Chapter 16 – The Hero Exception

Pairs of green eyes fixed on Evan.

There were thirteen Werewolves, ranging from an adolescent at LV26 to a leader at LV42.

The stupid dogs looked ready to vent their anger over the prey they had just lost.

Almost every one possessed [Haste]. Evan probably could not outrun them.

Fortunately, he had never intended to try.

Prime Puffcap, transform.

The Puffcap curled into a ball.

[Rolling Charge LV5]

Evan had acquired the skill as a by-product while pursuing [Chitinous Shell]. After extracting proficiency from Roller Beetles day after day, Rolling Charge had reached LV5 before the shell itself.

The nearly forgotten skill finally had its moment.

Evan rolled toward the stairs to the Ninth Stratum.

The forty Puffcaps behind him opened fire with Spore Cannon.

The Werewolves were agile enough to evade the straight-flying projectiles. Only one unlucky animal took a blast that destroyed a forepaw.

That was enough. The bombardment opened a route.

One stubborn gray Werewolf charged on all fours through the barrage and slashed at Evan.

[Dodge LV6]

The rolling Puffcap hopped, passed directly over the Werewolf’s face, and plunged into the stairway.

Safe.

The Werewolf tumbled to the ground. Before it could rise, seven or eight Spore Cannons struck together and reduced it to mangled flesh.

Evan had crossed the boundary, but only the prime Puffcap could follow him.

None of the remaining combat Puffcaps possessed Rolling Charge.

Once Evan entered the passage, the Werewolves turned on the troops left behind.

Forty Puffcaps were no match for twelve Werewolves in a direct battle. They wounded only three before being wiped out.

Evan did not truly regret their loss. He had brought the units to protect his body and would have sacrificed them as bait if necessary.

He had not expected them all to die after crossing only one stratum.

He could only hope the rest of the journey would be less unfortunate.

* * *

Without the trailing Puffcaps, the Mycelial Network could no longer provide vision. Evan had to perceive his surroundings through [Airflow Sense] and [Mana Sense].

It was much less convenient.

The Ninth Stratum was the most revolting place Evan had ever seen. Tumorous growths covered every surface, and the monsters resembled failed experiments in engineering flesh.

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Fortunately, mushrooms lacked a sense of smell. The sight alone told him enough about the likely odor.

The journey through the Ninth Stratum was otherwise uneventful. After resting there for a while, the adventurers continued safely to the Eighth.

When Evan attempted to follow, he encountered an unexpected problem.

[Native monster Level Exceeded: Passage Denied]

The unsolicited message startled him. Worse, an invisible wall appeared.

Nothing stood before him, yet the closer he moved to the stairs, the greater the pressure became. It felt ready to crush him.

Was this one of the dungeon’s rules?

A native monster. So the dungeon considered him part of its family?

This family was not warm at all.

No!

He still wanted to see the sun once more.

Had any reincarnated soul ever suffered as much as he had?

[Hero: Restrictions Lifted]

What?

Evan had been ready to force his way through with Rolling Charge. Instead, the invisible pressure vanished.

Was this another Hero privilege?

He took two more steps. The resistance was truly gone.

What sort of obsolete system took so long between two related checks? It had nearly frightened him to death.

For a moment, he thought he would spend eternity in the dungeon playing a family game in which every monster ate the next.

It was only a false alarm.

But why had he suddenly lost all sense of Elara’s location?

* * *

On the Eighth Stratum, Evan stopped before four magic circles set into the ground.

Unlike the two strata below, this place contained stone bricks and other signs of construction. It felt as if he had entered an ancient building.

There was one problem. Beyond the four magic circles, the Eighth Stratum had no roads at all.

Were they teleportation circles?

That would explain why Evan could no longer sense Elara.

What was he supposed to do now?

Which circle should he choose?

None of them.

He was not going to carry his true body onto something that looked like four traps waiting to be sprung.

The Ninth Stratum was disgusting, but he could settle there temporarily. He would produce new Puffcaps and send them through the circles with [Thrall Command] to scout.

As Evan turned back, a mana fluctuation stirred behind him.

The second circle from the left began to glow.

Three humans emerged.

...

[One-Stroke Slash]

[Wind Blade]

[Precision Shot]

Damn it!

After one brief moment of surprise, all three adventurers attacked the monster before them. They shouted to one another in words Evan could not understand.

Dodge. Dodge. Dodge!

Evan evaded their attacks while retaliating with Spore Cannon. He had no habit of accepting an unprovoked attack without fighting back.

Willingness and ability were different matters.

All three adventurers were above LV40, and they knew how to work together.

Evan tried to retreat to the lower stratum, only for a wall of ice to seal the route.

He could break it, but the unending attacks left him struggling simply to survive.

[Skill Level Up: Dodge LV6 → LV7]

He had evaded so many skills that Dodge gained a level. Unfortunately, the improvement did little to solve his situation.

The adventurers dodged or blocked every Spore Cannon. A gale scattered Digestive Ooze. The moment Evan released Hallucinogenic Spores, all three drank Antidotes.

They were weaker than the Diamond-rank party that rescued Elara, but anyone capable of reaching the Ninth Stratum was no amateur.

They countered every one of his limited methods almost immediately.

Evan knew his own strength. Even his so-called prime Puffcap was probably weak for the low forties. Fighting three professional adventurers at the same level was hopeless.

He had not expected escape to be impossible too.

No. He still had one route.

Evan curled into a ball, dodged around the warrior, and charged the archer in the rear.

The mage cast a spell between him and his target.

Now.

During the casting interval, Evan made a sharp turn and plunged into the magic circle on the right.

Light rose around him. The scene shifted, and Evan appeared somewhere else.

He had escaped again.

If only the arrow had missed.

The warrior could not catch him, and the mage needed time to cast, but the archer’s shot followed Evan into the circle.

An iron arrow pierced the prime Puffcap’s rear and emerged from the other side.

That single blow removed half its HP. Fortunately, Evan’s true body was not housed near the rear and escaped injury.

Would the adventurers follow him?

None had appeared so far. They probably would not.

No matching magic circle lay beneath Evan after his arrival. The circle was clearly one-way. Whether or not the adventurers knew that, they would not enter carelessly.

They had come very close to earning an achievement for killing a Hero.

Now what?

Evan contemplated the stone corridors branching in every direction.