April 8th, around 10:30 AM.
I arrived at the Floor 4 Monster Room in the Shinjuku Dungeon as I did every day and immediately began my farming runs.
Thanks to my increased stats from yesterday, I managed to cut the travel time from Floor 1 down to about an hour and thirty minutes.
Well, since I planned to do overnight dungeon dives with Hinata-san starting the day after tomorrow, there wouldn't really be a need to optimize the commute to the Monster Room much longer.
Regardless.
I spent forty-five minutes speed-clearing the Monster Room using the same method as yesterday.
The time was likely just past 11:15 PM.
It happened just as I re-entered the Monster Room to begin my twenty-fifth run of the day.
"—Hm?"
Normally, when I entered the room, the summoning Magic Circle in the center would glow, and a legion of sixteen goblins would manifest atop it.
But this time, things were different.
The circle glowed just like always—except the intensity of the light was twice as strong, becoming so blindingly bright I had to look away.
Then, countless particles of light began to manifest from the void all throughout the air of the Monster Room.
The particles, shining like stars in the night sky, formed a current like water swirling down a drain, getting sucked into the Magic Circle one after another.
At the same time...
Snap! Crack!
Thin arcs of lightning began to discharge from the Magic Circle, striking the floor and walls.
"Is this... no way!?"
As I watched, I realized what was happening.
This elaborate production was nothing like the usual dry, utilitarian summons. My instincts as an RPG gamer whispered to me. There was no doubt...
"A special production... Did I trigger a Secret Event? I don't know the specifics, but I must have flagged some kind of event without realizing it!"
I wondered what on earth was about to appear.
I kept my longsword unsheathed and held ready, watching the flashing Magic Circle with narrowed eyes.
Then—the light finally died down, and the thing appeared.
"A Goblin Knight...?"
A disappointed mutter escaped my lips.
At a glance, it did look like a Goblin Knight. It was well over two meters tall and clad head-to-toe in metal armor. From where I stood, I couldn't tell if there was actually a goblin under all that plating. However, the moment we faced each other, Goblin Genocider activated, so there was no mistaking its race.
However...
"Wait, no! This thing isn't a Goblin Knight!"
The moment the gaze hidden behind that full-face helm locked onto me, the hair on my arms stood on end.
I didn't reach that conclusion just because it was taller than the Goblin Knight I'd fought on Floor 3.
At a distance, they looked similar, but up close, it was clearly something else entirely.
First, the armor.
The metal covering its body bore no resemblance to the dull, gray plate of a regular knight. This was polished, silver-white armor, elegantly decorated with gold accents in a way that wasn't overly gaudy. It looked less like a rugged warrior and more like a holy knight blessed by a deity, the kind found only in legends.
The shield in its left hand and the longsword in its right were the same.
They were crafted from a mysterious, reflective silver-white metal and adorned with subtle golden filigree.
Draped over its back was a scarlet cape of such vivid color it was striking.
As I've described, it didn't look like a goblin at all. It had a divine, majestic presence—I might even have called it "Sir Paladin."
Its aura was so holy I found myself doubting if it was even a monster.
But my skills told me otherwise. It was, without a doubt, an enemy.
"————!!?"
An instant after I froze in awe, Danger Sense sent a visceral chill down my spine along a line meant to sever my head.
—A slash flew toward me.
Despite being well outside the reach of its sword, the creature hadn't moved an inch, yet it had already completed a swing.
The flying blade of air was closing in on my face the very moment the chill hit me.
●◯●
"Master!"
"What is it?"
"We have confirmed the emergence of a Specific Individual!"
"—!? Impossible! It's far too early. Report the details!"
"Yes. However..."
"What is it!? Speak!"
"The emergence is limited to a single location. We have detected no abnormalities in Magic Essence Concentration leading to a Specific Individual's birth anywhere else."
"...So the Magic Essence levels haven't surged across the entire dungeon?"
"The Magic Essence Concentration in the dungeon is trending almost exactly according to our projections."
"Phew... You had me worried. Then what is this Specific Individual? Where and why did it appear?"
"I am reporting the data now. The location is Japan, Shinjuku Dungeon Floor 4, inside a Monster Room. Currently, a single Explorer is engaged in combat with it."
"Floor 4? That's far too shallow. And the Shinjuku Dungeon? Again?"
"Yes. The Explorer in combat is Takeo Samejima. The one you previously placed a Seal on for his Titles and Skills."
"That brat Obito brought in... Tsk. What did he do this time?"
"One moment, I am checking the logs now. Please wait... I have identified the cause of the Specific Individual's emergence."
"What caused it?"
"It appears the Magic Stones were the catalyst. Regarding Takeo Samejima, he has been utilizing the Monster Room functions for leveling for several days now."
"Hmm... That in itself isn't an issue. That's what the Monster Rooms are there for, though few utilize them effectively."
"Yes, the Monster Room functions were operating normally. However... midway through his leveling, Takeo Samejima stopped collecting the Magic Stones."
"The Magic Stones? You mean he didn't pick up the drops and just left them inside the Monster Room?"
"Precisely."
"Dropped items are one thing, but Magic Stones...? No, wait. No matter how much of a closed space it is, a Specific Individual shouldn't spawn on Floor 4 just for that. He must have done something else."
"No, Master... it wasn't just once or twice. According to the logs, Takeo Samejima has left the Magic Stones from the Monster Room untouched for 599 consecutive runs. Though they were all Goblins below Level 10, the total number of Magic Stones reabsorbed by the Monster Room has reached 9,584. Furthermore, he left all equipment drops from the start, and the frequency of his clears was remarkably high for such a short period..."
"...In other words, in a very short span of time, so many drops were decomposed back into Magic Essence that the Monster Room couldn't keep up with the reabsorption cycle?"
"Correct. While most of the recovered Magic Essence was returned to the Shinjuku Dungeon's circulation or reused for the goblin-generating Magic Circle, the system couldn't process it all. Residual Magic Essence began to pool in the room... and just moments ago, the concentration reached saturation. When the goblin-generating Magic Circle activated, it acted as a trigger. The massive overflow of Magic Essence caused the Magic Circle's safety protocols to engage. It generated a Specific Individual to forcibly consume the surplus Magic Essence."
"That brat... he's really gone and done it. To think this would happen in such a shallow floor..."
"Master, shall we intervene with the Specific Individual?"
"...What exactly spawned?"
"A Level 40 Goblin Divine Knight. Its individual combat prowess exceeds that of a King."
"A Level 40 Divine Knight... For an Explorer who spends his time below Floor 10, that's an opponent he couldn't defeat even if a miracle occurred."
"Yes. It would be a threat if it ever left the Monster Room."
"True... If the brat currently fighting it dies, contact Obito via No. 30 and request his cooperation."
"Understood. Regarding Takeo Samejima, are we truly not going to rescue him? He is someone Obito-sama seems to care about."
"He brought it on himself. If he dies, then that's as far as he goes."
"Understood."
"Also... regardless of whether the brat wins or loses, I want No. 30 to leak information about this to the Association. Tell them not to leave Magic Stones in Monster Rooms. Publicize the danger alongside the data on the Specific Individual."
"...Is that wise? Informing them might actually encourage some to try and replicate it."
"Hmph. Let them try. To spawn a Specific Individual, you need to force the reabsorption of roughly ten thousand Magic Stones. I doubt there are many fools out there capable of doing something so idiotic."
"That is a fair point."
"Oh, and one more thing. On the off chance the brat survives, have No. 30 give him a warning. Tell him never to leave Magic Stones in a Monster Room ever again."
"Yes, Master. I shall see to it."