Dragging her weakened body along, Luluwo headed straight for the Dungeon, her expression firm and resolute.
No matter how much Belto and the others tried to persuade her, they couldn't stop her. In the end, they had no choice but to follow.
"What do you think the boss is trying to do?" Belto asked, utterly confused. The others were just as lost.
Halfway there, Luluwo suddenly veered into a shop selling magic scrolls.
"As expected of the captain—always thorough. Our—no, our scroll reserves really are running low," Belto muttered.
However, Luluwo simply slammed a pile of gold coins onto the counter and said:
"Flower Field magic. Repair magic. I want all of them."
Watching her walk ahead with her arms full of magic scrolls, Belto felt the world grow strangely surreal.
What are you planning to do with so many flowers?
Then he noticed a nearby stall selling small jar figurines, and suddenly, everything clicked.
He understood what the captain was planning to do—but why?
Before long, the Group entered the Dungeon, speedran through the Catacombs, and arrived once more at the Warrior Jar's location.
Just like before, the Warrior Jar was still under siege by monsters, still on the verge of shattering.
"Gah!"
Chains lashed out like venomous snakes, wrapping around the monsters' necks and crushing them mercilessly. Silence fell instantly.
Luluwo stood before the Warrior Jar.
They stared at one another for a long moment. The Warrior Jar hesitated.
According to the script, he should have stepped aside and invited those who saved him into the jar settlement—but…
Luluwo's aggressive presence intimidated him.
She glanced at his body. Cracks ran across it, some spots even leaking.
"Here."
A scroll containing repair magic was slapped against the Warrior Jar's body. His cracks slowly began to mend, though the effect would only last ten minutes. To truly fix the problem, Vessel Materials were still required.
"This too. And this one. Actually—just take all of them."
Luluwo stuffed every repair magic scroll into the Warrior Jar's hands at once.
He froze completely.
This was the first time an adventurer had ever given him anything.
Watching through a crystal ball from afar, Wade let out a satisfied chuckle.
In the end, the Warrior Jar stepped aside and allowed Luluwo and her group to enter the jar settlement.
After all, people who used magic to heal his wounds had to be good people… right?
The jar settlement was peaceful and tranquil. Small jars circled around flowers in carefree loops.
Belto looked around nervously. When he spotted the large jars sitting quietly in the corner, he instinctively took several steps back—there was no way he wanted to get close to them.
To most adventurers, this was a rare sanctuary within the grim and dangerous Dungeon.
But to the Group, who had suffered a brutal death here not long ago, this calm façade concealed pure terror.
Luluwo crouched beside the small jars, quietly observing them.
Her behavior caught their attention. Several of the braver jars waddled over little by little, their chubby bodies swaying as they looked up at her like she was some kind of "grown-up."
She hesitated, then slowly reached out toward one of them.
At that moment, everyone watching held their breath.
The small jar didn't dodge. It even seemed pleased—Luluwo's fingers were long and soft, exactly the kind jars liked best.
"…"
A faint smile appeared on Luluwo's face.
Just then, a butterfly lazily fluttered by. The small jar she was petting was instantly distracted and toddled after it, even tripping halfway.
"Haha."
Luluwo laughed out loud.
Belto's eyes widened.
The old captain always upheld noble etiquette—even her laughter had to be restrained, at the very least covered by a hand.
That laughter felt different. Approachable.
The small jars gathered around her.
She took out a scroll recording Flower Field magic and tossed it high into the air.
Is the captain testing the Leon Group's intel? Belto wondered.
According to the Warrior Jar event guide, possible rewards included Warrior Jar Small Shards, Warrior Jar Shards, Friendly Jars, Raw Meat Dumplings, and other miscellaneous items.
Among them, the method for obtaining Friendly Jars was inconsistent.
The Leon Group claimed that retrieving the Materials guaranteed a Friendly Jar—but others followed the same steps and received only shards.
Some used Flower Field magic and still failed. Others did absolutely nothing, stayed for an entire day, and somehow succeeded.
Speculation ran rampant: perhaps obtaining Friendly Jars depended on one's attitude—their emotions, sincerity, and how they treated the Warrior Jars.
Those who didn't truly regard the jars as friends couldn't obtain Friendly Jars.
"As expected of the captain—she recovers from a breakdown and immediately starts looking for loopholes in the Leon Group's guide. This professionalism really is on another level," Belto sighed.
Mira rolled her eyes. "I feel like you're completely misunderstanding what's happening."
Yellow flowers bloomed one after another, filling the air with fragrance.
But Luluwo felt one scroll wasn't enough.
So she used two. Then three.
In the end, she tore through all of them.
The small jars were completely submerged in a sea of flowers, utterly overwhelmed. For anyone with pollen allergies, this would have been pure hell.
But once they recovered, the jars began dancing and singing around her, as if she were some kind of flower goddess incarnate.
Luluwo planted her hands on her hips and laughed toward the sky.
"Captain's gone crazy?!" Belto cried in horror—
—and immediately got smacked on the back of the head by Mira.
At that moment, Luluwo felt deeply satisfied.
The Warrior Jar incident—the direct reason their intelligence had been mocked mercilessly in the guild—had all begun here.
She wasn't even sure why she'd come back, or why she was spending her own money to give the small jars a paradise of flowers.
Maybe she wanted to prove she wasn't a bad person. That she, too, could earn the jars' affection.
Or maybe she wanted to prove something else—that she wasn't someone who only cared about speed and ignored details.
It was childish.
And no one else was even watching—so what was the point?
Whatever.
As long as she untied the knot in her heart, that was enough.
Over these past days, she had reflected deeply on her former immaturity.
Speed was important—but details mattered too. Guides had to be complete.
If one run wasn't enough, then do two. Three. Or more.
Wasn't that shop owner's message basically saying this?
The shortest shortcut is taking the long way around.
Probably meaning that doing things properly and steadily was, in the end, the fastest path.
Luluwo didn't consider herself particularly smart—but understanding this much was enough.
She would personally complete the Warrior Jar event from start to finish.
Only then would she be qualified to continue writing dungeon guides.
Verification. Details. Humility.
Those were the lessons she had learned.
As for Leon—
Truth be told, she had already woken up halfway while he was carrying her back to Firelink Shrine. But the situation had been far too embarrassing, so she pretended to remain unconscious.
Someday, I'll personally visit Leon, and then—
A villainous, twisted smile crept across Luluwo's face.
Should I kneel and apologize? Or kneel and apologize? Or—
Just as the Warrior Jar was about to approach with a stone tablet to issue the next quest, Luluwo waved her hand.
"Come with me. We're taking the Materials back!"
The Warrior Jar froze.
…I haven't even issued the quest yet. How did you answer in advance?
The path to the warehouse was packed with monsters, reminiscent of Yharnam's overly hospitable main street. There was no choice but to carve a bloody path through.
Luluwo instinctively scanned the surroundings for a shortcut.
Unfortunately, there was none.
Monster wails echoed. Bathed in blood, the Group finally broke through and reached the warehouse entrance.
Many players got stuck at this stage of the Warrior Jar event.
There were too many monsters along the way, making wipes common, and the elite monster inside the warehouse was no joke either.
So far, only a handful of adventurers had successfully obtained the Vessel Materials in exchange for Warrior Jar Shards.
Creeeak.
The heavy warehouse door was pushed open. A decayed stench wafted out, accompanied by low, beast-like murmurs.
Inside stood a half-man, half-wolf creature. Its beastified body had torn through its clothes. Its claws could no longer grip a firearm—only a long-handled axe.
[Half-Beastified Father Gascoigne]
That was the monster's name.
Father Gascoigne noticed them immediately and let out a furious howl, half human, half beast.
For some reason, the warehouse was filled with tombstones—far too many of them—making combat extremely awkward.
Luluwo tested one with her chain. It didn't budge in the slightest. These tombstones were even sturdier than the ones in the Catacombs used to block arrows.
What was the point of this setup?
"Be careful, everyone. Don't let the tombstones hinder you."
Father Gascoigne charged straight at them. Beastification had stripped away his reason—his attacks followed brutally direct lines.
The battle erupted instantly.
The priest's fighting style was ferocious, utterly unconcerned with injury, driven solely by the desire to tear his enemies apart.
Even Luluwo felt the pressure. At her peak, she could defeat him alone—but in her current condition, she was clearly struggling.
Taking the long way around… taking the long way around…
Did that apply even during combat?
She hadn't fought monsters head-on like this in a long time. It felt unfamiliar.
But it also allowed her to quickly learn the terrain and the enemy's patterns. Overall, the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.
Clang!
One of her chains struck a tombstone mid-swing and was knocked aside.
"Tch!" Luluwo clicked her tongue—
—and Father Gascoigne seized the opening, charging in wildly!
She tried to retreat—
—but the tombstones blocked her path.
The massive axe loomed right in front of her.
She hastily summoned chains to defend.
At that critical moment, something unexpected happened.
CLANG!
The axe was deflected.
By the tombstone.
"…"
Light burst into Luluwo's eyes.
Those once-irritating tombstones instantly transformed into treasures in her mind.
If she used them properly, then maybe—
She immediately darted into the cluster of tombstones. Father Gascoigne followed, but his straight-line charges and wide swings were heavily restricted. He could barely move.
Thanks to her earlier, steady fighting, Luluwo was already familiar with the terrain. She weaved effortlessly between the tombstones.
Meanwhile, Aim seized the opportunity, turning the ground beneath Father Gascoigne into a swamp and successfully binding his legs.
With his lower body restrained, the priest's only remaining attack was his axe—
But—
The tombstones deflected his strikes.
Clang! Clang!
The sound echoed throughout the warehouse. Father Gascoigne's movements now looked utterly helpless.
Using terrain to cheese a boss—
This was the first time in the history of the Sein Dungeon that adventurers had successfully done it.
Looking at Father Gascoigne's impotent rage, the Group exchanged glances and smiled.
Luluwo smiled the brightest of all.
She had—by sheer coincidence—found a method for even low-powered players to defeat Father Gascoigne.
Could the Leon Group do this?