141. After Defeating the Time Eater
Gauntlet returned to the deepest part of the dungeon, right in front of the boss room, after defeating the Time Eater. Naturally, he had no inkling that he had come back from the future. He figured he had opened a spatial transfer door, moved to another space, beaten the boss, and returned to his original spot in one go.
And then.
[…Y-you, who might you be?]
"What the—?"
A single monster stood trembling in terror before Gauntlet's eyes. The spot he was in now was the boss room beyond the door. That monster ahead was the true boss of this dungeon.
Of course, Gauntlet didn't see it as the boss. He thought it was some bonus monster you'd run into after clearing the boss room via spatial transfer and returning to normal space.
[……I-I don't know who you are, but I'll surrender for now! Please, spare my life!]
The dungeon's true master dropped to its knees and slammed its head into the ground. It had quickly grasped that Gauntlet's presence was on a whole different level.
"Never seen a deepest-depths dungeon monster surrender like this outta nowhere…."
[Hehe… For a lowly creature like me to surrender to someone as noble as you is only natural, milord….]
The dungeon boss groveled obsequiously. Gauntlet stared at it in bewilderment, scratched his head, turned around, and left without another word.
Even if it was a monster, he had zero intention of killing something with no hostility, that hadn't harmed anyone, and was begging for its life on its knees.
As he exited the dungeon like that, Gauntlet thought to himself.
'SSS-grade power, huh… This feels kinda dangerous….'
Power overflowed from every inch of Gauntlet's body. It was a volatile strength that could accidentally shatter everything if he slipped up.
'Wonder if I can even handle this power.'
Gauntlet doubted whether he could properly control this overwhelming force that felt beyond him.
'First things first, suppress this aura leaking from my body. Can't go around radiating menace like this.'
Gauntlet's current state was dire. Even without danger-sensing abilities, anyone could tell at a glance he was more hazardous than an S-grade.
In this condition, he couldn't even hold a conversation with other humans. That's why he needed to rein in his aura and seal his power to look like an ordinary person.
'Hmm… This about right? No, still a bit much… Was suppressing aura always this tough? Gonna need at least a few weeks of practice.'
Fortunately, the continent Gauntlet was on had no humans. This was the Demon Continent, a land devoid of human life—conquered by the Demon Kings long ago. It was also far from human realms, a place no ordinary person could set foot in. Anyone below S-grade coming here might as well be suicidal.
'Before heading to another continent, I gotta master aura suppression here. And before that….'
Gauntlet tensed his legs and leaped high. Like a springboard launching him, his body rocketed into the sky in an instant.
High in the heavens, Gauntlet hovered.
'Let's test just how strong this power is.'
He overlooked the Demon Continent's edge from above, gently extended his arm, and assumed the stance for the First Secret Technique.
'Just in case, make it as weak as possible… Like delicately caressing a newborn—pull back all the power….'
Thwack—
It was so light it barely qualified as the First Secret Technique. He just flicked his finger like giving a light knuckle rap.
That instant.
Bwooooom—!
The shockwave tore through space as it flew. In a heartbeat, half the Demon Continent vanished without a trace.
The aftermath birthed massive tsunamis. Waves dozens of meters high began crashing over the remaining land, earthquakes split the earth and toppled mountains deep within the continent. On top of that, the mega-quake shook the entire surviving landmass, awakening volcanoes that spewed lava and ash skyward.
'…….'
What the hell? He was sure he'd held back completely and just tapped lightly.
Gauntlet couldn't help but panic. And he felt fear toward his own power. He knew uncontrollable excess strength was poison.
'Shit.'
From that day on, Gauntlet's physical training took on new meaning. Endless bodyweight exercises to adapt and familiarize himself with the power. Practice controlling it. Practice striking weakly. Practice attacking without collateral damage.
And so on. It wasn't training to grow stronger—it was to perfectly master his own strength.
There, on the ruined Demon Continent, Gauntlet devoted six grueling months to power control drills. As a result, he gradually wielded his strength freely, learned techniques to subdue foes without lethal wounds, and could unleash potent, focused attacks without harming the surroundings.
Plus, he succeeded in suppressing his dangerous aura. Light touches released no power at all, allowing normal daily life like any ordinary person.
And in this process, Gauntlet devised a new technique: 'Second Secret Technique: Internal Collapse.'
After leaving the Demon Continent, he continued relentless physical conditioning and fine-tuned power control to avoid harming the innocent. Under the creed that great power demands great responsibility.
Ancient Labyrinth, Day 72.
I had a dream. Of the strongest monster I'd ever faced in the past, the Time Eater. The day I threw a desperate one-punch battle against that SSS-grade threat and emerged victorious, gaining SSS-grade power myself.
Why this dream out of nowhere? Only one reason.
'…That voice from the Chrono Knight—I thought I'd heard it somewhere before. Turns out it matched the Time Eater's voice from back then.'
Coincidence? Or some connection between them?
Such thoughts swirled in my mind as I woke, slowly lifting my eyelids. Merino Ulla's face filled my view. She was stuffing food into my mouth like mad.
I naturally chewed and swallowed, then asked her.
"…Whatcha doing?"
"Yangyang? Eating breakfast yang. Chew chew yang."
"No… What's with feeding food to someone who's asleep?"
"Looked hungry yang."
Truly incomprehensible creature. Well, she meant well by looking after me, so no complaints.
"…You didn't do this every time I was asleep before, did you?"
"Fed you every day yang? Ate real good even in sleep yang!"
No hostility leaked from Merino, so I hadn't noticed while dozing. I can detect forced-hidden malice, but pure actions with zero ill intent are tuned out during sleep.
I could sense every tiny movement if I wanted… but sleeping that sensitively leaves you unrested even after waking.
Of course, my S-grade body doesn't need sleep. I just like deep rest, so I keep at it. I've always craved sleep more than food or sex since I was a kid.
"No feeding me while I'm asleep from now on."
"Yangyang! No more starting today yang!"
Merino nodded vigorously. Her antics are quirky, but she listens well.
After that impromptu breakfast, I sat up. Turned on the broadcast, and went about my usual day.
Today marked the official start of Undersea Village construction. The Desert Village interior wasn't fully done, but Omega had no further role there.
The monsters relocating from HQ to the Undersea Village: Necro Puppeteer, and Necro's puppets excluding Niara.
'Hmm. Starting to get confusing now.'
Unlike when they were all gathered at HQ, my tamed monsters were now scattered: Dog Spider and Jellyfish packs on long-term expeditions. Poison Apple managing the apple farm. Desert Village. Undersea Village. Machine Factory.
With so many spread out, I was losing track of who was where.
'Time to make an organized compendium.'
That's why I decided to create a handy summary of the monster compendium.
No need to redraw everything—Omega had sent a picture copier. It could even shrink images for copying.
'Skip the ones that don't need including.'
Exclude Jo-ryeokja compendium. Exclude otherworlders. Exclude drifters who'd left the labyrinth.
They weren't Labyrinth dwellers anyway.
Oh, of course, I added Merino Ulla to the summary. She's staying in the Labyrinth, so obvious.
And since I'd dreamed of it today, I planned to add Time Eater too. Not in the Labyrinth anymore, but maybe its kin lurked here.
Misi stopped by our house, snapped a framed photo, printed it, and sent it over. Said our place was nearby anyway.
And with that, the monster compendium summary was complete.
