Volume 7, Chapter 17 – The Starving Guardians

“Charles the First and Third, get the treasure chest! The rest of you, surround the guardian! Ninth, watch the door, don’t let it escape!”

“Awooo!”

Under Yisi’s command, six of the Cerberuses surrounded the large monster in the guardian’s room, a [Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat], while the other three went to the treasure chest’s location and the room’s entrance, respectively.

“Charles I” and “Charles III” were the names Yisi had given the Cerberuses. It was too much trouble to name each one individually, and in her eyes, all the Cerberuses looked the same. So, based on their size and level, she had named them from largest to smallest: Charles I, Charles II… and so on. Although it sounded very regal, the “Charles the X” naming was just for the sound and for ease of memory; it had no real meaning.

After all, if I gave them names like ‘Fluffy One’ and ‘Fluffy Two’, it would sound incredibly awkward.

Surrounded by the six Cerberuses, the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat, which was about the size of a two-story house, only held out for a short while before being defeated. It lowered its body and tails, letting out a low whimper in a gesture of submission.

Meanwhile, Charles I and III pushed the treasure chest in front of Yisi. They sat on their haunches, panting with their tongues out, their round eyes filled with a look of longing.

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Yes, yes, this is for you.”

Taking chunks of meat from her inventory, Yisi threw them into the distance. Charles I and III immediately dashed towards the meat. The other seven Cerberuses could only watch as the two feasted, drooling continuously.

This wasn’t Yisi showing favoritism, but a rotation system she had implemented. This time, it was Charles I and III’s turn to get the chest. On the next floor, it would be Charles II and IV, and so on. With the food she had on hand, if she gave a reward to all the Cerberuses on every floor, her inventory would be empty in no time. And given how affectionate the dogs had become, she couldn’t bear to send them back to the fiftieth floor.

Yisi planned to either entrust them to Evelyn’s care or leave them with Andrea. Among the people she knew, only Evelyn and Andrea had the means to raise nine Cerberuses.

Although, based on need, giving them to Fran and Shinku would be more appropriate, raising so many Cerberuses would bankrupt Margaret in a matter of days. In this world, apart from families that frequently interacted with animals, like hunters, even slightly wealthier households could only afford to eat meat every few days.

Her gaze returning from the Cerberuses, Yisi placed her hand on the red treasure chest before her. Compared to the gem and gold inlaid chest from the fiftieth floor, this one was very plain, just a simple wooden box painted red.

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“Is this the last one? The next floor up is the twelfth. I don’t think the Source of Mana is inside, but I might as well take a look.”

Twisting the latch, Yisi opened the chest. All that was revealed was a roll of yellowed parchment.

“What’s this?”

Frowning, Yisi took out the scroll. On it was a single line of small, crookedly handwritten words—Stone Golem Creation: From Entry-Level to Mental Breakdown.

“A method for making stone golems? Why would this be here?”

If it was like the crafting book she had bought, with only a few pages of content, the adventurers who had overcome so many difficulties to finally get the treasure would probably die of sheer exhaustion and disappointment. It would be the cruelest of jokes.

If this book was a fake, she would take the parchment and leave a few potions that could bring someone back from the brink of death. Even if they couldn’t compare to a youth-restoring potion, it would at least keep the adventurers from feeling like their efforts were in vain.

With this in mind, Yisi unrolled the magic scroll. On the other side, Charles I and III, having finished their meat, very human-like, came up to either side of her and looked at the scroll curiously.

“Pfft, can you guys even read this?”

Without answering Yisi, Charles I just stuck out his tongue and licked her hand.

That’s a sign of affection, right?

Yisi didn’t think too much of it and unrolled the scroll to its full length.

“Whoa, it’s completely filled out? There’s even writing on the back? It looks like an ancient language. I remember that ancient languages are read from right to left. Hmm… [To learn the art of stone golem creation, one must first do the proper psychological work with one’s family members, lest there be no one to care for you after you go insane.] Hey, hey, is it really that difficult?”

Skipping the author’s thoughts in the preface, Yisi went straight to the main text. Apart from the illustrations and the crooked handwriting, which looked like it was written by a child who had just learned to write, the content was legitimate. The language was concise, and although Yisi felt that a bit more explanation would have been better, it was likely due to the size limitations of the parchment.

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“I’ll take this back and try it out first. As a replacement, I’ll leave some high-grade potions here.”

Yisi placed five rainbow-colored potions in the chest. This was a potion known as Elemental Fury. Not only would the drinker instantly recover all their magic power, but for one hour, they would also gain double their strength, speed, and maximum magic power. Their elemental affinity would also increase by at least five times. The only drawback to this medicine was that it was only effective on people below level 200. If Yisi were to drink such a potion, there would be almost no improvement.

“Okay, this should be fine.”

Putting the chest back in its original place, Yisi beckoned to the Cerberuses guarding the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat in the distance.

“Charles, it’s time to go~”

“Woof!”

“Don’t bark like dogs.”

Amused, Yisi, surrounded by the nine Cerberuses, walked over to the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat. Like the other guardians she had seen along the way, this one also looked like it hadn’t been cared for in a long time. Not only was its fur dull, but it was also on the thin side. If it were properly groomed, its fluffy, rainbow-colored tail, which was over five meters long, would surely make a very soft bed.

Since the raccoon cat was the size of a two-story building, Yisi had to tilt her head up to see its full form. Out of sympathy, she reached out and stroked its leg.

Noticing her movement, the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat immediately bared two rows of sharp teeth hidden in its mouth, and a warning growl rumbled in its throat. Yisi had a feeling that if the Cerberuses weren’t standing beside her, this level 32 raccoon cat would have already turned its head and started biting her.

“Grrr—”

Due to the raccoon cat’s disrespect, Charles I leaped in front of it and slapped it on the head with a forepaw. The raccoon cat instantly became docile.

“Well… I’m not one of those adventurers who wants to hurt you. From the looks of you, although you’re in much better shape than the guardians on the lower floors, you probably don’t get to eat your fill every meal. I don’t have much time, so I can only give you a little something to eat today. We’ll save the bath for later.”

Gently stroking the raccoon cat’s body, which was trembling with fear, Yisi clapped her hands and took out one of her few remaining chunks of meat from her inventory, placing it by the raccoon cat’s mouth.

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From the fiftieth floor up to the current thirteenth, almost every biological-type guardian looked underfed and had poorly groomed fur. This was especially true for the pride of lions she had encountered on the thirty-first floor; that guardian’s room was a veritable paradise for fleas. If her defense wasn’t high enough, she would surely be covered in flea bites right now.

Thanks to this, she had fed many guardians along the way, spending far more time on them than on collecting treasure and traveling.

“Phew, that’s enough for today.”

With her hands on her hips, Yisi let out a light sigh. Then, she noticed Charles IX’s little maneuver.

“Hey! This is food for the thirteenth floor’s guardian! Haven’t you already eaten your fill?! Be careful, or I’ll confiscate your dinner later.”

Yisi lightly kicked Charles IX.

While she wasn’t paying attention, Charles IX had quietly left the pack. Using the intimidating presence of a Cerberus, he had dragged the meat away from the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat and was now silently enjoying it in small bites. The raccoon cat could only lick its lips continuously, watching helplessly as Charles IX feasted.

“Whimper…”

Charles IX let out a pitiful whine after being kicked, but Yisi ignored him and simply placed the meat back beside the raccoon cat. As if to show Yisi that they were not in cahoots with him, the other eight Cerberuses all distanced themselves from Charles IX, isolating him.

Yisi couldn’t help but chuckle.

Although these Cerberuses couldn’t speak, their intelligence was not low. They could even understand her to a certain extent. If it were Fran, with her ability to communicate with animals, she might even treat them as beings on par with humans.

“It’s almost midnight. Let’s go back. I’ll have you stay at the church for a while first. I need to confirm that the labyrinth’s order won’t be disrupted after the guardians leave.”

Glancing at the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat, which was now cautiously gnawing on a bone, Yisi averted her gaze. From the fortieth floor and up, the labyrinth’s guardians were unable to leave their rooms due to something akin to a curse. So, even if there was plenty of food on their floor, they often couldn’t fill their stomachs.

Yisi planned to come and check on these guardians from time to time, at least for as long as she stayed in Gota. It was like she was raising a large group of pets. These monsters were much simpler than humans. Apart from some non-biological guardians, as long as you gave them food, they would show you affection.

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Of course, the Cerberuses were a special case. Just a little food, and they immediately treated her as their master.

Next time I come to see the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat, I should bring my companions. We’ll give this raccoon cat a good bath, then use it as a bed and all sleep together on its soft, rainbow-colored fur.

As she was thinking this, the Cerberuses beside her suddenly all looked up, baring their teeth ferociously at the ceiling.

“Grrrrowl…”

Is there something hidden in the ceiling?

The Cerberuses had acted like this before while moving through the labyrinth, and that time, there had been a monster hidden in the wall, preparing to ambush her.

Yisi opened the [Omniscient Map], a thoughtful expression on her face.

“So it’s Dominic and his party. I remember they were planning to finish off the Frost Spider since its health was low. I might as well go take a look. It would be bad if they didn’t react in time and got wiped out by the second berserk stage.”

And I’ll take another look at the treasure on the twelfth floor, the angel sealed in the ice coffin. I didn’t pay much attention when I was rescuing Pepe.

“Charles, you all stay here. No stealing the Seven-Tailed Raccoon Cat’s food. If I come back and find that you’ve been snacking, I’ll send you all back to the fiftieth floor.”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

They used to howl like wolves, saying ‘awoo’, but now it’s ‘woof’? It’s probably a sign of our close relationship.

Waving at the Charleses, Yisi left the thirteenth floor using teleportation magic.