Helper Encyclopedia
Time had flown by, and it was now day 35 since arriving in the Ancient Labyrinth. I'd classified my tamed monsters into first-generation and second-generation groups.
Starting with the first-gen: SS-grade Kinogine Arachne, SS-grade Black Magma Slime, SS-grade Azeras, S-grade Jellyfish, S-grade Medical Mushroom, S-grade Psycho Clown, S-grade Centaurides, S-grade Hedgehog Summoner, S-grade Melody Fox. That made nine in total.
Next, the second-gen: SS-grade Pharaoh Devil, SS-grade Anubis Dragon, SS-grade Bastet Daong, S-grade Snake Head, S-grade Mummy Skeleton, S-grade Giant Caterpillar. Six of them.
The Iris units were off the roster as mounts. If the monsters grew even more numerous, I planned to integrate the first-gen into headquarters units going forward.
Being in headquarters didn't mean they wouldn't scout—they'd lead the scouting teams as captains, directing operations. Of course, I hadn't properly reorganized the teams yet. There weren't enough monsters for a full overhaul. I'd just divided them into squadrons ahead of time for the future.
There was no proper reorganization, but I'd made minor adjustments since taming new monsters.
Squad 4: Kinogine Arachne, Snake Head, Iris-005. They handled Cave 5 scouting.
Squad 5: Anubis Dragon, Bastet Daong, Iris-007. They took Passage 4 scouting—the desert region.
For reference, I'd tamed a few more Iris units.
Squad 6: Azeras, Mummy Skeleton, Iris-008. Their assignment was Cave 3.
Finally, Pharaoh Devil was appointed manager of the Oasis Shelter, with Giant Caterpillar as deputy manager and Iris-006 guarding it alongside them.
I'd distributed one severed arm to each scouting squad. Increasing the severed arms wasn't an issue anymore. I'd gotten used to the nerve connections, and with one seal released, I was no longer a normal human—I was superhuman now.
Oh, and I'd stocked one severed arm at the shelter too, for nerve-linking. As a backup and for practice nearby.
Today was a scouting rest day.
Changes had occurred in the helpers' grades too.
Rise Nova → DIAMOND
BokgeulBokgeul → BLACK
DIAMOND was the second-highest grade, apparently. The top was TRINITY.
With the broadcast on, I rolled around on the mattress out of boredom before getting up and heading outside the crystal orb house.
Outside, resting monsters filled my view. In the shaded spot next to the crystal orb house, Kinogine Arachne stood with hands on hips, frowning.
"We'll recite it once more today. I am irredeemable trash."
Anubis Dragon bowed deeply before her.
"I am irredeemable trash!"
"Louder!"
"I am irredeemable trash!"
"Good. Repeat a hundred times."
"I am irredeemable trash! I am irredeemable trash! I am irredeemable..."
Anu's booming voice echoed through the shelter. I wasn't surprised or flustered—it had been a daily ritual since taming.
Basically, it was like a penance chant. He'd been a hunter targeting explorers and had declared he'd kill me before taming. Arachne made him do this daily to reflect on that mindset.
Naturally, it wasn't just Anu—Pharaoh Devil was doing the same at the desert shelter.
— "I am irredeemable trash!"
Arachne monitored Pharaoh via Iris to ensure compliance. It wasn't my order; she held a grudge against those two for trying to kill me. "She didn't resort to violence, which is good, but how long is she gonna make them do this...?"
I shook my head and shifted my gaze to the other monsters.
Melody Fox stood solemnly, surrounded by a crowd.
"Kyuu."
All eyes on her.
"Kyuaa!"
She crouched, lowered her head, tensed her hind legs, and launched forward.
Degurrr—
With a soft sound, her fluffy body rolled once along the ground.
Finishing her forward roll, Melody Fox rose gracefully, tail swishing proudly.
"Kyuhuhu."
Clap clap clap clap clap!!!!!
"Awesome!"
"Pii!"
"Oroorororo! Chiii!!!"
"Kirik. A fantastic forward roll."
"Duumba! It's art-yot!"
"Piiing! Ppipo ppipo!"
The onlookers erupted in cheers.
"Kyuhuhu!"
Melody Fox's tails wagged even harder. She was thrilled.
"...They're all playing around."
A few might genuinely find her antics cute, but most were bootlicking to get close and snag buffs. Buffs could lead to evolutions like Arachne's. Their motives were transparent.
I pulled a notebook from the box. Perfect timing on a rest day to finally make the helper encyclopedia I'd been putting off.
Not drawing yet—I hadn't gotten the photos. The helpers said their old ones weren't good enough and would reshoot. No rush, so I'd wait.
With time to kill, I set the notebook on my lap and relaxed. Then—
"Geontleit!"
Bastet Daong approached, tail swishing, and plopped down beside me.
"Fish appeared in our world too, ong!"
"Fish appeared? How?"
"A Solorb created them, ong!"
"What? Solorbs can create life too?"
"Yes, ong!"
...Not impossible, I guess. A monster that embodies a world could probably create within it.
"So, were you all created by a Solorb too?"
"Correct, ong!"
Hmm. Life creation... Well, if it created the world itself, the creatures followed naturally.
Gotta get even closer to that Solorb. Could get more strong monsters like Bastet as support.
If the chance arose, I'd subtly try taming. Finding the red spot on such a huge body would be tough, but taming an SSS-grade was worth it. I'd just ask it to dim its solar flames like last time. My current body should handle it. Probably. If not, oh well.
As I pondered, the quiet chat lit up again. Photos done?
The photo squad hadn't chimed in. Still shooting, probably. Why not just send something quick?
The others chatted idly.
With nothing else to do, I peppered Ellis with questions about recent Elemen西亚 news.
That's how I learned about the "Peaceful Demon King." A monster that appeared during the human-monster war: Hekhekshaaak, shortened to Heksil. The dog spider type I called them.
And the Peaceful Demon King claimed to hail from the Ancient Labyrinth.
"Weird. Didn't expect Ancient Labyrinth monsters in Elemen西亚."
"Could be. Anyway, that Heksil guy's got a docile personality, right?"
"Get friendly then. Super useful ally. That neutralization thread ability is top-tier."
"Even if it evolves, not like Kino. Kino's was natural evolution without an Evolution Ticket, but boosted by Melody Fox's buff—special evolution. Plus species conversion."
"It could."
I was about to respond when—
The photo team flooded in simultaneously, like they'd planned it.
"Yeah, upload to chat."
Mysticism's photo first. Alleyway shot, not a selfie—someone took it.
Looks a bit more mature than school days. Short hair now.
Still that fresh vibe. Stunning looks, no question.
Yumi's next. Not a selfie—someone else took it. Slightly different from memory... probably light editing. Not overdone, just right.
Right, Yumi had posted a selfie here before. Missed it since she was napping.
Last, Pruru's photo. I blinked silently.
...Who is this?
The girl in the photo—Seo Dan-bi—was unrecognizable from memory.
I had the same thought as Yumi—stolen pic? But scrutinizing it, faint traces of her old face lingered. Probably adult glow-up: ditched glasses, makeup, styled hair. Plus minor filter.
"Dan-bi, this really you?"
"Nah, pretty."
No stolen pic—Pruru had no reason to fake it. The gap from memory was huge but made sense. She was the longest unseen helper, and back in school, she never dolled up.
All photos in—time to start the helper encyclopedia. I opened the notebook and gripped the pen.
■Mysticism (Shin So-mang)
─Threat Level: F-grade
─Helper Grade: BLACK
Started with Mysti—first photo.
Ugh, backgrounds are a pain.
Skipped backgrounds for Pruru and Yumi since they posted later.
■Yumi (Ha Yu-mi)
─Threat Level: F-grade
─Helper Grade: BLACK
■Pruru (Seo Dan-bi)
─Threat Level: F-grade
─Helper Grade: PLATINUM