Chapter 74. Corpse Discovered
Even though Clown had evolved, there was still a possibility that the curse might not disappear.
For that scenario, I kept one Evolution Ticket unused, so that everyone could say their farewells if needed.
Once someone enters an evolutionary state, they can no longer say goodbye to their comrades.
Time passed, and Clown finally completed his evolution and revealed himself.
Fortunately, we avoided the worst-case scenario where farewells would have been necessary.
Clown—no, Necro Puppet Master—had rid himself of the curse that had once engulfed him.
For reference, the severed arms that Clown had preserved using his psychic abilities to prevent decay and keep connected nerves were still intact.
After all, Clown had only evolved, not died.
“So now I need to pick the next one to evolve…”
I scanned the monsters gathered in the cavern.
Originally, I had already decided which monsters to use the Evolution Tickets on.
Jellyfish and Melody Fox.
These two, to be specific.
However, due to the unexpected incident with Clown, I had to use an Evolution Ticket on him.
Now, it was time to choose between the two.
“The candidates are Jellyfish and Melody Fox.”
First,
I explained to the other monsters why they weren’t chosen.
Jellyfish had been one of the earliest monsters I tamed.
Among the monsters that had been with me from the beginning, it was the only one that hadn’t evolved yet, so I wanted to give it priority.
As for Melody Fox, if she evolved, she would be able to help the other monsters evolve more efficiently, which is why I wanted her to evolve as well.
After explaining the reasons carefully, the monsters, who had initially looked a little disappointed, slowly began to accept it.
That was my role.
“You two decide amongst yourselves who will evolve.”
I left the final decision up to them.
Jellyfish and Melody Fox exchanged side glances without moving their heads.
For a while, they awkwardly sized each other up before cautiously closing the distance between them and beginning a quiet conversation.
［Pii.］
Jellyfish waved its tentacles.
［Kyu.］
Melody Fox wagged her tail.
［Piiii.］
［Kyu-aa.］
Their conversation went on for a while.
It seemed like they weren’t reaching an agreement.
【Yumi】─What do you think they’re saying?
【Mysticism】─🤔
【Pururu】─Probably something like, “I’m going to evolve first, so back off!”
【Bubble Bubble】─It doesn’t seem like that at all.
【Rizenova】─Pururu, you should back off yourself.
【Pururu】─? That’s too harsh.
【Rizenova】─What does that mean?
【Pururu】─It means your words are too harsh, you idiot.
【Rizenova】─My apologies. It was a joke…
【Pururu】─Hmph. If you lived on Earth, you would’ve been taken out by me already.
【Yumi】─?
【Rizenova】─Hmm. Where did I leave my hit list…
【Pururu】─Sorry! Really sorry!
If I were to guess based on their body language and expressions, it seemed like it went something like this:
［Pii.］
─You go first.
［Kyu.］
─No, you go first.
It definitely didn’t look like they were fighting.
【Bubble Bubble】─Could it be that neither of them wants to evolve? If that’s the case, give me the Evolution Ticket. I want to evolve.
【Pururu】─You can’t use it, dumbass.
【Yumi】─It’s not that they don’t want to; it looks like they’re just being polite, trying to yield to each other. They’re both really kind.
【Rizenova】─I agree, they seem to be trying to let the other go first.
As we had suspected, they were indeed trying to give up the Evolution Ticket to one another.
Now, they were pushing each other forward toward me, trying to pass the responsibility onto the other.
【Bubble Bubble】─So they really were being considerate.
【Yumi】─See? They’re such sweet kids.
【Pururu】─Pushing each other to be polite is honestly kind of cute. LOL.
【Mysticism】─🤭
In the end, Jellyfish was the one who lost the shoving match.
Jellyfish stumbled forward after being pushed by Melody Fox.
［Pii?!］
It seemed Melody Fox could be quite strong when she wanted to be.
Or maybe Jellyfish intentionally held back to lose.
Jellyfish, looking guilty, glanced back at Melody Fox.
［Pii…］
［Kyu! Kyuuu! Kyuooo!!!］
【Pururu】─LOL, what’s with that sudden outburst?
If I were to interpret that:
Stop feeling bad and just evolve already! It was probably something along those lines.
【Rizenova】─Kyu.
【Pururu】─? What’s your deal? Do you really want to get smacked?
【Yumi】─Ugh.
【Mysticism】─🤮
【Bubble Bubble】─What’s wrong with Rize?
【Yumi】─He’s been acting weird lately. Maybe he’s been influenced by Pururu.
【Pururu】─What do you mean, influenced? He’s just weird. ㅡㅡ
In any case, since Jellyfish lost the tug-of-war, it was decided that Jellyfish would be the next to evolve.
***
39th day in the labyrinth.
Jellyfish hadn’t woken up yet.
It was still fast asleep inside its egg, undergoing evolution.
And once again, the color of the egg was different.
Unlike the golden hue of Black Magma Slime or the black shade of Necro Puppet Master, the egg surrounding Jellyfish had a red tint this time.
‘There’s still a lot of time left until the evolution is complete.’
I wasn’t just idly waiting in front of the egg.
After assigning a few monsters to guard it,
I returned to my tasks.
“Iris. If you sense any danger, don’t even look back, just run.”
─［Understood.］
Iris was currently exploring Passage No. 1 alone.
Today, I planned to investigate the place where I first fell into this Ancient Labyrinth, a task I’d been putting off.
Honestly, by now, the giant skeleton monster had probably moved on elsewhere.
Still, just in case, I was going to be as cautious as possible.
I only sent Iris to minimize the risk.
As I focused my attention on Iris progressing through Passage No. 1,
【Too Many Defeated Pururus】─Hi.
the Assistants started gathering in the broadcast one by one.
But what’s with that nickname?
It was so long, I almost didn’t recognize it was Pururu.
Even Yumi, who arrived a little later, was irritated by Pururu’s nickname.
【Yumi】─Pururu, what’s up with your nickname?
【Too Many Defeated Pururus】─What?
【Too Many Defeated Pururus】─Cool, right?
【Yumi】─No. It makes you seem dumb. What are you even defeated by?
【Too Many Defeated Mystis】─😛
【Yumi】─?? Mysti, your name changed too?
【Yumi】─“Too many defeats”? What does that even mean?
【Too Many Defeated Pururus】─It’s the title of a trending anime.
【Yumi】─Otaku.
【Too Many Defeated Pururus】─By the way, I recommended it to Mysti. LOL.
【Too Many Defeated Mystis】─It’s fun.
【Yumi】─Sigh. Even Mysti’s been influenced now.
【Bubble Bubble】─Should I change mine too? Longer names do seem cooler.
【Yumi】─Don’t. Unless you want to join the three stooges.
【Too Many Defeated Rises】─Hoho.
【Yumi】─?
【Too Many Defeated Rises】─I’m not sure what this anime is, but one must always follow trends.
【Yumi】─Oh, boy.
【Yumi】─Looks like I’m the only sane one left.
Yumi didn’t realize something.
Elise isn’t exactly normal, either.
Of course, she’s one of the few brave warriors I genuinely respect, but…
If I were to be objective, she’s not someone you’d call “normal,” especially during battles.
She acts like a madwoman.
In any case, I wasn’t particularly fond of the new nicknames either.
“Guys, the names are too long and annoying. Change them back.”
Shortly after I said that:
【Demon Slayer Pururu】─Changed it.
【Mysti’s Blade】─Changed.
The Assistants had changed their names.
They were quite obedient.
More importantly, it seemed like Pururu and Mysti had gotten really close.
They must’ve hit it off during the recent meetup.
【Yumi】─Doesn’t that cost money? Changing your nickname takes coins, doesn’t it?
【Demon Slayer Pururu】─I’m Platinum rank, so nickname changes are free. LOL.
【Mysti’s Blade】─?
【Mysti’s Blade】─Traitor…
【Rize’s Blade】─Did Mysti pay to change her name?
【Demon Slayer Pururu】─Wait! Someone actually paid money to change their nickname? What a fool!
【Mysti’s Blade】─😡
【Too Many Defeated Bubble Bubbles】─Ah.
【Too Many Defeated Bubble Bubbles】─The trend already changed…
【Yumi】─I guess I’m the only sane one here after all.
Leaving behind the chaotic chatter in the chat window,
I focused back on the view from Iris.
She had already passed through the narrow passage and entered the wide cavern.
It was the very place where I first set foot in the labyrinth.
─［No danger detected.］
The giant skeleton monster was gone.
It had already moved on.
Once I confirmed it was gone, I let out a sigh of relief.
─［Resuming exploration.］
Iris moved forward again.
Then, amid the sea of monster corpses, one particularly torn-up body caught my attention.
It was shredded beyond recognition.
“Iris, hold on.”
─［Hold on. Confirming.］
“Do you see that body up ahead? The one that’s especially mangled?”
─［Corpse detected.］
Iris approached the body and zoomed in.
It was the corpse I had noticed.
“When we head back, make sure to bring that with us. If possible, bring back some of the other corpses too.”
─［Understood.］
I planned to ask Necro Puppet Master to turn that corpse into a puppet.
For the record, the owner of that corpse was the previous Labyrinth Explorer, Min Hyeong-seok.