Beneath a few massive gray mushrooms at the edge of the Poison Mist Lake, three young adventurers crouched under the caps, secretly watching a group of mutated Pujis in the distance.

Ever since the Pujis had occupied this floor, the spores they spread had spawned countless green-gray mushrooms of all shapes and sizes.

From experience, while these mushrooms came from Puji spores, they had no direct link to the Pujis themselves.

The only connection was that sometimes, if a mushroom thrived particularly well, a new Puji might be born nearby.

The wide, low caps of these mushrooms made excellent cover.

The only drawback was the stench—reeking of rot from monster corpses that must have once lain beneath the soil.

The bow-wielding girl Phylline rubbed her nose, feeling as though she’d lose her sense of smell if she stayed much longer.

“Veyra, stop stalling. Just try it already, we’ll see if it works!”

“Alright.”

Further waiting seemed pointless. Veyra lowered the two bulging sacks he carried and pulled from one the corpse of a two-headed python.

One head black, one head white, its body striped in black and white—it was a common second-floor monster.

The fangs and venom sacs, its valuable parts, had already been stripped. What was left was worthless meat.

Veyra coiled the carcass, hefted it onto his shoulder in a throwing stance, and called softly:

“Phyine.”

“…Okay.”

The quiet reply came from the girl behind him.

Raising her short wand, Phyine cast a buff on him.

[Strength Enhancement]

At once, the serpent felt much lighter in his hands.

He weighed it, then hurled it forward.

The corpse spread in midair before crashing heavily near the Pujis.

Boom—

Startled, a Puji immediately fired.

The LV8 mushroom cannon blast struck the snake mid-body, blowing the second-floor beast into two pieces.

The sheer force of it made cold sweat drip down the three adventurers’ backs.

No wonder so many had died to these things—even adventurers strong enough for the sixth or seventh floors.

One blast packed such power. And these creatures didn’t act alone—they fought in squads!

Even if you defeated one small group, you’d only be chased down by the main horde.

Little wonder most silver-rankers now wasted their days in taverns, refusing to enter until a reliable guide appeared.

When the Pujis confirmed the snake was dead, two with tentacles hoisted the halves onto their caps.

Then, like a hunting party returning with game, the group of Pujis carried the corpse pieces off toward the swamp.

Just like the guide had said—monster carcasses could lure them away!

The valuable parts were already stripped, so the leftovers weren’t worth much. The only trouble was lugging them down here.

“…It actually works,” Phylline breathed, lips parted in disbelief. She still found it hard to believe Veyra had lucked into a genuine, firsthand strategy.

Veyra himself was thrilled.

“I knew it was real!

Phylline, Phyine, let’s not rush to the caverns for Iron Orchid just yet.

First, let’s check out that extra intel!”

Phylline had no reason to refuse, so she nodded.

The three followed the trail toward the edge of the Gnoll forest.

They didn’t notice, farther away under another massive mushroom, that two figures had been watching them for some time.

“Looks like they’ve got a guide. Should we move now?”

The speaker was the half-elf Nassa.

His left ear was only half remaining, his face sunken, dark bruised lids drooping over still-handsome elven features now wasted by wine and women.

His companion was a burly dwarf with a mouthful of steel teeth and eyes as cold as blades.

With a flicker of his axe, the mushroom above them split, the cap sliding down. Grognagba stepped free, crushing the stalk underfoot.

“No rush. We can kill them whenever. Let’s see what they find first.”

In the Dungeon’s shadows lurked all manner of people. Where there were monster-hunting adventurers, there were also those who hunted adventurers for profit—bandits known as raiders.

Nassa and Grognagba were such men, raiders disguised as adventurers.

Though their combat levels were already LV34 and LV36, they lingered on the fourth and fifth floors, preying on suitable victims.

The youthful faces of Veyra’s team made them perfect targets.

And with the Pujis causing such chaos recently, three young adventurers dying here would draw no suspicion at all.

Nassa pulled out a pouch of powder and sprinkled it over them both.

It was a reagent that blocked common detection skills, crafted specifically to counter adventurers.

He then activated his own detection skill to shadow Veyra’s group from afar.

It was with this method they had ambushed so many before.

———

At the edge of the Gnoll forest lay a small cave, less than two meters tall.

Concealed under bracken and serpent-vines, it blended seamlessly with the cliff wall.

Inside, the three adventurers stood frozen, staring at the Puji seated in the center.

Frozen—because this Puji was massive.

Nearly brushing the cave roof with its height, its girth just as wide, it utterly shattered their image of Pujis.

Simply by sitting, it occupied a third of the cavern.

Phylline nudged Veyra with her shoulder, whispering:

“This is it? The one in the guide, the Puji that trades for random items?”

Veyra wanted to say, “How should I know?”—but saying that would only get him punched.

“…Probably. I’ll try.”

He lowered the other sack, pulling out a dog-type monster corpse. Carefully, he placed it before the fat Puji.

For the first time, the unmoving giant reacted. Six tendrils of mycelium unfurled from its back.

Veyra retreated at once, drawing his curved blade in case. But it was unnecessary.

The tendrils coiled around the carcass, stuffing it into its hollow body.

Then they stirred within for some time, before finally ejecting a small, ornate round shield.

The engraved shield clattered across the ground to stop before them.

The three stared at each other, eyes wide with disbelief.

That a monster with high intelligence could communicate or trade wasn’t unheard of.

But this was a Puji.

“…This shield isn’t from another adventurer, is it?”

Phylline recalled how many had recently died on the fifth floor. Surely the Pujis hadn’t forged this themselves?

“Then what, we don’t take it?” Veyra looked reluctant. The shield seemed high quality—worth good coin even if he didn’t use it.

Phylline suddenly grew excited.

“Not take it? Why wouldn’t we?

Quick! Let’s hunt more monsters to trade!

There’s no way this Puji has unlimited loot. Before anyone else finds it, we have to get as much as we can!”

She bent down, reaching for the shield.

But before her fingers touched it, Veyra kicked her shoulder, shoving her aside—

An instant later, a crossbow bolt whizzed past, grazing her cheek before burying itself in the ground. A thin line of blood traced her skin.

“Raiders!!!”