Inside the dungeon society in the city of Cyclo.
　I was ushered into the parlor, and Clint thanked me profusely.

'Thank you!　Thank you, Sato!　I didn't think he could really pull it off.
You didn't trust me.
'Don't be offended. I was grasping at straws, after all, the death of the dungeon had never been avoided before. It has always been common knowledge that once the blood starts raining down, it's all over.
Okay.
'Not only that, I've not only stopped the rain of blood, but I've also increased the number of monsters in the dungeon. This will increase the amount of production from Arsenic. It will also increase tax revenue. All thanks to Satou.
I'm just doing what they asked me to do.
'Still, thank you. Yes, it will be a modest percentage, but I've decided that the next time I see a portion of Arsenic's tax revenue, it will be for Sato's share.
Are you sure?
'Of course, if it weren't for Satou, Arsenic itself would be gone. Let me at least do this.
Then I'll take that as a compliment.

　Now, after Aulum, Arsenic will get a share of the tax money from Arsenic as well.
　I'm glad to see the unearned income.

"And a small amount of sugar for a year...
I respectfully decline to do so.

　I immediately refused a year's worth of sugar, which I was not happy to receive, because I felt like eating it.

　　　　　☆

　Night, Villa Diechee.
　I was having a launch party with four of my friends.

　We ordered a different beer of the day and made a toast.
　The beer was so good that it was so good that it was absorbed into all of our organs.

It's a good thing that you're able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
'The rare monster drop was a blind spot.
'Hey, Lyota, what kind of person is a spirit?　Pretty like everyone else?

　Alice said, and placed three of her fellow monsters on the table from her shoulders.
　A slime, a skeleton, and a little demon.
　The three bodies ran adorably around the table.

'No, not at all. They were little old men, not so cute.'
That's right: ......
'You don't have to be pretty to be pretty, but you can be pretty in low-level #2.'
I'm number two!
'I know, Alice's companionship makes her so much prettier than her original form.

　The drinks are in, and my friends have smoothed out their mouths.
　Eve, who usually seemed quiet, was smiling good-naturedly as she ate only carrots from the vegetable sticks she was snacking on.

But that solves one mystery. I've always wondered why Absolute Rock never dropped any items.
'Come to think of it, you haven't dropped it in terms of items.

　Celeste's words remind me.
　After defeating Absolute Rock, the stairs appeared.
　As for the treatment, that staircase is a drop item. It's a drop item that only I, as a drop S, can make drop 100% of the time.

'Does Absolute Rock have an original drop?
I have it. It's not much use, but it's a nice little item.
What's it all about?
Rabbit, why do you have it?

　Eve, who was nibbling on a carrot stick, pulled a small rock from the valley of the bunny suit.
　The pebble on the table looked nondescript, like a stone picked up on the side of the road.

'What's this?'
Emily.
Yes?

　Celeste overhears Emily wondering.

'Yes, sir,'
Then go to ......

　After Emily nodded, Celeste took the stone in her hand and kissed it, chuffed it as it was.
　In the next moment, Celeste's body gradually turned to stone.
　In less than three seconds, she became like a stone statue - or rather the stone statue itself.

'What do you mean--'

　Boom!

　Faster than I could hear, Emily slammed the hammer on the side to Celeste.
　Emily's real, force A Emily hammer.
　A blow so shocking that the cups and plates on the table were collectively lifted into the air.
　But Celeste was unharmed.
　Even after taking a decent hit from Emily's blow, which shattered Arsenic's rock with almost a single blow, Celeste was still completely unharmed.

'What do you mean?'
"The stuff that makes you as tough as that rock.
That rock is ...... absolute rock?
Yes.
Awesome, that's just invincible.
Not really. I can't move while I'm a rock. You can't do anything.
What's that?
That doesn't really do much good, does it?
Yeah. So it's an absolute defense and these are only 98,000 piro each.
Hey!
Cheap: ......

　I'm well aware of the hardness of Absolute Rock, it's an absolute classic.
　100,000 piro for the same hardness is not even close to cheap.
　Well, what can you do if you can't do anything but get hard?

　After a while, Celeste returned to normal and the stone was placed on the table again.

'So that's why.'
I see. This is not going to work.

　I chuckle and take a swig of my beer and order a new one.
　The alcohol is spinning and my head is spinning.
　There's something, a vision that seems to come to me, but it's hard to get it out.

　Well, I guess it's not a big deal: .......

'At least I could use it to run away if only I could move.
While I'm getting tough, I'm getting light-headed.
Would it be crunchier if I made the carrots tougher?
I want to make my hammer harder, maybe even better.
......

　Stay stiff and move?
　Stay hard, stay hard .......

'Ahhhh!'

　Pan!　He stands up, putting his hand on the table to tap it.

'Yo, Yoda?　What's going on?
I might be able to move!
「「「「 What? 」」」」

　　　　　★

　The outskirts of the city of Cyclo, the usual place.
　I put down the stone and then distanced myself from it.

　My friends greeted me when I returned, no words, but there was a certain anticipation in all of their eyes.
　We all know what I'm trying to do, we all know what I'm trying to do, we all know it from what we've been through.

　And they know what I'm trying to do.
　So there's a glint of anticipation in my eyes.

　Wait, wait, wait, wait. The stone has hatched into a haggler.
　The rare monster that resides on Arsenic's 30th floor, Absolute Rock.

Repetition.

　A monster that has been defeated, blasting the strongest roundabout magic from a full MP.
　The Absolute Rock with the strongest defense was defeated and dropped another stone piece.

　The same stone as before, the same as it looks.

　I picked it up and used it.
　My body becomes harder and harder as I look at it, turning into stone.

What do you think, Yoda?

　Emily listens, and the other three stare at me with bated breath.
　I was moving, jumping, twirling around.
　Finally, I struck a heroic pose.

I think I can move.
「「「「 oh my! 」」」」
Emily, I want you to beat the shit out of me.
Yes, sir!

　Emily swung the hammer around and pounced on me.
　The hammer swung down, right before I moved and dared to stick my ass out.
　Emily's hammer smacked my ass.

　The shockwave diffuses around us even more than it did in the store. It seems that Emily in the store was holding back.
　It's a tame blow, but it didn't work at all for me, who turned to stone.
　There's just enough room for me to be scared and shake my ass in a plump manner.

'It's amazing,'
'I knew this was going to happen, when Lyota-san re-drops it.
'These are great. It's cheap and everyone should have one.
Agreed. We'll make it standard equipment for the family.

　My friends in a big hurry.
　We had a new, powerful piece of equipment.