Monster Taming Broadcast

It was the second day since I was dragged into the labyrinth.

As soon as I woke up, the first thing I did was check the status of the shield thoroughly.

Phew, the shield was intact.

It was maintaining perfect condition without a single crack.

‘Looks like there were no monster attacks.’

This place seems safer than others, probably because monsters don’t seem to set foot in this joint.

Of course, I couldn’t be too sure yet.

I would have to observe for a few more days.

After confirming the barrier was fully maintained, I shifted my gaze back to the dog spider I had briefly glimpsed when I got up.

[Siiiii…]

The dog spider was sound asleep.

Surprisingly, it had grown tremendously in just one night, almost comparable in size to the adult I had seen yesterday.

Seems like it’s a monster that evolves rapidly.

‘Looks like I can’t carry it on my shoulder anymore.’

I stared intently at the now-adult dog spider. Just then, the jellyfish glared at me before lightly tapping the dog spider on the head.

[Pii!]
[Sii, sii?!]

The dog spider jolted awake, trembling.

[Pii, piiii!]
[Siiii…]

It was probably annoyed.

I had woken up, yet the dog spider was lazily sprawled out.

Maybe it was taking this opportunity for a little revenge.

The jellyfish had been toyed with after losing in battle yesterday, so it might have been harboring some resentment.

*

The current time was 6 AM.

I gathered the monsters for a moment.

Then I asked them, “Hey guys. Can you evolve?”

They were B-rank monsters, but their intelligence was somewhat lacking.

However, I thought they could answer this question. After all, they still had the instincts of monsters.

[Sii!]
[Pii!]

The two nodded simultaneously.

I quickly followed up with another question.

“Do you know the conditions for evolution?”

[Sii?]
[Pii?]

They looked puzzled.

Seemed like they didn’t know.

‘Guess consuming other creatures isn’t the evolution condition. If it were that simple, they wouldn’t be clueless.’

Some monsters become stronger by preying on other creatures.

For example, that monster Min Hyeong-seok had with him yesterday.

That monster seemed to require consuming humans to evolve, which is even rarer.

Anyway.

There was no way to find out my monsters’ evolution conditions for now.

‘I’ll have to look into it later. There’s something more urgent at hand.’

I got up.

It was time to start searching for drinking water and food.

First, I lifted the ban on assistance.

It was early, so I didn’t think an assistant would show up, but it was good to be prepared for when they might.

*

*

*

The dog spider and I were granted levitation magic and speed magic.

We immediately explored Passage No. 4.

We encountered no monsters here.

We didn’t find food or water; at the end of the cave was a massive door blocking the way.

I decided not to open it.

Something about it just felt off.

Who knows what might be on the other side? I didn’t want to take unnecessary risks.

‘Let’s go back.’

Exploring here was, in a way, a waste of time.

But I didn’t particularly mind.

Thanks to the jellyfish’s magic, our exploration time had drastically reduced.

Once I returned to the hideout, I carved some text beside Passage No. 4.

[Passage No. 4]
○ No Monsters.
○ A massive door is blocking the way.

After making a note, I asked the jellyfish to cancel our levitation magic. If we kept flying all the time, my leg muscles might atrophy. If I got too used to not using my legs, I might not be able to respond immediately in a crisis.

Especially for the dog spider, whose flying skills were so poor that it kept bumping into walls.

For that reason, we decided to use only speed magic without levitation magic.

The next place to explore was Passage No. 5.

I had no intention of taking a break.

Since we didn’t harvest anything in Passage No. 4.

Just as I was about to set off without delay, it happened.

The assistant named Mysticism appeared.

It wasn’t a new assistant.

When I checked the assistant list, I found out Mysticism’s identity was 002.

“Up early, aren’t you?”

It didn’t use formal speech.

I didn’t want to keep using formalities with someone who only uses emojis.

“You changed your nickname too. Does Mysticism mean mysticism?”

It seemed determined to keep its identity a secret, just like Pururu.

Why does everyone hide their identity?

“Well, if you have money to spend on a new entrance phrase, why not just support me with coins or supplies instead.”

【Mysticism】─

I threw that out casually.

I didn’t expect anything in return.

But,

It really gave me coin support.

A whopping 50,000 won too!

“What the…? You actually supported me?”

【Mysticism】─

“…Thanks.”

That wasn’t the end of Mysticism’s support.

As soon as I thanked it, the next support followed immediately.

A kitchen knife dropped right in front of me.

“Even a kitchen knife? Really, thanks, Missy.”

【Mysticism】─

“I’ll call you Missy since Mysticism is too long.”

“Well, if you hate it, just let me know your real name.”

【Mysticism】─

“Crazy… Anyway, I’ll make good use of the kitchen knife. Thanks again.”

I packed it away into a box.

It wasn’t suitable for use as a weapon.

An ordinary person like me wouldn’t even scratch a living B-rank monster with a kitchen knife.

‘Then I guess it’s time to set off.’

I stepped into Passage No. 5.

*

About 20 minutes into exploring Cave No. 5.

Pururu arrived.

“Welcome.”

But I kept moving.

I was pushing further into the cave.

“Dog spider? It’s right next to me.”

“It’s the same one from yesterday.”

While Pururu was crying over some trivial matter,

Mysticism suddenly disappeared from the assistant list.

Then not long after, the entrance text popped up.

“Guess you wanted to show off the new entrance text by reappearing.”

Was Pururu upset because it got a childish entrance phrase?

Pururu started spinning the entrance text gacha again.

【Mysticism】─

In the end, it was back where it started.

*

*

*

As we moved forward,

the narrow, stuffy cave gradually transformed, expanding more and more.

Before long, a vast underground world unfolded before our eyes.

This space had grown far too large and magnificent to be described simply as a ‘cave’.

“…Actually, there are monsters.”

Hundreds of trees sprouted from the ground, their branches dangling with apples.

As I looked at those apples, I instinctively knew.

Their identity was that of monsters.

‘It’s not definitively confirmed from this distance, but they all seem to be B-rank as well.’

I decided to lure a few in and try to catch them.

If I was lucky, they might be edible.

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