Despite Hinata-san nearly ruining my reputation with baseless rumors, we continued our steady trek through the forest.
We encountered more and more Special Variants and Kobolds; in nearly every group, at least one special variant was present.
In my experience, however, they were still easier to deal with than Divine Knight-san or the Mighty Blade-using Goblin. As long as I kept Blue Sky Beyond the Clouds active, I could take them down in a single blow—no problem at all. My HP took a hit from the activation of Asceticism, but Hinata-san was there to heal me. We had brought about twenty bottles each of Intermediate Heal Potion and Intermediate Mana Potion for this request, so I didn't need to worry about her MP running dry.
Consequently, I made a point of hunting every special variant I could find.
Determined to strike before anyone else, I kept my senses sharp. I would spot them first, charge the pack first, and finish them off first.
My efforts paid off; I claimed the vast majority of the special variants. Curiously, even when the others spotted one, they usually hung back to assess the situation. I didn't mind—finders keepers. While they were busy observing, I helped myself to the prey.
『Seriously, there are way too many special variants.』
『How many are gonna show up...?』
『They’re not even rare anymore.』
『But with this many special variants, isn't this actually a breeze?』
『Well, with the Professor and the others here, I never expected the quest to fail.』
『Though Leveling Junkie Bro is the one carrying the team against the special variants lol.』
『One-shotted 'em lol.』
『He's basically treating them like trash mobs at this point. Lmao.』
『Packs of five-plus seem to be the baseline.』
『Packs of over ten... in a normal dungeon, that only happens during a Monster Link.』
『You almost never see those numbers outside of a Monster Room.』
『Well, our side is basically a raid party, so we have the numbers. It’ll be fine.』
『Aside from the dungeon being ridiculously huge, isn't this surprisingly easy?』
『We still haven't even made it out of the forest.』
『I want to see what it looks like outside the forest soon.』
Just as the viewers on DungeonTube were starting to tire of the repetitive scenery, Saito-san, who was leading the way, spoke up.
"Ho! Everyone, we finally emerge from the woods, forsooth!"
Looking ahead, I could see an open space through the gaps in the trees. Unlike the interior of the forest where the canopy blocked the sun, that area was bathed in bright light.
Naturally, everyone’s pace quickened. We soon stepped out of the forest.
The sudden brightness stung my eyes for a moment before I adjusted. Spread out before us was the grassland Saito-san had described. It stretched as far as the eye could see.
However, we couldn't see all the way to the horizon. There were many things obstructing the view. The ground undulated gently, forming numerous hills. While most of the weeds were only slightly higher than ankle-height, there were patches of tall plants and scattered trees breaking up the landscape.
Because of the terrain, it was impossible to tell from the ground just how far the grassland continued.
And then—
『Whoa, there’s actually a sky...』
『Clouds are even drifting by.』
『I wonder what the ceiling looks like?』
『In fiction, it’s a classic trope to be blocked by a barrier and be unable to go any further.』
『So it’s not a real sky, but some kind of projection?』
『I seriously can't believe this is inside a dungeon...』
The sky was actually a sky.
I had seen glimpses of it through the gaps in the forest canopy, but seeing it so clearly felt surreal. Everyone else was looking up at the grassland and the sky in awe. The only ones who didn't look surprised were the trio of the Professor, Saito-san, and Kurage-chan-san.
"Now then—"
The Professor clapped his hands to draw our focus.
"As you can see, there is very little cover from here on. With a group of this size, it will be difficult to escape once a monster spots us. Staying hidden will be significantly harder than it was in the forest. Let’s stay even more alert than before."
He had a point. Everyone nodded in agreement.
However, even the people who had looked grim when the special variants appeared were no longer particularly tense. It had been fairly easy up to this point, and there was a general feeling that we could handle whatever came next.
Even if the enemy numbers were high, we had the advantage, and the special variants weren't strong enough to pose a real threat. Besides, the Professor and Saito-san hadn't even gone all out yet. There was a strong belief that those three would handle any real trouble.
We figured we were fine.
It was a massive mistake.
●◯●
"They're coming again!!"
"It's the Bloody Mantis!!"
In the grassland region beyond the Great Tree Forest, we were currently in the middle of a battle against a massive swarm of monsters.
The first to appear were giant bull monsters called Greater Mad Bulls. They appeared in a massive herd of over fifty, charging straight at us the moment they spotted us.
Fifty of them.
It was an incredible number. In a normal dungeon, you would almost never see that many outside of a Monster Room.
However, we could handle fifty. We had ultra-high-level explorers led by the Professor and Saito-san, and the others were no slouches either. Even if they lacked experience grinding Monster Rooms like Hinata-san and I did, they were no longer intimidated by fifty lower-ranked monsters—only surprised.
After dodging the bulls' initial charge, everyone began hammering long-range attacks into the herd as they turned back toward us, steadily thinning their numbers.
But the battle didn't end there.
Shortly after the engagement with the Greater Mad Bulls began, and before we could wipe out the herd, a new massive group appeared.
Kobolds.
Appearing from over a hill in formation, more than thirty Kobolds saw us fighting the bulls and charged in.
I’m sure I wasn't the only one who wondered if we could bait the bulls into the Kobolds. Since monsters in this dungeon fought each other, it seemed like a viable tactic.
However, neither the Kobolds nor the Greater Mad Bulls paid any attention to each other. It seemed that in this dungeon, explorers were the top priority for elimination. The monsters' aggro was focused entirely on us.
The Professor’s group was as impressive as ever.
"Sage-kun! The messenger is fleeing!"
"Understood, forsooth!"
Among the Kobold pack, several were trying to run away. To use the Professor's term, they were "Messengers." Determined not to let a single one escape, Saito-san fired laser-like lines of fire magic, instantly incinerating the retreating Kobolds.
What incredible lethality! Talk about reliable.
As we worked together to reduce the monster count, similar comments began flooding in from the drones.
『Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!!』
『No way, no way!?』
『This is bad!! There’s a Monster Link happening at a terrifying rate!!』
I looked around and saw exactly what they meant.
A pack of over thirty Special Variants.
A massive herd of Rock Lizards—giant lizards with rock-hard skin.
A pack of Crazy Boars charging with footsteps that echoed like an earthquake.
A massive swarm of Bloody Mantis that literally flew in, blotting out the sky.
A diverse variety of monsters were attacking one after another, drawn by the sounds of battle. And they were aiming only for us, ignoring each other entirely.
"You've got to be kidding... at this rate...!" I muttered in despair.
The total number of monsters had already reached nearly two hundred. About ten percent of them were special variants. And they weren't done coming. If we took too long to defeat them—no, even if we didn't—every monster in the vicinity would eventually congregate here once they noticed us.
Against such a massive number of monsters, then as expected...!
"At this rate... I won't be able to monopolize all the special variants...!"
In this chaos, I can't leave Hinata-san’s side. Even if I kill as many as possible with my Flying Blades, I’m bound to miss some! I have no choice but to give up on a total monopoly!
『Heeey!!』
『What are you even saying right now?!』
『Focus!!』
The viewers called me out, but I’m always serious.