Chapter 75

Chapter 75. Min Hyeong-seok

My plan was to turn the previous Labyrinth Explorer into a puppet, examine his memories, and gather information about the labyrinth.

I shared this plan with the Assistants.

“What do you think? Is this unethical?”

I cautiously asked, wondering if they thought it was wrong.

Honestly, I didn’t see much of an issue.

I didn’t think resurrecting a soulless corpse and reading the memories stored in its body was unethical.

Perhaps my harsh experiences in Elemencia had shaped my view.

My values were a bit different from those of people raised peacefully on Earth.

Still,

I wanted to avoid actions that would make the Assistants uncomfortable, especially if *Rize* opposed it. I’d be willing to scrap the plan entirely if that meant not losing my coin supplier.

The Assistants, who had restored their original nicknames, responded to my question one by one.

【Rizenova】─Whether it’s unethical or not…

【Rizenova】─The standards differ for everyone, but by my standards, it’s not unethical. After all, you said the puppet is just a soulless shell.

Fortunately, Rize didn’t object.

【Bubble Bubble】─What’s the problem? You’re just using necromancer abilities.

【Bubble Bubble】─If it helps you gather information, then you should absolutely do it.

As expected, Elise was fully supportive.

【Mysticism】─Whatever Oppa does is always right.

【Mysticism】─😀

Mysti supported me unconditionally, as usual.

【Pururu】─If you bring him back, wouldn’t he be grateful?

【Yumi】─It’s not resurrection, though. He just retains his memories.

【Pururu】─Same thing. You’re still bringing him back.

【Yumi】─Hmm…

Pururu seemed to share my indifference.

Lastly, there was Yumi.

【Yumi】─In my opinion, this *is* unethical.

【Yumi】─It’s wrong to defile a corpse, and it deserves condemnation.

【Yumi】─Even if there’s no soul, desecrating a body shows no respect for the dead.

【Yumi】─And wasn’t the previous Explorer one of your old friends?

【Pururu】─Not a friend, just an acquaintance.

【Yumi】─Still, it’s someone you knew. Defiling even a stranger’s corpse is wrong, but doing that to an acquaintance’s corpse? I think it’s even worse.

【Pururu】─Not an acquaintance, an enemy.

【Yumi】─?

【Pururu】─The previous Explorer summoned Kang to be fed to monsters.

【Yumi】─What? Really?

【Pururu】─Yep, he wanted to feed Kang to monsters to help them evolve.

【Yumi】─Kang, is that true?

“Yes, it’s true.”

I nodded slightly in confirmation.

As soon as Yumi heard what kind of person the previous Explorer had been, she quickly changed her stance.

【Yumi】─Now that I think about it, it’s probably fine to use him as a puppet.

【Yumi】─We already use monster corpses. I don’t see why human corpses should be any different. Not doing it would be discriminatory against humans compared to monsters.

【Pururu】─?

【Mysticism】─What’s with her?

【Yumi】─And after you turn him into a puppet, let’s use him as a punching bag!

【Pururu】─Is she Udyr?

The moment Yumi realized that the previous Explorer had tried to kill me, she threw any concerns about ethics out the window.

Well, I suppose everyone’s values change eventually.

***

Iris returned from exploring Passage No. 1.

She had brought back several corpses, including what had once been Min Hyeong-seok.

I left the corpses with Necro Puppet Master, telling him to do his best with the synthesis and asking him to preserve Min Hyeong-seok’s memories as much as possible.

［Hmm. The main material is too weak. If I want to make it stronger, I’ll need to mix in a lot of extra materials.］

［Yohoho! Master, what do you think about adding this too?］

［Don’t ask me, ask Gauntlet.］

［Yohoho! Master of Master! How about adding this as well?］

“I told you to do whatever you want.”

Necro Puppet Master and Curse Devil Gentleman kept combining other corpses into “what was once Min Hyeong-seok.”

They added this and that, turning it into quite a hodgepodge.

I started to wonder if they were overdoing it, but…

It couldn’t be helped.

Min Hyeong-seok’s body was trash.

Since I wasn’t creating it just to read memories but also for combat purposes, they had to mix in as many corpses as possible to make it useful.

If they only used Min Hyeong-seok’s body, the result would be garbage.

The core body was trash, so it was only natural that they needed several strong corpses to make it viable.

While watching the synthesis process with interest,

【Pururu】─Min Hyeong-seok…

Suddenly, Seo Dan-bi mentioned the name of the previous Explorer.

She seemed a little shocked that the corpse belonged to Min Hyeong-seok.

Today was the first time she’d learned that the previous Explorer was Min Hyeong-seok.

I thought I had told her before, but it turned out I hadn’t mentioned his name specifically.

I had only said he was someone I knew from school.

For the record, Min Hyeong-seok had been Seo Dan-bi’s classmate as well.

Of course, they hadn’t been close. While Min Hyeong-seok was a delinquent, Seo Dan-bi was a quiet, average student.

They had no connection, like oil and water, completely opposite personalities.

【Pururu】─I’d heard rumors about Min Hyeong-seok going missing, but I never imagined he had been dragged into the labyrinth.

【Pururu】─His life’s been a real mess.

【Pururu】─Betrayed by his wife, dragged into the labyrinth, killed, and now he’s destined to become a puppet.

【Pururu】─But since he tried to kill you, I don’t feel bad for him. He doesn’t even have a soul, so it’s not really him anyway.

One part of Pururu’s message caught my eye.

Betrayed by his wife?

“Min Hyeong-seok was betrayed by his wife?”

【Pururu】─Yep.

“So he ended up with the wrong woman… I didn’t even know he was married.”

【Pururu】─I didn’t either. It became public after rumors spread about him being cheated on. LOL.

【Pururu】─Oh, and Kang, you know the woman he married.

“I do? Who is she?”

【Pururu】─Can I tell you?

“Why wouldn’t you?”

【Pururu】─You told me not to bring it up before.

“What are you talking about? When did I say that?”

【Pururu】─You told me not to mention the girl you liked.

【Yumi】─?

【Bubble Bubble】─???

【Rizenova】─Surely not…

【Mysticism】─🧐

“…”

I started to understand what Pururu was getting at.

The girl I had liked in the past.

The one who had dated Min Hyeong-seok.

And judging from the conversation so far,

it seemed highly likely that Min Hyeong-seok’s wife was the same girl I had once loved.

‘But that doesn’t make sense.’

What was this betrayal he was talking about?

That girl didn’t have the kind of personality to betray someone.

If anything, Min Hyeong-seok would’ve been the one to betray her.

“…Dan-bi, tell me more about this later. Now I’m curious.”

【Pururu】─Okay, but if I tell you the whole story, it’ll naturally reveal your old crush. Are you okay with that?

“I don’t mind. It’s all in the past anyway.”

【Pururu】─You were so serious about it last time. LOL.

As I was chatting with the Assistants,

［It’s done.］

［Yohoho! Excellent work!］

The synthesis was completed.

***

■ Neo Hyeong-seok

─ Actual Danger Level: S-class.
─ Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-class.
─ Notable Trait: Former Labyrinth Explorer.

Our new friend.

I completed the entry for Neo Hyeong-seok, Necro Puppet Master’s latest creation.

【Pururu】─Neo Hyeong-seok? LOL!

【Rizenova】─Oh, such a grand name. You have a talent for desecrating the dead!

“Enough with the compliments. I’ve always been good at naming monsters.”

【Yumi】─Is that really a compliment?

【Mysticism】─🤔

【Bubble Bubble】─But he looks kind of gross. Is it because you mixed in too many parts?

Neo Hyeong-seok was rated as an S-class puppet.

Even though his original body had been worthless, the materials used for the synthesis were strong enough to turn him into a formidable creation.

This felt like a true transformation.

If Min Hyeong-seok’s spirit had lingered and seen what his body had become, I’m sure he’d feel proud.

Before asking Neo Hyeong-seok the questions I had in mind,

I first ordered him to serve as a punching bag for Melody Fox.

She had been growling for a while, clearly harboring some pent-up frustration.

［Kyuoo!!!］

Melody Fox kicked Neo Hyeong-seok with her hind legs.

［Kyuaa!!!］

She slammed him with her front paws.

［Kyuoo!!!］

She body-slammed him.

［Kyuap!］

She headbutted him.

［Kyua! Kyua! Kyua!］

Wham! Wham! Wham!

She struck him wildly from all directions.

And impressively, the damage was accumulating.

As expected of an S-class monster.

Unlike the frail Hedgehog Summoner, Melody Fox was specialized in buffs but still displayed a decent amount of strength for an S-class monster.

【Pururu】─Desecrating the dead, huh. Damn.

【Yumi】─She must’ve had a lot of frustration built up. What did he do to her?

【Bubble Bubble】─Looks like he must have mistreated her.

【Mysticism】─Hit him harder! More! 😠

【Rizenova】─Her paw strikes are fierce.

Melody Fox knew.

She understood that the thing she was hitting was not the real Min Hyeong-seok but merely a puppet with his memories.

Even though it had a sense of self, it was just a shell, with no soul.

Still, her grudge must have been so deep that she couldn’t contain her anger.

Of course, since she knew this was not the real Min Hyeong-seok, the beating didn’t last too long.

［Kyuhoo, kyuhoo…］

Melody Fox stopped her attack and panted heavily.

［Hmph!］

Then, with a huff, she climbed onto Arachne’s back and went back to sleep.

I had a feeling she’d start hitting him again after waking up.

In any case, with Melody Fox’s beating session over, it was finally time for me to ask Neo Hyeong-seok some questions.

“Neo Hyeong-seok.”

［Yes!］

“Come here and lie face down.”

［…Yes!］

I’ll let him suffer a little more before asking the real questions.

For some reason, I just didn’t like him.