After waking up and preparing myself, I headed towards the party''s tent. I had expected them to still be sleeping, but when I arrived, they were busy folding it away and packing it into a rather poor-looking storage bag. [Rune Inspection] told me it was close to the end of its life, maybe a month or two at best.


    "Might want to get that replaced soon." I pointed out.


    "Yeah... I wish they weren''t so expensive. Hopefully, we''ll have a good haul of loot in the dungeon." Ian grumbled.


    "No promises, but I might be able to help with that. I''ve got a high level in [Dissection] if there are any valuable monsters, and my [Dungeoneer] emblem increases the chance of enchanted loot." I explained.


    "Wow, you actually leveled up [Dissection]," Eliza said, gnawing on an apple like a squirrel.


    "I tried. I thought it would be easy if I used animal claws." Pelopi said, then shuddered. "I was wrong."


    "Blood and guts everywhere..." Eliza shuddered as well.


    "That''s a pretty cool-sounding emblem," Ian said, ignoring the other two. "I''ve heard of similar things, although apparently, they can sometimes upset the dungeon."


    "Correct," a disembodied voice said before Jet slinked out of the shadows. "The [Dungeoneer] emblem basically strongarms the dungeon into expending more energy on loot, which it is sometimes not too happy about. Although it''s not nearly as bad as someone with a looting skill, they really hate those."


    "Lisa mentioned a looting skill as well. Isn''t it just like an instant [Dissection]?" I asked.


    "Yes and no. It does have that function, but it also turns the monster''s dead essence into a drop." Jet answered,


    "And considering dungeons feed on essence, that''s like stealing its meal?" Ian asked.


    "Correct again," Jet said with a smile. "Has everyone got everything? Is there no need for last-minute supplies? Remember, we will likely be camping after each boss."


    "As ready as I''ll ever be," I responded.


    "All good on our end," Ian said, tying the bag closed.


    Before we left, we had a small debate about who should be the party leader. It was eventually settled on Ian. I didn''t want to be evaluated as a leader, and I confirmed that I was trying to be a solo operative and fit in where needed rather than leading my own group.


    <You have joined a party; 5/6 members.


    Ian, Eliza, Pelopi, Jet, Syl.>


    We had briefly discussed whether we should find a final party member, but Jet recommended against it.


    "The Misfits are an officially registered party; to claim proper credit, they need over half of the party members to be from their group." Jet explained.


    If they were a proven registered party, then they would find it easier to get group quests assigned to them or attract prospective members or even temporary members. Name or party recognition was apparently super important for adventurers.


    We headed to the giant hole in the ground, where I saw a spiral walkway dug into the ground. There were also ropes if you wanted to skip walking and rappel down, but we took the safer option. When we reached the bottom, there were seven doorways, five of which were shut tight.


    "Looks like lots of parties are still in the dungeon." Jet noted.


    "Who''s going to pick the door?" Eliza asked.


    "Flip a coin?" Ian suggested, and the rest of us all nodded, except for one.


    "Boo. That''s not fun." Pelopi whined.


    "Why are there seven different doors?" I asked curiously.


    "This dungeon is big enough to have seven different groups and layouts. Since its theme is Mutation, each door and its respective floors are cycled to a different one daily." Jet answered.


    "That way, you can''t easily buy info as well," Ian grumbled.


    "Nope. That''s why it''s such a respected dungeon for tests," Jet pointed out. "It''s almost like the dungeon is cooperating with us."


    "Isn''t it trying to make itself as deadly as reasonably possible to claim the unprepared?"


    "Well... Sure... That''s the real answer, but it''s nice to think the dungeon is on our side, weeding out the unworthy." Jet chuckled.


    I thought back to Simon. He made it seem more like a chore, but perhaps this dungeon master was different? Did the guild even know about dungeon masters? Maybe it was a high-rank or staff-only secret?


    We flipped a coin and entered one of the doors; it closed behind us when Jet pulled a lever near the door. He explained it as preventing outside interference, which this dungeon apparently hated. Very different to how Simon behaved.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Weapons were drawn, and we established a walking formation for the party. I was quite surprised when Pelopi''s arms grew fur and giant bear claws, but nobody else even glanced at them. Jet pulled out a handheld crossbow made of many interlocking mechanisms and a simple durability enchantment. Eliza held a staff, and finally, Ian wielded his giant two-handed axe.


    The entrance to this dungeon was like a cave with glowing fungus on the roof, far different from the crypt and undead theme of Simon''s dungeon. We trodded carefully along the passageway, heading slightly downwards until we entered a large room. I was nearly blinded by the [Identify] notifications, so I quickly ordered Beta not to show them.


    <??? LV 15.> <??? LV 12.> <??? LV 15. Element Affinity: Water.>


    <??? LV 12.> <??? LV 19.> <??? LV 14.>


    <??? LV 16. Element Affinity: Fire.>


    Inside were a multitude of what looked like... Goblins? No, they weren''t just goblins; they looked like goblins mashed with another random monster. There was a goblin wolf, a goblin bear, and even a goblin with an octopus for a head! Its tentacles were wrapped around tiny little rusty shanks. Hell, one goblin was literally made out of fire.


    "I... Don''t think I''ve ever seen this Mutation before?" Eliza questioned.


    "Talk after the fight," Ian said as he rushed into the room. His taunt skills were clearly triggered, and every eye suddenly fixated on him. Then he let out a roar and suddenly self-immolated.


    Jet slinked into the shadows and began taking half-hearted potshots with his crossbow. I was reminded he did say he wouldn''t carry us. Eliza cast a spell that seemed to be slowly siphoning a dark aura of mana directly off Ian. Pelopi growled and leaped toward the octopus goblin.


    In hindsight, we should have talked battle tactics, I could have spread a debuff around before engaging, but perhaps that was too much for the first encounter on the first floor. I started pinpointing the threats that would be difficult for the others to fight, starting with the fire goblin.


    I cycle cast [Permeable] into [Torrent], firing a deadly water beam directly downward from the ceiling like an orbital strike. The fire goblin shrieked before it was pierced straight through by the water laser and then rapidly dissolved like a dying elemental.


    ''Is that what it was? Half goblin, half fire elemental?''


    That was when I noticed spider goblins crawling on the roof. Some were spitting webs, while others were lobbing green blobs of poison. Ian didn''t even bother dodging the webs, as they burnt on contact with his burning body. However, he was forced to dodge the green blobs, and most annoyingly, some of them seemed to be ignoring his taunt, going for sneak attacks against Pelopi and Eliza.


    "Syl, Jet, handle the ranged enemies!" Ian shouted.


    "On it!" I shouted.


    I had [Conductive] cast on any of the poison spitters and then lobbed an empowered [Ball Lightning] starting on the roof and gliding forward as if sweeping across the roof. The shocking arcs it generated went straight toward the intended targets, but the orb rapidly shrank as it spent its energy, so I worked on a second and third orb. Soon, lightning-charred spider goblins were dropping from the roof.


    Meanwhile, Pelopi had torn apart the octopus goblin and was now dueling the bear goblin. She had already torn its one arm off in a savage display of power. Eliza threw a black mana projectile against a wolf goblin, trying to sneak around to ambush Pelopi. It struck, and a hint of golden mana aura tricked off of the wound toward Pelopi. I made a note to ask about that cause it seemed really cool.


    Ian kept tanking with his body. I couldn''t help but think Roderick would be mightily upset at how, instead of mitigating with a shield or armor, he bodyblocked everything with his raw flesh. Admittedly, he must have been extremely tough, as even some of the goblins'' fangs or rusted weapons hardly affected the man. Instead, getting that close would actively burn them or meet their end on his giant axe.


    Any wounds he did suffer were closed up with dark energy; it was a rather unpleasant form of healing, very different from Evan''s. Rather than a golden glow of soft, warming light, instead tiny black tendrils would form and almost actively stitch the wound closed in a rather fleshy and gruesome display.


    That only left Jet, who was still only halfheartedly shooting at a monster. I was quite curious; whenever he fired a bolt, the monster seemed to be hit twice. Delegating my combat to some [Sub-Cores] so I could investigate further, I eventually discovered, thanks to [Mana Conception], that there was a faint trickle of umbral mana in the shadow of his crossbow bolts. Whenever that umbral-enchanted shadow bolt hit the monster''s shadow, the monster would react as if struck by a real bolt.


    ''I hit your shadow, so you take damage. That''s insane!'' I mentally shouted at the absurdity.


    I obviously recalled Trixie''s words about not being too envious of others, especially when I had so much going on myself, but whatever was going on with his Umbral affinity seemed extraordinarily fascinating.


    It didn''t take much longer for us to finish off the rest of the strange goblin monsters. Then, we regrouped and had a small post-battle celebration.


    "That went really well!" Pelopi said, her bloody bear arms turning back into her dainty human ones.


    "Despite their oddity, it wasn''t that much risk," Eliza said. "I didn''t even need to spend my holy pool."


    "Yeah, this first floor seems quite good so far," Ian said with a big grin. I just hope the second floor doesn''t have some nasty surprises. Do you have any idea what this floor even is?"


    "It''s the Merged mutation." Jet explained after he reappeared from collecting any undamaged crossbow bolts. "It just takes two or more monsters and mashes them together. Usually, each room will have a primary monster; in this case, it was goblins, and then every goblin will be Merged with a random other monster."


    "I would have called it the Chaos Mutation," Pelopi said.


    Jet shrugged.


    "We should hurry. If we''re fast enough between battles, I can keep my holy pool from leaking, and we can hit the boss with a full tank." Eliza said.


    "What about looting?" Ian asked.


    "Cut off any claws or fangs and throw them to me, I''ll properly harvest them tonight. My storage doesn''t let things rot." I said.


    Ian let out an impressed whistle, and everyone quickly got to work, hacking off limbs as quickly as possible and bringing them to me. Pelopi handed me the entire octopus head of the goblin.


    "Can you store this for me?" Pelopi asked. "If I''m lucky, I can use a tentacle or two to add it to my beast transformations."


    "Sure," I replied, hoping to keep any leftovers. I hadn''t gotten an octopus profile yet, and I was curious if these Merged monsters would even give me one. Their unknown [Identify] profile caused me to have some doubts.


    "How does that even work?" I asked curiously as a follow-up.


    "I have to do a ritual where I meditate on the beast, ingest some of it raw, and then, if I''m lucky, I can awaken it within me," Pelopi explained. "It has to be a non-magical monster, so no unicorns or dragons for me..."


    "Why do you even want tentacles?" Ian asked, scratching his bald head.


    Pelopi wiggled her fingers. "Tentacles! Imagine what I can do with them."


    Eliza nodded sagely. "I understand."


    I also found myself nodding; my [Pseudopods] were sometimes wonderfully useful. I wouldn''t be alive here today without them.


    "What?" Ian asked, looking flabbergasted.


    Our rapid advance into the dungeon brushed over his confusion.


    This would be fun.