Iris – Eyes Adrift in the Labyrinth
Iris. Even drifters who fell into the Ancient Labyrinth could use invitation tickets. That's why, before Rise returned, I used a mid-grade invitation ticket on him to make him a jo-ryeokja.
There were three main reasons I turned Rise into a jo-ryeokja. First, to get repayment for my help. Dispatched monsters might not be able to bring back items from that world, so it was like taking out insurance. And my guess turned out right. The returning Psycho Clown said they couldn't bring items from other worlds.
Second, I had no other choice. Mid-grade invitation tickets could only be used on people with a connection within five days, and the only ones who fit were Rise, Ayula, and Terio.
Finally, third—to dispatch monsters near Rise. I was already connected to him, which gave me a link to the Lumina planet too. But time was tight. I had to find Rise and join him within 24 hours to take down the Seven Commanders. Even with Psycho Clown's tracking, 24 hours was way too short. Plus, just knowing someone didn't mean I could dispatch near them. That function was only for jo-ryeokja. So I made Rise one, with the condition that he'd pay a hefty amount of coins as thanks.
Naturally, Rise accepted my offer gladly and became my fourth jo-ryeokja.
I glanced at my coin balance and muttered, "Coins just shot up outta nowhere."
Adding yesterday's coins to today's, I had 55,006 total. No more worrying about running out when I hit a vending machine.
"Did I dump my whole fortune in for nothing?"
Rise had been grumbling nonstop. He'd donated so many coins, yet he was still gold grade. I got it—if it were me, I'd complain too.
"Maybe 'cause it's only been a day since becoming a jo-ryeokja? I think viewing time affects the grade too."
"Pruru, cut the nonsense."
"Yeah, probably. Don't sweat it too much."
I spoke casually to Rise—he'd asked me to treat him that way first. Anyway, I started eating while skimming the jo-ryeokja chat. Today's meal was, as always, Pig King. No matter how much I ate, it never got old. Though a few weeks straight might change that.
Staring at the chat, a thought crossed my mind. Why did the labyrinth demand currency from other worlds? Converted coins went to labyrinth development funds, but I still didn't get it. Lumina's energy might help, but Earth's money? No way that did anything.
Munching away, another guess hit me. ...What if this labyrinth grows by feeding on desire?
It could be. All currencies shared one thing: they embodied desire. Currency was desire. The Ancient Labyrinth might thrive by absorbing desire from other worlds. No other reason made sense.
If that's right, demanding currency clicks. I nodded to myself, piecing it together.
Day 15 in the labyrinth. Exploration of Cave 8 continued. Then, after ages, I ran into a new monster.
A green orb formed its body, swirling with eerie green light inside. Countless tentacles writhed around it like dancing. In short: an eyeball monster.
You'd expect floating eyeballs to be gross, but this one wasn't bad. The green hue? No bloodiness? It gave off a shimmering, jewel-like vibe instead.
I named it Iris.
"Like Medical Mushroom, does it ignore other creatures? Doesn't seem to care about us..."
As Rise said, Iris didn't look hostile.
"Taming should be easy then."
"Tame first, figure it out later. More monsters, the better."
There was no limit to how many monsters I could tame. If I liked 'em even a bit, I'd take 'em. Especially non-hostile ones like this—short taming time, no-brainer.
For food like Pig King... Skip taming Pig Kings. Killing a friend's kin is fine, but eating a tamed one feels off.
I approached Iris slowly. Just in case, I'd asked Jellyfish-002 to amp up the protection spell. It might snap and attack out of nowhere.
Right up in its... face? It whipped around, glaring sharply, and spoke.
> State your purpose.
A cold, alien tone. More machine than creature.
> State your purpose. Failure to comply will result in elimination.
"Taming."
> Taming. Accepted.
Iris floated right over, pressing itself to my hand—right on the red spot.
Proving no hostility, the color change kicked in fast. A monster choosing to be tamed? Absurd. As I stood there stunned—
> Taming. Accepted.
> Taming. Accepted.
> Taming. Accepted.
Suddenly, Irises swarmed from everywhere. They lined up behind the first one, like waiting their turn—ready to be tamed when it came.
I ended up taming five Irises on the spot.
Back at the shelter.
After logging the monster in the compendium, I checked the new Iris's abilities. Vision sharing.
With this, I could explore without moving—sit tight at shelter and scout remotely. Long-range taming made it perfect.