Chapter: 15

“…what? Where is the dungeon?”

Jay expected a cave or perhaps a crystal to teleport him, yet what he found was a small brown pond surrounded by head-high grass.

The water was murky, with lily pads scattered throughout. Quite contrasting to the surrounding fir wood forest.

Jay walked around the pond as he checked his map, but the marker kept pointing directly into the pond.

“Fine, you win. I’ll walk into the filthy pond and get my shoes wet, then head back to town with wet shoes and disappointment.” He gritted his teeth in utter frustration.

After sinking his shoes into the mud and the water reaching knee-high, a notification appeared before his eyes.

[Enter Stink-rat Marsh level 1 dungeon?]

[Yes/No]

“… oh?”

Jay was pleasantly confused, but still, he accepted the dungeon invitation.

The wind swirled around him, and for a moment, Jay couldn’t breathe.

Before he realised it, he was suddenly sucked down under the water and into the mud; anyone looking at this would think he was just pulled under the water by an ancient eldritch monster.

—

Suddenly, Jay was ejected from the mud again, as if being vomited out from the earth itself.

[You have entered Stink-Rat Marsh level 1].

[Unlocked Dungeon – You may leave at any time]

Landing in the same murky water again, he was assaulted by a foul smell and another notification.

[Stink Debuff Applied]

– Persists until you leave the dungeon.

[Stink]

– You are distracted by a horrendous smell, -5% dexterity.

“Heh, five percent is nothing to someone as low level as me” Jay scoffed as he examined his surroundings. He really thought being low level was something to brag about.

The air was sticky, humid and thick. It was warm, and definitely not winter anymore.

Around him were decaying trees, waist-high grass and black murky ponds littering the black-mud landscape.

While walking to drier ground, his feet produced bubbles with every step; the bubbles adding to the stink.