They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 17: The Sealed Treasure Room
At LV44, Evan felt that his level ought to count as fairly high.
Why had everything chased him since he left home?
After some thought, he realized that the same environment was far more dangerous for him than for an adventurer.
Monsters wanted to eat him. Humans wanted to kill him.
The adventurers clearly possessed a guide to the Teleportation Maze. How else had they crossed it while Evan remained hopelessly lost?
He had no idea how many days had passed. Based on the earlier pace of travel, Elara might already have escaped the maze.
Every corridor led to a teleportation circle. Beyond each circle waited monsters, and beyond those monsters lay another branching corridor.
The current route was no exception.
Evan fired one last shot and blew apart a Corrofang Hound that stood barking at him without daring to approach. It joined the remains of its companions.
Then he selected a corridor at random and chose another teleportation circle, either along the way or at the end.
At least no monster on this stratum exceeded LV40. Most fell between LV20 and LV30.
When surrounded, Evan’s high Dodge and Rolling Charge could usually carry him to safety.
He could not continue forever. First he had fought three adventurers. Then he had wandered the maze for days. His mana reserves were running low.
In simple terms, he was starving.
For some reason, ambient mana was extraordinarily thin on this stratum. Even if Evan rooted himself in place, he could harvest almost nothing.
Decomposing monster carcasses provided another source, but it was unreliable.
Finding monsters was easy. Almost every teleportation circle led to a few. Transporting the corpses back was another matter.
Was he supposed to become a nomadic mushroom, rooting and feeding wherever he went? Establishing the hyphae would probably consume more mana than he recovered.
He had no choice but to search for the exit, or at least a place with enough mana to sustain him.
Soon he found another teleportation circle.
Even the unluckiest gambler could not lose forever. Sooner or later, he had to find a way out.
Green light rose from the circle.
Oh?
This color was different.
Drip.
A droplet fell from an inverted stone spike into a small pool.
The concentration of mana was incredible.
Even without spreading a mycelial mat, the prime Puffcap began slowly recovering mana simply by standing there.
It felt as if Evan were swimming in it.
No. He had to remain alert. Teleportation was usually followed by a mon...
Gray-blue stone walls surrounded a clear pool beneath a low, enclosed dome.
There was not a single monster in the small chamber.
Instead, Evan saw something surprising yet entirely appropriate.
A treasure chest.
It was made of stone, with unusually delicate patterns carved across its surface.
Evan could not explain who had placed it there, but a dungeon did not feel complete without treasure chests.
He checked again. Aside from one stone door, there was no concealed space where a monster might hide.
Once certain the room was safe, Evan rushed to the chest.
[Native monster: Treasure Access Denied]
A familiar message and an equally familiar invisible wall.
The dungeon’s discrimination against native monsters extended everywhere.
Evan refused to give up. He pressed tightly against the barrier.
Soon enough, another message appeared.
[Hero: Restrictions Lifted]
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