Chapter 24. Beep!
A Transferable Return Ticket costs 10 coins.
That’s equivalent to about 100,000 won (around $100).
So, I couldn’t just hand it over for free. I’m not a charity worker.
If someone wants something, they need to offer something in return.
【Pururu】─Telling him to hand over everything he’s got? You’ve gone full hustler, Geon. 😂
【Yumi】─But it makes sense to ask for something in return. A Transferable Return Ticket is worth 100,000 won, after all.
【Mysticism】─😌
“Hmm… everything I have…”
Rizenova nervously fumbled around his body, searching for something.
I was hoping he might have something hidden in his clothes, but it seemed he was completely empty-handed.
“I’m sorry. I was dragged here right before my execution, so I have nothing to offer. The only thing I can give you is these old clothes I’m wearing.”
【Pururu】─His clothes are trash. We wouldn’t take them even if he offered.
Rizenova slowly began to remove his robe.
I inspected his clothes closely.
They seemed like ordinary, worn-out robes. Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“The clothes you’re wearing—are they made from any special material?”
“These are just regular clothes.”
Well, that was disappointing.
I didn’t need plain clothes, especially ones that didn’t fit my style.
“Never mind about the clothes. You can put them back on.”
【Pururu】─Hurry up and put them on. Geon isn’t a clothes hoarder. Haven’t you noticed he’s shirtless most of the time? 🙄
【Yumi】─By the way, Geon, why are you shirtless all the time? I’ve been meaning to ask.
【Pururu】─Took you long enough to ask.
【Pururu】─Geon says it’s more comfortable to be shirtless. He’s a savage from another world.
【Yumi】─Ah, I see.
Rizenova quickly put his clothes back on and scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
“I really don’t have anything else to offer…”
If Rizenova had nothing to offer, I couldn’t give him a Transferable Return Ticket.
I’m not naive enough to hand out favors for free to someone I just met.
‘Still, telling him to just wander around the labyrinth and die feels a bit harsh.’
Rizenova hadn’t shown any hostility towards me. He was polite and hadn’t done anything to annoy me.
His first impression wasn’t bad, so I decided to extend a small act of kindness with some conditions.
“Rizenova, do you need to return to your world urgently?”
“It’s not urgent. If I went back now, the government would catch me and I’d just die for nothing. I think it’s better to wait a while before returning.”
“So, even if you could go back right away, you’re planning to stay in the labyrinth for now?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then how about you help me out? Assist me with my labyrinth exploration for a few days, and in return, I’ll send you back to your world whenever you’re ready.”
In exchange for his help, I’d let him earn his ticket home.
With no other options, Rizenova agreed to my proposal without hesitation.
***
【Pururu】─Hip Hop Shake~ What should I write with my cute butt~ 🎶
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Pururu】─Let’s draw a little dream with that cute butt~ 🎶
【Mysticism】─🤐
【Yumi】─Mysticism is asking you to stop.
Ignoring the random chatter from the assistants, I was in the middle of deciding which passage to explore next.
Then, out of nowhere, Rizenova mentioned that he might have something useful to offer.
“The executioners who came with me were carrying execution swords. Though they were devoured by the… monsters, the swords should still be where they fell. I doubt the monsters would have eaten the swords as well.”
“Execution swords? What’s special about them compared to regular swords?”
“They are special swords capable of cutting down enemies much stronger than oneself. If you can retrieve one, it would surely be useful to you.”
I wasn’t particularly skilled with swords, but having one wouldn’t hurt.
Who knows, I might tame a monster that could use a sword someday.
After some discussion, we decided to re-explore Passage No. 8.
We needed to recover the execution swords, and we also had to find the two revolutionary officers who had fallen into the labyrinth with Rizenova.
“To be honest, I don’t expect those two to still be alive. If they’ve encountered any of the monsters here, they’ve likely perished. The creatures in this labyrinth seem to be on a completely different level than we are.”
Rizenova walked beside me, his expression gloomy.
I glanced at him and noticed how downcast he seemed.
“Don’t make that face. Those two officers are still alive.”
“…How do you know that?”
“I can see it. I can track the number of Drifters who fall into the labyrinth.”
I stared at the empty air.
『Number of Drifters: 3』
There were still three Drifters, meaning the two officers were alive.
They must have been lucky enough to avoid encountering monsters.
“Can you tell where they are?”
“I can’t track their exact location.”
“That’s unfortunate… But knowing they’re still alive is a relief.”
We continued walking, chatting along the way. Every time we reached a fork in the path, we stuck to the leftmost route.
*
“Let’s split up from here. Take this.”
After walking for a while, I handed Rizenova a piece of paper.
It was for mapping.
Of course, I gave him a pen as well.
Then,
『Support goods from GOLD-ranked assistant ‘Pururu’ have arrived!』
I received two wristwatches from Pururu as part of his support.
I kept one for myself and handed the other to Rizenova.
“Take this too.”
“A wristwatch appeared out of nowhere! How is this possible?”
“I’ll explain it later. For now, you know what a watch is, right?”
“I do. It’s identical to the watches we use in my world.”
【Pururu】─Huh, didn’t expect him to be so civilized.
【Yumi】─That’s fascinating. Their world uses the same watches as Earth.
【Mysticism】─😐
“Let’s meet back here at 9 o’clock. Jellyfish.”
I turned to Jellyfish, who responded with a soft *Pii* and latched onto my cheek.
“If you and I are far apart, the buffs you cast on me won’t disappear, right?”
［Pii!］
“Good. Strengthen the buff magic on me, then cast the same buff on Rizenova. From now on, you’ll stick with Rizenova and protect him.”
In this labyrinth, Rizenova was weak.
His danger level was only C-rank.
So I assigned one of my monsters to protect him.
We split into two teams.
Rizenova and Jellyfish would take the left path to recover the execution swords and continue exploring.
Meanwhile, I would explore the central path with Dog Spider and Black Magma Slime.
Just before we parted ways, I stopped Rizenova.
“Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“I wanted to ask you something. Have you noticed anything strange about your body?”
“Something strange?”
“Like, have you felt weaker than usual?”
“How did you know that?”
Rizenova answered, startled.
As I suspected.
“For some reason, I’ve felt weaker lately. I don’t think it’s because of my injury, since the wound has already healed completely.”
It seemed that Drifters, like the monsters in the labyrinth, were also being weakened.
Perhaps the labyrinth had mechanisms to prevent them from becoming threats as well.
Rizenova had seemed like a C-rank threat, which meant his actual danger level was probably closer to A-rank.
“You didn’t feel weak when you first arrived here, right?”
“I was fine at first. As I recall, the weakness started when I was crawling around after getting injured. Suddenly, it felt like all my strength was drained…”
This confirmed one of my suspicions.
Monsters weren’t always weakened throughout the labyrinth.
Only the ones near me were affected.
“Do you know why my strength is weakened?”
“It’s probably because of me. It seems that creatures near me get weaker.”
“To weaken all living beings around you… What an incredible and powerful ability…”
“It only works in the labyrinth.”
“Is there any way to reverse the weakening?”
I shook my head in response to Rizenova’s question.
It didn’t seem like this was an ability I could control at will.
【Pururu】─But if Rizenova moves away from you, wouldn’t that be dangerous? He’ll be dealing with monsters that aren’t nerfed.
【Yumi】─But when he moves away from Geon, both Rizenova and Jellyfish won’t be nerfed anymore, so it should be fine.
【Pururu】─Oh, good point.
【Mysticism】─😏
Anyway, thanks to Rizenova, I now had confirmation of my theory.
Once the exploration was done and we returned to the hideout, I’d have to reward him.
Not with a Return Ticket, but something else.
***
After parting ways with Rizenova, I continued my exploration down the central path.
*Ki-riik!*
Something sped past me, just brushing by.
In that moment, pain shot through my left hand.
When I looked down, my index and middle fingers were gone.
Just like that, I’d lost two fingers.
【Pururu】─Geon, are you okay???
【Yumi】─
Are you alright, Geon??
【Mysticism】─😱😱😱
I didn’t react.
Neither did Dog Spider or Magma Slime.
*Ki-ki-kik!*
The monster that had stolen my fingers was now laughing at me from a distance.
It was too far away for me to see clearly, but it seemed vaguely humanoid.
Judging by the fact it had broken through Jellyfish’s protective magic, I guessed it was at least a nerfed B-rank monster.
Since it hadn’t aimed for my head or heart, it didn’t seem like it had intended to kill me.
*Siiee!!*
*Ssrrng!!!*
Dog Spider and Magma Slime, only just realizing my injury, furiously tried to chase after the creature, but it vanished from sight before they could get close.
I looked down at my hand, now missing two fingers, and muttered calmly.
“Well, at least it wasn’t my right hand.”
【Pururu】─???
【Pururu】─Geon, doesn’t it… hurt?
【Mysticism】─😱
“Of course it hurts. My fingers were just cut off.”
【Pururu】─Then why aren’t you even groaning…
【Pururu】─Hang on, I’ll find an emergency kit and send it to you.
【Yumi】─I’ll send bandages, painkillers, and whatever else I can too!
While the assistants flooded the chat with worried messages and my monsters nervously watched my hand, an odd sound reached my ears.
*Beeep!*
The sound grew louder.
*Beeeeep!!!*
In front of me, a monster appeared.
It was flying toward us at a high speed.
It was shaped like a pink mushroom.
*Siiee!*
*Ssrrng!!*
What the…?
None of my monsters were showing any signs of hostility.
In fact, they seemed happy to see it.
‘Is this monster not dangerous?’
The mushroom monster flew right up to me, hovering in the air as it scanned my body from head to toe. Then, it grabbed my left hand and smeared a sticky substance over the spot where my fingers had been severed.
In an instant, my two fingers regenerated.
【Yumi】─?!
【Pururu】─?? What just happened?
【Mysticism】─😱
*Beeep!*
The mushroom monster gave me a big smile, patted me on the head, and quickly flew away.
…What the hell just happened?