Monster Taming Broadcast

When I first encountered Rize.

He was crawling on the ground, struggling with a large wound on his side.

And right then, the monster that injured Rize was…

[Kirik. Your side is now my child.]

Pururu—So this guy was the culprit.

Mysticism—

Today’s tamer was the Psycho Clown.

The Clown had carved off some of Rize’s side flesh to turn it into a preserved specimen.

Rize, cautious of the Clown, approached me carefully and asked.

“Gauntlet-kun. Was this monster also tamed by you?”

Pururu—?? What’s ‘Gauntlet’?

“Yes. I happened to encounter it and tamed it.”

“Oho. Indeed impressive! To tame such a strong one!”

Rize exclaimed in admiration.

His eyes sparkled with awe.

“More importantly, Rize, you were lucky.”

“Lucky? What do you mean?”

Rize tilted his head in curiosity.

I patted the Clown’s head and replied.

“If you hadn’t faced this guy during your first combat, you wouldn’t have escaped alive that time.”

Before meeting me, Rize had encountered two types of monsters.

1. The monster that attacked the executioners.

2. The Psycho Clown that attacked Rize.

The first monster was distracted by the executioners.

Thanks to that, he was able to escape without incident.

The second monster, the Psycho Clown, solely targeted Rize.

Yet still, Rize managed to escape alive.

Injured, but crawling slowly.

The reason that was possible was simple.

The Psycho Clown doesn’t kill its prey to preserve the specimens.

I explained this to Rize along with the Clown’s peculiar taste.

Finally, Rize nodded slightly in understanding.

“No wonder it didn’t seem like it was chasing me… It let me go on purpose.”

“Yes. It cannot let its prey die.”

Pururu—There were many other parts; why did it have to tear off the side flesh? What if you bleed out?

“I guess it judged that wouldn’t be enough to kill you. Or maybe it knew a Medical Mushroom was nearby.”

After answering Pururu’s question, I pulled the Clown’s arm and faced Rize.

“Anyway, since it caused you harm, I’ll make it apologize. Clown, apologize politely.”

I’m sorry. I will raise the child that fell from your body with all the care it deserves.

Pururu—What are you raising, you lunatic?

The Clown bowed its head.

“…It’s alright. I’m actually grateful that it spared my life even though it could’ve killed me.”

Kirik.

Fortunately.

Rize didn’t seem to harbor any grudges against the Clown.

Going beyond forgiving, he even expressed gratitude.

What a surprisingly magnanimous person.

*

While sitting down to rest and cradling the exhausted Jellyfish in my arms, Rize stood up.

“Then I guess it’s time to dismantle.”

Rize lifted the sword I had lent him in the morning.

“I’ll handle the dismantling alone, so everyone else can rest comfortably.”

Rize said as he approached Pig King’s corpse.

No arguments were made.

Rize had said he wanted to contribute since he felt like the most useless among us.

“Fufu. I’ll cut it up very finely! Haap!”

Rize was in high spirits.

He had every reason to be excited.

After all, he had heard that he could track drifters using the Psycho Clown’s ability.

Pururu—Hey. But why did Rize call you Gauntlet earlier?

“Ah, that? I told him to call me that in the morning. Calling me Gaunt-kun sounds weird.”

Pururu—But why Gauntlet? There are so many cooler names.

“Gauntlet is the name I used in the Other World.”

Pururu—?? Why would you use such a name? Damn it.

Mysticism—

Kikik. That kind of name.

Pururu—?

The Clown covered its mouth and laughed.

It was using telepathy on me just now.

Of course, I had given permission.

I told it to use it casually since it was curious about what the assistants were saying during our break.

Pururu—Wait, didn’t it just use telepathy on you?

Kirik. Yes, it did.

Pururu—Look at how casually you answered. LOL

Pururu—But hey, you said not to read people’s thoughts without permission.

Gauntlet said it was fine.

Pururu—Is that true?

“Yeah. I said it was okay.”

Pururu—Ah, I guess I missed the moment you asked for permission.

I turned to look at the Clown.

I had another question but kept my mouth shut.

After all, it could read my thoughts and would answer naturally.

[Kirik? Do you know any drifters?]

Pururu—Gauntlet isn’t saying anything.

Pururu—Ah. It’s using telepathy.

Mysticism—

The Clown nodded and continued.

[I do. The way to distinguish them is simple. The weak ones are drifters.]

Weak ones are drifters?

[Yes. They die quickly after arriving here. So, collecting their bodies is difficult. They are rare specimens.]

Were there any strong drifters?

I thought that and waited for another answer.

[Occasionally, strong ones come too. I’ve seen a drifter stronger than me just once. I haven’t seen one stronger than that.]

Pururu—It feels like Gauntlet doesn’t understand the question; looks like it’s talking to itself.

How did it know that drifter was weak?

[I used telepathy.]

I see.

Did that drifter make it back alive?

[No, it died. That group killed it.]

The Clown pointed a finger at me.

The end of its finger was directed at the Jellyfish I was holding.

I guessed it was referring to the Jellyfish army led by the Jellyfish Queen I had seen before.

Well.

No matter how strong they were, there’s no way they could defeat one SS-Class and a hundred-plus S-Class monsters.

Even the legendary heroes or great sages wouldn’t have been able to handle that situation alone.

As for me…

[Kirik? Seal? Did your power get sealed?]

The Clown read my thoughts and asked.

I nodded and then voiced my concerns.

“Yeah. To be precise, it’s almost like I sealed it myself. Anyway, do you know any monsters that can cast seal-break magic? Since I’m here, I feel like I need to break the seal.”

[A monster that casts seal-break magic? Kirik…]

The Clown stroked its chin.

After a moment of silence, it replied.

[I’m sorry. Nothing comes to mind.]

It seemed the Clown didn’t know any such monsters.

I wasn’t disappointed.

It was just a question I threw out without much expectation.

[Once I go back to my secret space later, I’ll check each of the kids there and try to recall.]

“Alright, thanks.”

More casual chatter continued after that.

About ten minutes later.

“Ready! Everyone, come quickly!”

Rize shouted while vigorously swinging the execution sword.

It was meal time.

*

The meal was finished quickly.

The Pig King meat roasted in magma was indeed delicious.

Then we took a short break and resumed our exploration.

“Aah… I still can’t forget the taste of that meat from earlier. It was a fantastic taste I’ve never had before.”

Rize seemed to be quite taken with the meat.

Even hours after the meal, he couldn’t stop talking about it.

I accompanied him with casual responses while checking my wristwatch.

The current time was 4 PM.

We left at 1 PM, so three hours had passed.

“…Even with Speed Magic, it’s taking quite a while.”

[Kirik, I said. The drifters are far away. We still have a ways to go.]

It seemed unlikely we would return to the hideout today.

“We’ll have to leave our shelter vacant for the time being.”

Pururu—You could have left one behind as a guard. What if the monsters steal our stuff?

“I brought the most important Monster Index, so it’s fine. And there isn’t really anything to steal.”

Pururu—They might steal the mattress, pillow, and blanket.

Mysticism—

We continued on under the guidance of the Clown.

Pururu—Don’t ignore what I said!

There were no more forks in the path.

From some point onwards, it had been a straight path only.

Another hour passed.

I stopped walking and called out to Rize.

“Rize, let’s take a break here.”

“Understood. I was just thinking I wanted to rest too.”

Rize replied as he plopped down onto the ground.

He had been pushing himself without a break, so it was understandable he’d be tired.

I also took a moment to sit down and relax.

During that pause, the new taming method I had thought of earlier suddenly came to mind.

‘Since we’re resting, I should prepare a bit.’

I stood up from my spot.

And approached Rize.

“Rize, may I borrow the execution sword for a moment… No, can you return it to me?”

“Of course.”

Pururu—LOL, He didn’t even ask why and just hands it over. Don’t people usually ask what it’s for?

Mysticism—

After receiving the execution sword, I called over the Clown who was lying nearby.

“Psycho Clown.”

[Kirik?]

“I have a favor to ask.”

I handed the execution sword to the Clown.

*

Early evening.

In Ha Yumi’s clinic.

“Whew.”

After finishing all consultations with patients, Ha Yumi leaned back in her chair and sighed.

“It was a hellish day, really. I don’t understand why there were so many aggressive people today…”

Ha Yumi absentmindedly stared at the ceiling.

She had no thoughts whatsoever.

It had been an exhausting day.

“Well, anyway, it’s done now, so I can watch Gaun’s broadcast.”

She stretched her body and sat up.

Then, she took out the tablet that was hidden in the desk drawer and logged into Kang Geon’s broadcast.

Pururu—Are you insane? No matter what, that’s too much.

Mysticism—

As soon as the broadcast started, the chat from the assistants poured in.

Pururu—I can’t watch that. I’ll just close my eyes.

“Hmm? What’s going on?”

Ha Yumi tilted her head and focused on the broadcast screen.

On the other side of the screen, Kang Geon was sitting on the floor, stretching out his left arm.

Beside him was a monster she had never seen before.

It looked humanoid in shape.

[Kirik…]

The monster hesitated for a moment, then raised a long sword with trembling hands.

“Eh? What’s this situation…?”

The monster squeezed its eyes shut.

And quickly swung the sword toward Kang Geon’s arm.

[Kirik!]

Mysticism—

“Oh, no!!!”

Ha Yumi’s scream echoed through the clinic.

And the screen showed Kang Geon’s left arm cleanly severed.

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