Chapter 33: A Voice at Last
Silence lasted exactly three seconds.
Then the village exploded.
"Wolves! Wolves!"
The cry did not come through words.
It came through panic.
Thought Communication erupted into chaos as dozens of frightened emotions flooded the network at once.
Human!
Enemy!
Protect the Core!
The Great One is gone!
The patrol wolves reacted first.
The Alpha released a sharp howl.
Within moments, wolves poured into the clearing from every direction, surrounding the stone where Tanaka stood.
Their teeth were bared.
Their ears flattened.
Not because they wanted to attack.
Because they were ready to die protecting the village.
The slimes were next.
Veteran slimes bounced into defensive positions around the Dungeon Core while younger slimes hurried the smallest members toward the cave.
The rabbits immediately began evacuating the herb gardens, carrying baskets and children alike into underground shelters.
The goblins grabbed crude spears.
Even the Moss Turtles slowly moved in front of the cave entrance, forming living walls with their heavy shells.
The entire territory reacted within seconds.
Tanaka blinked.
"Right."
He had forgotten one tiny detail.
He looked human.
To everyone else...
The Great One had vanished.
And a human had appeared exactly where he had been.
"This is awkward."
The Alpha Wolf growled deeply.
It had not charged.
Yet.
Its instincts screamed that this stranger was dangerous.
The human carried overwhelming mana.
Enough to make every hair on its body stand.
The other wolves spread into formation.
Tanaka couldn’t help smiling.
Good.
They hadn’t hesitated.
They were protecting home.
Exactly as they had been trained.
But...
He couldn’t leave things like this.
He opened Thought Communication.
The familiar network spread across the territory.
Every connected mind became clear.
Every heartbeat.
Every emotion.
Every frightened thought.
Then he spoke.
Everyone... calm down.
The effect was immediate.
Every monster froze.
The wolves stopped mid-step.
The rabbits looked around in confusion.
The goblins lowered their weapons slightly.
The slimes bounced once in surprise.
That voice...
They all knew it.
Great One...?
The thought came from dozens of minds simultaneously.
Tanaka chuckled.
Yes.
It’s me.
Silence.
Complete silence.
No one moved.
No one even seemed capable of moving.
The network itself felt stunned.
Then...
One tiny blue blur shot across the clearing.
The little slime.
It ignored every warning.
Ignored every wolf trying to stop it.
Ignored every goblin shouting through the mental network.
It bounced directly toward the strange human.
Higher.
Higher.
Higher.
Tanaka instinctively crouched.
The little slime landed squarely against his chest.
Boing.
The impact wasn’t strong.
But the meaning behind it was.
Recognition.
Absolute certainty.
It rubbed itself against him exactly as it always had.
Then bounced happily in circles around his feet.
"Great One!"
The excitement flooding through the network was almost overwhelming.
Tanaka laughed.
"I suppose you figured it out first."
The little slime bounced even harder.
The Alpha Wolf stared.
Then slowly approached.
It circled Tanaka once.
Twice.
Its nose twitched.
The scent...
Wrong.
The body...
Wrong.
But...
The mana.
The soul.
The presence.
Nothing had changed.
The wolf slowly lowered its head.
One by one...
The other wolves copied the gesture.
The rabbits emerged carefully from hiding.
The goblins lowered their spears.
The slimes stopped preparing for battle.
The village relaxed.
Not completely.
But enough.
Tanaka smiled.
"Sorry for frightening everyone."
Every monster stared.
Not through telepathy.
With their own eyes.
He had spoken.
Actually spoken.
The sound echoed through the clearing.
Warm.
Natural.
Real.
The younger monsters tilted their heads.
Several slimes bounced in little circles.
The rabbits twitched their ears repeatedly as though trying to understand how thoughts had become sound.
A young goblin whispered aloud,
"He talks."
Another goblin immediately smacked him.
"Of course he talks!"
"No... I mean..."
The young goblin pointed.
"Out loud."
The realization spread through the crowd.
The Great One had always communicated directly into their minds.
This...
This was different.
Tanaka looked down at his own hands.
Then touched his throat.
"So this..."
He swallowed.
"...is a voice."
He spoke again.
The words felt strange.
His tongue moved automatically.
His lips shaped sounds he hadn’t made since dying.
It was almost nostalgic.
"I’d forgotten how difficult speaking actually is."
The little slime tilted slightly.
Tanaka smiled.
Then, for fun, he knelt beside it.
"Can you understand me?"
The little slime bounced happily.
"Boing!"
"I’ll take that as a yes."
Several wolves wagged their tails.
The rabbits relaxed completely.
The goblins even laughed.
For the first time since the transformation, the atmosphere became light again.
Then Tanaka tried walking.
One step.
Perfect.
Second step.
Good.
Third...
His foot caught on a loose stone.
He stumbled forward.
"Wha..."
Before he hit the ground, the little slime instinctively bounced underneath him.
Boing!
Tanaka bounced slightly off the slime before landing on his knees instead of his face.
Silence.
Then...
The Alpha Wolf looked away.
Very deliberately.
A goblin snorted.
A rabbit covered its mouth.
The little slime looked incredibly proud of itself.
Tanaka sighed.
"Thank you."
The little slime puffed up proudly.
The entire clearing erupted into laughter.
Wolf chuffs.
Rabbit squeaks.
Goblin chuckles.
Happy bouncing from dozens of slimes.
Even Tanaka joined in.
The tension from moments before vanished completely.
After a while, the Alpha Wolf approached again.
This time without caution.
It lowered its head beside Tanaka.
Tanaka reached out instinctively.
His fingers paused just above the wolf’s fur.
His eyes widened.
Hands.
He had hands.
Slowly...
He placed one on the Alpha’s head.
The wolf stiffened.
Then relaxed.
Tanaka gently scratched behind one ear.
The Alpha’s tail gave one unwilling wag.
Several wolves immediately stared.
Their proud leader...
Was enjoying it.
The Alpha noticed.
Its ears flattened in embarrassment.
Tanaka couldn’t stop smiling.
"So that’s your weak point."
The tail wagged again.
Slightly harder.
The younger wolves began whining.
Now they wanted head pats too.
The rabbits found this deeply amusing.
The goblins outright laughed.
Within minutes, half the village had gathered around Tanaka.
As the sun climbed higher, Tanaka looked over the peaceful settlement.
One year ago, they had feared every sound outside their cave.
Now they laughed together beneath the open sky.
He breathed in deeply.
The forest smelled different through human senses.
Fresh earth.
Leaves.
Flowers.
Cooked mushrooms from the goblins’ morning meal.
Life.
Real life.
He smiled softly.
"I’ve finally found my voice."
The little slime bounced against his leg in agreement.
Some things, Tanaka realized, would never change.
And he was glad they wouldn’t.