On the crooked wooden frame, black and white perched side by side.
The crow cocked its head, unblinking black eyes fixed intently on this unfamiliar “neighbor.”
A rough, snow-white body, round and plump… not kin, not one of those creaking scarecrow dolls, and certainly not one of the sweat-and-fear-reeking two-legged adventurers.
It was something never before seen, and so the crow gave the Puji its undivided attention.
The scout Puji, however, ignored that gaze entirely. Lin Jun was busy checking the status panels of the things nearby.
【Species: Evil Grass】
【Level: LV2】
【Racial Trait: Cursed Being (adapted to cursed environments, vulnerable to holy attacks)】
【Skills: Corrosion Curse LV1, Toughness LV1】
Can you believe it?That was the panel… for the wheat in the field!
At first, Lin Jun thought he had pulled up the stats for weeds. But no—there were no weeds in this wheatfield at all.
The swaying stalks with their plump golden heads were in fact named “Evil Grass”!
Even stranger—the miasma of curses that filled the entire space did not come from some powerful core or lurking boss, but from the endless grass itself!
Individually, each Evil Grass carried only a weak [Corrosion Curse LV1], hardly worth notice.
But multiplied by countless stalks, the accumulation could stack into a higher-grade effect. Anyone walking through the fields, brushing against the stalks constantly, would inevitably suffer worse.
Interesting. The scout Puji promptly tore off two bundles of Evil Grass to carry home for testing.
“Caw—!”
The crow had been shrieking at the Puji for some time.
Rustling grew louder as several scarecrows pushed out from the wheat, their hollow sockets locking onto the pale figure atop the frame.
【Species: Scarecrow – Withered Servant】
【Level: LV26】
【Racial Traits: Cursed Being, Broken Consciousness】
【Skills: Claw Attack LV5, Withering Touch LV3, Physical Resistance LV3…】
Weak, but numerous. The scout Puji wasn’t meant for combat. Lin Jun disliked one-against-many fights anyway.
Flying away was an option—but the scarecrows would chase. That was just as troublesome.
So, as the crow’s eyes bulged and the scarecrows closed in, the scout Puji’s body shimmered like rippling water.
It vanished.
“Caw?!”
The crow flinched, wings beating in alarm but not taking flight.
Its black eyes trembled, blood vessels bursting until its orbs turned crimson.
【Sensory Enhancement LV4】
It saw!
The faint twist of light—right in front of it!
Chomp—
The scout Puji snapped the crow up, stuffing the corpse inside itself along with the Evil Grass.
Really now. If the bird had just pretended not to see, Lin Jun wouldn’t have bothered. But no—it had to deliver itself.
Invisible, the scout Puji rose into the air over the wheatfield.
Since the other crows hadn’t witnessed the stealth process, they didn’t keep [Sensory Enhancement] active. Thus, the hidden Puji drifted like a ghost, unchallenged.
In observing the other crows, Lin Jun discovered something new: some had the tag 【Puppet】, while others did not. Those without—likely the “bribable” ones the dwarves had spoken of.
But why did they want gemstones? Surely they weren’t like Gray, with a simple love of shiny things?
Speaking of shinies—Lin Jun remembered the jewels he’d looted from the dwarves. Among them, a flawless green emerald.
Gray adored it!
He’d clutched it like a treasure, even abandoning half a Puji snack in favor of comparing the gem against his glass marble and Norris’s silver scale, eyes sparkling like stars.
Clearly, dwarves had some skill at gem-mining.
The scout Puji flew for a long time before alighting on the dusty roof of a tall barn.
The “Wheatfield Maze”—so aptly named.
No matter which way it flew, the horizon remained nothing but rolling waves of wheat. The only landmarks were barns, windmills, and the occasional hut.
The scale of the floor was immense. The scout Puji never reached an edge.
Inside the huts lurked unusual monsters.
【Scarecrow – Farmer】
They worked mechanically, binding Evil Grass into humanoid bundles, hanging them on frames across the fields. These would later become the common Withered Servants.
The windmill mills hadn’t yet shown use, but bloodstains on the grinding stones suggested they were reserved for adventurers.
The barns held so-called “grain.” Guides claimed they produced rare smithing material, “Cursed Golden Wheat.” But what the Puji saw was heaps of bloodied adventurer gear and scattered coins.
Some barns were nothing but scarecrow stockpiles—trap rooms.
All in all, a monotonous floor.
Yet the Evil Grass itself was valuable.
Both [Corrosion Curse] and [Toughness] were worth farming. Even at LV1, sheer numbers could build them up.
As for the “farmers,” their scarecrow-making seemed less like skill and more like Dungeon rules at work. The “farmer” was just a mid-level scarecrow with a trace of intellect.
Fair enough. Like the Amethyst Dungeon, the Strawman Abyss had multiple themed layers, with greater variety deeper down.
What Lin Jun most looked forward to was the “layer change.”
Supposedly, if one stayed for about a day without following the compass out, they would unknowingly slip into the next layer.
He wanted to test it himself.
If it worked like his hidden rooms, then Strawman Abyss’s spatial transfers were more advanced—because they weren’t tied to fixed locations!
…
So the scout Puji waited.
There was no day-night cycle here. The stars above were fixed, the moon absent—clearly artificial.
But Lin Jun had no need of such signs. He could simply gauge time by the sun and moon over Yafeng(Silentwind) Town above.
A full day passed. Still no descent.
The guides had said timing could vary, but after so many extra hours…
What was happening?
Was it like the Amethyst Dungeon, where monsters were barred from layer-change?
But he had a Hero’s Permit!
What was going on?!
…
After another day, Lin Jun finally felt it—the faint tug at his soul.