"Dylan, do you know how the dungeon came to be?"
With the old bat temporarily unbeatable and everything else falling into place, the now-idle Lin Jun found himself thinking about the dungeon's origins again.
Under the torchlight, Dylan, who was trimming the edges of a coffin board, stopped his work and scratched his head thoughtfully:
"How it came to be? Sorry, boss, I've never really thought about that question. I did hear stories as a child, something about a hero and demon lord battling each other, tearing open a passage connecting to the abyss and forming the dungeon. But that leaves too many logical gaps—it's obviously just a fairy tale. As for whether there are other theories, I wouldn't know."
This story really did sound like two supreme beings battling until the very stars shattered...
"So no one researches these things?"
"Oh, there are! The Relic Association people do exactly that. They even post long-term bounties for related clues. Unfortunately, those kinds of tasks are just for show—any valuable leads were found centuries ago. I've never heard of anyone getting rich from it."
"Could you get this information from that association?"
Dylan immediately waved his hands dismissively.
"Impossible, boss. The Relic Association is an official organization under the United Kingdom. A bottom-tier adventurer like me can't even get through their doors. I'm not a thief either, so I can't steal the documents you want."
Indeed, it was as Lin Jun expected—he was just asking on the off chance. Unlike Dylan, a native who took the dungeon's existence as a natural part of the world, Lin Jun found many aspects of this dungeon far too orderly, clearly arranged with intent. There had to be quite a few secrets behind it all.
But it seemed he didn't have the opportunity to access them yet.
Speaking of which, while bottom-tier adventurers couldn't get in, surely a duke's daughter could? Should he try having Dylan contact Inanna?
After thinking it over, Lin Jun decided this matter wasn't urgent—he could take his time. He didn't even know Inanna's current situation anyway. He'd have Dylan make inquiries first before deciding anything else.
"Boss, there's something I wanted to ask."
Dylan's slightly hesitant words drew Lin Jun's attention back.
"What is it?"
"It's just... why has the fifth floor been getting darker and darker lately?"
Darker? Really?
Lin Jun hadn't noticed anything—his sensory perception worked differently. After carefully examining the surroundings, he realized Dylan was being quite diplomatic in his description. It wasn't just dark; the entire floor was practically pitch black...
Although the dungeon had no sun, there were also virtually no completely dark floors. Glowing fireflies grass or luminescent stones embedded in rock walls provided some degree of illumination. The fifth floor's ceiling was particularly covered with fireflies grass, making it one of the brighter floors among all levels.
So where was the fireflies grass? How had the ceiling become covered entirely with mushrooms...
He really hadn't noticed when his fungal carpet had crept up to the ceiling. Looking at it now, the fireflies grass on the fifth floor was nearly extinct, devoured almost completely.
So this was his fault...
While complete darkness didn't affect him, it would obviously discourage adventurers from coming to trade, and Dylan seemed quite inconvenienced as well.
Who knew how long it would take to replant the fireflies grass to its original scale? Perhaps he should just use luminescent mushrooms instead?
Though due to skill compatibility issues, luminescent mushrooms were far less bright than fireflies grass, with mushrooms of all sizes now covering the entire floor, adding luminescence would certainly make it less dark.
It seemed this was the only option for now.
---
"Collect slime cores... ten stalks of fireflies grass... twin-headed snake poison sacs..."
In the Adventurers' Guild hall, Vera was selecting tasks from the bounty board.
A pair of childhood friends sat on benches not far away, with Phine clearly in low spirits.
During their last expedition, the group had been attacked by marauders, losing not only a large amount of equipment and supplies but nearly their lives as well. If those two marauders hadn't provoked the Puffshrooms, they wouldn't have made it back.
Since returning, Phine had shown strong resistance to entering the dungeon again.
Vera understood, but they still needed to earn living expenses, especially after such a major financial loss. After discussing with Pholing, they decided to accept some simple upper-level tasks to maintain their livelihood, then make future decisions based on Phine's recovery.
If worst came to worst, they could always switch careers to become caravan guards.
The constant buzz of conversation filled the air. While the guild was always lively, today seemed particularly noisy.
Vera noticed that quite a crowd had gathered around the official quest board on the other side.
Had the officials posted new tasks?
Just as Vera was about to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers, a massive fur-covered paw violently parted the throng.
The unexpected shove sent him staggering backward several steps, a strand of tawny fur sticking to his lip.
"Ptah, ptah—"
A shedding fellow...
A muscularly built tiger-man strode directly to the task board, his glossy fur gleaming amber under the lights.
The surrounding people grumbled and cursed, but their feet honestly shuffled back half a step.
The tiger-man glanced at the task board twice before reaching out to tear down the newest A-rank mission.
Approaching the counter on the right side of the hall, the tiger-man slapped both his adventurer identification and the task slip onto the surface.
"Register the task."
Behind the counter stood the guild's signature receptionist, Helena—an attractive woman with long red hair.
The two seemed acquainted.
Helena picked up the identification plate, glanced at the tiger-man and his leopard-man companion behind him, then asked casually:
"Inigo, what brings you back to Mute Wind? Where's Passy? How come I don't see him?"
"Stop being nosy—this isn't a city entry inspection. Just hurry up and finish the registration," Inigo replied impatiently.
"So the archipelago really is that dangerous..."
Helena muttered, ignoring the tiger-man's ugly expression as she gave the standard guild reminder according to regulations.
"Inigo, this A-rank task recommends three to four Gold-level adventurers. I suggest you first find..."
*BANG—*
The tiger-man slammed his palm on the counter, cutting off Helena's words.
"Don't treat me like a rookie with all these suggestions. The two of us are sufficient. Hurry up and register!"
Helena raised an eyebrow, showing no anger at being shouted at. After completing the registration, however, she didn't immediately return the identification plate to the tiger-man.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Helena pointed at the cracked counter surface.
"%@#&*%&*..."
Seven silver coins were flung onto the counter by Inigo, who then huffily retrieved his identification plate and beckoned his leopard-man companion to leave the guild hall together.
After the tiger-man departed, Vera grabbed a nearby adventurer to ask what task everyone was so interested in.
"What else could it be? Those mushrooms everyone's been talking about lately! The guild finally issued a task to investigate the cause of the anomaly."
"What about those two beastmen just now..."
"I don't know them, but anyone who can accept A-rank tasks must be Gold-level experts."
Vera recalled all the Puffshrooms he'd encountered from start to finish on the fifth floor.
A detailed investigation would surely require entering the swamp area that the Puffshrooms fiercely guarded, right?
Could two Gold-level adventurers really handle it?
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