After handing over the documents, Loulan set off on the familiar journey into the Darkest Dungeon.
【You are entering a Darkest Dungeon.
Dungeon Name: Fungus-Corpse Imperial Mausoleum
Current Difficulty Zone: Small/Apprentice
Current Mission: Explore 100% of the rooms within the area
Reward: 3,000 gold coins, 5 star crystals, 1 unknown Rare-grade relic】
【Please purchase the supplies you require:
Food, torches, shovels, bandages...】
"Enter the dungeon."
There was no need to buy anything else, so Loulan chose to enter the dungeon immediately.
He landed lightly. Light filled the dark dungeon corridor with Loulan's arrival, followed by three monster girls wandering near the landing point.
There was nothing to say. Loulan sent them straight to reincarnation with three slashes, then began slaughtering the corridor monsters drawn over by the commotion, one slash after another.
【Battle won. Please tally your loot:
600 gold coins, 2 rubies.】
"Seriously, why is there a newbie killer every time? This Darkest Dungeon really doesn't leave any room for error."
After casually complaining, he began observing his surroundings.
At the same time, he lifted Lulu from his arms and placed her around his neck, talking away as he cautioned her.
"The fighting might get a little rough later, so hold on tight around my neck, okay? Don't fall off."
"Mm~ Mm~"
The little creature gently nuzzled the back of Loulan's neck. Her mucus-like body then stretched until she became a collar around his neck.
That was the great thing about being a slime-based life-form: phenomenal malleability!
"Lulu's getting smarter and smarter. Could Allure Brew have a hidden effect that develops a monster's intelligence?"
Loulan poked the slime collar around his neck. Its springy, smooth, cool feel made him want to pet it a couple of times.
Still, that could wait until he had gathered enough star crystals to turn Lulu into a true monster girl.
Maybe this small dungeon he'd been teleported into would happen to yield five star crystals?
Loulan raised his blade and began exploring the corridor.
Darkest Dungeons were generally laid out as simple corridors and secret rooms, but there were exceptions, such as the deep and high-risk zones of this Darkest Dungeon.
Those were the two difficulties above Apprentice instances: Veteran and Champion instances.
According to the books Loulan had read, Secluded Tower Mountain became an open dungeon consisting only of stacked floors from the deep zone onward.
Nothing obstructed the space on each floor. Only after facing an entire floor's monsters head-on could one begin hunting for treasure and exploring.
One then had to reach the spiral staircase at the center of the zone to descend to the next floor, all while dealing with possible situations such as monsters blocking the entrance.
The good news was that one only had a chance to find a passage to deeper dungeon levels while in a shallow zone.
The bad news was that those dungeon passages were one-way. To get out, one first had to complete 100% of the battles before triggering the boss fight for the exit portal.
As a result, the evacuation rate from the deep zones of Coldiron City's Darkest Dungeons had fallen to a rock-bottom 14%.
The risk was great, but so were the rewards. According to the records so far, parties that escaped a deep dungeon brought out at least 6 supernatural relics!
Even that lowest total was only because the party in question had been catastrophically unlucky. The second-lowest record was 13.
【Battle won. Please tally your loot:
600 gold coins, 2 ancient medals.】
"What a great start. No boss, but there's a treasure chest."
Time flew. Loulan randomly chose a lucky door and kicked it open with brute force, disposed of the low-grade cannon-fodder monsters inside in no time, and then began tallying his gains.
The good news was that there was a treasure chest. The bad news was that there was no door leading to another corridor.
That was how small dungeons were. The entire dungeon might consist of a single corridor and a few rooms, offering low returns while still requiring a boss fight. Pure torture.
The true treasures of a Darkest Dungeon were always hidden in its rooms. The boss room's reward actually made up only a small portion of the total.
Loulan opened the room's ancient-looking chest, only to be greeted not by treasure but by a complete skeleton lying inside.
【You opened a treasure chest. Please tally your loot:
2 star crystals, 1 Devotee's Holy Codex, relic {Decapitated Idol}】
"What the hell? This is all so good. No, wait! Are my bonus rewards actually connected to the items the treasure chest contains?"
After glancing at the bonus-reward notification, Loulan did not inspect it immediately. Instead, he stared at the skeleton inside the chest.
The skeleton was curled up like a person, holding a battered book in its arms, its bones covered with unknown yellowish-brown mushrooms.
Without the slightest psychological burden, Loulan began digging the skeleton out of the chest. He refused to believe there was nothing more beneath that rack of bones.
"Bang, bang, bang~"
One bone after another shattered against the floor as Loulan tossed them aside.
Even after he had thrown the entire skeleton out, the chest still held nothing but that battered book and the mushrooms scattered underneath.
"What rotten luck. If I didn't get bonus rewards, this would be the worst haul ever. What a dirt-poor dungeon!"
He had come down here specifically to stock up! He had even bought a bearskin backpack for its large capacity and separate compartments.
Speaking of stocking up reminded Loulan of the items he'd found in the chest on his last dungeon trip. That ring had been an ordinary piece of craftsmanship, while the three potions he'd abandoned had been incredibly valuable!
Heaven knew how much Loulan had regretted not bringing any storage equipment after reading the relevant books.
"Forget it. On to the next room."
"BANG!"
Loulan casually kicked over the dirt-poor chest and stuffed its sole piece of loot, the battered book, into his backpack.
He could inspect the loot after leaving. First, he would sweep the entire dungeon clean.
【Battle won. Please tally your loot:
600 gold coins, 2 ancient paintings.】
【Battle won. Please tally your loot:
600 gold coins, 4 emeralds, 2 pieces of amber.】
【Battle won. Please tally your loot:
600 gold coins...】
"Come on, man, is this dungeon really that poor? Did I raid a cemetery today or something? Every chest is full of bones!"
After clearing all seven secret rooms along the corridor, Loulan had opened three chests. Each contained a complete skeleton holding an identical battered book, with mushrooms growing all over its bones.
Only one that looked relatively wealthy wore a gold ornament on its skull, but that thing was not worth much either!
If not for his bonus rewards, Loulan really would have gone red with rage!
【Total: 4,200 gold coins, 4 ancient paintings, 5 ancient medals, 2 ancient artworks, 6 emeralds, 10 pieces of amber, 6 agates, 4 sapphires, 4 topazes, 11 star crystals】
"Whatever. The next corridor should be the boss room. Come on, Lulu, get into the backpack for a while. Once I deal with that thing, I'll transform you!"