Chapter 45. Azeras
The 18th day in the labyrinth.
Two days had passed since I secretly attached my severed arm to the back of the one-armed monster.
< Tamed Monsters >
『013』
The tamed monster list had been updated.
It had taken so long that I thought the arm had fallen off at some point, but fortunately, it seemed the monster wasn’t very sensitive or sharp.
‘It took way too long, though.’
I hadn’t expected it to take two full days.
It couldn’t have been due to any hostility.
The monster wouldn’t have even realized it was being tamed.
If it had known, it would’ve removed the arm.
‘Was it simply because its danger level was so high?’
With no hostility or favor involved, it seemed that the average taming time for an SS-class monster was about this long.
Anyway.
For now, I waited in the hideout, hoping the one-armed monster would come to me like the Fire Slime had.
It seemed that tamed monsters could instinctively sense my general location.
However, despite the one-armed monster appearing on the list for some time, it still hadn’t come to find us.
‘Do I need to go fetch it myself?’
I figured I’d go looking for it after I finished eating.
Just as I was chewing on some meat, I spotted a familiar figure approaching from the far end of Passage No. 7.
When I saw the familiar figure, I waved in greeting.
“Oh, you’re here?”
【Pururu】─Ugh! The monster’s here!
【Mysticism】─😶
I was spared the trouble of going to find it.
Tamed monster number 013. The Solitary One had come to me on its own.
***
The Solitary One’s name was Azeras.
Her ability was Heavenly Martial Arts.
She said it was a martial art from the world she came from.
“So, the world you came from is called the Celestial Realm?”
“That’s right… the world of the gods.”
Azeras nodded in response.
She introduced herself as a demi-god, born between gods and humans.
“A demi-god from the world of gods, huh…”
【Yumi】─ So, gods really do exist.
【Rizenova】─Hoho.
【Mysticism】─ 🤔
【Pururu】─ Geon, have you ever met a god?
“I’ve met someone who claimed to be a god. But they were way too weak to actually be one.”
【Pururu】─ Huh? A weak god?
“Yeah. Their danger level was only A-class.”
【Pururu】─ That’s the same level as Rizenova.
【Rizenova】─Hoho.
【Pururu】─ Stop ‘hoho-ing’ unless you want to get smacked.
“A god… isn’t a grand being. They’re just creatures with great power… not much different from humans if you strip away their abilities.”
As we were talking, Azeras chimed in.
I agreed with her.
Gods weren’t all that different from humans.
They were simply a higher species born with special abilities.
In simpler terms, they were just a race with a higher base value than humans.
And among gods, those with even more extraordinary abilities were called transcendent beings.
I’d never actually encountered a transcendent being myself, but…
Judging by their danger level, they’d probably be SS-class or even SSS-class.
Of course, that’s just in terms of pure strength.
An SS-class creature that’s just overwhelmingly strong without any mystical abilities wouldn’t quite qualify as a transcendent being.
Like I was in the past… before I was sealed, that is.
At the very least, they’d need to be able to bestow something like status windows on others to be called a transcendent being.
In any case.
Seeing a demi-god in person—someone born between gods and humans—was fascinating.
“Azeras, do you have any other special abilities besides martial arts?”
“Other than martial arts… no special abilities.”
【Pururu】─That broken speech is really annoying.
【Mysticism】─😶
I decided to let her awkward speech slide.
She’d said that while most of her memories from before becoming a monster had returned, her intelligence hadn’t.
I figured that spending more time with me would eventually help her recover it.
After that, I spent more time talking with Azeras.
Despite her stuttering, she shared stories from her time as an explorer, her life in the Celestial Realm, how even after losing her qualification as an explorer, she continued eating monster excrement out of instinct, though it no longer made her stronger,vand the story of how she lost one of her arms.
She told me everything about her past, as if sharing old memories with an old friend over drinks.
Unfortunately, even Azeras didn’t know the exact way to become the ruler of the labyrinth.
As we were eating and chatting, Pururu brought up a question.
【Pururu】─By the way, is she really a woman?
Pururu asked, suddenly curious again.
“What do you mean, I showed you the explorer’s journal a while ago, remember? It said the Solitary One was female. Don’t you remember?”
【Pururu】─I remember, but she looks so much like a man. Maybe it’s because of that monster-like mass on her head.
【Yumi】─To be fair, she does look pretty androgynous. And her voice is husky, too.
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Rizenova】─She could be genderless. She hasn’t outright said she’s a woman, has she?
【Pururu】─We should know for sure. Ask her directly.
“Is it really necessary to ask that…”
With a sigh, I looked over at Azeras.
I thought it might be a bit rude to ask, but…
My assistants were curious, so I had no choice.
“Azeras, you’re a woman, right?”
“…”
For a moment, her eyes wavered.
Azeras touched the monstrous mass on her head.
“Is it because of this… that I don’t look like a woman…?”
She muttered softly, confirming that she was indeed a woman.
Feeling like I had hurt her feelings, I quickly explained why I had asked.
“No, I’ve thought you were a woman from the start. It’s just that my assistants kept saying you looked like a man, so I had no choice but to ask.”
“Assistants…”
Azeras stared into the distance.
It seemed like she was silently cursing my assistants, who she couldn’t see.
Incidentally, Azeras was already aware of their existence.
And at this moment…
【Pururu】─See? I told you she was a woman. Yumi kept doubting it, saying she didn’t look feminine. 😒
【Yumi】─??? When did I ever say that? You’re the one who said she looked like a man first!
【Rizenova】─I knew from the beginning that she was a lady.
【Mysticism】─😐
They all pretended like they had never doubted it.
My assistants sure were quick to change their tune.
***
The 19th day in the labyrinth.
Group 2, who had been exploring Passage No. 7, was reassigned to explore Passage No. 5, where the vast underground world of *Poison Apple* resided.
Azeras, along with Iris from the standby team, was assigned to exploration Group 4, which was responsible for exploring Passage No. 7.
Since that was the area Azeras was originally from, she was familiar with it.
─“Ugh… making this map… is hard…”
【Pururu】─She looks like she was great at making maps on her bed when she was younger.
【Mysticism】─🤔
On Iris’s screen, Azeras furrowed her brow as she worked on mapping out the passage.
With her intelligence diminished, she was clearly struggling with the task.
Still, it was something she had to do.
It was necessary for her brain to regain its former capacity.
【Pururu】─Geon, can’t you just remove that monster mass from Azeras’ head? I hate to say it, but it’s really ugly. We could remove it and ask the Medical Mushroom to heal her. She’d probably want that, being a woman and all.
“It’s fine. That mass is part of her body. Forcing it off would hurt.”
【Yumi】─Exactly. And it’s clearly made of flesh, not something like dead skin. Cutting it off would be really painful.
【Rizenova】─You’ll get used to it if you just tolerate it for a while.
【Pururu】─Is that so.
【Pururu】─Well, at least let’s regenerate her arm.
“I tried that last night, but it didn’t work. Maybe because it’s been too long since she lost it. The Medical Mushroom’s liquid had no effect.”
【Pururu】─That’s a shame.
【Rizenova】─So, it can’t heal old wounds.
【Yumi】─That makes sense, right? Azeras said it’s been over 100 years since she lost her arm. Regrowing a body part lost a century ago is a bit much to expect.
As I was conversing with my assistants, Azeras suddenly stopped walking.
She was blocked by a wall.
“What? A dead end?”
─“No… there is a path.”
Standing still, Azeras slowly raised her head.
Iris’s camera followed her gaze, capturing the sky above.
【Pururu】─There’s no ceiling?
【Yumi】─Wow…
Above, the ceiling was a massive hole that stretched so far upward it was impossible to see where it ended.
【Rizenova】─The horizontal path has turned into a vertical one.
【Pururu】─Can you really call that a path?
【Yumi】─Looks like we’ll have to climb up.
To continue exploring from here, flight was required.
I asked Azeras a question.
“Azeras, can you fly?”
If she couldn’t fly, I’d have to pull her back for now.
Then, after our next meal, we could resume exploring with the help of the Jellyfish’s levitation magic.
But it turned out that wasn’t necessary.
─“I’ll just… jump up.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Azeras lightly leaped into the air, rising toward the sky.
Rather than climbing the wall, she gently pushed off the air with her feet, as if invisible platforms were beneath her.
【Pururu】─She’s like a martial arts master. Impressive.
【Yumi】─Wow, it’s incredible she can do that… really amazing.
“That’s impressive.”
I praised her, though I wasn’t surprised.
I could do that much too, assuming I wasn’t sealed.
As Azeras continued ascending.
─“…”
She gently stepped into the air and came to a stop.
Then, she pointed diagonally ahead with her finger.
─“Over there… monsters are… fighting.”
Following her words, Iris shifted her view in that direction.
The scene Azeras had seen was broadcasted on the screen.
─［Uooh!!!］
A winged orangutan.
─［Cock-a-doodle-doo!!!］
A giant chicken.
The two monsters were locked in a fierce battle.
─“Shall we… just ignore them?”
Azeras waited for my command.
I hadn’t given her my severed arm, so a stealthy taming was impossible.
I didn’t particularly want to engage in an unnecessary fight, but…
“Azeras.”
─“Yes…”
“Do you like chicken?”
I wasn’t too concerned about the orangutan, but the chicken? That was a different story.
I couldn’t pass up the chance for some chicken meat.