Water droplets trembled on the damp cavern ceiling, ready to fall.

The cavern echoed with waves of infrasound, and below, the floor was piled high with Puji corpses.

The aged crystallized bat was restless, its jagged claws scraping deep white scars into the stone as it clung upside down.

From time to time it dropped, sweeping away any mushrooms that got too close with its wings.

A bone spur tore open the cap of one Puji, releasing a gush of pale purple hallucinogenic spores.

The old bat flailed backward, retreating to the ceiling in a panic, chest heaving violently.

By the time it regained composure, many of the Pujis below had already repaired themselves and were moving again.

Another blast of infrasound shook the cavern, knocking them down once more—an endless cycle.

Killed by sound, they revived. Crushed up close, they burst spores.

The bat could only drag things out, again and again. But the Pujis were still creeping closer…

At last, when even its final perch was shrouded in spores, the old bat succumbed. Dizzy and poisoned, it fell from the ceiling, limp.

Lin Jun had expected it to go down fighting.

But perhaps the older one grows, the more one clings to life. Even on the brink of death, it had only curled tighter, refusing to dive down and tear apart a few mushrooms.

The battle losses ended up far smaller than Lin Jun had predicted.

———

Outside the cavern, two figures waited.

A half-elf with mutilated ears now sprouted mushrooms from the stumps. A human woman’s green staff had fused with a fungal membrane growing between her fingers.

Both were parasitic puppets Lin Jun had created earlier.

This time, the dissection of the old bat would be their job.

But first, each had to drink a bottle of antidote—otherwise, the spores would paralyze them as well.

It seemed puppets inherited the weaknesses of both mushrooms and humans.

Once inside, Lin Jun guided them to slit the throat of the unconscious bat.

Huh?

Why was its status panel still there?

Was it not dead?

Irritated, Lin Jun made the puppet cut its head clean off.

The panel still remained.

He opened it—and realized it wasn’t the bat’s at all.

【Artifact: Sunstone (Fragment)】

…What?

Ignoring the S-class magic crystals for now, he had the puppets rummage frantically through the corpse.

At last, within the chest cavity, they found it: a shard of glowing, heat-radiating stone.

So that explained it—why such a cold cavern held a bat with Heat Resistance LV5.

It had been baked tough by the Sunstone fragment!

So even its “Beyond Death” title might have come from this thing?

Had the Sunstone been sustaining its life?

Unfortunately, the panel gave no further info.

From what he could tell, the stone emitted heat and light… and maybe prolonged survival.

But what use was that to him?

On Earth, some mushrooms lived for months, others for thousands of years.

Here, he had never felt the passage of age at all.

It was not decay he feared—but being killed by some powerful monster or adventurer.

That made him think again of the other broken artifact he’d seen—one that unleashed devastating attacks.

That was what he wanted.

The three arm-sized S-class crystals and the Sunstone went into his secret swamp vault.

As for the bat’s remains, nothing would go to waste. The puppets were already cutting the corpse into small pieces to carry out—after all, a creature with so many maxed-out skills would yield him a trove of proficiency through Ability Theft.

When he brought out the Sunstone fragment, he examined the broken edge, fitting it against the piece he already had.

The two shards fused instantly, seamless. Just as he’d imagined of a true artifact.

Now whole, its heat flared so strong his Heat Resistance LV7 barely kept up—he had to hold it at arm’s length.

Would it really turn into a miniature sun if completed?

Even the panel had changed:

【Artifact: Sunstone (Incomplete)】

An upgrade, clearly—but still frustratingly useless.

Lin Jun’s mycelium twitched in impatience.

Good thing he had the three S-class crystals. That 500% skill power boost the bat had used… oh, he was drooling for it.

He’d try to mount them on his war machine soon.

———

Two days later, after the bat was dealt with—

A surge of mana rippled through the entire fifth floor.

Lin Jun noticed it immediately.

It wasn’t coming from the stairways between levels—it pierced straight through the dungeon walls, rising vertically from below.

Not like the chaotic bursts of battle. This was steady, rhythmic, sustained.

Something he had never encountered before.

The disturbance lasted ten full minutes before calming.

Had the dungeon itself changed?

He asked Dilan, busy building wooden huts—but true to his status as a bottom-tier adventurer, the man knew nothing.

So Lin Jun sent him topside to gather news. He might as well check on Inanna while he was at it.

Even so, Lin Jun was uneasy.

Such a massive fluctuation had to mean something. And the unknown always made him nervous.

He decided to accelerate Puji production and dispatch some to explore deeper levels.

His careful, leisurely war-machine upgrade would also have to be rushed.

He refused to be caught unprepared.

———

Yafeng Town, inside the Guildmaster’s office.

Oberon had just finished hearing Helena’s report.

Two gold-rank beastkin adventurers had taken a level-five A-rank quest—and hadn’t returned in ten days.

The young guildmaster leaned on his hand, tapping the desk, debating whether to raise the quest’s rating or shelve it.

Most diamond-rank adventurers had been summoned to the capital. Through special channels, he’d learned something major was brewing.

Few high-ranks remained outside. Even if he posted an S-rank quest, who would take it?

Besides, by current intel, the mushrooms in the swamp weren’t aggressive unless provoked. So long as adventurers avoided that area, exploration wasn’t threatened.

Cheaper, then, to just update the official guide—“Stay away from the swamp.”

A sharp knock broke his thoughts.

“Enter.”

Mirabelle, head of intelligence analysis, stepped in and spoke bluntly:

“The detection crystals on levels seven, four, and one all recorded mana surges. Intensity decreases by layer.”

In an instant, Oberon forgot all about the mushrooms.

He grasped at straws: “Not interference? A false alarm?”

Mirabelle said nothing. She didn’t need to.

“…Damn.”

He knew it was a stupid question. She wasn’t one to make rookie mistakes.

But—

“It’s too soon. Why so early this time? And right when all the diamond-ranks are gone…”

Oberon raked his golden hair until it stood in wild tufts.

Yanking open a drawer, he pulled out a bottle of elven ice-wine.

One long swig steadied his nerves. He exhaled, then said:

“Sound the Demon Tide warning. Seal the dungeon entrance.

I’ll report this to headquarters and write to the surrounding cities for aid.

Ixion preserve us—let’s hope this doesn’t turn into disaster…”