They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 33: Boss, It’s Pitch-Black Here
“Dylan, do you know where dungeons came from?”
Evan could do nothing about the old bat for now, and everything else was proceeding smoothly. With time on his hands, his thoughts returned to the mysteries of the dungeon.
Beside a torch, Dylan stopped trimming the edges of a coffin slab and scratched his head.
“Where they came from?
“Sorry, Boss. I’ve never thought about it.
“When I was a child, I heard a story claiming that a battle between the Hero and the Demon King tore open a passage to the Abyss and created the dungeons.
“Too many parts of that tale make no sense, though. It’s obviously nothing more than a story.
“I don’t know whether there are any other explanations.”
The tale sounded like two gods battling until the world itself shattered.
“Has no one ever researched any of this?”
“Of course. That’s what the Relic Society does. They’ve offered standing rewards for related clues for years.
“Unfortunately, those quests are only worth looking at. Any valuable clues were found centuries ago. I’ve never heard of anyone making a fortune that way.”
“Could you obtain that information from this society?”
Dylan waved both hands at once.
“Impossible, Boss. The Relic Society is an official institution of the Kingdom of Concord.
“A bottom-rung adventurer like me couldn’t even get through the door.
“I’m no thief, either. I can’t steal the documents you want.”
So it was impossible after all. Evan was not surprised. He had only asked on the off chance.
Dylan was a native of this world who took dungeons for granted as a natural part of life.
To Evan, too many parts of the dungeon followed conspicuously orderly patterns. Someone had clearly arranged them that way.
There had to be many secrets behind it all.
For now, it appeared those secrets remained beyond his reach.
Come to think of it, a low-ranking adventurer might not enter the Relic Society, but surely a duke’s daughter could.
Should he ask Dylan to contact Elara?
After considering it, Evan decided there was no urgency. He could proceed slowly.
He did not even know Elara’s current circumstances. Dylan could ask around about her first.
“Boss, may I ask you something?”
Dylan’s hesitant voice pulled Evan’s attention back.
“What is it?”
“Well ... why has the Fifth Stratum been getting darker lately?”
Darker?
Had it?
Evan genuinely had not noticed. His senses did not depend on light.
After examining the surroundings carefully, he realized Dylan had phrased the matter very politely.
The stratum was not merely darker. It was almost completely black.
Dungeons had no sun, but very few strata were ever totally dark.
Glowgrass and veins of Glowstone in the walls usually provided at least some illumination.
The ceiling of the Fifth Stratum had once been covered in Glowgrass, making it one of the brighter strata.
So where had the Glowgrass gone?
Why was the entire ceiling covered in mushrooms?
Evan had not even noticed when his mycelial mat began climbing overhead.
At this rate, the Glowgrass on the Fifth Stratum was close to extinction.
So this was his fault.
Total darkness did not affect Evan, but it would plainly discourage adventurers from coming to trade. Dylan also seemed greatly inconvenienced.
How long would it take to restore the Glowgrass to its former abundance?
Perhaps bioluminescent mushrooms would be easier.
Because of poor skill compatibility, bioluminescent mushrooms were far dimmer than Glowgrass.
Still, mushrooms of every size now grew throughout the stratum. Giving them Bioluminescence would at least keep the place from being completely dark.
For now, that seemed to be his only option.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.