"The second one."
"The third one."
The battle dragged on for more than ten minutes. Through the exquisite coordination of Andu's party, they successfully destroyed three of the Rampart-Creeping Fungus's fungal brains while suffering almost no injuries, completely paralyzing seventy percent of the fungal wall.
At that moment, the pressure of the monsters facing Loulan plunged off a cliff. Their revival rate could no longer halt his advance.
"SWISH—SWISH—SWISH—"
Slash after slash, Loulan strode rapidly toward the fungal wall. His astonishing judgment allowed him to locate the final two fungal brains in an instant.
One was large and the other small. The latter still seemed to be growing.
"SLASH~SHUNK!"
His blade tore through the fungal wall, and sulfur-yellow fungal brain plasma sprayed out. Loulan sliced the fourth fungal brain apart in an instant.
The small fungal brain at the far-left edge of the wall followed. His swift body cut it down with a single stroke.
With that, the endlessly reviving fungus-corpse monsters in the secret room were no longer dangerous. Even those not yet dead or newly revived had lost consciousness, lying limply in place without moving.
【Battle won. Please tally your spoils:
Star crystals x2, Normal-grade relic x1, ancient paintings x2, Fungus-Corpse Dynasty Records (Part One) x1.】
With the battle over came the rewards for victory. The reward for defeating a boss was simply incomparable to those from minor monsters!
Star crystals.
Surprise glittered in Loulan's eyes. Ever since he decided to form a monster-girl party, these had become the scarce currency he needed most and his only way to obtain monster girls.
Before Loulan could finish rejoicing and inspect his other two special spoils, however, Andu cried out excitedly nearby.
"We got really lucky! A supernatural relic. This trip was worth it!"
The dwarf's bold nature made him howl without thinking, and that shout naturally drew Loulan's attention.
Turning his head, Loulan saw Andu reach into the gash he had cut into the fungal brain and pull out a sphere wrapped in countless mycelial threads.
Although his hands were coated in filthy fungal brain plasma, it did nothing to diminish Andu's delight.
But... his other teammates weren't nearly as delighted. The moment they saw Loulan turn his head, all five immediately drew their weapons and assumed guarded stances.
That brief silence also brought Andu back to his senses. He realized just what a foolish mistake he had made.
He had actually revealed a supernatural relic in front of someone who had clearly reached Transcendence!
Most importantly, both sides had just finished fighting and were essentially at the peak of their combat ability.
Andu, a vigorous dwarf over a hundred years old, knew better than anyone what result that might produce.
"Sigh... What a shame."
After a moment of thought, Andu's joyful expression dimmed. Struggle showed in his eyes before hardening into determination.
Andu stepped away from his party with the supernatural relic in hand and walked toward Loulan.
Behind him, every member of his party understood the choice he had made, and their expressions fell.
A supernatural relic. If they sold it to a noble, they could not only replace all their equipment but feast, drink, and enjoy themselves for two or three months!
That was true even though this supernatural relic was one of the most common and least useful varieties found in this dungeon.
"Lord Loulan, a Darkest Dungeon has its rules. This supernatural relic belongs to you. In exchange, please take it and leave this area immediately."
Andu assumed Loulan was an adventurer familiar with the rules. Scenes like this were far from rare throughout the history of dungeons.
Over time, a rule had emerged.
When the gap between both sides wasn't overwhelming, the side that obtained the relic would leave immediately, while the other side enjoyed exclusive access to the remaining resources in that part of the dungeon.
It was already a very fair exchange.
【Rules? I'll have to ask around after I get out. Once I finish this commission, perhaps the Adventurers' Guild will grant me access to the relevant information.】
While thinking, Loulan outwardly nodded and accepted Andu's proposed exchange.
He wasn't selfish enough to want everything for himself. Besides, the fundamental purpose of this dungeon trip wasn't fighting, treasure hunting, or completing a dungeon mission. Unlocking his cheat's current and future abilities was the main objective. Completing his employer's mission was secondary at most.
That way, he could leap straight to Gold rank in the Adventurers' Guild and gain access to plenty of information.
His next trip would be the start of his true dungeon expeditions. By then, Loulan would have made every possible preparation!
Therefore, he felt no resistance to Andu's proposed exchange. He simply accepted the supernatural relic and examined it.
Then, with faint surprise in his eyes, he saw a familiar screen.
【Fungal Brain Core
Quality: Normal-grade relic
Effect: A controllable, solidified fungal brain. When used as a staff core, it allows the wielder to cast multiple spells across separate thought processes.】
This was another additional function of his cheat.
Unfortunately, the relic was useless to him, but it should fetch a good price from a mage! After all, casting multiple spells at once was a very powerful ability!
Loulan, however, was more inclined to sell it to Maven, assuming he wanted it.
"Good stuff. I'll be heading out first, then."
With that, Loulan tossed the Fungal Brain Core lightly in his hand twice, then looked at the wall the Rampart-Creeping Fungus had once infested.
At some point, a small door just wide enough for one person had appeared there. Like the dungeon's entrance, it was unfathomably deep, with nothing but darkness shrouding its interior.
"Um, excuse me! Mr. Loulan, where will you be staying in Coldiron City over the next few days? If possible, I'd like to visit you later!"
Just as Loulan was about to leave, the young mage Lilia jogged over from afar and called out to him. Her little face was full of the nervous panic of a student facing a teacher after making a mistake.
She didn't want to give up an opportunity to understand the abilities of Transcendence, even if the knowledge might be useless to her.
"Oh? You want to visit me? All right. I'll probably spend most of my time looking through materials at the Adventurers' Guild, so you can try your luck there."
Loulan didn't know why the young woman wanted to visit him, but he didn't refuse. Instead, he gave her a way to find him.
He very much agreed with the saying that knowledge was power. Thus, his first task after leaving would be collecting his money from Maven and making the trade, his second would be treating his injured hand, and then he would begin researching this world's information.
"Thank you!"
The young woman thanked him excitedly.
Before long, the two groups parted ways.
Loulan stepped through the pitch-black door, while Andu's party continued their expedition through the Darkest Dungeon.
【I'm out?】
In an instant, just like when he had entered the dungeon, Loulan appeared outside its entrance and saw the squad of guards constantly patrolling nearby.
"I'm glad to see you again, adventurer. Unfortunately, you must first allow our priest to examine and treat you."