030. Field Clown
The execution sword swung by the Field Clown sliced off my left arm. Blood spurted from the severed stump. The cut arm thudded to the ground. I gritted my teeth. I didn't let out a single groan, but damn, it hurt like hell. This frail body of mine.
[Pii!!]
The Medical Mushroom-004, hovering in wait, darted over in a panic. With an urgent expression, it sprayed out pink liquid. The moment the viscous fluid covered the stump—
It writhed! The blood and flesh at the cut surged, and a new arm began sprouting thickly from the stump. It was a bit slower than when my fingers had regenerated.
The pain subsided. My left arm was restored in an instant.
"Hm."
Whoosh! I swung the regrown left arm around.
"Feels fine."
No awkwardness. Not even a hint of discomfort at the severed spot. Oh, and no worries about clothes. I don't wear a shirt anyway.
"By the way, I think Yumi just popped in."
I calmed my flailing arm and stared into empty space as I spoke.
Not long after Pruru and Mysticism's chats appeared—
The chat overflowed with excessive worry. She must've been shocked walking in on that gruesome scene.
"Pruru, you explain it to Yumi."
"Kinda. You're the highest-ranked among the Jo-ryeokja."
"So, pretty please."
I left the explanation to Pruru. She was surprisingly easy to handle.
The Psycho Clown-005 had granted superpowers to my severed left arm. The same superpower he'd used on taxidermy specimens to prevent decay after separation from the body. More precisely, it remotely linked the body part to its original owner, sustaining its life force.
Thanks to this superpower, taxidermy counts as part of the original owner's body. As long as the owner lives, it doesn't decay.
Furthermore, since it's linked to the original owner, they can move it freely at will. It's their own body, after all.
However, all taxidermy had one restriction: the original owner couldn't move it. Like paralysis.
"Clown. Release the restriction now."
[Kirik. Got it. Fully opening the link.]
The Clown lifted the superpower's restriction. A bizarre sensation flooded in.
It felt like I had two left arms on my left side. Besides the one attached to my body, I could sense nerves from another left arm.
"...Whoa. Feels like I've got three arms now."
Ha Yu-mi asked. She'd gotten the full rundown from Pruru.
"Exactly. Using a detached part of my body lets me cut down on unnecessary fights."
A brief moment of pain traded for massive safety.
She was politely calling me insane. I knew this wasn't a normal idea.
But sometimes, crazy ideas are the winning move.
"Dunno."
I focused and tried moving the third arm. It obeyed perfectly. I could even drag it across the ground with its fingers to move.
"We'll find out if it works from here on. If not, oh well."
"...Got it. Won't do it again."
I'll probably do it again, but I apologized anyway. I'd worried my Jo-ryeokja, after all.
Anyway. Now I had two things to test.
First: Could I tame monsters with a hand detached from my body?
Second: If yes, could I do it even with the link partially restricted?
If the second worked, I'd mass-produce arms. Assign one to each monster for scouting, and they'd auto-tame.
Of course, low expectations. The first might work, but the paralyzed arm? Doubt it. That'd be broken.
For reference, the second wouldn't work with nerve-linked arms. Too many would be hard to control. Not with my unsealed body, anyway.
"If you're cutting, might as well go big."
"Nah. Those fingers are precious to the Clown. Can't use 'em for experiments."
[Kirik. I'm touched.]
I'd initially guessed woman, but her guy-ish vibes made me switch to man. Or maybe a guy who thinks he's a girl? She keeps confusing me.
...Whatever. Gender doesn't matter. Moving on.
I was already planning to. I sealed the arm's stump with Medical Mushroom liquid and tucked it safely inside the Black Magma Slime-003 for storage.
"Rise. Time to head out. We've finished our business and rested enough."
"Understood."
We ended our break and resumed exploration.
"True, lots of A-rank+ can talk, but structured language use has nothing to do with danger level. Even low-danger ones can be smart."
"I didn't say that."
An hour of chatting with Jo-ryeokja while exploring. After five total hours inside, we hit a dead end.
Or rather, a massive door blocking the path.
"A door here too. Passage 4 had one."
Different size and shape from Passage 4's door. That one felt off, but this was just a big normal door.
[Kirik. Open it and go through. Drifters are beyond.]
The Clown tapped the door with his hand-knuckles.
Rise Nova stepped up and placed his hand on it.
"Step back. I'll open it."
His strength should do it. C-grade, even nerfed.
I could've with Jellyfish-002 buffs, but too much hassle.
"Haaap!!!"
Rise gathered his full power and shoved.
Rise caught his breath, then powered up again. Louder grunt.
"Hup! Haaap!!!"
Thud— The door that wouldn't budge started shifting slowly. Gaining speed, the gap widened. Then it flew open like it had its own force.
Ruuuumble— With a deep echo, the massive door fully opened.
"It... opened!"
Rise panted, lifting his head. His gaze locked on the sight beyond.
Under dazzling sunlight, an endless green plain stretched out to welcome us.