Mice dominate the dungeon

Ash Dungeon Level 9.

To its south lies a mysterious land perpetually shrouded in mist, and this mist is no ordinary water vapor, but a kind of miasma with a slight corrosive and toxic force.

It is rumored that the south was not like this at first, but after a change of events, the mist and miasma settled there and never dissipated.

Even strong winds, flames, and intense light spells could not completely tear open that viscous fog.

This makes it extremely easy for adventurers to lose their way after entering, and they end up being imprisoned in this mist.

However, some lucky adventurers manage to escape and learn from them that the mysterious land shrouded in mist is actually just ruins and remnants...

Over time, for whatever reason, even the most adventurous scavengers and the bravest adventurers would never easily set foot in this mist-shrouded southern region.

The adventurers in the Black Forest town also refer to the southern nine levels as the "Misty Ruins".

...........

The mist, which had been still and stagnant like solidified cotton, suddenly churned and surged in an instant, as if being violently kneaded by an invisible giant hand.

The thick fog wall suddenly collapsed and dissipated to both sides, turning into chaotic fog waves that spread in all directions.

Not long after.

A figure darted out from the gaps in the dissipating mist, as if the mist behemoth had vomited its food due to indigestion.

As the figure departed, the gaps in the fog wall were instantly filled and healed by the dense fog that surged back in.

The figure who escaped from the "Misty Ruins" was an adventurer nearing thirty with a bitter expression on his face.

If George were there, he would definitely recognize this person as "Wols," the out-of-town adventurer he had helped.

Worth, whom George had initially deemed a near-certain death, is now found on the edge of the "Misty Ruins".

Unlike his initial bravery upon reaching the ninth floor, Worth was now completely disheveled.

His clothes had been torn into strips by the rubble and stuck to his body, revealing the soft armor clinging to his chest and ribs.

His cheeks were sunken and shriveled, his lips were cracked and peeling, with blood seeping from several spots. His originally dark brown skin had become even lighter in color due to the dampness of the fog.

His chin was peeling and cracked, showing a pale, bluish color with a fractured appearance.

Walls, who was lying on the ground, propped himself up with his elbows and looked around. Seeing that the damp and sticky mist was gone, he was finally able to exhale the breath that had been stuck in his chest for a long time.

"Damn it, I was too careless this time!!" Worth cursed himself through gritted teeth.

He even wanted to slap himself, but he was too tired to move.

Wols initially thought the fog south of the ninth floor was just simple mist, but it turned out to be completely unexpected...

In the fog, the light of an ordinary torch can only illuminate an area of ​​less than 1 meter in front of you; beyond that distance, the light will be swallowed up by the fog.

Even lighting spells such as "Dim Light" and "Fireworks" will have their illumination range reduced to one-tenth of their original size, and the light source will be continuously eroded by the fog, its brightness will gradually decrease, and it will eventually go out completely.

In addition, some common positioning tools also showed varying degrees of deviation and malfunction. Worth only managed to escape from the fog by relying on the "positioning coordinates".

Even so, Worth wandered around in the fog for a whole week!

Worth is in very poor condition. He has been fasting for almost three days. The ecological environment in the south of the mist is quite harsh, mostly infested with poisonous insects and dark monsters, making it difficult to find food that can be eaten normally.

When his food supplies ran out, the starving Wors could only start eating relatively normal insects and monsters. If he got poisoned, he would drink "antidote potions" to replenish his fluids.

Fortunately, he brought enough "antidote potion" which allowed him to survive the first four days.

Only when the medicine was completely used up did Worth dare not eat anything and began to endure the hunger.

Recalling the events of the past few days, Worth, whose face was already etched with bitterness, showed an even greater sense of desolation...

After resting on the ground for more than ten minutes, Worth mustered up some strength and shakily stood up.

He knew that although he had escaped from the fog, he was still in the ninth level of the underground city, and who knew what dangers he might encounter next.

Following the direction he remembered, Worth headed towards the gathering place of the Gray Rat Squad.

His limbs were weak and trembling, and he felt lightheaded, as if he were walking on cotton.

Wols dragged his body, which was completely drained of magic, physical strength, and energy, for an hour.

When Worth vaguely saw a halfling, his trembling legs finally gave way, and he staggered a few steps and knelt on the ground.

"..."

"Hey big guy, what's going on?!"

The smiling figure, perched atop the giant soldier rat's shoulder, stared blankly at the adventurer lying on the ground.

The giant soldier rat shook its head.

Just now, it was surveying the terrain near the mine with Ai Xiao, looking for a suitable place to build a nearby outpost for contact with adventurers.

Then they saw someone staggering towards them.

Then, without warning, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Is this guy planning to stage an accident to extort money...?" Ai Xiao muttered, tilting her head to the side.

Just two days ago, Boss Tuqi mentioned a similar situation to it.

Some unscrupulous adventurers might deliberately fall or get injured to extort money from the rat, a practice known as "faking an accident," to make it a little more careful.

To help or not to help, that is the question.

Ai Xiao suddenly wanted to consult with Boss Tu Qi, but then remembered that Boss Tu Qi seemed to be busy with his new house for the past two days.

After thinking about it, Aixiao decided to handle it herself first.

After a moment's thought, Ai Xiao decided to offer her assistance.

After all, when first encountering adventurers, it's important to establish a positive and trustworthy image!

Smiling jumped down from under the giant soldier rat and moved a little closer to the adventurer, sniffing in his direction with its soft nose.

"Vomeronasal trigger"

"Weak, exhausted, hungry..." Ai Xiao muttered softly.

Immediately afterwards, Ai Xiao released all of her senses.

There is no danger, no murderous intent, and no malice.

A deathly silence...

"Oh dear, looks like I misunderstood him." Smiling face rubbed her nose and muttered to herself, "No adventurer would risk their life to stage an accident, right..."

Immediately, after confirming there was no danger, Ai Xiao waved behind her and said:

"Big guy, give me a hand and get this guy into the mine."

The giant soldier rat strode over to Worth, grabbed one of his arms, and dragged him backward.

As Worth's upper body was slightly lifted, Ai Xiao suddenly realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the adventurer's appearance.

Why does it seem like there's a noticeable color difference between the upper and lower halves of his face? It's like two faces pieced together, which looks rather incongruous!

The laughing creature jumped onto the adventurer and reached out its paws to touch his face.

With a gentle pull, a piece of dark brown skin was torn off...