Episode 27: Encounter
“Could it be… a new Dungeon?”
James frowned.
“Yes, that’s right. There might be cases where newly formed Dungeons haven’t been reported, or even discovered in the first place. Could it be that someone has already conquered this Dungeon?”
“Hold on a moment.”
It was Maya, the chairperson, who raised her voice.
“Ethan, even if what you say is correct, where is this Seeker who can reach the two-hundredth floor? Exceptional Seekers are managed by the country or the military even more closely than Dungeons. There have been no reports of any of them making a move.”
Maya’s words, spoken sharply, were persuasive. The training of Seekers requires an enormous amount of time and budget.
Everyone present knew that.
However, Ethan didn’t believe his conclusion was wrong.
“What you say is most reasonable, but it’s more plausible to assume there’s a Seeker we don’t know about. This person entered the newly formed Black Dungeon and defeated the Duke. Furthermore, they continued to conquer the floors, successively defeating the Lords in the depths.”
“That’s absurd!”
James spat out the words.
“Admittedly, this is just speculation. But it’s the only explanation that makes sense. This Seeker has already defeated four Lords. Whether they’re an individual or a group is unknown, but it’s likely a small number. If a large Seeker clan were involved, information would have leaked. They’re on par with, or even surpass, the Seeker clan led by the world’s strongest, Flame Emperor Albert—wouldn’t that be a rational assumption?”
The assembly hall fell silent. It was an unbelievable story, but there was no information to refute it.
“If my hypothesis is correct…”
At Ethan’s words, the scholars swallowed nervously.
“A much bigger change will occur in the near future.”
◇◇◇
The morning after defeating the four Colored Slimes, Yuma headed to the garden with a cheerful feeling.
Red, blue, yellow, and green had appeared, so next would probably be white.
He didn’t understand the resistance to healing magic, but anyway, a different Slime was sure to appear.
Confident in this, he approached the Hole, where Mamezou was barking more than usual.
“I’ll take care of it soon, so wait!”
Yuma told Mamezou to back away and illuminated the Hole with his Flashlight. If there really was a white Slime, it might feel eerie, but it wouldn’t hinder his ability to defeat it.
With such a lighthearted feeling, Yuma was astonished by what was inside.
“Eeeeeeeeeh!?”
He was stunned for a while. Inside the Hole was a black Metal Slime. It was the same color as the usual Metal Slime, but that wasn’t the problem.
What was surprising was its size. It was five times larger than a normal Metal Slime.
The small Hole looked even smaller because of the massive Slime that stood heavily within.
“What is this huge thing!? Is it the boss of the Metal Slimes?”
As if it had come to avenge its subordinates, it was sitting in the Hole with tremendous force.
“Can I even defeat this…?”
Yuma felt a little discouraged, but he steeled himself and returned to his room.
He packed all the gas canisters and Cooling Sprays he could find into a box and went down to the garden again.
He lined up the canisters and Sprays next to the Hole and psyched himself up. He was fully prepared, and he would definitely defeat it, even if he had to use everything he had.
Yuma put strength into his body and entered the Hole after Metallization.
The huge Metal Slime in front of him slowly approached. He felt a pressure he had never felt before.
He held Cooling Sprays in both hands and sprayed cold air in a double blast.
In that instant—something moved. “Eh?” By the time he noticed, there was a popping sound, and the Spray cans exploded. Cold air scattered around.
“What!? What happened?”
The Cooling Sprays lying on the ground were split open as if they had been slashed by something.
When Yuma looked up, there was a Slime with two tentacles wriggling.
The tips of the tentacles had become sharp blades, and their points were aimed at him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!?”
An unexpected situation was unfolding before his eyes.