Chapter 28. Psycho Clown
I got my fifth monster companion.
The species name was Psycho Clown.
It was a name the creature had revealed on its own.
Psycho Clown was currently groaning as he looked at his fingers, which were melting like candle wax.
［Krrrrik…］
【Pururu】─Does it hurt? Serves you right.
【Mysticism】─😠
I left the clown in that state.
With my hands behind my back, I slowly browsed through the taxidermy displays on the shelf.
At the same time, I asked him a few questions.
About five minutes passed like that.
I thought it was about time to heal him.
If I left him like that for too long, his affection for me might decrease.
“Mushroom, it’s okay to heal him now.”
［Pii···!］
The anxious Medical Mushroom flew over to the clown as if it had been waiting for my signal.
Then, it dropped a pink liquid on the clown’s hand.
［Krriik?］
The clown’s fingers were perfectly regenerated.
As expected, Medical Mushroom’s healing ability was practically cheating.
【Pururu】─Since he’s experienced the same thing, he should have reflected on the things he’s done so far. You know, the tables have turned!
【Mysticism】─😠
I doubted he had actually reflected.
Such a minor punishment wouldn’t change someone’s nature.
Besides, he had once said that collecting the body parts of creatures wasn’t just a hobby, but the reason for his existence.
Still, he seemed to feel somewhat guilty about stealing my fingers.
After all, I cherished the clown as much as my taxidermy collection.
Since I tamed him, he had grown fond of me as well.
【Pururu】─Geon, tell him not to collect body parts anymore.
“Interfering with his hobby is a bit much.”
I was not The Dominant One, but The Assisted One.
It was better to avoid tyrannical acts of controlling hobbies.
As I’ve mentioned before.
The monsters weren’t my subordinates.
Even though I had tamed them, my relationship with them was more like a friendship.
That said, I still had some authority to issue orders.
I could interfere, as long as it didn’t cross a line.
“Clown, from now on, if you’re going to collect body parts, get my permission first.”
［Krriik? Why do I need your permission?］
“If you start picking fights with anyone, it could cause trouble for all of us. You’re one of us now.”
［Krrik…］
The Psycho Clown seemed to think for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
［Alright. I’ll do that. I can’t put my friends in danger. Krriik.］
The clown had accepted my request.
The reason was simple.
Even though our relationship was more horizontal than hierarchical, a perfect equality never really exists.
Even among friends, there is an invisible hierarchy, and since my rank was higher than the monsters, the clown accepted my request without resistance.
After all, I was the one who tamed them.
If I were of a lower rank, he wouldn’t have even bothered listening to me, regardless of how reasonable my request sounded.
The Psycho Clown suddenly walked over to me and bowed his head politely.
［Krriik. To be honest, I thought you’d tell me to stop collecting altogether. But you respected my hobby. I’m truly grateful. Without my hobby of collecting creatures, I have no reason to live.］
This was an unexpected side of him.
Despite his nasty taste, he didn’t seem to be a bad creature at heart.
Maybe he had become more docile after I tamed him.
“You now have another reason to live besides that hobby, don’t you?”
［Another reason?］
“You said I’m as precious to you as your collection, right? So, doesn’t that mean I can be part of your reason to live from now on?”
［Now that you mention it, you’re right. From now on, you’ll be a part of my life too. Krriik.］
【Pururu】─Haha, how touching.
【Mysticism】─😠
【Pururu】─What’s your problem now?
【Mysticism】─😠
【Pururu】─Relax. They resolved their issues and made peace. Why are you still sulking?
The clown chuckled and clung to my side.
Despite melting his fingers out of revenge, he seemed to have a very high affection for me.
It was impressive.
This must be the effect of taming.
‘I guess I don’t need to worry about being betrayed.’
This was another moment that strengthened the belief that tamed monsters never betray their master.
***
Psycho Clown’s secret space.
The entrance to where the taxidermy was stored was sealed with magma.
It was to prevent other creatures from invading while the clown was away for a long time.
Unless a creature could somehow bypass the magma, they wouldn’t be able to enter that space.
【Pururu】─A magma door. Whoa.
【Mysticism】─🥵
For the record, we had free access to that space.
The magma from Black Magma Slime was set not to affect allies.
［Pee-boo-boo-bee-boo~］
【Pururu】─Haha, look at the mushroom going in and out of the magma door, fascinated. So funny. ㅋㅋ
【Mysticism】─🤭
I glanced away from the entrance.
I checked my wristwatch.
There was still time before 12 o’clock.
It seemed fine to explore a bit more before heading back.
Just as I was about to continue the exploration.
【Pururu】─Geon. Can you ask that psycho for the real species name of the Dog Spider? I’m curious.
Pururu’s message popped up.
“Huh? The real species name?”
【Pururu】─Yeah. Earlier, when you pointed at the spider legs and called it Dog Spider, the psycho said that’s not its actual species name.
“Oh, that happened, didn’t it?”
I had brushed it off without much thought.
Maybe those weren’t the legs of the Dog Spider but another spider monster?
“Clown.”
［Kriik?］
“The spider legs I pointed at earlier.”
I gestured toward the Dog Spider with my eyes and continued.
“Is it the same species as this one?”
［Yes, it’s the same species.］
So, it wasn’t a different spider monster after all.
“Then do you happen to know its real species name?”
［I do. It’s called ‘Hekhekshilshillshiiik’.］
【Pururu】─?
【Mysticism】─😶
“······.”
Did I hear that wrong?
“What did you say? I didn’t quite catch that.”
［Hekhekshilshillshiiik.］
【Pururu】─You’ve got to be kidding me.
【Mysticism】─😡
I had heard it right.
Hekhekshilshillshiiik.
That was the Dog Spider’s true species name.
“You’re not messing with me, right?”
［I’m not. That’s really its name.］
The clown’s expression was quite serious.
It didn’t seem like a joke or a lie.
“How did you learn its species name?”
［I heard it directly from Hekhekshilshaaarrrrk.］
【Pururu】─?? That’s not the same name! Are you asking for a beating?
“Really? Hmm…”
I let out a deep sigh.
After a moment of thought, I turned to look at the Dog Spider.
“···Let’s just stick with Dog Spider.”
［Shii!］
【Pururu】─Yeah, that sounds right. Forget the other name!
【Mysticism】─😠
I decided to erase the Dog Spider’s true species name from my memory.
***
While exploring.
The Psycho Clown and I exchanged various conversations.
“Clown, when were you born?”
［I don’t remember. I’m not sure if I was even born.］
“You’re not sure if you were born? What do you mean by that?”
［It’s hard to explain. I just naturally existed at some point.］
【Pururu】─So, you weren’t born through reproduction?
【Mysticism】─😶
For a brief moment, the conversation paused.
But I resumed it by asking another question.
“Did you always have this hobby of collecting body parts?”
［No, I didn’t have it at first. I developed it at some point in my life.］
“Really? What made you start obsessing over preserving bodies?”
［It was so long ago that I don’t remember. I’m sorry.］
【Pururu】─Geon sure is chatty today.
【Mysticism】─😃
It was inevitable that I’d be chattier than usual.
After all, the clown was the first labyrinth monster I met that I could properly communicate with.
“Do you know anything about explorers?”
［Explorers… I know a little. Some of them force others to submit, while others grow stronger by consuming others.］
“Do you know that I’m an explorer?”
［I suspected it. When I’m in the same space as an explorer, I feel weaker.］
The clown stopped walking.
Then, he looked straight at me and said.
［Come to think of it, you’re strange.］
“What do you mean?”
［You don’t seem like one of those who consumes others to get stronger, so you must be one of those who forces others to submit… But for some reason, I don’t feel like I’m being dominated by you. And I don’t feel any hatred either. Creatures who were dominated by explorers always wanted to kill them.］
“That’s because I don’t have the trait of domination. I have the trait of assistance. I didn’t force you to submit; I tamed you, and now we’re friends.”
［Krriik? Assistance? Tamed?］
The clown tilted his head.
“Have you never met an explorer like me before?”
［This is the first time.］
It seemed that among all the explorers throughout history, not many had chosen The Assisted One trait.
【Pururu】─Looks like Geon’s trait isn’t popular.
【Pururu】─Honestly, if it were me, I would’ve chosen the domination trait too.
【Mysticism】─😐
As I kept walking, I continued talking to the clown, switching to a different topic.
“How did you find out your species name?”
［I met someone who knew my species name.］
“Oh, did they tell you?”
［No. I used telepathy to find out.］
“Telepathy?”
【Pururu】─Wait, it can use telepathy?
I wasn’t too shocked.
After all, the clown’s actual danger level was S-rank.
Since it was a Demon King specialized in a variety of psychic powers, telepathy was to be expected.
［By the way, I’m not using it right now. Using that ability requires a lot of concentration, which limits my movement.］
It didn’t seem like an easy ability to use.
Well, it made sense that such an overpowered ability like reading someone’s mind would require intense focus.
“I wonder how deep you can read with telepathy.”
［If you permit it, I’ll show you. It’s wrong to read a friend’s mind without permission. That’s a bad thing.］
“Go ahead and try it.”
The clown nodded.
Then, he furrowed his brow and stared intently at me.
【Pururu】─How many psychic powers can this guy use?
［You read the letters. Pururu said, ‘How many psychic powers can this guy use?’］
【Pururu】─Wait, what? How did he read my message?
［Pururu said, ‘How did he read my message?’ By the way, who is Pururu?］
【Mysticism】─😮
［You saw a picture. Mysticism used an emoji. The surprised face emoji.］
The Psycho Clown was reciting the messages of the assistants.
It wasn’t that he could see the chat window.
My brain was naturally reading the assistants’ chat, and the clown was eavesdropping on my thoughts through telepathy.
【Pururu】─This is creepy. Whoa.
【Pururu】─Hold on. Does this mean we can talk to the psycho now too?
【Pururu】─Talking to monsters is awesome! This is gonna be fun!
【Mysticism】─😶
I told the clown to stop using telepathy.
I briefly explained the assistants to him, since he seemed curious.
Then, I asked him one last question.
“Clown, how close does someone need to be for you to use telepathy on them?”
［Distance doesn’t matter. As long as I can see them, I can use it.］
He was a monster with far more useful abilities than I had expected.
I tamed him well.
***
After finishing the exploration, we returned to the rendezvous point.
It was 11:30.
Since we arrived earlier than planned, there was no sign of Rizenova yet.
‘I guess I’ll draw while I wait.’
I retrieved a notebook and a pen from the Magma Slime.
I had brought it along to sketch new monsters during break time.
【Pururu】─?? What the heck? How did you pull that out from there?
【Pururu】─It’s in perfect condition too.
【Mysticism】─🤭
I found a suitable spot and sat down.
Then, I began sketching the Psycho Clown in my notebook.
■Psycho Clown
─Actual Danger Level: S-rank.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.
─Abilities: Psychic Powers.
As I finished the drawing, I heard a familiar voice from a distance.
“I’m amazed! To defeat such a strong monster! Impressive!”
［Pii~］
“But you’re badly injured! Since your regeneration is worse than mine, go to a healer at once… Oh! Everyone’s already back!”
Rizenova and the Jellyfish had returned.
Rizenova was dragging the massive corpse of Pig King with great effort.
Jellyfish was covered in wounds.
Some teeth had fallen out, and half its tentacles were torn off.
They must have barely won after a fierce battle with Pig King.
“Jellyfish is badly injured! We need to─”
［Piii!!!］
Before Rizenova could finish speaking, Medical Mushroom darted out and immediately began treating Jellyfish.
Only then did Rizenova let out a sigh of relief.
Then, as he turned to look at us,
“Oh, no! That creature is my nemesis…”
［Krriik?］
He recoiled in surprise when he saw the Psycho Clown.
It seemed like they had met before.