Chapter 35. Explorer’s Journal #1
Sixth day in the labyrinth.
After returning to the hideout.
I materialized three Transferable Return Tickets and handed them to Rizenova and his party.
Now, all they had to do was tear the tickets, and Rizenova and the Drifters could return to their original world.
But they didn’t use the tickets.
Going back now would be premature.
Rizenova said this as he postponed their return.
“If we return like this, we’ll just meet a pointless death. To overthrow the corrupt government, we need to become stronger.”
Terrio and Ayula silently mulled over Rizenova’s words, then soon expressed their agreement with his decision.
Of course, they made it clear they didn’t plan to stay long.
The period Rizenova set was about a week.
Rizenova knelt before me and pleaded, asking me to train them so they could grow stronger during that time.
Terrio and Ayula also knelt beside Rizenova, bowing their heads.
“Training… surely, you’re not asking me to train you, are you?”
I glanced sideways at the monsters nearby.
“Perhaps you want me to let you spar with them for a week?”
“Yes. Just facing stronger opponents will help us improve.”
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
Sparring with someone stronger could indeed help improve one’s skills.
But it wasn’t likely they’d become noticeably stronger in just a week.
If they had the same ability I accidentally obtained in this world, it might be possible…
Unfortunately.
That ability is unique to one individual per dimension, so there couldn’t be any creature with the same ability. In other words, unless I died or transferred the ability to someone, no one could have a duplicate of it.
‘Transferring it would be a bit much.’
It’s an ability I can’t use anymore due to the limited number of times it can be used.
Even so, I couldn’t transfer it.
If I transferred it, I’d lose my power.
Just like the person who transferred it to me.
‘If I transferred it, even if I broke the seal, nothing would change from the current state. Or would the seal just disappear entirely?’
Anyway.
I’ll explain my ability in more detail later.
For now,
I needed to hear how strong Rizenova wanted to become, the level of his home planet, Lumina, and how powerful the opponents he had to face upon his return were.
All the big and small details.
***
I reviewed the information Rizenova provided once more.
First of all, his current threat level is C-rank.
His actual threat level, if not nerfed, is A-rank.
And Rizenova belongs to the upper tier of strength within the Orakan race.
Which means.
The strongest on Lumina Planet is at an A-rank level.
‘He said there are ten A-rank Orakans…’
Seven are affiliated with the government.
The Orakans known as the Seven Commanders.
Two belong to the Revolutionary Army.
Rizenova, the Commander-in-Chief, and the Orakan Chief of Staff.
One is unaffiliated with any group.
In the end, the two of them had to defeat seven others.
Well, it wasn’t impossible.
As long as there wasn’t an S-rank Orakan among the opponents, it was definitely doable, since they were all supposed to be around Rizenova’s level.
If they engaged in extreme sparring, teetering on the brink of death with the monsters, that is.
‘If they sparred until they were on the verge of death, it might be possible. The Orakan race has great regenerative abilities, so as long as they don’t die instantly, the Medical Mushroom could heal them continuously.’
They only had one week, but.
If we did it this way, they could potentially reach the upper tier of A-rank. If I had to assign a threat level, it would be somewhere around A+.
Oh. By the way, A+ is a threat level I just made up.
Not all A-ranks are the same, so I thought it’d be useful to categorize them.
Of course, even if they were A+, they would still be A-rank.
It just meant they’d be the strongest within the A-rank tier.
But no one would mistake them for being between A-rank and S-rank.
The gap between the two ranks is enormous.
There’s no middle ground between them.
At some point, the scale of strength suddenly jumps dramatically.
Anyway.
I decided to accept Rizenova’s request.
Starting today.
“Alright, let’s start the training today. Hey guys, come here for a moment.”
I called the monsters over.
Then, I assigned roles to each of them.
Dog Spider.
Black Magma Slime.
Centaurides.
These three would explore the labyrinth with me.
［Shiii!］
［Ssssss~］
［Ah, I see. You want to keep me close by at all times. I understand your feelings well. Shall we mate?］
And.
Jellyfish.
Psycho Clown.
Hedgehog Summoner.
These three would spar with Rizenova, Terrio, and Ayula.
The sparring would take place when I wasn’t around.
In other words, it would proceed without them being nerfed.
［Piiii.］
［Kirik. Though I’m not interested in a species whose bodies I’ve already collected, it wouldn’t hurt to have spares. I’ll gladly collect them during this time.］
［Doodoomba! Sounds fun! If I think of a way to train them that’s better than sparring, can I put them through it? My training’s going to be extremely harsh, so get ready!］
“Thank you. I’m counting on you.”
“I’ll do my best! I’ll be sure to repay you!”
“Thank you! I’ll try my hardest so that your favor won’t be wasted and I’ll grow stronger!”
Lastly, the Medical Mushroom was tasked with always following them around and healing them right before they were about to die.
As long as the mushroom was nearby, there was no need to worry about death.
［Biiii!!!］
The mushroom seemed excited at the thought of relentlessly healing the injured.
Before starting the sparring,
I looked around at the monsters and gave them a warning.
“Guys, be careful with your strength, and whatever you do, don’t kill them, okay?”
［Kirik? Then can I crush their heads?］
Psycho Clown tilted his head and asked.
“If their heads explode, they’ll die. Clown, could you survive if your head exploded?”
［Kirik. I’ve never had it happen, so I don’t know. But those guys seem to have good regeneration, so I think they’ll survive.］
Huh? Is that possible?
Now that I think about it, it might be.
The regeneration of Rizenova’s species was pretty exceptional.
They might even be able to regenerate if their heads were blown off.
Just to be sure, I asked.
“Mr. Rizenova, could you survive if your head got blown off?”
“…If my head explodes, I’d die.”
“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”
“But aside from the head, it doesn’t matter if we lose any other body part. As long as the head remains, we won’t die easily, though it does take a long time.”
“So, as long as your head is intact, the rest of your body will naturally regenerate?”
“Yes. However, if there are other living beings nearby, it could disrupt our mental focus and hinder the regeneration… but at least we wouldn’t die instantly, so it’s not a huge issue. The Medical Mushroom will heal us immediately anyway.”
“Even if your heart gets destroyed, it’s not a problem?”
“Our most important heart is in our head. The auxiliary hearts elsewhere can regenerate anytime.”
So, the Orakan species didn’t have just one heart.
It wasn’t that surprising.
I’d seen races with multiple hearts before.
Anyway, I made sure to tell the monsters not to blow up their heads.
***
I planned out the Orakans’ daily routine.
In the morning, sparring.
In the afternoon, exploring the labyrinth and mapping it out.
In the evening, return to the hideout, eat, and spar again.
At night, sleep.
I couldn’t make them spar all day.
They didn’t have the stamina for that.
And it would be a waste not to utilize their manpower to explore the labyrinth.
So, I decided to have them explore in the afternoon, partly as a way to rest.
Before I knew it, the day’s schedule had come to an end, and it was almost time for bed.
［We’ll be dancing! Doodoomba, doodoomba!］
“Doomba! Doodoomba!!!”
“Let’s dance with joy!”
Before going to bed.
Hedgehog Summoner, the summoned spirits, along with Terrio and Ayula, were all absorbed in dancing.
It wasn’t a punishment, and it wasn’t an apology dance like yesterday.
Hedgehog said this was simply part of the training.
Since Terrio and Ayula were weaker than Rizenova, they needed training even before bed.
［This is no ordinary dance! It’s a training exercise to strengthen your body!］
Bounce, bounce!
It was definitely different from the dance I saw yesterday.
The moves were even cruder this time.
Watching it for a bit was fine, but it was torture to watch for long.
［Dance harder! If you master this dance, you’ll be able to dodge most attacks!］
“Doomba! Doodoomba!”
“Shout with excitement! Doodoomba!”
Terrio and Ayula wholeheartedly believed Hedgehog’s words and shook their hips with all their might as they followed the dance.
Rizenova wasn’t dancing with them.
［I also reaped the full benefits of this dance! Remember how I dodged all your attacks when I danced while you were trying to kill me?］
“I remember! Doodoomba!”
“Let’s dance with joy! Doodoomba!”
To be honest, I was skeptical.
Would mastering such a ridiculous dance really make any difference?
Hedgehog probably dodged well because he was just small…
‘…I guess I’ll just let it be, just in case.’
Training that’s not part of the schedule can sometimes be detrimental.
But this wasn’t too intense, and it was just a short dance before bed, so I decided not to worry about it.
***
After the broadcast ended yesterday,
Pururu and Ha Yumi mentioned that they had personal matters to attend to.
So, neither of them seemed likely to show up on today’s broadcast, and I hadn’t bothered to turn it on.
‘But maybe they’ll show up tonight?’
Before going to sleep, I decided to disable the assistance block.
I wasn’t that sleepy yet.
If they didn’t show up, then so be it.
If they did, I thought I’d chat with the assistants for a bit before going to sleep.
『RED-grade Assistant “Mysticism” tears through the dimension and gazes upon you.』
As soon as I deactivated the assistance block, Mysticism showed up.
Was this guy unemployed?
【Mysticism】─😠
“Why are you mad as soon as you show up? Is it because I didn’t turn on the broadcast today?”
【Mysticism】─😡
The emoji turned crimson.
Looks like he was mad because I didn’t turn on the broadcast today.
“Well, then you should’ve said you were going to show up yesterday.”
【Mysticism】─🤐
“Anyway, you don’t chat, so there’s no communication. I’m going to end the broadcast.”
【Mysticism】─😭😭😭
I paused as I was about to block the assistance.
Seeing the crying emoji made me feel a bit softhearted.
“…Why are you crying all of a sudden? Fine, I’ll leave it on until just before I go to sleep.”
【Mysticism】─😃
After saying that, I flopped onto the floor.
As I lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, sorting through my thoughts,
［Explorer! I’m back!］
“Huh?”
Centaurides had returned.
Come to think of it, she mentioned earlier that she was going to meet the other centaurs, right?
I just realized she hadn’t been by my side.
No wonder something felt off.
［Explorer, why do you look so surprised? Surely you didn’t just realize I wasn’t here?］
“I just thought you’d stay overnight and come back tomorrow. I’m surprised you returned today. How could I not notice you were gone?”
I came up with a suitable excuse.
Telling the truth might hurt her feelings.
For the record, I said it casually.
［Ah, I see. That’s a relief. For a moment, I was so annoyed I almost forced you into mating.］
Good thing she wasn’t suspicious.
Centaurides smiled brightly and handed me a notebook.
［Anyway, here. I didn’t steal it… well, I received it from my brothers. It’s my mother’s journal.］
“Your mother’s journal?”
［Yes. My mother used to record what happened in the labyrinth whenever she had the chance. I don’t know what’s written inside, but I thought it might help you, Explorer, so I brought it.］
I felt a little hesitant about reading someone else’s journal.
But thinking of it as a journal left for future explorers made me feel a bit more comfortable about reading it.
“Thank you. But haven’t you read it yourself?”
［My mother never showed it to me. Not to me, nor to my other brothers. She strictly instructed us not to read it even after she passed away. So, no one has ever read it. We just kept it as a keepsake.］
“And your brothers gave it up so easily?”
［They opposed it at first. But after a little persuasion, they agreed to let me have it.］
“Oh. You must have a way with words. How did you persuade them?”
［Mother told us to help the Assisted One if we ever met them, so I told them that showing you the journal was part of helping you, and then I beat them up.］
“… … ….”
It seemed she had forcibly taken it after all.
Well… there’s no way four brothers couldn’t overpower one.
They probably let her win on purpose since she’s the youngest.
I thanked her again and opened the first page of the journal.
Though the cover was quite worn,
the paper inside and the writing were still in relatively good condition.
‘These are unfamiliar characters.’
Even though I didn’t recognize the characters, I could still read the journal.
It was either due to the grace of the labyrinth or the ability of the explorer.
━━━━#-1━━━━
I received this notebook along with some food supplies from an assistant, so I plan to start recording the events that happen here from today onward.
Five days ago, I became an explorer.
The trait I chose is The Assisted One.
It’s an ability to tame monsters that live within the Ancient Labyrinth.
To tame a monster, I need to have sex with it.
That’s the condition for taming.
Did the people who chose The Assisted One before me also have sex with monsters? Or is the condition different for each person?
I plan to figure that out later.
For now, I must tame the monsters to survive here.
Since I can’t show the assistants the sex I have with the monsters, I’ll have to block their assistance.
…And honestly, my heart races a bit.
Sex with other species!
I never thought I’d get to fulfill my hidden desires here.
I’m really looking forward to what’s ahead. Hehe.
━━━━━━━━━━
I flipped the page.
I decided to skip over information I already knew or didn’t need.
I had to focus on the entries that might provide new insights or helpful details.