Chapter 77

Chapter 77. Blood Jellyfish Princess

A brilliant red light flashed, and the egg cracked open.

From within, the jellyfish, having completed its evolution, pushed away the shell and revealed itself.

A humanoid monster resembling me.

On its head sat a jellyfish-shaped cap.

More precisely, it was like an umbrella.

It had a similar appearance to the leader of the jellyfish group I had seen before—the Jellyfish Queen.

Of course.

Only the general features were similar.

The facial features were different.

The height and body shape were different.

The hair color was different, and even the size and color of the umbrella were different.

‘Still, it doesn’t seem like a different species.’

As mentioned before.

It had all the characteristics of a Jellyfish Queen.

Just like how all humans look different, it was only natural that monsters would also have different appearances.

It wasn’t enough to say it was a different species just because of those differences.

There was only one clear distinction.

Our jellyfish emitted a red light.

It was either a subspecies of the Jellyfish Queen.

Or, like humans having different races, the Jellyfish Queen might have different umbrella colors too.

It had to be one of those two.

【Bubble Bubble】─ She looks mischievous. Cute.

【Rizenova】─ She looks like someone who’d cause a lot of trouble.

【Pururu】─ Why does she look weak? LOL.

【Pururu】─ But more importantly, why is she naked? Is she some kind of pervert?

【Mysticism】─ Sexy.

【Yumi】─ I sent clothes. Dress her.

Ha Yumi sent over clothes.

I immediately dressed the jellyfish, who was still naked.

Then, I quickly checked her abilities.

As a result.

All the magic she originally had was still intact.

And she had acquired a new ability—the power to control blood.

It was roughly a magic that made her stronger as she absorbed more blood.

She could also combine blood magic with explosion magic, condensing the blood and then detonating it.

Not only could she use her own blood, but she could also manipulate the blood of her opponent.

Of course, she could only do this if she could see her opponent’s blood.

Anyway, after finishing the ability check.

While working on her entry in the monster guide, I gave her a new name.

I didn’t name her Jellyfish Queen.

Her appearance wasn’t as mature as the Queen’s; she had a slightly younger, more youthful look.

Therefore.

The jellyfish princess who controls blood.

I named her 「Blood Jellyfish Princess」.

It felt more like a princess than a queen.

—

■Blood Jellyfish Princess

─ Actual Threat Level: SS-Class.

─ Current (Nerfed) Threat Level: A-Class.

【Bubble Bubble】─ Well drawn.

【Rizenova】─ A masterpiece.

【Mysticism】─ Truly golden hands! 👍

【Pururu】─ Why does she have that expression?

【Yumi】─ She sometimes makes that face, doesn’t she?

【Pururu】─ Really? How come I haven’t seen it?

The Blood Jellyfish Princess.

Since the name was too long, we decided to just call her Fish, like usual.

Fish had evolved and gained the ability to speak properly.

［Daddy!］

“I told you I’m not your daddy.”

［You are daddy!］

I didn’t know why she kept calling me daddy.

It wasn’t like she saw me first thing after she was born, like Arachne did.

【Yumi】─ Why does she keep calling Mr. Geon daddy?

【Pururu】─ Isn’t it obvious? She’s imitating our little one calling Geon ‘Father.’

【Mysticism】─ Why would she copy that?

【Pururu】─ How should I know? Maybe she was jealous.

【Bubble Bubble】─ You sure she’s not really your kid? You didn’t have her with a jellyfish, did you?

【Pururu】─ How many times do I have to say no? Damn it.

【Bubble Bubble】─ But you never know. Maybe you secretly had her when we weren’t looking.

【Pururu】─ What are you talking about? We tamed her in front of everyone.

【Bubble Bubble】─ Phew.

【Rizenova】─ ?

No matter how many times I told her to call me by my name.

Fish stubbornly insisted on calling me daddy.

In the end, I gave up and accepted the title.

［Hehe. Daddy.］

Fish grinned and clung to my leg.

She was so small that the top of her head barely reached my waist.

She buried her face into me and rubbed it all over.

［Fish, you’re making him uncomfortable. Please stop hugging him and let go.］

［No! I don’t want to!］

She didn’t pay any attention to the Centaurides’ scolding.

“Fish.”

［Yesss!］

【Pururu】─ LOL Yesss!

【Yumi】─ She is cute.

【Mysticism】─ I’m cuter.

【Yumi】─ Don’t overdo it.

【Mysticism】─ 😡

“Can you let go now?”

［Just a little longer!］

Fish rubbed her face against me even harder.

The excessive physical contact was starting to feel uncomfortable.

“Since you evolved, you’ve been clinging to me more…”

【Yumi】─ She is obsessed.

【Rizenova】─ Her expression doesn’t look normal.

【Bubble Bubble】─ Be careful when you sleep. She might be dangerous.

［Stroke my umbrella!］

“…Fine.”

I stroked her umbrella for now.

It felt soft and squishy, which was pleasant.

［Daddy. Am I pretty?］

“Yeah. You’re pretty.”

［Really? Hehe. I’m glad I’m not ugly anymore!］

【Mysticism】─ So she knew she was ugly before she evolved.

【Mysticism】─ 😭

【Bubble Bubble】─ Seriously, why is she so touchy? Did her personality change after evolving?

【Rizenova】─ She seems more innocent now. And her affection for you has definitely increased.

【Pururu the Scholar】─ No, no! I have a different theory! There’s another reason!

【Yumi】─ What’s with your speech?

【Mysticism】─ 🤔

【Pururu the Scholar】─ Now! It’s time for Dr. Pururu’s analysis!

【Yumi】─ Seriously, what’s with the speech?

【Bubble Bubble】─ Why is Pururu acting weird? Did you eat something bad?

【Pururu the Scholar】─ Here’s what I think! Fish always wanted to have sticky, gooey, intimate physical contact with Geon! But she knew that her appearance was objectively hideous, so she was hesitant! She was afraid Geon might not like it!

【Pururu the Scholar】─ But guess what? She evolved and gained a beautiful appearance!

【Pururu the Scholar】─ Now, she thinks Geon won’t mind the physical contact!

【Pururu the Scholar】─ That’s how Fish gained confidence in her looks and started expressing her hidden desires freely! Isn’t that great?

“Dan-bi, are you on drugs?”

【Bubble Bubble】─ Can someone sum this up for me?

【Mysticism】─ Sounds like a plausible theory!

【Yumi】─ That speech is annoying.

【Rizenova】─ Whether or not the analysis is correct, fix that strange speech of yours. It doesn’t mesh with Pururu’s usual style, and it’s painful to read.

【Pururu the Scholar】─ Dr. Pururu’s analysis time is over! See you all next time~

【Yumi】─ Let’s not.

【Rizenova】─ Don’t come back. This is your final warning.

【Pururu】─ Phew. Back to normal mode.

【Pururu】─ For a moment, the all-knowing Dr. Smarty-pants possessed me.

【Bubble Bubble】─ What is a smarty-pants?

【Pururu】─ It’s a genius who knows everything. LOL.

【Yumi】─ Idiot.

【Pururu】─ ?

【Yumi】─ Ah! Sorry! A cranky old lady possessed me for a moment!

【Pururu】─ Hmph…

After hugging Fish for about ten more minutes, I finally let go.

I couldn’t hold her forever, especially since the other monsters were staring at me with jealous eyes.

Afterward, I made sure to hug the other monsters one by one.

If I favored only one, the others would sulk.

It kind of felt like parenting.

***

On the 40th day in the labyrinth.

While exploring the labyrinth after a long time, I witnessed the birth of a monster.

A blue cluster of light gathered in one place.

The gathered light slowly wriggled, naturally transforming into a solid form, soon taking on the shape of a monster.

【Rizenova】─ Ohh. This is my first time seeing a monster being born.

【Mysticism】─ Fascinating. Do all monsters come into being like that?

【Bubble Bubble】─ It varies by monster. More commonly, they reproduce like humans. It’s rare for them to be created from nothing like this.

What was born was a vending machine.

Not the kind that sells tickets, but a vending machine monster that dispenses drinks.

【Yumi】─ I thought it was a ticket vending machine, but it’s a monster…

“I also thought it was a vending machine for assistants at first.”

【Pururu】─ What a troll.

As soon as it was born, I immediately restrained it.

Using the silk ball I got from Arachne.

Maybe because it had just appeared in the world.

The vending machine monster was still dazed, staring at me blankly, unaware it had been bound.

I cautiously placed my hand on its panel and greeted it.

“Hello?”

［Vend… Mom…?］

“I’m not your mom. Call me dad.”

［…Vend! Dad!］

【Yumi】─ You’ve gained another child. Congratulations.

【Bubble Bubble】─ This time, I can confirm with my own eyes it’s not your biological child. Phew.

【Mysticism】─ 🤭

Since it was a newborn monster, its transformation proceeded very quickly.

I decided to check its abilities later.

First, I needed to complete its entry in the monster guide. After that…

—

■Vending

─ Actual Threat Level: S-Class.

─ Current (Nerfed) Threat Level: B-Class.

─ Special Note: Vending machine.