Great Harvest

Bang!

At the edge of the forest, Sophia's petite body slammed heavily into the ground. The earthy smell filling her nose and the solid sensation beneath her made her, usually mildly obsessed with cleanliness, feel safe for the first time, without the slightest disgust.

Only after losing something did one understand just how precious the things once taken for granted were.

Her teammates, the people she had spent every day with, had been dragged into the swamp without any ability to resist because they had nowhere to stand and could not fully use their strength.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

With her head lowered, Sophia bit her lip hard. Her only remaining left hand repeatedly pounded the ground as tears streamed from her eyes. Why had it not appeared sooner? If they had had even a patch of land to stand on back then, she believed things would never have turned out like this.

"Damn monsters. Damn Dungeon."

The pain of losing her teammates and companions was something Sophia could not accept at all. Her heart was filled with hatred for the Dungeon and that monster that had turned into a treasure chest. Everything had happened because of that treasure-chest monster.

They had trusted too much in the belief that treasure chests in the Dungeon posed no danger, trusting a rule that had never been wrong since the Dungeon first appeared. That was why Vic had been eaten.

If Vic had not died, and they still had the Bone Ship, things could never have become so terrible.

"Human girl, there is one thing you said wrong."

Just then, a gentle voice filled with the aura of nature rang out. Sophia raised her head and discovered that, at some point, she had appeared within the forest... No, rather than saying she had entered the forest, it was more accurate to say the forest had moved over and surrounded her.

Directly before Sophia, a kindly old man's face appeared upon a massive tree nearly fifteen meters tall. Its eyes watched the human girl before it.

"What did I say wrong?"

Sophia raised her head to look at the Treant before her, dissatisfaction still lingering in her tear-filled eyes.

"Everything you said and did." The Treant's kindly face instantly turned savage, endless fury flashing in its eyes. Its enormous body rose from the ground, its limb-like arms clutching weapons as it looked down at Sophia.

"Humans, you entered the Dungeon of your own free will. Yet now, because you have been injured and killed, you begin to complain and hate, and even dare to insult the supreme ruler and His creations!"

The brutal Treant Guardian grabbed Sophia as she tried to flee. Its five fingers slowly tightened, and Sophia let out a shrill scream. Her petite body was crushed bit by bit, every bone in her body shattered into pieces.

A few minutes later, the final member of the Black Iron Squad died, forever remaining on the Fourth Layer.

"What a bountiful harvest!"

As the entire Black Iron Squad reunited, Lucifer revealed a harvest smile as well. At that moment, all of the Black Iron Squad's equipment had been transferred before him. As for their corpses and souls, aside from mage Vic's, all had already become nourishment.

"Eight magic items? They were practically dripping with wealth."

Lucifer examined the eight pieces of equipment before him: Sophia's shoes; Lucas's Battle Axe and pendant; the half-elf archer's bow; the half-orc Hake's breastplate; and Vic's robe, staff, and Alchemy Expansion Pack.

The magic equipment gained from this haul nearly matched Lucifer's total earnings from several previous days.

"Perfect. Now I can replace some of the magic equipment in the treasury that is too low-grade."

Now that the Dungeon had already been developed to the Fifth Layer, if the treasure chests still contained nothing but ordinary equipment, it would discourage adventurers from entering the Dungeon.

After all, if Lucifer were an adventurer who had endured countless hardships, passed through numerous hellish layers and monsters, and finally found a treasure chest only to open it and discover ordinary equipment inside, he would definitely curse his lungs out.

And now, with the eight magic items generously contributed by the Black Iron Squad, Lucifer could replace some of the low-level equipment in the treasury whose enhancement effects were too weak.

As for whether Lucifer would lose out by doing this, those who understood, understood.

After spending several minutes, Lucifer placed the five magic items with the weakest enhancement effects from the treasury into treasure chests on different layers. Three went to the Fifth Layer, and one went to the Fourth Layer.

As for the final magic item, Lucifer thought for a moment before directly stuffing it into a treasure chest on the First Layer.

One day later.

Deep within the First Layer, William walked at the very front of the group with a massive shield in hand. There was not the slightest trace of contempt for the First Layer in his eyes. Instead, they were full of vigilance, even though he had already ventured as deep as the Third Layer.

Yet he still could not forget the monsters they had encountered on the First Layer during his first exploration of the Dungeon. They had been led by two Formal Professionals, but in the end, only he and Sean had escaped.

"Captain, I heard that you were among the first adventurers to enter this Dungeon when it first appeared?"

Within the group, a cute girl wearing an aqua-blue mage robe and sporting golden hair looked up at the broad, reassuring figure ahead of her. She had heard plenty about her captain's experiences from senior adventurers at the Adventurers' Guild.

"Mm." William nodded without turning around, his gaze still fixed ahead. In a stern tone, he warned, "Lia, and everyone else, as your captain, I require you to remember one thing: never underestimate the Dungeon, even if it is only the First Layer!"

"No matter what those idiots in the taverns and the Adventurers' Guild say, remember this: any moment of carelessness in the Dungeon means death."

"Understood, Captain!"

"A serious captain really does make people feel safe."

The members of William's party laughed and teased one another. This was also the main reason they acknowledged William as their captain and were willing to enter the Dungeon with him. A captain like this always made people feel safe.

Even if their progress was slower and their gains were fewer, leaving the Dungeon alive was already a great success in itself.

"Captain, there seems to be a treasure chest over there."

At that moment, Lina, the mage, suddenly pointed above their heads. There was a small protrusion high up on the cavern wall, and from where Lina stood, she could look up and just barely see a trace of a treasure chest sticking out.

"Treasure chest!"

The instant he heard those two words, William's vigilance soared to its peak. He immediately shielded the party members behind him, his gaze sweeping the surroundings like an eagle's to prevent the slightest danger from appearing.

Several full minutes passed before William looked over the cave illuminated by glowing mushrooms. Apart from several Puchi spreading spores in the distance, no dangerous monsters appeared.

As for those Puchi, adventurers had long figured out the temperament of these cute and harmless-looking monsters. As long as one did not take the initiative to attack or approach them, they would not attack adventurers and only wanted to spread spores everywhere.

Some adventurers had even tested that if they fed these Puchi food from outside the Dungeon, they would pick some exceptionally delicious mushrooms as repayment.

All in all, they were harmless monsters that were even beneficial.

After all, in the newly built Adventurer Town outside the Dungeon, specialty dishes centered around the various Delicious Mushrooms produced by the Dungeon were loved and sought after by everyone.