Chapter 144. Vending Machine Tracker Ticket
Labyrinth Day 74.
Today was the day I decided to use the Vending Machine Tracker Ticket.
And I had to personally participate in this expedition.
Because only I could use the vending machine.
Therefore, I decided to bring all the monsters with outstanding combat abilities.
No matter how much I was now an S-rank.
Even if I could now somewhat compete with S-rank monsters, or rather, those that were effectively SSS-rank due to the nerf risk.
Complacency was dangerous.
One never knew when or how unforeseen variables might occur.
As I had repeatedly said, it was always best to exercise the utmost caution for safety. There was nothing wrong with doing so.
Thus, early in the morning.
I turned on the broadcast, as usual.
【Mysticism】─🌞 Good morning!
【Yumi】─Did you sleep well?
【Pururu】─What? You’re on early today.
【Bubble Bubble】─You woke up at the same time as me. Are we in sync or something?
【Rizenova】─Nothing is in sync, so don’t get carried away.
【Mir-Stin】─What are these people? How do they join right as the broadcast starts?
【Luna-chan】─We joined right away too, didn't we? o_O
I immediately gathered all the main monsters at the base.
［Gathering complete.］
［Ready to deploy.］
［No issues.］
［Sleepy.］
Starting with the Iris, who gathered in an orderly manner.
［I’m ready, Father.］
［Dad! I woke up earlier and drank a lot of blood that Jafan gave me!］
Kinogine Arachne.
Blood Jellyfish Princess.
［Hsss~］
［Beep beep!］
［I don’t really need to prepare anything. We can leave right away.］
Black Magma Slime.
Medical Mushroom.
Bastet Daong.
“I’m ready too.”
［My son looks handsome even in the morning. Hehe.］
Azeras and Nyara Nepenthis.
［Explorer. I’ve packed the necessary items for the Monster Guidebook work.］
Even Artpega Unibicorn joined us.
【Luna-chan】─Seeing them all together is reassuring! ><
【Mir-Stin】─A small, elite team! Awesome!
【Pururu】─Shocking fact.
【Pururu】─Among them, Geon is the strongest.
【Mysticism】─😱😱😱
【Yumi】─That’s right. Geon is now in the third stage of his seal release, so he’s an S-rank, right?
【Bubble Bubble】─Even so, we need to be careful. There’s a difference between having one’s power sealed and being weakened or restricted.
【Rizenova】─The seal was a higher-level concept, indeed.
Hedgehog Summoner.
Jafan, Melody Fox, Merino Ula.
Since today’s expedition was not an ordinary one, I decided to leave the four of them in another village today as well.
They weren’t much help in combat, or they might become a hindrance, and they could even become a heavy burden. Especially Merino.
【Pururu】─Isn't Jafan’s combat power pretty good?
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s not just good; it’s excellent. He’s S-rank.
【Pururu】─No, I mean, isn’t he comparable to the ones you’re taking today? After all, he can use Black Magma Slime’s magma.
“He can control Black Magma Slime’s magma, but unlike Black Magma Slime, he has a weakness. No matter how powerful his attacks are, if his body is destroyed, it’s over. That’s why I’m not bringing him.”
Jafan had a tough body.
He boasted sturdy and strong defenses, easily withstanding attacks from fellow S-ranks.
But he couldn’t endure attacks from SS-rank monsters.
That’s why I excluded him from this expedition.
The farther we got from this hideout, the more frequently we seemed to encounter SS-rank monsters.
Melody Fox wasn’t combat-focused, so she was excluded.
Hedgehog Summoner was always paired with Melody Fox for the evolution buff, so she was also excluded.
And.
I decided to send them to the construction site in the underwater village today instead of the desert village.
［Doodoomba! Should we help with the construction too?］
［Kyuu!?］
“Yeah. Necro will be there. I’ve already talked to her, so just follow her around and help out with small tasks.”
［Got it! I’ll work hard! Be careful and come back safely!］
［Jafaaan! Construction sounds fun!］
［Kyuuu...］
As the three monsters headed towards the warp device, Merino followed behind, glancing back at me with a longing look.
“...I want to go with Gauntlet.”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Aww...”
Merino’s shoulders drooped.
She muttered to herself, clearly audible, as she made her way towards the warp device again.
“I need to get stronger as soon as possible so I can stay by Gauntlet’s side all the time. I’ll work hard and become as strong as Gauntlet.”
【Pururu】─Impossible for life.
【Bubble Bubble】─Merino, aim for something achievable.
【Mysticism】─But I think Merino is stronger than Pururu! 😛
【Mir-Stin】─Of course.
【Luna-chan】─Even within the F-rank, there’s still a gap, after all.
【Pururu】─?? Why are you guys suddenly attacking me?
【Yumi】─When it comes to abilities, Merino is much more useful than Pururu. Merino has a special ability that helps everyone.
【Rizenova】─It’s hard to say Merino is a pure F-rank. Her ability alone is beyond S-rank.
【Pururu】─Who are you to judge? Don’t talk about S-ranks when you’re just A-rank.
【Rizenova】─Pururu.
【Pururu】─Sorry.
【Rizenova】─?
【Mysticism】─Pururu’s aura... 🤭
After sending Merino and the three monsters to the underwater village, I immediately used the Vending Machine Tracker Ticket.
***
Like the Wandering Merchant Tracker Ticket.
The Vending Machine Tracker Ticket also guided us through voice directions.
Following the audio guide, we entered Passage No. 5.
Passage No. 5 eventually led to a vast underground world, with countless apple trees planted, home to Poison Apples.
Soon, we arrived at the apple farm.
［Purr! Long time no see!］
The manager of the apple farm.
Poison Apple, whom I had tamed, greeted us warmly.
Even after being tamed, it no longer harbored hostility, but there was once a lingering malice in its expression. Now, it had become much more serene.
For reference.
To distinguish it from other Poison Apples, I had named it "Poa."
“Poa. Long time... or not. How have you been?”
［I’ve been great! Did you come to pick apples again? I’ve carefully selected some delicious ones! The quality of the summons is excellent!］
【Pururu】─This backstabbing trash.
【Mysticism】─How sinister! 😠
【Mir-Stin】─He looks like the kind of traitor that would stab you in the back.
【Yumi】─There’s no need to worry about betrayal. Didn’t we say that tamed monsters never betray us?
Poa was eagerly trying to recommend the selected Poison Apples to me.
Meanwhile, other Poison Apples nearby were grinding their teeth.
［That traitor...］
［Purr, Purr...!］
The Poison Apples glared at us menacingly.
But as soon as I glanced their way, they quickly averted their gaze.
［...That explorer gets stronger every time I see him. I can’t figure him out.］
［He... he seems like a monster...］
I withdrew my gaze.
And then spoke to Poa.
“No need to recommend anything. I didn’t come to pick apples today.”
［Purr? Then why did you come here?］
“I was just passing through. I used the Vending Machine Tracker Ticket, and it led me this way.”
The guide voice was now directing us to move deeper, beyond the apple farm.
It seemed we had to go further.
I should have used the warp device.
I was about to take a step forward but paused.
Then, I turned back to Poa and asked.
“By the way, Poa.”
［Purr?］
“Do you know what lies ahead if I keep going straight?”
I assumed that we would need to move beyond the apple farm to find the vending machine.
In other words, into unexplored areas.
So, it would be best to gather information in advance if possible.
【Pururu】─What would he know? He’s stuck on a tree and can’t even move.
【Yumi】─You never know. He seems like an apple that knows quite a bit.
【Mir-Stin】─Does a Poison Apple die if it falls from a tree?
【Mysticism】─If it stays detached for too long, it does. I told you that before! 😠
【Bubble Bubble】─If it doesn't manifest its true power within a certain period after falling, it dies.
【Rizenova】─Poa said last time that the condition for that power is instilling fear in another being.
【Mir-Stin】─Hmm. So, if it stays detached for too long, it dies. But it can be away for a short time, right? In that case, wouldn’t short outings be possible? As long as it returns to the tree before its life expires?
【Mysticism】─😮 Oh! That makes sense!
【Rizenova】─I’m not sure if that’s possible, but from what I know, it can’t stray too far from the tree. A long outing would be impossible.
【Luna-chan】─Then, as Pururu said, it probably doesn’t know much. o_O
Poa seemed to be searching through its memories.
After a moment, it seemed to recall something and responded to my question.
［Purr! At the end of the direction you pointed, there’s a door! But I don’t know what lies beyond it... except that the Stone Makers came through that door.］
It wasn’t much useful information.
Unfortunately, there was nothing else to do.
We would just have to check for ourselves.
I politely thanked Poa and continued, leading the monsters as we moved toward the area indicated by the guide.
Time passed.
And we arrived at a dead end.
To be precise, there was a massive door blocking the passage.
【Pururu】─What’s up with that door? It’s giving me chills.
【Mysticism】─😨
【Mir-Stin】─This door is very different from the ones we’ve seen so far. It’s scary.
【Yumi】─It looks like the gate to hell...
A door so enormous it filled my entire field of view.
The rough surface was made of black iron and red stone, adorned with various skulls and sharp spikes.
The enormous handle was twisted in the shape of a snake, and in its eyes, red gemstones gleamed ominously.
As Yumi said.
That door looked like the entrance to hell.