They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 59: Testing the Melee Model
The wasteland beside Venom Lake was as silent as the realm of the dead, broken only by the occasional splash from the water.
Dark green soil lay underfoot, and an unpleasant sour odor permeated the air.
“This stench is unbearable.” The mage covered his nose and cast Purify on the party. “When the Emerald-Eyed Frogs lived here, the whole place was filled with green poisonous fog, but at least it didn’t smell this acrid.”
Wells rubbed his nose. It did not seem that bad to him. The odor was only slightly worse than the sour wine at the Bent Willow Tavern.
He was more interested in the splashing from the lake.
The party had not followed the mushroom path, so everything around them was dark. The limited range of Illumination prevented them from seeing what was in the water.
“What do you think lives in there now? Should we lure one out and see whether it’s worth anything?”
Wells’s suggestion tempted the others. Something no one had encountered before always represented fresh opportunity.
Captain Ralph rejected the idea.
“I’m afraid we don’t have time.”
“Time for what?” Wells did not understand.
“You may not have noticed, but we’ll all be barefoot in another few minutes.”
Confused, Wells lifted one foot.
“What the hell?”
Half the thick sole of his standard adventurer’s boot had disappeared.
The others quickly discovered the same thing happening to their footwear.
“No wonder the ground felt slippery under my feet!”
Ginny had it worst. Her shoes were the thinnest.
She reached out, took hold of Wells’s sleeve, and looked at him pleadingly.
“Wells, would you carry me?”
Her feet shifted rapidly beneath her priest’s robe. It looked as though they might be injured at any moment.
“But I’m already carrying these.” Wells patted the two sacks on his back, both filled with monster carcasses.
“Please, Wells. You’re the strongest one here. The others can divide the sacks between them. Don’t worry, I’ll help too. I won’t let you tire yourself out!”
She gave her staff a little wave.
“I’ll carry you.”
Just as Wells seemed ready to agree, Ralph suddenly stepped between them.
“Tch.”
Wells frowned but said nothing. He merely moved aside.
Ginny gave him a regretful little wink, then climbed onto the captain’s back.
“Thank you, Captain Ralph.”
She waved her small staff. Gray-white light flashed, and Ralph, who had been straining under her weight, suddenly relaxed. With Ginny on his back, he set off at the head of the group.
“Let’s get beyond the lake as quickly as possible.”
Everyone followed.
Only the mage looked puzzled. Had Potential Surge really been necessary here?
Evan had long since stopped paying attention to the LV42 killer of humans.
What did a Human Slayer have to do with a mushroom like him?
She was nowhere near as important as his latest mass-produced warrior Puffcaps.
[Dodge LV7] + [Scale Armor LV5] + [Haste LV6] + [Blade Lash LV5] + [Mycelial Reconstruction LV3]
Five skills were admittedly a little expensive. But Evan now presided over a sizable estate, so he could afford the occasional indulgence.
Artillery Puffcaps were powerful and broadly useful, but every battle with them left devastation across the battlefield. Even the mycelial mat needed a long time to recover afterward.
Inside his own territory, many problems were better handled by melee units with less destructive power.
That was also why Evan had not added Detonation to these close-combat Puffcaps.
Their primary responsibility would be dealing with unruly adventurers on the Fifth Stratum. If they encountered an enemy they could not subdue, Evan could deploy his Spore Cannon units on a large scale.
If even that failed, he still had Sable.
These security Puffcaps focused on Agility and Dodge.
Blade Lash had come from one of the Dragonbeasts during the Monster Tide, most notably the Razor-Tail Whipwyrm. It allowed the Puffcaps to grow blades along their mycelial tendrils, producing a remarkably powerful sweeping attack.
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.