They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 38: Why Must It Pass My Home?
Puff, puff.
Puff, puff.
Seven Puffcaps hopped upward one step at a time along the spiral stairway.
The stairs had been designed for humans. For short-legged Puffcaps only half a person’s height, each step was far too tall, forcing them to advance in little jumps.
These were the Puffcaps Evan had sent toward the First Stratum.
Fortunately, a kind adventurer had left behind a Moonshadow Stone, a strange mineral that changed color every half day.
Even inside the dungeon, Evan could now keep track of the date.
When Dylan failed to return for seven consecutive days and even the adventurers gradually disappeared, Evan reached a clear conclusion.
Something terrible had happened!
Had the dungeon’s lease expired? Was it about to be demolished?
Whatever the cause, Evan had no intention of waiting helplessly.
He had already decided to send one group of Puffcaps downward to investigate the source of the mana disturbance. Now he added another group traveling up to discover what was happening.
The monsters on the first four strata were low level, so the upward expedition contained only seven Puffcaps.
Events unfolded as expected. The monsters appeared restless and tried to take a bite whenever they saw a Puffcap.
One Spore Cannon blast made every corpse behave.
Using the guide Evan had obtained from Dylan long ago, the group nearly reached the First Stratum in a single day.
Half that time was spent climbing stairs.
Although every stratum had a completely different terrain and ecosystem, the stairways connecting them were all identical.
Evan strongly suspected that whoever built the dungeon had grown lazy and copied the same design over and over.
When the Puffcaps finally reached the First Stratum, Evan felt a flicker of excitement.
This was the closest he had ever come to the outside world. Until now, he had avoided sending Puffcaps to other strata so he would not attract attention.
Just as Dylan had described, the First Stratum was a maze of corridors.
Ancient bluestone bricks formed the walls, giving it a superficial resemblance to the Eighth Stratum.
Unlike that hellishly difficult maze, however, this one had no teleportation circles, no traps, and not even dense groups of monsters.
The monsters were scattered and weak. Even complete novices could handle them with ease.
The corridor layout itself was confusing, but detailed guides had long since eliminated that challenge.
The Puffcaps followed the shortest route directly toward the dungeon gate. Today, Evan intended to discover exactly what was going on.
Puff, puff.
Hm?
A familiar sound came from the corner ahead. A moment later, a familiar figure emerged.
A wild Puffcap!
Evan opened its Status Panel. It was LV1, all five Stats were 1, and it possessed no skills beyond its natural talent for scattering spores.
Its only purpose in life was to release those spores when another monster ate it.
This was a true, entirely natural Puffcap.
By comparison, Evan’s creations, each carrying four or five LV7 or LV8 skills, were tyrants among mushrooms.
The wild Puffcap seemed not to notice the others of its kind. It wandered aimlessly along the corridor.
One of Evan’s Puffcaps shook its cap, allowing a few spores to settle on the wild creature.
The Mycelial Network immediately gained a new member.
Stop!
The Puffcap drew back the short leg it had just extended and obediently accepted Evan’s command, exactly like the seven beside it.
His theory was confirmed. Puffcaps were primitive monsters without any sense of self, driven by instinct alone. They were extremely easy to control.
Even if Evan had not produced one himself, he could control it as soon as it joined the Mycelial Network.
Not that this held much practical value.
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