“Let me go! Who are you people? Let me go!”

The moment Inanna woke up, she realized she had been stuffed into a sack and struggled desperately.

“Pero, did you water down your Sleep Spell? She’s already awake.”

“Idiot, don’t call my name. Her duke father poured countless resources into her. You think her resistances would be low? The fact that she’s only waking now is already lucky.”

Inanna froze. She knew these voices.

“Pero? And you, Ox! You ambushed me? You betrayed my father?”

“Damn it, you talk too much. She recognized us,” Pero said irritably.

But Ox didn’t seem worried. “So what if she did? She won’t get the chance to tell anyone.”

What did he mean? This wasn’t just kidnapping?

“What do you want with me?”

Realizing her life might truly be in danger, Inanna only grew more agitated.

The sack over her head was yanked off, and the first thing she saw was Ox’s hideous grin.

“What do we want? My lady, today you’ll be a beast’s dinner!”

Looking around, she saw that the dim tunnel walls were dotted with jagged violet crystals.

They had dragged her into the Amethyst Dungeon?!

“You two vermin in human skin, my father never mistreated you! And you dare betray him?”

“Because your old man is finished! You really think he can stop the Empire’s invasion? Killing you will be the last straw to break him. And killing you earns me a noble title.”

Thinking of the title promised to him, Ox burst out laughing.

“Stop laughing, you’ll draw monsters,” Pero cut in impatiently. “This spot is good. Drop her here.”

They threw Inanna onto the ground, still snarling like a cornered beast.

Ox glanced at her beautiful face and said regretfully, “Such a beauty, but you’re just like your father. Shame. I almost wanted to try what a duke’s daughter tastes like.”

“This is the sixth floor. If you don’t mind the beasts chewing your bare ass off, go ahead right now.”

“Relax, just a joke. Once I’m a noble, women won’t be a problem.”

Pero raised his staff at Inanna and began chanting an obscure spell.

“Transformation Magic?”

Inanna instantly recognized the incantation. She kicked at him, trying to interrupt, but Ox grabbed her.

“If you have guts, kill me! Kill—me—”

Her voice faded as the spell completed. Inanna lost the ability to speak, shrinking down into a tiny creature with only two stubby legs—a Pujis, also known as a walking mushroom.

After finishing the spell, Pero reluctantly took out a vial of shimmering starlit liquid and poured it over her.

Ox whistled in awe.

“Petrification Potion? You really went all out. Why not just kill her and toss the corpse to the beasts?”

Pero sighed at Ox’s stupidity.

“You kill her, and you’ll bear her father’s Revenge Mark. When he comes for your head, don’t you dare drag me down with you.

Tracking magic, revenge imprints—of course she has them. Letting a lower-floor monster eat her clean is the safest way.”

Saying that, he even added a long-duration Slow Fall spell on the transformed Inanna, so she wouldn’t just splatter on impact.

“Fine, you win.” Ox sneered, walked up, and kicked her. “Farewell, my lady.”

The Pujis Inanna was swallowed by a yawning fissure.

This rift led straight to the dungeon’s depths. No one who fell ever returned—especially not a helpless little Pujis.

———

Bastards!

They dared deceive me in Father’s name!

I’ll kill them with my own hands!

…

It’s so dark…

The rift felt endless. Even with the extended Slow Fall, she hadn’t reached bottom.

Her speed kept building. After the initial fury faded, fear gripped the sixteen-year-old girl who had never faced death before.

Was she really going to die here?

Puff—

She landed on something soft and springy, bouncing several times before finally crashing onto the ground.

Alive! Fate favored her after all.

But… where was this place?

As a Pujis, she had no face, no eyes, but could vaguely sense her surroundings.

It seemed she had fallen onto a giant mushroom three meters wide.

The sounds around her—these shapes swaying in front of her—looked familiar…

Pujis?

The same as her transformed self?

Why would such bottom-tier creatures be here, deep in a deadly dungeon?

And so many of them!

Wait—they were surrounding her…

———

As the master of the Mushroom Garden, Lin Jun had been feeling distracted lately, making more mistakes than usual.

And now, unbelievably, a Pujis had appeared in his garden that wasn’t under his control. Maybe it had grown and fallen before he could connect it to the network.

Its cap was pink, standing out among the usual gray-green caps.

A mutation?

Well, easy enough to fix—just connect it to the Spore Network.

But why was it resisting so fiercely?

The rogue Pujis darted wildly, knocking others over, trampling mushrooms, making a mess of the whole garden.

Annoyed, Lin Jun ordered his Pujis to swarm it, pinning it down so he could finally connect the mycelium thread.

“Ahhh! Get away! Get away from me!”

What the hell?

The moment he linked it, Lin Jun was blasted with shrill screams, nearly blowing out his mycelium nerves.

“Silence!”

His command rippled through the network, freezing every Pujis in place.

“…No, correction. Resume normal work.”

After restoring order, Lin Jun turned his focus back to the strange pink Pujis.

Clearly, this wasn’t his own spawn. It was an outsider.

Strange. How had a foreign Pujis ended up here, in his secluded garden?

“Speak. Where did you come from?”

“Who are you? How are you talking to me? No—how am I talking right now?”

Tch.

This creature was clearly confused, words tumbling out chaotically. Lin Jun simply pulled up its status panel.

【Name: Inanna St. Clair】

【Race: Mushroom – Pujis】

【Level: LV28】

【HP: 3280】

【Strength: 1】

【Agility: 1】

【Constitution: 1】

【Intelligence: 33】

【Spirit: 24】

【Racial Talent】

Spore Diffusion (Actively release spores. Automatically triggers on death.)

【Fixed Effects】

* Holy Blessing (Grants Light Affinity LV4, Light Magic LV4)

* Revenge Mark (Upon death, transfers to killer. Caster can track and deal extra damage to target.)

* Tracking Seal (Location marker)

* Fruit of Life (Grants +3000 HP and Life Regeneration LV4)

* Dragon Crystal Potion (Massive resistance boost)

* Permanent Transformation (Remains transformed unless dispelled)

* Linked to Spore Network (Short-range psychic network via mycelium resonance)

【Skills】

Riding LV4, Elemental Affinity (Water, Light) LV4, Mana Storage LV3, Mana Control LV4, Light Magic LV4, Water Magic LV3, Cloth Armor Mastery LV2, Dagger Mastery LV2, Magic Resistance LV6, Physical Resistance LV6, Spirit Resistance LV6, Corrosion Resistance LV6, Poison Resistance LV6, Paralysis Resistance LV6, Heat Resistance LV6, Cold Resistance LV6, Stun Resistance LV6, Underwater Adaptation LV6, Astrology LV1, Ancient Elvish LV2, Life Regeneration LV4

Holy hell…

A pink Pujis with over 3000 HP and full LV6 resistances?!