This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 97, Section 96: The Prospective Slave Who Inherited the Debt

Looking at the three people in front of him, Norris swallowed the last mouthful of soup, his fingers unconsciously scratching tiny marks on the wooden table.

"You ran away fast!" Fei Ling slammed her hand on the table, making the soup bowl bounce half an inch. "We stood up for you, and what did you do—"

“Philing!” Vera patted her on the shoulder, then looked at Norris. “Don’t mind her, she’s just a bit gossipy, she doesn’t mean any harm.”

Fei Ling muttered, "What gossip..."

“I…I know,” Norris said softly, her head bowed. “Thank you…”

He jumped up, his old leather boots knocking over the wooden stool: "I'm sorry, I have to go into the dungeon tomorrow, so now..."

Norris practically sprinted out the door and disappeared into the night.

"What do you mean? It's like I'm bullying him."

Fei Ling grumbled in dissatisfaction, feeling somewhat frustrated that the person she was helping was afraid of this.

Vera patted her on the shoulder and comforted her, "It's alright, he said thank you before he left, didn't he?"

……

Norris knew they meant well, but he really didn't feel comfortable around people like them.

He was like a rat in a sewer, only feeling safe in a corner where no one was watching.

He was afraid of the looks he received from others, whether they were kind or malicious.

He knew he had a problem, but there was a reason why he had become like this.

Isn't it normal for someone who could become a slave at any time because they can't repay their debts to have some psychological problems?
Some are born in Rome, while others are born to be beasts of burden.

Norris unfortunately belongs to the latter category.

Thank you to my gambling-addicted father who died young.

Before he even reached adulthood, he had to accept a debt of thirty-two gold coins in the Baron's dusty ledger with his crooked signature.

There's no such thing as debts being settled upon death here. Death may take away a gambler's breath, but it can't take away the parchment scrolls at the notary office recording the debts—it's only natural for children to pay their fathers' debts.

Norris should be thankful that his gambling father was not very capable and did not incur a debt of hundreds of gold.

According to the law, people who cannot repay their debts will be sentenced to become slaves to their creditors. Fortunately, his father drank himself to death before he could take that step.

As he was only 14 at the time, the laws of the United Kingdom were quite humane, allowing him to repay the debt in installments after he turned 16.

You will repay 2 gold coins every three months, and with interest, you will repay 40 gold coins in 5 years.

In order to avoid a fulfilling life as a slave, he started trying to save money when he was 14 years old.

Then, in the first year of repayments, all the money I had saved up was used up.

Unfortunately, Norris, who barely meets the minimum standards for an adventurer, simply doesn't have the ability to earn that much money.

At 17, he should have become a slave because he hadn't paid off his debts, but fate seems to have finally smiled upon him.

The monsters on the fifth floor were cleared away by the Puji. Even a bronze-level adventurer like him could dig up baskets of magic crystals as long as he carefully followed the rules.

Thank goodness for Puji, otherwise he'd probably already be on a slave ship bound for the archipelago...

All he wanted to do now was go down into the dungeon as soon as possible to dig up a basket of magic crystals.

……

Early the next morning, Norris arrived at the dungeon with his basket and pickaxe.

Upon entering, he noticed traces of mycelium above the entrance to the underground city.

It's unclear whether the other adventurers passing by haven't noticed or have already gotten used to it.

It seems that nowadays it's not surprising for mycelium to grow anywhere.

I heard that mycelium has started growing on the sixth floor as well, and there it's where Puji is fighting fiercely with slimes.

However, none of this is relevant to me for now. As long as I honestly mine magic crystals, I can pay off my debts and save a little money at the same time.

Even a few dozen taels of silver would be incredibly precious to him.

While pondering his savings plan, Norris shamelessly followed the other teams down to the fifth floor. He was weak and had no choice but to do so...

The pickaxe struck the rock face, creating tiny sparks. As always, Norris spent nearly two days collecting a basketful of magic crystal ore.

As they approached the cave entrance, an unexpected incident occurred—someone was getting closer. "Damn it! The ground is covered in magic crystals!" A hoarse voice boomed, causing the mycelium on the cave ceiling to fall in a flurry.

This gave Norris a bad feeling.

Another hoarse voice echoed, "It's such a shame we've never been here before! Hurry, hurry, pack it all up!"

When Norris approached, he saw two figures clad in leather armor frantically grabbing at the scattered ore.

"Um... if you keep making that noise, you'll get over here..." Norris couldn't help but remind him.

When Puji gets into a fight with the adventurer, he doesn't care whether he accidentally hurts him or not.

"what?"

An adventurer glanced at him, saw that he was only a bronze-level warrior, sneered, and shoved him to the ground.

Stop pretending. You want to pick it up but don't want others to?

It's obvious they assumed the magic crystals in his basket were also picked up.

However, when Norris fell, the pickaxe that slipped from his hand traced a silver arc in the air and struck a mushroom hat that was mining.

The mushroom cap with its shell split open on the spot and fell softly to the ground with a plop.

Norris's face turned pale at this sight—he's dead!
He could only quickly pick up the magic crystal he had dropped and run outside first.

The two adventurers weren't entirely unaware of the situation on the fifth floor; after a brief moment of surprise, they quickly came to their senses.

"Oh no, I'm dead!"

"Then hurry up and go, the puffies won't be able to surround us all at once."

"That kid was clearly the one who killed him!"

A chorus of curses came from behind. Two adventurers carrying bags filled with magic crystals caught up with him. As they passed Norris, one of them tripped him.

Norris crashed to the ground this time, and several magic crystals fell out of the basket on his back, some even hitting him on the head.

"You killed them yourself, so you have to bear the consequences!"

The adventurer's voice faded into the distance, and Norris didn't have time to pick up the magic crystals anymore; he knew all too well what the consequences of killing Puji would be.

We have to get out of here quickly!
However, the two adventurers in the distance had only run a few steps out of the cave when Norris saw seven or eight puffies suddenly jump out of the surrounding fungal carpet, pounce on them, and then there was a series of loud noises.

The force of the explosion shook the cave. Norris had to press himself against the wall to shield himself from the impact, completely unaware that a large rock had been knocked down from above...

……

……

……

After an unknown amount of time, Norris finally regained a sliver of consciousness.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, and he could only barely squint through them.

He tried to reach out, only to find his forearm stuck in a crevice at an angle that defied the structure of the joint—his entire right arm was covered in semi-congealed blood plasma, and the smell of rust filled his nostrils.

His body was trapped under the rubble, and his body had long since lost the ability to feel pain.

Am I going to die?

Norris felt a surge of fear, the instinctive fear of death that every creature has.

But then some memories flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

The debt collector took the last coin from his hand without any mercy, looking at him as if he were looking at a dying prey.
All sorts of adventurers bullied him for all sorts of arbitrary reasons, and he could only keep retreating;
The person he caught stealing his money not only refused to return it, but also brought accomplices to beat him up...

It seems... it's not so bad for this shitty life to end like this?
But for some reason, at the very end of the slideshow, the girl who wanted to stand up for him flashed by.

Before he could even grasp what this meant, Norris's thoughts began to wander, his consciousness seemingly detaching from the void—he was about to die.

In his final moments of confusion, it seemed as if something was stuck to his neck.

A voice he had never heard before suddenly appeared in his mind:

"Sorry to disturb your enjoyment of death, but I just wanted to ask, are you still interested in continuing to live?"

(End of this chapter)