This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 385, Section 384: The Unchanging Dwarfs
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Pickaxe flash!
Heave-ho! Heave-ho! Chisel a rock wall!
It's dark underground, but the firelight is bright.

Dig up gold and exchange it for wine!
Not afraid of landslides or puddles.
Dwarfs are always strong!
If you were trapped at the bottom of a mine pit—

The aroma of ale brings you home!
……

The air in the "Mouth of the Giants" tavern is filled with the rich aroma of ale and the smoky scent of roasted meat.

The dwarves' rough laughter and curses, the heavy clinking of wooden glasses as they raised their cups, their off-key mining songs, and the shouts of waiters carrying trays as they weaved through the crowded tables and chairs.

This is the evening time that every dwarf is most familiar with.

In the innermost corner of the tavern, at a table leaning against the stone wall, Tolin Deepfire, the dwarf who had accidentally fallen into the Puji Dungeon and was eventually brought back to the mountains, was having his last drink with his friends before parting ways.

Beside him was Grum, also a dwarf. After going through life-and-death trials in the Scarecrow Abyss and the Puji Dungeon, their relationship evolved from a simple employer-employee bond to a life-or-death friendship, and they are now inseparable.

Sitting opposite them was a white-haired fox-person, a rare sight in the mountains.

Unlike the elves, the dwarves do not isolate themselves from the world; they welcome allied races.

However, although the dwarves opened their doors, very few outsiders were actually willing to settle in the mountains.

After all, there's no profit to be made.

Valuable mineral veins are controlled by a few clans. Without the dwarves' talent for mining, making a living here is extremely difficult.

As for adventurers, they can only get odd jobs like clearing out monsters in mines.

The molten underground city nestled in the mountains had long been completely controlled by the dwarves and had become a pure resource-producing area, requiring no outside intervention whatsoever.

Therefore, it is relatively rare to see outsiders in the mountains, let alone the already small number of fox people.

Tolin vigorously wiped his beard, which was covered in liquor foam, and laughed, "Kiro, really not want a shot of docrub? It's the most valuable treasure in the mountains!"

The fox-man Kiro shifted uncomfortably. Although fox-men were not large, the heavy wooden chairs designed for dwarves still made him uncomfortable: "No, a mage can't let his brain turn into a puddle of mud."

“Nonsense,” Glenn interjected, “aren’t all the arcane mages around here heavy drinkers? I think you just have a low alcohol tolerance!”

Kiro simply smiled and did not argue.

Torin sighed, his tone turning somewhat melancholic: "Kiro, is it really necessary to leave? You can stay a few more days; I won't charge you for food or lodging, after all, you saved my life!"

This tavern is one of the properties of the Deepfire clan, to which Torin belongs.

As the clan chief's youngest son, although he didn't have a high status in the family, he still had the authority to give his friends free meals.

Kiro shook his head slightly: "There are many people passing by the mountain road where you fell and injured yourself. I just found you before others, which at most saved you some suffering. It's not a matter of saving your life. Besides, I've been eating and drinking for free for three months and received so many gems from you. That's enough. Now, I should go and pursue new luck."

“I’ve always wanted to ask you,” Grlum leaned closer curiously, “what exactly is this ‘luck’ you’re talking about?”

“Saving the injured Tolin was a stroke of luck, but now that luck has shifted elsewhere, and I have to catch up with it.”

"Huh? Luck can be chased?" Grlum looked incredulous.

Tolin swirled the remaining wine in his glass and said enviously, "How wonderful! I wish I could travel the world like you, instead of wasting my time in these monotonous mountains!"

“You’re living too comfortably,” Glenn laughed. “Just wait a few more meals and you’ll realize how fortunate you are to have a peaceful life!”

"Maybe so, but I just crave adventure!"

The three chatted for a long time until Glenn and Torrin were so drunk that they were carried into their guest room by the waiters.

When I woke up at noon the next day, I learned that Quiro had already left in the morning.

"Kiro is no ordinary guy!" Glenn exclaimed.

"He is indeed very capable, but in what aspect are you referring to?"

"Haven't you noticed that he's been getting up on time every day for the past few months?" Tolin shook his head blankly, then recalled that it seemed to be true.

This is quite an achievement for a dwarf who loves to drink.

Suddenly he noticed something new at his waist, and reached in to pull out two scrolls: "This is..."

Tolin had no recollection of what happened after last night, but fortunately Glenn did.

"They are two shrinking scrolls. Kiro said they will bring us good luck."

The two looked at each other, puzzled. Tolin carefully put away the parting gift from his friend.

……

A week after Kiro left, Torin's family finally couldn't tolerate his idle behavior any longer and arranged for him to be in charge of managing the material transportation in the Molten Dungeon.

Unlike other dungeons, the Molten Dungeon, located beneath Golden Flame Fortress, is primarily inhabited by various elemental spirits.

The dwarves, through some method, successfully "tamed" the elemental spirits.

These elemental spirits have now become stable producers of elemental materials.

Whenever an elemental spirit's body grows to a certain stage, it is harvested, and its spirit returns to the environment to condense a new body.

The only trouble in the entire underground city was some insignificant cave-dwelling insects, who at most stole scraps.

That's why Tolin always complained that life in the mountains was monotonous and lacked passion, and even in the underground city, there was no sense of adventure.

Looking at the package after package of materials being sealed, Torin whispered to the person behind him, "Glenm, how about we find another chance to escape?"

Glenn glanced at him: "Do you want to see me on the wanted list?"

After thinking about it, Tolin realized that his family might actually do such a thing, so he could only sigh and give up.

Just as Tolin was dejectedly watching another batch of packaging materials being transported away, a cry for help suddenly came from afar!
A dwarf miner was seen scrambling and crawling as he fled, pursued by a stone giant nearly five meters tall. The giant fist made of rock slammed down on the fleeing dwarf!
"Watch out!" Torin shouted, almost instinctively grabbing the battle axe leaning against the wall and rushing over.

Grum was quick to react, almost simultaneously placing his sturdy shield in front of the stone giant.

The rock and steel collided violently, and Glenn was jolted back half a step, but he managed to block the attack.

Taking advantage of the moment, Torin chopped the stone giant in the back of the knee with his axe. As the shards of stone flew, the elemental spirit fell to the ground.

However, before they could even catch their breath, the entire underground city seemed to suddenly awaken!
"The Fire Spirit has gone out of control!"

"Quickly stop those stones!"

The sounds of battle rang out from all directions, and the once docile elemental spirits launched attacks on the dwarves around them.

Torin smashed the stone elemental beneath him with an axe: "What on earth is going on?"

Glenn stood beside him: "Looks like the 'adventure' you've been waiting for has arrived."

"Don't joke around, I never expected this!"

More and more rampaging elemental spirits appeared in sight.

“Run!” Glenn advised.

But then, Tolin miraculously remembered his duty as a member of the organization: "I have to go and sound the alarm!"

"Are you serious at a time like this?"

Seeing that Torin had already disappeared into a stone corridor, Glenn had no choice but to grit his teeth and follow.

(End of this chapter)