This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 175, Section 174: The boldest survive.

In the shadows of the entrance to the Amethyst Dungeon, the air always carries a lingering smell, a mixture of damp earth and a faint stench of decay.

Vera tightened her grip on the scimitar at her waist, her gaze sweeping over her two companions—the mage Feiyin was nervously adjusting the cuffs of her robes, while her twin sister Feiling appeared much calmer.

“Vera,” Fyne’s voice trembled slightly, her gaze fixed on the entrance that resembled the throat of a giant beast, “Should we… really go down now? The expedition team just…”

"Just returned defeated?" Vera finished for her, but her eyes were unusually calm. "Yes, but that's precisely why now is the best time to go down."

Vera turned to Fyne and patiently explained, keeping her voice low so that the scattered adventurers around could not hear, "I've inquired, and just yesterday, a small team went down to the third floor and came out unharmed. According to them, the pugs inside have returned to 'normal'."

The expedition failed, and Puji still occupies the dungeon, but the adventurers still have to live their lives.

The bolder ones have already begun to explore further, while the more cautious ones are still observing the situation of the Puji.

"We all know that Puji has a habit of stuffing the spoils into Fat Puji's belly, and when the extermination squad comes out, they're all stripped naked!"

Fei Yin suddenly realized: "You mean, the equipment of the expedition team might be in that fat guy's belly right now? Waiting to be... pulled out?"

"Right!" Vera snapped her fingers. "Before anyone can react, let's kill as many monster corpses as possible and loot them. Maybe we can find a great bargain!"

As he spoke, he winked at Fei Yin, and a smile of approval appeared on her tense face.

Just as the three were about to enter the dungeon, Vera's attention was drawn to two other figures at the entrance.

That incongruous attire was definitely not that of an adventurer—

A stocky, weathered middle-aged man, dressed in coarse cloth clothes stained with mud, clutched a worn-out pitchfork tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with tension.

Beside him was a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old, also dressed in patched old clothes, but carrying a large, empty basket on his back that was almost half his height.

The boy, his face brimming with the impetuousness and curiosity of a newborn calf, peered cautiously into the underground city.

They seemed to have stood at the entrance to the dungeon for a long time before finally going inside.

Vera whispered to a tall, thin adventurer leaning against the wall, wiping his dagger, "Hey, do you know what happened with those two just now?"

Disturbed, the tall, thin adventurer looked up in annoyance, but his brows relaxed when he saw the person who had come: "Oh, it's Vera. Thanks for the potion last time."

Vera smiled and waved her hand.

The tall, thin adventurer continued, "You're asking about those two who just went in? I don't know them, but judging from their attire, they're probably farmers from Mura Village."

"Farmers? What are they going to do in the underground city?" Fei Ling couldn't help but ask.

The first level of the dungeon is almost completely safe, but that's for adventurers.

To obtain the identity of an adventurer, one must at least reach the bronze level, which is LV20.

Monsters below level 5 on the first floor naturally pose no threat.

But this is different for farmers.

Although most adult humans can reach LV10 or above, without proper combat skills, they can still be in mortal danger if they encounter two or three monsters at once due to bad luck.

So it's really strange that farmers are going into the dungeon, and...

"Don't the guild members care?" Vera asked, looking at the two guards standing at the door not far away.

Logically, the guards should have stopped them if they didn't have the identity of adventurers.

"Hey, we can't just leave people without a way to survive, can we?" The tall, thin adventurer spat on the ground. "I heard their village was hit by a disaster. Some heartless bastard set a huge fire and burned all the crops in the fields to ashes! Seeing that they couldn't survive, they had no choice but to bravely come to the dungeon to pick some mushrooms. These two aren't the first ones." Vera nodded silently, feeling like she'd heard similar stories a lot lately.

Without saying another word, he gestured for Fei Ling and Fei Yin to follow, and stepped into the underground city.

Upon entering the first floor, the light suddenly dimmed, with only some mushrooms on the walls emitting a faint glow.

Although the dungeon has been overrun by mushrooms, the mycelium usually grows in corners, on walls and ceilings, while the paths that adventurers frequently take are relatively clean.

This is actually quite unnatural, and given the recent widespread belief that Puji possesses advanced intelligence, Vera is more inclined to believe it.

He believed it, but he didn't think it would have any impact on him. Wisdom wasn't something that was born today. Didn't adventurers and Puji coexist harmoniously before?

Just follow Puji's rules, which aren't too strict.

Just to be on the safe side, even though Fei Yin could use magic to illuminate, they still rented a lighting Puji, which was somewhat like paying protection money voluntarily.

Not long after they entered, they spotted the farmer father and son not far from the entrance passage.

The boy was squatting on the ground, excitedly reaching out to pluck a cluster of gray mushrooms growing in the corner of the wall.

The middle-aged man, on high alert, held a torch, gripped a pitchfork, and warily scanned the surrounding passageway.

"Wait a minute!" Vera's cool voice suddenly rang out, sounding exceptionally clear in the silent corridor.

He rushed forward and, just before the boy was about to uproot the cluster of mushrooms, decisively grabbed his wrist.

The boy was startled and jerked his hand back: "What are you doing?"

The middle-aged man also turned around nervously, pointing his pitchfork slightly forward: "This... sir?"

Only farmers would call ordinary adventurers "sir".

Vera didn't explain immediately, but simply parted a few of the larger gray mushrooms with her hand, revealing a green mushroom hidden among them.

"Although they won't kill you, if you don't want to fall asleep immediately after every meal, it's best to pick out these green mushrooms."

Amidst expressions of gratitude, Vera bid farewell to the farmer father and son.

……

When Vera reached the second floor, she discovered that Lighting Puji hadn't returned to the Fungal Creep this time, but instead swaggered up after her.

Going down the stairs was too difficult for its short legs, so it could only take big strides down one step at a time, its whole body swaying. Vera was really afraid that it would suddenly roll down like a ball at any moment.

Fei Ling couldn't help but roll her eyes; she couldn't stand it anymore.

She bent down and scooped up the light fixture that was still struggling against the steps, holding it securely in her arms.

"Let's go, little short legs." Lighting curled up obediently in her arms, its steady beam illuminating the path ahead.

When the group finally arrived at the fifth level of Fat Puji's cave, carrying the monster's corpse, the sight before them made Vera raise an eyebrow slightly—the cave was not empty.

A pile of weapons and armor that had clearly just been "drawn" was haphazardly stacked in a corner of the cave, reflecting the cold gleam of metal under the dim light of the lamps.

Vera glanced around and immediately identified many standard weapons and armor bearing church insignia and unique forging styles from the pile of equipment!
Without concealing their presence, their arrival was naturally spotted by the team drawing the lottery, who turned around warily.

It's a bugle call!
His rugged face still held the excitement of a successful harvest and a hint of wariness, but when he saw that the person who came was Vera, the wariness instantly disappeared, replaced by a broad smile that said, "You actually came too."

(End of this chapter)