“Cheers!” ×4
Horn, Old Hammer, Aimee, and Noah sat around a tavern table at the break of dawn. The murky light of morning hadn’t yet dispelled the shadows of last night, and already their feast of chaos began, with cups and dishes scattered in disarray.
As the first party to discover the joy of the “Puji Lottery,” they had lingered between the fourth and fifth floors of the Dungeon for two whole days. Only when their packs could no longer hold even a trinket did they reluctantly return to the surface.
Without question, they were the biggest winners of this craze.
The next best were groups like Veyra’s, the second wave of adventurers who had joined in later. They had managed to grab a share, but nothing compared to this foursome.
Over two hundred gold coins. Split four ways, it was more profit than most adventurers earned risking their lives in the Dungeon.
And what do adventurers do with money?
Other than Noah, who stashed most of her share away, the other three plunged headlong into revelry.
At the Rotten Willow Tavern, they no longer drank swill but enjoyed the rich aroma of true malt ale.
After several rounds, with cups clinking, Old Hammer picked his teeth, then squinted and jerked his chin toward Horn. “Hey, Horn, remember—when you were drawing that time, did you pull out a silver pendant?”“Wha… what pendant?” The strong ale had already slurred Horn’s tongue. His eyes were hazy as he struggled through the fog of memory.
“The one that sly Bark took off your hands afterward,” Old Hammer prompted, sipping again.
Horn had drawn a mountain of trinkets and junk jewelry. How could he recall specifics? But the name “Bark” rang a bell—that was the peddler who had bought up a pile of their baubles.
“Oh… right, something like that. So what about it?” Horn tilted his head drunkenly.
“That pendant,” Aimee cut in, voice tinged with dismay, “belonged to Captain Solarine of Judgment Wing! Bark had the guts to resell it back to its original owner. They say he got ten gold coins for it!”
Bark had loudly advertised at the time, attracting protective attention—but also spreading the rumor far and wide.
“Ten gold?!” Horn nearly spat his ale. Eyes bulging, he stared blankly before waving a dismissive hand. “He’s bold, good for him. I wouldn’t dare charge that price to the Church.”
“But here’s the thing,” Old Hammer set down his cup, drumming his fingers on the table, lowering his voice with a trace of mystery. “Bark… hasn’t been seen in days.”
“What do you mean?” Horn’s drunken haze cleared a little.
Old Hammer shrugged, eyes scanning the table. “Exactly what I said. I asked around where he usually hangs out. Everyone says he hasn’t been seen lately.”
“You mean… the Church…?” Aimee’s brows knitted, voice tinged with doubt.
Noah, quiet until now, suddenly looked up, brows furrowed tight. Her tone was unusually stern as she cut in: “The Church would never do such a thing!”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but her conviction was unshakable. Even as an apprentice priestess, Noah couldn’t allow anyone to slander the Church.
Old Hammer glanced at her blankly. “I never said it was the Church. He could’ve left Yafeng Town on his own, out of guilt.”
A brief silence fell over the table, broken only by the clinking of cups and the tavern’s distant murmur.
Aimee cleared her throat, breaking the tension, steering the talk elsewhere: “Speaking of, did you hear? There’ve been fewer sightings of Pujis in the Dungeon lately. Feels like something’s about to happen…”
——
Of course something was happening—but deep in the Dungeon.
In Cave Four, a not-yet-matured Spore Tree stood at the center of the Mycelium Carpet, sheltering ten Troglodyte guards.
Now, only eight remained.
When Chiss(Qis)’ Six-Clawed beasts crept in, even though Lin Jun spotted them immediately, two clueless Troglodytes(Cavemen Humanoids) were still slain in the ambush.
The survivors retreated with Pujis into the Spore Tree, using the natural fortress to hold off the advancing Beetles.
But the Spore Tree wasn’t fully grown. Its walls lacked hardness. The Six-Clawed monsters clawed madly at the wooden walls, splinters flying—it was about to break through!
Above, a bat streaked through the air, not toward the melee, but chasing an Eye Insect lurking at the edge of the passage.
Sensing danger, several long-tailed Chiss(Qis) hurled stones at the bat.
It weaved between the missiles unharmed.
The Eye Insect tried to flee—but too late.
The bat plunged, and midair Louisa appeared, blood twining around her arm. With the force of her fall, she crushed the fragile Eye Insect in one strike, purple ichor splattering.
The Chiss(Qis) assault collapsed into chaos. Reinforcements of Pujis arrived from nearby caverns, swarming and slaughtering the disoriented enemy.
Afterward, Troglodytes(Cavemen Humanoids) and Pujis worked together, tossing corpses onto the Mycelium Carpet for decomposition.
Lin Jun decided to reward the most alert, quickest-reacting Troglodyte by strengthening it with a skill. Nothing too much—just enough to stand out among its kin.
Elsewhere, a Puji squad ambushed a Chiss(Qis) supply convoy, swiftly killing eight Beasts of Burden and their guards. But when they slit open the swollen bellies, instead of supplies, heavy stones rolled out!
A trap!
By the time they realized, it was too late. From three tunnels, Chiss(Qis) forces surged like a tide, drowning the three-hundred-strong ambush team in moments.
The twenty-plus interconnected caves between Lin Jun and Chiss(Qis) had become a slaughterhouse. Offense and defense switched back and forth in a grisly tug-of-war.
The battlefield was scoured bare—aside from scattered fungal strands, no other monsters remained.
Now that war had escalated fully, Lin Jun had to acknowledge Chiss(Qis)’ intelligence.
Not only could they ambush, they possessed terrifying learning ability.
The same trap never worked twice. In fact, they’d reuse tactics against him.
This most recent annihilation, luring with a decoy convoy, was a move they’d stolen directly from Lin Jun.
It had become a cycle: Chiss(Qis) learning Lin Jun’s strategies, Lin Jun absorbing Chiss(Qis) skills—mainly [Cold Resistance] and [Optical Invisibility].
The Eye Insect’s scouting skills were useful too, but too rare to level much.
What he really coveted were the Evil Eye’s skills. But so far, he hadn’t found a chance to bring it down.
Not that the Heavy Armor Pujis weren’t strong—they were. But Lin Jun deliberately withheld them from this tug-of-war.
They weren’t exactly slow, but nowhere near quick enough to chase a floating Evil Eye.
If Chiss(Qis) ever realized Heavy Armor Pujis were hard to beat, their intelligence would ensure the Evil Eye was pulled back immediately. After that, they’d likely shift into annoying guerrilla harassment. Lin Jun didn’t have the time for that.
He was waiting for one decisive battle.
A trap that would ensnare the Evil Eye and a massive Chiss(Qis) force, with no escape.
And that decisive battle—was almost ready.