Norris, with dark circles under his eyes, looked tiredly at the two dwarves who had kept him awake for days.
He picked up his clipboard and asked,
“Can you design underground architecture?”
“No.”
“Then do you have experience excavating large caves?”
“No.”
“Mining experience, at least?”
“Not much…”
Finally, Norris asked, “Then what special skills do you have at all?”
Torin scratched his head uncertainly. “Uh… I’m good at adventuring?”
Expressionless, Norris nodded and wrote “None” in the “Special Skills” section, then marked the upper corner with a “C.”
He muttered, “No mining experience at all, and you still call yourselves dwarves…”
In the Mushroom Garden’s prisoner classification system, C-rank was the lowest — those with neither notable strength nor any special use.
As for those ranked lower, the D-rank… they were the kind personally “looked after” by the boss himself.
After finishing the record, Norris announced fluently in Common:
“Torin, Grem. For illegal entry, public bribery, group jailbreak, violent resistance to arrest, and attempted abduction of a mentally impaired Dragonkin, you are sentenced to labor reform equivalent to five thousand contribution points. If you object, you may appeal to the Mushroom Garden within five days, where the boss will personally review your case.”
Torin raised his hand. “Excuse me… what exactly does ‘labor reform equivalent to five thousand contribution points’ mean?”
“It means working hard every day. If you’re lucky, you’ll regain freedom after a year or two.”
Grem protested, “We’re innocent! We didn’t even know this was your territory! It’s all a misunderstanding! I want to—”
Before he could finish, a group of pujis dragged a wailing human past them.
“Why?! I filed an appeal and my penalty went from 8,000 to 12,000 points! No! I don’t want this!”
As the poor man was dragged away, Norris turned back. “Sorry, what did you want to say? Too noisy, I didn’t catch that.”
Torin and Grem shook their heads quickly. No complaints.
They were soon handed over to a thinly dressed human covered in mycelium threads, the most eye-catching of which was a glowing “B” shape on his chest.
The man greeted them warmly. “Oh? Two dwarves? That’s rare! I’m Jeff — I’ll help you get used to the work environment. What are your names?”
“Torin.”
“Grem. You… were you captured too?”
“Captured?” Jeff looked puzzled. “No, I was traded for.”
He didn’t explain further. Jeff simply led them around to familiarize themselves with their new work.
The fortress city of the Far North was less than half finished, so extra labor was always welcome. The two dwarves were soon assigned there.
Being captured by demons and forced into labor wasn’t great, but compared to worse outcomes, it was… bearable.
As for that so-called “freedom through contribution,” they were doubtful — hoping it was real, but afraid it wasn’t.
What puzzled them more was that all the demons here seemed to have fungal growths on their bodies, and they worked alongside swarms of pujis with surprising coordination.
It was a strange sight indeed.
They also noticed a clear hierarchy among the demons:
Those with a magic core on their chest — the true Demonkin — acted as overseers and task allocators.
Half-demons and Lizardmen were laborers, much like the human captives.
That lizardman who sentenced them earlier was, apparently, an exception.
But they didn’t care much about demon social structure. What concerned them was another question entirely.
“Jeff,” Torin asked, shivering, “why are you all dressed so thinly? Aren’t you cold?”
The freezing wind howled. Torin and Grem tightened their coarse furs and sneezed hard.
Jeff turned, lifted Grem’s collar, and nodded knowingly. “Ah, you two haven’t completed Mycelium Symbiosis yet.”
Cold air rushed in. Grem yelped and pulled his clothes back down. “Mycelium Symbiosis? You mean the stuff growing on you? What’s that got to do with the cold?”
Jeff brushed a hand across the fungal strands on his chest. “These mycelia have strong resistance to cold. Once you’re symbiotic, you won’t feel the chill. Not only that — you’ll gain the ability to command pujis, which boosts your work efficiency a lot.”
Only then did the two dwarves understand why everyone seemed to work so well with the pujis.
Torin still didn’t get it. “So… you won’t feel cold just because of this symbiosis? How does that even work?”
Jeff shrugged. How would he know?
Then his expression changed slightly, his eyes softening with pity.
Grem grew uneasy. “What now?”
Jeff explained, “I get it now. You two just missed the good times…”
He led the confused dwarves to the central bulletin board, covered with tacked-up parchment notices.
Each one bore both Demon language and Common text.
Some listed tasks and their corresponding contribution points. Others displayed names and punishments for rule violators. A few were simple announcements.
Jeff pointed at one such notice:
[Due to certain tribes illegally trespassing just to exploit free full symbiosis services, all new captives will no longer receive complimentary Mycelium Symbiosis. However, considering labor demands, new captives may still apply for the “Enjoy Now, Pay Later” program — the required one thousand contribution points will be automatically added to your service account.]
Torin blinked. “So that means…”
“Exactly,” Jeff said with a touch of smugness, stroking the mycelium on his arm. “You missed the good days. When I got here, all of it was free! Blame those freeloading tribal folks for abusing the system.”
Torin opened his mouth but couldn’t find words.
Grem just looked at Jeff like he was an idiot.
Anticold properties or not — who would let strange fungi grow inside their flesh? Just thinking about it made their skin crawl.
They must’ve all gone frost-mad.
…
A few days later.
“Why?! Three whole days! I worked my hands to the bone for three days, and I only got five points?! You earn over thirty a day!” Grem roared in fury.
Jeff, used to dwarven tempers, explained patiently, “Contribution points are based on output. I control over forty pujis — of course I earn more. You’re working by yourself; earning six points in three days is already impressive.”
“Six?! It’s five!”
“One point was deducted as heating fees for the pujis you used for warmth. The Mushroom Garden only covers food and housing for us laborers.”
Finally, Jeff kindly advised, “You two should really get symbiosis done. Sure, it costs a thousand contribution points now, but once you can control pujis, you’ll earn that back quickly. After that, it’s all profit.”
The two dwarves, shivering in the icy wind, wavered under the earnest persuasion of this “senior laborer.”