Chapter 183. Stage 5
The voice of the Ancient Labyrinth.
The newly acquired abilities, like Delegated Taming Authority.
The story of how I was reborn as an official candidate for the Dominant One, and so on.
I recounted everything I had just experienced to my assistants and monsters without leaving out a single detail.
【Pururu】─Wait a second. So, everything that elephant said was true?
【Yumi】─Huh? It really was?!
【Hwang Mir】─He wasn’t a liar···.
【Mysticism】─🙄
【Mysticism】─Hey, Mr. Elephant. Sorry for doubting you. 😭
Indeed.
The Black Merchant Elephant Merchant.
Among the information he shared,
some facts, like how even tamed monsters could betray you, turned out to be true.
As for the other details, their truth was still uncertain.
It wasn’t easy to conclude that everything he said was true.
Just because some things were accurate didn’t mean the rest would be.
In any case.
If I had known there was a high chance that the Elephant Merchant’s words were true, I would have paid more coins to acquire diverse information.
Well, it was too late to regret it now.
【Bubble Bubble】─So, there was an official candidate after all.
【Rizenova】─It feels like things are finally getting serious.
【Luna-chan】─No-no! Maybe the Dominant One isn’t far off after all~.
As the assistants’ chat messages were popping up.
［Ugh···.］
The fainted Elephant Merchant regained consciousness.
He raised his upper body.
Waving his long trunk around, he scanned his surroundings before locking eyes with me, his gaze widening.
［Ah··· You weren’t stripped of your qualifications as an explorer. That’s a relief. The Ancient Labyrinth must have evaluated you favorably.］
The Elephant Merchant let out a sigh of relief.
“Are you okay?”
［I think I’m fine··· Also, I must apologize. I didn’t expect the Ancient Labyrinth to be listening to everything we said··· This has never happened before, so I guess it was simply pretending not to notice all this time.］
【Pururu】─His speech suddenly got clumsy.
【Yumi】─Could it be because he lost his memory?
【Rizenova】─That might be part of it, and waking up just now might also play a role.
“You confidently claimed earlier that black merchants, unlike official wandering merchants, aren’t restricted.”
［I was too arrogant. Normally, creating a space like that and selling information wouldn’t have led to something like this. Of course, the space had never been breached before either··· It seems the Ancient Labyrinth was merely tolerating my abilities as long as I didn’t steal coins from explorers. If it wanted to, it could interfere with independent spaces anytime. Now that I think about it, that makes perfect sense···.］
The Elephant Merchant scratched his head.
Then, he continued.
［Anyway, it seems the Ancient Labyrinth wasn’t interested in explorers before but has taken quite an interest in you, Gauntlet. That’s likely why it interfered with the space this time. Whether it was eavesdropping only this time or has been doing so and ignoring it all along, I have no way of knowing.］
【Pururu】─His speech is back to normal again.
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Hwang Mir】─And he seems to remember quite a lot too.
【Bubble Bubble】─That’s strange. Didn’t he say his memory was erased?
【Luna-chan】─He said most of it was erased, not all of it. o_O
I was curious as well.
“But didn’t the Ancient Labyrinth erase your memories? From what I see, you seem fine.”
［Ah. I’m not completely fine. As I talked with you, Explorer, I checked my condition. Most of my memories, aside from those related to the conversation we just had, seem to have been erased.］
【Pururu】─So, it wasn’t a total reset.
【Yumi】─I told you so earlier.
【Mysticism】─😏 At least he didn’t turn into an idiot.
The memories necessary for living were intact, but most of the ones related to the Ancient Labyrinth were gone.
The Elephant Merchant added this explanation.
“So, do you still remember your revenge target?”
［Of course. Luckily, that memory wasn’t erased.］
“That’s good. I wanted to ask about what kind of person they are and how strong they are.”
［···I remember their appearance, but not their name. As for their strength··· They’re definitely stronger than me, Crocodile, or Solorb. But compared to the Ancient Labyrinth, they’re like mere dust. The Ancient Labyrinth is an unparalleled being beyond comparison. It’s an insult to even compare.］
So, the Ancient Labyrinth wasn’t his revenge target.
Anyway.
Summarizing the Elephant’s explanation.
Solorb, Crocodile, Elephant, and the like.
If I were to assess their danger level by my standards, they’d rank as SSS-class.
But his revenge target was stronger than them and far inferior to the Ancient Labyrinth.
That would make their rank around SSS+.
By the way, I had just made up the SSS+ rank myself.
It seemed fitting to describe someone stronger than SSS-class but not immeasurably so.
The gap between existing ranks.
In other words, the gap between SS-class and SSS-class wasn’t insurmountable.
So, there wasn’t a need to create an entirely new rank.
“Based on my standards, you’re SSS-class, so your revenge target would be around SSS+. And the Ancient Labyrinth would be higher, at EX-class.”
EX-class.
I assigned this new rank to the Ancient Labyrinth.
Rather than a rank, it signified an exception—an entity whose danger level was beyond measure.
After all, ranking the Ancient Labyrinth itself was disrespectful.
【Bubble Bubble】─SSS+, EX-class··· This is making my head spin.
【Luna-chan】─The world really is vast~.
【Bubble Bubble】─No, it’s just that place that’s weird.
【Hwang Mir】─Powerful monsters keep multiplying···.
【Pururu】─Haha, but isn’t Kang Geon going to handle all of them once his seals are lifted? Even if he can’t crush them outright, you have to count Kang Geon as two ranks higher in SSS-class because he’s unaffected by power weakening.
【Rizenova】─You shouldn’t think of SSS+ and EX as the same as the existing ranks.
【Rizenova】─While SSS+ is uncertain, EX-class might represent an insurmountable gap, even with power weakening. Otherwise, why would it be called EX instead of SSS++?
【Rizenova】─Additionally, Kang Geon’s temporary rank assignments are likely not entirely accurate. The actual levels might differ.
【Rizenova】─SSS+ might not even be affected by weakening.
【Yumi】─Come on, Pururu. Do you really think the Ancient Labyrinth would be affected by power weakening? That ability itself was created by the Ancient Labyrinth.
【Pururu】─Oh, yeah. That makes sense.
【Mysticism】─🤭 Silly Pururu.
The ruler of hell.
Sublime Bone Fiend, said to be the true form of the Giant Bone Fiend.
I asked if that entity corresponded to the SSS+ rank, but the Elephant Merchant replied that Sublime Bone Fiend was on the same level as himself.
After that,
I asked if he remembered any other information.
Things like how to become the Dominant One or why the Ancient Labyrinth spread false information.
Unfortunately, he remembered none of it.
He said he had memories of once knowing such information, but all of it seemed to have been erased as it pertained to the Ancient Labyrinth.
［Just in case, I’ll take some time to carefully recall things. It’s unlikely, but maybe I’ll remember bits and pieces of it.］
The name of his revenge target, the reason for seeking revenge, the reason he disclosed forbidden information to previous explorers, his own past.
He thought he might be able to recall these details with effort.
In addition,
unlike before, he freely shared the information he still had without asking for coins.
Perhaps because he was now tamed by me.
“By the way, you realize you’ve been tamed by me, right?”
［Yes, of course. I’ve noticed from the beginning that my feelings toward you, Explorer, are different from before.］
“Just so you know, I didn’t intend to tame you. The Ancient Labyrinth forcibly used its taming ability on its own, so don’t misunderstand.”
［Don’t worry. I fully understand that much.］
“Good to know you understand. By the way······.”
I hesitated for a moment.
Then, awkwardly, I asked the Elephant Merchant.
“···Would it be possible for you to hand over all the coins you have?”
Hearing this,
the Elephant Merchant showed no sign of displeasure and calmly replied.
［I can return the coins I received just now. However, I regret to inform you that I can’t hand over the ones I had before. Those coins were entirely absorbed to enhance my power. Thanks to those coins, I’ve gained the strength I have now.］
As he said this, he extended his hand toward me.
It seemed he was willing to return the coins he had just received.
I hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Just to be sure, can you still absorb coins to grow stronger?”
［Yes. That ability remains intact. While I’ve lost my memories, I haven’t lost my abilities or strength.］
“······Then just use them yourself.”
Hearing that he could grow stronger by using the coins, I changed my mind.
I decided against reclaiming the coins.
After all, the only reason I wanted to take them was because I thought they’d be useless to him now.
［Are you sure about this?］
“Yeah. If you get stronger, it’ll benefit me too. Besides, if you’re going to take revenge, you’ll need to grow even stronger than you are now.”
［···Thank you.］
The Elephant Merchant, an unexpected new SSS-class ally.
I decided to periodically invest coins in him.
Based on the information I obtained today,
excluding the exception rank Ancient Labyrinth, the highest rank across all dimensions was SSS+.
To face such an opponent in the future, we absolutely needed allies at the SSS+ level on our side.
And currently, the Elephant Merchant was the closest being to that impossible rank, with clear conditions to reach it.
If he achieved the SSS+ rank, it would essentially mean obtaining the strongest force across all dimensions.
“While we’re on the topic, why not take some coins now and absorb them?”
［Huh? Oh, yes···.］
I grabbed the Elephant Merchant’s trunk and began handing over coins.
Of course, since my coin supply wasn’t plentiful, I planned to stop after giving him a small amount.
There were many tickets I needed to purchase from vending machines, and one day, I would have to buy the radiant Evolution Ticket too.
As I was doing this.
「Verification complete.」
「The pure strength of Official Explorer Gauntlet has been fully assessed.」
The voice of the Ancient Labyrinth, which I thought had gone silent, echoed once again.
What now?
Had something we just said or done caused an issue?
As I braced myself with unease.
「The second special gift is being delivered.」
Srrrrrr-
A refreshing sensation cleared my mind.
Suddenly, energy surged through my entire body.
【Pururu】─???
【Yumi】─Huh? The marks on your back are disappearing!
【Bubble Bubble】─What the—? Is the seal being released?
【Mysticism】─😮
【Hwang Mir】─Your back is spotless now!!!
【Rizenova】─If the remaining marks are gone···.
【Luna-chan】─The seals are completely lifted!!! SSS-class!!!!!!!
The voice continued without pause.
「Restrictions are imposed on Gauntlet.」
「You cannot relinquish your qualification as an Explorer of your own will.」
「You cannot return to your original world until you become the Ruler of the Ancient Labyrinth.」
「You cannot travel to other worlds outside the Ancient Labyrinth until you become its ruler.」
「······.」
「The ability to weaken power is deemed unnecessary for Gauntlet.」
「The weakening ability does not apply to entities ranked SSS+ according to Gauntlet’s classification.」
「SSS+ entities can instantly pinpoint the Explorer’s location when encountering a monster tamed or dominated by the Explorer.」
「To ensure Gauntlet’s safe exploration, the weakening ability is withdrawn.」
「······.」
「A new special ability is being granted.」
「Your qualification as an Explorer will not be revoked even if you die.」
「The restriction on Explorer revival is lifted. Resurrection through the abilities of allies is now possible.」