They Wanted a Hero. They Made a Monster: Born at the Bottom
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 7: A Fragment in the Pool
Evan felt no panic as the Ember Gnats approached. They had been his neighbors for far too long to frighten him.
He waited until they came within about 165 feet. Then several ooze Puffcaps unleashed Digestive Ooze, drenching the unsuspecting insects and knocking every one from the air.
The fallen gnats tried to shake off the slime and take flight again. Before they could, spore Puffcaps blanketed them in a hallucinogenic haze. Their resistance ended. The armored Puffcaps moved in and crushed them one by one.
The battle was only beginning.
More Ember Gnats poured forward. Evan’s forces met them at the mouth of the passage, and the fighting became a slaughterhouse.
The swarm outnumbered his troops several times over. Hallucinogenic Spores sealed off the lower air and restricted the directions from which the gnats could attack, but Evan could not intercept every enemy with Digestive Ooze.
Again and again, an Ember Gnat broke through the barrage and plunged its proboscis through a Puffcap. It would pin its victim to the ground, only to become paralyzed by the hallucinogenic spores below.
“Ice Blade! Ice Blade! Water Serpent!”
There was good news from Elara’s position. She had finally killed several Ember Gnats.
With insects filling the air, she could have attacked with her eyes closed and still struck something. The gnats’ Dodge skill was nearly useless in such a crowded battlefield.
Elara laughed with exhilaration after killing monsters with magic in a real fight for the first time. The organized hunts she had attended in the past could scarcely be called battles by comparison.
Her excitement ended when a gnat burst through the barrage and drove its mouthpart through an artillery Puffcap beside her, pinning it to the ground. Elara shuddered.
What if it had chosen her?
“Evan! What do we do? So many Puffcaps have died!”
They had lost only a dozen or so. The battle had barely started.
Safe in the depths of the Mycelial Garden, Evan privately lamented the recruit’s lack of nerve. He still offered useful advice.
“Stop using attack spells. Cast Illumination.”
Illumination?
What good would that do?
Elara could not see the point, but she had promised to obey orders. The spell consumed little mana, so she cast it.
The result took her completely by surprise. The instant Illumination appeared, disorder swept through the swarm.
Ember Gnats in the front ranks darted around like flies without heads. Some crashed into those behind them. Others plunged straight into the hallucinogenic haze below.
Elara stared.
“It really works!” Evan exclaimed.
“You didn’t know it would?”
“I didn’t expect it to work this well. Dismiss it, then cast it again!”
“All right!”
The Deep Strata had remained dark for ages, illuminated only by the faintest natural glow. Evan had noticed that Ember Gnats possessed eyes and wondered whether a sudden flash might disorient them. Even he had not expected such a dramatic effect.
At times like this, the advantages of a mushroom that did not rely on eyes became obvious.
With Illumination supporting Evan’s forces, the already outmatched Ember Gnats became helpless. They dropped from the air in waves.
Once their numbers could no longer seal the passage mouth, even these nearly mindless monsters seemed to rediscover fear. They scattered into the surrounding tunnels, leaving behind an empty nest and a steaming pool packed with larvae.
“It’s finally over.”
Elara sat down hard.
They had held the advantage throughout the battle, but she had cast several attack spells followed by more than twenty uses of Illumination. She was exhausted, and almost none of her mana remained.
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