Chapter 38: Names
The question had followed Tanaka for days.
Not because anyone had asked it.
Because no one had.
He walked through the town as the morning sun cast long golden shadows across the stone paths, painting the growing settlement in the warm colors of dawn. The air was filled with the sounds of a community slowly coming to life.
Slimes bounced past carrying baskets of herbs, their small bodies wobbling with every movement as they hurried toward the storage buildings.
Goblins worked together on the roof of a newly constructed warehouse, passing wooden planks from one to another while shouting instructions.
Rabbits moved through the cultivated fields, carefully harvesting mushrooms and placing them into woven baskets.
Wolves returned from their dawn patrol, their paws dusty from traveling through the outer forest.
Everywhere Tanaka looked, there was movement.
Life.
Growth.
A strange sense of belonging that still sometimes surprised him.
And everywhere he went, he heard the same thing through the telepathic network.
"Alpha, the eastern patrol is complete."
"Little one, don’t wander too far."
"Elder, we need more timber."
"Builder, bring another stone."
Titles.
Descriptions.
Roles.
But never...
Names.
Tanaka stopped walking.
His body remained still as the rest of the town continued moving around him.
A slime bounced past.
A goblin hurried toward the warehouse.
Two rabbits carried a basket between them.
Nobody paid any particular attention to him.
After all, this was normal.
This was simply how they had always addressed one another.
Yet, for the first time, Tanaka truly noticed it.
Only then did he realize something.
He was the only one here who had once possessed a true name.
On Earth, he had been Tanaka Morima.
That name had belonged to him from birth.
It had been written on documents.
Spoken by his family.
Called out by teachers.
Used by friends.
It had been an ordinary part of his life, something so natural that he had never once stopped to wonder what it meant.
Here...
Even after evolving.
Even after becoming something far beyond the weak slime he had once been.
Even after building a settlement and gathering an entire community around him...
His Soul Record still displayed:
Name: None
Tanaka stared blankly ahead.
He had never questioned it before.
Now it bothered him.
That afternoon, he sat beneath the Crystal Tree, quietly observing the townsfolk.
The massive tree stood above him, its crystalline leaves shimmering gently whenever the breeze passed through them. Reflected sunlight danced across the ground, creating fragments of light that moved over Tanaka’s body.
The little slime bounced into his lap.
Boing.
Tanaka looked down.
"You really do follow me everywhere."
The tiny slime answered with another cheerful bounce.
Tanaka couldn’t help but laugh.
It was impossible to stay serious around this little fellow for too long.
"I wish I could call you something."
The little slime tilted slightly.
As if it understood.
Tanaka stared at it.
For a moment, his mind wandered.
A name.
Something simple.
Something that belonged only to this little slime.
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
"Maybe I’ll just call you..."
The instant the thought formed...
The Dungeon Core pulsed.
A powerful wave of mana spread through the town.
Tanaka’s eyes widened.
His own Magic Core trembled violently.
The air seemed to become heavy for a single moment.
The Crystal Tree’s branches shook.
Across the settlement, monsters froze in place.
Then...
Everything became still again.
"..."
Tanaka stared at the Dungeon Core.
"What was that?"
The little slime looked equally confused.
Neither of them understood what had just happened.
Across the town, dozens of monsters had stopped whatever they were doing.
The Alpha Wolf had lifted its head.
The rabbits had frozen in the middle of their work.
The goblins on the warehouse roof had stopped moving.
Even the creatures returning from patrol had turned toward the Crystal Tree.
The pulse had been real.
Tanaka slowly frowned.
"Something almost happened."
That evening, he decided to investigate.
Inside the chamber containing the Dungeon Core, shimmering blue light illuminated the stone walls.
The enormous crystal rested in the center of the room, quietly radiating its immense power.
Tanaka approached it.
He still couldn’t forget what had happened beneath the Crystal Tree.
Whatever he had almost done...
The Dungeon Core had reacted to it.
Tanaka placed a hand against the crystal.
Immediately, information flooded into his mind.
Not words.
Instinct.
Understanding.
A feeling that somehow carried meaning without needing to be spoken.
Tanaka closed his eyes.
"So that’s it..."
Names.
Names were more than labels.
They were power.
A monster could not simply decide to give another monster a name.
A true name required enough magical energy to permanently alter the soul of another being.
It wasn’t something that could be done casually.
It was a profound act.
The stronger the monster receiving the name...
The greater the cost.
Tanaka stepped backward.
His expression slowly changed.
"No wonder..."
Even powerful monsters rarely named others.
Doing so consumed enormous amounts of mana.
In some cases...
It could even weaken the one giving the name.
Tanaka’s thoughts immediately returned to the moment beneath the Crystal Tree.
He had nearly done it.
Accidentally.
He hadn’t even understood what was happening.
If the Dungeon Core hadn’t stabilized his mana...
He might have collapsed.
The thought alone made him uneasy.
"So that’s why everyone is nameless..."
The realization sent a chill through him.
Names weren’t common.
They weren’t simple words that could be handed out whenever someone felt like it.
They were sacred.
A name represented power.
Acknowledgment.
A connection between the one who gave it and the one who received it.
Tanaka stared silently at the Dungeon Core.
Now he understood.
That knowledge spread quickly through the telepathic network.
Not intentionally.
Tanaka hadn’t tried to tell anyone.
But the monsters sensed his emotions.
Curiosity.
Wonder.
And a little disappointment.
The Alpha arrived first.
The large wolf approached beneath the Crystal Tree and looked toward Tanaka.
"Something troubles you."
Tanaka nodded.
"I wanted to give everyone names."
The wolves exchanged glances.
The rabbit elder listened quietly.
The goblin leaders remained silent.
Finally, the Alpha spoke.
"Why?"
Tanaka hesitated.
"Because..."
He looked around the settlement.
At the creatures he had gathered.
At the lives they had created.
He smiled awkwardly.
"It feels wrong calling everyone by titles."
The Alpha considered this.
His gaze moved toward the town.
The wolves.
The rabbits.
The goblins.
The slimes.
Everyone had their place.
Everyone knew who they were.
Slowly, the Alpha shook his head.
"A title is enough."
"I lead the wolves."
"The rabbits lead their people."
"The goblins know one another."
"A name would be an honor..."
"Not a necessity."
The rabbit elder agreed.
"One day, perhaps."
"Not today."
The thought remained with him.
Names were power.
Names were acknowledgment.
Names were something that could change the destiny of the one who received them.
"So that’s another goal."
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
But someday...
He wanted enough power to freely name those precious to him.
Life within the town continued growing.
The refugee goblins expanded the Craft Quarter again, adding more buildings and workspaces as their population continued to settle into their new home.
The rabbits cultivated new medicinal flowers discovered deeper within the forest, carefully tending to them and studying their properties.
The wolves extended their patrol routes farther than ever before, ensuring that the settlement remained safe while becoming increasingly familiar with the surrounding territory.
Several moss turtles had even begun carrying heavy supplies between districts, turning themselves into slow but dependable transport.
They moved at a pace that could hardly be called fast.
But they never complained.
Everything felt...
Peaceful.
Perhaps too peaceful.
That night, Tanaka stood alone beside the Crystal Tree.
The little slime rested quietly beside him.
The town had fallen asleep.
The voices of the telepathic network had grown quiet.
For once, there was no report.
No request.
No emergency.
Only silence.
Tanaka looked up at the stars.
"When I first came here..."
"I only wanted to survive."
The little slime bounced softly.
Tanaka smiled faintly.
He remembered the beginning.
The fear.
The weakness.
The loneliness.
Back then, survival had been everything.
Nothing else mattered.
But things had changed.
"Now..."
He looked toward the sleeping town.
"I want everyone to survive."
The little slime remained beside him.
Slimes.
Wolves.
Rabbits.
Goblins.
Every one of them trusted him.
They had built something together.
A place they could call home.
One day...
He would give them names worthy of the lives they had built together.