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Tl: Sam

…

　After defeating the tentacle slime, we fell down the big hole.

　We occasionally passed some slimes wriggling on the wall, but none seemed to be attacking us. Since this dungeon had just been created, there were probably not many strong slimes that could react to our high-speed fall.

　But we must be on our guard.

　Most singular dungeons have bad monsters.

　We’d better not let our guard down until we destroy the dungeon and escape.

“……”

　Rin’s expression hardens as she fell.

　I’m sure she was simply nervous, but I doubt that’s the only reason.

　Rin has lost her family because of a unique dungeon.

　The monsters that overflowed from the Imperial Palace dungeon destroyed the city she lived in and killed the family she lived with in front of her eyes.

　She herself almost fell victim to their venom, but thanks to Amatsuki, who managed to rush to the scene, she survived.

　Rin followed Amatsuki’s back and joined the Subjugation Division. Rin joined the Subjugation Division to ensure that there would never again be another orphaned child like herself.

　That’s why the thought that went into this dungeon must have been different from the norm.

I hope she is not overwhelmed…… but it is not something that can be so easily dismissed. I have to make sure I’m following through.

　The concentration of magic essence in the surroundings suddenly increased dramatically.

　The depth of the dungeon is supposed to be about the middle level, but this concentration of magic essence is in the deep level. The dungeon has not been built that deep yet, so the concentration is so high at such a shallow level.

　When I looked at Rin, she looked a little pained. She is probably not used to it since she rarely goes to the deeper levels. If we stay here too long, we might get magic essence intoxication.

“Are you okay?”

“…… yes. No problem.”

　She answered yes, but there seems to be a problem at all. Good grief, she’s a stubborn one.

“…… and we’re at the bottom. Let’s get ready to land.”

“Yes, I’m ready.”

　Rin replied to my call, thrusting two swords into the wall and slowing down.

　I also plunged one hand into the wall and slowed down while grinding the wall vertically.

“Oop”

　We slowed down safely, and after a long fall, we landed on the ground.

　It was a wide, semi-circular space. It was large enough to fit a large dragon. The whole place was slightly dark, and the concentration of magic essence was so high that it was hard to breathe.

　An explorer who is active in the middle level wouldn’t last more than a few minutes.

「Wow, I’ve never seen the deepest part of a dungeon before.」

「And it’s a newborn dungeon. The government’s hardly ever seen anything like it.」

「It looks like it’s got a lot of academic value.」

「But there’s nothing there.」

「You think it’ll be easy to get back?」

「What, we’re done here? I’m going to take a shit and go to bed.」

「I heard there is a boss at the bottom of the dungeon, but it doesn’t look like there is one.」

「In the first place, the lowest level is rarely visited. Maybe they’re lying to keep people from going to the lowest level?」

「That’s true. If they go to the lowest level, there is a possibility that the dungeon will be destroyed, and the government doesn’t want them to go there.」

「But I’m sure the dungeon wouldn’t want it destroyed, so I’m sure it would do something about it.」

　While the comments were heated, Rin and I continued on our way, keeping a wary eye on our surroundings.

　No sign of life. I’m not sure if the slimes have made it this far, either.

“Sensei, that’s …….”

“Ah, you found it.”

　After a short walk, we found an object floating in the center of the space.

　It was a sphere the size of a marble. It was black in color, glowing with a mysterious light, and moving up and down faintly.

　It looked quite small, but the energy it emitted was quite high. It was as if I was facing the dungeon itself.

“Are you sure that’s the dungeon core?”

“I’m sure it is. It is much smaller than I imagined, but I am sure of it.”

　The heart of the dungeon, that is, the 『dungeon core』.

　Some are small, like this one, while others are quite large. Some of them are said to be in the shape of monsters or human beings.

　The dungeon core is said to be located at the deepest point of every dungeon, and if it is broken, the dungeon disappears completely.

　Since it is nearly impossible to physically destroy a huge dungeon, the only way to destroy a dungeon is to destroy its core.

“Now is the right time, when there are no monsters. We will go right ahead and destroy the core. ……!”

　Rin readied her two daggers and rushed out.

　It’s dangerous to let her go alone. Just as I was about to follow her, something unusual happened to the dungeon core.

　A “gopo” sound of uncomfortable water was heard, and the dungeon core began to move. With an unpleasant sound of water, a black liquid dripped from the core.

　In an instant, the liquid enveloped the core, which then increased in volume and quickly expanded to a size of about five meters.

　Rin saw this and exclaimed, braking suddenly to a halt.

「What the hell is this?　A slime!?」

「It’s too big, isn’t it ……?」

「I knew it was dangerous.」

「What is this!?　Is it black slime!?」

「No, black slimes don’t get this big!」

「I’m a monster geek, but I’ve never seen anything like this!」

「Its body looks like heavy oil and it’s sticky and gross.」

「The image alone is so alien to me.」

　I had never seen a monster like this before either.

　At first glance it looked like a higher species of slime, but …… it was clearly different. The amount of energy it contained was one of the highest I’ve ever seen in a monster. It was stronger than a Tyrant Dragon.

Looking at it, Rin pointed one of the devices that the first subjugation division carry at the monster.

　That device is a machine that can measure the concentration of magic essence,” he said. I have heard that it could measure the monster’s magic essence and bring back information about the monster from a database.

　I’d like to ask Mr. Dojima if I can get one next time, since it would be very useful.

“Tch……!　This monster is not a Black Slime!”

　Rin exclaimed as she looked at the device, wondering if the data was successfully read.

　The deep despair on her face was evident. It seemed we were up against something pretty bad.

“The name of this monster is 『Shoggoth』…… a rank EX disaster level monster.　There is no record of defeating it,……, and you are obliged to retreat immediately upon encountering it,……!”

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