Dungeon Designer: Bringing Smiles to the World!

After the assassin and healer in the team were killed by environmental factors and fell into the depths of Blighttown, only Elisa and Joel, separated by a broken bridge, were left looking at each other across the river.

Fortunately, neither of them could see each other's faces clearly, otherwise they would have seen the bewildered expression on each other's faces.

It wasn't until the poisoned darts were shot at them that the two reacted, began to look for cover and launch a counterattack.

Not only the blowgun guy, but also some bloated, filthy humanoid monsters wielding large wooden clubs emerged from the darkness and charged towards the two.

These monsters are neither living beings nor undead, but rather mutated from the original inhabitants of the diseased village after enduring prolonged exposure to filth and disease, coupled with infection from a chaotic breeding ground.

If I had to put it in perspective, these monsters are more like a special type of demon, though they are quite different from the vast majority of demons in this world that are covered in fire and smell of sulfur.

"clang!"

He raised his sword to block the wooden club that was about to hit him, and in the process, he dodged the poisoned arrow that was coming at him.

Looking at the dark abyss so close at his feet, Joel thought to himself, "This is bad."

"Jump!"

On the other side of the bridge, Elisa, who was also under attack, was casting spells and shouting.

Their only chance of survival right now is to jump down while the [Feather Fall] spell is still active to escape the encirclement, and maybe they can even reunite with Grace and River, who just fell down.

Without further hesitation, the two leaped into the darkness.

……

"Thump..."

Amidst the foul, murky stench, Rivers held Grace tightly in her arms as the two of them eventually fell into a vast, muddy, poisonous swamp.

She quickly got up, ignoring the filth on her clothes, and immediately checked on Grace. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Grace was not injured.

"Are you alright?!" Grace struggled to jump off River's arms and immediately released a prayer to restore her energy and recover from her injuries.

Rivers did not answer her mistress's question immediately. Instead, she looked around, using her professional dark vision to warily observe her surroundings.

That dragon roar had pushed Rivers' nerves to their limit.

In any world, the dragon is always the best symbol of "power".

Although as a titled strongman, River has fought dragons and even hunted these legendary creatures, that was only when she was fully prepared and had a complete team!

Let alone a Gold-level adventurer, even a higher Diamond-level adventurer would never be able to defeat a dragon in its prime on their own.

Especially after reading the story about the war between the king and the ancient dragon when she went into the dungeon, it was hard for River to not think of the four-armed, four-winged ancient dragon.

Lifting Grace up in one hand, Rivers said in a deep voice, "We can't stay any longer; we have to leave."

[Speed ​​Up] [Stealth Step]

Using her combat skills, Rivers grabbed Grace and began speeding through the swamp.

But this is a sick village, and there is no shortage of "hospitable" residents everywhere.

The two, whose speed had already been slowed down by the poisonous swamp, were soon surrounded and attacked.

Giant blood-sucking mosquitoes that inhabit the poisonous swamp and bloated flies that feed on corpses—two disgusting monsters, both afflicted with terrible diseases—flashed their wings and flew toward River and Grace.

Moreover, giant leeches can be seen wriggling everywhere on the surface of the swamp.

To those with insect phobia, this is undoubtedly hell on earth.

【Cloud of Daggers】!

Rivers casually tossed out two clouds of dagger-like mist, swatting away any mosquitoes or flies that approached.

Now is not the time to linger in battle. No one knows when the owner of that dragon roar will arrive. We must find a safe place.

If she were alone, Rivers could easily slip into the shadows and escape danger, but this tactic couldn't be used to take anyone with her.

Fortunately, a dilapidated wooden house stood on the edge of the swamp not far from the two of them.

With her two daggers flashing, several bloodsucking mosquitoes blocking her path were instantly sliced ​​into pieces. Taking advantage of this opening, Rivera quickly broke through the encirclement and rushed into the wooden house.

She quickly closed the door and pulled a handful of powder from her pocket to mask her scent, then tossed it into the air.

"Buzzing..."

The next second, a buzzing sound enveloped the wooden house.

"Hold your breath," Rivers said in a low voice.

Grace obediently covered her mouth and didn't make a sound.

The strong odor stimulated the olfactory organs of mosquitoes and flies, and after lingering for a while without their target, they dispersed.

Rivera peered out the door but didn't spot any enemies yet.

"Waaah..." Grace's sobbing sounded in her ear. Rivers turned her head and saw that the silly child was still covering her mouth and refusing to breathe.

"We're safe, for now."

Upon hearing this, Grace finally lowered her hand and gasped for breath.

As a hybrid of merman and human, Grace doesn't need to be underwater to breathe like mermen, but her requirements for air quality are even higher than those of humans.

The foul, stagnant air in the sick village clearly exacerbated her burden.

To put it more vividly, it's like locking someone in a latrine and then locking the door from the outside—it's as cruel as that.

After finally calming down, Grace looked at River with pleading eyes: "Shouldn't we go find Elisa and Mr. Joel?"

"No way." Rivers immediately shook her head: "There's no way they could have survived the siege. They've most likely already resurrected and left the dungeon."

This is an objective assessment based on strength.

But as soon as she finished speaking, seeing Grace's aggrieved expression, Rivers realized that she had said the wrong thing.

With a sigh inwardly, Rivera changed her mind: "But it's not necessarily true. With the [Feather Fall] buff, they might be able to escape safely."

The village was extremely dark and quite large, making it virtually impossible for people to disperse and then reunite.

The only way is to create attractive light or noise.

But this would attract the monsters that we had just managed to get rid of, and even the owner of that dragon roar.

If she were alone, Rivers could easily clear the map by herself with her formidable strength until she found the other two.

But she couldn't possibly act without Grace by her side; a priestess with little fighting ability couldn't possibly survive in such a hostile environment.

The two are now in a complete dilemma.

"We can only take it one step at a time."

Rivers made up her mind that as long as she lived, she would never let Grace die before her; it was her duty.

After regrouping, the two began searching through the dilapidated wooden house.

The dungeon isn't just filled with pure malice; you might find treasures there that can help you get through the crisis.

Sure enough, after a short while, the two found a black iron key covered in rust.

The moment they picked up the keys, a note with writing on it appeared before them.