The Labyrinth Raids of the Ultimate Tank

Translator: “Pink Tea” Editor: ”Ryunakama”

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At the moment, we are on the floor where monsters are managed.

Looking around, I spot a few monsters that I haven’t seen here before.

And the number of goblins went up considerably.

「Things progressed a lot since my last visit.」

「Yeah. I used accumulated energy on evolution. And it is another reason why I called you here today.」

Evolved monsters, huh.

But the only evolved monsters I see are goblins. That is certainly because they were the cheapest to evolve.

「It can be said that goblins are the starting point for all of the monsters. They have many evolution paths open for them. If there is a surplus in energy, then growing monsters from goblins might be the best approach. 」

「……Goblins are amazing, huh.」

Hearing those words, goblins around us puffed their chests with pride.

If only they weren’t this ugly.

「Anyway. Let’s try evolving the main body of human slime. ……But don’t get your hopes too high. I’m pretty low on energy at the moment.」

「I see…… You’ve been evolving and creating a lot of new goblins.」

The number of goblins grew quite a lot compared to before.

Since I knew that he needed the energy to create monsters, his hardships were obvious to me.

「Well, that is so, but…… There was something else that took a lot of energy.」

Suddenly, a very vague reply.

……What is it? Suspicious as heck.

Under my gaze, he turned aside, pretending to whistle. What is this obvious farce?

「You were doing something aside from evolving monsters?」

「Well, first of all, I increased the number of floors to 15. This should make the dungeon even more appealing to adventurers.」

「……Yeah.」 𝗳𝓇ℯe𝓌𝚎𝚋𝓃𝚘𝚟𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝚘𝙢

It’s not like this expenditure is a complete waste.

There was no need for him to make such a scene over this.

Meaning, there is something else.

As I kept looking at him, Marius’ eyes began to swim.

「You spent it on something else as well, right?」

「And I also tried a few traps. Well, nothing that will lead to instant death, only some that can confine a person for a while.」

「Are traps made from scratch?」

「Yes. For example, I made a tentacle trap, upon stepping on it, tentacles burst out and restrain the person. I wonder if any girls will step on it.」

「……」

「What is it Rude? Are you curious?」

「……No way, idiot.」

I am interested.

But, I don’t want Marius to poke fun at me because of that.

「Then, I went further and improved that trap into the one that tears clothes.」

「WHAT?!」

「Are you curious?」

「……」

Crap, he is mocking me.

Folding my arms I turn the other way.

As I tried to dodge the question by remaining silent, Marius broke into laughter.

「Well, and then come treasure chests.」

「……Treasure chests, huh. A very exciting thing for an adventurer.」

「I understand that feeling very well. They should boost the expectations of adventurers. That’s why I was practicing. And ended up using quite a bit of energy…」

「……What did you make?」

Marius smiled.

Just what did he make?

Utility magic tools that can support people in their daily life.

Items infused with magic, that can be used by adventurers.

It is the possibility of finding something like this in treasure chests hidden inside labyrinths that make them so attractive.

However, perhaps because guardians were aware of that, rooms containing treasure chests often had large numbers of monsters guarding them.

It’s Marius we are talking about. He probably made a weapon.

But what is its form, what are the powers?

Some weapons are said to have powers rivaling skills.

And while I was letting my imagination run wild, Marius pointed to himself.

「This hat and the mask.」

「……」

His confident expression stiffened.

Then, he waved his hands.

「T-this mask, this hat, and this outfit…… Aren’t they unbelievably cool?! Making those took half the energy I accumulated so far.」

「Half? Half for one or two magic items?」

「H-hey. You seem more intimidating than usual. You are almost as serious as when I mentioned the cloth melting trap.」

「Stop this nonsense. I was hoping…… For magic weapons.」

Disappointed, I drop my shoulders.

Can’t be helped.

「Yeah, my fault, I didn’t bring you anything to disguise yourself. Well, I understand. I will cooperate so you can make a weapon next, so if there is anything you need, ask me.」

「Okay, got it. I also was planning to try creating a magic weapon next. And also, creating items purely from energy is quite difficult. So I wanted to practice first.」

「Is that so? You only got half of the mask, so it seems to be true……」

It probably involved some very elaborate and precise process, which I can’t even imagine.

「Ah, no, that’s by design. Looks cool, right?」

Can I somehow retract that feeling of respect for his efforts that I had moments ago?

「Well, it’s true that it was difficult. A lot of energy was wasted by failures. But it’s fine now, I got the grasp of it. Probably.」

He said, proudly showing off the mask. Probably his best piece of work, huh.

Well, certainly, it’s not bad. And it’s kind of cool. Just a bit, just a tiny bit, but I might want such a mask for myself. Though there is probably no opportunity for me to wear it.

A long time ago, when we still lived at the noble’s house, I remember going to a festival with Manicia. They were selling masks there, which we bought, even though we didn’t wear them.

Manicia liked those fruits in caramel they sold there. She looked so cute eating them. I miss those times. I’d like to go to a festival with her again.

「Well then. That’s enough about the usage of energy. Let’s get back to the main topic. Evolution.」

「Yeah…… I completely forgot about it.」

He got me distracted with all the stuff he brought up.

The human slime also appeared bored, left without attention it created puddles of water here and there, with which the goblins were playing. Such an idyllic scene.

When I turned my gaze to it, the human slime began morphing from its round shape.

The magic stone, that could easily be seen through the body of liquid, was flickering.

「The evolution is a simple thing. Simply touch the monster you want, and pour magic power and energy into it. Give it enough to trigger evolution, and that’s it. It should be able to grow from that.」

「I see……」

「Now, let’s start with the human slime.」

He patted me on the shoulder.

What? Am I going to do that? Marius grinned.

「Congratulations, I just shared a bit of a guardians power with you.」

「Huh? Just like that?」

I involuntarily retorted.

Marius began openly laughing, holding his sides.

「Well… Lately, there is so much to do in the labyrinth, that it’s getting a bit bothersome.」

「So?」

「Rude…… I believe in you.」

「Believe my ass, you are just getting lazy.」

Marius made a blank face, feigning ignorance.

……Ah well.

「Touch and pour energy, right?」

「Yeah.」

As I beckon the human slime with my hand, it comes closer, seemingly intrigued.

Having the same appearance as Manicia, it began bashfully scratching its cheeks when I patted it on the head. So cute. I want to take it home. Ah, that’s what I came here for in the first place…

「I’m going to pour energy to evolve you now.」

The human slime hit itself on the chest.

I pour energy…… It feels close to pouring magic power.

Then, the slime twitched in surprise.

I can tell that something is going into it.

I can sense something similar to our outer shells from it.

So calling this a power stolen from us wasn’t that much of a stretch.

As I kept at it, the human slime began slightly shining after a while.

For a moment it intensified, but then calmed down.

No particular changes in appearance.

The human slime flapped its mouth.

I can’t hear the voice. But in my head, I hear something like thoughts flowing in.

Looks like it says 『Please take care of me』.

「This seems like telepathy.」

A skill that allows you to pass your words to someone at a great distance.

But since it works only one way, it’s a bit tricky to use.

Also, not many have it. Merely having this skill guarantees a nice position with the government.

And installing such people in each city, it allows relaying messages between them.

A human slime can split, so this might be used in the same way for telepathic communication.

Looks like Marius got some kind of message as well, as he was now nodding his head.

「Perhaps with a bit more growth, it might become able to talk more fluently.」

「This is enough. Thank you.」

「It’s not a big deal, just a bit of my gratitude to you.」

Then, human slime began slowly morphing again.

Then, it changed the appearance of its head to mine. But this time, it looked like a real human head instead of liquid.

Both me and Marius were stunned.