Blood Jellyfish Princess
A brilliant red light flashed intensely, cracking the egg open. From within, the fully evolved jellyfish pushed aside the shell and revealed itself. A humanoid monster with a form similar to mine. Atop its head sat a jellyfish-shaped cap—more precisely, an umbrella. It resembled the leader of the jellyfish pack I'd seen before, the Jellyfish Queen, in overall features.
Of course, only the general traits were similar. The facial features were different, the height and build varied, the hair color differed, and even the size and hue of the umbrella cap set it apart.
'Doesn't seem like a different species, though.'
As mentioned earlier, it possessed all the Jellyfish Queen's characteristics. Just as humans vary in appearance, it was only natural for monsters to differ too. Such minor differences weren't enough to deem it a separate species from the Jellyfish Queen.
The one clear, standout difference was that our jellyfish glowed a vivid red.
Either a variant of the Jellyfish Queen, or like human races with diverse skin tones, the Jellyfish Queen came in umbrella shades of many colors. One or the other.
Ha Yu-mi sent over some clothes. I immediately dressed the stark-naked jellyfish. Then I ran a quick ability check.
The results showed all her original magic intact, plus a new power: blood manipulation magic.
Basically, the more blood she absorbed, the stronger she got. She could also combine blood magic with explosion magic—condense blood and detonate it. Not just her own blood, but the enemy's too, as long as it was in her line of sight.
After wrapping up the ability check, I worked on the codex entry while giving the jellyfish a new name. I skipped "Jellyfish Queen"—her look was too youthful and immature for that queenly vibe.
So, I named her the blood-wielding jellyfish princess: Blood Jellyfish Princess. Princess suited her better than queen.
Blood Jellyfish Princess—too long a name, so as usual, I'd call her Fish.
Fish had evolved and could now speak properly.
"Dad!"
"Not dad."
"You are dad!"
Why did she keep calling me dad? Unlike Arachne, she hadn't imprinted on me right at birth.
I'd told her countless times to call me by name, but Fish stubbornly stuck to "dad." In the end, I threw up my hands and accepted it.
"Heehee. Dad."
Fish giggled, beaming as she plastered herself to my leg. So short, her head barely reached my waist. She buried her face in me, rubbing wildly.
"Explorer seems uncomfortable. Please hug moderately and let go."
"Phee! No!"
She ignored the centauride's scolding completely.
"Fish."
"Ang!"
"Can't you let go now?"
"Just a bit longer!"
Fish rubbed her face even harder. The skinship was getting excessive, a little overwhelming.
"Ever since evolving, she's been extra clingy with me..."
"Pet my umbrella!"
"...Sure."
I stroked the umbrella anyway. Soft and squishy—felt nice.
"Dad. Am I pretty?"
"Yeah. Very pretty."
"Really? Heehee. Glad I'm not ugly anymore!"
"Dan-bi. You on drugs?"
I let Fish cling for another ten minutes before prying her off. Couldn't hold her forever, and the other monsters were shooting jealous glares. Afterward, I gave each monster a hug in turn. Favoring one would upset the rest.
Felt like parenting.
Labyrinth Day 40.
While personally exploring the labyrinth after a long while, I chanced upon a monster being born right before my eyes.
Blue light gathered in one spot. The clustered glow writhed slowly, solidifying naturally into a monster's form.
The newborn was a vending machine. Not the ticket-selling kind, but a beverage vending machine monster.
"I thought the same at first—figured it was a Helper trait exclusive vending machine."
I restrained it immediately with a ball of thread from Arachne. Maybe because it was freshly spawned, the vending machine monster dazedly stared at me, oblivious to being bound.
I carefully placed my hand on its red spot and greeted it.
"Hi?"
"Vending... Mom...?"
"Not mom, dad. Call me dad."
"...Vending safe! Dad!"
As a newborn, the discoloration progressed rapidly. I'd check abilities later. First, the codex entry.
Then...
