They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 27: The Garden’s First Employee
Dylan sat on a boar hide inside a tent stitched together from several kinds of monster hide.
This was the Gnoll camp in the forest. Several Puffcaps had escorted him here.
The tent contained little beyond a few crooked racks made of wood and bone. Dylan could even see a human skull among them.
He could not sit still.
Following his instincts back to the dungeon had been an act of despair, but he had never imagined it would lead to this.
The Puffcaps were controlled by some mysterious will!
No wonder they had exterminated the Parasitic Trees and Emerald-Eyed Frogs, behavior far beyond anything required for survival.
Now that mysterious will had taken an interest in him.
More troubling still...
The tent flap suddenly lifted. A Gnoll covered from head to toe in grayish-white mushrooms walked stiffly inside.
It set a roasted pig trotter beside Dylan, then shambled back out.
On the way, it brushed against the tent and lost a mushroom.
Dylan’s throat tightened. Was this the ultimate fate of the parasitized?
Would he become the same thing?
He did not know, but he was beginning to regret returning to the dungeon so casually.
“Go on, eat. Make yourself at home.”
The voice appeared again. Dylan could only pick up the slightly charred pig trotter and force himself to bite into it.
So burnt ... and so gamey...
Elsewhere, Evan had not intended to frighten him.
Dylan was human. Poisonmist Lake was no place for him to stay, and neither was the marsh.
The Gnoll Forest, on the other hand, already had tents. There was no reason not to use them, especially since the Gnolls would not need them much longer.
As for the taste of the pig trotter, Evan watched Dylan devour it in a few quick bites and decided his cooking must be rather good.
Wasn’t fine cuisine just roasting something and sprinkling salt on it?
After finishing the trotter, Dylan hesitated and pulled a Mana Potion from his coat.
Over the past two weeks, he had discovered that ordinary food could no longer fully satisfy his needs. He had to drink a mouthful of Mana Potion each day to ease his hunger. His guess was that the hyphae inside him required mana.
“You don’t actually need to waste potions.”
Dylan stopped with one hand on the cork and asked instinctively, “Then what should I do?”
The tent flap opened again. The same Mycelial Gnoll stood outside.
It beckoned to him. Dylan put away the potion and followed.
They walked to one end of the forest, where dozens of Mycelial Gnolls were felling trees.
The Gnoll led Dylan to the edge of the logging site. Many of the felled trees had been hollowed out, giving them an unfortunate resemblance to coffins.
Dense hyphae filled their interiors. The sight made Dylan’s scalp prickle.
“Lie down in one and see how it feels.”
“What? This is ... never mind. I’ll do it.”
The bizarre request made Dylan uneasy. After a moment’s thought, however, he realized his life was no longer in his own hands. There was little point in shrinking from the danger.
With the grim resolve of a man walking to the gallows, he lay down inside.
The instant his back touched the wood, hyphae reached for him. They writhed toward the growths on his body and ... connected!?
“What is ... oh...”
It was nothing but a ruined, hollow log, yet Dylan felt as though he were lying on a velvet bed.
Even more precious was the sensation of contentment. Of safety.
The tension that had tormented him for months rapidly loosened.
“Relax and stay where you are. We can chat for a while.”
The voice seemed to drift from somewhere far away. Dylan could no longer summon the slightest caution.
“All right ... let’s talk...”
“Dylan, tell me your story. I’m curious why you came back after leaving. Did you want more Parasitic Tree seeds?”
“It wasn’t ... for the seeds. I came because...”
Dazed, Dylan felt as though he were speaking to a trusted friend of many years.
He poured out every experience and every thought without holding anything back.
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