Four floors below the Aulum Dungeon, I was in spectator mode with my arms folded.
　Fighting in front of me was Alice, or more specifically, three of her fellow monsters.

　The skeleton Honehone was hitting enemies with his femur bone club, the slime puller was bouncing around and almost hitting them with his body, and the newly added Bonbon was leveled up and was using his ball of light for cover instead of self-destruction.

　It wasn't overwhelming firepower, but it was a three-on-one takeoff and took out the enemy little devil.
　The drop item was a single grain of gold sand, and Pulle, who had been topped off, came back to Alice with it in his mouth.

　Alice, who received it, hugs Pull Pull Pull tightly.

'Good job, Purpuru, good job Honehone and Bonbon too.
You look like a stable fighter.
Yeah!
If we can fight in here, so can Cyclo. Yeah?　Come to think of it, the rare monster high gut slime counters excess damage, but what happens if the bonbons self-destruct?
What's going on?

　Alice nods her head, a curious look on her face.

'Let's give it a try when we get back.'
Yeah!

　Nodding broadly, Alice returns the three of her companions to SD size and stares at the sand gold that she dropped.
　Together with the one I just dropped, this is the fifth one I've dropped today.
　Unlike the gold in the world I was in, the gold that the monsters over here dropped was pure gold from the start, hence the high price.
　The amount she holds in her palm is worth 10,000 piro.

''I think it's the first money I've ever earned in my life.
Come to think of it, when you were at Cyclo, all you did was support.
Yeah!

　Alice alternated between her hands and my face.

'Thank you Lyota!　It's all thanks to Lyota.
Compliment those people more than I do.
Yeah, right!　Thanks guys!

　Alice said with a big smile, and Hone Hone and the three others expressed their joy with their body language.

''Hey Lyota, is there anything you want?''
What do you want?
I want to give Lyota something for the first money I've earned.
...... I'd rather not talk about that for a minute.
Why?
I just remember how sad it makes me feel to be old.

　I'm happy for Alice's feelings, but my brain has been transformed into "a present for my father with my starting salary".
　I'm really happy for the feelings, but it makes me sad.

"Feelings are fine.
The feeling? ......

　Alice thought about it for a moment, and then she walked up to me, stood on tiptoe and kissed me on the cheek.

'Alice?'
"Feelings.
No, that's, umm...
I love Lyota.
Okay.

　I chuckled a bit.
　Alice's feelings as she kissed me on the cheek. Innocent gratitude.
　I didn't feel bad about this one.

'Am I bothering you?'
No, I'm just happy to see you.
Great, thanks!

　For some reason, he thanked me again.
　The warm feeling and refreshing scent left on my cheeks.
　With a faintly lasting happiness, I take Alice back to the ground.

　On the way, we have a chat and sum up Aurum.

''Aurum is all the way up to the fourth floor underground, and the drops are all levels of sand gold, and with this pattern, it's probably a mining dungeon with rares and all levels of gold bars.
Really?
The dungeons seem to have a rule for dropping both front and back. I think Aulum is closer to Seren than Tellurium, and the rare drop is a pattern for the product, not the item.
Okay.
I think we should end the investigation now. I'd better get back to Cyclo.
'Yes!　I miss Emily's food and off-tune too. I haven't been getting much sleep lately.
This is your village, your family home.
Emily is amazing, isn't she?
I agree with that.

　A three-story house, a new two-bedroom property, and a ramshackle apartment for 20,000 piro.
　All three houses I rent in Ciclo are maintained by Emily, and they're very bright and warm.
　I thought I was the only one who hadn't gotten used to Indor, but Alice, who is from the village, said she hadn't been able to sleep well in her own house.

Next time we go out, I'm going to take Emily with me, okay?
Agreed.

　We went back the way we came, talking to each other about it.
　A long, narrow dungeon path, a Y-junction that split into two halves.
　Alice stands in front of it and compares them both.

There's a monster on the right side. It's not a monster house, just a normal one. I wonder if there are any on the left.
Let's go right, then. Let's make some money on the way home.
Yeah!

　Saying that, I tried to go with Alice to the right.
　But the moment I stepped into the fork, my feet stopped.

"Lyota?　What's going on?
This way: ......
Is this the one on the left?　There's nothing to see over there, okay?
...... No, I'm there.
What?
There's something over here.

　To the left of the Y-junction, I stared at the fork where it immediately curves and I can't see beyond it.
　I don't know why, but I knew something was up ahead.

I'm just going to see what's out there.
'What?　Then so am I.
Forget it, Alice, just go to the right. Raise everyone's, especially Bonbon's, level. You should be able to hit a black ball, too.
Yeah, I'll see you later.
Yeah, again.

　Alice and I parted ways, and I continued down the path to the left.
　There were no monsters over here, just as Alice, born in the dungeon, felt.

　A completely peaceful path, I didn't encounter any monsters, not even in a dungeon.

'Was it my imagination ......?'

　I feel like what I felt was a mistake.
　Still, I went on, and if there's nothing to see, then I'm going to see with my own eyes that there isn't (...) and go home.

　Eventually we got out of the narrow road and came to a slightly open space.
　It wasn't very wide, about the size of a garage where you could park a few cars.

　There was nothing there, it was a dead end.

I knew there was nothing there.

　Me laughing bitterly. I thought I was right about the dungeon, the dungeon-born Alice sense of humor.
　I return the kibisu and try to turn back.

'--!'

　Instantly, a reflex that didn't pass through his brain moved his body. He kicked the ground and jumped sideways as fast as he could, then the part he was standing on was gouged out by something.
　He flipped his body around in the air and landed, pulling out his gun and holding it up.

　But I can't see anything, just the empty space of the dungeon.

...... No, I'm here.

　It wasn't like right after I got here, but I could feel it too.
　It wasn't because I could see the marks of the attack where I was standing, but because I could genuinely feel the presence of the "enemy".

　I pulled all the bullets out of the magazine for now, and then loaded them all with tracking rounds and fired continuously.
　The bullets that should have gone straight away suddenly flipped 180 degrees and flew towards me!

　The 12 tracking rounds that were approaching in front of me, I leaned back and ducked with my upper body.

"GYAAAAA!

　Immediately after, a monster screamed from directly behind me.
　I took a ton of distance behind me while regaining my stance.

　Twelve bullets were gathered in one place and floating in the air.
　They were gathered at about the size of a human's head, and the space around them warped.

　It was transparent, but it couldn't be completely transparent, making it appear subtle.
　It was the head of a demon. It was the rare monster on the first basement floor, the one that looked almost identical to that demon, but it was the one that was transparent.

　I knew it was there.
　The tension rose a bit. Of course, if I was right, one gold nugget with this thing, and millions of piro in cash, if I was right, that would be millions of piro.

　The guy couldn't be completely invisible anymore.
　He couldn't be completely invisible from being hit by a tracking round, and from the fact that it was still in his head.
　The guy waved his hand down, nothing happened--no!

　Bonbon - I remembered the little devil on this floor and quickly flew right next to him.

　Then the ground I was standing on exploded.
　He swung his hand down once more, and something invisible flew at me, this time gouging the ground.

　There are at least two kinds of invisible flying objects.
　And that was--.

You mean you could blow yourself up!

　I can't take long, I have to get this over with.
　The invisible demon swings his arms down even more, flying right beside him and dodging--

Ugh!

　I felt a thud in my stomach, as if I had been struck by a hammer.
　I could see its mouth, which hadn't been able to turn invisible, twitch.
　The invisible flyer wasn't where I was standing, it was shooting at me, anticipating where I was going to dodge.
　This guy .......

　I was kind of pissed.
　I was pissed off that I'd been taken advantage of and that the guy looked so good at it.

　Put the gun away.
　Dropping back, I grab the ground with my toes and kick as hard as I can.
　Full speed S. I duck into the guy's pocket at full speed.

　I see the guy's surprised face, and at the same time, he swings his hand down.
　I grab that hand on the way down, and it surprises me even more.
　It swings its other hand down, and I grab that one, too.

　I can't see clearly, but I'm poised to grab both wrists of the invisible demon.

'Now you can't shoot anymore. Then it's my turn now.

　He yelled and unleashed a front kick. It was responsive, and my head, which couldn't be transparent, slumped forward. Maybe it was a body contortion.
　More kicks, more kicks, a relentless series of kicks.

　I'll be able to pull both arms, which I grabbed with the last keri.
　Gugugugugugugugugug ...... snip.

　There was a sound of something being torn off, and the face of the transparent demon went swiftly away.
　My hand still grabbed my wrist, and then the area around its shoulder was not fully transparent, so I could see a little bit of it.

　My arm was torn off my shoulder.
　The same face that can't become translucent is tinged with shock and anger.
　And then I stepped on the ground--.

'You'll make me do it!

　He rushes forward and this time grabs the throat whistle.
　As it was, I pushed him against the wall, pulled the gun out and shoved it into his mouth.

　He pulled the trigger in succession, lobbing all the bullets he could find at zero distance.

　The bullet penetrated the back of my throat by the medulla oblongata and blew off half of my head.

　I let go of my hand, and with a thud, he falls to the ground.

　I pointed the muzzle at it and looked at it - but it didn't move again.

　He doesn't move again. He disappears with a familiar sound.
　And then the drop.

　In front of me, I thought it was another millions of piro.
　For some reason, it wasn't a gold nugget, but a staircase leading downward appeared (or was dropped).