Day 71 in the Labyrinth: Gearing Up for Release
After checking the interior construction progress of the desert village, I returned to the oasis shelter and summoned all the monsters that had stayed behind at headquarters.
The reason was simple. I wanted to check each one that wasn't migrating, and select a manager for the new undersea village we were about to build.
I slowly scanned the monsters lined up before me. Most were from my first-generation batch.
"Assembly complete, yang!"
"Merino, you're out. Come stand by my side."
"Yang yang!"
With Merino at my side, I took another slow look at the monsters.
Kinogine Arachne. Blood Jellyfish Princess. Black Magma Slime.
These three would stay at headquarters again. They'd been with me since the very beginning.
"Kinogine, Princess, and Black Magma Slime—move to the side, please."
Next up: Medical Mushroom. Melody Fox. Art Pega Unicorn.
No plans to send these three anywhere else. Medical handled healing. Melody managed buffs. Art Pega took care of the illustrated bestiary, map-making, and miscellaneous tasks.
"Medical, Melody, Art Pega—join the ones who just stepped out."
"Oh, and Iris—you guys sit this out too."
Six monsters and a swarm of Iris units stepped out of formation. That left five.
Hedgehog Summoner God. Zapan. Bastet Daong. Azeras. Necro Puppeteer.
I wasn't counting Necro's puppets in the numbers. They'd stick with him anyway—except for Niara Nephensis.
Anyway. Hedgehog Summoner God and Zapan would stay at headquarters too. They were still S-grade monsters, and staying near Melody for her buffs was ideal.
"Zapan and Hedgehog—step aside."
And Bastet Daong...
"Daong, you too."
Ideally, I'd send Daong off as a village manager somewhere. He didn't have a critical role here, and his SS-grade power level made him perfect for it.
But the Solorbs forced my hand. He was their eyes at headquarters. To deepen ties with the Solorbs, keeping Bastet close was best.
"That leaves just two..."
Azeras. And Necro Puppeteer with his puppets.
Putting puppets in charge felt unreliable, so one of Azeras or Necro had to manage the undersea village.
I explained my intent to them. Azeras pondered for a moment before speaking first.
"I don't mind managing a village. But if I'm doing it, I'd prefer the heavenly realm one."
"No plans for a heavenly village yet... You don't like the undersea one?"
"Sorry. I prefer heaven."
"...Fine, can't be helped."
Azeras clearly disliked the undersea idea. If we built a heavenly village later, she'd be the pick for manager.
With Azeras opting out reluctantly, I turned to Necro.
Luckily, Necro accepted the undersea manager position readily.
"Thanks."
...I nodded. I never planned to send Niara anyway. She was Necro's puppet but followed me more loyally.
"Oh, Necro. Once you're manager, you can delegate actual operations to a deputy and visit headquarters whenever—like Omega from the mech factory or the desert village crew when you're bored."
And so, it was settled. Necro's puppets—Cursed Devil Gentleman, Neo Hyung-seok, Jellyfish Queen, Ignis Ashbringer, Lilith Morphia, Dune Strider... Wait, Dune Strider was a desert village resident?
Excluding Dune Strider and Niara, five puppets would migrate with Necro to the undersea village.
After lunch, I sent Necro and the puppets to Omega for undersea village construction, then formed an exploration team from the remaining monsters for the heavenly realm. Eight members total: Arachne, Princess, Black Magma Slime, Medical. Niara, Azeras, Art Pega. And me. (Didn't count the Iris horde.)
"What, when did you guys get here?"
So I had flipped the broadcast on today. No memory of it—must've been unconscious habit.
Anyway. The sole reason I was joining this expedition personally? Niara said she'd wield even greater power in the heavenly realm. And that boosted strength might unlock another layer of my seal.
Of course, this new heavenly realm in the labyrinth wasn't the real heaven. But just in case, we'd check it out together.
I could send Niara ahead to test, but... haven't moved much lately. Feels like my body's stiffening up, so some activity now and then is good.
Naturally, I'd avoid real danger. My life wasn't just mine anymore. For safety, I brought the healer Medical Mushroom and every SS-grade from headquarters.
Oh, and for reference: Left Hedgehog, Melody, and Merino at the desert village. Even with doors on every passage, leaving just three at headquarters felt off. Better to empty it out.
—"Gauntlet-yang! See me, yang? I'm doing great, yang!"
On Iris's screen, the faces and voices of those left at the desert village appeared. I gave Iris a light wave.
"Alright, everyone. Time to head out."
With my strongest squad, we set off for the heavenly realm of the Ancient Labyrinth.
Niara Nephensis's threat level was originally nerfed to A-grade. Even after arriving in the heavenly realm, it showed no change.
Her power hadn't spiked a full rank. But it had strengthened. Threat level aside, she felt undeniably more potent than before.
Niara explained the principle: Increased affinity and adaptation. Resonance between the realm's energy and her core essence.
The labyrinth's heavenly realm mimicked real heaven's physics closely enough for the resonance.
Niara murmured, stroking her body. It adapted better here than to the true heaven. Or maybe this place ranked higher.
Anyway. She still lacked the juice to break my seal. She said we'd need souls as offerings first.
"Doesn't matter much if it's not my kin or anything in that category."
Even among kin, if I deemed them evil or they attacked with malice first, I had no qualms using them as offerings.
I didn't eat them, but I killed when needed. No needless slaughter, but no mercy for those who earned it.
Offerings were already picked: Skull Angels. Utterly hostile, attacked on sight. Perfect.
"Guys. Don't pick fights with non-hostiles—let 'em go. Capture any friendly ones alive. Gotta tame 'em."
Neutrals could be ignored too. Skull Angels were everywhere here.
Hunters fanned out to gather offerings, leaving my escorts behind.
"...Wait, Medical. Where are you going?"
"You're the healer. Stay by my side."
About three hours later, the hunting team returned hauling a massive haul of Skull Angel corpses.