The group had no plans to enter the Dungeon directly.
The scene of its near-collapse still lingered in their minds: twisted spatial rifts, ceilings about to cave in, monsters howling in frenzy.
Although it hadn’t truly collapsed yet as the Guild predicted, going too close was still extremely dangerous.
They only intended to head as far as Yafeng(Silentwind) Town. The latest news said the town was already covered in mycelium.
That distance was manageable—if danger appeared, they’d have time to run.
On the road to Yafeng(Silentwind) Town, a heavy cart rattled past them. The draft horse snorted harshly, hauling a load of bulging sacks. From inside seeped a thick scent of soil mixed with fungus.
Veyra didn’t know the men with the cart, but he glimpsed through the seams: mushrooms, piled to the brim.
With the food shortage worsening, it was no wonder daring folk had set their eyes on the mushrooms.
In the past, a cart of them was worth a handful of silver coins at best—barely covering transport.
But now, aside from the flaw of poor preservation, these mushrooms were lifesaving food. Their price had soared dozens of times over.Veyra held no judgment toward their profiteering.
The mushrooms had no true owner—whoever picked them, owned them. If they had to belong to anyone, perhaps they should be considered the property of that duke’s daughter who had once taken away the King of Pujis?
Stepping into Yafeng(Silentwind) Town, the rumors proved true. The streets and every exposed surface lay beneath a thick carpet of white mycelium.
And yet, within sight, not a single mature mushroom remained.
Clearly, the cartload they’d just passed had already scoured this area bare.
Veyra chose a spot where the mycelium grew especially thick. “Here will do.”
Phylline was already bouncing with impatience, her toes tapping the ground. “Sirian, hurry, try it!”
“Are you sure it’s safe? Weren’t the Pujis here terrifying?” Sirian recalled when he had first fallen into the Amethyst Dungeon—the Pujis locked in brutal combat with other monsters. He hesitated.
Veyra glanced around. “It should be fine… There aren’t any nearby. This is just the edge. If something happens, we run!”
At that, Sirian nodded. He knelt at the edge of the thick carpet, clasping his hands before his chest.
Once again, the melodic chant of the Elven tongue spilled from his lips, and a soft emerald glow swelled from his palms, spreading over the mycelium.
…
…
…
Lin Jun had grown busy again.
Most of his focus was sunk into the massive crystal stele at the Dungeon’s core, tirelessly poking and prodding at its countless starry light points.
Each point represented some tiny permission within the Dungeon—controlling them was controlling the Dungeon itself!
The problem was, there were simply too many! So many his mushroom cap tingled!
And triggering one often gave no clear feedback, sometimes vanishing without a trace—that was normal.
Lin Jun could only test them one by one, carefully observing what changes followed.
While he researched, the Dungeon’s monsters suffered.
Lightning bolts struck from nowhere, vaporizing unlucky beasts on the spot. Or mana would suddenly plummet in a monster’s lair, forcing them to abandon it in curses.
Still, Lin Jun managed a little breakthrough—he invented an elevator!
More accurately, he had found the star point that controlled the shifting positions of hidden rooms.
Now, he could move one between floors one through ten. Wasn’t that basically an elevator?
Though each shift still required him to manually open the door from outside…
Truthfully, he hadn’t figured out much use for it yet. Maybe it would save effort moving goods later?
More interesting to him was the mystery of where the treasure chests’ loot came from—but that part remained unsolved.
His path of exploration of the core was still long.
Meanwhile, trickles of refugees and small adventurer groups had begun venturing onto the mycelium he’d spread around the Amethyst Dungeon’s entrance, carefully picking naturally grown mushrooms.
From the reports Aedin sent back, the food shortage among humans was severe.
Lin Jun permitted it all.
The mushrooms there were naturally sprouted—he hadn’t fueled them with mana. Letting people harvest them didn’t matter, and it even spread the reputation of mushrooms.
He was considering how best to integrate with the surface world. Becoming a reliable food source sounded perfect.
After all, the more humans ate, the greater their demand for mushrooms—the further his mycelium would need to spread.
And only a fraction of the mana within the network was used for producing mushrooms anyway. It was pure profit.
Letting humanity feast on mushrooms until the surface and underground were all his web…
Suddenly, a subtle yet piercing tug snapped him from his dream.
Huh? Someone’s stealing my mana?
The nerve!
Like a sly mosquito trying to sip unseen from his mycelium reserves.
His awareness swept outward—and locked instantly onto the culprits: one elf, plus three all-too-familiar human adventurers.
The twin sisters were unmistakable.
And the thief himself—the elf!
[Name: Sirian Morgesong]
[Race: Elf]
[Level: 42]
[Racial Traits: Light Body, Nature Affinity]
[Skills: Dagger Mastery LV7, Potion Mastery LV7, Nature Magic LV7, Mana Manipulation LV6, Evasion LV6…]
[Title: Devout (Spirit attribute +5%)]
Lin Jun’s first time seeing a pureblood elf! (He hadn’t noticed during the fifth-floor melee.)
And of course, her looks—truly unrivaled by human women.
But what was he up to?
Sirian glowed in emerald light, chanting softly.
And before him, the quiet mycelium suddenly stirred, a surge of invisible force awakening it. Mushrooms sprouted in rapid bursts, swelling and ripening in seconds.
Lin Jun understood immediately. The elf was using Nature Magic, siphoning mana from the mycelium to force mushrooms to grow!
That was stealing his mana to make food for themselves!
What kind of banditry was this?
Unbelievable!
He probed the magic. Luckily, it was more guidance than compulsion. The moment he resisted the pull, the elf could no longer steal.
A close call!
If Nature Magic had truly overridden his will to drain his reserves… wouldn’t that make elves his natural nemesis?!
Thankfully, no.
But this couldn’t go unpunished. To think they’d try to pilfer his mana! If he didn’t teach them a lesson now, what next?
…
“Wow! It worked! It really worked! So many mushrooms!” Phylline nearly jumped with joy at the mushrooms bursting up like bamboo shoots after rain, her eyes sparkling.
Veyra, however, cast a worried glance at Sirian, still chanting.
He hadn’t asked what the spell cost the elf. If the toll was too great, even successful mushroom growth might not be worthwhile.
Still, the effect was incredible… If only they’d brought a cart! Four people could only carry so much.
Yet their joy was short-lived.
Before their eyes, the mycelium carpet swelled into little bulges.
“Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!”
A dozen round, chubby Pujis burst forth at once!
The moment they emerged, they scurried on stubby legs, quickly surrounding the group.
Veyra’s eyelid twitched. “Sirian… your magic can… spawn Pujis too?”
The elf, who had just stopped chanting: “…”