Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?

Charon curled up in the swamp, using the filth covering his body as camouflage.

"Pat pat pat..."

Several Fishmen-like Monsters roamed nearby, their webbed feet making sticky sounds, their bulging eyes searching for prey, their tridents flickering with a cold glow.

Charon dared not breathe too deeply, in the past he could have taken down these Fishmen alone, but now he had lost his weapon, and not only that, his right leg had been sprayed by a Curse Frog, small thorns had grown out, impairing his mobility.

Previously, a Magician named Ellie had fled with him in the chaos, but now he had no idea where she had run off to; if she were here, she might be able to use Magic to distract the Fishmen.

He wasn't afraid of dying, he just didn't want to die without value.

Returning home from the Dungeon without any discoveries would be too shameful to mention.

Moreover... it would affect his father's perception of him.

His father already favored his younger brother, so if Charon wanted to become the Family Head, he must show he could outperform his brother, who was very talented in business.

For that, he would stop at nothing!

Should he use it?

He clenched his fist, then released it.

He continued to lie low in the swamp, watching the Monsters' movements closely, like a crocodile waiting for its prey.

Just then, flames suddenly arose in the distance, a second beacon!

Who had lit it? Was it Steeran and the others? In such a situation, they still had the mind to light a fire?

The Fishmen saw the beacon too, immediately becoming restless and running towards it; it seemed the beacon also attracted Monsters.

So cunning!

But it was a rare opportunity!

After the Fishmen had all left, there was one that stayed behind, dumbly standing in place, naturally targeted by Charon.

"Borrowing your weapon!"

Charon pounced fiercely, pinning the Fishman to the ground, his fists hammering down like a sudden downpour!

The poor Fishman didn't even have the chance to scream before being smashed into a mushy pile.

Charon picked up the dropped trident and walked away, not wanting to delay a moment.

"What a crude weapon, completely worthless... huh, what's this!?"

His expression was first puzzled, then his eyes gradually widened, showing an astonished look.

As he picked up the trident, knowledge of a Combat Skill named [Patience] flowed into his mind, ready to be used at any moment!

The sticky, filthy trident suddenly appeared dazzlingly bright in his eyes.

Charon had a premonition that this miraculous item might just be a significant aid in his quest to become the Family Head!

"Boom—"

Suddenly, an explosion sounded from behind, followed by faint white smoke; Charon immediately turned around on alert, only to find that it was the Fishman's corpse that had exploded, and the lingering smoke obscured the center of the explosion.

"Corpse Explosion Technique? But the power is too weak, how could it kill anyone,"

Of course, this wasn't the Corpse Explosion Technique.

"Roar roar roar!"

The roar of a beast instantly dispersed the fog, overwhelming Charon's senses!

A wildly ferocious aura surged forth, and a mountainous bear suddenly appeared at the location of the Fishman's corpse, baring its teeth at him.

Charon was stupefied.

How is this possible??

Why did the Fishman explode into a giant bear? Magic? But he had never heard of such Magic!

Of course, he didn't know the principle behind it, because this wasn't Magic, but...

[Biomimetic Tear Drop (Common)]

[Required spiritual power per unit: 100]

[Life: F-～D+, Strength: F-～D+, Intelligence: F-～D+, Endurance: F-～D+, Speed: F-～D+, Total Combat Power: F-～D+]

A common Biomimetic Tear Drop, capable of transforming into a Monster up to D+ level.

Like the tears used by players in games which are of the highest grade, even able to transform into SSS rank, it's a pity they are too expensive, Gong Qiying can't afford them, nor are they unlocked.

But even the ordinary tears have a very high cost performance, hence there were limitations.

Only five can exist at the same time.

[Giant Bear]

[Spiritual Power Required Per Unit: 300]

[Health: D+, Strength: C, Intelligence: F, Endurance: D+, Speed: D+, Overall Combat Power: D+]

A fierce beast, bound to bring unexpected surprises to the adventurers!

Charon looked at the giant claw that could kill him with a slap, and then at his own tattered harpoon...

"Heh heh,"

"Ao ao ao—"

The vast swamp shook slightly, the water surface rippled, and soon returned to calm.

"What a terrifying aura,"

Steeran looked into the distance, her heart couldn't help but tremble.

"Let's hope no one encounters a powerful monster," Huynh said wanly.

His current appearance was quite miserable, the muscles on the left side of his body continuously atrophied and black flies circled him, seemingly declaring that his end was near.

The negative effects from the Curse Frog's bite were ongoing; it wasn't something that could be alleviated just by amputating an arm, he had already entered the countdown to death.

"Let's worry about ourselves first,"

Steeran sighed and looked into the distance.

A fortress built of black stone stood a hundred meters away, exuding a mysterious and solemn aura that made one instinctively want to stay away.

Yet Steeran and the others were eager to enter, because the fortress's gates were open.

Looking back to the sky, three beacons wafted leisurely, the puzzle had been solved, the fortress's main gate subsequently swung open.

Steeran guessed it was Charon and Ellie who managed to light the beacons under these circumstances.

"Shall we go in?" Steeran asked.

Huynh nodded, "We've come all this way, I won't be satisfied if we don't go in."

"Can you still fight? Don't drag me down," the Elf "girl" joked, and the two of them took out their weapons and rushed into the fortress.

"Ga, ga!"

The Stone Statue Ghost hanging on the ceiling opened its blood-red eyes.

Despite being at his last grasp, Huynh exerted even more ferocious strength than before; one arm was comparable to fighting evenly with the Stone Statue Ghost—it would be oppressive if his body was intact.

On Steeran's side, ordinary arrows weren't effective against the stone-made Stone Statue Ghost, so she pulled out a hammer.

A trophy seized from a skeleton monster, this hammer had no inherent Combat Skill; weapons with their own Combat Skills were always a minority.

Every archer has a dream of melee combat!

Dropping the cumbersome archery, Steeran, armed with a hammer, fought no less bravely than Huynh!

Ping ping pong pong...

After a fierce battle, the adventurer duo emerged victorious.

"Awesome!" Steeran shouted with her arms raised, her face beaming with joy.

"Stuff exploded,"

Two Stone Statue Ghosts turned into dust and disappeared, leaving behind in their place... a silver-white stone?

"What is this?"

Huynh was puzzled, as everything he encountered since entering the Sain Dungeon was unlike anything he had seen before—be it monsters or items, or materials.

"Let's bring it back to the appraiser," Steeran said as she pocketed the silver-white stone.

"Boom boom boom..."

The rear door of the fortress slowly opened, leading straight to Sick Village, a cold, putrid wind blowing in, mixed with the mournful howls of the monsters.

Steeran and Huynh exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

"Let's go!"