016. After Closing the Drifter Monster Guide
After closing the Drifter Monster Guide, he belatedly answered Pruru's question from earlier.
"Why was that slime B-grade?"
He explained the slime's rank and revealed the fact that the labyrinth monsters' threat levels were being suppressed.
"Yeah. It's not certain—just my guess—but the odds are high."
Pruru posted the rank chart in the chat. She'd copied the one he'd drawn on the floor yesterday. Thanks to her, he didn't have to explain it himself. From now on, he'd leave new helpers to Pruru.
"No. Intelligence doesn't matter."
Intelligence was irrelevant. Humanoid = Demon King, everything else = Devil King.
As he explained this, he arrived at the entrance to Passage 6.
<Passage 6>
○ Fire Slime habitat.
And as he finished jotting the note—
Drifter Appeared!
Drifter Appeared!
Drifter Appeared!
"Huh?"
Three mortals have set foot in the Ancient Labyrinth by crossing dimensions.
Drifters were outsiders from beyond the labyrinth.
"Drifters appeared."
"Think of them as uninvited guests to this labyrinth."
He'd been the labyrinth's sole drifter before becoming an explorer. Sure, he'd been summoned, but his summoner Min Hyung-seok was dead now.
Not necessarily humans. They were labeled as mortals.
"I couldn't meet them even if I wanted to. No idea where they are."
He decided to ignore the drifters. No way to find them, no reason to meet.
Somewhere in the Ancient Labyrinth.
Three figures slowly materialized.
"This place..."
A woman scanned her surroundings, muttering in a low voice.
"...No way it's the heroes' secret hideout?"
"Probably."
The man beside her replied. They'd just crossed into the labyrinth via a dark portal—drifters.
The woman turned back to an old man.
"Dark Lord."
Dark Lord—his title.
"The dimensional gate we came through seems gone. No way back. What now?"
Their world was one of endless clashes between justice and evil, heroes versus villains. These three belonged to the forces of evil. They'd infiltrated the heroes' base to assassinate the rank-1 hero.
But a wildcard appeared. Infiltration succeeded, then a sudden dark portal sucked them into this strange space.
"Hmph..."
The Dark Lord surveyed coldly, utterly calm.
"We'll scout slowly for now. Better know what this place is."
The man and woman nodded. As the three villains advanced through the cave—
[Suuuung~]
A bizarre creature appeared before them. A being of pure flame, humming as it approached.
A Fire Slime, the one that had clashed with explorer Kang Geon.
"What the hell is that monster?"
"Looks like a special lifeform the heroes cooked up in secret."
"Sneaking around making that..."
The man and woman assumed combat stances. Ordinary humans would've panicked. But they weren't ordinary.
The woman and man were nation-destroying villains. The old man, their leader, was a world-destroying one—a top-tier powerhouse.
In their world, of course.
Power scales varied by world. A top dog in one might be average elsewhere; the weak could become gods.
Strength's definition—and its peaks—differed wildly between worlds.
By Kang Geon's standards: old man A-grade, man and woman B-grade.
But they were frogs in a well. Arrogant, assuming they'd crush this creature easily.
"Dark Lord. Kill it?"
"Looks research-worthy. Capture first. Kill if it resists. There are probably more monsters."
They were overconfident. They couldn't win, blind to the power gap.
The Fire Slime wasn't suppressed like around Kang Geon. It was at full power.
[Suung?]
The Fire Slime noticed the villains. Tamed by Kang Geon, it saw them as his kin—no hostility.
It planned to pass by.
But they attacked first.
[Suung...?]
All attacks bounced off, of course. As the villains panicked—
The Fire Slime paused, staring. Why attack? Explorer and I are friends now. Same species as explorer = friends?
It pondered, then realized: Not all same-species are friends. Some slimes cannibalize!
These humans must be bad ones. Could harm my friend the explorer.
Judgment: Enemies. Kill.
The Fire Slime swelled, radiating intense heat. Temperature skyrocketed; the cave air scorched like a furnace.
"Hup!"
"C-can't... breathe..."
The man and woman's bodies shook violently. They clutched throats, writhing, then collapsed to their knees. Eyes bulged in terror, foam bubbling from mouths.
Skin reddened like heated iron. Burns spread, flesh melting, exposing bone. Even bone liquefied.
Their forms dissolved.
"What is..."
The old man endured, true to his villain leader status. But he realized too late: this thing was leagues above them.
Cannot win. Flee.
Discarding pride, he turned and bolted.
But soon—thud! He slammed into something, tumbling.
A transparent barrier blocked the path.
"Wh-what is this?!"
Escape cut off. In panic, he punched the cave wall—desperate to break through.
No dent.
Despair gripped him as the Fire Slime swelled behind, filling the cave, then split into countless flames.
They swarmed the old man like guided missiles.
Flames merged into a massive pillar, incinerating him to ash in seconds.
The pillar faded. No trace remained.
The Dark Lord, terror of a world, ended pathetically.
Drifter Count: 0
Mortals from outside. Drifters dropped from 3 to 0.
Dead already? Only minutes in.
He didn't know who they were, but offered a perfunctory mental condolence.
Meanwhile, he applied ointment to his left hand—Mysticism's aid item, worried about burns.
As he finished the ointment, Passage 6 lit up brightly.
Squinting, he saw the Fire Slime at the entrance. For reference, taming the Fire Slime had already succeeded.
Saved him the trip. He'd planned to fetch it after ointment.
The Fire Slime hesitated, then inched closer.
Now right in front, he cautiously extended his arm, touching its surface.
Soft, soothing. Calming to body and mind.
"Nope."
Not hot. Just warm.
"It's not normal fire."
He stroked it gently. The slime relaxed, purring like a cat with soft vibrations.
In just two days, tamed monsters: three.
He briefly released the Poison Apple from restraints, provoking it to summon minions.
At eight summons—
Dog Spider quickly rebound it.
He distributed the summon apples: two each.
Gathered with his monsters, eating together.
"Oh yeah."
Something he'd forgotten surfaced. The favor for when Pruru logged in this morning.
"Lulu."
"Got a favor to ask."
"Can you swing by my place right now?"
One reason for the request: fetch his stuff and money from home. Convert cash to coins, obviously.