"You really are fucking disgusting!"
"Fungus... hee..."
In response to Loulan's insult, the girl sitting on the yellowish-brown glowing book covered her mouth and giggled as incomparably mocking sounds echoed all around.
Infuriating!
The situation had turned completely against Loulan. Not only were his weapons restrained, but his body was trapped by those disgusting mushrooms.
Even more revoltingly, the mushrooms blooming from the skeleton began dividing themselves. Made from countless fungal threads, the mushrooms transformed back into slender strands that grew madly and wound toward Loulan's body.
It felt just like a magical girl about to be brutally defeated by a tentacle monster, filled with humiliation and terror!
At least Loulan's body instinctively tightened around his most vulnerable spot. Although he'd lost his sense of pain, nothing could block the soft, slimy itch of fungal threads crawling over his skin.
How Loulan wished his cheat could switch off his other senses as well. This felt absolutely awful!
It was like putting on newly bought underwear in early spring, his blissful expression tinged with a maidenly shyness.
"Heh~ Is it too late to make peace?"
In despair, Loulan gave a wry smile and uttered those words.
But the boss's response plunged him into an icy abyss.
"At this... very moment... are you perhaps... joking?"
"Gah, no!!!"
The fungal threads had already wrapped half of Loulan's left leg like bandages, turning it into a mummy. His hands gripping the blades had also been entangled by threads climbing along the weapons. Everything except his torso, head, and right leg was bound.
Even though Loulan's Constitution rivaled that of a giant bear, his tremendous strength was useless against fungal threads as flexible as steel wire.
Even sharp blades could not easily sever them, so how could brute force tear them apart?
Loulan abruptly found himself in a situation of certain death.
Perhaps the boss wanted to toy with him, or perhaps this was simply its natural way of fighting. Otherwise, Loulan should already have been dead.
How could he break the deadlock?
He couldn't!
Second after second passed. Loulan could only watch helplessly as the fungal threads steadily consumed his body.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, he noticed the fungal threads had stopped moving.
Then, for some reason, the monster girl sitting on the book's pages abruptly contorted her face. She knelt on the title page, clawing wildly as she roared at the sky.
"Fungus... Mother... Fungus... Lord... curse... Ya! Gas—!"
"May the fungal brain rest in peace, and may the taint of fungus corpses be no more."
"There's another expert here?!"
The fungal threads wrapped around his body vanished like smoke, transforming into ash out of thin air and scattering like dust. The fungi on the skeleton did the same.
Regaining his freedom of movement, Loulan had no idea what was happening. His body reacted swiftly, immediately stepping backward to create distance before he observed the sudden change.
Looking closely again, he saw that the skeleton had somehow returned to its original appearance, kneeling motionless in place. The book inside its chest had also closed.
【Battle over. Please tally your loot:
Fungus-Corpse Dynasty Documents (Part Two), 1 unknown Rare-grade relic, 5 star crystals, 1 bolt of expensive silk】
【This dungeon mission has been completed. Please leave the dungeon to confirm your rewards.】
"Yagas Redwill, that is my name. Young man who strayed into this place, leave. Take the treasure and depart. I must continue my mission."
A wondrous voice echoed through the secret room. Its warm, gentle tone resembled that of a middle-aged person, calling to mind a highly respected priest.
Loulan did not understand. His mind was full of questions. It seemed he had been randomly tossed into an extraordinary dungeon zone.
The sudden reversal left his thoughts a mess and his head spinning, but at least the result was good.
This person named Yagas seemed to be the skeleton he'd shattered with a single kick. Could it actually have been a cage sealing away the book in its chest?
"So my impulsiveness at the start was what released this boss..."
"Pay it no mind. May the Lord bless you for your courage and fearlessness. Leave. Please depart from this place."
The voice rang out once more, its ethereal warmth miraculously healing Loulan's heart as if it possessed extraordinary magic.
【I'll investigate this later. I'm a little curious...】
Loulan was very curious, so he planned to find time to investigate after leaving.
With that, he walked around and began exploring. He found a door out of this place and an ancient-looking coffin.
This thing should be the treasure in the boss room.
"Hngh—"
Loulan shoved the stone lid off the coffin with force, revealing the items inside.
It was dirt-poor. There was only a diary and a book resembling a holy scripture, with nothing else to be found.
【You have activated a sacred coffin. A miraculous power is surging into your body.
Virtue +1】
Virtue: It makes you brave and fearless, compels you to protect the weak, and renders you upright and compassionate. It makes you better.
【Permanent 1% increase to resistance against evil】
It wasn't treasure, but it wasn't bad.
Bonus rewards did not consist solely of treasure. There were also events similar to this sacred coffin, collectively known as 【Encounters】.
Holding the two books, Loulan first went outside the door to retrieve his backpack and Lulu, then chose to leave this dirt-poor dungeon zone.
...
"Yagas, you traitor who betrayed the Mother and the Lord!"
"I was never consumed by the taint of fungus corpses, so how can you call it betrayal? You were simply too naive."
"Heh~ You goddamn bastard. The Mother and the Lord are immortal. Our dynasty will descend upon the world once more. Just you wait, Yagas!"
"That has nothing to do with me. My mission is merely to use this sacred skeleton granted by the Lord to imprison you, whether for a hundred years, a thousand years, or... ten thousand years..."
...
【You have evacuated the Darkest Dungeon. You completed this dungeon mission. Converting the rewards from this expedition.
Mission Reward: 3,000 gold coins, 5 star crystals, 1 unknown Rare-grade relic
Supply Conversion: 12,400 gold coins
Total: 5 star crystals, 2 unknown Rare-grade relics, 15,400 gold coins】
"I am pleased to see you again, honored adventurer. Do you require medical services?"
Not long after leaving, Loulan saw the familiar heavily armored knight. The man stood not far ahead, forever waiting for adventurers entering and leaving this place.
Loulan walked forward and merely nodded in silence.
This dungeon expedition had once again made him deeply aware of his shortcomings. If he encountered another special situation like that, his powerful body would be utterly useless.
Powerless. He was far too powerless!
Just as powerless as he'd felt not long ago when he witnessed the dragon's charge breach the city.
【Should I go back and train for a month or so before exploring again?】
Loulan had developed the urge to improve himself as quickly as possible, something he'd originally planned to do only after using this powerful body to clear a few dungeon commissions and amass plenty of resources.
But now, it seemed he should seek opportunities to train whenever and wherever he could. Otherwise, it might already be too late by the time he wanted to start.