“Why’s there not a soul around?” Horn tiptoed up to the rotting Willow Tavern’s doorway, peering into the dim interior, and muttered in disappointment.
An adventurer passing by with luggage slung on his back replied casually: “Heard they hauled everything off to Norwede to take shelter. Hauling it back’ll take three to five days at least.”
“Damn it!”
Horn had no choice but to look for another place to stay. But most inns in town were still busy scraping fungal threads off their wooden frames, and the few that were cleaned up were already crammed full.
“Clicking my tongue, don’t tell me I really have to camp outside…” Horn scratched his head, troubled.
His party had once struck it rich on a “Puji lottery” haul, each member pocketing plenty of gold.
Especially Aimee—after adding the compensation from the subjugation squad, her fortune had easily surpassed a hundred gold.
With money to spare, when the Guild declared the Dungeon doomed, they retreated to nearby cities, enjoying life while watching for what came next.
Though they were teammates, each had their own lives, so they split up for a while.
Now that the Dungeon had miraculously recovered, as per their letters, they were to regroup at Silentwind Town. Horn had wandered around town and realized he was the first one to arrive.Finding no inn, he drifted toward the outskirts, thinking to find a shady spot for camping. But what met his eyes was entirely unexpected.
The land around Silentwind Town had been divided into mushroom fields. Guild staff directed recruited townsfolk, marking boundaries and shouting instructions.
In some fields, Guild members with notebooks carefully sprinkled water, or rigged up makeshift shades to block harsh sunlight.
Curious, Horn wandered up to one clerk scribbling in a logbook. The man didn’t shoo him off, so Horn peeked at the page. It was crammed with notes testing ways to boost mushroom yields.
“Hey,” Horn couldn’t help but point at the last entry. “Try this one first.”
“Feeding the Carpet monster corpses?” The staffer looked up, dubious. “Trade meat for mushrooms? That’s a losing deal! Why do you say that?”
Horn shrugged. “Just instinct. Don’t Pujis love dragging off corpses? Besides, not all monster meat’s edible anyway…”
The clerk rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… you might have a point…”
…
“Horn!”
He hadn’t chatted long before someone called his name from afar.
“Aimee! Noah!” Horn grinned wide, arms spread as he lunged for a hug, only to be blocked stiff-armed with disgust.
Aimee’s sharp eyes swept around. “Where’s Old Hammer? Still not back?”
“Ha! Don’t wait for him this time.” Horn waved gleefully, voice dripping with schadenfreude. “That guy got drunk and picked a fight in the city. Even beat up the guards who came to stop him! That stingy dwarf refused to pay the fine, so he’s sitting in jail eating prison slop. Won’t be out for half a month at least.”
“Tch, dwarves.” Aimee rolled her eyes hard, then glared at Horn. “And how do you know so clearly?”
“Duh! I was drinking right next to him!”
“Then why didn’t you stop him?” Aimee planted hands on hips.
“Me?” Horn spread his arms, gesturing to his not-so-burly frame. “Do I look like I could stop a drunken bear?”
Noah sighed. “So what now?”
“Then the three of us scout ahead!” Horn thumped his chest with confidence. “Relax, I’ve got the newest guide. We’ll stick to the first five floors—it’s perfectly safe!”
After a quick discussion, the plan was set. Only the first five floors—low risk, manageable.
…
After a day of prep, the three entered the Dungeon at dawn.
The first floor still had fissures, fewer than before but enough to make them tread carefully, fearful of stumbling into one. Luckily, no monster there could force them into tight maneuvers.
On the second floor, Horn handed each a repellent incense pill to ward off the newly rampant venomous midges. They weren’t fatal, but they could puff your face up like a bun.
The plan was to rush to the fourth floor, gather monster corpses, and take them to the fifth for a Puji lottery—see if anything good was hidden inside.
But when they passed through a shadowed stone corridor on the third floor, Noah suddenly barked a warning.
“Look there!”
Horn and Aimee followed his gaze. At the corridor’s far end lay the corpse of an adventurer.
It wasn’t the arrows stuck deep in his body that made his death certain—it was the Pujis already starting to pack him up.
Everyone knew: wounded, they ignored you. Only the truly dead would be “cleaned.”
So with Pujis hauling and calling for help, there was no doubt.
A corpse in the Dungeon wasn’t unusual. But a corpse with coins scattered around it—that was different.
The trio didn’t charge in recklessly. They scanned the area warily. The third floor was riddled with traps; that adventurer had clearly fallen to one.
Soon Horn spotted the pressure plates and the tiny wall holes that marked dart traps.
A heavy adventurer would trigger it. But feather-light Pujis came and went unscathed. Anyone who trusted their path would pay dearly.
They carefully wound past the trap and reached the other side.
As Aimee crouched, fingers about to pick up a glittering coin, Horn yanked her back.
“Wait!” he hissed, and slashed at a coin with his dagger.
Crack—
The “coin” split apart, oozing foul red-green slime.
At once, the entire floor came alive. Every coin shimmered, wings bursting as a swarm of gold bugs exploded upward!
The three were ready. In a few swift moves, the insects were cut down.
“Damn! Waste of time!” Horn shook muck from his blade, face sour, and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Aimee grabbed him again, her voice strange.
“What now? Don’t tell me more co—” Horn groused, but followed her gaze.
At the corridor’s end stood a massive stone door, carved with intricate, mysterious patterns.
“A… hidden room?” Horn’s voice trembled with disbelief, excitement sparking in his eyes. He’d never stumbled on one before.
Aimee and Noah shook their heads, equally stunned—it was their first as well.
The three shared a glance, their shock and anticipation mirrored. They crept toward it together, steps light, wary.
Behind them, a long-waiting Puji waddled out, happily gathering the bug corpses left behind.
Horn, heart pounding, readied himself for traps. Then, with a deep breath, he pulled the lever.
With a grinding rumble, the stone door opened.
And in the shadows beyond, a round, snowy-white Puji—exuding pure laziness—popped out, filling the doorway entirely…