The teleport gate flashed, and the air turned stale.
Kaelen blinked. They were standing in a massive cavern illuminated by bioluminescent mushrooms. The ground was spongy, covered in a thick carpet of moss.
[System Notification][Entered: Fungal Caverns (Level 8-12)][Dungeon Modifiers: +20% Poison Damage, Limited Visibility.]
"Alright, mule," Brok (the Warrior) grunted, tossing a heavy canvas bag at Kaelen. "Stay ten paces behind. If you draw aggro, you die."
Kaelen caught the bag. It weighed 50 pounds. "Understood."
He checked his Junk Sense. To his surprise, the entire dungeon lit up like a Christmas tree. Every mushroom, every rock, every monster had a Source Code.
[Guide: Dungeons are sub-servers. The security here is lower than in the City. You can feed freely.]
The party moved forward. Brok took point, smashing giant beetles with his mace. Elara picked off spore-bats from the ceiling. Silas cast fireballs to burn the moss.
Kaelen walked behind, watching them. They fought like players—using cooldowns, watching mana bars. They were playing a game. Kaelen was looking at the matrix.
He saw a Spore-Bat corpse that the party ignored. He pretended to tie his shoe. He touched the corpse.
[Decay Activated.] The bat dissolved into grey pixels. [Mana Recovered: 2 points.][XP Gained: 50.]
"Hey!" Silas shouted. "What are you doing back there?"
"Just checking for loot," Kaelen said, standing up.
"Don't touch the bodies," Silas sneered. "You might catch a debuff, you dirty Civilian."
Kaelen lowered his head. "Yes, sir." Internally, he smiled. He had just stolen their kill credit.