Chapter 25. Medical Mushroom
After the mushroom monster left.
I lowered my head and stared blankly at my left hand.
My fingers had grown back perfectly.
The severed area was clean, without even a small scar.
【Yumi】─ “To regenerate a severed part… Just what was that monster?”
【Pururu】─ “That’s insane. It didn’t just reattach the finger; it made a completely new one.”
【Mysticism】─ 😶
“… I accidentally got help from a monster.”
【Yumi】─ “Why do you think that monster helped you, Geon?”
【Mysticism】─ 🤔
【Pururu】─ “Maybe it’s a monster that acts like the labyrinth’s nurse? Or should I say doctor? Anyway, it could be a monster that enjoys healing others.”
【Yumi】─ “Are there monsters that enjoy helping others?”
“I suppose there could be. Just like humans, monsters have different personalities.”
As Pururu mentioned.
That mushroom might have been the type that felt fulfilled by healing the injured. Or maybe it was so intoxicated with its excellent healing abilities that it wanted to show off its power.
Of course, these were all just guesses.
The exact reason was unknown.
But the reason didn’t really matter much.
Regardless of its intention, the fact that I had received its grace didn’t change.
“Dog Spider, Magma Slime, did you know about that mushroom monster?”
［Yes!］
Magma Slime nodded affirmatively.
So that’s why they didn’t act defensively.
［Huh?］
Dog Spider tilted its head in confusion.
Well, that made sense. It had only been born recently and had been sticking with me since then.
‘So, they instinctively knew that the mushroom monster was friendly to other species and had healing abilities.’
Just like how creatures can instinctively recognize predators or symbiotic relationships.
It seemed they instinctively realized that the mushroom monster wasn’t harmful, but rather helpful.
This meant that the mushroom had been wandering the labyrinth for a long time, healing various monsters.
I looked at Magma Slime and asked again.
“Magma, does it heal injured creatures unconditionally, just like it did earlier?”
［Yes, yes!］
It nodded affirmatively again.
As expected, that mushroom must have been a famous wandering healer among the monsters.
“Is that so…”
I muttered to myself and flexed my newly regrown index and middle fingers.
The nerves were properly connected.
There was no awkward sensation at all.
“Anyway, I really want that mushroom. Its healing abilities are far beyond those of most saints.”
【Mysticism】─ 😠
【Yumi】─ “A saint? Like Mother Teresa?”
【Pururu】─ “No, no. In a hero’s party, women who heal their comrades with holy powers are called saints.”
【Yumi】─ “How do you know that, Pururu?”
【Pururu】─ “I’ve read a lot of fantasy web novels where the protagonist possesses a saint. Lol.”
【Mysticism】─ 😏
【Yumi】─ “Ah, I see.”
【Yumi】─ “But aren’t novels with female protagonists mostly read by women? Are you secretly a woman, Pururu?”
【Pururu】─ “Don’t be prejudiced. There are plenty of guys who read stories with female protagonists.”
【Yumi】─ “So, are you a guy or a girl?”
【Pururu】─ “Shut up.”
【Pururu】─ “By the way, Geon, how dangerous was that mushroom?”
“It was B-class.”
The danger level of the pink mushroom monster was B-class.
But in reality, its danger level was likely S-class.
【Pururu】─ “So, most saints aren’t as good as that B-class mushroom?”
“That’s not true. If I had to rank saints, saint candidates are usually around C-class, and most regular saints are B-class or A-class. There was one S-class saint, but only one.”
【Yumi】─ “The rankings are quite varied.”
【Pururu】─ “So the S-class saint is the real deal, and the rest are just lower versions. I always wondered why there were so many saints.”
【Yumi】─ “Isn’t calling them ‘lower versions’ a bit harsh?”
【Pururu】─ “Shush. Anyway, when you said that mushroom’s healing ability surpasses most saints, you meant it’s better than a saint candidate, right?”
“Not quite. Healing a severed body part this quickly is on the level of an S-class saint. As far as I know, an A-class saint can’t regenerate a body part in just a few seconds.”
【Pururu】─ “?? That doesn’t make sense. But you said the mushroom was B-class. Are danger levels and healing abilities separate?”
“Danger levels are determined by evaluating all abilities together. Healing ability isn’t an exception.”
【Pururu】─ “So what’s the deal then?”
【Yumi】─ “Maybe only the healing ability wasn’t nerfed? I think its healing stayed the same, while its other abilities decreased a lot.”
“I agree with Yumi.”
The pink mushroom monster.
The danger I sensed from it was definitely B-class.
However, the healing ability I witnessed with my own eyes exceeded S-class.
Perhaps the healing ability wasn’t nerfed, but all its other abilities were greatly reduced.
That seemed to be the only explanation.
【Pururu】─ “So, does that mean other monsters don’t have their overall danger levels reduced? It feels like that mushroom’s getting special treatment.”
【Yumi】─ “Maybe it’s because it’s a healing monster that helps others. The labyrinth might give it special treatment since a monster that’s friendly to all living beings wouldn’t harm an explorer.”
Yumi’s reasoning seemed like the right answer.
However, I thought there might be another reason.
Perhaps this was a safety measure intended to benefit explorers?
Monsters with combat or buff abilities remaining intact would break the balance, but a monster with only its healing abilities intact could exist to maximize an explorer’s chances of survival, even if it slightly disrupted the balance.
After all, if the explorer selected and brought in died too easily, the labyrinth would be in trouble too.
And.
The Solitary One trait wouldn’t benefit from this setup unless they were lucky enough to encounter a mushroom monster.
However, the other traits, such as The Dominant One or The Assisted One, could make a monster their ally and use this system more effectively.
In conclusion.
I absolutely had to tame the pink mushroom monster.
I needed to actively utilize the privileges granted by the labyrinth.
The pink mushroom monster seemed like a mandatory companion for survival.
‘I should have captured and tamed it earlier… but the situation was so sudden that I didn’t think of it.’
Swallowing my regret, I started walking again.
As I continued exploring, I decided to look for the pink mushroom monster.
The one that healed me had passed by, but surely there wasn’t only one of its kind in this labyrinth.
***
It was now 9 PM.
I had mapped out a rough outline of this area, but there hadn’t been any significant gains. I hadn’t encountered the mushroom monster or any other monsters at all.
I also hadn’t come across the monster that stole my finger.
So, I returned to the gathering spot empty-handed.
“You’re back.”
［Screech!］
【Pururu】─ “Hey.”
【Mysticism】─ 🫡
Rize and Jellyfish had returned to the gathering point first.
He held two swords in his hands.
“Here. These are the Execution Swords.”
【Pururu】─ “I didn’t think you’d find them. I thought you’d come back empty-handed.”
【Mysticism】─ 👍
I received the Execution Swords.
They were quite heavy.
The blades were sharp, but I didn’t notice anything different from regular swords. I wasn’t very familiar with swords anyway.
‘I should give this to a monster that can wield swords later.’
After stowing the Execution Swords.
And receiving the map Rize had drawn.
We shared the information we had gathered from our explorations and then returned to our hideout.
For the record, we hadn’t found any traces of the Revolutionary Army officers.
Neither I nor Rize had.
*
*
*
<Passage No. 8>
○ Numerous forked paths.
○ Pig King sighted.
○ Healer monster and finger thief found living here.
○ Eyeball-shaped monster and leaf-covered monster sighted. (Unconfirmed)
I carefully stored the two Execution Swords next to a chest.
Then, I made a brief stop at Passage No. 5 to catch a Poison Apple.
I hadn’t caught anything else worth eating for dinner.
“Dog Spider, you can release the web now.”
［Screech!］
I untied the restraints of the Poison Apple.
Then, as usual, I provoked it to summon the apple familiars.
【Pururu】─ “The more I see it, the more pathetic it looks.”
【Yumi】─ “There’s no need to pity it. In a world of survival of the fittest, it’s inevitable. If that apple had been stronger than Geon, Geon would’ve been eaten instead.”
【Pururu】─ “Actually, I don’t feel sorry for it. It looks gross anyway.”
【Yumi】─ “?”
After gathering the apple familiars.
I simply killed the Poison Apple.
It would die naturally by tomorrow anyway.
I handed two of the apple familiars to Rize.
“Is it safe to eat this?”
“Yes. It’s perfectly fine to eat, and it tastes great, so don’t worry.”
“…Thank you.”
At first, Rize seemed hesitant.
But once he took a bite of the apple familiar, his attitude changed completely.
“Oh! It tastes amazing despite its terrifying appearance!”
It seemed his taste was not much different from mine.
Before eating my apple.
I opened my notebook and started working on my monster encyclopedia.
■Medical Mushroom
─ Actual danger level: S-class.
─ Current (nerfed) danger level: B-class.
─ Ability: Healing.
The pink mushroom monster I saw earlier.
I named it the Medical Mushroom.
【Yumi】─ “The correct spelling is ‘mushroom’.”
【Pururu】─ “Mushroom looks cooler.”
After sketching it out.
I took a bite of the apple familiar.
‘It tastes great.’
I savored the sweet juice and chewed slowly before swallowing.
Just as I was about to take another bite.
［Squeak!］
A familiar sound reached my ears.
At the same time.
Pink liquid dripped onto the apple I was holding, and in the blink of an eye, the apple returned to its original form.
“…Huh?”
【Pururu】─ “?”
【Yumi】─ “Huh?”
【Mysticism】─ 😦
I turned my head to where the voice came from.
Right next to me.
The Medical Mushroom was floating there, smiling brightly.
［Squeak!］