Dungeon's Greatest Monster

In the shadows, Vinnie carefully avoided every Puchi she encountered. Even though these Puchi were low-level monsters that a Formal Professional assassin could kill with a casual stroke, Vinnie's expression remained incredibly tense and serious. She did not dare let down her guard in the slightest.

As a Drow Elf raised in the Underdark, she was intimately familiar with the abilities and habits of these Puchi. It was precisely through her understanding of them that she had successfully plotted against her dear teammates.

"Mycelial Network. Few humans living on the surface know that these seemingly insignificant monsters possess such an ability."

Ever since entering the Dungeon, Vinnie had secretly observed the Puchi and all kinds of mushrooms scattered throughout it. After a period of careful observation, she had become certain that these Puchi could use the Mycelial Network to detect the traces of intruders.

Therefore, when Mark explained the battle plan that morning, Vinnie had already made up her mind when she noticed the seemingly inconspicuous mushrooms in their temporary camp.

When she had been surrounded by three Muscle Puchi earlier, Vinnie had immediately slipped into the Shadow World. She then threw out a corpse she had prepared in advance in her Alchemy Expansion Pack to deceive them, successfully escaping.

"The chest and the Mana Mushrooms are all mine."

Emerging from the shadows once more, Vinnie stared fixedly at the ornate chest in the distance. Greed and desire flickered in her crimson eyes. If there had only been Mana Mushrooms here, Vinnie would not have betrayed her teammates just yet.

But with such an exceptionally ornate chest added to the mix, the treasure inside was more than worth betraying her teammates for. As a pure-blooded Drow Elf, betrayal was simply an instinct engraved into her nature.

"Captain Mark really is so naïve and adorable."

As though recalling something, a seductive smile appeared on Vinnie's lovely face. When she had joined Mark's party, Mark, distrusting Drow Elves, had made Vinnie sign an Adventurers' Guild-certified contract and swallow poison as a guarantee.

"To think he believed that an ordinary contract and poison could restrain a Drow Elf."

Vinnie reached into her throat and prodded around a few times, then spat out the poison she had swallowed intact. As for the Adventurers' Guild contract, it was nothing more than an ordinary contract.

If Vinnie had been the one making the contract, she would definitely have used a magical contract.

Casually putting away the poison, Vinnie glanced around. There were only seven or eight Puchi wandering nearby. Her figure flashed forward like a light-footed black cat, the curved blade in her hand gleaming with deadly cold light.

In barely a dozen seconds, all the Puchi wandering nearby had been beheaded.

Sheathed her twin blades, Vinnie stretched lazily like a cat, displaying her lovely figure in full. Like a little girl who had received her favorite candy, she walked lightly toward the chest.

Without the slightest hesitation, Vinnie reached out and opened the chest. Outside a Dungeon, she would never have been so careless.

But this was a Dungeon. Never had any Dungeon chest contained traps or magical curses. This was an unbroken rule across the countless Dungeons of Keltus World for millions of years.

Chests in Dungeons represented treasure and power.

Click~

The ornate chest opened easily, and an excited smile appeared on Vinnie's lovely face. But there was no treasure inside—only a hungry maw full of fangs. A long, sticky tongue shot out in an instant and tightly bound Vinnie's body.

Swish.

Before the smile could fade from Vinnie's face, an irresistible force pulled her directly into the chest. With a cry of alarm, the chest shut again, and faint chewing sounds could be heard from within.

"I declare the Mimic Monster to be the greatest monster in the Dungeon so far!"

Watching Vinnie get devoured by the Chest Monster with his own eyes, Lucifer could not help praising it. Since creating the Chest Monster, it had never failed even once.

Whether it was experienced adventurers like Vinnie and Vic, or rookie adventurers on the earlier floors.

Every person who saw a chest would drop all their guard, only to be swallowed in a single bite by the Mimic Monster. By now, every adventurer who had ever seen a Mimic Monster was dead.

"This is all thanks to the reputation accumulated by other Dungeons over millions of years. That's why the Mimic Monster's operations have gone so smoothly."

It was like credit ratings before Lucifer had transmigrated: the better your credit, the more money you could borrow.

What Lucifer was doing now was much the same. The difference was that he was using the credit other Dungeons had accumulated over millions of years.

Before that credit went bankrupt, the more Dungeon credit Lucifer overdraw, the more he earned. And what would happen after it went bankrupt... what did that have to do with Lucifer?

"Still, it seems my old friend will have to offer himself up this time as well."

Lucifer turned his gaze toward Mark's group. Relying on the magic scroll Oliver had been saving as a last resort, they had instantly killed three Muscle Puchi, but Ireland and Mark had also been seriously injured by the blast.

Ireland, who had suffered the worst injuries, had already passed out and completely lost the ability to fight.

"Ireland, wake up!"

On the battlefield, Oliver used Magic Shield to block the relentless attacks of two Muscle Puchi while pouring a healing potion into Ireland's mouth. He shouted Ireland's name, trying to wake him.

Mark, beside them, was not doing much better. Thanks to a knight's powerful physique, he had not passed out despite his severe injuries, but he was currently gulping down healing potions as though they were water.

"Oliver, prepare to retreat!"

After temporarily recovering his ability to move with healing potions, Mark gripped his greatsword with both hands and used it to support himself as he rose to his feet. He looked at the two remaining Muscle Puchi, then swallowed the burst potion in his mouth in one gulp. An unusual flush appeared on his face.

The next instant, battle aura surpassing his peak erupted from within him. Mark's already battered body let out waves of mournful creaks. He forcibly swallowed the blood rising in his throat as the battle aura inside him began to circulate madly.

"Flame Blast: Wave Slash!"

The crimson greatsword radiated terrifying heat, and even the blade itself began to warp under the extreme temperature. With a ferocious expression, Mark raised the greatsword, stepped forward, and swung it. Violent flames instantly filled the entire space.

The two Muscle Puchi blocked by Oliver's Magic Shield were sent flying directly away.

"Go."

Mark casually tossed the ruined greatsword onto the ground, rushed to Oliver's side, hoisted the unconscious Ireland over his shoulder, and charged toward the basin ahead. As for retreating the way they had come, that route had already been blocked by mangled Puchi corpses.

In their current condition, Mark had no strength left to break through the encirclement again.

"Mark, where are we going now?" Oliver gripped his staff tightly as he followed beside Mark, occasionally swinging out a wind blade to kill Puchi blocking their path.

"Find a safe place to recover first."