Dungeon level eight, dim tunnels. A team of adventurers crept forward, tackling the guild’s latest survey task.
Bang!
Lambert’s shield blocked a beast’s claw. Arrows and a searing fireball whizzed past, nailing the creature’s head.
It howled, locking onto the archer, ready to pounce.
“No chance!” Lambert seized the opening, slashing off its hideous head.
He started to relax.
“Dodge!” the mage yelled from behind.
No hesitation—Lambert rolled aside. A sticky, translucent slime dropped from the ceiling, splatting the ground, then burst under a fireball!
Lambert stood, wiping slime off his armor with disgust. “These damn slimes are everywhere! One slip, and repair costs eat the reward.”
A teammate crouched, carving the beast’s corpse. “Be glad. Only level eight still has these.”
After a quick breather, the team pressed on, stopping at a room etched with faint runes.
The mage knelt at a central magic array, inspecting each line with tools.
Lambert and two teammates guarded the door, watching for trouble.
Staring at the mage’s focused back, Lambert griped, “What’s the point of this guild job? Mapping new teleport paths… After the ‘collapse event,’ level eight’s arrays shift daily. It’s a waste.”
“Probably hunting for a pattern,” a teammate replied. “No stable path, no way to reach nine or ten. Can’t abandon those levels, right?”
“Guild’s focus isn’t here anymore,” Lambert scoffed. “They’re acting like city hall, fussing over civilian nonsense. Adventurer work’s a side gig now.”
The mage looked up. “Flame trap array, already triggered.”
“Keep moving!”
Clearing stray beasts and checking jumbled arrays, they found a seemingly stable teleport array.
Teammates marked it on a leather map. The group stepped onto it.
But as the array glowed, about to activate, the mage shouted, “Wait! It changed! It wasn’t like this! Get off!”
Lambert rolled fast but too late. Light swallowed everything.
When it faded, he stood alone in an unfamiliar stone chamber.
No teleport array underfoot.
“One-way random split teleport… trouble,” Lambert muttered, gripping his sword.
Without his array-savvy mage teammate, he’d have to rely on steel and luck.
Lin Jun, tinkering with the dungeon core’s “Star Button” function, noticed a battered figure at level eight’s stairs.
Level eight used teleport arrays, beyond his Mycelial Network’s reach, except at the stairs. He didn’t know what happened inside.
This unlucky Gold-tier adventurer was battered—burns, corrosion, beast bites—sprawled, near death.
No teammates. Dead inside?
Before, Lin Jun would’ve watched, let him die for decomposition, or ignored a rescue. No big deal.
But recent war intel changed things…
Jolting motion pulled Lambert from murky darkness. He vaguely sensed someone carrying him.
Teammates? None were strong enough to haul his armored bulk.
He forced heavy eyelids open, glimpsing a chiseled, stunning profile and clear, forest-green eyes.
Dead, then. The Light God sent an angel.
“Vera, stop. He’s awake,” the green-eyed figure said, noticing movement.
Vera paused, gently setting Lambert against a large mushroom.
Lambert saw they were on safer level five.
“My teammates…” he asked instinctively.
“We found you collapsed at level eight’s stairs,” Vera said, crouching. “Feeling okay? We patched you up.”
“Can’t… move,” Lambert tried, only managing neck twitches.
“Cyrian says your spine’s likely hurt,” Vera nodded toward the elf. “His nature healing’s great for flesh, but bones? Not so much.”
“Got it.”
Lambert stayed calm. Spine injuries were a hassle, but a skilled priest back in town could fix it with time and coin. Survivable.
“Thanks,” he said sincerely.
“Don’t thank us yet,” Vera’s expression turned odd. “Just…”
“Just what?”
“Look.” Vera lifted Lambert’s limp arm, holding his hand to his face.
On his calloused hand, pale, translucent strands wove into his flesh, not surface-attached but embedded.
“Any memory of this?”
Lambert’s face darkened, scouring fuzzy pre-blackout memories. In the haze of pain and dark, a white, chubby, round thing approached…
“Maybe… a Puffshroom?” he ventured, unsure.
Vera’s crew swapped a “knew it” glance.
“Told you!” Feline piped up. “He’s gone moldy!”
“…”
“Let’s get him topside!”
But on level two, a miracle happened: Lambert’s spine injury healed itself. He stood, walking the rest of the way.
(End of Chapter)
Man, lin’s getting bolder.