They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 36: The Old Bat Drops Loot
On the damp cavern ceiling, a droplet of water trembled violently before it could fall.
Infrasonic Attack reverberated through the cave. A layer of Puffcap corpses covered the ground below.
The ancient Crystal Bat was unusually agitated. Its bony claws scraped white marks into the rock from which it hung.
Every so often, it had to descend and sweep aside a Puffcap that came too close.
One protruding wing bone accidentally tore open a mushroom cap, releasing a cloud of pale-purple Hallucinogenic Spores.
The old bat beat its wings and retreated in panic, returning hastily to the ceiling with its chest heaving.
By the time it recovered, several Puffcaps below had repaired themselves and begun moving again.
Another infrasonic wave erupted through the cave, striking down the newly revived Puffcaps. This stalemate had already repeated through countless cycles.
Puffcaps killed by sound recovered. Puffcaps crushed by its claws burst into hallucinogenic poison mist at close range.
The old bat could only delay the inevitable again and again, while the Puffcaps drew steadily closer.
When Hallucinogenic Spores finally engulfed its last foothold, the old bat succumbed to the poison. It fell from the ceiling and lay motionless.
Evan had expected it to unleash one final desperate attack.
Perhaps growing old had made it value its life too much. It simply huddled above, unwilling to descend and tear apart even a few Puffcaps as death approached.
Evan’s final losses were far lower than expected.
Two figures had been waiting outside the cavern for a long time.
Mushrooms grew from the Half-Elf’s ruined ear, while the green wooden staff in the human woman’s hand had fused with fungal membranes growing between her fingers.
Both were parasitic puppets Evan had created earlier.
They would dissect the old bat.
Before entering, however, each puppet had to drink a bottle of Antidote.
Otherwise, the hallucinogenic mist would paralyze them as well.
The puppets seemed to have inherited both the weaknesses of mushrooms and those of humans.
After they crawled into the cave, Evan made them cut the unconscious old bat’s throat.
Hm?
Why could he still open a Status Panel?
Was it not dead?
This time, Evan had the puppets sever the entire head.
The Status Panel remained.
Confused, Evan opened it and discovered that it did not belong to the old bat.
[Divine Artifact: Sunstone Fragment]
What?
Evan forgot about the S-grade Mana Crystals and immediately ordered the puppets to search the old bat’s corpse.
After cutting open its chest, they finally found a Sunstone Fragment radiating light and heat.
So that explained it. The cavern was cold and damp, yet the old bat possessed LV5 Heat Resistance.
The Sunstone Fragment had roasted it until it developed the skill!
Did that mean the old bat’s Beyond Death title was also connected to the fragment?
Had this divine artifact prolonged its life?
Unfortunately, the Status Panel offered no additional information.
Based on the evidence, the Sunstone could produce light and heat, and perhaps keep someone alive far beyond their natural span.
The question was what any of that did for Evan.
On Earth, some fungi lived for only a few months while others survived for thousands of years.
This was not Earth, and Evan had felt no sign of aging since his arrival.
Rather than worry about dying of old age, he had more reason to fear that a powerful monster or adventurer might one day destroy his main body.
The thought reminded Evan of the other incomplete divine artifact he had encountered.
That artifact could unleash an immensely powerful attack. That was the sort of divine artifact he wanted.
The three arm-sized S-grade Mana Crystals and the Sunstone Fragment were eventually delivered to the secret chamber Evan had concealed beneath the marsh.
The rest of the old bat’s corpse would not be wasted. The puppets continued cutting it into smaller pieces that could be carried outside.
After all, the old bat had possessed numerous max-level skills. Plundering them would yield an enormous amount of proficiency.
Evan took out his own Sunstone Fragment and studied its broken edge for a long time. At last, he found the corresponding surfaces and joined the two pieces.
The break fused automatically, leaving no seam. At least that matched Evan’s expectations of a divine artifact.
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.