Green grass, blooming flowers, and a tranquil, peaceful atmosphere—despite being a graveyard, it didn't feel dangerous at all.
Looking around, it was clear that this hidden cemetery beyond the room had been transformed into the jars' home. Large jars and small jars alike were piled everywhere.
Yet among them, the only ones capable of moving were the few small jars circling the flowers—and the Living Jar Leon and the others had just rescued.
This kind of serene scenery had no business appearing in the Sein Dungeon. The contrast with the sinister, nauseating environment from before was simply too extreme.
"Are they…?"
Maru turned back to look at the Living Jar. It merely waved its arm lazily, gesturing for them to come inside.
With Gapar present, there was no need to worry about this being a carefully disguised trap. Even if it was, he could just cut it down. They walked in without hesitation.
Being invited into a monster's home was an oddly novel experience.
Maru cautiously approached the small jars, constantly glancing back to observe the Living Jar's reaction. It made no attempt to stop her.
"They really aren't attacking us," Maru said.
The moment she got close, the small jars reacted.
Some merely glanced at her—probably glanced, since jars didn't actually have eyes—before returning to circling the flowers. Others, however, began circling her instead. Was this some kind of welcoming ritual?
Maru felt a quiet sense of wonder. There were actually monsters here that didn't attack humans, and from the small jars she could sense an almost childlike innocence.
They were even… kind of cute.
"Maru, be careful," Leon warned. He still wasn't at ease, his gaze sweeping across the gravestones. Skeleton monsters crawling out of graves wasn't exactly unheard of.
But as they drew closer, they realized the graves had already been dug up. The skeletons inside had long since been dismantled into scattered bones.
That was probably the big guy's handiwork.
Leon exchanged a glance with his teammates, and they immediately understood—stay alert.
He then looked at Gapar. The man was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, completely detached, as if silently declaring: I only handle the killing.
Left with no choice, Leon stepped forward and approached the Living Jar, intending to ask why it had invited them inside.
At that moment, the Living Jar fumbled around within the cracks of its body and produced a glowing mote, handing it to him.
"A thank-you gift? Thanks," Leon said as he accepted it.
[Warrior Jar Small Shard]
[The fragment is stained with fine bits of flesh. A spiritual remnant dropped by an injured Warrior Jar. Do not expect Warrior Jars to drop more than this.]
[Slightly increases the attack power of combat techniques when equipped.]
A slight increase to combat technique damage?
The description was simple and unassuming—but the effect was anything but.
Just how much was "slight"? Could it rival mid-tier magic? Even if it was somewhat weaker, it didn't matter. Wearing this was equivalent to having a permanent buff spell active—its strategic value was immense.
Receiving such a reward was completely unexpected. Leon almost felt like thanking the Warrior Jar in return.
Was this also part of the Sein Dungeon's design?
If the reward had already been given, then this should be the end of it—and if so, they should continue exploring.
But the Living Jar stopped him.
Then it pulled out another item from its body—a stone tablet smeared with blood and flesh—and handed it over.
"…"
Leon stared at the ever-widening cracks along the jar's body and couldn't help thinking: Are you really okay?
Softened flesh and blood continued to ooze out, seemingly without end. Maybe it could be patched up with something?
He accepted the tablet. It was engraved with indecipherable text, but a line of floating magical words appeared before his eyes, translating it.
[Being a Jar-Smith is truly difficult work. Fortunately, my hands are smooth enough, and the jars all like me. I will persevere.]
[The corpses of warriors are becoming fewer, and bad people are eyeing Jar Village. Perhaps I should take everyone and flee elsewhere—somewhere undisturbed, preferably with enough corpses. I once discovered a graveyard; it might be suitable for living.]
[I've lost track of how long we've lived in the graveyard. The jars like it here.]
[I made a terrible mistake. This graveyard is not peaceful. The Abyss has silently eroded it, and monsters have grown increasingly violent. We can no longer return to the surface. Even the warehouse is surrounded by monsters—the roads are packed with them. But the materials needed to maintain the jars are all there. What should I do?]
[Karl's cracks are growing worse. This can't go on. I must go to the warehouse. I can't just watch Karl shatter. O Golden Tree, please bless me.]
There was no more text.
The fate of this "Jar-Smith" was easy to imagine.
They fled to the graveyard to escape villains—only to fall into even greater danger.
A truly tragic story.
"So…"
Leon looked up at the Warrior Jar. "What do you want us to do?"
This Living Jar was the only one in the entire cemetery with visible cracks. Could it be Karl?
The Warrior Jar didn't speak. It pointed at the words warehouse and materials needed for maintenance on the tablet.
Its request was obvious.
"So you want us to retrieve the materials needed to repair the jars."
Though it might sound greedy, Leon still asked, "After we find them, can you give us something similar to this?" He gestured to the Warrior Jar Shard.
The Living Jar swayed back and forth, then drew a large circle in the air with its hand.
It seemed to mean: something better.
Excellent. With rewards involved, adventurers were naturally motivated.
Leon confirmed the details. The Living Jar didn't know the exact location of the warehouse, but it was definitely nearby—if they searched carefully, they would find it.
It sounded unreliable, but Leon remembered the tablet mentioning that the path to the warehouse was packed with monsters. So following the route with the densest enemy presence should work.
He turned to call Maru back—and saw her bend down.
She plucked the yellow wildflower the small jars had been circling.
It was an ordinary action, yet Leon suddenly felt a chill crawl up his spine, as if she had done something she absolutely shouldn't have.
The small jars froze all at once, staring blankly at the spot where their beloved flower had been. They looked utterly devastated.
Nearby, beside the graves piled with jars, several large jars began to tremble, swaying as if they might erupt from the ground at any moment.
Yet Maru seemed completely unfazed.
Smiling, she gently placed the wildflower atop the head of one of the small jars circling her and praised it.
"It looks really nice."
The small jar looked at Maru, then at its stunned companions, appearing utterly at a loss.
"Maru, get back here!" Leon shouted.
But at that moment, Maru pulled a magic scroll from her waist and tore it open, scattering its contents into the air.
The scroll transformed into countless streaks of light. As they sank into the ground, identical yellow flowers sprouted wherever they landed. In an instant, blossoms covered the entire graveyard.
The place now looked even more like a park—overflowing with vitality and beauty.
This graveyard's aesthetic had completely diverged from that of the Sein Dungeon.
Not only Leon was stunned—those large jars that had just begun to stir froze in place as well.
"…What are you doing?" Drew said, clutching his stomach. "Magic scrolls aren't meant to be wasted like that."
"They like flowers so much—only having one is just sad," Maru shrugged.
"Relax, it was just a cheap blooming spell."
Leon really wanted to ask why she carried useless blooming magic at all—
—but then he saw the small jars jumping joyfully, dancing around Maru.
…Well. That definitely maxed out their affection.
The small jars were excited. The Warrior Jar was excited too.
It began pulling items from nearby jars and stuffing them into Leon's arms—Raw Meat Dumplings, Sturdy Jerky, and more, so many that Leon could barely hold them all.
A casual act of kindness had yielded an absurd number of rewards.
This was the kind of story you told children as a moral lesson.
When the group finally left the jars' graveyard, they were given a heartfelt send-off. Each of them wore a wreath of yellow wildflowers, handcrafted by the small jars themselves.
No wonder the description said Living Jars were lovable creatures.
Maru touched her flower crown, smiling brightly. The suffering and pressure she had endured earlier in the roguelike dungeon seemed to melt away.
"I didn't expect the Sein Dungeon to have an Event," Leon said.
"I wondered why other dungeons had them but Sein didn't—I thought that was its unique trait."
So-called Events were common in most dungeons.
Each dungeon layer usually had its own background story, and corresponding Events would appear—perhaps a lingering soul asking for help, or a puzzle requiring specific items. They came in many forms.
Simply put, they were side quests.
Wade learned of this through the knowledge crystal and classified the Living Jar matter as a simple side quest.
It was deemed simple because the warehouse was close to the jar settlement and could be found quickly. The only obstacle was an elite monster guarding it.
Of course, the quest could be skipped entirely. The elite monster didn't have to be fought—but the rewards would be fewer.
Still, the monsters blocking the path were no match for the team.
They swiftly retrieved the repair materials and returned to the Living Jar—shockingly efficient.
The Living Jar fell silent after receiving the materials.
"Do you want help?" Maru asked gently.
It waved her off and handed over the quest reward.
[Warrior Jar Shard]
[Increases the attack power of combat techniques when equipped.]
A superior version of the Small Shard. A very solid reward.
But that wasn't all.
There was also a talisman.
[Companion Jar]
[When equipped, thrown jars will be filled with power.]
[A talisman gifted by the jar community to a friend. Enhances the power of thrown jar-type items. Though jars use human flesh as their source of life, their nature is exceedingly kind—perhaps that kindness is the very reason for their birth.]
The moment they read the description, two hands reached out at the same time.
Maru's—and Leon's.
Their gazes collided, sparks flying as neither was willing to yield.
"I gave them flowers, so I'm the jars' friend," Maru said, gripping the talisman tightly.
"I need this too," Leon said, grabbing her wrist. The dung jar at his waist seemed to urge him on.
They spoke in unison:
"Let's roll dice!"
In the end, Maru won.
Leon watched longingly as the Companion Jar was taken away. A small jar handed him a flower, as if to console him.
His mouth twitched as he forced a smile and accepted it.
And just like that, the Event was complete.
The entire group was escorted out by the Warrior Jars, who even kindly pointed out the path forward.
Following that route downward, slaughtering countless monsters along the way, the party eventually arrived before a fog gate.
Beyond it awaited the area boss—most likely either a Death Knight or a Bell-Bearing Hunter. The presence didn't feel overwhelmingly strong, so it probably wasn't a Death Rite Bird.
After all, that thing even had a dedicated weakening mechanic—it must be terrifyingly powerful.
Drew began muttering as he cast buff spells on everyone. Gapar was already itching to charge in—
When suddenly, a summoning sigil appeared before the fog gate.
[Summon helper "Warrior Jar Karl"?]