They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 51: Ambushed by Fellow Smugglers?
“Sable, anything with two hands and two feet isn’t a monster. You can’t kill them whenever you want.”
“Oh ... but green ones are allowed?”
Green ones?
Did she mean the Flower Feys on the Sixth Stratum?
After most monsters on the Fifth Stratum had been eliminated, Evan sent Sable below whenever she needed to burn off energy.
He did not know what she did down there. The first several times, she became lost and Evan had to go retrieve her.
Once she learned the route, every outing ended with her bringing back one or two monster carcasses. Evan remembered at least one green Flower Fey among them.
Flower Feys did not have feet, though. Their lower bodies ended in flower buds.
If not a Flower Fey, what did she mean?
It did not matter. Anything green was certainly not human.
“Yes ... green ones are allowed. But next time you see someone like the two today, don’t kill them.”
Sable pouted and nodded. Only then did Evan give her a special spiced-jerky Puffcap with [Caustic Acid LV3]. She had recently developed a taste for sour food.
The two humans had already fled in a hurry. They appeared badly frightened.
Sable had nearly killed them, but they were still alive!
Evan had also compensated them.
The enchanted longsword was far better than the blade that broke.
That made them even!
The incident still reminded Evan that frequent contact between Sable and different human adventurers would inevitably lead to conflict.
Today, Sable had attacked first. Tomorrow, some blind adventurer might seek death.
The likely result would be Sable going on a killing spree while Evan exhausted himself cleaning up after her.
That would not do!
He needed a way to reduce her contact with human adventurers, even if he could not eliminate it entirely.
Keeping her quietly confined was impossible.
Given Sable’s boundless energy, keeping her quiet for even two days had been possible only because the parasite made her more affectionate toward Evan.
Unless Evan used force, long-term confinement would never work.
And force?
With an Ancient Dragon supporting her, Evan did not dare entertain the thought.
Then again, if he could not restrict Sable, he could restrict the adventurers!
Naturally, he should begin with the side easier to control.
From now on, the forest ... no, the mushroom forest, would also become a forbidden zone.
At least no one would disturb Sable while she ate or slept.
As for the rest of the time...
Perhaps Evan should improve [Mimicry LV2].
No monsters on the nearby strata produced the skill, but skills could also level through practice.
Evan trained through Puffcaps and received part of the resulting XP.
Most XP was lost through that method. With enough Puffcaps, however, and Mimicry still only at LV2, raising it should be relatively easy.
Perhaps he could reach LV4 in a short time and test whether the skill could conceal Sable’s scales.
Giving Sable a skill would consume an enormous amount of mana.
Evan would have to live frugally for a while.
With the plan settled, he began producing a group of Puffcaps equipped with [Mimicry].
Another matter puzzled him. No other adventurers seemed to have entered the dungeon.
Had those two broken the rules and slipped inside?
That was actually good news. Evan had more time to prepare.
Because of the Monster Tide, Dylan had vanished after Evan sent him away.
Evan’s final instruction had been to stay out of the fighting. If Dylan obeyed, he should be safe.
But an entire month had passed.
Had he brought enough money for Mana Potions?
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