Chapter 33: 33 Boss, Do You Know It's Pitch Black Here Right Now?

"Dylan, do you know how the dungeon came to be?"

With the old bat temporarily out of the picture and other matters now running smoothly, Lin Jun, having some free time, began to ponder the question of the dungeon again.

Under the torchlight, Dylan, who was trimming the edges of the coffin lid, stopped his work, scratched his head, and thought for a moment:

"How it came to be?

Sorry, boss, I never thought about that question.

When I was young, I heard stories saying that a hero and a Demon King fought a great battle, opened a passage connecting to the Abyss, and thus formed the dungeon.

But that makes no logical sense; it is obviously just a simple story.

As for whether there are other explanations, I don't know."

This story sounds exactly like two Supreme Beings fighting until the star river shattered...

"Then has no one among you researched these things?"

"Yes, the people of the Relic Association do exactly that; they even long-term post bounties for related clues.

Unfortunately, those missions are just for show; valuable clues have been exhausted over the past few centuries.

I have never heard of anyone getting rich from this."

"Then can you get that information from that so-called Association?"

Upon hearing this, Dylan shook his head repeatedly.

"Impossible, boss. The Relic Association is an official organization under the United Kingdom.

A low-level adventurer like me can't even get through the door.

I'm not a thief either; I can't steal the documents you want for you."

So it really doesn't work; this was not beyond Lin Jun's expectations. He was just asking to see.

Unlike Dylan, a native who was accustomed to taking the dungeon as a normal part of the world.

In Lin Jun's view, many aspects of this dungeon were too orderly; it was obviously deliberately arranged.

There must be many secrets behind it.

However, it seems he has no chance to get close to them for now.

Speaking of which, if low-level adventurers can't get in, the Duke's daughter should be able to, right?

Should he try to have Dylan contact Inanna?

After thinking for a while, Lin Jun still felt there was no need to rush this matter; it could be handled slowly.

He didn't even know Inanna's current situation yet; he would have Dylan inquire first and then decide later.

"Boss, there is something I want to ask."

Dylan's slightly hesitant words drew Lin Jun's attention back.

"What is it?"

"It's just... why has the fifth floor become darker and darker recently?"

Darker?

Is that so?

Lin Jun actually felt nothing about this; his senses for seeing things were different.

After examining it carefully, he realized Dylan had been quite euphemistic.

It wasn't just dark; the entire floor could be said to be almost completely black...

Although there is no sun in the dungeon, there are almost no floors that are completely dark.

Glowing firefly grass, or some night-shining stones in the rock walls, can provide a certain degree of brightness.

The dome of the fifth floor was even covered in firefly grass, making it one of the brighter floors among many.

So where is the firefly grass?

Why has the dome turned into mushrooms...

He really hadn't noticed when his own mycelium mat climbed up to the dome.

By the look of it, the firefly grass on the fifth floor was almost eaten into extinction.

So it was his fault...

Although being completely dark had no effect on him, it was obviously unfavorable for adventurers to come and trade, and Dylan also seemed quite inconvenienced.

How long would it take to replant the firefly grass to its original scale?

Maybe it would be better to just use glow mushrooms?

Although due to skill compatibility issues, glow mushrooms were far less bright than firefly grass.

But now that the entire floor was covered in mushrooms of all sizes, once they glowed, it definitely wouldn't be considered dark.

It seemed this was the only option for now.

——

"Collect Slime Cores... ten stalks of firefly grass... two-headed snake venom sacs..." In the hall of the Adventurer's Guild, Vera was selecting missions from the bounty board.

A pair of childhood friends sat on a bench not far away; among them, Fei Yin's mood was obviously quite low.

Last time, when the group was attacked by raiders, they not only lost a large amount of equipment and supplies but also almost lost their lives.

If those two raiders hadn't provoked Puji, they would not have been able to return.

After returning, Fei Yin showed very strong resistance to going into the dungeon.

Vera understood, but living expenses still had to be earned, especially after such a huge loss of property.

He and Fei Ling discussed it and decided to first take some simple missions from the upper floors to maintain their livelihood.

They would make further decisions based on Fei Yin's recovery situation later.

If all else fails, the group switching careers to become caravan guards is not impossible.

Noisy murmurs kept drifting over; though the guild was always lively on ordinary days, today seemed especially rowdy.

Vera noticed that quite a few people had gathered around the exclusive bulletin board for official quests over there.

Had the authorities released a new quest?

Just as Vera was about to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers, a massive palm covered in downy fur violently shoved the crowd apart.

Caught off guard by the shoving, he stumbled backward a few steps, a strand of yellowish-brown fur sticking to the corner of his lips.

"Pah, pah—"

Some shedding fellow...

A tiger-man with knotted muscles strode straight to the quest board, his glossy fur shimmering with an amber sheen under the lights.

The people around muttered curses, yet their feet honestly shuffled half a step back.

The tiger-man glanced twice at the quest board, then reached out and tore down the latest A-rank quest.

Arriving at the counter on the right side of the hall, the tiger-man slapped his adventurer ID card and the quest slip onto the surface.

"Register the quest."

Behind the counter sat the guild's signature receptionist, Helena—a lady with a beautiful face and a head of long red hair.

The two seemed to know each other.

Helena took the ID card, glanced at the tiger-man and the leopard-man teammate behind him, and asked casually:

"Inigo, what brings you back to Silent Wind? Where's Percy? Why don't I see him?"

"Shut up. It's not an entry inspection; just finish registering for me quickly." Inigo looked impatient.

"So the islands must be really dangerous..."

After Helena muttered that, disregarding the tiger-man's ugly expression, she gave him a reminder according to the guild regulations.

"Inigo, this A-rank quest recommends three to four Gold-rank adventurers; I suggest you go find..."

Boom—

The tiger-man slammed a palm onto the counter, cutting off Helena's words.

"Don't treat me like a newbie giving this advice and that advice. The two of us are enough; register quickly!"

Helena raised an eyebrow, not at all angry at being shouted at; she simply didn't return the ID card to the tiger-man immediately after finishing the registration.

"What do you mean?"

Helena extended a finger and tapped the counter that had been cracked by the slam.

"@%#&*%&*..."

Seven silver coins were flung onto the counter by Inigo; then, fuming, he took back his ID card, called to his traveling leopard-man companion, and together they left the guild hall.

After the tiger-man left, Vera grabbed an adventurer nearby and asked what quest everyone was so concerned about.

"What else could it be? The mushrooms everyone has been talking about every day lately!

The guild has finally released a quest to investigate the cause of the mutation."

"Then those two beastmen just now..."

"I don't know them, but anyone capable of taking an A-rank quest must be a Gold-rank expert, right?"

Vera recalled the Pujis he had encountered from start to finish on the fifth floor.

To investigate in detail, one would surely have to enter the swamp area strictly guarded by the Pujis, wouldn't one?

Could two Gold-rank adventurers really handle it?

(End of this chapter)