Extra Information

Beneath several enormous gray mushrooms by Poison Mist Lake, three young Adventurers lay prone under the mushroom caps, quietly watching the mutated Pujis in the distance.

Ever since the Pujis had occupied this floor, the spores they released had caused large numbers of blue-gray mushrooms of varying sizes to grow.

Based on experience, although these mushrooms were produced by Puji spores, they did not have any direct connection to the Pujis.

The only link was that new Pujis might occasionally emerge in places where the mushrooms grew especially well.

These Big Mushrooms had broad, low caps, making them perfect for concealment.

But the air was thick with the rotten stench seeping from the soil. There had definitely been Monster corpses here before.

Feiling, the girl carrying a shortbow, rubbed her nose. She felt as though the smell was about to rob her of her sense of smell entirely.

"Vera, quit dragging this out. We'll know whether it works once we try it!"

"All right."

There seemed to be no point in watching any longer. Vera set down the two large cloth sacks on her back and took a dead Two-Headed Python from one of them.

Each end of the snake had a head, one black and one white, while its body was patterned in black and white. It was a common Monster on the Second Floor of the Dungeon.

Its valuable materials, such as its fangs and venom sacs, had long since been removed. All that remained was a lump of low-value snake meat.

Vera coiled the python into a bundle and slung it over her shoulder. Taking a throwing stance, she softly called the other girl's name.

"Feiyin."

"Okay."

A nearly inaudible reply came from behind Vera.

Raising the small wand in her hand, barely two palms long, Feiyin cast a buff spell on Vera.

[Strength Boost]

Vera immediately felt the Two-Headed Python in her hands become much lighter.

After weighing it twice, she hurled it out.

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

Bang—

The startled Pujis immediately fired a shot.

The Mushroom Cannon, already at LV8, struck the middle of the python's body dead on. The medium-sized Monster from the Second Floor was blown into two pieces in an instant.

The sight made the people beneath the mushrooms break out in cold sweat.

No wonder so many people had died at the hands of these Pujis, including quite a few experts capable of reaching the Sixth or Seventh Floor.

The power of just one attack was this great, and Monsters of this level even moved in groups!

It was said that even if one defeated a squad of Pujis, they would only end up fleeing from the larger force that arrived afterward.

It was no wonder most Silver-Rank Adventurers were crammed into taverns drinking. Every one of them wanted to wait until there was a reliable guide before coming down here.

After confirming that the snake was dead, two Pujis with tentacles each hoisted one half of the corpse onto their mushroom caps.

Then the group of Pujis headed toward the Swamp Zone as if they had finished a hunt.

Just like the guide said, Monster corpses could lure the Pujis away!

The key was that the materials had already been taken, so the remaining corpses were worthless. The only trouble was carrying them down here.

"It actually worked..."

Feiling's little mouth fell open. She still found it hard to believe that Vera had gotten lucky enough to buy a genuine firsthand guide.

Vera herself was excited as well.

"I knew it was real!

Feiling, Feiyin, let's not rush off to the Cave to look for Iron Heart Orchids.

Let's go check out that extra information first!"

Feiling could not think of any reason to refuse, so she nodded in agreement.

The group followed the path toward a spot at the edge of Gnoll Forest.

But they did not notice that beneath another Big Mushroom farther away, two people had been watching them for a long time.

"They seem to have a guide. Are we still going to make a move right away?"

The speaker was the half-Elf Nasa.

Only half of his left ear remained. Beneath his sunken cheeks and heavy dark circles, one could still vaguely make out the handsome features inherited from his Elf bloodline. Unfortunately, he looked utterly hollowed out by drink and debauchery.

His companion was a sturdy Dwarf with a mouth full of steel teeth and a cold gaze.

A flash of icy light swept from an axe blade, and the mushroom cap above them slid off at an angle. Grongba stepped on the fallen mushroom stalk and straightened up.

"No rush. We can kill them whenever we want. Let's first see what they're up to, then decide how to deal with them."

All kinds of people wandered through the shadows of the Dungeon. Where there were Adventurers who hunted Monsters, there were naturally also villains who specialized in murdering other Adventurers for money. Such people were known as Raiders.

Nasa and Grongba were precisely Raiders wearing the skins of Adventurers.

Their combat levels had clearly reached LV34 and LV36, yet they had spent years loitering around the Fourth and Fifth Floors solely to look for suitable prey.

The overly youthful faces of Vera Squad had made the two men set their sights on them.

Besides, the Pujis on the Fifth Floor had been causing quite a stir recently. Three more young people dying here would not arouse anyone's suspicion at all.

Nasa took out a packet of powder from his pack and sprinkled it over both of them.

It was a medicinal powder that could block common detection skills, an item specifically used against Adventurers.

Nasa himself then used a detection skill to trail Vera's group from afar.

It was by relying on this method that the two of them had repeatedly succeeded in their ambushes.

At the edge of Gnoll Forest stood a small Cave, its entrance less than two meters high.

Hidden beneath Maidenhair Ferns and Snake Vines, it blended into the surrounding rock walls and was extremely well concealed.

Vera and the other two were now inside the Cave, staring blankly at the Puji sitting in its center.

They were stunned because this Puji was simply too huge...

It was nearly tall enough to touch the ceiling, and just as wide as it was tall. It completely overturned everything they knew about what a Puji should look like.

Just sitting there, it occupied a third of the Cave.

Feiling bumped Vera with her shoulder and asked quietly.

"Is this the one mentioned in the guide? The Puji that can trade for all kinds of random items?"

Vera really wanted to say, How would I know? But if she said that, she would definitely get hit.

"Probably. I'll try."

As she spoke, Vera set down the other cloth sack on her back.

She took another canine Monster corpse from it, carefully stepped forward twice, and placed it before the Fat Puji.

The Fat Puji, which had remained motionless until then, finally reacted upon seeing the Monster corpse. Six tentacles made of Mycelium extended from its back.

Vera swiftly retreated to her teammates and warily drew her curved blade, but this time she had worried for nothing.

The tentacles wrapped around the corpse and stuffed it into the hollow body.

The Fat Puji then continued rummaging around inside itself with its tentacles for quite a while before finally flinging out an exquisite little round shield.

The Engraved Round Shield rolled all the way to the group with a series of clatters.

The three of them stared at one another for a long while, each seeing disbelief in the others' eyes.

It was not particularly strange for some highly intelligent Monsters to communicate or even trade to a certain extent, but this was a Puji!

"Could this shield belong to another Adventurer..."

Feiling thought of the many Adventurers who had recently died on the Fifth Floor. The little round shield could not possibly have been made by the Pujis themselves, could it?

"Then we don't want it?" Vera looked reluctant. The little shield seemed to be of quite good quality, and even if she could not use it, it would still sell for a decent sum.

Who would have thought that Feiling would suddenly become excited?

"Don't want it? Why not?

Quick, quick, let's go back up and kill more Monsters to drag down here!

The good stuff on this Puji must be limited. Before anyone else finds out, we need to trade for as much as we can!"

As she spoke, she eagerly bent down to pick up the little shield.

But before her hand could touch it, Vera kicked her in the shoulder. A crossbow bolt nearly grazed Feiling's cheek as it embedded itself in the ground.

"Raiders!!!!!"