Monster Taming Broadcast

Two bears reacted to my words.

While muttering “Doo Doom Bar.”

“······.”

I stepped just one foot forward towards the bear dolls.

At that moment.

Goooorm!

Goooom!!!

Goooooorm!!!!!

As if they felt I had invaded their territory.

The other bear dolls started to pounce on me with sharp roars in unison.

Yumi—Hah! This is dangerous!!!

Boglebogle—Not really dangerous.

The bear dolls came flying at me at a fast speed.

I calmly absorbed their movements with my eyes.

Daddy is in danger!

I will protect you, Father!

Before Princess and Aracne, who were coming from behind, could arrive.

I slightly twisted my shoulder to dodge one bear doll.

Moving smoothly to the side or bending my head slightly, I let all their attacks slide off me effortlessly.

Pururu—Wow. You’re dodging everything.

Mysticism— Amazing!!!

Rize Nova—How miraculous.

As I dodged their attacks.

I swiftly countered the floating bear dolls.

Striking the back of the nearest bear doll with my right hand, and then hitting another bear doll with my left hand.

I rapidly repeated that simple motion.

Goooom!!

Bear···!

Goooooorm!!!

With consecutive hits, the bear dolls shattered and scattered everywhere.

Even though they were nerfed.

They were surprisingly weak for B-ranks.

Pururu—Whoa, you took out all those S-Class bears in one hit.

Mysticism— They were nerfed to B-class!

Yumi—Oh right. Kuni is currently unlocked at Seal Level 2, so he’s actually A-Class…

When the brief battle ended.

Only two bear dolls remained under the tree.

Unlike the others, who revealed their hostility and charged at me, these two were just staring blankly at me from under the tree.

Their attitude turned my suspicion into certainty.

Boglebogle—Why are they just sitting there?

Rize Nova—Are they broken?

“Of course they’re not attacking me. Tamed monsters never betray, no matter what happens.”

Boglebogle—?

Rize Nova—What does that mean?

Mysticism—

I moved forward again.

Standing right in front of the two bear dolls.

I looked down at them closely.

Seeing them up close only intensified the feeling.

The invisible connection that surely couldn’t break between us.

Father, are you saying one of those bear dolls is a Hedgehog Summoner?

Kinogine Aracne asked as she approached.

I nodded and said.

“Yeah, that’s right. The monsters I’ve tamed feel connected by an invisible thread, and these guys feel connected just like you.”

I squatted down and began to stroke the heads of the bear dolls as I continued.

“This big one is definitely an Abyss Undead Spirit, and the little one is a Hedgehog Summoner for sure. It seems they’ve taken on this form for some reason.”

That can’t be…

The connection I felt with the large bear doll was slightly faint.

But to the small bear doll, the sticky connection felt as strong as those behind me.

That meant.

The big one was an Abyss Undead Spirit summoned by a tamed monster I didn’t tame directly, and the little one was the Hedgehog Summoner I had directly tamed.

And the bear dolls I had just taken out were probably the original forms of the Poison Apples.

Since the only weak monster nearby that didn’t meet the conditions to be B-ranked was a Poison Apple. If I had diluted the danger measurement, those bear dolls would have been detected as much weaker than B-rank.

Pururu—So how do we turn them back to their original forms?

“I don’t know that either. We’ll have to capture the one who turned the Hedgehog into a bear doll and interrogate them for answers.”

After I replied that way.

I turned and looked at Omega, asking.

“Omega. Do you have any idea about what monster could do this? I doubt there are many monsters capable of such a feat.”

Bboom··· One that turns the target into bear dolls and erases their existence…

Omega knocked on its head.

It seemed like it was trying to recall something.

Sorry. There’s no such monster in my data. Bboom.

“No need to apologize.”

After all, there was a way to find such a monster.

Just like the Puppetmaster, Niarah Nepensys also has tracking abilities.

The reason I asked Omega was simply to get a heads-up on what kind of monster we were dealing with.

Son. Mommy found the bad kid connected to the bear dolls.

Just in time, Niarah reported success in tracking.

She was sharp, even without me asking for it.

I think I could reach them in 30 seconds… Should I go kill it now, son?

“No, bring it alive. Just killing it doesn’t guarantee the Hedgehog will return to its original form.”

Our son truly has deep thoughts. Hehe. Alright, I won’t kill it; I’ll bring it back alive, son.

Pururu—Is it just me or does that girl keep calling Kuni her son?

Mysticism—

In an instant, Niarah’s figure vanished from my sight.

It seems she went to catch the one who turned the Hedgehog into a bear doll.

She said it would take about 30 seconds to approach…

So she’d likely return with the culprit in about a minute or so.

Though she might have exaggerated slightly, it could take up to two minutes at most.

While waiting for Niarah.

Purururu. So that bear doll is your friend?

Suddenly, a voice came from my side.

I turned my head to see a Poison Apple hanging from a nearby apple tree, staring right at us.

It looked no different from any other Poison Apple monster.

If I had to pinpoint a difference.

It was that it could speak fluently and didn’t tremble or avert its eyes like other Poison Apples.

Do you want to know how to turn your friend back to their original form? If you’re curious, I could tell you specially. Purururu.

Mysticism— I’ve never seen a Poison Apple talk before!

Yumi—It seems there are highly intelligent Poison Apples after all.

Pururu—A talking apple? What the heck.

I approached the newly speaking Poison Apple with big strides.

Behind me, the monsters I had come with followed.

At that point, the nearby Poison Apples trembled in fear, desperately avoiding making eye contact by bowing their heads.

Of course, the Poison Apple that spoke to us was the exception.

“What’s the method?”

I’ll only tell you if you meet one condition.

“Condition?”

Yes. If you don’t agree to my condition, I can’t tell you how. Purururu.

As the Poison Apple said this.

Kinogine Aracne frowned and raised her voice.

How dare you make a deal with my father? Do you have no regard for your life?

“Kino. Don’t interfere; step back.”

…Yes, Father.

With that, she quickly lowered her head and stepped back.

Pururu—Little one, Kuni listens so well. Haha.

Yumi—You should always listen to your father.

Mysticism—

“First, tell me what your condition is. I’ll think about it after hearing it.”

Purururu. The condition is simple. You must periodically come here and kidnap our kin. From now on, when you come by, please exclude me from your targets. That is the condition.

Ah. So we’re already famous here.

After all, we regularly kidnapped Poison Apples to feed our summons.

Yumi—So it just wants to save itself.

Pururu—What a selfish Apple!

Boglebogle—That’s actually rather clever and wise.

Anyways.

It wasn’t a tough condition at all.

Just excluding one from our kidnapping targets was easy.

I nodded in agreement with the Poison Apple’s proposal.

Then I asked how to turn the doll back to its original form.

The Poison Apple first informed me of the name of the monster that turned the Hedgehog into such a thing.

The one who did this to your friend is called Dolmaker. He is the strongest among the weak in this Ancient Labyrinth.

“So the strongest among the weak? What does that mean?”

Just as it is. He cannot exert any power against opponents of a higher caliber, but against those of similar or lower level, he can easily turn them into dolls. He can dollify someone just by making eye contact with them. Purururu.

“···He can dollify someone just by making eye contact?”

Pururu—??? What kind of scam ability is that?

Mysticism—Is that for real?

Yumi—It seems he’s similar to Medusa.

Boglebogle—Honestly, I can’t believe that either. It’s one thing to work on weaker foes, but it’s odd it works on opponents of the same rank…

For now, I assessed Dolmaker’s danger level.

Since he couldn’t affect SS-rank, it was naturally S-Class.

And while it was true he had a deceptive ability, calling him the strongest among S-class would be an exaggeration.

I mean, you could just avoid looking at him, right?

He was a monster with a super easy way to counter him.

“So, what’s the method to turn the doll back to its original form?”

There’s only one method. You need to find and kill the Dolmaker who turned your friend into that form.

“Just kill him? Is that all?”

Yes. If killing him doesn’t turn your friend back, then you can come back and eat me afterward. Purururu.

Pururu—Wow, that was a really simple method.

Mysticism— I thought there’d be some grand method!

Yumi—But it must be reliable information, right?

Rize Nova—He wouldn’t put his life on the line for false information, would he?

I immediately verified that.

Using telepathy through Iris, I checked the Necro Puppetmaster looking at the Poison Apple.

By the way.

Even without asking the Poison Apple for the method, I could have used telepathy on the culprit Niarah was about to capture.

Still, the reason I listened to the Poison Apple’s condition was simple.

I was curious if it truly knew the method.

And if it did, what condition it was going to propose.

In other words, I was simply killing time and enjoying the diversion.

At the very least, I didn’t need its help.

Son. Are you done talking?

I heard Niarah’s voice from behind.

Turning my head, I saw her holding another monster captive.

It looked like a skull with a pair of small horns on its head.

Behind it, space was torn, holding countless bear dolls inside.

That monster must be the Dolmaker.

Boglebogle—Is that the culprit?

Pururu—It looks horrifying.

Mysticism—You dared to turn Kuni’s tamed monster into a bear doll?

Let him go!!!

I just overheard your talk… That disgusting creature can be killed, right, son?

Niarah raised her hand.

As soon as I gave my permission, she looked ready to kill Dolmaker immediately.

“Niarah, let him go and step aside. I’ll finish him off myself.”

After I said that.

I reached out my arm towards Dolmaker.

One of the techniques I had learned while in Elemenzia.

The stance for Technique: First Level.

Boglebogle—Huh? What’s that movement?

Boglebogle—It’s coming! Gauntlet Technique: First Level!

Pururu—What the heck is that, you nerd.

Mysticism—

The Technique: First Level was.

Bending the thumb to fix it, pushing the thumb away with the middle finger while pulling the middle finger with the thumb to make it tense, and then quickly flicking the middle finger to strike the opponent.

Yumi—What’s that Technique: First Level? Is it the name of a skill?

Boglebogle—Yep! It’s one of the techniques that Gauntlet loved to use! Flicking fingers to strike the opponent is quite a fearsome technique!

Mysticism—

Pururu—Dude, that’s just a flick. Quit putting a fancy name on it.

Rize Nova—Why is he preparing to flick from so far away?

Boglebogle—It’s not an ordinary flick.

The moment Niarah threw Dolmaker to the ground like trash.

I concentrated all my senses into my fingertips, waiting for the precise moment, and flicked my finger.

Pahhhng—!

With a sharp sound like the air being ripped apart.

The shockwave horizontally spread out, racing towards Dolmaker, who was hurriedly trying to get back up.

In an instant, it bisected his body.

Just as expected, the power was not overwhelming.

But even though it wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful, it was more than enough to take Dolmaker’s life in one hit.

Mysticism—

Yumi—That flick really was a fearsome technique…

Pururu—That really was a technique…

After that.

With Dolmaker’s death, the two bear dolls that had been hanging on my legs began to twist and distort.

Eventually, the forms of the bear dolls twisted and transformed, one into a Hedgehog Summoner and the other into an Undead Spirit.

Doom Bar!

Doo Doom Bar!!!

Pururu—Huh? Hedgehog Summoner!

Yumi—I remember now!!!

Mysticism— I completely forgot about our Hedgehog…

Rize Nova—I also recalled the memory of the Hedgehog ball.

Boglebogle—The existence has returned.

As they regained their original forms.

Others’ memories of the Hedgehog also revived.

—

Dolmaker

i—Actual Danger Level: S-Class.

i—Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.

i—Ability: Dollification.

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