Chapter 184. Resurrection Site
【Pururu】─The seal’s been broken. ㅊㅊㅊㅊ
【Luna-chan】─Congrats!!!
【Mysticism】─😮 Oppa, are you SSS-rank now?!
If I were to assess my current threat level, it would be at an SSS-rank.
Suddenly, I received a second special gift from the labyrinth, which completely released my seal and restored my power.
However.
The ability that had protected me all this time.
The one called the ‘Weakening Ability,’ which every explorer was said to possess, was taken back.
It was the price for unsealing me.
【Rizenova】─It’s great that your seal is broken, but losing the ability to weaken monsters is quite regrettable.
【Bubble Bubble】─Exactly. If you still had that ability intact, Gauntlet would’ve been the strongest in the Ancient Labyrinth.
【Pururu】─ㄹㅇ Why give the ability and then take it back? Such chaos.
【Yumi】─Maybe it’s because of balance issues?
【Hwang Mir】─They said it was for the explorers’ safety, but I also think they took it away because of balance. Giving a weakening ability to someone at SSS-rank would’ve completely broken the balance.
I had already conveyed the voice of the labyrinth I heard to all my assistants.
Anyway.
At first, I thought this wasn’t such a good thing.
Even though the seal was released.
And my rank rose two levels to become SSS-rank.
The disappearance of the ability to weaken enemies by two levels felt like I was stuck in place.
Was it really for the safety of explorers that this ability was taken back?
…That thought didn’t last long.
When I carefully mulled over the information the Ancient Labyrinth shared, I concluded that it truly was for the safety of explorers.
Apparently, the SSS+-rank monsters are immune to explorers’ abilities.
In other words, when facing an explorer, their strength isn’t weakened.
If I had still retained the weakening ability.
Facing an SSS+-rank monster with my monsters would have been utterly impossible.
Though the SSS+-rank’s power remains the same.
Our monsters would have their threat level nerfed by two stages due to the weakening ability.
Bringing SSS-rank monsters to face an SSS+-rank enemy would essentially pit SSS+-rank monsters against S-rank ones.
And.
For safety, I would always need to keep SSS-rank monsters around me.
An SSS+-rank monster would be far beyond anything I could handle alone.
However, if I still had the weakening ability.
The SSS-rank monsters accompanying me wouldn’t be at full strength.
Of course.
Monsters that are not near me wouldn’t have their power reduced, so I could send monsters on their own…
But I’d heard that beings of SSS+-rank could instantly pinpoint my location the moment they encountered a monster I tamed.
Thus, sending my monsters away wouldn’t be a viable solution either.
Moreover.
There was no foolproof way to completely hide my location.
If an SSS+-rank monster happened to stumble upon one of the villages or crossed paths with one of my wandering tamed monsters, my position could be exposed.
No matter how careful I was, there were always limits.
If my location were revealed, it would simply be bad luck.
‘To prepare for that, I must always keep an SSS-rank monster by my side.’
Additionally.
I decided to personally explore the labyrinth a few times a week from now on.
Now that I had regained SSS-rank power, and from what the labyrinth told me, it seemed revival would be easier thanks to the Medical Angel’s abilities.
I wouldn’t need to personally go on every exploration, though.
【Mysticism】─🧐 But why doesn’t the weakening ability work on SSS+-rank monsters?
【Yumi】─That’s true. Didn’t they say SSS+-rank monsters are nothing compared to the EX-rank Ancient Labyrinth? Then there’s no reason the labyrinth’s abilities shouldn’t work.
【Rizenova】─Perhaps they’re beings that, while inferior in rank, can’t be interfered with beyond a certain limit.
【Rizenova】─If I were to compare, I’d say they’re like a cancerous growth within the Ancient Labyrinth.
【Bubble Bubble】─If we killed all the SSS+-rank monsters in the labyrinth, could we become its rulers?
【Luna-chan】─I don’t think so.
【Luna-chan】─Removing the ‘cancer’ might increase the labyrinth’s favorability toward us, but if its goal was solely to eliminate them, it would’ve told us outright instead of being so vague. The ambiguous objective suggests there’s another way to become the ruler.
【Hwang Mir】─It hasn’t even been confirmed that they’re a ‘cancer.’
【Pururu】─Could we tame the cancer, though?
Afterward.
I summoned all the representative monsters of each village and explained what had just happened.
We discussed how to proceed with future explorations and consulted with the assistants intermittently.
We also deliberated over various questions that arose.
What is the extent of an SSS+-rank monster’s power?
Is the gap as stark as the difference between SS and SSS ranks?
Or is it possible to fight one with a group of SSS-rank monsters?
Why hadn’t we encountered an SSS+-rank monster until now?
Were they asleep all this time and only now awakening?
Or is it just because the Ancient Labyrinth is so vast that we haven’t run into them yet?
Why did the labyrinth start calling me Gauntlet instead of Kang Geon so naturally?
Was it a sign that the labyrinth had opened its heart to me, becoming more familiar?
What’s the exact method to become its ruler?
And so on.
As we discussed, the day came to an end before I even realized it.
***
On Day 85 of the Ancient Labyrinth.
Omega had begun mass-producing a special device.
The device was equipped with a function that would transport a user’s corpse to a specific location upon death.
It was installed on me, of course.
As well as on every monster I had tamed.
The designated corpse-return location was the forward base.
Originally, I wanted to set it to the hotel, but the Building Creator didn’t approve, so the location was changed.
Anyway.
Now the forward base also served as a resurrection site.
Naturally, I decided to station the Medical Angel here, and Queen Mellifera would assist in supporting her.
As I looked at the resurrection site I had established in the forward base, I pondered.
If someone possessing the explorer qualification dies.
Do they disappear, reincarnate, or get absorbed by the Ancient Labyrinth?
Now that I had officially become a candidate for ruler.
It seemed I had become someone who couldn’t die even if I wanted to.
No matter how many times I died, I would endlessly revive.
Well… since I’d resolved to become the ruler no matter what, this was actually a good thing.
【Pururu】─So explorers couldn’t originally resurrect, huh?
【Mysticism】─🧐 Then what about Neo Hyeong-seok? He resurrected.
【Yumi】─That wasn’t resurrection. Puppets may retain their memories and consciousness from life, but they’re just soulless shells.
【Rizenova】─Exactly. Puppets are essentially an entirely new kind of creature.
【Mysticism】─😮 Oh, I see.
【Mysticism】─But Azeras was originally an explorer too, right? Does that mean Azeras couldn’t resurrect either?
【Pururu】─You’re really full of questions. Try thinking for yourself for once.
【Luna-chan】─Azeras already lost her explorer qualifications, so it doesn’t matter now.
【Bubble Bubble】─Since she’s no longer an explorer, she should be able to resurrect now.
【Mysticism】─😮
【Pururu】─If we answer all your questions, you’ll get spoiled.
【Hwang Mir】─ㄹㅇ. Haha.
【Mysticism】─😠
After creating the resurrection site.
We then prepared for the eventuality of an SSS+-rank monster appearing. Omega installed devices with the analyzed abilities of Deep Guardian at the hotel, all the villages, and the forward base.
These devices replicated Deep Guardian’s banishment ability.
I wasn’t sure if it would work on SSS+-rank monsters.
But the more safety measures, the better.
Incidentally.
These devices were arguably superior to Deep Guardian.
Unlike Deep Guardian, which could only use its ability underwater, Omega’s devices weren’t restricted by location.
“Omega. Are you sure these devices perfectly replicate Deep Guardian’s ability?”
［Beep-beep. Absolutely. I ran multiple tests to verify it.］
Just to be certain, I tested it myself.
The targets were Abyss Lord and the Elephant Merchant.
When I used the device.
The Abyss Lord was banished to the abyss, while the Elephant Merchant seemed to be sent to another area within the labyrinth. Both had Iris crystals, so I could confirm it immediately.
─［Master, please summon me back.］
［Doodoomba!］
The Hedgehog Summoner God summoned the Abyss Lord back.
As for the Elephant Merchant, he’d find his way back on his own.
Following this, I decided to tame some monsters I hadn’t before.
I postponed taming Wifra and the Centaurs for later.
Instead, I tamed Merino Ula, Nyara Nepenthis, and the puppets in the underwater village.
To be honest, I hadn’t wanted to tame Merino.
Even untamed, she had shown me immense goodwill.
However.
“I want to see the chat!!! I want to go on dispatches too!!! Please tame me!!! And use an Evolution Ticket on me too!!!”
Since she was so adamant.
I had no choice but to tame her.
Thus, the puppets and Merino Ula were tamed.
Even after being tamed, they showed no changes from before.
It was likely because their affection for me had already reached its peak.
“Now, use the Evolution Ticket on me! I want to evolve too!”
【Pururu】─Can she even evolve?
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Yumi】─I’m not sure. Since she’s tamed, it might be possible even if she isn’t a labyrinth monster.
【Bubble Bubble】─If it’s possible, I’ll ask to evolve later too.
【Hwang Mir】─If evolution is possible, I’m willing to be tamed too!
“…I don’t have an Evolution Ticket right now. If I get one later, I’ll try it on you.”
“Yay-yay! It’s a promise!”
I made a pinky promise with Merino.
***
While Gauntlet was working at the forward base.
At the same time, at the apple farm.
［Traitors, begone!!］
［Traitor Poae, die!］
［Disgrace to our kind! Prrrrrrrr!!!!］
［Trash who sold out their own kind, take your own life!!］
The Poison Apples’ condemnation echoed loudly.
The target of their scorn was Poae.
Poae was the Poison Apple managing the apple farm tamed by Gauntlet.
［…Our species feeds on the fear of others. But now, no one fears us anymore. Without encountering Drifters, we’ve already become a declining species. Soon, we’ll go extinct. So what’s wrong with abandoning a doomed species?］
Poison Apple Poae spoke.
It was only natural to side with greater fear.
She was simply the one who best understood the essence of the Poison Apples.
She said they were foolish not to betray first if they wanted to survive.
The Poison Apples, hearing this, grew even more enraged.
［Don’t spew nonsense, traitor!］
［Traitors should end their own lives!!］
［Poison Apples that are supposed to inspire fear surrendering in terror to their enemies?! Have some shame! You coward!］
［You’re no different from Pig King, who eats his own kind! Prrrr!!］
Endless insults from her kind.
Unable to bear it, Poae’s body trembled, and she gnashed her teeth.
［Prrrrrrr…!］
A yellow glow began emanating from Poae’s body.
［Fine, then. As you wish… I’ll abandon this disgusting form and become a different species… That way, it won’t count as betraying my kind.］
Among the Poison Apples in the apple farm.
Poae, the one who had survived the longest.
Her body began to grotesquely elongate and turn yellow.
Finally.
Poae transformed into a banana-shaped egg.