A bit of powdered low-grade magic crystal.
A small cup of processed slime fluid, retaining only its stickiness.
Bark from the graywood tree on the second floor.
And a touch of precious eighth-floor material—firefly grass.
A Puji crushed and mixed these ingredients into a purple paste.
On the ground lay another dead Puji, its body cut open to reveal a hollow space inside where Lin Jun had etched the beginnings of a magic array.
The paste was smeared evenly into the grooves. Once it solidified, the incision was closed.
Under the effect of [Mycelial Regeneration LV4], the dead Puji soon revived.
Lin Jun directed it to pour mana into the array within its body.
After a brief flicker, the Puji glowed with orange-yellow light.A Lightball Puji was complete!
The biggest reason for his earlier failures had been the lack of such auxiliary materials. Pure mycelium struggled to conduct and bind mana.
After studying a book on basic arrays and following its steps—adding tweaks suited to Pujis—he had created a mobile unit capable of casting a fixed spell.
Still, it was troublesome.
And this was only the lowest-level Lightball spell. Its structure was simple, and the materials required were few.
High-level arrays would surely demand far more space—perhaps even Fatty Puji’s bulk to hold them—and expensive, rare materials.
In short, the costs were high.
Lin Jun had imagined casually carving out array structures to cast spells. In the end, arrays still required costly materials like ordinary ones.
The only advantage was that his array could move with a Puji.
But in terms of efficiency, direct skills were far cheaper.
For example, a Puji carrying Fireball might not be as cost-effective as two [Mushroom Cannon LV8] turrets.
Still, that didn’t mean arrays and magic were worthless. Some spells, such as teleportation, could never be replaced by skills.
At least, Lin Jun had never heard of a skill capable of teleportation.
So arrays and magic had their place—supplementing weaknesses in his skill system.
Magic was easier: a few expendable Pujis, some crystals, and minor mana costs. Plus, with over a dozen books on different schools of magic, he could slowly practice and familiarize himself with casting.
But arrays…
The materials were the problem. For Lightball, he could gather what was available in the Violet Crystal Dungeon. But beyond that, not so much.
And he only had a single book on arrays.
That suggested arrays were either a niche path among humans, or those who studied them never became adventurers.
Lin Jun decided he had to start in two directions.
First, collect dungeon-native materials.
Ore, teeth, bark—things that stored well should be stockpiled.
For fragile things like plants that died quickly when harvested, he could try transplanting them into hidden spots for future use.
He didn’t need much. This was just for his own practice. It wasn’t like he’d strip the dungeon bare.
The real difficulty lay in obtaining materials absent from the dungeon, and higher-level books.
That likely required disguise and trade with humans. Money wasn’t an issue—but Dylan wasn’t around.
As for Norris… forget it. Not only did he lack [Mimicry], even if equipped, his past—being bullied, mining, paying debts—made him the perfect target to be conned. If he wasn’t outright cheated, that’d already be lucky.
Actually, there was another method. Let the Yellow Book charm someone into doing the shopping, then bring everything back.
But that had obvious flaws. The victim wouldn’t lose memories. Once freed, they’d surely spread word about being controlled by a book.
Meaning Lin Jun would have to eliminate them every time to prevent trouble.
That sounded like some shady cult storyline.
He decided against it. Better to make do with what the dungeon offered for now.
—
In the cavern, Norris stepped into a hidden tunnel.
“…It should be here?”
Following the fungal network’s guidance, he stopped before a stone wall and muttered the password:
“Puji, open the door!”
The wall slowly parted, revealing a narrow passage.
The “stone” was actually armored Pujis mimicking rock, with tendrils serving as hinges.
Beyond lay an upward-sloping path leading to a secret chamber.
Norris had come to retrieve the Yellow Book.
The rugged climb left him panting heavily by the time he reached the top.
There, though he saw only an altar and a few stone pillars, the presence of countless Pujis pressed in.
[Junior! You finally came for me!]
[I thought I’d be trapped here for months again!]
[I’ve got so many stories ready—let’s leave quickly!]
The Sacred Tome almost wept with relief. Surrounded by motionless Pujis all day, it had been driven half mad.
Norris nodded, lifting it carefully. This trip had been approved by Boss.
Clang, clang, clang—
On the way back, Norris heard mining sounds.
He frowned. There weren’t supposed to be adventurers here now—that was why Boss allowed him to fetch the book. So why the noise?
He glanced back. The hidden door was sealed perfectly. No trace left.
Relaxing, he walked on—only to see a tall woman with a pickaxe.
She noticed him too.
Norris remembered then. Boss had mentioned a vampire captive on “vacation” doing mining duty here.
How “vacation” and “mining” fit together, he didn’t know. But this must be her.
Instinctively, Norris stepped back.
He had never seen a real vampire before. Every story painted them as terrifying and bloody.
And this woman was nearly two meters tall, a full head above him. The pressure was real.
[Go, go, ignore her!]
The Yellow Book’s voice urged him.
It hated that vampire—after all, her presence had once nearly gotten it executed by association.
If it hadn’t proven its value at the last second, the mushroom collective mind would have destroyed it.
Under its nagging, Norris slipped around the tunnel edge, clutching the book, and hurried past.
The vampire didn’t move, only staring at the Sacred Tome.
Even after Norris vanished, her gaze lingered.
In the fungal net, Lin Jun suddenly received her private message.
“Lord of Pujis, I am willing to pledge allegiance to you!
I will trade vital information in exchange for my freedom!”
In the mine, Louisa knelt before a wall laced with faint mycelium.
Puji Lord? Seriously.
Lin Jun considered. Interrogation or charm could get him her intel anyway. But he decided to give her a chance.
“Speak.”
“The Sacred Tome—it’s dangerous!”
Well, wasn’t this just like a round of Werewolf?