Chapter 37: 37 What If There's No Going Back?

Dylan felt he had already entered a semi-retired life.

Every day after rising from his mycelium coffin, he would boil a bowl of mushroom soup.

These were all picked in the forest; the Boss had said gray mushrooms could be eaten freely.

Yet as a mycelium-human, eating mushrooms still carried a subtle sense of dissonance...

Moreover, the broth always carried a faint, earthy smell; only sprinkling a few grains of rock salt could awaken some flavor.

Additionally, perhaps because he had mentioned the dimness of the layers to the Boss, the mushrooms had recently begun to glow.

Although solving the lighting trouble was good, the soup glowing with a faint light while cooking made him feel uncomfortable, as if he were drinking a potion brewed by a witch.

Fortunately, the work was leisurely; except for surface business trips, the Boss never assigned him any tasks.

Occasionally, equipment or items left behind by adventurers needed Dylan to identify their value; otherwise, there was nothing to do.

He sometimes used this free time to hunt above, bringing back some edible monsters.

After all, he couldn't always eat mushrooms.

Last time he told the Boss he wanted some monsters to improve his diet, and when the Boss sent him a few broken Pujis, Dylan knew he would have to find a way to add meals himself.

Eating one's own colleagues was too...

Fortunately, the Boss did not oppose his hunting upstairs; in fact, he even supported it, only instructing him to throw the remaining parts of the monsters into the swamp.

Finally, to improve the quality of life on the Fifth Layer, he had specifically applied for an empty plot in the border area and started building his own wooden house.

Unfortunately, work struck as soon as construction began.

The Boss first asked if he knew anything about mana or fluctuations, but how would a pure melee fighter know anything about mana?

Afterwards, he was immediately assigned a mission to scout for news on the surface, which looked quite urgent.

Daring not to delay, Dylan spent half a day and, familiar with the route, climbed to the surface.

Then he bumped into three official personnel of the Adventurers' Guild guarding the dungeon entrance.

The leader was someone he recognized, a middle-aged adventurer named Marshall, who had been active in Silent Wind Town ten years ago.

However, he was a Gold-rank adventurer, and since joining the Guild, he no longer entered the dungeon.

Seeing someone blocking the door, a guilty Dylan broke out in a cold sweat.

What happened?

Why block the entrance?

Would they check for something and discover his disguise?

Swallowing hard, Dylan still forced himself to straighten his back and walk out.

However, the Guild personnel merely glanced at Dylan and let him pass.

Instead, four adventurers heading for the dungeon were stopped.

The red-armored warrior's sword hilt thumped heavily on the stone slab:

"On what grounds do you forbid us from entering the dungeon?"

The question crackled with sparks, yet the opposing Marshall stood with arms crossed, looking quite calm.

Adventurers were mostly like this, impatient; when encountering problems, they first raised their voices; he was used to it.

"Monster Tide warning; the dungeon is blocked per Guild requirements."

The moment the words "Monster Tide" were spoken, the dissatisfaction of the opposing adventurers seemed to vanish instantly.

Although a Monster Tide occurred in every dungeon only once every ten years, and most adventurers had never encountered one before today,

its reputation as the greatest disaster of the dungeon was known to no adventurer.

No one would object to blocking the dungeon due to a Monster Tide.

The four huddled together and whispered for a long time before asking with some doubt:

"May I ask how long this blockage will last? What about time-limited missions we accepted? We can't just drag them until they fail..."

Some time-limited missions required a deposit; if they failed, the deposit would naturally be lost.

However, the Guild side obviously had rich experience and had considered every aspect.

"Just apply for an extension or cancellation of the mission at the Guild front desk; as for the blockage, it naturally lasts until the Monster Tide ends."

After speaking, Marshall waved his hand at the adventurers, signaling them to leave quickly.

Those four adventurers left, but Dylan rubbed his hands and approached.

"I have some things hidden on the Second Layer; can I go get them? It will be very quick!"

"No!" Marshall refused without a second thought; what did other people's lost items have to do with him?

Dylan stepped forward half a pace and quietly slipped a gleaming gold coin before Marshall.

Marshall's Adam's apple rolled twice, and his peripheral vision swept over the two colleagues behind him.

This time, the ones executing the mission together were not people he knew; who knew if someone would report him; risking it for a few gold coins was not worth it.

"Rules are rules!"

Pushing Dylan away, Marshall, with a face of iron impartiality, refused his request to return once more.

Dylan helplessly scratched his head—what to do now?

The news was heard easily, but he couldn't send it back.

He felt the Boss needed a high-level stealth specialist for these tasks more than he did...

After thinking it over, he decided to check the tavern first.

————

As soon as the moldy wooden door was pushed open a crack, the turbid smell of alcohol hit Dylan, making him step back half a pace.

The business at the Rotten Willow Tavern today could be described as exploding without exaggeration.

The adventurers unable to enter the dungeon obviously intended to drown themselves in alcohol.

When Dylan walked in, he discovered there were no empty seats at all; everywhere was packed with drunken adventurers.

If only three of the Boss's self-destructing Pujis were here right now...

Dylan shook his head; why did he have such a strange thought?

"A glass of wine." Dylan tapped the bar counter with his knuckles.

The owner scooped half a bowl of brown liquid from a wooden barrel; the rim of the clay bowl still bore suspicious stains.

The bowl's capacity was clearly inferior to a wooden cup; this old, cunning merchant.

Finding a spot to lean against, Dylan listened intently to the conversations all around.

The topic everyone discussed was, unsurprisingly, this Demon Tide.

Some young people, unaware of the Demon Tide's dangers, were still complaining about being short on cash and unable to survive without going to the Dungeon.

This immediately drew mockery from the others.

"Kid, isn't being alive good enough?"

"Going to the Dungeon now? Are you planning to feed all that little flesh of yours to the monsters?"

Amidst everyone's uproarious laughter, a retired adventurer with a gray beard spoke up with some valuable news:

"You don't need to worry about having no work.

Based on experience, in a few days the Guild will release assistance quests.

By then, countless monsters will be waiting at the Dungeon entrance for you to kill, and there will even be creatures running out from the Deep Zones.

As long as you aren't afraid of death, there's plenty of money to be made."

Hearing there was still a chance to make money, many in the tavern grew expectant, causing the old adventurer to shake his head in dismay.

Vera also enthusiastically thanked the old adventurer.

If they really couldn't earn money in ten days or half a month, the three of them would have to consider mortgaging their equipment...

Dylan knew monsters would charge out, but hearing that they would even include entities from the Deep Zones was the first time he'd heard such a thing.

If monsters from the Deep Zones are charging to the surface, the interior of the Dungeon must be in even greater chaos...

He had never considered such a problem before.

Dylan also recalled hearing people say that after every Demon Tide, the ecology of each floor within the Dungeon undergoes some changes.

Now he was a bit worried; the Boss wouldn't happen to be the part that gets changed, would he...

(End of this chapter)