Chapter 124. Dispatch #2
【Mir-Stin】─Wow! Is that the otherworld? So damn cool!
【Pururu】─ㄷㄷ Just by looking at it, it’s clear no ordinary person could live there.
【Mysticism】─😱 It’s destroyed!
【Mir-Stin】─Looks like a world invaded by aliens!!!
【Yumi】─It seems like there’s a thick layer of radiation.
【Rizenova】─It could also be a dense form of energy.
【Yumi】─Whatever it is, it definitely seems uninhabitable for humans.
【Luna-chan】─Once I recover my strength, I want to visit there. But just by looking, I can’t pinpoint the coordinates. It’s hard to pinpoint the coordinates for the Ancient Labyrinth, too. ㅠWㅠ
【Bubble Bubble】─Why do you want to go to such a strange world?
【Luna-chan】─For a trip! ><
As the assistants’ chat messages appeared at the edge of my vision, Iris analyzed the world to which she had been dispatched and began to analyze the planet she was currently on.
Then.
She deduced that the planet had been destroyed by an invading race and guessed that the invaders were likely connected to the roots of her own species.
“So, ‘roots’… Are you saying those monsters are your ancestors, Iris?”
─［Negative. They are not ancestors. The Ancient Labyrinth simply used the Astral Code as a reference when creating us. Therefore, referring to them as roots is more accurate.］
Iris was a newly created species.
So, using the term “ancestor” for that species was not appropriate, she added.
They were not an incomplete species like those creatures.
They had analyzed the Astral Code thoroughly, eliminated the flaws, maximized the strengths, and became a perfect species.
【Yumi】─If we compare it to humans, it seems like a distinction between the old humans and new humans.
【Mir-Stin】─But what exactly is the Astral Code?
【Pururu】─The Astral Code is the Astral Code.
【Mir-Stin】─Ohho!
Astral Code.
Omega had explained it to me recently.
It was hard to explain in detail.
But, roughly speaking, it’s like species data or genetic information… to put it simply, it’s like a unique species value.
I also heard that the Ancient Labyrinth creates life forms in various ways.
Explorers, drifters, and invaders, for instance.
Sometimes, they absorb and analyze the corpses of creatures from other worlds and recreate them as more advanced beings.
Other times, if the external creature is still alive, the Ancient Labyrinth reads the Astral Code and the information of the world where that creature was born and raised, and creates based on that.
In these cases, it’s said that the influence from explorers is more frequent.
Additionally.
There are cases where creatures from the Labyrinth are combined and created.
Or, entirely new Astral Codes are created, without referencing any external Astral Codes, essentially creating new life from scratch.
Various methods like these exist.
─［There are many creatures in the Ancient Labyrinth born from external influences. I am one of them, as well as Melody Fox, Centaurides, and slimes. Many other creatures were recreated by analyzing the Astral Codes of external beings that drifted into the Labyrinth.］
In a way.
The Ancient Labyrinth could be seen as a place that absorbs weak creatures and evolves their species.
And it turns them into perfect beings with an S-grade level of danger or higher.
“But how can such a coincidence happen? You were randomly dispatched to another dimension, yet you ended up in a world connected to your roots among countless others…”
【Pururu】─ㄹㅇ Is that even statistically possible?
【Yumi】─Even when using multiple Dispatch Tickets simultaneously, we end up in different places, but this time, we were lucky enough to be sent to the same place. The odds are as absurd as that.
【Bubble Bubble】─Still, the probability isn’t zero, so it’s not impossible.
【Luna-chan】─The probability is almost close to zero, though. There are so many worlds. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the number of dimensions is infinite.
【Mysticism】─😮 Your tone got normal!
Regarding that question, Iris proposed two possible explanations.
─［It’s possible that the chance of being dispatched to a world that is at least somewhat related to the dispatcher or the Ancient Labyrinth is higher than being sent to a completely unrelated world.］
─［Alternatively, the chances could be equal. In that case, it is likely that this species exists across numerous dimensions.］
“A species that exists across numerous dimensions?”
─［Affirmative. They might be a species that travels between dimensions and invades many planets.］
【Mir-Stin】─Judging by how vague you’re being, I guess you don’t have concrete information.
【Mysticism】─You said they seem like your root species, but how come you know so little? 😠
【Rizenova】─Even if they are presumed to be her root species, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s her first time encountering them.
【Mysticism】─😮 I see.
Indeed.
Iris’s explanation seemed more plausible than simply having coincidentally encountered her root species.
Well, in truth, the reason didn’t matter much.
What was important now was whether we could negotiate constructively with this species.
At least they didn’t seem incapable of communication.
Despite their appearance, they seemed to be a species with a high level of intelligence.
There didn’t seem to be any issues with smooth communication either.
Since we could read the letters on the road signs, it seemed like our interpretation and translation abilities were functioning well.
Anyway.
To install the Dimensional Altar Ticket without any issues, we could only hope this species wasn’t extremely hostile or too foolish to recognize an opponent’s strength.
“Iris. First, head down to the surface and join up with the Black Magma Slime. Then, let’s catch one nearby and try talking to them.”
─［Understood.］
With that, Iris and the Black Magma Slime began heading toward the city.
***
As I was watching Iris’s screen.
I glanced over to check the assistants’ chat.
That’s when I noticed a question that Hwang Mir had posted.
【Mir-Stin】─I’m curious about something.
【Mir-Stin】─Why haven’t the Black Magma Slime and Iris grown larger? Don’t monsters get bigger when dispatched?
“That depends on the monster. Some monsters remain small inside the Ancient Labyrinth, while others retain their original size.”
【Mir-Stin】─Ah, I see. Got it. But, on the flip side, are there monsters that get buffed in size?
“I haven’t checked for sure, so I can’t say definitively… but I doubt it.”
【Mir-Stin】─Understood. Thanks for the kind explanation.
【Pururu】─ㅋㅋ
【Luna-chan】─Gauntlet is so kind! ><
【Pururu】─Gross.
【Mysticism】─🤬
【Luna-chan】─Why is everyone so mean to me? ㅠWㅠ
【Bubble Bubble】─You deserve it.
While chatting with the assistants, the dispatch team had already reached the outskirts of the city.
Iris focused her screen on a wandering creature nearby.
─［Detecting danger level.］
─［E-grade.］
I could sense danger too.
Even if Iris was on another world, her senses were still connected to mine.
But I didn’t stop Iris from detecting and reporting the danger level.
It would’ve been a bit tedious for me to detect it myself and report it to the assistants one by one.
Anyway.
The creature Iris had just focused on had a grotesque appearance, with a large single eyeball perched atop a humanoid body.
─［Awaiting elimination command.］
“Don’t attack just yet. Try talking to it─”
─［Screech, screeech! Screeeeech!!!］
The eyeball creature finally noticed the dispatch team and started charging at them while screeching.
It seemed like it wasn’t a creature we could communicate with.
Iris must have come to the same conclusion, as she issued an attack command to the Black Magma Slime.
─［Detecting threat. Unlikely to negotiate. Proceeding to eliminate. Black Magma Slime, begin the attack.］
─［Sssss?］
─［Begin the attack.］
─［Ssssss!］
The Black Magma Slime casually tossed a small magma bomb.
The bomb hit the eyeball creature’s body,
─［Screeee!!!］
It writhed in agony, unable to resist.
In an instant, its body melted away and disappeared.
【Luna-chan】─Wow!
【Mir-Stin】─Wow! One-shot kill, so clean!!! You took it out easier than a bug! Incredible!!
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s only an E-grade. It wasn’t even a superhuman, yet it had no sense of fear.
【Pururu】─ㄹㅇㅋㅋ Where does an E-grade get off attacking an SS-grade?
【Mysticism】─Doesn’t know its place! 🤭
【Yumi】─Still, it’s a higher grade than us.
【Rizenova】─You should train more.
─［To negotiate, it seems we need to encounter creatures with a higher danger level.］
“That seems likely. Those with low danger levels probably have lower intelligence too.”
After eliminating the eyeball creature, Centaurides, who had been watching Iris’s screen with me, suddenly handed over her notebook.
［Explorer, I’ve finished the drawing.］
“Already?”
She’d already completed the drawing in that short time.
By the way, today’s “Otherworld encyclopedia” task was entirely assigned to Centaurides.
She had been disappointed after missing out on the last encyclopedia task, so I made a special exception for her this time.
【Bubble Bubble】─Her drawing speed is getting ridiculously fast.
【Mysticism】─Is she even human? 😨
【Mir-Stin】─She’s a monster.
【Yumi】─S-grade talent is truly something else.
【Rizenova】─She’s S-grade even in the art field, it seems.
【Pururu】─At this rate, she’ll be drawing faster than AI.
I accepted the Otherworld encyclopedia and checked the drawing.
■Otherworld Creature A-1
─Danger level: E-grade.
“Nicely done.”
［Thank you!］
Centaurides smiled, satisfied, as I complimented her.
Even Merino praised her after seeing the drawing.
“Nicely drawn~. As a reward, I’ll pat your head~.”
［Thank you!］
【Pururu】─?
After confirming the encyclopedia, I turned my attention back to Iris’s screen.
Iris and the Black Magma Slime, now inside the city, had just entered when,
─［Detecting signs of life from another species.］
Iris stopped moving.
She suddenly turned in one direction and zoomed in on her screen.
There, a building overrun by monsters came into view.
And on the surface of the infested building.
─”Ugh…”
A person, wearing a peculiar helmet and something resembling a space combat suit, was tangled in tentacles, groaning in pain.