They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 55: Did You Meet a Succubus?
On the Third Stratum of the dungeon, a small safe zone occupied a corridor paved with large, pale-yellow bricks. It stretched for more than a hundred yards.
No traps ever spawned here, and the Third Stratum did not have many roaming monsters to begin with, so adventurers had adopted it as a place to rest. Some even brought medicine and other supplies specifically to sell to their fellow explorers.
The dungeon’s reopening had drawn a flood of adventurers all at once. At the moment, the corridor held even more people than it had before the Monster Tide.
Dylan was among them, chewing dried meat as he spoke to his good friend, the tawny leatherbound codex.
[The Third Stratum is promising.] [There are so many traps here for us to exploit.] “Then ... what should we do?”
[Anything we like!] [When someone walks into a trap, you trigger it for them.] [Let the trap do all the work, then step out and collect the spoils.] [Listen to me, and power will never stop flowing into your hands!] “But none of these people have done anything to us...” Dylan hesitated. Something about this did not feel right.
[This is a dungeon. The strong prey on the weak. That is the only rule here.] [Besides, don’t you want to earn money to send to your daughter?] [Once you have power, you can protect Bella yourself and make sure no one ever hurts her.] In the short time they had spent together, the codex had already learned exactly what Dylan cared about most.
Though uncertainty remained on his face, Dylan nodded.
“Ow!”
Someone suddenly kicked the foot he had stretched out in front of him. Dylan recoiled in pain.
The corridor was broad. Even with his legs extended, he should not have been in anyone’s way.
He looked up into a face wearing a taunting grin.
“Well, well. Sorry I kicked you, old man.”
The speaker did not even slow down. He simply followed his companions out of the safe zone.
Dylan caught fragments of their conversation as they left.
“Wells, stop looking for trouble everywhere you go.”
“He stuck his foot in front of me. He’s just an old man. What trouble could he possibly cause?”
Dylan watched the adventurers walk away without feeling particularly angry. Adventurers came in all kinds, and he had grown used to it. That young fool simply had not suffered the consequences of his behavior yet.
Once someone taught him a lesson, he would learn.
Dylan looked down and opened the book again.
[What are you waiting for? Follow them!] [He kicked you on purpose.] [Someone needs to teach him to respect his elders.] [Go on. Just give him a tiny lesson. Nothing more than that.] Was that really how it was?
Dylan frowned and thought for a moment. The codex made a good point.
The tawny leatherbound codex was never wrong. Perhaps that young man truly did need to be taught a lesson.
Dylan packed away his belongings, drank another mouthful of Mana Potion, and left the safe zone.
He followed the party at a distance. With Mimicry changing his color to match his surroundings, no one noticed him.
Yet despite his intention to punish them, an opportunity proved difficult to find. Someone in their party was clearly skilled at handling traps. Every mechanism along their route was either avoided or dismantled.
Instead, Dylan was the one who accidentally stepped on a trigger.
Fortunately, it was only a minor trap. A short bolt punched through his palm.
“Ah!”
Suppressing the pain, Dylan yanked the bolt free, then poured a little Mana Potion over the wound.
He had discovered that doing so accelerated the hyphae as they filled and repaired his injuries.
[That unusual Constitution of yours is remarkably convenient.] [It worked when you fell into the pit, too. Even your broken bones joined back together.] Dylan nodded in agreement. He also found his new body extremely useful.
“I owe it all to the Boss’s gift.”
[The Boss?] “That’s right. I should introduce you to the Boss!”
[Wait!] Puff, puff. Puff, puff.
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