Mice dominate the dungeon

On a crisp, dark blue morning nearing winter, as the sky was still shrouded in a cold, inky mist, George slowly awoke from his deep sleep, nestled in his warm bed.

George, who hadn't opened his eyes yet, instinctively reached out to touch the bed beside him.

All that remained was the lingering warmth.

His wife, Mary, was already up.

George, who had initially wanted to be lazy for a while, gradually became awake under the urging of his biological clock.

George put on the linen coat hanging by the bed, and a gust of cold air immediately slipped in through the gaps, making him shiver involuntarily.

It looks like the firewood I put in the fireplace yesterday has burned out...

George went out of the room but didn't find Mary. Instead, he saw two plate covers on the dining table in the living room.

This is his breakfast with his son, Johnny.

As for his wife, Mary, she should already be out working.

George gently lifted his lid, revealing a cup of heated tea, a loaf of black bread, a small piece of butter, and a few slices of smoked ham left over from yesterday.

George picked up the black bread and, with a sip of hot tea from his cup, began to nibble on it.

Although the bread was so hard it hurt his gums, he swallowed it all, even sweeping the crumbs that fell on the table into his mouth.

Because this was the source of heat and energy that sustained him throughout the morning...

With his gear ready and a wool scarf wrapped tightly around half his face, George pushed open the door, the air thick with a thin layer of frost.

George hunched his shoulders, tightened the equipment hanging on his body, and strode towards the town center, which was in the direction of the Adventurers' Guild.

As you enter the street where the Adventurers' Guild is located, the buildings along the way become clearly distinct. On one side, there are neat stone buildings with warm yellow firelight shining through the windows. These are places that only high-level adventurers and the wealthy can afford to live.

On the other side were shops, most of which were not yet open. Only a few vendors selling hot food had set up their stalls, and the aroma of roasted potatoes and hot beer mingled with the white mist and wafted around.

Less than half an hour later, the Adventurers' Guild's spire appeared in the frost and mist.

The Adventurers' Guild is built of three-story-high stone, with the guild's emblem—"crossed swords and shields"—engraved on its heavy oak-clad iron gate.

There were no guards in front of the Adventurers' Guild; they opened their doors to all adventurers and even ordinary people.

Because a guild is not just a place to simply accept and assign quests...

The moment George pushed open the door, a wave of heat carrying with it beer, roasted meat, tobacco, and sweat hit him, instantly enveloping his slightly dry and cold body.

The hall was surprisingly spacious, with three huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling. Although covered with a thin layer of grease, they still illuminated the entire hall as bright as day.

The entire wall facing the main entrance was covered with densely packed task sheets, with different colored papers strictly distinguishing the levels.

The lowest level of "blank paper" is the "black iron" level mission, which mostly involves finding cats, eliminating rats, mining, and driving away wild wolves in the suburbs, with pitifully low rewards.

Above that are bluish-gray reward notices, corresponding to the bronze level, and so on.

The glittering bounty poster at the very top of the quest wall is a quest that only Diamond-level adventurers are qualified to accept!

But George's goal in coming to the guild wasn't to take on a quest; he was looking for someone!

Soon, a corner where two adventurers were sitting caught George's eye!

One was an elf carrying a quiver, the other a rough, burly man wielding an axe.

These two are the adventurers who led George to the ninth level of the Ashes today.

The two adventurers are from the same party, the party's name is...

"Grey Rat"

Actually, the adventurer team wasn't originally named "Grey Rat".

Because Raymond, the squad leader with gold-level strength, was willing to pave the way for lower-level adventurers and lead them to relatively safe areas of the Ash Dungeon.

Over time, other adventurers of the same level would always tease them, saying that they were like those shady gray rats, who would only dare to timidly scavenge once when entering the Ash Dungeon, or pick up the scraps left by other people and monsters, and then hurriedly return to the surface.

Captain Raymond didn't care about these teasing remarks, and even changed the team name to "Grey Mouse".

George walked over to the two Gray Rat team members and placed the three silver coins he had prepared on the table.

The "Grey Rat Squad" are not philanthropists; adventurers who want a ride still have to pay a toll for their journey.

After paying the fee, George waited to the side.

When the Adventurers' Guild clock struck nine, more than a dozen weaker adventurers had already joined today's temporary party.

The two Gray Rat team members organized their equipment and then headed towards the entrance of the Ash Dungeon.

They began their underground journey today.

--------

Ash Dungeon.

For the two Gray Rat team members, the first four levels of the dungeon posed no threat, and they traversed them with the ease of going home.

But this is not the case for lower-level adventurers.

As a result, the adventurer team that originally had more than ten members has now been reduced to only six or seven.

Of course, those adventurers did not die; they simply chose a relatively safe area to disembark in the first four levels to carry out their own missions.

Upon entering the fifth floor, the two Gray Rat team members became much more cautious, constantly observing the surroundings.

When the ridesharing team reached the middle of the fifth floor.

Several figures suddenly emerged from the shadows.

Elaina the elf suddenly turned around, raised her bow, and shot an arrow.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three consecutive shots!

The arrows whistled through the air and struck the heads of those figures with pinpoint accuracy.

Karen the Barbarian seized the opportunity, propelled herself forward with both feet, and charged straight ahead, axe in hand.

A short while later, Karen returned looking disappointed.

He was carrying two chubby walking mushrooms in each hand...

"Oh, it's Puji." Elena put away her bow and arrows, then laughed, "That's fine, at least we'll have fresh mushroom soup for lunch today."

Seeing that there were only four poopy creatures and no other danger, Elana continued to lead the team toward the entrance to the sixth floor.

George, who was in the middle, followed closely behind.

But he soon discovered that the adventurer in front of him was standing still.

Somewhat puzzled, George walked over to him and glanced at him.

He was an adventurer who was almost thirty years old. His skin was dark brown, and he looked like someone who often did hard labor in the wind and sun. He looked like he had a hard life.

The adventurer's face was turning slightly pale, and he kept swallowing, looking like a frightened kitten.

"Are you alright?" George asked.

The unfortunate adventurer took a deep breath and said, "It's nothing, I just remembered some bad memories."

"What bad memories could there be from killing a few walking mushrooms?" George asked, puzzled.

The unfortunate adventurer licked his dry lips and slowly said:

"In my hometown, there's also an underground city, and the Puji there are not to be trifled with!!"