At the far west of the archipelago, there was Horn Isle.

This medium-sized island had once been famous during the archipelago’s prime for hunting horned whales.

Now, however, it had been completely abandoned. Not a single inhabitant remained—only rotting buildings, their paint peeling under the briny sea wind.

The reason Horn Isle was abandoned was simple, the same as countless other deserted islands—the Mists had spread here.

At the moment, the gray fog only lingered over the reefs at the northeastern tip, but all nautical charts had already marked this island as pending erasure. The disappearance of the name “Horn Isle” was only a matter of time.

That time might be three years, three months, or even three days away.

The spread of the Mists never followed tides or seasons. Its borders pulsed, shifting constantly between real and unreal.

And yet, today, Horn Isle was strangely host to a group of outsiders.

In the western spruce forest, a stooped figure gripped the handle of a decayed hoe, moving its arms mechanically.

Gray-white skin stretched tight over a bony frame. Cloudy eyeballs sat deep in sunken sockets as it shuffled forward with a gait that was anything but human.

A flash of cold light split the sky. An arrow like a silver serpent pierced straight into its forehead, shattering bone and spraying rot as it burst from the back of its skull—one shot, one kill.

【Level Up: LV6 → LV7】

【Skill Upgrade: Archery LV2 → LV3】

Atop the island’s tallest structure, the watchtower beside the lord’s manor—

A tall, blonde woman lowered her bow, Moonlit Yuzuki, and pulled off the Strength Gauntlets from her hands, flexing her wrists, sore from continuous shooting.

Her ever-shifting geometric pupils gradually settled back into a human form.

Taking advantage of the break, she turned to a middle-aged man in religious robes beside her.

“Samuel… Priest, can you explain it to me again? I still don’t quite understand.”

“Lady Sophia, please, just call me Samuel.”

The priest’s solemn expression carried reverence, without the slightest hint of disdain for her ignorance.

Bowing slightly, he explained in a low voice:

“These are the Lost, souls consumed by the Mists. They are no longer who they once were, merely puppets of flesh, driven by the fog, without awareness.

Please, when you shoot them, feel no burden in your heart.

But do not underestimate the Mists just because the Lost are weak. What you see is only a tiny fraction, a spillover from its dormancy.”

Sophia nodded, half understanding.

Just then, a fully-armored guard ascended the stairs, carrying a hot meal on a tray, alongside a costly mid-grade stamina potion.

He knelt on one knee and raised the tray above his head. “Lady Sophia, your meal.”

Though this was not the first time, Sophia still wasn’t used to such reverence.

She took the tray with a hand, sat aside, and began eating quietly—no one would join her, as they considered it disrespectful.

As she ate, Samuel asked the guard, “How is the Mist?”

“Stable. It won’t enter an active phase any time soon.”

Samuel nodded. Good.

His eyes shifted to Sophia, now gulping down her food and chugging potion.

Silently, he calculated the time she would need to advance to level 20. Only then could they choose a more suitable trial ground for the next stage of her growth.

Until humanity’s hope could protect herself, he and the forty guards stationed at the manor would guard her with their lives.

——

Pupupu—

Pupupu—

Forty Pujis stepped onto the sixth floor.

With no restrictions holding him back for the moment, Lin Jun certainly wasn’t going to keep playing it safe.

He had long coveted the ecology of the sixth floor. Now was the time to bring it under mushroom control.

Not to mention, the flower sprites’ paralysis secretion skill was far too tempting.

Of course, taming flower sprites would be the last step.

The first step was spreading the mycelium, and that meant clearing out the slimes!

There were a lot of slimes on this floor.

Two kinds—red neurotoxic slimes and green adhesive slimes.

This team of forty Pujis, as the vanguard, had to map out their distribution and spawning grounds, paving the way for the larger forces to settle in.

But now, a small accident had occurred—

A group of adventurers stood right at the stairway where the vanguard had just emerged.

“Wh-why are Pujis coming down here?” one adventurer stammered in disbelief.

They’d already been tormented by that cross-floor Black Shroom. Now even normal Pujis could swarm downward?

What happened to dungeon rules?!

None of them dared make a move. Everyone knew the fearsome reputation of fifth-floor Pujis—attacking them would only end badly.

“How about… we try tossing them a monster corpse?” someone suggested.

“Makes sense!”

Quickly, they threw down a bee corpse about the same size as a Puji in front of the vanguard.

…

The Pujis “marched” forward without a glance, completely ignoring the corpse as they stomped past.

Seeing themselves blocking the path, the adventurers immediately scrambled back the way they came. They could always take another tunnel up.

But in their panic, the priestess stepped on someone’s foot and fell.

“Don’t leave me behind!”

Her teary cry made the ranger, already ten steps ahead, turn in alarm.

“Damn it! Get up, I’ll cover you!” He raised his bow, ready to shoot to buy her time—only for his companions to drag his arm down.

“Are you an idiot?!”

“Don’t provoke the Pujis!”

“B-but…” His comrades had a point, but the Pujis were already walking right over her…

“Ahhh—!” Her scream pierced the air, making the ranger’s heart drop.

The Pujis trampled over the priestess without a second thought, quickly burying her figure beneath their squat black feet.

The three companions could only grit their teeth and listen to her “screams” from afar—

“Ahhh—ahhh—oh… oh… mm… oh… mm…”

Her “screams” came out rhythmically, her voice strong and steady—she didn’t sound like someone in pain at all.

???

When the Pujis finally marched off, the three rushed back to find the priestess sprawled on the ground, her back covered in round, stubby black footprints.

The ranger lifted her head. “Are you alright?”

“F-feels… kind of nice…”

The priestess blinked in confusion, chest still heaving with the aftershock of near-death—yet there was a hint of reluctant pleasure in her tone.

The others exchanged strange looks, helped her up, and checked her over. She was indeed unhurt.

Not staying any longer, the four grabbed the bee corpse the Pujis had ignored and hurried back to the surface—

Now they had brand-new bragging material!