"—Is something wrong, Takeo-kun?"
"Hinata-san..."
I was staring at the mysterious string of text displayed on my status screen, lost for words, when Hinata-san approached and spoke to me.
I snapped out of it and looked up. For a moment, I wavered.
Should I tell Hinata-san about "this"?
Well, if we were going to be diving into dungeons together, it would eventually come out anyway. In that case, it was probably better to tell her in advance.
However... I shifted my gaze past Hinata-san.
There were many other explorers here besides us right now. Moreover, every party had a drone floating nearby. This meant that all the Special Crisis Case Explorers were currently livestreaming on DungeonTube.
This wasn't exactly the kind of thing I wanted to announce in front of those cameras. Given the sheer name value of "Hero," I had a powerful premonition that it would lead to nothing but trouble.
Wait, isn't that why the Hero title cropped up in the first place?
In other words, the catalyst was the Special Crisis Case members' streaming channels and the massive number of viewers watching them.
It went without saying for the Special Crisis Case members, but almost all of them were veteran explorers. Most had been active far longer than Hinata-san. On top of that, their streaming channels were undoubtedly popular; with several such people gathered together, the viewer count must have reached an enormous figure.
I had managed to defeat a vast number of Metaslas in front of all those people.
I could only imagine the impact of such a feat.
Well, if that explained the "number of people" required for the recognition condition... the fact that the Hero title had actually manifested was still truly incomprehensible. I was certain I hadn't performed a single action that was even one percent hero-like, so I wondered from the bottom of my heart where, when, and how I had met the achievement conditions.
What on earth is going on...?
In any case.
Even with Hinata-san’s Saint title, we were doing our best to avoid making it public. If I announced a Hero title, I couldn't imagine the chaos that would ensue.
Therefore, I decided to keep my mouth shut for the time being.
"No, it's nothing, Hinata-san." I put on my best serious face.
"............I see."
Hinata-san nodded, and then—
"Wha—Hinata-san!?"
She suddenly leaned in, bringing her face close to my ear and whispering.
"Is it something you can't say here?"
Wait, what!?
Hinata-san didn't believe me for a second!
Or rather, should I praise her for being so perceptive? I suppose I should just be glad it saved me the trouble of trying to trick her later.
"Uhh, well... yes. I’ll explain later."
"Yeah, I understand. Although... I feel like I’m a little scared to hear it."
"No, it’s not really that big of a deal."
In the end, it was just the addition of a single title. Compared to the massive Metasla swarm, I had to admit the impact felt significantly diminished to me.
"Still..."
I looked around the area once more.
"As I thought, not a single magic stone or item dropped."
"Yeah, you're right. I wonder what that means...?"
Even though I had defeated nearly a hundred Metaslas, there wasn't a single magic stone or any other kind of drop. It was a truly mysterious phenomenon.
For me, as long as they provided the experience points properly, I didn't have any particular complaints, so it was fine.
●◯●
"Leveling Junkie Bro-kun, that was amazing!"
Following Mayurin-san’s exclamation, the others joined in.
"Yeah, that was incredible, Leveling Junkie Bro!"
"I can't believe you actually defeated that many Metaslas...!"
"I can't believe he's a rookie who's been an explorer for less than two months."
"I mean, isn't he already the strongest among us?"
"What level are you right now, Leveling Junkie Bro?"
"And to think you took such a risk for our sake...!"
"Thank you, Leveling Junkie Bro!"
"To be honest, you really saved us!"
"I definitely witnessed your manliness...!"
"I've fallen for you, man to man...!"
"Yeah, me too! You've got real guts...!"
"You're quite the guy."
For some reason, I was greeted with a chorus of praise from the Special Crisis Case members.
"Eh? Ah, no... hehe."
I’m actually blushing.
While I laughed it off, question marks were dancing inside my head.
Thinking about it calmly, why the hell are they reacting like this?
During the battle, I was genuinely furious because I was afraid they would steal my experience points, right? And yet, the fact that everyone seemed grateful made absolutely no sense.
It was so nonsensical it was actually a little terrifying.
What on earth happened? Is it possible that I’ve slipped into a different world-line without realizing it?
"B-By the way—"
Since it was just plain creepy, I cut them off to shift the conversation in another direction.
"Where did that massive swarm of Metaslas come from? Did I mishear that only one Metasla appeared, and they were actually swarming from the start?"
"Now that you mention it..."
"It's true, I never heard anything about there being multiple Metaslas."
"Besides, even if there were multiple spawns, that number was abnormal."
At my words, the Special Crisis Case members began to nod in agreement. Then, everyone's gaze concentrated on a single point.
Standing there was Arnold Oishi's party—the ones who had originally appeared while being pursued by the massive swarm.
"Oishi, you're going to tell us what happened, aren't you?"
Ajari Kong stepped forward to question him, acting as the representative for everyone present.
"A-Ah... of course."
Oishi-san nodded and began to speak.
"We had been heading deeper into Floor 10 since this morning—"
Oishi-san started explaining their actions from the beginning of the day. During his story...
"I wonder if Arnold-san is... mixed-race?"
I happened to hear Hinata-san murmuring wonderingly beside me, so I decided to offer a clarification.
"Hinata-san, even if you go back seven generations, Arnold Oishi is a pure Japanese man with only Japanese blood in his veins... but just look at him."
"Eh? Oh... wait, did you actually research seven generations back?"
"Yes, Oishi-san once looked into it for a project on his Yo!Tube channel. But rather than that, right now..."
"Ah, right. Sorry for interrupting."
"No, no, I understand why you're curious. Anyway, look at him."
"Yeah..."
"See?"
"Hmm?"
"Doesn't he look just like him? The 38th Governor of California."
"No, even if you say the 38th Governor of California, I don't know who that... is?"
It seemed Hinata-san had finally realized it.
"Wait, could it be...?"
"That's right. Oishi-san looks exactly like that man."
Yes, Oishi-san looked exactly like a killer robot sent from the future.
He was nearly 190 centimeters tall, and despite his height, his physique was as muscular and well-defined as a professional bodybuilder's. On top of that, he had deep-set features that didn't look Japanese at all...
He really looked exactly like that man.
"Um... is that why he's called Arnold?"
"Precisely."
Arnold was essentially a nickname given to him because of his resemblance to that person.
"I see..."
Hinata-san seemed convinced, though she also appeared somewhat exasperated.
And then—
"—And so, when we reached the boss room, we found a Metasla. But... it was far larger than the one we fought before."
Hearing that Oishi-san's story was finally reaching the heart of the matter, I concentrated on him as well.
Still, a huge Metasla, huh... I suppose it was something like a Metakin.
Oishi-san continued.
"Of course we were suspicious and on guard, but we decided to challenge the Metasla for a rematch. We stepped into the boss room... well, it's only natural, but the moment we did, slimes were summoned into the room."
"Well, the Metasla isn't the boss of Floor 10, after all. That makes sense. And then?"
Ajari Kong nodded, prompting him to continue. Then, Oishi-san said something shocking.
"As for the summoned slimes... they were absorbed by the Metasla in the blink of an eye."
"Absorbed!?"
"Whoa, are you serious!?"
"Wait, absorption... could it be!?"
The Special Crisis Case members all voiced their surprise. Hearing the word "absorption," everyone there likely associated it with one thing: the Legion Slime's Fusion Absorption skill.
In other words—
"Don't tell me... the Metasla had the Fusion Absorption skill?"
"Yeah, that's likely the case. And that's not all..."
Oishi-san trailed off grimly. Ajari Kong prompted him to continue with a sharp tone.
"Oishi, what on earth did you guys see?"
"That thing... it split off parts of its own body. As Metaslas."
"—!!?"
Everyone present instinctively gasped.
Of course, I was no exception.
But I didn't just gasp. My heart fluttered with pure, unadulterated excitement.
In other words, what Oishi-san was saying meant this:
The Metasla has the Fusion Absorption skill. And not only that, it can turn the other slimes it absorbs into Metaslas by splitting its own body!
The moment I understood, I leaned back sharply right where I stood.
"—Nghooooooohhh!!! Th-This is amazingggggggggg!!!"
"—!?"
"What!?"
"What happened!?"
"Leveling Junkie Bro!?"
"What's with you all of a sudden!? What's wrong!?"
Everyone turned around at my scream, thrown into total confusion.
But what do they mean, "what's wrong"?
It should be obvious. Anyone who thinks about it for a moment would understand. A paradise is about to be born in this world.
Specifically—a Metasla Ranch!