The Fungal Scourge

"Our village is under attack by monsters." Spriggan Yuri began her story slowly. "It started with small spores. One day, mushroom spores started drifting around the outskirts of the village. We didn't think much of it. But that was the root of the disaster."

Mushroom spores. A word I really hated hearing. It wasn't that I disliked mushrooms themselves—I enjoyed eating them just fine. What I hated were the monsters of the Fungus race. The fungal entities.

As expected of a roguelike like Dungeon Overseer, the game threw every kind of disgusting monster at you. It wasn't just their appearance (though that was bad enough); their mechanics were what made them truly repulsive. In Dungeon Overseer, buffs and debuffs decided battles. Like any good roguelike, they could completely flip the fight. Buffs could straight-up double your attack power, while debuffs ranged from confusion to poison, petrification, paralysis, bleeding, burning, frostbite, electrocution, sleep, weakness, blindness, and everything in between.

Our strategy was clear: stack as many buffs as possible on allies, kill enemy buffers the moment you saw them, and neutralize dangerous debuffs with proper resistances. So when evaluating enemies, three questions mattered:

1. Were their buffs annoying?

2. Were their debuffers annoying?

3. Was there no reliable way to counter them?

The game's three most hated races all satisfied either 1 and 3, or 2 and 3 at the same time. Those fucking webbed-foot bastards—the mermen. The walking abominations—the fungal entities. And the all-time legend—the undead. There were countless reasons to despise them, but I won't waste space listing them all.

The important thing was this: fungal entities were genuinely the worst monsters to fight. Every single one applied a Fungal Infection ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠debuff when killed. If it stacked, even the healthiest character could turn into a wreck in seconds. On top of that, the entire fungal race was designed from the ground up as professional debuffers. Back when I played the game, plenty of people skipped fungal dungeons entirely because the mushroom bastards were just too gross to deal with.

"The Walking Funguses must have spread everywhere," I said.

"Yes. They infected our orchard and began reproducing there. By the time we understood the situation, it was already too late. Their numbers grew by the day... and the village air grew thicker with mushroom spore contamination."

Yuri spoke in a gloomy voice. "There were many discussions about how to handle the fungal entities. Some suggested borrowing outside help. Others insisted we should solve it with our own strength."

"You chose the former, Miss Yuri."

"I heard there were people on the surface who accepted money to exterminate monsters. So I tried requesting help from the explorers' association, but..."

"You got scammed."

Yuri gritted her teeth. I asked out of curiosity. "What kind of scam was it...?"

"What I brought was a gemstone. The association valued it at around three thousand rons. But then an explorer approached me saying the association was lowballing the price and that he would exchange it for more."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"..."

It was a pitiful story. Yuri, who had lived her whole life underground, had no way of knowing surface-world market prices. She had fallen completely for the scammer's coaxing.

"Your name was Hajun, right? I don't have money right now, but if you protect our village, I'll give you the gemstone."

At Yuri's offer, I smiled bitterly. Last time when escorting Maya I'd also worked on credit. Now I'd found another job with uncertain payment.

I thought for a moment. Success would bring me plenty of gemstones and the Underground Fairy's Necklace. But the opponents were no pushovers. Fungal entities. The kind that made me want to vomit when I fought them in the game. Would reality be any better?

"Alright. Fungal entity extermination. I'll take the job."

After some consideration, I made my decision. This was a request worth accepting. I wouldn't be fighting alone—I'd have the Spriggans as allies. After finishing the Oricil job, I'd received a huge supply of potions. If I invested resources without holding back, I could clear this. Pouring resources into growth when you were well-off was basic stable gameplay. Besides, I had no other work. Better to run a dungeon than sit around in Runen.

"Then I need to gather some party members..."

I naturally glanced at the Slayer sitting beside me.

"Would you like to join my party?"

"I'm not sure..."

She hesitated. It wasn't a light decision.

"Then I'll give you time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to think it over."

I'd have to spend some time recruiting properly.

"Did you call for me?"

I started with the easiest person—Roa.

Roa had been with me since level one, growing together. After we took down the cockatrice, her level had reached three. A level-three Guardian was finally at the point where she could display real firepower.

"Roa, did you learn any new skills?"

"Yes. I learned Invisibility."

Guardian development split into two main paths: fire support specialization and stealth reconnaissance specialization. Roa had chosen the latter. Scouts were always valuable.

And by chance, I spotted a Dungeon Seeker wandering around looking for work. Messy hair, thick glasses—he looked surprisingly reliable at first glance. Excellent Dungeon Seekers stood out from their appearance alone. I caught the man carrying a large bag and dangling a Seer Lantern.

"Wait! You're looking for work, right?"

"Huh? Ah... yes."

"Would you like to join our party?"

From exploring the Sokoban dungeon, I'd learned how useful Dungeon Seekers truly were. Their detection abilities were top-class, and their wide range of knowledge prevented stupid mistakes. Aside from contributing little in direct combat, they were one of the best support classes. There was even a saying in Dungeon Overseer: If you don't know how to build a proper composition, just add a Dungeon Seeker.

The man couldn't hide his blooming smile and introduced himself with an awkward chuckle.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Noman, a scholar from the St. Angela Academic Society assigned to field research. Please take care of me."

His level was only two, but that was fine for a supporter. They weren't carry positions anyway. Next, I grabbed the Slayer, Alma, who had been loitering nearby.

Slayers were high-performance frontline fighters. Similar to Ironclads, but far more aggressive. A Slayer swinging a massive two-handed weapon was a true slaughterer and monster hunter. Those who devoted their lives to hunting monsters roamed the underground dungeons in search of greater trophies and the thrill of the hunt.

While their giant weapons were certainly threatening, Slayers treated their gear as disposable. What they truly cherished was their extensive knowledge of monster lore and diverse combat techniques. Slayers acquired the following traits:

The final party I assembled was a level-four Slayer, a level-four Necromancer, a level-three Guardian, and a level-two Dungeon Seeker.

I led my new party members to Spriggan Yuri. She looked at us and tilted her head.

"Are these really explorers?"

Alma pulled out her identification badge. It was silver. A Silver Badge explorer. My level matched hers, but I was still only Bronze rank. The mistakes I'd made early on had been costly.

"From what I heard, explorers are people who slaughter dozens of monsters single-handedly and enjoy massacre."

"Those kinds do exist. The Gold and Platinum Badge ones."

Gold and Platinum Badges. In levels, that roughly meant six to nine. I'd heard there were only five Platinum Badges in the entire kingdom, and Gold Badges were extremely rare too. If Gold was around six or seven, you could imagine how monstrous they were. The cockatrice we'd killed in the Sokoban dungeon had been level six. Two level-six explorers could handle one comfortably. Depending on class, some could even fight them one-on-one.

"Then what about these?"

"Silver Badges. Hey, don't look so disappointed. What exactly were you expecting?"

Despite my warning, Yuri openly showed her dissatisfaction. She'd thought hiring surface explorers would solve everything, but she was disappointed by how weak they seemed.

"Yuri. I killed dozens of orcs over several years to earn this Silver Badge. I'm not as weak as you think."

"No. That's still not enough. We have to fight hundreds of Walking Funguses. But with you people..."

I chuckled and patted Yuri's shoulder. This Spriggan was far more naive than I'd expected. Maybe she'd grown up sheltered in her village, always called "miss."

"Don't be so impatient. Did you think hiring explorers would magically solve all your problems? Hiring us is just the beginning of the process. No one knows what results we'll produce."

Yuri stared at me for a long moment before pulling her hood down. It was the hood she always wore, claiming people's gazes were burdensome.

"I... don't know much about fighting."

"That's why we're going together."

We calmly wrote up the contract and began expedition preparations. We circled the market replenishing supplies and arranged a carriage to take us to Moro Mine. Every single coin came out of my own pocket. Without the money I'd earned in Oricil, I couldn't have even started this mission.

Roa took charge of assisting with preparations.

"You must have taken the party leader role often, Oppa."

"Hm?"

"I heard Supervisor Gawin praising you last time. He said your exploration plans were excellent."

I'd only recently started leading parties. Working as an explorer had taught me that instead of looking for someone to carry me, it was far better to run ahead myself.

"I just pack what the plan requires."

"But knowing exactly what to bring and how much is a real skill."

Roa looked at my checklist and asked a question. "For example, why did you bring Wildfire Potions?"

"There's always a situation where you need to set things on fire. It's fine even without an Alchemist. You can just throw them and let them explode, right?"

Roa's eyes sparkled as she nodded. She looked like she'd just gained new knowledge.

"Then why only fifteen days' worth of food?"

"I planned for us to resupply at the Spriggan village. Food takes up too much space anyway. There's no benefit to staying in the dungeon longer than necessary."

"Then this rope..."

Seeing her ask about everything, it seemed she was preparing for the day she'd take on the leader role herself. Since I was teaching her anyway, I also gave her simple tips on writing exploration logs. Roa kept nodding, absorbing my advice like a sponge.

Roa would definitely become an excellent explorer.

A few days later, with all preparations complete, we boarded the arranged carriage and left Runen. Our destination was the underground of Moro Mine—the Spriggan village. The place currently fighting a war against the fungal entities.