NOVEL NEXT Chapter 16
After covering the Monster Index.
Why was the slime B-rank again?
I finally answered Pururu’s question, which had previously puzzled me.
I explained the slime’s rank and the fact that the danger level of the labyrinth monsters had been suppressed.
“Yeah. I’m not completely sure, it’s just a theory, but the probability is very high.”
Pururu uploaded the rank chart in the chat. It seems they transcribed the chart I had drawn on the floor yesterday.
Thanks to this, I saved myself the trouble of explaining again. Next time a new Assistant arrives, I should have Pururu handle the explanations.
“Nope. It’s not about intelligence.”
Intelligence doesn’t matter. If it’s a humanoid, it’s a Demon Lord; otherwise, it’s a Demon King.
I explained that while approaching Passage No. 6.
[Passage No. 6]
○ Habitat of Fire Slimes.
And just as I finished my note…
“Hmm?”
Text appeared in front of my eyes. A Drifter refers to an outsider from outside the labyrinth.
“Drifters have appeared.”
“Think of them as uninvited guests to this labyrinth.”
Before I became an Explorer, I was the only Drifter in this labyrinth. Although I was invited, my summoner, Min Hyeong-seok, had died.
I wasn’t sure they were human. Drifters were labeled as mortals.
“Anyway, it’s not like I know where they are, so even if I wanted to meet them, I can’t.”
I decided to ignore the Drifters. There was no way to figure out their location, and there was no real reason to meet them.
*
Somewhere in the Ancient Labyrinth.
The figures of three people gradually emerged.
“This place….”
A woman murmured softly as she looked around.
“Could it be the secret space that the heroes are hiding?”
“It seems like it might be.”
A man standing next to her replied. They were the Drifters who had just passed through a Dark Portal into the labyrinth.
The woman turned around and looked at an old man.
“Master of Darkness.”
This was the title she used to call the elderly man.
“It seems the dimensional door we crossed has disappeared. The way back appears to be blocked. What should we do?”
The world they came from was a place where good and evil constantly clashed.
It was a world where heroes and villains opposed each other. And these three belonged to the evil faction.
They were infiltrating the heroes’ base to eliminate the top-ranked hero.
But then a variable occurred.
The infiltration was successful, but they suddenly got caught in a Dark Portal and fell into an unfamiliar space.
“Hmm…”
The old man, referred to as the Master of Darkness, surveyed the surroundings with cold eyes.
He maintained a very calm demeanor.
“For now, let’s take a slow look around. I think we need to know what this place is.”
The man and woman nodded at the old man’s words.
As the three villains advanced into the cave…
［Suuung~］
A strange life form appeared before them.
A creature made entirely of flames approached them while humming a tune.
It was the Fire Slime that had clashed with Explorer Kang Geon.
“What the heck is that monster?”
“It seems to be a special life form secretly created by the heroes.”
“I can’t believe they were secretly making something like that…”
The man and woman took combat stances.
Ordinary humans would have freaked out, but they were not ordinary.
The woman and man were nation-destroying villains.
The old man, the leader of the villain group, was known as a world-destroying villain and a formidable force in his world.
Of course.
That was only in the context of their world.
Strength scales differently from one world to another.
Someone considered the strongest in one world might be average in another world, and conversely, someone seen as weak in one world could become an absolute ruler in another.
In other words, the definition of strength and the power of those at the top varies greatly across worlds.
For Kang Geon’s standards, the old man and the man and woman would be ranked A-Class and B-Class, respectively.
However, they were frogs in a well.
They believed they were the strongest and concluded they could easily dispatch the creature before them.
“Master, should we kill it?”
“It looks like it has some research value, so prioritize capturing it. If it resists too much, you can kill it. I’m sure there are other monsters besides this one.”
They were arrogant.
They could never win against the creature, but they failed to grasp the difference in power.
The Fire Slime was in a different state now than when it was with explorer Kang Geon.
Now it was not being suppressed and could unleash its full power.
［Suuung?］
The Fire Slime sensed the presence of the villains.
It was currently in a tamed state under Kang Geon.
Seeing a human resembling its friend Kang Geon, it bore no mindless hostility.
So, it thought about just passing by.
But the humans were the ones to attack first.
［Suuung…？］
Naturally, all their attacks were ineffective.
While the villains were shocked, the Fire Slime paused for a moment and stared at them.
Why are they attacking?
The explorer and itself are now friends.
Then shouldn’t other beings of the same kind also be friends?
The Fire Slime pondered.
And it quickly reached a conclusion.
Oh right! Just because they’re the same species doesn’t mean they’re all friends! There are bad ones among slimes that prey on their own kind!
These humans must be of that type.
They could harm its friend, the explorer.
So, the Fire Slime decided.
They’re enemies, so let’s kill them.
The Fire Slime puffed up and released intense heat.
Suddenly, the temperature soared dramatically, and the air inside the cave became scorching hot.
The cave was filled with heat, making it hard to breathe, reminiscent of being in a furnace.
“Ugh!”
“I-I can’t breathe…”
The man and woman began to tremble violently.
They clutched their throats, writhing in pain until they eventually fell to their knees.
Their eyes were filled with terror, revealing only the whites, and white foam bubbled from their mouths.
Their skin turned red.
As if seared like hot iron.
“Master, I-I…”
The burns quickly spread over their bodies, and their skin melted away, revealing white bones.
Eventually, even the bones melted away and flowed.
Their bodies slowly began to lose their original forms.
“What is happening…”
The old man was still alive.
As the leader of the villains, he stubbornly endured as his body melted away.
And then he realized, belatedly.
That creature was a being of a completely different level.
They could not win.
They needed to escape.
The old man, casting aside his pride and face, turned and cowardly ran.
But before long…
Thud!
He bumped into something and fell over.
He looked up to see a translucent barrier blocking his path.
“What, what is this!”
The escape route was blocked.
Panicking, the old man struck the cave wall with his fist.
He was struggling to break through.
But the solid cave wall showed not even a scratch.
As despair enveloped him, the Fire Slime began to puff up gradually.
Its enormous red body filled the cave, then suddenly split into countless small flames.
Each flame swiftly dashed towards the old man, seemingly with a will of their own.
Countless flames enveloped the old man.
The flames merged into a massive fire pillar, and in an instant, the old man’s body was reduced to ashes.
The fire pillar subsided.
No trace was left of where the old man had been.
The leader of the villains, who had instilled fear in an entire world, the Master of Darkness…
His life ended so abruptly and insignificantly.
*
Mortal beings from outside.
The number of Drifters dropped from 3 to 0.
‘Did they die?’
Had it only been a few minutes since they arrived that they were already gone?
I didn’t even know who the Drifters were or what they looked like, yet out of courtesy, I offered quiet condolences in my mind.
Then I applied some ointment to my left hand.
It was the support supplies Missy had just sent me, worrying about potential burns.
As soon as I finished applying the ointment…
Passage No. 6 lit up brilliantly.
I squinted my eyes to see a Fire Slime standing at the entrance.
For the record, the taming of the Fire Slime had already been successful.
Looks like my work just became easier.
I was planning to go fetch it after applying the ointment, but I didn’t expect it to come to me on its own.
The Fire Slime was watching cautiously before it slowly began to approach me.
The Fire Slime had already come close enough.
I carefully reached out my arm and touched its surface.
A soft sensation transmitted through my palm.
It felt calming.
“Nope.”
It wasn’t hot.
Just warm.
“This creature’s fire isn’t your typical fire.”
I began to pet the Fire Slime slowly.
As I did, the slime’s body began to relax, vibrating softly like a purring cat.
【Mysticism】─
And just like that, in a mere two days, I had tamed three monsters.
*
I temporarily released the Poison Apple from its restraints.
Then I provoked it to summon the summons.
When about eight summons were conjured,
the Dog Spider quickly restrained the Poison Apple once again.
【Mysticism】─
I quickly distributed the summoned apples.
Two for each.
As we huddled together, eating with the monsters…
“Oh right.”
Suddenly, something I had forgotten popped into my mind.
It was the favor I wanted to ask when Pururu came this morning.
“Pururu.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Could you perhaps visit my home right now?”
There’s one reason for this request.
To bring my belongings and money from home.
Of course, I intended to exchange the money for coins.