Chapter 185. Absolute Taming
I tamed a Poison Apple named Poae for short.
An issue arose in the apple farm Poae was managing alone.
A few of the Poison Apples began voicing complaints against the “traitor” Poae, and soon, all the Poison Apples erupted in anger toward her.
Iris witnessed the entire situation.
Since Poae was also one of my tamed monsters, she received Iris’s modifications.
Although I hadn’t seen the situation directly.
Iris promptly reported that signs of a riot were brewing in the apple farm, so I activated the warp device and immediately crossed the portal to the farm.
［Wow, he’s here…］
［Pururu… Be quiet now, or you’ll get eaten.］
［One day, I’ll devour you all instead.］
［Shh…!］
The noisy apple farm fell silent the moment we appeared.
All the Poison Apples froze, avoiding our gaze with stiff expressions.
I shifted my eyes toward the apple tree where Poae had been.
There lay a peculiar, large egg with a strange shape.
It was shaped like a banana.
“…What’s with the banana?”
［It is assumed that she has entered an egg state for evolution.］
Iris replied.
I already figured that much.
Poae had entered an egg state to undergo natural evolution.
What puzzled me was why an apple had turned into a banana.
“I mean, I get that… but isn’t it weird for an apple to turn into a banana?”
［Apple and banana. Both are fruits. Not strange.］
【Pururu】─It is weird. WTH.
【Pururu】─Other than being fruits, what else do they have in common?
【Luna-chan】─They’re both delicious, that’s something in common, right?
【Bubble Bubble】─I mentioned before that apples could turn into bananas, and now it’s actually happening.
【Mysticism】─🤔 Is this for Poae?
【Hwang Mir】─Judging by the conversation, it seems that banana is Poae’s evolution.
【Yumi】─Not “for Poae,” it *is* Poae.
【Rizenova】─The egg may look like a banana, but after evolving, it might not take the banana’s form.
【Mysticism】─😮 Rizenova knows about bananas?!
【Rizenova】─?
Though absurd, I decided to accept it.
Such was the world of evolution.
Besides, it’s more plausible than a dollmaker evolving into a baby dinosaur.
At least, as Iris pointed out, both are fruits, so there’s some common ground.
“This isn’t the standard evolution path for Poison Apples, is it?”
［Certainly not the same species as a Poison Apple. It is evolving into a new species.］
Once again, this seemed to be a unique evolution.
I nodded at Iris’s explanation.
Squatting down, I carefully touched the banana-shaped egg and asked another question.
“By the way, what triggered the evolution? Did it meet certain conditions?”
［It could be that conditions were met, or it might have naturally entered the evolutionary state simply because the time was right. Natural evolution is inherently unpredictable.］
Poae was an old entity.
So it wasn’t strange for her to reach a moment of natural evolution at any time.
Iris added that explanation.
【Bubble Bubble】─Is this the first time we’re seeing pure natural evolution?
【Bubble Bubble】─No monster tamed by Gauntlet has undergone pure natural evolution before, right?
【Mysticism】─🧐 Didn’t several monsters evolve without using Evolution Tickets?
【Yumi】─Those were also natural evolutions, but not *pure* ones. They were boosted by Melody Fox’s buffs.
【Rizenova】─Among Gauntlet’s tamed monsters, Poae seems to be the first to evolve without receiving Melody’s buffs.
【Mysticism】─🤔 How can you tell Poae didn’t get buffed?
【Pururu】─Come on, she wouldn’t have been buffed. She hasn’t spent much time with Melody.
【Hwang Mir】─Plus, Melody didn’t particularly like Poae, so there’s no way she’d buff Poae ahead of other monsters.
In any case.
Leaving the egg in a hostile environment made me a bit uneasy.
While eggs are inherently sturdy.
It was unlikely that Poison Apples, especially those below S-rank, could break this egg. But still, you never know.
If the Poison Apples continued cursing at the egg in our absence, it might negatively affect the evolution.
I stood up.
I decided to move the egg to the forward base for safekeeping.
It seemed better than assigning a monster to guard it.
—
### Day 86 in the Ancient Labyrinth
It had been a while since I’d gone exploring personally.
Naturally, I selected the strongest monsters among my tamed ones for this expedition.
SSS-rank, Hedgehog Summoner God.
Her summoned entity, Abyss Lord.
SSS-rank, Elephant Merchant.
SS-rank, Iris.
These monsters were the ones that always stayed by my side.
For the record.
There was no longer a need to fear even SSS-rank enemies.
The gap between my once-sealed power and the weakened SSS-ranks was now gone.
Furthermore.
While my weakening ability had disappeared.
The universal debuffs applied across the Ancient Labyrinth, such as reduced size and attack range, still remained.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had an advantage.
Even with their power restricted, SSS-ranks were on par with me.
I had no special abilities.
Only my physical prowess, which I had honed to its absolute peak.
Compared to SSS-rank entities who achieved their level through special abilities, I was lacking.
If I could land a hit, I’d have the upper hand, but it wouldn’t be easy.
Well… with essentially infinite lives, if I put my mind to it, I’d eventually land a hit.
‘Now that I think about it, I do have a kind of special ability. The pseudo-immortality granted by the Ancient Labyrinth is as good as one.’
It was certainly a special ability.
Not needing to fear death at all was an enormous advantage.
Thanks to Omega’s machinery, there was no need to retrieve my body.
【Pururu】─Do you think Medical Angel can resurrect even SSS-rank entities?
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Bubble Bubble】─Probably.
【Yumi】─That’s why Gaon received that resurrection ability, isn’t it?
【Rizenova】─I agree with Yumi. The Ancient Labyrinth must have considered that Gauntlet had Medical Angel, thus removing the resurrection limitation as a gift.
For now, I could only believe it was possible.
Testing by killing an ally SSS-rank was out of the question.
And I couldn’t test it by dying myself.
If I or any of the SSS-ranks faced death, we’d naturally find out.
—
After a brief exploration, I stopped by the forward base.
There, familiar faces had gathered.
The family of Artpega Unibicorn, the Centaurs.
And Wifra, the Warden of Hell.
These monsters were quite friendly toward me.
Though they were willing to join me, I couldn’t tame them because they had been previously tamed by another explorer.
They didn’t come on their own; I called them.
Artpega Unibicorn brought the Centaurs, and Wifra was escorted by Nightmare, who had stopped by in the morning.
I had already informed them about my “Absolute Taming” ability.
［Congratulations, Explorer.］
［Absolute Taming… I never imagined such an ability could exist.］
［Could Gauntlet be the first to acquire this ability?］
［It’s impossible to say for sure. We haven’t met every explorer.］
I tamed the Centaurs.
［I never thought I’d be tamed by another explorer again… This feels strange, hehe.］
Next, I began taming Wifra.
For the record, this wasn’t considered betrayal among monsters.
Logically speaking, making a new friend while keeping your closest friend wasn’t an act of betrayal. It was simply increasing your circle of friends.
Of course.
This principle only applied when the other party had the Absolute Taming ability.
Normally, making a new close friend while keeping the closest one was considered betrayal.
This was why other Assistants couldn’t tame monsters that were already tamed.
Absolute Taming broke this unreasonable restriction.
It forcibly opened the hearts of monsters who had shut themselves off, unwillingly or otherwise.
If another Assistant possessed the Absolute Taming ability.
That Assistant could also befriend monsters I tamed.
But that would never happen.
Currently, I was the only explorer chosen by the Ancient Labyrinth.
As long as I didn’t lose my status.
And now, since even death couldn’t strip me of my status as an explorer, no new explorers would be selected.
Thinking along those lines.
Before I realized it, I had succeeded in taming Wifra.
Including the Centaurs, it hadn’t even taken ten minutes.
To celebrate our newfound friendship, we were about to head to the hotel for a meal.
［Hahaha! I’m back!!!］
A strange voice rang out.
I immediately turned toward the source of the sound.
There, I saw the banana-shaped egg broken apart.
From within it.
A monster stood triumphantly, arms spread wide, with a confident expression.
It had antennae protruding from its head.
Its hands were hard and black, resembling an insect’s exoskeleton.
A humanoid monster.
【Pururu】─??
【Mysticism】─😮
【Yumi】─Why did it become humanoid…
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s Poae. It must be.
“Yes, it’s Poae.”