The trolls had sent a messenger to Camp Stymphalian early that morning.
A large, moss-covered figure lumbered slowly into the edge of the fields and bowed its massive head toward Phong.
The message was simple.
The king had asked him to come.
To bear witness.
Phong didn't know what that meant at first.
But if the trolls asked, he would go.
So he followed.
The path toward Death Peak was quiet.
Rico tagged along at first, curious as always, but halfway up the mountain the raccoon suddenly lost interest when he discovered a nest of strange glowing beetles.
"Scientific research," Rico declared before disappearing into the underbrush.
Phong continued alone.
By the time he reached the cavern where the trolls gathered, most of the tribe was already there.
Hundreds of them.
They stood in a massive circle around their king.
The Troll King towered above them all.
Massive.
Ancient.
His moss-covered body had grown thicker and darker over time, almost bark-like. Strange fungal growths and red veins of mana pulsed faintly beneath the surface.
The air smelled like wet soil and mushrooms.
The atmosphere felt solemn.
One of the elder trolls stepped forward and gestured for Phong to stand beside them.
He waited quietly.
Then the king moved.
Slowly.
With great effort.
The giant creature stepped into the center of the stone clearing.
And then—
It burst.
The massive troll body ruptured like an overripe fruit.
Millions of spores erupted into the air.
A thick green cloud filled the cavern.
Phong instinctively stepped back, covering his mouth.
But the trolls did not panic.
They simply watched.
The spores drifted downward like snowfall.
Where each spore touched the ground…
Something began to grow.
Small shapes.
Tiny limbs.
Moss-covered skin forming rapidly out of the fungal dust.
Within minutes the cavern floor was crawling with hundreds of miniature trolls.
The same creatures Dominic's team had encountered on Floor 2.
Small.
Hungry.
Restless.
Their bodies were barely knee-high, with goat-like heads and moss-covered limbs. Their eyes glowed with wild, feral hunger.
They screeched and snapped at one another like dragonfly nymphs freshly hatched in a pond.
Phong stared.
"…they're babies."
The elder troll nodded.
"Sporing."
The young trolls quickly spread out across the cavern.
Older trolls gathered them up carefully, guiding them toward different tunnels leading deeper into the dungeon.
They would be scattered across the floor.
To hunt.
To eat.
To grow.
The elder troll spoke again.
"When the king ripens…"
"…he returns to the soil."
Phong slowly looked back at the center of the clearing.
The giant body of the old king was gone.
Nothing remained except a spreading carpet of spores.
Then another troll stepped forward.
The oldest of the tribe.
His moss was darker than the others.
And now…
It began to change.
The green moss slowly turned deep red.
Like iron-rich soil.
The troll's posture straightened.
His eyes sharpened.
And in that moment, Phong understood.
The elder troll looked toward him.
"The memories pass."
The new king raised his head.
A deep rumbling voice echoed through the cavern.
"Welcome again, farmer of the garden."
Phong blinked.
"…you remember me?"
The troll nodded slowly.
"Every king remembers."
The memories of all previous kings lived inside him now.
The tribe roared in approval.
A new ruler had been born.
As they walked back down the mountain, Phong finally understood something that had confused him since the first day he met the trolls.
Their cannibalistic instinct.
Their ferocity.
Their fear of chili missiles.
The trolls were not animals.
They were more like moss.
Or fungus.
Or something disturbingly similar to the orks from Warhammer 40k.
The king died.
The spores spread.
New trolls grew.
Memories passed down.
The tribe never truly ended.
Phong shook his head.
"…that explains a lot."
Meanwhile, the messages from his old friends continued.
They came steadily now.
Different people.
Different conversations.
But always circling the same topics.
Where are you farming?
Which gate are you near?
Have you joined a diver team?
What kind of crops do you grow?
Do you know any other farmers?
Sometimes the tone shifted.
Concern.
Sympathy.
Old memories.
"Hey man, we miss hanging out."
"You should come visit sometime."
"You still play League?"
Phong answered all of them the same way.
Friendly.
Polite.
And completely useless.
He revealed nothing.
Not a word about Camp Stymphalian.
Not a word about alliances.
Not a word about mutated crops.
The same thing happened with news outlets.
Several had reached out.
Interviews.
Human-interest stories.
"The lone farmer surviving the dungeon."
Brands also contacted him.
Sponsor offers.
Gear promotions.
Energy drink endorsements.
All of them were rejected immediately.
Phong didn't want fame.
Fame meant attention.
Attention meant danger.
And here, in Camp Stymphalian…
No drones could reach him anyway.
Even if someone tried.
First they would meet the treants.
Then the lizardmen.
Then the troll tribe.
Then the Greencap rabbits.
An entire ecosystem of allies guarded the area.
The farm was invisible to the world.
Exactly how Phong wanted it.
Someone else had also been watching.
Every day.
A small green lizard appeared in the fields.
Level: 1.
Harmless.
It wandered around casually, observing Phong as he worked.
The Jade Dragon.
The Sky Emperor.
Disguised.
Making sure the farmer wasn't slacking off on the land he had been asked to restore.
Sometimes Phong noticed the lizard.
Sometimes he pretended not to.
Other times…
Little Fireball noticed first.
The tiny phoenix chick would puff up aggressively and charge the lizard.
Chirp angrily.
Attempt to peck it.
The lizard never fought back.
It simply watched.
And waited.
Then wandered away again.
The dragon seemed pleased.
Meanwhile…
On Floor 2.
Dominic's team had finished chasing away the last of the moss troll spawn.
The "trollings," as Jake had started calling them.
Dozens had been scattered across the valley.
Most fled once the group proved they were too dangerous to fight.
Dominic leaned on his hammer and surveyed the area.
"Alright."
"This is the spot."
The future second camp.
Near the Wraith Fortress.
Close to the canal the lizardmen had begun digging.
Perfect for supply and reinforcement.
"Perimeter first," Dominic said.
The team immediately began setting up defensive zones.
Jake and Jack cleared monster nests.
Séline and Camille scouted the surrounding terrain.
Alex used telekinesis to move heavy stones into rough barricades.
The lizardmen arrived soon after, already preparing irrigation channels connected to Lake Baratok.
Water meant stability.
And stability meant monsters avoided the area.
After a while the group paused to treat injuries.
Nothing serious.
Mostly scratches and bruises from the trollings' ambush.
Janet began distributing Sympathy Enoki mushrooms.
"Chew slowly."
The healing fungus worked quickly.
Cuts closed.
Pain faded.
Alexei watched the process with widening eyes.
"…what the hell."
Dominic grinned.
"What?"
Alexei looked at the pile of consumables the team carried.
Chilies.
Mushrooms.
Garlic.
Potatoes.
Berries.
"Your team inventory is insane."
He picked up a small pouch of healing fungus.
"You're basically carrying an entire support class in vegetables."
Dominic laughed.
"Pretty much."
Alexei shook his head slowly.
"No wonder you guys can dive this consistently."
He looked around the growing base.
"You don't even have a dedicated healer."
Dominic shrugged.
"Why would we?"
He held up a handful of mushrooms.
"We've got Phong."
The paladin stared at the pile of produce.
"…this farmer might be the most broken support unit in the entire dungeon."
Dominic smirked.
"Don't tell the association that."
He glanced toward the deeper tunnel leading further down.
"Honestly…"
"If we weren't trying so hard to keep his farm secret…"
"…we'd probably already have a stable foothold on Floor 3."
The team fell silent for a moment.
The dungeon stretched deeper below them.
And the farm above…
Was quietly reshaping the balance of power.
---
Night on Floor 2 did not feel like night on the surface.
The sky above the Wraith Fortress was a dim violet haze, illuminated by drifting mana currents that flowed through the cavern ceiling like slow-moving auroras. The wind carried the scent of damp stone, moss, and faint rot from creatures that thrived in the lower layers of the dungeon.
Dominic's team had finished most of the perimeter work around the fortress and had finally allowed themselves a brief rest.
Lizardmen were still digging the irrigation canal that would connect the fortress to Lake Baratok. The sound of water moving through stone tunnels echoed softly in the distance.
Alex sat near the half-built barricade, polishing the edge of her rapier while hovering a small floating shield beside her with telekinesis. Séline and Camille had just returned from a scouting run along the ridge line.
Everything seemed calm.
Until—
BEEP.
A sharp sound pierced the night.
Then another.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The Alerting Carrots planted around the perimeter began screaming.
Not one.
All of them.
Dozens of small green stalks flashing and vibrating violently in the soil.
Dominic was already standing before the second alarm finished.
"Everyone up!"
The fortress courtyard exploded into motion.
Janet grabbed her spear.
Jake and Jack rolled out of their bedrolls instantly.
Joanne began preparing spell focus rings.
Alexei pulled his shield from the wall where it leaned.
Alex was already moving.
"What direction?"
Séline pointed toward the forest edge.
"North ridge!"
Camille added quickly.
"And west side!"
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"Two directions."
Which meant one thing.
"Swarm."
The trees along the ridge suddenly shook.
Then they appeared.
At first glance they looked similar to the creatures from Floor 1.
Mushroomires.
But these were not the docile, wandering fungi creatures that occasionally roamed the upper floor.
These were something else entirely.
Their caps were jagged like broken blades.
Their stalk-like bodies were thicker, muscular, with root-like limbs that dug into the soil for traction.
Glowing veins pulsed across their bodies.
Their eyes burned with hostile red light.
And unlike their peaceful cousins…
These ones ran.
Dozens poured out of the treeline.
Then more.
Then hundreds.
Jake cursed under his breath.
"…Mushroompires."
Dominic spat to the side.
"Of course."
The creatures had sensed something.
Opportunity.
The Wraith Fortress had been occupied by Shadows and Wraiths until Dominic's team cleared it.
Now the power vacuum had attracted attention.
And the Mushroompires had arrived to claim the territory.
"DEFENSIVE LINE!"
Dominic planted himself at the center of the courtyard entrance.
His massive tower shield slammed into the ground with a heavy metallic clang.
Behind him, Janet moved to the left flank.
Jake and Jack spread out along the right.
Séline and Camille climbed the broken stone walls to gain elevation.
Joanne moved to the back line, already preparing spells.
Alexei stood beside Dominic.
Paladin aura beginning to glow faintly.
Alex stepped forward.
The air around her distorted.
Six psychic constructs materialized instantly.
Rapier.
Shield.
Bow.
Vajra.
Mace head.
Second shield.
They floated around her like predatory satellites.
The Mushroompires charged.
The battle began.
The first wave hit Dominic like a crashing wave.
Three Mushroompires leapt simultaneously.
Dominic roared and slammed his shield forward.
The creatures shattered against the steel wall with wet cracks.
One slipped past the edge.
Dominic grabbed it by the stalk and smashed it into the ground with a fist enhanced by his Judgenaut strength.
Another jumped over the shield.
Alex's floating mace-head construct smashed it mid-air like a baseball bat.
Behind him, Alexei raised his sword.
"Radiant aura!"
Light exploded outward.
Several Mushroompires burst into clouds of glowing spores.
But the swarm kept coming.
On the fortress walls, Séline and Camille fought like twin storms.
Séline's blade flashed in tight, efficient arcs.
Every strike cut through fungal flesh cleanly.
Camille fought more aggressively.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Short blade strikes.
Whenever a Mushroompire tried to climb the wall, she smashed it back down into the courtyard where Dominic finished it.
Below them, Jake and Jack moved like shadows.
Jake's soldier ant mandible dagger tore through fungal stalks easily.
Jack used a pair of stone gauntlets to create and move stone structres, blocking advances from key directions.
Joanne unleashed controlled bursts of mana bolts that detonated groups of approaching enemies before they reached the barricades.
Nyx and Bruno helped from above Janet shoulders. One threw tiny fire orbs down at the mushroompires, the other threw stones like a mini bombers. Janet levitated and commanded the battle from the sky. Her airborned attacks and morale buffs came just in time of clutch.
But the real storm stood at the center.
Alex.
She moved through the battlefield like something out of a martial arts film.
Telekinesis amplified every motion.
When she stepped forward, invisible force propelled her faster than normal human movement.
Her rapier stabbed through a Mushroompire's cap.
Her floating shield slammed another aside.
The vajra construct crushed a third.
The psychic bow fired arrows of condensed force that skewered enemies climbing the fortress walls.
Dominic glanced at her briefly between strikes.
"…still insane."
Alex didn't answer.
She was already moving again.
Hours passed.
Wave after wave crashed against the fortress.
Mushroompires crawled over broken stone.
Leapt from rooftops.
Clawed through barricades.
The courtyard slowly filled with torn fungal bodies and drifting clouds of glowing spores.
Janet's voice rang out periodically.
"Sympathy Enoki!"
She tossed small healing mushrooms to injured teammates.
Alexei caught one mid-fight and chewed it quickly.
His wounds closed almost instantly.
He shook his head in disbelief even while fighting.
"Vegetables shouldn't be this powerful."
Dominic laughed while punching a Mushroompire through a wall.
"Tell that to our farmer."
Near midnight the swarm intensified.
Larger Mushroompires appeared.
Five times the size of the earlier ones.
Thick caps covered in jagged spikes.
Dominic braced his shield again.
"Elite variants!"
The creatures slammed into the defensive line like battering rams.
Dominic was forced to slide backward across the stone floor.
Alex immediately reinforced the line.
Both psychic shields slammed into place beside Dominic's tower shield.
The three barriers formed a temporary wall.
The impact cracked stone.
But the line held.
Jake yelled from the side.
"They're trying to break the gate!"
Alex's eyes narrowed.
"Not tonight."
She lifted both hands.
Four of her psychic constructs turned into sharp, pointed blades. They twisted together, forming a drill the size of a minivan.
It pierced the elite variants, crushing anything and everything in its path.
Dominic team looked it awe as the elite wave collapsed under Alex's ultimate-like attack in just seconds.
"Weeping onion. Relaxing Shiitake!"
Janet dropped the needed consumables for Alex. While she rested, Dominic, Jack and Alexei fortified the defense line.
By the time the sky began to lighten with the dim glow that passed for dawn in the dungeon…
The battlefield finally went quiet.
The last Mushroompire collapsed in the courtyard.