Before leaving, my scavenger instincts kicked in.

Even after everything that had happened, I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to check the bodies for anything useful.

It was a gruesome task, though.

I approached the dead adventurers, their lifeless bodies slumped on the cold stone floor with their clothes soaked in their own blood.

Still, I forced myself to bend down and began turning their corpses, rummaging through their clothes.

“Everything for progress.” I muttered to myself as I searched through their pockets.

I didn’t find much—most of their gear was simple, ordinary stuff.

Their clothes were nothing special, and they were so badly stained with blood that I couldn’t imagine wearing them, even if I needed the extra protection. It was just too disgusting.

Their weapons were a disappointment as well.

A basic sword, a plain wooden staff, and the small dagger the rogue had been using.

None of them had any special properties. The dagger wasn’t even as good as the one I had now, and I had no interest in dual-wielding them, not with Blob acting as my off-hand shield.

Still, I decided to pick up the weapons and gave them to one of my slimes to carry.

Maybe they could be sold for credit later on.

Once I handed the items to the slime, I noticed the small gnome girl's expression—an uneasy mix of worry and curiosity as she stared down at my slimes.

It was no surprise; even though I personally find them quite adorable, they had just brutally murdered those men.

"Don't worry about them." I said, trying to reassure her. "These creatures are friendly as long as I tell them to be. They won’t harm you."

Her wide eyes looked up at me, still full of uncertainty. "I-I see... So, you must be a tamer, then? Since you can control the slimes from this floor?"

"Tamer...!" I hesitated, then nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! That’s right. My class is a tamer, and these slimes are Viscous Slimes I managed to tame here."

She blinked, her fear easing slightly, though she still seemed unsure. "Y-You seem really excited about your class, but... why do they look so different? They look... um, more friendly, I guess?"

"Umm, i-its my skill. It just makes them look more... approachable, let's say." I stammered, quickly trying to divert the conversation away from my class. In the end, this person was still a stranger, and I had no intention of revealing that I was a necromancer. "A-Anyway, now that I think about it, we haven’t introduced ourselves. My name is Leon. How about you?"

The gnome girl hesitated for a moment, her eyes still uncertain. But after a brief pause, she finally spoke, her voice soft. "I'm Lila."

"Lila, huh?" I repeated, trying to sound casual. "Nice to meet you."

I needed to keep the focus away from anything that could expose my true class. If she suspected anything, it could complicate things. For now, I would play the role of a tamer.

As long as I didn’t encounter anyone with an appraisal skill or an item that could reveal my stats, I should be fine. Those skills and items were rare, so the odds were in my favor.

"Well, Lila," I continued, forcing a smile, "we should get going. There’s no telling what else is lurking around here. The sooner we deal with our arrangement the sooner we both can get out of here."

Lila nodded, still keeping a cautious look at me and my slimes.

As I was about to turn away when a faint *cling* echoed from the mage’s robe as I turned him over one last time.

"Huh?"

My curiosity piqued, I leaned closer, squinting through the gore and tattered cloth.

There, lying amidst the stained fabric, was a ring.

It was simple, but something about it felt...off.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The design was unremarkable—just a plain black band, worn down over time, with a small, almost imperceptible red engraving along the inside.

But despite its simplicity, there was an ominous air to it.

Why was this hidden inside his robe instead of being worn?

I crouched down closer, trying to piece it together.

Could it be a keepsake of some sort, maybe something precious he didn’t want damaged during battle?

But no...something didn’t sit right.

If it were a magic item, there’s no way he wouldn’t be wearing it.

Magical jewelry was incredibly rare in this world, and anyone with half a brain would use it for the stat boosts. So, why had he hidden it?

I stared at the ring, almost afraid to touch it, my mind racing with possibilities.

Then, cautiously, I used my dagger to shift the ring slightly and checked its item description, hoping for some clarity.

What I saw left me dumbfounded.

https://i.imgur.com/Mb9xDZk.png [https://i.imgur.com/Mb9xDZk.png]

'A Corrupted Item!'

There were many types of items in Dungeon End, each with varying levels of rarity.

For example, my dagger was just a common item, the kind you could easily find at your neighbor's blacksmith. Then, the rarity increased in the following order or also known as the four M's:

Magical Items which are imbued with minor enchantments, providing basic boosts or abilities. These are the stepping stones into the realm of Dungeon End.

Mystical items are rare items that hold significant power, often with unique effects or abilities. They’re sought after by many for their strength.

Majestical items, are Epic items forged or found under extraordinary circumstances. They possess powerful, game-changing effects, often the goal required to reach the highest floor of the dungeon.

And finally, Mythical Legendary items, each one a treasure in its own right. These are almost godlike in their power, often tied to the lore of the world itself, and their existence is more myth than reality.

But this ring… it was something entirely different.

Corrupted items were in a category of their own—a gamble that could either lead to unimaginable power or ruin your entire run.

Like the Awakened Crystalized Heart, they carried an all-or-nothing risk.

To discover the true nature of such an item, you had to equip it. But once bound, it could never be removed—its effects, good or bad, would stay with you for the rest of your journey.

The stakes were immense.

The item could curse you with a permanent debuff, turning the rest of your time in the dungeon into a nightmare, or bless you with an overpowered buff that would make the earlier and mid floors a breeze, with even the later floors becoming far more manageable.

For the rich, there was a way out. High-ranking priests, who could cast powerful Cleansing skills, had the ability to reveal the item's true nature without risking their lives.

But the cost was astronomical. For most, the only real choice was to either sell the item to a wealthy noble or take the gamble themselves.

Now, it made sense why the mage hadn’t been wearing the ring.

He had likely been hesitating, torn between gambling his life on its power or saving up to have it cleansed.

Unfortunately for him, his hesitation meant that the ring now rested in my hands.

"It's been a long time since I’ve come across a corrupted item. It feels like I’m encountering a lifetime’s worth of once-in-a-playthrough events, all happening to me in this single character..."

The last time I encountered a corrupted item was during one of my playthroughs with a very... let's say, unique character.

This character had a skill that was less about taunting monsters and more about provoking people.

This skill was called [Upstake].

[Upstake] was a sinister ability that allowed the character to heighten tensions and provoke hostile actions from other humans, effectively manipulating situations to turn allies against each other or incite aggression from those who might otherwise be neutral.

It was a skill that thrived on chaos, sowing discord wherever it was used.

At the time, I didn't put much thought into the skill, thinking it would be fun to create a character with a trickster class.

The idea was to make a true troll character, one that could cause chaos just for the laughs.

The trickster class didn’t seem too significant to me then—it had only one defining trait: the ability to gamble the effectiveness of my character’s skills.

Each use could have its normal effect, double the effect, or no effect at all.

I ended up naming this character "Trollster." a blend of 'troll' and 'trickster.'

So, I decided to use this character as a guinea pig, experimenting with different ways to make a living in the game beyond just hunting monsters.

That’s when I took him to an underground gambling den and let him loose. It was a blast, messing with the odds and watching as opponents fell victim to my Trollster’s actions .

Eventually, I won this item—this so-called "Corrupted Helmet." Didn't think much of it. I slapped it on my character. What could go wrong, right?

Turns out, everything. That helmet was cursed, and not in some cliché way either. It hit me with a unique debuff called Headache.

All it did was blur the screen—a permanent blur, like trying to play with your vision scrambled. No way to fix it.

I played with that curse for longer than I should’ve, but man, the headache it gave me In real life was no joke. Eventually, I ditched the character, and started a new run. But that cursed helmet? Never again.

I pocketed the ring, the ominous aura still lingering in the back of my mind, but the choice was clear.

I wasn't about to repeat the mistakes of the past. "Gamble my life for power? Hell no."

I knew better now. In this world, patience was a far greater asset than reckless ambition. The ring could wait; I’d figure out its secrets later.

Perhaps, with enough funds, I could hire a priest to cleanse whatever curse or dark magic was tied to it.

For now, surviving was my priority.

I adjusted my bag, making sure the ring was securely tucked away, and glanced at the small gnome girl who was still watching me.

"Let's go!"