“Upper-level adventurers, thank you for gathering despite your busy schedules. I am grateful.”
The conference room of the Adventurer’s Guild in the town of Wooton.
In that room, which was tightly locked to prevent eavesdropping, a man sitting in the innermost seat lowered his head as he spoke.
The man was the guild master, the head of this guild.
Knowing that adventurers dislike long preambles, he stated his business directly.
“The reason I’ve gathered you all today is none other than the matter of ‘Black Iron’ Jaskal’s death.”
The guild master looked over the approximately ten people gathered in the conference room, speaking in a calm tone.
There was no sign of agitation among the upper-level adventurers who heard this.
Jaskal’s death was a well-known fact among adventurers.
“The other day, Jaskal and his companions went to destroy a slime nest. However, during the battle, a red slime suddenly underwent an 〖Evolution〗, becoming a unique Demon Beast with a root-like object within its body. Jaskal and the other adventurers were killed by this powerful Demon Beast.”
Hearing the words “root-like object within its body,” some of the more perceptive adventurers furrowed their brows.
“The adventurers were annihilated by the mysterious Demon Beast’s attack, with only one surviving, and even that one was nearly killed. However, just before that, a Jewel Slime intervened, and the mysterious Demon Beast shifted its target to it. Thanks to that, the adventurer was able to return alive, and we were able to learn the detailed circumstances.”
The guild master took a sip of water after speaking this far.
“Subsequent investigations revealed battle traces and what appeared to be the corpse of the red Demon Beast at the White Marsh Cemetery. After bringing these back and showing them to a user of analysis magic, several pieces of information about the Demon Beast were identified. Its 〖Beast Rank〗 is 〖Dire Beast〗. Its species name is Corrupted Fatty Bloody Slime.”
“What the heck is that? That’s a long name.”
A young man with his feet up on the desk raised his voice.
He folded his arms behind his head, asking with genuine bewilderment.
“I’ve never heard of a four-word name for a 〖Dire Beast〗, let alone a 〖Feral Beast〗. Isn’t that some kind of mistake?”
The usual species name for a 〖Dire Beast〗 is two words, and even rare species have three words.
The young man tilting his head received a cold glare from a woman in the opposite seat.
“Preposterous. You should pay attention to things other than combat.”
“What was that?”
“Chaos Spawn. Demon Beasts commonly called that have a root-like appearance on existing Demon Beasts, and their species name includes ‘Corrupted’.”
“What’s that? I’ve never seen or heard of it.”
“It’s a new species that has recently begun to appear. It’s not unreasonable that you don’t know about it. Their main area of appearance is in the eastern part of the continent.”
The guild master answered while folding his arms.
“Hmm, so these Chaos Spawns have started appearing around here, huh? How strong are they?”
“Their strength varies considerably. That’s because it depends on the strength and compatibility of the original Demon Beast. However, from what I’ve heard, they seem to be about twenty to thirty 〖Soul Accumulation Value (Level)〗 higher than the original Demon Beast.”
“What!?”
Hearing those words, the young man’s demeanor changed.
It was common knowledge among adventurers that even a difference of five 〖Soul Accumulation Value (Level)〗 between the same species made their strength completely different.
And yet, an increase of thirty was beyond the norm.
It was impossible to overlook.
“That’s amazing! If a 〖Dire Beast〗 is at least twenty levels higher, that’s equivalent to 〖Level 70〗!? I’m going to go fight one!”
“Calm down, you fool. I said that Demon Beast is already dead.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right.”
At the guild master’s words, the young man lowered his raised waist.
“…Huh? Wait a minute, then who defeated it?”
“That’s still under investigation. That was one of the reasons I gathered you all… “
The guild master continued, watching the adventurers’ expressions.
“…It seems that none of you have any idea.”
The guild master was disappointed in his heart that the matter would have been simple if the slayer was among them.
Then, he prepared himself to speak of his own unbelievable speculation.
“Actually, I already have a lead on who might have defeated the Chaos Spawn.”
“Huh? Then you should have said that first.”
“I wanted to hear opinions without any preconceptions. My speculation is so absurd that I myself still can’t believe it. –That a Jewel Slime defeated the Chaos Spawn.”
Silence fell in the conference room.
Ignoring the puzzled faces of the audience, the guild master continued to speak.
“The basis is that the Jewel Slime was a 〖Dire Beast〗. According to the report, that Jewel Slime was a cube, each side as large as a grown adult.”
“A Jewel Slime 〖Dire Beast〗? If that’s true, just killing it would probably let you break the 〖Level 100〗 barrier. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? Maybe the survivor was mistaken because it had a strange shape?”
“It’s hard to believe, but it’s almost certain that it was a 〖Dire Beast〗. Isn’t that right, ‘Evaporating Hot Springs’?”
“Yes.”
“I concur.”
The two women nodded.
“Evaporating Hot Springs” was the silly name of their party.
“On the day Jaskal was killed, we also encountered a square Jewel Slime in the Long Beast Domain. We hit it with an 〖Explode Cannon〗 right away, but it disappeared in the smoke and we couldn’t find it. We didn’t find any pieces of flesh when we searched around, so it’s probably unharmed.”
The woman wearing white light armor explained the situation at that time.
In particular, the fact that the 〖Explode Cannon〗 did no damage caused a stir among everyone.
It was well known that her partner’s ultimate magic had unparalleled firepower.
“Hmm, so we know that Jewel Slime is a 〖Dire Beast〗, but how does that connect? A Jewel Slime that specializes in defense and escape couldn’t possibly kill a mutated species, right?”
“That’s exactly it. This Jewel Slime seems to be a very special individual, and it is said to have used a 〖Telepathy〗-type 〖Skill〗. Since it withstood the 〖Explode Cannon〗, it’s certain that its 〖Toughness〗 is abnormally high, and it’s considered to be an existence that is in a different league from ordinary Jewel Slimes.”
“So that’s why it was able to defeat the Chaos Spawn?”
The young man looked at him with suspicious eyes.
“It’s still impossible. Jaskal was a scumbag at heart, but his skills were first-class. There’s no way that a Demon Beast that defeated Jaskal would be defeated by a Jewel Slime, no matter how much of a 〖Dire Beast〗 it is.”
“Yes, there’s a high possibility that another Demon Beast finished it off. But there was a large hole in the battlefield. A large hole as if a giant rock had fallen from the sky. If it has a special 〖Skill〗 that drops meteorites, then even a Jewel Slime with low 〖Power〗 could defeat it.”
Hearing that, the young man had no words to return.
But this time, instead, one half of “Evaporating Hot Springs” muttered seriously.
“That’s certainly bad. Did you gather us all to defeat it together?”
The woman voiced such a prediction, imagining what would happen if that attack were used against the town.
“No, it’s the opposite. I’m ordering you to refrain from contacting the Jewel Slime.”
The adventurers frowned at the incomprehensible instruction.
“Why!? It’s strong, but if we team up, we can find one or two openings!”
“The problem isn’t whether we can defeat it. It’s that the Jewel Slime might be friendly to humans. Earlier, I said that it seems to be able to use a 〖Telepathy〗-type 〖Skill〗, and that’s because the survivor testified to it. It seems to have told them, ‘Run away so you don’t get caught up in this.'”
With an even more serious expression, the guild master continued to speak.
“Furthermore, there’s the matter of Jaskal’s and the others’ corpses. All the corpses that weren’t eaten by the Chaos Spawn were placed inside makeshift fences made of wood. It’s hard to believe that a mere wild Demon Beast would take such actions. It’s highly likely that it was originally kept by nobles or wealthy merchants and thinks of humans as companions.”
The guild master looked over the adventurers with a gaze that could be described as glaring.
“Therefore, we’ve decided on a policy of not provoking it. Even if our prediction is wrong, a 〖Dire Beast〗 would rarely appear in front of people. We can just wait for it to die of old age without taking any unnecessary risks.”
The higher the 〖Beast Rank〗, the longer the lifespan, but since slimes are originally short-lived, they thought it would die soon.
“To prevent the spread of information, we will subtly spread rumors among ordinary adventurers that the Jewel Slime has been defeated. Please do not disclose the contents of our discussion here. That’s all from me, but if you have any objections, please speak up.”
“I’m fine with that plan. If the 〖Explode Cannon〗 is blocked, we won’t be able to deal any damage, right?”
“I agree too. If they’re friendly, there’s no need to antagonize them, right? …Wait, but we already attacked them, is that going to be okay!?”
The woman’s face contorted as if she had just realized this.
“Well… it should be fine, probably. We did save the survivors after you guys attacked, and at least they shouldn’t be hostile to all humans.”
“And if they are angry, we can just offer these two as sacrifices.”
“I’ll take you with me then.”
“Ah, if only Torba-sama was in town…”
“It can’t be helped. That person is on a journey. Besides, this isn’t even a town grand enough for a hero-class to make their base.”
The guild master shrugged, cleared his throat, and brought the derailed topic back on track.
Then, after hearing the opinions of the other high-ranking adventurers and gaining everyone’s agreement, he began to summarize.
“Now, to sum up, what I want to ask of you all is to refrain from contacting the Jewel Slime and to be wary of the Chaos Spawn. The Chaos Spawn might increase in number from now on, so report any sightings immediately. And while I said to refrain from contact, depending on the situation, all of the high-ranking adventurers here might have to subjugate the Jewel Slime. The guild will prepare countermeasures against it, but please be prepared for that as well.”
With that, the meeting came to an end, and in the room where the adventurers had left, the guild master looked up at the ceiling.
“The only thing left is whether the nobles will get greedy… but there’s nothing we can do about that.”
He quietly prayed that the Jewel Slime wouldn’t reach their ears.