart from me for even a moment.
【Bubble Bubble】─Well, as long as it’s not romantic, it’s safe.
【Pururu】─But she doesn’t call herself “this one” anymore, huh?
【Mysticism】─😶
Well, it didn’t matter.
The more SS-ranks I had protecting me, the better.
Although her clinginess was annoying and burdensome, her abilities were undeniably reliable.
Besides Niara.
The Black Magma Slime, Anubis Dragon, Azeras, and the rest of the monsters remained at the hideout to assist me.
They would occasionally rotate, conducting brief explorations in nearby areas.
[I want to stay by Father’s side too…]
[I don’t want to be apart from Daddy either.]
Arachne and Princess.
The monsters selected for the mechanical factory expedition hovered near me, casting envious glances at the other monsters.
It must have been because this was going to be a long-term exploration, not a short one.
The mechanical factory was quite far from our hideout.
It wouldn’t take months, but…
Based on the travel time, it could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on how things went.
【Pururu】─I don’t want to be apart from my little one either. 😭
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Yumi】─Pururu, is Arachne still your favorite monster?
【Pururu】─Of course! I’m loyal to the end.
【Pururu】─Don’t you all have favorites?
【Rise Nov】─Does favorite mean the one you like the most? Then my favorite monster is Master Puppetmaster.
【Yumi】─I like all of them. But if I had to choose, it’d be Melody Fox.
【Mysticism】─I’d choose the Hedgehog Summoner! Even though she betrayed me, she still saved me! 😃
【Bubble Bubble】─Mine is Gauntlet.
【Yumi】─Gaon isn’t a monster.
The exploration team monsters, with slightly gloomy expressions, began preparing for the expedition.
They packed a few severed arms.
They also gathered some paper for recording maps.
“I made lots and lots! If you get hungry along the way, eat these!”
Merino had prepared the food with great care and effort since the morning.
In addition to the food, they packed several other items.
The Blood Jellyfish Princess was in the middle of preparing as well.
To be precise, she was gulping down the blood being spouted by the vending machine-type monster, Jafan.
［Jafaaan! Drink up, sister!］
［Bloooood! The blood tastes great!］
The reason Jafan could spout blood was simple.
He could reproduce any liquid he drank in exactly the same form, infinitely.
By the way, the blood currently flowing from Jafan was Pig King’s blood.
［I’m getting stronger! Bloooood!!!］
After replenishing with blood, even the Jellyfish was ready to go.
The expedition monsters had completed all their preparations.
“Take care, everyone, and come back safely.”
Even though we would be in constant communication through Iris, we would be apart physically for an extended period, so I said something akin to a farewell.
［You need not worry, Explorer. This Centaurides will use her entire body to assist you diligently. Hohoho.］
［Ssss.］
The monsters not included in this long-term exploration also bid farewell to the expedition.
“Have a safe trip! Don’t forget about me!”
［Kyaaa!］
Merino, who had come running late, hugged Melody Fox tightly as she saw off the expedition team.
***
Crunch.
I bit into the snack Merino had prepared and chewed it up.
Then, lying on the soft, naturally heated bed that was the Black Magma Slime, I watched the screen that Iris was projecting.
【Pururu】─Looks like Geon’s living the life.
【Yumi】─It’s the leader’s privilege.
【Mysticism】─🤭
It had been about six hours since the expedition departed.
The team was now pushing open a massive door.
─[Neo Hyeong-seok! Is the mechanical factory beyond this door?]
The Blood Jellyfish Princess, who was pushing the door, asked.
Neo Hyeong-seok shook his head at the question.
─[No. We still have a long way to go. As I mentioned earlier, the mechanical factory is located quite far away.]
─[You said it would take at least a few days. There’s no way we’ve already arrived.]
Arachne chimed in to support Neo Hyeong-seok’s statement.
─[Blooood… Maybe the distance magically got shorter…?]
The Princess grumbled as she pushed the door fully open.
The sight beyond the cave revealed a small sandy beach.
It appeared that the expedition was on an uninhabited island.
All around them, a vast ocean stretched endlessly into the horizon.
【Mysticism】─😮
【Yumi】─Wow. It’s the sea this time. Just how vast and diverse is the world of the Ancient Labyrinth…?
─[Flight.]
One of the three Iris flew high into the sky.
As Iris slowly showed a view of the island from above, the full landscape of the isolated island came into view.
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s nice having three Irises showing us different angles on the screen.
【Rise Nov】─Indeed, it’s good to have multiple perspectives.
【Pururu】─??? But wait, why is it all ocean around us? Shouldn’t there be more caves behind the door? There’s just this one lone door on the island?
“Maybe the structure of space here is different from Earth.”
【Pururu】─Is that even possible?
【Yumi】─It’s possible. After all, we’re in another world.
Another Iris pointed the camera toward the sky.
Soon, a glowing orb, like a sun, appeared on the screen.
【Bubble Bubble】─Is that sun-like orb also Solorb?
“I don’t think it’s Solorb. That monster is A-rank, though its actual danger level is SS-rank.”
I roughly named it “Little Solorb.”
I didn’t plan to provoke it.
Unlike the one in the grasslands, this wasn’t a monster that required us to tread carefully.
Neo Hyeong-seok dipped his toes into the seawater.
The Puppetmaster also followed, dipping just his feet in.
─[We’ll have to dive into the sea now.]
─[Is there no other way?]
─[There might be, but this is the only route I know of. I’m sorry.]
─[If you don’t know another way, it can’t be helped. But can’t we just fly instead of diving?]
─[No. We won’t be able to reach the destination by flight. The door leading to the mechanical factory is located deep in the ocean.]
─[I see.]
【Pururu】─Puppetmaster’s tone got all formal.
【Bubble Bubble】─Maybe it’s because of evolution?
【Rise Nov】─It could also be because he’s in front of his subordinates. A leader must display dignity.
The Puppetmaster turned around.
He explained what he had just heard to the rest of the expedition team.
Then, as they were all about to enter the sea—
Splash-!
─[Yoho!]
A monster suddenly burst out from the water.
It was a shark-headed humanoid with a muscular, grayish body.
I quickly pulled out my notebook.
【Pururu】─That startled me! Damn!
【Mysticism】─What’s with that shark? 😠
─[That creature is Sharklord.]
Neo Hyeong-seok spoke as if he recognized the monster.
Bastet Daong, who had approached Neo Hyeong-seok, tilted her head and asked.
─[Do you know that thing?]
─[Min Hyeong-seok… No, old Hyeong-seok used to control a Sharklord among his monsters. Though this one is a different individual. In any case, its abilities include water manipulation and shark summoning, but it’s not dangerous enough to be our match.]
Ah. I was going to name it, but since I’ve already heard the name “Sharklord,” I guess I’ll just stick with that.
─[There’s some delicious prey here…]
Sharklord shook off the water from its body after emerging.
It briefly scanned the expedition monsters,
─[……]
then, sensing something wrong, shut its mouth tightly and naturally turned around.
─[Oops, this isn’t the place? Must’ve taken a wrong turn! Yoho!]
Splash-!
Sharklord leapt back into the sea.
In an instant, it disappeared into the depths of the ocean with a splashing sound.
【Pururu】─?
【Yumi】─???
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Bubble Bubble】─It ran away.
【Rise Nov】─A monster with quick judgment.
It was a creature with excellent survival instincts.
—
Sharklord
– Actual Danger Level: S-rank.
– Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.
– Abilities: Water Manipulation, Shark Summoning.