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Tl: Sam

…

　EX rank monster, Shoggoth.

　I have heard of this monster. I believe there have been only two reports of its appearance, and they are very rare.

　The first time was on the west coast of the United States.
　It suddenly appeared on the ground from inside a dungeon, swallowing buildings, plants, animals, and people, and quickly grew to the size of a 20-story building.

　Naturally, the U.S. government launched a campaign to defeat Shoggoth using modern weapons and the power of S-rank explorers.

　However, the results were …… disastrous.

　Of the 15 S-rank explorers who took on the task, eight were killed. Five were seriously injured.

　Modern weapons could not even stop them, and even magic essence bombs, the use of which is prohibited by treaty, could not damage Shoggoth.

　Having repelled all the U.S. attacks, Shoggoth destroyed three cities in one week, killing millions of people.

　And then, after all the destruction at its will, it returned to the dungeon as if satisfied with itself …….

　The U.S. government immediately closed the entrance to the dungeon. The entrance to the dungeon is said to be tightly closed to this day.

　The second appearance was in southern India.

　Once again, the black monster emerged from the dungeon onto the ground and swallowed several towns as it moved straight south.

　The shoggoth did not care how much the Indian government attacked it, but just kept going straight ahead.

　When it reached the sea, Shoggoth is said to have slowly disappeared into the Indian Ocean.

　In both of these cases, humans have not been able to defeat or even damage shoggoths.

　That means we have very little information. What we do know is that its body melts anything it touches. It is resistant to all attacks.

　And …… that it is extremely belligerent.

『Tekeli-li』

　 At the sound of an unpleasant voice, three eyeballs appeared on Shoggoth’s body and stared at us.

　They were about the size of a human head. I didn’t feel any hostility yet, but I had a bad feeling about it. It felt as if it could see right through us to our hearts. ……

“Shoggoth must have had a mind polluting effect. Be careful.”

“Yes,……, I understand.”

　Rin replied with a steely look in her eyes.

　I’m fine with this, but Rin seemed to be in a lot of pain.

「Shoggoth is for real!　I’ll check SAN.」(Tl: DND/Chutulu mythos Reference, Sanity stat)

「This guy is that monster that went on a rampage in America!　Why the hell is there such a thing!」

「Eh, this is seriously bad. If this thing gets on the ground, it will seriously destroy Tokyo.」

「I’ve seen footage of it, and no matter how many bombs I launched at it, it didn’t even seem intimidated, and even S-rank explorers couldn’t stand up to it at all.」

「Why is there such a thing ……?」

「As expected, even Shachiken can’t defeat this one. Please run away as soon as possible.」

「I don’t know… they say it has a mental pollution effect, but are we going to be okay?」

「Sanity level is being cut down…」

「The D-tube has a mental protection filter on it, so we’re fine. It’s just that the sound and images are subtly processed.」

「Huh, I didn’t know that. Well, it looks creepy and it makes me sick in general.」

「Why is there a creature from the Cthulhu Mythos? He’s a fictional being, right?」

「If you say so, then dragons are also fictional.」

「I heard that kids these days think that dungeon dragons are the source of creative dragons.」

「Lmao.」

　I was a little worried, but it seemed that the viewer’s spirit was safe.

　Still, what the viewers were saying bothered me, too.

　Why are the monsters in the dungeon the ones we originally knew?　Dragons, orcs, goblins, etc. They are beings that have been rubbed to death in creation.

　Everyone must have wondered about them right after dungeons were created, but after a decade, everyone has accepted them as a matter of fact. Maybe we should seriously think about it once and for all.

『Tekeli-li』

　While I was thinking about this, Shoggoth sprouted tentacles from his body and stretched them out toward us with great vigor.

　Rin and I quickly evaded it and moved out of the way.

　The dungeon core is inside his body ……. No, from the looks of it, the dungeon core might be his main body. In other words, the dungeon cannot be destroyed without defeating this thing.

“I see. Then we have no choice but to fight. ……!”

　Rin made a determined expression, and then filled her hand with magic essence.

“Launch・thunderbolt！！”

　With a roar, Rin’s hand was filled with magic element.　With a roar, a huge bolt of lightning shot out from Rin’s hand.

　The lightning bolt headed straight for Shoggoth, crashing into it with an explosive sound.

　The dungeon shook faintly with the force of the bolt.

　What power! Her magic had improved a lot while we had not met.

「Rin, you’re amazing!」

「Did you do it?」

「Did you do it?」

「Did you do it?」

「They won. I’m gonna take a shit and go to bed.」

「Did you do it?」

「Don’t raise the flag.」(Tl: And raised it was)

　The magic Rin unleashed was brilliant.

　But …… Shoggoth was completely unharmed. Its iridescent body repelled any lightning without passing through it.

“That’s ridiculous,……, for a slime species, lightning should be effective,……!”

『Teke—-li!』

　The tentacles attacked the bewildered Rin.

　The tentacles were fast, but their movements were monotonous. Rin evaded the attack and slashed at it with the dagger in her hand.

　But to her surprise, the dagger that touched Shoggoth’s body instantly melted away. I’ve never heard of an “acid” strong enough to melt even dungeon weapons.

　The EX rank is no joke.

“Oh no, ……!”

『Tekeli-li』

　Shoggoth was getting bigger and bigger, and it was slowly coming toward us.

　The hole that we came in has already been blocked by his body. There was no escape.

　I’m sure he’s going to run us into the wall and melt us down.

“So this is it,……?”

　Rin’s face was clouded with despair.

　Since neither weapons nor magic worked, it was no wonder that she was despairing.

　Perhaps sensing her frustration, Shoggoth thrusts his tentacle at Rin with great vigor.

　Rin, who had been crouched down, was delayed for a moment in her reaction.

　If I didn’t do something, Rin would be hit. I kicked the ground and stepped in between Rin and Shoggoth.

“Sensei, it’s dangerous！”

　Rin shouted, but I paid no heed and faced Shoggoth’s tentacles coming toward me.

　I grabbed the sharply pointed tentacle with my bare hand.

“Hoo, to!”

　I caught it safely and held it tightly.

　The strong acidity made my skin tingle, but it was bearable.

“…… sensei?　Are you all right?”

“I feel a little tingling, but I can handle this much.”

「【Good news】 Shachien’s skin is harder than a sword.」

「Why is he catching it normally (awe)?」

「Didn’t that sword melt just now?」

「【Accomplishment】 Shoggoth-kun, you make Shachiken tingle.」

「Shoggoth-kun, you did it!」

「He’s a great guy.」

「Why is this a trend of praising Shoggoth-kun? ……」

「Shoggoth-kun’s eyes, aren’t they getting impatient?　He’s so cute.」 (Tl: LMAO. Immediately they’re sure it’s safe, they immediately start memeing)

　Shoggoth’s tentacle squirmed in my hand.

　I pulled it closer to my body.

“Well, let’s get to know a few things before we take it down.”

“Hee?”

　With Rin tilting her head in confusion, I grabbed the tentacle and …… bit into it and ate it.

“Yeah,……, it doesn’t taste good.”

　I chewed it in my mouth, and then swallowed it.

　It tasted like rancid oil. It is bitter, oily, and not very tasty. The only thing I don’t dislike so much is the slurping sensation.

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