042. Iris, the Squad Formation Monster

Kang Geon formed the squad with Iris. Its main ability was sensory sharing. In simple terms, it meant I could see what Iris saw.

'Can I hear sounds too?'

I sent one Iris far away. After testing the ability more thoroughly, I discovered it wasn't just sharing vision—it also shared the sounds Iris heard. On top of that, if I wanted, I could even share smells, and the texture of whatever its tentacles touched came through vividly. It felt like watching a 4D movie.

'This is less vision sharing and more full sensory sharing.'

I corrected the ability description in the monster compendium: from vision sharing to sensory sharing. Whether it was a superpower or magic, I didn't know. But it was incredibly useful to me either way. With Iris, I could explore the labyrinth safely without risking my life.

I explained my discoveries to the allies, then asked PpuruRu, "Lulu, can you see the scene I'm viewing through Iris right now?"

I decided to leave one Iris here. If only I watched the labyrinth exploration, the allies would get bored.

By the way, the Irises could share senses with each other too.

"Iris-1. Display all the visions from the other Irises."

Several screens appeared, split across the eye of the nearby Iris. They showed what the other Irises were seeing.

I'll probably watch through this from now on. Sharing senses with multiple Irises at once would make me dizzy.

I could zoom in on screens I wanted to see more closely. Staring at Iris-1's screen, I asked, "Iris, can you hear sounds on your screen without sharing senses with the others?"

"Reverse is possible too?"

As Iris-1 said that, the other Irises swarmed back around me. Iris-1 stared right at me, and my face appeared on the others' eyes.

"Oh. This works too."

Even the voice.

Looking at Iris, I thought: If I dispatch one... maybe I can see other worlds? Even communicate with people there? The potential seems high. I'll test it later.

Labyrinth Day 16. Today, I formed exploration squads.

First: Me, Black Magma Slime-003, and Iris-1 stayed at the oasis shelter as HQ, directing all squads. Black Magma Slime was the strongest here, so it stayed as my bodyguard.

Next: Psycho Clown-005 and Medical Mushroom-004 as Squad 1, assigned to map Passage 8. They originated from there anyway.

"Yeah. You're smarter than Mushroom."

Squad 2: Hedgehog Summoner God and Dog Spider-001. They got Passage 7, where the vending machine first appeared. Mapping to Hedgehog.

Squad 3: Art Pega Unicorn and Jellyfish-002. They were scouting Passage 6, where we met the fire slimes. Art Pega on mapping.

I assigned one Iris to each squad.

"One's the reserve squad."

After ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠squad formation, I gave each squad an arm: one old severed arm, and two fresh left arms from this morning. No sensory block—full nerve connection unlocked. Awkward at first, but with practice, even my frail body could handle three decently. This laid the groundwork for remote taming.

The monsters took their arms and headed into assigned passages. Soon, I noticed: space around my severed arms weakened monster power too. Not Iris's doing—I was only sharing vision with Iris-1, not full senses.

"Psycho Clown, block sensation from my arm you're holding for a sec."

As Psycho Clown scouting Passage 8 blocked the sensation—

Monsters' power returned. Confirmed: my arms cause weakening. I reconnected sensation. Even at full power, our monsters could handle it.

While squads explored, HQ chilled in the Passage 8 pond like a hot spring.

Back at shelter, Rise sent supplies: a massive crystal orb. No—a crystal orb house. It had a door.

Thanked Rise and checked inside: about 5 pyeong empty space, no kitchen or bathroom. Fine—no need for bathroom with Black Magma Slime handling waste.

Empty, but perfect.

"Temperature's just right. Not cold, not hot."

Thanked Rise again. While moving the mattress inside—

Urgent voices from Iris. From Squad 2's screen—

Before terrified Hedgehog and Dog Spider approached a human-shaped monster with a blank face. Half its face was covered in grotesque monster mass. Even through the screen, I sensed its threat: A-grade nerfed, true power SS-grade.