Terdungeon, 19th basement floor.
　Based on the information Celeste gave me, I came here first.

　We'll be moving to the transporter room.
　All of Cyclo's dungeons are transferable thanks to Eve.
　I've only been here once before with Eve, but I can say this is the first time I've actually come here to do something.

　There's a lot of activity in this hierarchy of dungeon snow falling, a lot of adventurers are fighting monsters.
　I was prepared for this special hierarchy, but it was surprisingly normal-looking and a bit disappointing.

　A slime appeared in front of me.
　The newborn slime had eyes for me. I knew those eyes very well, the eyes that set me as the attack target.

　I pulled out my gun and was thinking, "I'm going to make a small check with a first strike first--" when the slime suddenly split apart.
　It became three slimes, three slimes, slimes that look exactly the same, with as*xual reproduction, which is common for this kind of demon.

　I pulled the trigger and shot out one of them just as a greeting.

　Pah!

　A popping sound echoes in my ears, and I'm shocked as if I've been hit in the face with a heavy blow.
　My eyes go blank in front of me, my vision flickers.

　As I quickly crossed my arms to guard myself, the next impact came.
　The feeling of something hitting me, like the body of a slime.

　This one didn't do much damage, my HP and strength SS did.
　Still, this isn't good, so I quickly used the Absolute Rock stone and entered invincibility mode.

　My vision slowly returned, I could see the slime I was supposed to have shot out of the air was back to three again.
　That slime moved back and forth, back and forth, left and right, violently. They switched positions as if they were shuffling.

　I intuitively knew what it was, I looked around in invincibility mode.

　Looking at the way the other adventurers were fighting, they were all facing the same splitting slime, but they were carefully choosing (,) and defeating it.

　When I hit one of the split slimes - there are three or five of them, or various numbers - the remaining one disappeared without a trace and dropped a round cabbage.

　All of the other adventurers defeated it normally, but I'm more and more convinced by the prudence that can be seen even from a distance.

　Only one of the splintered slime is correct, and I have to find it and defeat it.
　I loaded my tracking round and shot directly above the slime that had returned to the three that were aiming at me.
The tracking round took an arcing trajectory, twisting and turning and shooting through the slime to my left.
　The slime was knocked down and dropped the cabbage.

　I knew I had to hit the real thing.
　The invincibility mode was unlocked and I encountered the next slime.
　The slime still split up, and this time I shuffled it from the beginning.

'......'

　After the shuffle was over, three of the slimes came towards me at once.
　I shot out one of them with a normal round.

　The slime was easily defeated and dropped a cabbage.

　I could see why everyone around me was guessing.
　If I concentrated from the split, I wouldn't lose sight of which one was the real thing in the shuffle swap.
　It's a reasonably fast and tricky move, but it's not difficult enough to fool the adventurer.

　It's good training, though.
　Shuffling around at high speed and guessing the real thing is good training for my eyes, and I've decided to stay in here today.

　Meet the slime, wait for it to split, assess it, and shoot it.
　I went around the dungeon like I was strolling around pushing a magic cart and continued to take down the slime.

...... yeah?

　About the time the magic cart was once full and sent a full load of cabbages to the mansion, I realized something.
　I was skeptical, maybe - just maybe - it was the extent of it.
　To confirm this, I closed my eyes the next time the Encounter Slime started to split.

　I could hear the sound, the sound of the splitting slime moving around to shuffle.
　I open my eyes after I see that the sound has stopped.
　There were five slimes in front of me. Luckily (,) more splits.

　I stared at the five slimes that were coming towards me, my eyes fixed on them.

　Then, there was one that was different.
　What's the difference?
　It's almost like a hunch.

　As someone said, a hunch is an "instantaneous, integrated judgment based on the rule of thumb.
　Maybe that's what my experience of hiding in dungeons has led me to do.

　I used normal bullets to shoot one that looked somewhat different.
　There was no counterattack. The slime disappeared, leaving the cabbage behind.

　One shot wasn't enough to be certain. Let's try more.
　I decided to keep doing the same thing.

"Around.

　A normal bullet shoots through and a cabbage drops.

'Off'

　Immediately after being shot out, my eyes go blank and my mind goes dizzy with shock.

'Per.'

　After failing, I shot through the slime, which I couldn't figure out what it was, and dropped another cabbage.

　I checked it over and over again. And I guessed it all (,).
　I could somehow understand the real thing, and I clearly learned that "somehow" in my body.

　My chest was filled with a sense of accomplishment, having achieved the purpose of coming to this level.
　I should thank Celeste again when I return to the mansion.

　And when I thought that.

"Hmm?

　I noticed a man. I felt uncomfortable with the man.
　The clear feeling of discomfort was immediately apparent, the man was not pushing a magic cart, which is almost a must-have for adventurers.
　For that matter, he doesn't have any weapons or equipment.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.

　I'm not sure why they are sneaking around.
　I'm not sure why they are sneaking around and disappearing into the upper levels.

...... is suspicious.

　Something was fishy, it was fishy anyway.
　I know because I've seen adventurers behave well, especially in this world, and it's easy to understand the behavior of adventurers.

　The first priority is to get around safely, so their actions are naturally similar.
　The man from earlier was acting very differently from the adventurer.

　I thought for a moment about whether to chase him, and then went towards the direction the man had come from.

　It was a straight road, and a dead end.
　There were no other adventurers and no monsters.
　Just when I was about to turn back to see if there was anything .......

　I returned the kibisu and quickly turned around.
　I stared at the dead-end dungeon.

"What ......?

　I mumble.
　A sense of discomfort, something catches me, that kind of discomfort.

　There's nothing but a dead end, and yet you feel a vague sense of discomfort.
　If I had to choose, I'd say it's the air.
　I'm going to be able to say that the ...... I know very well is now a nostalgic atmosphere.

　I stare at it, it's still just a dead end.
　The scene is no different from the one behind me as I turn around.

　But it's a tricky one.

Something is there.

　Muttering further, so I'm more and more convinced.
　Here's something: ......

　　　　　☆

On behalf of the city of Cyclo, I'd like to thank ......

　The Dungeon Association's president's office, Cell, who was facing me, bowed deeply.
　I didn't know anything after that, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was up, and I left the dungeon and ran to Cell's place.

　I explained my story and asked him to look into it, and that's what happened.
　Between me and Cell, there was a stone on the table.

　It's just a stone, an ordinary stone for all intents and purposes.

'I sent someone to the spot Satou-sama mentioned to look for it, and this was found.
What's this?
"Dungeon Debris.
You mean trash?
No, it's called a drop item.
...... Mmm?

　I found myself wrinkling my brow.
　Drop items, the things that monsters drop.
　What it means is .......

'This is the dungeon master of a dungeon called Uranium, the one the Grand Eater drops.
Uranium ...... dungeon master ......
'The monster drops are basically three things: water, air, or something specific to the monster.
Yeah.
'The Grand Eater drops these stones, except for water and air. This itself is just a stone, no different from the pebbles lying around. All kinds of people have confirmed that it is just a stone. But ......
Still, drop items: ......

　Cell nodded gravely.

'Unlike the other pebbles, if you leave them where there are no humans, they will hatch into hagglers. The most annoying grand eater in every sense of the word. And once left unattended, they can be .......
...... no one can find it.
Hmm, they're all just pebbles, except for one thing: they're not very ugly.

　That's how I know.
　A drop hatches into a haggler. I know the air in that moment well.
　People in this world avoid doing it because they don't have to, but I have the opposite advantage, so much so that I got a mansion and a basement for the space to do it.

　I'm probably the person in this world who has seen the moment of hatching into a haggler more than any other.
　That's how I found out about these stones.

"Why are you doing this?
I think it was to kill the dungeon.
What?
"Grand Eaters, sometimes called by other names because of that characteristic.
Another name?
'Dungeon Eater. Normal dungeon masters will change the ecology of a dungeon if left unattended, but this guy will bite and destroy the dungeon itself. If you let this guy run rampant without any countermeasures, you'll be in for a ride.
The Death of the Dungeon: "......
The culprit is still out there, so I can only speculate, but Cyclo is taking a leap of faith these days, and there are more dungeons than ever before. Many of them may not think well of that.
Kill the dungeon and, if you like, let it be born to us ......?

　Cell nodded.
　That's how it happens .......

'But the heavens are on our side. As long as Satou-sama found this, it's already okay. The Grand Eater's human judgment range is wide, and it only hatches into a haglemono in situations where there is not a single human in the hierarchy. They probably set this up and tried to hatch when the tellurian dungeon master was out and no one was around.
I see.
'No adventurers will disappear from the dungeon when the Dungeon Master is not present. We'll let them search the other dungeons slowly and carefully.
All right, well, you know what to do.

　Instantly, my back was horrified.
　The moment I thought this was the end of the story, I was horrified.

'What's the matter, Master Sato?'
...... Not good!

　Realizing in an instant the source of the chill, I took off running.
　I jumped out of the Dungeon Association building and ran through the bustling city with people coming and going.

　I left Cyclo and came to a dungeon on the outskirts of the city.

　Nihonium.

　A dungeon that's usually empty because it doesn't drop anything but water and air.
　An empty dungeon - a dungeon where hagremonts tend to hatch.

　I was relieved as I rushed into the dungeon, letting my momentum carry me into the dungeon.
　I didn't make it in time, but I did.

　The air in the dungeon has changed, the air with the dungeon master.
　But the skeletons are there, the Nifonium monsters are there.

　This is despite the fact that when the Dungeon Master is out, the monsters in the dungeon are gone.

　Now here is a dungeon master other than Nihonium.
　I didn't make it to Hagremonium in time, but I did make it before I destroyed it.

　If I look closely, I see that little figure beside me.
　That translucent, ghostly woman in a clasped sleeve.

　She had a troubled look on her face.

'Don't worry, I'll get rid of it.'

　When I said that, the woman disappeared with a relieved look on her face.
　Well, let's do it.