Chapter 96. Back to the Starting Point
【Pururu】─Did you not tame the monster just now?
【Yumi】─It’s dead, how could I tame it?
【Pururu】─Ah, I misspoke. Didn’t you turn it into a puppet?
“I don’t know. That’s up to the Puppet Master.”
The corpse of the Colorful Seastar.
The Necro Puppet Master passed by it without even glancing at it.
It seemed like he had no intention of turning it into a puppet.
【Pururu】─I wonder what the criteria are for turning something into a puppet. Could you ask?
【Rise Nova】─I’m curious as well.
I wasn’t particularly curious.
But since my assistants were, I decided to ask.
“Necro.”
─［Did you call for me?］
“You didn’t turn the Colorful Seastar into a puppet?”
─［I ignored it because I thought it would be a waste of my abilities to make that thing into a puppet, but if you want it, Gauntlet, I’ll go back right now and make it one.］
“Oh, no need for that. I was just curious about your criteria for turning something into a puppet.”
─［…Hmm. There’s no particular criterion. If I like it, I make it a puppet. If I don’t, I don’t. That thing that just died was too big, and I didn’t like its flashy colors, so I didn’t want to use it as synthesis material either.］
So that was that.
A completely trivial reason.
Well, it didn’t matter to me.
I wasn’t concerned with whether it became a puppet or not.
If the person in charge didn’t want to do it, I couldn’t exactly force him to.
【Pururu】─I see.
【Pururu】─But did you really have to kill it? You could’ve captured it and tamed it instead.
【Mysticism】─Bastet went a bit overboard. 😠
【Bubble Bubble】─It would’ve been too big to capture anyway, right? Plus, finding the spot to hit it would’ve taken forever.
【Rise Nova】─Not to mention that only Gauntlet Gong can see the weak spot, so all the work would’ve fallen to him.
【Pururu】─Good thing you killed it.
【Mysticism】─Bastet foresight! 😀
【Yumi】─What’s with this sudden change in attitude?
Passing by the corpse of the Colorful Seastar, the exploration monsters continued diving into the ocean.
Then.
─［Ah, Master. I forgot to mention something earlier.］
Neo Hyeong-seok slightly turned his head and spoke to the Puppet Master who was following behind.
─［There’s a monster deep in this ocean that we should never encounter.］
─［A monster we shouldn’t meet?］
─［Yes. If we do, bad things will happen…］
As Neo Hyeong-seok spoke.
Woooooo-!
A massive vibration resonated through the deep sea.
Neo Hyeong-seok immediately stopped diving and sighed.
─［…Speak of the devil.］
A figure emerged from the depths below.
A giant worm… no, at first glance, it looked like a dragon.
【Pururu】─Oh! It’s a dragon!
【Mysticism】─A sea dragon! 😱
【Bubble Bubble】─Is that the monster Neo Hyeong-seok said we shouldn’t meet?
The Jellyfish Princess tilted her head as she looked at the monster.
─［Huh? Is that thing dangerous? It looks really weak.］
─［It’s not dangerous nor is it strong. It just has an annoying ability. It seems like it’s using it right now. There’s no way to avoid it, so you’ll just have to take it head-on─］
Before Neo Hyeong-seok could finish his sentence.
Flash-!
A brilliant light filled the deep sea, and the screen of Iris went dark.
***
The exploration team found themselves back at the place they had first departed from.
On the deserted island where the door to the cave was located.
─［The distance to the machine factory is far, so the journey takes a long time, but there’s also this kind of situation, which is why it could take up to several weeks.］
According to Neo Hyeong-seok, the monster they had just encountered was called the Deep Guardian.
It didn’t guard the entire deep sea… rather, it protected its own territory.
When intruders appeared, it immediately used its ability to expel them.
Moreover, since no one knew the exact boundaries of the Deep Guardian’s territory, there was no surefire way to avoid it.
All they could do was hope not to encounter it and leave things up to chance.
─［Arrrgh…!］
The Jellyfish Princess clenched her fists in frustration and glared fiercely at the ocean.
─［Dad! Can I just drink up all the seawater?］
【Pururu】─Is that even possible?
【Bubble Bubble】─It might be? The Princess is SS-rank after all.
“No.”
I answered firmly.
─［Huh? Why?］
─［If Father says no, then it’s a no.］
【Pururu】─The little one’s right. If it’s a no, it’s a no. No need to ask further.
The reason was simple.
Sucking up all the seawater would turn every monster in the ocean into our enemy.
The sea is vast.
It’s impossible to even imagine how many monsters are living in its deep, wide world or what kind of powerful beings might be lurking there.
Not just SS-rank.
There could even be SSS-rank monsters hiding there.
Turning them all into enemies would be akin to suicide.
When I kindly explained this, the Jellyfish Princess finally seemed to understand.
─［Neo Hyeong-seok. Is that monster the only one?］
─［No, there isn’t just one.］
─［Then how many are there?］
─［I’m not sure how many. I estimate there are probably dozens of them.］
─［I see. Got it.］
After conversing with Neo Hyeong-seok, Arachne suddenly extended her arm and lightly flicked her fingers.
At that moment.
─［Kieeeek!!!］
From the sea, a Deep Guardian, pierced by a single thread, was dragged out violently.
【Bubble Bubble】─What the…?
【Yumi】─What the heck?
【Rise Nova】─Ah. Looks like Lady Arachne connected the thread when we were expelled.
【Pururu】─Master fisher. ㄷㄷ
【Mysticism】─😱
“Did you connect the thread before we were expelled, Kino?”
─［Yes. The moment I saw that worm, I tried to neutralize it by shooting out thread. It connected, but oddly enough, the neutralizing thread didn’t work. Still, I’m glad I managed to pull it out of the water like this.］
The Deep Guardian, now on land.
It was soon completely bound by the thick thread spun by Arachne.
─［Father. Should we kill it before it uses its ability again? We don’t know where we’ll be expelled to next…］
─［There’s no need to kill it. Since we’re outside of water, it won’t be able to use its ability.］
Neo Hyeong-seok, who had approached Arachne, said.
─［And it’s only natural that Kino’s ability didn’t work. The Deep Guardian’s expulsion ability is nearly absolute.］
“An absolute ability?”
─［Yes. Its expulsion ability is one of the best, even though it’s restricted to use in water and its combat ability is virtually non-existent. It works on almost every target. Though, of course, it wouldn’t work on someone like Solorb or the Giant Bone Fiend.］
“Obviously, it wouldn’t work on SSS-rank… But the fact that it works on SS-rank is a bit of a headache. Could we counter it by killing it before it uses the ability?”
─［The original owner of this body tried that once. By sending in a fast monster like Bastet. But whether that attempt was a success or a failure…］
Neo Hyeong-seok scratched his head.
Then he continued.
─［Even if you kill the Deep Guardian, you’ll be expelled at that very moment.］
“……”
【Yumi】─That’s a dead end, huh.
【Bubble Bubble】─We still have to kill it if we encounter it. We’ll get expelled either way, but killing one means we’ll have a lower chance of running into it again next time.
【Rise Nova】─If we kill dozens of them and get expelled dozens of times, we’ll eventually stop encountering them altogether.
【Pururu】─There could be hundreds or even thousands of them. Neo Hyeong-seok’s estimate of dozens is just a guess.
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Mysticism】─So in the end, we just have to hope we don’t run into them. 😶
“Hey, Hyeong-seok.”
［Yes, Master. It’s Neo Hyeong-seok.］
“Do Deep Guardians use their expulsion ability on each other if they meet?”
─［I’m not sure. But wouldn’t they rarely meet? I’ve heard that Deep Guardians don’t usually leave their own territory.］
“So they don’t meet each other… But the ability would work on them too, right?”
─［I’d assume so? They have the ability to expel, but not to resist expulsion.］
Then there was one possible method.
A simple and easy countermeasure.
“Alright. First, let’s tame this Deep Guardian. Don’t set out until it’s fully tamed, and everyone should rest in the meantime.”
Once we tamed the Deep Guardian.
If we encountered another Deep Guardian in the deep sea, our tamed one could expel it first.
How had Min Hyeong-seok not thought of such a simple method?
Was he just not that bright?
■ Deep Guardian
─Real Danger Level: S-rank.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.
─Ability: Expulsion.