This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 112, Section 111: The Thief
Under the moonlight, Lacus sat on a broken log, surrounded by two dead forest bears.

"It's a bear again..."

Lacus now loathes bears. Last time, it was a Tyrant Bear that caused his entire team to be wiped out, causing them to lose the Holy Scripture. He was severely punished when he returned.

Later, he was assigned to raid human cities, but he was ambushed and almost didn't make it out alive.

He later learned that it was actually a trap set by humans under the guise of summoning a hero, which led to the destruction of the Shadow Demon.

His master, Eleanor, also went along, but it seems that he was punished by His Majesty upon his return for betraying Lord Shadow Fiend.

Anyway, when Lacus saw her, he could tell at a glance that she was holding back a lot of anger, and naturally she took it out on him.

Lacus still remembers what she said: "Find the Holy Scripture and you will atone for your sins and be promoted; if you fail to find it, you might as well die out there."

However, he wasn't assigned any subordinates, clearly indicating that he was being used as a stepping stone.

Lacus was certain that after he left, Eleanor had sent a full team behind him, and that he had definitely been tampered with—either by tracking his location or by replaying his death!
"That damn...that damn..."

"..."

After holding it in for a long time, Lacus still didn't dare to utter the curse.

Fear of those in power is ingrained in a vampire's very being, even if he is only a half-vampire.

"I won't die! I'm a genius! I'll definitely find the Holy Scripture and then advance... keep advancing!"

Lacus's claim of being a genius is no exaggeration. At only level 40 and before even advancing in rank, he has already acquired the talent skill [Blood Control], which truly makes him a genius.

While encouraging himself, Lacus took out a small metal plate and started filing it on his fingernail.

He doesn't have much of a disguise skill, but fortunately, vampires aren't that different from humans.

Applying a little powder to the face can cover up pale skin.

As for his nails and teeth, he simply filed them down.

This metal plate is a small magical tool that circulates within the Hermit Empire. After using it to grind nails and teeth, a layer of magic will be left on the surface, temporarily preventing them from growing back. Each grinding session can last for two or three days.

This method is cheap and convenient, the only problem is that it grinds down all the teeth, which is actually a very shameful thing for a vampire.

But he doesn't have time to care about that right now.

After tidying up, he got up and headed towards the Amethyst Underground City. To avoid crowds, he deliberately bypassed Silent Wind Town and came from the direction of the forest, choosing to enter at night.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the entrance to the underground city, there was no one else there except for two guards on night watch.

"Going down into the dungeon alone so late?" The hoarse voice trailed off with a yawn as Guard Aiden noticed Lacus.

Although it was a little strange that he had come out of the forest, I still greeted him.

They are stationed here to send messages in case of emergencies, not to actually block the entrance to the underground city and interrogate adventurers.

"Just picking some firefly grass, no need to team up!" Lacus casually made up an excuse.

He thought that was the end of it, but the two guards were taken aback after hearing this, glanced at him a couple more times, but didn't say anything more.

After Lacus went inside, another guard asked, "Senior, what rank is this person? Do you know him?"

Aiden rolled his eyes: "How would I know? I can't possibly know every high-level adventurer, but he can go and collect fireflies by himself, so he's at least a gold-level adventurer, maybe even a diamond-level one..."

Lacus was a little confused as to why the two guards were looking at him like that, but thankfully he managed to enter the dungeon without incident.

He took out a faintly glowing black stone from his pocket, examined it closely, and found it to be somewhat darker than before.

"As expected, the Holy Scripture is in the underground city."

This is a special item, made by refining magic crystals in an environment with the same origin as the Holy Scripture. Its characteristic is that the closer it is to the Holy Scripture, the dimmer its light becomes.

It was thanks to it that Lacus was able to find his way here.

However, this kind of item has a limited lifespan, so I have to lock the Holy Scripture before it expires, and I can't let it happen again like last time.

"Speaking of which... was the Amethyst Dungeon really this dark?"

Lacus looked at the corridor with its sparse, dim light and muttered something.

However, he has dark vision, so he wasn't affected much.

As he continued down the path, he finally realized what mistake he had made—

Surely there must be some firefly grass in this dungeon, right?

He had never been to the Amethyst Dungeon before and only had a map of the dungeon, which naturally wouldn't mention such details.

But since firefly grass is a common plant in the dungeon, he thought there should be some here too.

To my surprise, all I saw after entering was a fluorescent mushroom!
This is bad...

If there really are no firefly grasses in this dungeon, then what I just said will become a flaw. If those two guards are smart, they might report me to Silent Wind Town.

Damn it! Damn it!
Lacus quickened his pace; he needed to find the holy book and get out of there as soon as possible!
He encountered no difficulties along the way, easily dealing with monsters like puffins, scorpions, and snakes. Upon reaching the fifth level, the light from the black stone finally seemed to be fading.

It's on this floor!

Lacus believed that either the adventurer who stole the Holy Scripture died in the dungeon, or the Holy Scripture had relapsed into its old ways, controlling its holder to secretly kill passersby in dangerous places.

A wooden sign standing at the exit caught Lacus's attention.

"What is this? The Five-Layer Rule..."

After glancing at it once, Lacus looked away and didn't take it to heart.

It might actually be useful, but firstly, he needs to find the Holy Scripture, so he can't follow the rules and walk on the mushroom path.

Secondly, it's really just five levels with a level cap of 25.

Following the guidance of the black stone, Lacus quickly veered off the mushroom path.

To Lacus's surprise, he encountered no obstacles along the way except for a bunch of mycelium sticking to his feet.

He thought he would at least encounter some traps or monsters!

So far, we haven't seen a single living creature. Could these five layers be empty?
He didn't encounter any living creatures until he reached the mushroom forest.

Some mushrooms, disguised by changing color, leaned against the mushroom tree.

He bumped into one by accident, only realizing it was soft when he felt it.

However, these puffies were not aggressive at all and seemed to have no sense of territory. They didn't react at all when I entered the mushroom forest and walked up to them.

He was happy to avoid fighting.

As the black stone in his hand grew darker and darker, Lacus's dead heart seemed to beat again.

Finally, he stood in front of a stone block.

???

This is slightly different from what Lacus had in mind.

He thought he would encounter one or a group of controlled adventurers, and only after a battle could he seize the holy book.

Or perhaps you'll find the holy book beside a skeleton.

But why is it a stone pier?

A drop of blood condensed between his fingers into a pellet, ready to destroy the stone pillar.

Before the blood pellets could even be thrown, the stone block made its move first.

"What!?"

The sudden surge of energy startled Lacus, who had only taken two steps back when the stone pillar exploded.

The rubble smashed Lacus's cheek, but he didn't care.

Amidst the chaos, he vaguely spotted the yellow book he had been longing for!
But Lacus still maintained a sliver of rationality, glancing around but finding no one else.

He then rushed forward, picked up the yellow book, and looked at it over and over again.

"Yes, yes! It's the holy book! It's the holy book!"

In his excitement, the sacred text was turned slightly.

"not good!"

He hurriedly tried to close it. As the person in charge of tracking the holy book, he naturally knew how powerful its allure was. If he had seen just a few more words, he might have been bewitched.

Even with just a glance, he still noticed the densely packed writing on the somewhat charred holy book:
[Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!]
What do you mean?
puff--

There was a slight noise behind me!
Lacus swiftly turned around and shot out the blood spike he had condensed in his hand.

The blood spike struck the black scales of the giant black mushroom, shattering into bloody foam.

Its power seems to be no different from the spittle arrows of the Mirajis.

But Lacus knew that the attack he had just received was one that could even break through the defenses of Tyrant Bear...

puff--

The giant black mushroom took another step closer, while Lacus retreated to the edge of the stone wall.

The pages of the sacred text were inadvertently revealed.

[Let me clarify first, this has nothing to do with me!]
　Sorry for the lateness, I'll start saving up drafts now...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)