Who Designed This Underworld Dungeon?
Chapter 114 - 111 Abyss? Demon Clan?

Chapter 114: Chapter 111 Abyss? Demon Clan?

"Hunting Manual," a new invention by Gong Qiying.

Just like an illustrated guide, it unlocks information about Monsters defeated by the owner, items obtained, special scenarios encountered, etc., including some vague background introductions.

In reality, it just concretizes and integrates the item information that appears in an adventurer’s mind when they first acquire an item.

Tinkering with this gadget does not consume much spiritual power and also adds a sense of immersion and achievement for adventurers, assisting the narrative of the Dungeon.

And there are always those who are obsessed with completing the collection, fighting to unlock the entire manual, isn’t that true for every world?

There are also some thresholds to obtain the Hunting Manual. Only by extinguishing the beacon fires of two Fran Forts and either surviving an invasion from a Hunter for a certain duration or defeating them can one acquire it.

Patch, on the other hand, is an easter egg character; his Summoning Mark will appear near the Hunter.

If summoned, the Hunter’s combat power will drop, and the confrontation with Patch begins, almost guaranteeing that the adventurer will get the Hunting Manual.

So, what’s the cost?

It’s subsequently being hunted by most of the Monsters in Fran Fort and possibly being betrayed by Patch!

Both the Hunter and Patch are creations of Gong Qiying, just like the Avatar of Soul V in nature.

The only difference is that Patch has built-in Intelligence; aside from answering some not-so-complicated questions, he also restores the original cheeky personality to the greatest extent, all revolving around how to set people up.

In fact, most of Patch’s answers to many questions are pre-designed. When summoned as an Assistant, he won’t speak, and when adventurers are scattered by the Monster Tide and become isolated, arriving at certain predetermined areas will trigger encounters with Patch, who can appear in several places at the same time.

These areas are basically cliffs, convenient for pushing people off.

But other than Maru’s cliff, which leads directly to death, the other cliff drops would send adventurers to new places for exploration.

Not sure whether to say Maru is lucky or unlucky...

These designs aren’t deadly but are certainly entertaining, stirring genuine excitement in people.

At least that’s how Gong Qiying sees it.

However, the adventurers who were duped think otherwise.

"Damn it..."

Dal leaned against the rock wall, his left hand bleeding profusely from cuts by sharp rocks during the fall, now hurriedly bandaging with dressings he carried.

His financial situation wasn’t great, not carrying many Healing Potions like Maru who drank them like water, saving where possible, his bleeding wound wasn’t worth drinking Potion for yet.

Dal was Silver Rank and logically should be somewhat wealthier than the average adventurer, not to the point of having to save on Potions, which was peculiar.

"I shouldn’t have trusted others so easily," bandaged up, he looked up at the unattainable cliff, his expression mixed with regret and anger.

Undoubtedly, another lucky soul duped by Patch.

Lucky for not dying from the fall, but unlucky for losing his sword, thinking of the good money spent half a year to buy that quality sword made Dal’s heart ache.

Next time he encounters Patch, he must show that scoundrel what cruelty is!

After resting on the spot for a while, feeling a bit re-energized, he began to limp and explore this unknown area.

Patch had kicked him off the cliff, and surprisingly, there was a small clearing below where he was lucky to land without dying.

The clearing led to a pitch-black tunnel, carrying a foreboding aura, but it was impossible for him to back down now.

If he died here, the thousands of points of soul on him would be wasted, enough for an upgrade, which he couldn’t bear to lose!

The number of souls would be reset upon leaving the Dungeon, with no ability to accumulate them.

He crept along the rock wall, taking only a dagger as his weapon now.

"Sniff... sniff..."

Dal’s nose twitched a few times, muttering to himself:

"There’s a Monster scent, not many, also the pungent smell of wild beasts, and the presence of wind ahead signifies an exit,"

He greatly trusted his nose, honed since childhood—alongside a Wolf pack.

Raised by the Wolf pack, he could barely remember what his biological parents looked like, recalling kinship brought images of the mother wolf that raised him.

Forced to recall his parents would conjure a nightmarish scene in his mind.

Oddly enough, why hadn’t the Wolves eaten him back then?

Perhaps living with beasts had granted him superior night vision compared to others, the pitch-black cave was not a big problem for him.

"There seem to be paintings on the wall..."

While on guard for potential Monsters, he examined the paintings on the rock wall.

The murals were abstract, mostly stick figures.

A group of stick figures dancing joyously around a flame in harmony.

Another group of weirdly shaped stick figures arrived, killing the normal ones, destroying everything.

Under the feet of these weird figures was a mass of black paint, spreading wherever they went.

Dal furrowed his brows, feeling uneasy at the blackness.

They constantly slaughtered life, depriving all growth where darkness tread, and normal humans touched by the darkness turned weird, too.

Until one day, a man bearing a Sword and Shield came, he could walk unharmed upon the darkness and defeat evil minions with his own strength, the survivors worshipped him, and after leaving something behind, he resolutely walked deeper into the darkness.

Large portions of the mural in the middle were damaged beyond clarity.

Dal pondered, as these were Fran Fort’s murals, they must relate to this place’s story.

But not creative, others deemed him dull, so he couldn’t guess what the murals actually depicted.

Perhaps the Sword and Shield bearer was the Fran Undead Team? Then he must have been confronting the Abyss. That was as far as Dal could guess.

Ahead, another intact mural appeared, showing people kneeling before beasts, doing something unknown.

Although the painting was very abstract, Dal recognized that the beast should be a giant wolf.

Why were these people worshiping the giant wolf——

"Awooo!"

A wolf howl suddenly interrupted his thoughts, not just a wolf howl, but also the cries of Monsters.

It wasn’t Gollum, it wasn’t Curse Frog, it wasn’t slug, but rather a cry that was more akin to human.

The wolf howl was filled with rage, as if confronting a Monster, but the cry seemed immature – it was actually a young wolf!

Dal immediately lay down and slowly crawled towards the source of the sound, rounding a corner, he finally saw clearly.

A young wolf glared defiantly at the Monster in front of it, its legs injured, unable to walk, relying only on its utter ferocity.

And that Monster...

Dal’s pupils trembled.

That Monster possessed a physique close to a human’s, but its body was distorted in many places, with snake scales, tentacles, bone claws... characteristics of various creatures could be found on its form.

Demon Clan! Without a doubt, it was the Demon Clan!

But intuition told Dal something was off, and his gaze moved downward.

Dark viscous substance was slowly flowing out of the Monster’s feet!

The scene from the mural reappeared swiftly in his mind, and Dal’s breath grew heavier, this was the creature from the mural, which meant——

Abyss!

Why were the characteristics of the Abyss so similar to the Demon Clan? Could it be...

The fear of the unknown caused him to hesitate – he had intended to stealthily approach and eliminate the Monster, but now he doubted his decision.

The opponent did not seem strong, if it really was from the Abyss, it was likely just a common soldier or something of the like.

He could wait until it and the young wolf were both severely injured...

Damn, why did it have to be a wolf, if it were any other beast I wouldn’t hesitate at all.

Just then, the young wolf suddenly turned its head and met Dal’s gaze, its mouth gaping as if about to shout at him.

Bad news, his position was about to be revealed—

However, the young wolf did not make a sound. Instead, it turned its head and howled in another direction, drawing the Monster’s attention away from Dal.

In that moment, Dal charged out like a thunderbolt.

"Ga?"

The Monster suspected from the Abyss sensed danger and started to turn to defend itself, but the young wolf suddenly bit down hard on its ankle with all its strength!

"Spurt—"

A flash of blade, and the Monster’s head fell to the ground.

"Awooo!" The young wolf yelped excitedly, looking in Dal’s direction, as if to thank its savior.

But Dal looked at it expressionlessly and said coldly: "Don’t come closer."

He had a fondness for wolves, but he also knew right from wrong – creatures from the Dungeon couldn’t be compared to surface creatures, surface creatures could cultivate emotions, while Dungeon Monsters could never be tamed.

There had been those who attempted to domesticate Dungeon Monsters and initially, it seemed to work; however, the next day upon entering the Dungeon, the Monster’s state was reset, and all previously cultivated emotions were gone.

"Awoo..."

The young wolf drooped its head, still stealing glances at Dal, its appearance somewhat endearing.

"Hisss," Dal took a sharp breath – this thing actually knew how to play cute.

But a man sticks to his words; if he said he wouldn’t care, he wouldn’t care, don’t expect any comfort from him, Dal!

A moment later.

"Let me warn you, make any rash moves and I’ll snap your neck,"

Dal held the young wolf’s neck with one hand while with the other he wound a bandage around its injured legs.

Healing Potion was out of the question, even he was reluctant to use that on himself.

The young wolf really did keep quiet and calm, unlike other ferocious Dungeon Monsters. Perhaps it was a special breed?

If it really was a special breed, perhaps it made sense for him to take care of it a little.

Dal, oh Dal, how can you go back on your word, if you said you wouldn’t intervene, you shouldn’t have.

He sighed, feeling as if wolves would hound him for the rest of his life.

The young wolf was covered in many wounds, all of which were oozing Wolf Blood.

Dal himself had been cut somewhere during the recent fight without noticing.

A drop of Wolf Blood flowed along the fur, slowly, it came into contact with Dal’s wound.

"Hm?"

Dal suddenly looked around. He didn’t know when, but a muffled murmur reached his ears.

The sounds were intermittent, and his vision began to blur.

"Awooo!"

A mournful wolf howl split the heavens.

Dal shivered violently and to his surprise, found himself standing at the initial entrance of Fran Fort.

No, this was not his body!

A voice came from beside his ear:

"Go, extinguish three Beacon Towers, the Wolf Blood you’ve longed for is waiting for you."