CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 60: PATCHING THE MUSHROOM GARDEN

"This is just too uncomfortable."

Wells walked barefoot on the fungal mat, as if stepping into gelatinous honey, with every crevice of his toes filled with slippery active substances.

Raising his foot even left threads behind...

The others were in a similar state; everyone’s shoes had worn out back at Venom Lake.

"I say, why don’t we go back to the Mushroom Road? There aren’t these fungal filaments there."

The captain interrupted Wells’ complaint, "Show some grit, you’re an adventurer too, right? We’ll be able to see the forest soon, then we can change back to the path."

"Tsk." Wells felt that the captain was always belittling him overtly or covertly. Such a petty guy.

In a fit of frustration, he stomped hard on the fungal mat ahead.

"Damn it!"

A sharp piece of rock pierced into Wells’ foot, causing him to squat down in pain on the spot.

"Are you okay? Let me see!"

Jini rushed over upon hearing the scream, cupping Wells’ sticky foot in her hands without a hint of distaste.

"It’s no big deal, just a small wound. I can deal with it quickly."

As she spoke, she reached out to pull out the piece of rock, then used her magic staff to activate a potential boost on Wells.

Sure enough, Wells quickly stopped feeling pain, and the wound gradually healed. He even felt more invigorated.

"Jini, thank you."

Hearing the thanks, Jini left a smile for Wells.

The nearby captain couldn’t bear to watch anymore, "If you’re good now, let’s move on. Try not to get hurt by rocks again."

The mage standing behind wanted to say something, but some shadowy Puki figures appeared in the distance.

"Another patrol team."

These ten or so Puki wandered randomly on the fungal ground.

Almost all were mutant varieties with tentacles, scaliness, or cannons.

This was already the third wave encountered so far; who knew if there’d be fewer of them along the Mushroom Road?

No one wanted to clash with the Puki. Adventurers had already learned before the Demon Tide that fifth-level Puki were strong and didn’t drop anything.

It was a loss every time they fought through the Puki piles for nothing. Other than a few more chewy mushroom slices to grill and eat, there was nothing to gain.

It was entirely a losing business, and naturally, one would avoid it if possible.

The mage first extinguished the Lighting Technique and then cast the Invisibility Technique over everyone.

As before, they all stayed still, waiting for the Puki patrol to leave.

But this time, something seemed to go wrong.

A Puki, one that looked most ordinary without tentacles or scaliness, suddenly broke away from the group and walked a few steps towards them.

As a result, the Puki patrol that was about to leave suddenly changed direction under the lead of this ordinary Puki and came straight towards them.

Seeing this, the captain cursed under his breath, "What the hell kind of luck is this? Wells, the demon corpse!"

Wells took a bag off his back, picked a dog-shaped demon from inside, and tossed it out.

The demon’s corpse immediately drew the attention of the Puki group. They surrounded it with tentacles and redirected towards the swamp.

Seeing the Puki disappearing, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness nothing else went wrong on the road ahead, or they’d have to feed patrol teams with demon corpses.

But when they arrived at the forest, or rather the Mushroom Forest, the team had to stop.

"How did the forest become this thing?"

"What is this?" Wells touched a giant mushroom, feeling the fluffy texture with his hands, "I’ve never seen mushrooms grow this big..."

"Such a huge glowing mushro... ah... achoo... what is this?"

The captain suddenly sneezed.

The mage seemed to have realized something, looking up, seeing light cyan spores constantly drifting out of the folds under the giant mushroom cap.

"Everyone back up, it might be poisonous."

Upon hearing, the group retreated thirty steps away before stopping.

"If the whole forest is like this, even antitoxic potions won’t be enough, should we still go in?" Wells asked.

"I think we should skip it, look over there."

Following the dwarf’s direction, Wells squinted his eyes but still saw nothing.

It was just the corner of the Mushroom Forest, was there something special?

But those next to him were already exclaiming "oh oh."

"What exactly is it?" Wells asked Jini softly.

Jini glanced at him, whispering, "Look closely under the mushroom tree."

Forcing himself to endure the tingling sensation in his ears, Wells looked again.

This time, he seemed to see a... Puki with a color identical to the mushroom stem?

Standing under the mushroom tree, it was impossible to tell with just a glance!

"Mimicry?"

The mage nodded, "It should be. Who knows how many Puki are in there.

And the information on that sign seems accurate.

I suggest abandoning exploration here and going straight to the sixth layer."

The captain seemed a bit unwilling, "Didn’t the sign also say there was a hidden path where you could trade with a chubby Puki?"

Upon hearing, they looked around, and sure enough, saw a small dirt path.

The captain, seeing this, seemed in better spirits.

"Let’s take this path and have a look. Anyway, Wells still has some demon corpses.

If trading works, we can carry more back from the sixth layer."

Those who came to the Underground City for adventure all wanted to earn a bit more, so naturally, no one objected.

Wells was even a bit expectant, "I wonder what we can exchange for? It shouldn’t be too bad, right?"

When they reached the seven or eight-meter-high cave entrance, they found someone had already arrived.

A cry of surprise came from inside the cave:

"A-Level Demon Crystal!"

————

[Magic Perception Level 6] + [Air Flow Perception Level 7] + [Light Perception Level 4] + [Sound Wave Detection Level 6]

Another scouting Puki freshly landed.

Let’s see how those who like playing invisible sneak across now!

If they have the guts, they should fly right over the fifth layer!

After patching the fifth layer’s security well, Lin Jun checked his own panel.

[Mimicry Level 4]

Thanks to the tireless efforts of about a hundred Puki over the days, it finally leveled up, though a few days late.

After Xiao Hai’s disguise, it wouldn’t have to stay restricted in the Mushroom Forest. Being required to stay in its den these days, it was clearly getting more and more restless.

Lin Jun had considered asking Dylan to appease Xiao Hai, since as someone with a daughter, he might know how to coax little girls, right?

But he finally gave up, fearing Dylan might just end up in its stomach while coaxing.

Luckily, there was no need for Dylan anymore; they could upgrade Xiao Hai now.

Just as Lin Jun was about to call Xiao Hai, a preset message came through the Fungal Network, sent by Fatty Puki.

Had the grand prize been revealed already!?

Mushroom Garden had reopened, and for promotional effect, Lin Jun had slipped an A Level Demon Crystal into Fatty’s place.

Little did he expect it to surface so soon.

A true random draw; he was still too kind-hearted.

Lin Jun turned his gaze over; he was curious who got so lucky.

Hmm?

Two teams?

Are they arguing?

How did it turn into a fight?

Damn it, don’t hurt my Fatty!