Monster Taming Broadcast

Beyond the massive door, a vast field unfolded.

So we’ve come out of the labyrinth…

For now, it’s true that we’ve exited the cave.

But I wasn’t sure if this place was truly outside the labyrinth.

“Clown. Is this place really outside the labyrinth?”

[Kirik? Outside the labyrinth? What are you talking about?]

The clown tilted its head.

It was a look that said: what kind of nonsense question is that?

[To get out of the labyrinth, you have to cross the black portal. There’s no other way, Kirik.]

It seemed the black portal referred to the dark portal.

I asked the clown again.

“So does that mean we’re still inside the labyrinth?”

[That’s a strange question. Obviously, this is the labyrinth.]

This world’s name is the ancient labyrinth.

So saying we’re outside the labyrinth means we’re talking about outside the world entirely.

The clown added that to its answer.

“So my initial assumption was correct.”

Just as I had expected on the first day.

This place was a world where there was no space outside the labyrinth.

After organizing my thoughts for a moment.

I excluded the plan to search for the dimension magician to return to Earth.

So, there were three remaining options.

Become the ruler of the labyrinth.

Find a monster that uses dimension magic.

Or lastly, purchase a return ticket.

The price of the return ticket was ridiculously high.

But since each vending machine had different ticket prices, there was still hope.

[Gauntlet… Do you really intend to return to your original world…?]

The psycho clown asked with a gloomy face.

It seemed he used telepathy on me.

“Why did you use telepathy without permission?”

[Kirik. I’m sorry. You looked so dark that I used it just a bit out of concern.]

I didn’t raise an issue about him using telepathy without permission.

Since he said he did it out of worry for me, it was fine.

The clown then asked me again.

If I was going to return to my original world.

It was Rize who answered, not me.

“Of course, Gauntlet should return. I can’t just leave my hometown and live here for the rest of my life.”

[Kirik…]

The expressions of all the monsters, including the clown, grew dark.

Seeing that, I began to overthink.

If I manage to return…

What happens to the monsters I’ve tamed?

If successful, my explorer qualification would probably be revoked.

Both the return ticket and escape ticket stated that loss of the explorer qualification would occur.

So would these guys revert back to wild labyrinth monsters?

Or perhaps…

They might stay here for life, waiting in loneliness for my return. Tamed monsters are different from monsters that are subjected to a ruler, after all.

Of course, I would return.

But abandoning the tamed monsters felt a bit burdening.

Wasn’t there a way to maintain my explorer qualification and travel freely between two worlds?

If I could come here occasionally to manage them, it would put my mind at ease.

‘…I don’t know.’

I shook my head vigorously and stopped thinking.

There was no need to worry about this already.

First, let’s find a way to return.

I could ponder such thoughts later.

*

I walked through the endless field while looking up at the blue sky.

That high place.

I could see a sphere shining brightly in the sky.

It wasn’t the sun.

Although I’m not certain because it’s too far, it seemed like a type of monster.

The clouds also appeared to be monsters, I guessed.

‘The sphere is S-Class… the clouds around are probably A-Class.’

That must be a nerfed danger level.

The actual danger level is likely SSS or SS.

It was the third time I encountered SSS in my life.

‘I’m still not used to it. What kind of things float naturally in the sky?’

It was absurd.

Who could believe this was the worst labyrinth ever?

‘Still, at least it seems there’s no hostility, so that’s a relief.’

Those over there showed us no interest at all.

Seemingly just floating in the sky, they posed no threat to the living beings on the ground.

So we decided to ignore them as well.

Flying in the sky wouldn’t be wise.

There’s nothing good about irritating them unnecessarily.

‘Let’s just think of them as nonexistent monsters.’

Normal sun and clouds, not monsters at all.

Thinking that way was good for my mental health.

*

Current time: 7 PM.

The drifters were still unfound.

When I asked the clown, he said we had to walk much further.

As we kept moving…

[Shhiiing!]

We encountered a monster.

The monster we faced was the pig king.

The pig king posed no threat.

Our power level was an A-Class with a nerfed danger level and four B-Class monsters.

We vastly outmatched it.

[Pi!]

The jellyfish popped up with a confident face.

I grabbed the jellyfish’s tentacles and pulled it back.

“Jellyfish. Stay still, it’s not your match.”

[Pi… ]

The jellyfish and the pig king were evenly matched.

There’s no need to send the jellyfish into a tense battle.

That’s a good option.

Concentrating to attack one together is not cowardice; it’s wise.

But, it wasn’t necessary.

Just like last time, the magma slime could handle it easily on its own.

“Magma, don’t kill it, just melt its legs so it can’t move.”

[Suuh!]

The black magma slime lunged at the pig king.

“Dog Spider, after the pig king loses its legs and falls, spray webs all over and restrain it.”

[Shii!]

The dog spider began to spit out webs, preparing bundles.

Then…

“Jellyfish, put levitation magic and speed magic on this too.”

[Piiee!]

Levitation magic was cast on the arm I had detached.

And I concentrated to lift it into the air.

After preparing, I looked ahead again.

[Shsh, shiiing!!!]

The pig king, having lost its legs, tumbled to the ground.

The battle was already over.

That was evidence of how strong the magma slime was.

This was hardly a battle, it could be considered a hunt.

[Shee.]

The dog spider bound the pig king tightly with webs.

The situation was set.

Now it was time to check things out.

“That’s for later. First, let’s check if I can tame it with this hand.”

I intended to try the discreet taming method by sending in the detached arm when the appropriate situation arose later.

I placed the third hand on the pig king’s spots.

Of course, I was referring to the hand that was detached, not the one connected to my body.

【Mysticism】─

I closely observed the spots.

Dark red was slowly turning green.

“…Luckily, it’s working. Since it’s filled with hostility like a poison apple, the color-changing speed is slow.”

But that didn’t matter much.

I had prepared my arm for situations like this.

For monsters filled with hostility, I just had to place my hand on the spot after binding them.

If I leave and come back a while later, it should be tamed.

This way, I would relieve my arms from constraints.

And I could resolve situations where I was stuck taming a monster.

As a note, I couldn’t tame it using the paralyzed arm.

When I recently disconnected from it by asking the clown, the color change had reversed.

I found out for the first time that if you remove your hand while taming, it resets.

“That can only be used on itself, right?”

I wasn’t certain.

I tentatively asked the clown if it could use mind control on other creatures aside from itself.

The clown shook his head.

[Kirik. I can’t use it on this one. I can only use mind control on foes weaker than me.]

“So that means in this labyrinth, there are hardly any foes you can use your mind control on.”

[That’s right. All creatures in this world are equal or stronger than me. The only one weaker than me is the drifter.]

At that moment, as we chatted near the pig king…

“Gauntlet! Something is approaching from over there!”

Suddenly, Rize shouted, pointing in one direction.

I turned my gaze towards where he pointed.

Beyond the horizon.

Five shapes appeared.

They were rushing towards us with astonishing speed.

And in just a blink, the five figures were right next to us.

The upper body was human.

The lower body had the form of a horse.

It was a centaur, just as Pururu said.

But they weren’t ordinary centaurs.

Their danger levels were all B-Class.

That meant their actual danger levels were S-Class.

Normal centaurs weren’t that dangerous.

At least not the ones I had seen.

They kept a distance while exchanging glances and began talking among themselves.

[…It’s certain.]

[This truly is an explorer.]

[They don’t seem like the ruler.]

While they nodded and conversed, our monster front-lined, blocking me and glaring fiercely at them.

Did they sense the hostility?

As one centaur stepped forward among its peers, it shouted.

[Please wait a moment!]

Ah. Looking closely, it wasn’t just centaurs.

There were female figures among the male ones.

That was the female variant of a centaur, known as centauress.

Of course, since its actual danger level was S-Class, it wasn’t an ordinary one.

The centauress spoke, gaze directly fixed on me.

[We are not your enemies, explorer! We have come to assist you!]

To help me? Why?

Just as I was about to ask why they wanted to help…

The centauress shouted again.

[Our mother was also an explorer who crossed into this labyrinth from another world!]

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