063. Mummy Skeleton
Endless seas of golden sand stretched out beneath a merciless sun. Heat haze shimmered over the dunes.
As the chats from the Jo-ryeokja poured in, Azeras and Arachne stepped boldly out the door without hesitation.
—"My eyes... they're stinging..."
—[It's refreshingly nice.]
The two pressed forward into the heart of the desert, sand crunching underfoot. I watched Squad 4 through Iris while summoning the Jo-ryeokja ReplyReply.
"Ellis."
"You said you wanted to see an SSS-grade monster once, right? That sun floating up there is an SSS-grade monster. It's nerfed to S-grade right now."
A spherical monster resembling the sun itself. A Solorb. It looked just like the one from the prairie where we'd met the centaurs. Probably.
The risk level and appearance matched, though the species might differ.
After explaining the Solorb to Ellis, I called over Art Pega Unicorn, who was resting a short distance away.
"Art Pega Unicorn."
—[Yes, Explorer. I'll stop resting and get back to mapping now.]
"No, that's not why I called. I wanted to ask about the Solorb."
—[The Solorb?]
"Come here for a sec?"
Art Pega Unicorn rose from her spot. In the process, Melody Fox, who had been sleeping atop her back, stirred awake. For the record, the two weren't close yet. They were just starting to get to know each other.
Art Pega Unicorn approached me. I pointed to the Iris screen and asked her about the Solorb hovering over the desert. Like the one in the prairie, did it refuse to tolerate killing on the ground below?
Art Pega Unicorn stroked her chin thoughtfully before answering.
—[Hmm... I've never been there, so I don't know that Solorb's personality... but hating killing isn't a trait of the Solorb species. It's just that individual's quirk.]
"So, high chance this Solorb doesn't care about killing?"
—[Yes. Though not certain.]
I nodded at Art Pega Unicorn's words. Then, Squad 4's voices came through Iris.
—"Over there... I see a monster..."
—[Father. What should we do? Capture and tame it?]
On the Iris screen, a humanoid figure approached from afar, floating through the air without legs.
"Hold position for now."
I advised Squad 4 to wait. Even if this Solorb probably wasn't a no-kill fanatic, it was just a guess—no solid info yet. If it was one and we accidentally killed the monster while subduing it, Squad 4's monsters would be at risk.
Best not to act until the monster struck first. Safety first.
"Don't move a muscle until it attacks."
—"G-Got it..."
—[Understood, Father.]
They were combat-ready but held still, glaring at the approaching monster.
And soon, the monster arrived.
...That monster looked familiar somehow.
"Ah."
Ellis' chat jogged my memory. The Thirst Demon King—Mummy Skeleton. The monster that once plunged a nation in Elemenesia into terror.
Of course, it couldn't be the exact same one. The Elemenesia version had been slain by the Devoted Hero Ellis. The odds of it surviving and drifting into the labyrinth were slim to none.
Maybe the Thirst Demon King originated from the Ancient Labyrinth.
"Looks exactly the same, so same species, I guess."
"Yeah, seems like it. Same species, different individual."
Rise was right. Demon king-level monster? So what? We had two SS-grades. Even if one was napping, the other could handle a Mummy Skeleton with ease.
While chatting with the Jo-ryeokja, the Mummy Skeleton closed in, stopped, and eyed Azeras and Arachne alternately. Sizing up the gap?
Before I could speculate further—
—[I wish for... sand... uh... forgot my lines... Anyway, I wish for...]
The Mummy Skeleton spread its arms, whipping up a sandstorm. Clear declaration of war.
Low intelligence, or suicidal. Either way, striking first meant the Solorb was lenient on killing. No issue fighting.
As it showed hostility, Azeras stepped forward. But Arachne extended her left arm to block her, smiling with eyes still closed.
—[I'll handle it. Non-lethal subjugation is my specialty.]
—"Got it."
Dozens of sandstorms swirled around the Mummy Skeleton. And like corpses bursting from graves, countless arms erupted from the sand below.
The Mummy Skeleton's ability: sand soldier summons.
Arachne didn't summon spiders.
—[...Once is enough.]
Arachne narrowed one eye, briefly revealing four red pupils, and muttered to herself.
Then her body writhed, exploding with countless threads. They shot skyward like living things, too fast for the eye—mere blurry afterimages.
The sky blanketed in threads, blocking sunlight, plunging everything into darkness. Then the threads cascaded like a waterfall onto the Mummy Skeleton and soldiers.
Forming a massive cage prison. They couldn't react—a fly in a web, powerless. Even without touching, proximity drained their strength.
The thread cage contracted relentlessly, squeezing tighter. Touched soldiers crumbled to sand and scattered. The Mummy Skeleton panicked, head whipping around, before being tightly bound in a thread cocoon.
A mismatch from the start. Comparing them was an insult. That was the gap between SS-grade and S-grade.
With the Mummy Skeleton bound in threads, I pointed out its red spot. Arachne placed her severed arm on it.
And as always, I was sketching.
"Fatigue's gone. Wrist never hurt."
"Send pics, I'll do them before bed."
"Nope. Drawing made me tired again."
Chatting with the Jo-ryeokja like this, the drawing finished before I knew it.
■ Mummy Skeleton
— Actual Threat: S-grade.
— Current (Nerfed) Threat: B-grade.
— Abilities: Sand Manipulation, Sand Soldier Summon.
Thud. I closed the notebook after finishing the monster codex entry.
—"Another... monster... coming."
—[Want me to handle that one, Azeras?]
—"Got it."
A massive monster barreled toward the resting Squad 4 in the desert, bellowing loudly.
—[Aberrerr! Aberrerreral!]
This time, a giant larva.