Chapter 33 – Boss, It’s Pitch-Black Here

“Dylan, do you know where dungeons came from?”

Evan could do nothing about the old bat for now, and everything else was proceeding smoothly. With time on his hands, his thoughts returned to the mysteries of the dungeon.

Beside a torch, Dylan stopped trimming the edges of a coffin slab and scratched his head.

“Where they came from?

“Sorry, Boss. I’ve never thought about it.

“When I was a child, I heard a story claiming that a battle between the Hero and the Demon King tore open a passage to the Abyss and created the dungeons.

“Too many parts of that tale make no sense, though. It’s obviously nothing more than a story.

“I don’t know whether there are any other explanations.”

The tale sounded like two gods battling until the world itself shattered.

“Has no one ever researched any of this?”

“Of course. That’s what the Relic Society does. They’ve offered standing rewards for related clues for years.

“Unfortunately, those quests are only worth looking at. Any valuable clues were found centuries ago. I’ve never heard of anyone making a fortune that way.”

“Could you obtain that information from this society?”

Dylan waved both hands at once.

“Impossible, Boss. The Relic Society is an official institution of the Kingdom of Concord.

“A bottom-rung adventurer like me couldn’t even get through the door.

“I’m no thief, either. I can’t steal the documents you want.”

So it was impossible after all. Evan was not surprised. He had only asked on the off chance.

Dylan was a native of this world who took dungeons for granted as a natural part of life.

To Evan, too many parts of the dungeon followed conspicuously orderly patterns. Someone had clearly arranged them that way.

There had to be many secrets behind it all.

For now, it appeared those secrets remained beyond his reach.

Come to think of it, a low-ranking adventurer might not enter the Relic Society, but surely a duke’s daughter could.

Should he ask Dylan to contact Elara?

After considering it, Evan decided there was no urgency. He could proceed slowly.

He did not even know Elara’s current circumstances. Dylan could ask around about her first.

“Boss, may I ask you something?”

Dylan’s hesitant voice pulled Evan’s attention back.

“What is it?”

“Well... why has the Fifth Stratum been getting darker lately?”

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Darker?

Had it?

Evan genuinely had not noticed. His senses did not depend on light.

After examining the surroundings carefully, he realized Dylan had phrased the matter very politely.

The stratum was not merely darker. It was almost completely black.

Dungeons had no sun, but very few strata were ever totally dark.

Glowgrass and veins of Glowstone in the walls usually provided at least some illumination.

The ceiling of the Fifth Stratum had once been covered in Glowgrass, making it one of the brighter strata.

So where had the Glowgrass gone?

Why was the entire ceiling covered in mushrooms?

Evan had not even noticed when his mycelial mat began climbing overhead.

At this rate, the Glowgrass on the Fifth Stratum was close to extinction.

So this was his fault.

Total darkness did not affect Evan, but it would plainly discourage adventurers from coming to trade. Dylan also seemed greatly inconvenienced.

How long would it take to restore the Glowgrass to its former abundance?

Perhaps bioluminescent mushrooms would be easier.

Because of poor skill compatibility, bioluminescent mushrooms were far dimmer than Glowgrass.

Still, mushrooms of every size now grew throughout the stratum. Giving them Bioluminescence would at least keep the place from being completely dark.

For now, that seemed to be his only option.

* * *

“Collect Slime Cores... ten stalks of Glowgrass... Two-Headed Serpent Venom Sacs...”

Vera stood before the quest board in the Guildhall, searching for a suitable commission.

His two childhood friends sat on a bench nearby. Fiona was clearly subdued.

The marauder attack had cost them a great deal of equipment and supplies. They had nearly lost their lives as well.

If those two marauders had not provoked the Puffcaps, the three of them would never have returned.

Since then, Fiona had become deeply reluctant to enter the dungeon.

Vera understood, but they still needed money to live, especially after losing so much property.

After discussing the problem, he and Faye decided to accept simple quests on the upper strata until they saw how well Fiona recovered.

If necessary, they could abandon adventuring and work as caravan guards.

The Guildhall was always noisy, but today the constant discussion seemed louder than usual.

Vera noticed a crowd gathered around the board reserved for official commissions.

Had the Guild issued a new official quest?

Just as Vera started to squeeze into the crowd, an enormous fur-covered hand shoved people violently aside.

The unexpected push sent him staggering back several steps. A yellow-brown hair clung to his lip.

“Pah! Pah!”

Whoever it was certainly shed a lot.

A heavily muscled Tigerkin strode to the quest board. His sleek fur gleamed amber beneath the lamps.

The surrounding adventurers cursed under their breath, but their feet honestly carried them half a step backward.

The Tigerkin scanned the board, then tore down the newest A-grade commission.

He walked to the counter on the right side of the hall and slapped down both his adventurer identification tag and the quest notice.

“Register this quest.”

Behind the counter stood the Guild’s most celebrated receptionist, Helena, an attractive woman with long red hair.

She and the Tigerkin appeared to know each other.

Helena picked up the identification tag, glanced at the Tigerkin and the Pantherkin standing behind him, and asked casually, “Inigo, what brings you back to Hushwind? Where’s Percy? Why isn’t he with you?”

“Stop prying. This isn’t an inspection at the city gate. Just register the quest.” Inigo sounded impatient.

“The islands really must be dangerous...”

Helena muttered the words. Ignoring the Tigerkin’s darkening expression, she gave him the warning required by Guild regulations.

“Inigo, the recommended party for this A-grade quest is three to four Gold-rank adventurers. You should find...”

Bang!

The Tigerkin slammed one hand onto the counter and cut her off.

“Stop treating me like a novice and telling me what I should do. The two of us are enough. Register it!”

Helena raised an eyebrow. She showed no anger at being shouted at, but after completing the registration, she did not return his identification tag.

“What?”

Helena pointed at the crack he had left in the counter.

“%@#&*%&*...”

Inigo flung seven silver coins onto the counter, angrily snatched back his identification tag, and called for his Pantherkin companion to follow him out of the Guildhall.

After the Tigerkin left, Vera stopped a nearby adventurer and asked about the quest that had attracted so much attention.

“What else could it be? Those mushrooms everyone’s been talking about lately!

“The Guild finally issued a quest to investigate the cause of the anomaly.”

“And those two Beastkin just now...”

“Never seen them before, but anyone who can accept an A-grade quest must be a Gold-rank expert.”

Vera recalled every Puffcap he had encountered on the Fifth Stratum.

A thorough investigation would certainly require entering the Marsh Zone guarded so heavily by the Puffcaps.

Could two Gold-rank adventurers truly manage it?