I started by reporting our results to the elderly client. When I showed him the magic stones we’d collected, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. We had brought back over forty stones despite the quota being only five; it was no wonder he was stunned.
I also took the opportunity to ask him about the shiny gold slime, but he claimed he’d never seen anything like it. Given that an entity like that would be a major safety hazard, I figured the local farmers would have been warned if it were a common occurrence. His lack of knowledge was exactly what I’d expected.
With our business at the farm concluded, we headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to officially close out the request. Slime hunting had been a time-consuming affair, and by the time we arrived, it was just before noon. The guild hall was relatively empty at this hour, so we didn't have to wait long at the reception desk. Our turn came almost as soon as we stepped into line.
Buffy-san was the one behind the counter today. I gave her a concise summary of our successful extermination and then brought up the shiny gold slime.
"A golden slime on the First Floor... A Golden Slime, you say? That’s quite rare."
"I’m not so sure. There were several things about it that didn't quite fit the description of a Golden Slime."
As I described the strange barrier and the shadow arrow it had fired at me, Buffy-san’s brow furrowed in concern.
"A barrier is one thing, but magic that tracks a target... Even if it’s outside the city walls, civilians frequent those farmlands. We can’t just ignore a threat like that."
I felt the same way.
The slimes usually found on the First Floor had almost no dangerous offensive capabilities. That safety was exactly why people could work the fields in peace, but it also bred complacency. The city folk were so used to harmless slimes that they might not recognize the golden one as a threat if they stumbled upon it. If we left it alone, there was a high probability that someone would get hurt.
"What do you think that slime actually was, then? Does anything come to mind, Buffy-san?"
"Hmm. My first guess would still be a Golden Slime. Unique monsters with special abilities are discovered in the Aingurna Dungeon from time to time, though this would be the first time such an anomaly has appeared on the First Floor..."
"It’s definitely Godfee’s doing, nya! I’d bet my life on it, nya!"
While I was pressing for leads, Rache-san suddenly barged into the conversation. I wondered if she was actually keeping up with her paperwork, but her words were too startling to ignore. Godfee’s doing?
"Who is Godfee?" I asked.
"The Guild Master who skipped town, nya! He was a total madman, nya!"
"Rache-san, please don't say such reckless things! And more importantly, what happened to your work?" Buffy-san interjected.
"The city is in crisis, nya! This is no time for paperwork, nya! You can just handle the rest haphazardly, Buffy, nya!"
"Wh-what?! What do you mean 'haphazardly,' poco?! Besides, I only give you the absolute minimum amount of work because you hate it so much, poco! I’m the one picking up all your slack, poco!"
...Poco?
I assumed her beastfolk dialect had slipped out because she was agitated. I’d thought their accents were all the same since they were lumped together as "beastfolk" regardless of their ear shape, but it seemed the nuances varied by individual. It was certainly a... unique way of speaking.
Regardless, I couldn't just stand there listening to them bicker.
"Um... Could you start by telling me a bit more about this Godfee person?"
"Ah! My apologies!" Buffy-san straightened her uniform.
"Right, that’s more important, nya!"
Once the two of them calmed down enough to explain, a clearer picture of the man emerged. Godfee was Rache-san’s predecessor, a former Guild Master who had suddenly vanished. He had been an adventurer once, but he was a rarity in the field—a scholar who dedicated his time to researching dungeons. Even after taking a leadership role, he had supposedly been obsessed with studying the special individuals that appeared within Aingurna.
"That guy used to ramble about how monsters gain special powers when 'Dungeon Power' accumulates, nya. He even claimed you could artificially trigger those evolutions by forcibly injecting them with the stuff, nya! He was definitely a mad scientist type, nya."
Dungeon Power...?
I wondered if he was referring to Malice. Since Malice was the fundamental essence of dungeon monsters, I couldn't rule out the possibility that an overdose of it would cause abnormal growth.
In fact, I’d seen a prime example of that before: the Evil Dragon we’d fought in the Garond underground waterway. Thinking back, that must have been a special variant of a Blue Dragon. Its ice-based attacks were a signature of the species, and the loot it dropped was all blue dragon material. With all the evidence lined up, it seemed far too specific to be a coincidence.
But was it really possible to create such individuals intentionally? Did Rache-san believe Godfee had actually manufactured that golden slime? Just as I was about to ask, Buffy-san offered a counter-perspective.
"Please don't take her entirely at her word. The former Guild Master was simply trying to understand the mechanics behind how special individuals occur. He performed experiments toward that end, but he didn't have any nefarious goals. Rache-san is just looking for a reason to blame him so she has an excuse to go out and investigate herself."
"W-what are you talking about, nya?! I wouldn't dream of such a thing, nya!"
Rache-san’s eyes were darting everywhere. She was hilariously easy to read.
"Regardless, the city is in danger, nya! We have to act now, nya!"
"That doesn't mean you specifically need to go out, Rache-san."
"Oh, really, nya? Do we have any other high-rank adventurers available on short notice, nya? Even for these C-rank kids, that thing might be a bit too much to handle, nya."
"Well, that might be true, but..."
If the goal was a swift resolution, Rache-san’s logic was sound. Buffy-san didn't seem to have a strong enough rebuttal to stop her. In the end, she gave a reluctant sigh and conceded.
"Nyaha~! It’s been ages since I’ve done some real adventuring, nya! Alright, you lot—let’s move out, nya!"
Rache-san announced with a beaming smile.
So, it looked like we were going too. I didn't mind; I had my own questions about this situation that I wanted answered. And fortunately, Buffy-san was kind enough to process the expedition as a Nomination Request, ensuring we’d be properly compensated for our time.