Floor 10 of the Minato Ward Dungeon.
The Special Crisis Case Explorers gathered in the Staircase Plaza stood transfixed, watching the battle between Takeo Samejima and the Metaslas.
When the swarm had first come rushing in, every person on the scene had tried to flee. It was only natural. Everyone there had faced a Metasla before and understood their sheer strength and irritating nature all too well.
A single one was a nightmare to deal with; the number currently charging toward them was so high that it was pointless to even try counting.
There was absolutely no way they could win.
This was no longer a matter for "pseudo-top-tier" explorers like themselves; this was an incident that should have been handled by true Top Explorers.
But while everyone else was paralyzed by that thought, one man screamed.
Takeo—or rather, Leveling Junkie Bro.
Shouting something in a state of extreme agitation, he began sprinting toward the surging tide of Metaslas.
Seemingly deaf to the voices of the explorers desperately trying to hold him back, he requested support only from his party member, Hinata, and then slammed a colossal attack into the Metasla swarm.
Then—pale blue flames erupted, filling the entire corridor.
A tremendous shockwave and blast wind surged back toward the onlookers who had just watched Leveling Junkie Bro charge off.
"What was that...!?"
"An explosion?! Was that magic?!"
"No, what he unleashed looked like Sword Aura, but..."
"Yeah, though it was freakishly huge."
"But with an attack like that, maybe...!!"
An explosion caused by an unidentified skill they didn't recognize.
From the roar that had shaken them to their very bones, they could well imagine its power.
It was an incredibly potent attack. With that kind of strength, then perhaps even against that many Metaslas... But as they watched with bated breath, the pale blue flames cleared to reveal a sight that shattered their hopes.
"You've got to be kidding...!"
"It's no use after all! There's no way he can win!!"
"Let's run!!"
The sheer number of Metaslas was so overwhelming they couldn't even tell if any had been defeated.
Despair once again took hold of their hearts.
As expected, Metaslas simply couldn't be beaten.
However—
"Whoa, whoa, whoa...!! For real!?"
"How the hell can he dive right into the middle of that!?"
"Does he have a death wish!?"
"No, look!! He's dodging all of them!!"
Whether because of the previous explosion or something else, the Metaslas' aggro had shifted entirely to Leveling Junkie Bro.
Immediately after, the Metaslas leaped with the force of cannonballs, bouncing off the ground, walls, and ceiling to use them as springboards as they dove toward him from every direction.
These were lethal body slams that would mean certain death if they hit cleanly.
One after another, attacking at high speed from every conceivable angle, Leveling Junkie Bro dodged them with room to spare.
"How is he dodging those...!?"
"Does he have eyes in the back of his head!?"
Even when the Metaslas attacked from his blind spots, Leveling Junkie Bro evaded them without so much as a glance.
Even to the Special Crisis Case Explorers, his movements were so exceptional they had to acknowledge him as being in a league of his own—
"—!?"
"He cut it!"
What surprised them most, however, was when Leveling Junkie Bro landed a counter-hit on a Metasla that was moving at high speed while he was mid-dodge.
With a movement that looked as if it met no resistance at all, he cleanly bisected the Metasla.
"In one hit!?"
"No way!?"
"What the hell is going on!?"
Because they were people who had actually experienced the frustration of hitting a Metasla, their shock was all the greater.
They were Special Crisis Case Explorers. They possessed strength that drew a clear line between them and the masses.
Among them were explorers who could be called attack specialists, whose Skill Builds centered on Strength Enhancement and damage-up skills. After enhancement, their Strength stats easily exceeded 700, and their damage multipliers even reached a staggering maximum of sixteen times. They possessed enough power to defeat most monsters in a single blow.
And yet, that had done almost nothing to a Metasla.
They had felt almost no sensation of their damage actually connecting.
That was why they understood exactly how abnormal it was for Leveling Junkie Bro to be bisecting and slaying Metaslas with single strikes.
"No, but... if this keeps up, maybe he can actually win...!"
"Yeah, as long as he doesn't take a hit from a Metasla, Leveling Junkie Bro’s got this...!!"
The number of Metaslas was overwhelming, but if Leveling Junkie Bro had a guaranteed way to defeat them, he would eventually be able to wipe them all out.
"He can win...!! We can win...!!"
"Whoa, are you serious!?"
"Was Leveling Junkie Bro really that strong!?"
There were those who had gathered information on him as a famous fellow explorer, and those who only knew him as "Inabauer Bro," the man who had become a global meme. There were various people there with different levels of information, but facing the reality of him, both groups were rapidly revising their perceptions.
He was strong.
Overwhelmingly so.
And he had a heart of justice and courage.
They would soon come to learn that fact.
"—Ah!?"
A voice like a scream rang out.
A Metasla's attack had grazed Leveling Junkie Bro's clothes. With just that, his posture was thrown off.
Fortunately, he immediately regained his balance and dodged the Metaslas' next attacks, even managing to counterattack.
However, it was obvious to the eyes of the Special Crisis Case Explorers.
"Hey, isn't Leveling Junkie Bro's movement getting a bit slower!?"
"Is it... fatigue!?"
Leveling Junkie Bro's movements were flagging. The cause was fatigue. Or perhaps he was reaching the limit of his concentration.
Those watching were convinced that this was only natural.
He was engaged in intense, high-speed combat in a state of extreme tension where a single hit would mean the end. It was a wonder his concentration could last for dozens of seconds, let alone minutes.
And then—they thought.
"—Dammit, you guys!! Are you really going to just let Leveling Junkie Bro fight alone!?"
What on earth were they doing in the face of such a struggle?
Even though Leveling Junkie Bro was younger than them, he was fighting with everything he had. Were they just going to stand there like idiots and watch?
No!!
"That's right!! We're Special Crisis Case too!! Show some pride!!"
"We're going to back up Leveling Junkie Bro!! Let's take down those Metaslas!!"
The explorers who had been intimidated by the approaching swarm began to shout one after another. They were Special Crisis Case Explorers! They wouldn't let this end without contributing anything! This time, they would save Leveling Junkie Bro!!
The sight of his desperate battle had moved everyone's hearts.
They united, summoned their courage, and approached the fray.
To assist him and lighten his burden even slightly, they unleashed long-range attack skills like magic and Sword Aura at the Metaslas leaping around in all directions.
But immediately after, Leveling Junkie Bro screamed with an expression and voice that carried a terrifying intensity.
"—St-Stooooooooooooooooooooooooop it already!! Agggh!!"
"—Eh?"
At those words, the explorers reflexively stopped.
Then, he followed up:
"Don't any of you dare touch a single one of them!! Dooooooooooon't touch theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem!!"
"W-What is he saying...!?"
"Why... why is he telling us not to help...?"
"What the hell are you thinking, Junkie Bro!?"
They couldn't understand his reasoning.
Why would he reject their assistance?
"Well, it's not like there's much of a mystery to it."
At that moment, a synthetic voice emitted from the drone floating near Hinata reached their ears.
By moving forward to assist, they had come close enough to hear the comments from the Hinata Channel.
Could it be that the viewers knew the reason for Leveling Junkie Bro's actions?
With a faint sense of surprise, they listened intently to the comments being read out from the drone.
"Leveling Junkie Bro said it himself earlier."
"He said all those experience points belong to him."
"In other words, he can't stand the idea of the experience points being split if you guys help out."
"Yup, yup."
"Seriously, that's all it is."
"…………"
It was concise.
The answer was so concise and without hesitation that they, too, were convinced—
"—LIKE HELL THAT'S IT, YOU IDIOTSSSSSS!!"
—No, they were absolutely not convinced!!
"Eh?" "Eh?" "Eh?"
"Quit screwing around!! This isn't a game!! This is a battle where lives are on the line!!!"
The one who spoke was a man wearing a large pelican mask—Pelican Man.
"Pelican Man..."
The viewers and the surrounding explorers were stunned by his desperate tone, which was so unlike his usual crazy antics on his own channel's streams.
"Certainly, Leveling Junkie Bro is a character who's obsessed with experience points!! But there's no way he'd be more obsessed with experience points than his own life in a life-or-death situation!! You should at least be able to understand that no such person exists!! We!! We're risking our lives to fight monsters!! Don't confuse his streaming persona with the man in reality!!"
"I mean, it's not really a persona..."
"Uhh, about that..."
"Ah, yeah, sure."
"Listen up, okay!? I know for a fact that he's a kind young man!! When I was injured, he let me lean on his shoulder and carried me all the way back here!! And he did it without showing even a hint of disgust toward a guy wearing a creepy pelican mask like this!!"
"I-I see."
"O-Oh."
"Right."
"The reason such a kind man like him rejected our help with such harsh words... you guys should understand by now, shouldn't you!? Why is he fighting? No, for whom is he fighting!? Isn't it to protect us, who froze up when we saw that swarm of Metaslas!? Isn't that why he summoned his courage and dove in!!?"
"No, like I said, it's..."
"Hey, drop it!!"
"Let's just let him keep believing that."
"If we step in, even if he's fighting well, one or two of us will probably end up as casualties...!! But if that happens! How will he feel after fighting so hard to protect us!? If casualties occur among us, wouldn't that be trampling on his courage!!? If even one of us dies, wouldn't he be heartbroken!!? Am I wrong!?"
Pelican Man's soul-stirring cry resonated with everyone.
And the surrounding explorers————agreed!!
"That makes sense...!!"
"There's no way he'd be obsessed with experience points when he might die himself...!!"
"Which means Leveling Junkie Bro is fighting that desperately just to protect us...!!"
"Dammit, after seeing such manliness, I can't do anything but watch...!!"
"Leveling Junkie Bro-kun...!! You care about me that much...!? This is definitely fate!!"
Yes, if they thought about it calmly and rationally, the reason Leveling Junkie Bro rejected their help, the reason he screamed at them not to lay a hand on the monsters, was obvious.
Understanding everything, they lost their reason to assist.
Instead, without a single person running away, they watched Leveling Junkie Bro's figure as he fought desperately.
"Win, Leveling Junkie Bro...!!"
"You'd better win, Leveling Junkie Bro...!!"
"Win, Leveling Junkie Bro-kun!! For my sake!!"
It was almost like a prayer.
At the end of those gazes filled with such sincere and powerful emotions, they saw Leveling Junkie Bro's movements becoming increasingly erratic.
"Aaaaaaghhhh!! These guys!! All of them!! I'm the one who's gonna kill them allllllllllllllllll!!"
Everyone on the scene now "understood" the meaning behind those words.
He was declaring that he would defeat every single Metasla by himself to protect everyone.
By making that declaration, he was bracing his heart, which looked as if it were about to break at any moment.
With a reaction speed that was almost like precognition, he was still dodging the Metaslas' attacks. However, his movements were slowly but surely slowing down.
Fatigue... most likely. There was no doubt about it.
The limit was near.
Precisely because they were people with enough skill to be chosen for the Special Crisis Case, they were certain of that premonition.
Even so, they couldn't bring themselves to intervene. They wouldn't let his resolve go to waste.
Therefore, the moment of collapse came as if it were preordained.
"Ah!?"
"Leveling Junkie Bro!?"
Once again, Leveling Junkie Bro's movement slowed. It was obvious enough for anyone to see.
That became the final straw that broke the precarious balance of the tightrope-like battle.
"—!?"
A Metasla's body grazed his clothes again, and he lost his balance significantly.
Just like before, he immediately tried to steady himself. But—
"It's no good!!"
"He won't make it!!"
He wouldn't be in time to dodge the Metasla's body slam rushing toward him next.
He must have realized it himself. His expression was overwritten with intense frustration—and he screamed.
"D-Dammit all to helllllllllllllllllllllll!!"