Musou Slime 11

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11. Reunion With Dan

"Whaaaaat!? Did you bring this much goblin hide!?"

At the guild reception, Sierra-san shouted loudly. I hurriedly put my index finger to my lips.

"Sierra-san, please don't shout! It's troublesome if we attract attention!"

"You're cautious about Dan, aren't you, Ar? Brutal Edge won't be back until tomorrow, so it's fine. Anyway, what happened with this!?"

Sierra-san opened the mouth of a pouch and showed it to me. It was filled with an overwhelming amount of goblin hides.

Well, it's definitely surprising. I was surprised when I first found them too. 85 goblin hides.

"It's definitely strange! Ar, you've clearly changed too much recently!"

I'm aware of that myself. Since discovering the hidden ability of <Slime>, my growth has been abnormal.

In just two days, my level went from 4 to 11. It's a level that is definitely unheard of for an ordinary adventurer. I might have accidentally set a speed record.

"Well, it's a good thing. So I'm happy too. Anyway, I'll exchange these for money now."

Sierra-san closed the mouth of the pouch and went to the back room with a bag stuffed with goblin hides.

Now, I wonder how much today's reward will be. It's definitely going to be higher than yesterday. I'm looking forward to what to eat from now on.

"...Arx, huh?"

At that moment, an unpleasant voice was behind me. I recognize it. Could it be—

"Dan?"

Indeed, the voice belonged to Dan. He's glaring at me as if a bird of prey is targeting its prey. Behind him is a female party member. Perhaps they just returned from a quest?

"But quests are supposed to be back tomorrow—"

"Why the hell do you know about my quest? Stalker?"

Uh-oh, I might have said something unnecessary.

But Sierra-san's information that they would return tomorrow seems to be accurate. Did something happen?

"Hey, why are you still doing adventurer work, you slime bastard?"

Here it comes. Dan ridicules me with a nasty laugh.

Dan, coming from a noble family, has a neat appearance and a well-defined face. But when he laughs, his mouth distorts horribly. It's always like this when he's making fun of someone.

"I told you, a weakling like you can't handle being an adventurer. Are you catching rats in the sewers or something?"

Dan and the women behind him burst into laughter.

Only one girl is looking at me with a cold gaze. She's the new girl who replaced me. I think her name is Lize.

Anyway, even though it's the usual provocation, it feels unusually infuriating today.

It's because I've become stronger. I know best that I've become stronger. Being ridiculed like this hurts my pride.

"Say something, slime bastard!"

"...I can definitely handle being an adventurer."

I retorted for the first time. I would usually ignore it, but being made fun of still irritates me.

"What's with you, answering me back, you weakling? Don't get carried away!!"

Dan clenched his fist and swung it down with all his might.

I would have been knocked down with one blow, but today I'm different. My level is 11!!

I can see punches that were invisible before. My body can react.

This might work!

"What!?"

Dan's expression contorted. It seems he didn't expect me to move so fast.

"Take this!"

I clenched my fist, gathered energy, and jumped at Dan. I'll hit him with a right straight!

But then, Dan's right arm moved unnaturally, and something appeared in front of him.

It was one of Brutal Edge's female party members.

That jerk Dan, did he use his comrades as a shield?

"You fool! You're naive!!"

The moment I stopped my attack, Dan pushed the woman aside and landed a right straight on my face.

My vision shook. Intense pain. With a sensation as if the world were turning upside down, I fell to the ground.

"...Dirty move."

"Serves you right! This is what happens when you go against me! Crawling on the ground suits a weakling like you!"

I could hear Dan and his entourage laughing. Oh well, I lost.

Should I use the <Slime>'s ability to split into 16 slimes? No, even if I do that, I'll just get crushed by Dan. It's not goblins this time, hitting him multiple times won't make a difference.

I thought I had become strong, but I was just fooling myself. The effect of <Slime> was only making it easier to gain experience.

Unless I, the main body, become stronger, I can't beat Dan. Why didn't I realize such a simple thing?

...My head feels fuzzy. It's similar to the feeling when I release too many slimes.

Am I going to lose consciousness, just from one punch? Again, am I going to lose?

I need to become stronger. I can't afford to be satisfied yet—.