They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 3: A Duke at Bay
“Say that again.”
Duke Alaric St. Clair’s knuckles whitened around the arm of his mahogany chair. The wood groaned under the pressure.
Cold sweat gathered at the nape of Steward Edmund’s neck, but he enunciated every word.
“After Perrin and Roderick lured Lady Elara away in your name, they went first to the Amethyst Deep. They have since crossed the border and fled into the Veiled Empire. Judging by their route, they are most likely seeking refuge with Duke Severin Voss.”
“Damned traitors! Damned Vampires!”
The solid armrest shattered in Alaric’s grip. Blood-red flame churned in the duke’s eyes.
“Elara is still alive. Her Tracking Sigil remains, and the Vengeance Mark has not transferred. I’m going to save her.”
“Your Grace!”
When the duke seized his greatsword and made to leave without another thought, Edmund had no choice but to shout.
“The moment you depart, Severin will bring the Crimson Knights down on Highfort Keep. If the keep falls, there will be no defensible ground behind it. Your duchy will not be the only territory in danger. The entire Southern Federation will be exposed.”
“And you would have me stand by while Elara dies?”
Flagstones cracked beneath Alaric’s boots. Webs of fractures spread across the floor as the aura of an LV70 human, one of the most powerful alive, forced Edmund to one knee.
“The Diamond-rank adventuring party Silverthorn Company is operating nearby. We can commission them privately to search the Amethyst Deep for Lady Elara. Here at Highfort Keep, you can create the appearance of leaving. When Severin takes the bait, you can strike him head-on and repay this attack.”
By the time Edmund forced out the last word, he was close to collapsing.
The pressure gradually receded. Alaric sat once more, raised one hand, and condensed Elara’s tracked coordinates into a crystal. He passed it to his steward.
“Do it. Tell those adventurers that if they bring Elara back alive, I will give them a city.
“But if anything happens to my daughter...”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Far below, in the Mycelial Garden of the dungeon depths, Elara knew nothing of her father’s search. She stood at the edge of the Breeding Zone, watching the scene before her with mounting horror.
Beside a deep slime pit, a hollow-bodied Puffcap had arrived with a load of ordinary mushrooms. As it tipped the mushrooms in, one of the Slimes sprang up, latched onto its leg, and dragged it over the edge.
The other Slimes swarmed it in the next instant, sealing the Puffcap inside a quivering mass.
The trapped creature was still struggling. It looked as though there might be time to save it.
“Evan! Evan, your Slimes are eating a Puffcap.”
Evan was busy, but he spared the scene a moment of attention.
“I know. I’m sending a new Puffcap to replace it. I told you the Breeding Zone was dangerous. Stay away from it.”
Elara wanted to explain that this was not what she had meant. Then the Puffcap inside the Slime stopped moving and began to dissolve, and she swallowed the words.
The underground world was a cruel place.
It truly was cruel, and Evan was never idle if he wanted to survive it.
At best, a Puffcap possessed enough Intelligence to find its own way after receiving an order. Both breeding and mining required Evan’s constant supervision. Worse, monsters regularly harried the borders of the Mycelial Garden.
Even with Cognitive Coordination LV5, managing everything strained him.
Finding enough attention to show Elara around had been a rare luxury. He had not shown it, but Evan was delighted to have someone capable of conversation. At the very least, he no longer had to talk to himself to keep his command of language from fading.
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