Labyrinth Renovation – 028 | Sousaku – 創作

Episode 28 – So huge!　And they talk!

While we were going about like that, we arrived at the dungeon.
The entrance was quite large, and the stairs leading down to the basement somehow reminded me of a subway entrance. Well, it's bigger than that.

The transfer monument on the first floor is a user-friendly feature that you can access as soon as you enter, and unlike the previous one, which was a one-time glitch, I was able to jump to any floor normally.
It was possible for me to jump directly to the 101st floor, where the Hardware Store was located, but for some reason, Fiona was unable to jump to the 101st floor. The 101 letters are not lit up.

"Oh, speaking of which. I remember now."
"What is it?"
"If we leave the dungeon to the Administration Office, the Office will know how far all the registered explorers have activated the transfer monuments."
"Is that so? How? It seems like you could get away with it if you submitted it in writing."
"In every dungeon, there is an administrator at the first-floor transfer monument who keeps a record of which party has moved to which floor. The staff explained that they would send out rescue teams in some cases, but I think that was just to manage the explorers. Back then I hadn't really thought about it."

Fiona said that she had been an explorer in a nearby dungeon before venturing into the labyrinth here. She said that although it was close by, it was still a considerable distance because it was outside the territory, but she said that people with talent for combat were rare, and that this was an opportunity for training.

"Well, if the administrator has to keep an eye on this place, it's going to be a pain. I've got all the floors, you know……"
"As you'd expect, there are hardly any explorers like that, so I'm not quite sure what the Administration Bureau will do either."
"The same thing might happen in other dungeons, too. I'd better be careful."

Well, for now, I don't have any plans to go and check out other dungeons. However, it seems like it would be better to keep it in mind.

◇◆◆◆◇

Fiona and I traveled to the 95th underground floor.
From there, we went down to the 101st floor, which is the floor where the Hardware Store is located.

"Well, I wonder how Pochi and the others are doing?”
"Yeah…… Or rather, can't you hear something?”

We were on the 95th floor. There's no way there's anyone else here…… but I can definitely hear something.
It sounds like someone was running up the stairs at a furious pace.――

"You're finally back! Master～～～～!”
"Wah, pet me, pet me! Brrrr-nya."
"Gaah."

Running up the stairs at a tremendous speed were three…… huge…… monsters?
They clung to us without warning; we were caught off guard.
Wait, did I hear "master"?

"Wa-Wa-Wa-Wait a minute. Who are you? Look, Fiona was so surprised she froze in place."
"Eh? Master, don't you recognize us?”
"Nya～n?”
"Gaah."

No, I can tell. I mean, I kind of figured it out. I can tell by the vibe.
These are Pochi (Akita dog), Tama (Bengal cat), and Kaiser (bearded dragon).

"No, no, no, but why are you guys like that? Even if it's a fantasy world, isn't this a bit too fantastical?”

After all, they are now so huge that they could swallow a human whole, or, to put it another way, they are the size of a giant monster.
Let alone lions, Pochi and Tama are bigger than polar bears, and Kaiser is like a little dragon.
They were all cute pets, at least until we left the dungeon.
Why? I mean, it's not that I don't think they're cute now! I was just surprised!

"We ate Master's stones."
"Eh?”
"The ones that were on the futon."
"The m-magic stones……??”

Magic stones from a dragon, water dragon, and doppelganger. As for my share, the ones Fiona gave me were left near the futon to be admired, but I never thought they would be eaten.

"Why would you eat something like that?”
"Because I knew. By eating it, you can become stronger, smarter, bigger, and tougher."
"So…… that's how it is."

Nothing I could do if they knew it.
Wait…… Can I do nothing? Well, if it's the result of what these children themselves wanted, then it's OK, right?

"Fiona, did you know? I didn't know that the magic stones had such an effect."
"…………"

Fiona was completely frozen as Pochi licked her cheek.
Looks like it'll be a while before she's back.

"Well, if this is what happens because of the magic stones, it wouldn't be strange if there were similar ones outside, too. I wonder if it's something like changing class from an animal from Earth to an animal of another world……?"

Then, if I eat a magic stone, will I become a superhuman? No, in this case, maybe I'll become a demon?
I should probably stop thinking that……

"Even so, that's incredible. I mean, Kaiser was in a cage, and I didn't give him any stones."
"Yes, yes, yes! I gave it to him. Ah, also to Arrow."

Pochi raised her right paw in the air energetically as she said that. So cute.
By the way, Pochi is a female. I named her too carelessly since Pochi is usually a male name.

"What happened to Arrow?”
"He's grown so big, so we moved him to the pool over there."
"The pool over there?”

Pochi pointed at the stairs with her finger, or rather, her paw.
Was there a pool at the end of the stairs?

"It looks like a big lake."
"Ah, ah～, that's where the water dragon was. Was the water quality okay?”
"He's totally fine. He said it was much cleaner and more invigorating than the water in the aquarium."

Is it because it's like groundwater? No, because he ate the magic stone and evolved (? ) into something monster-like, he probably won't be fazed by things like water quality.

"Besides, that water is special, with hidden magical powers."

Is the dungeon water imbued with magical powers?
Maybe I should check the water quality with a test kit. Well, there's so much water available to sell at the Hardware Store, so there's probably no need to go to the trouble of using that water for anything.

"Anyway, now I can stay with you forever, Master! Woof!”
"I'll come with you too, nyan."
"Gaah."

The three of them kept following me.
Not sure if I should call them pets anymore, considering they all are huge.
I wonder what this is. Does that mean they became magical beasts by eating magic stones?
What was the big dog monster's name? Orthrus?
Then Tama would be…… Was there ever a large cat monster? No clue.
As for Kaiser, I'm not sure if I should call him a dragon or just a very large lizard.
Is the reason why he only says "gaah" because of the difference in their original intelligence?

By the way, Fiona is still frozen in place.
Hey! It's about time you booted up.

"Ei!”

When I unleashed my chop, Fiona finally rebooted.

"Mo-mo-mo-mo-monster! The monster is talking! !”
"I'm not a monster, woof." "Nyan." "Gaah."
Fuumu? Judging from Fiona's reaction, does that mean there are no talking animals in this world? I just accepted it, thinking “Well, it's a fantasy world”, but Fiona was actually more surprised than I was.

"In a world where dragons and doppelgangers appear, is this really that surprising? Pochi, Tama, and Kaiser have all changed a little, but that's all."
"That's all, you say……? So, this is a common thing in Maho's world……?”
"No, not at all."

How can there be such a huge dog-cat-lizard?

◇◆◆◆◇

"Ah, ahh! Master! It's me! It's me! Arrow! Master!”

Splash! and a golden fish appeared from the water's surface.
It's the Arowana, Arrow (in monster form).
Still, it's huge. Isn't it about the same size as the water dragon?

"You've grown so big, Arrow. An arowana of your size would have a retail price of at least 1 billion yen on Earth."
"Retail price?”
"Yeah, I'm talking about you. You're a fish, but you can talk. Even though Kaiser can't speak."
"I can speak."

So, he can talk! Was he just shy?

"……Come to think of it, are you guys okay on food? There's an infinite stock at the hardware store, so I think it'll be okay."

Food…… The bags for dogs and cats are sold in a fairly large size, so that's fine, but it might be a bit difficult for Kaiser and Arrow. Especially Arrow. This is not on the level of just eating a whole pig every day.

"Yeah. Come to think of it, I'm not hungry."
"Everyone else too?”

They all nodded their heads vigorously.
Apparently, they don't need to eat. It's probably true, because Pochi, the Akita dog who is the personification of appetite, doesn't seem to get hungry.
Why? They're also unusually large, so it's natural to think they've been transformed into monsters. And yet, these monsters weren't eating anything in particular.
Then, it would mean that “monsters don't need to eat”…… Maybe? Hmm.

"What do you think, Fiona? I wonder if they'll get hungry eventually."
"I don't know…… What if their monster instincts suddenly awake and they eat us……?”
"That would be scary."

Fiona is such a scaredy cat.
When Pochi and the others were small, she treated them normally.
If this kind of huge animal existed in Japan, it would be very popular and used to promote the revitalization of towns.