No!

Fatty No.1!

That was the one I spent an entire month making!

And I even stuffed seven or eight pieces of gear inside!

Sure, I’d built Fatty No.1 with 40 points in Constitution and slapped on [Self-Destruct LV4] specifically to punish anyone who broke the rules.

But damn it, I didn’t think it would get used this soon!

If I’d known, I would’ve put fewer items inside. Now it’s just maximum loss!

Humans killing humans—I shouldn’t meddle, since I’m a monster.

But how dare you chop down my mushroom?

The dwarf who swung the axe has already been blown into chunks. That debt should naturally fall to his teammate!

———

Nassa wiped the chunks of flesh from his face. Spores and dust swirled in the air, burning his nostrils until he coughed violently.

Shaking his dizzy head, he waited for the dancing black spots in his vision to fade before staggering upright.

The cave mouth looked like it had been kneaded apart by an invisible giant hand, its original two-meter height torn open to three.

The fat Puji and Grognagba were both gone.

No—

He spotted a mangled half of steel teeth embedded in a tree trunk nearby.

Not gone. Scattered everywhere.

The brush with death sent a chill down Nassa’s spine.

Thank the gods for his twisted little quirks—thank the gods he hadn’t joined in checking the fat Puji.

Feeling lucky to have survived, he lost all interest in tormenting Veyra’s group.

He bent to grab his knife, intent on ending things quickly and leaving.

But the instant he stepped forward, he fell—his ankle bound by a long, sinuous mycelium tendril.

“What the hell!?”

He hacked with his knife, but the blade stuck barely a third of the way through.

Only after repeated sawing did he manage to cut it free.

He tried to rise—only for another tendril to wrap his torso from behind, coiling tight around his waist.

Before he could swing again, more tendrils surged forth, latching onto his arms and legs.

From the shadows, Pujis crept into view—hats low, tendrils trailing—surrounding him.

“Walking mushrooms… with tentacles!?”

Panic-stricken, the half-elf fumbled for a pouch of counter-powder inside his tunic, but the bonds only tightened.

“No, no! Not me! Grab them! Eat them instead! Help! Hel—mfff! Help—”

The tendrils cocooned him into a struggling chrysalis, dragging him into the dark forest. His muffled cries dwindled into silence.

The only witness, Phyine, clenched her teeth, shaking, refusing to make a sound.

Only after the Pujis vanished did she break down into soft sobs.

“Cutting Spell… Cutting Spell… Cutting Spell…”

Again and again she cast until, at last, the ropes frayed and snapped.

She rushed to free her sister and Veyra.

Phylline was still unconscious, but otherwise fine.

Veyra, though, was on the brink of death, barely breathing.

Their packs were gone—along with all their potions.

Phyine knew no healing magic. Without medicine, he would die.

Her eyes blurred with tears—until she spotted a glint of red.

A life potion!

The same vial Nassa had flaunted earlier!

Scrambling, she grabbed it and poured it down Veyra’s throat with trembling hands.

“Cough—cough—”

He sputtered, choking, but some color returned to his pale face.

“Thank goodness… thank… uuhhh…”

Relief broke her composure, and she wept again.

———

Deep in the forest, at the abandoned gnoll camp.

The Pujis were slamming Nassa’s cocooned body against the rocks over and over.

His state was miserable—nose broken, teeth all gone, half his tongue missing.

Barely conscious, he could only groan through mangled lips.

The Pujis continued their work with mechanical precision.

It wasn’t that Lin Jun wanted to torture him. The half-elf simply needed to repay his debt with his flesh.

[Parasite Fusion] required its host to be at the brink of death.

So his HP had to be shaved down carefully.

A direct skill strike was too risky—it might kill him outright.

But slamming him against rocks? Safe and reliable!

Definitely not because Lin Jun was petty.

At last, with Nassa’s HP at its limit, the Pujis dusted his wounds with spores.

Then they hung him from a tree.

In a few days, a fully formed parasitic puppet would emerge.

This would be Lin Jun’s very first human puppet. He planned to savor it—to make sure the half-elf paid back Fatty No.1’s blood debt!

Oh, and while dragging him back, Lin Jun had the Pujis pick up the abandoned loot scattered around.

Weapons, armor, rings, potions, powders.

All in all, the loss of Fatty No.1’s stash was mostly recovered.

Still, the half-elf’s debt would not be forgiven.

As for the fat Pujis—

Thankfully, Lin Jun had been prepared. He’d bred five in one batch.

These high-Constitution Pujis grew larger, could store more items, and had massive HP for stronger self-detonation.

The downside: their other stats were garbage, making them incredibly slow.

Hence the name “Fatty.”

Since Fatty No.1 was gone, Fatty No.2 would take his place in the newly enlarged cave.

Lin Jun stuffed the recovered loot inside its belly for exchanges.

Soon, adventurers would grow used to paying “corpse tolls,” trading monster carcasses with the Fatty Puji for random items.

That meant a steady influx of corpses from other dungeon floors.

And the adventurers’ view of Pujis would change.

At the very least, they wouldn’t attack on sight anymore.

As for running out of items to exchange?

Not a problem. In the early stage, the Fatty’s belly would be packed with quality loot, every trade a huge profit.

Once the habit formed, Lin Jun could dilute the pool with cheap low-grade magic crystals, tossing in a rare prize now and then to keep appetites whetted.

For adventurers, most monster corpses were worthless anyway. Better to trade than leave them to rot.

Heh.

Even Lin Jun had to admire his own business genius.

With a master like him in charge, how could the mushroom domain not flourish?

…

Hmm?

Just as he basked in pride, signals from several Illusion Pujis suddenly cut off.

They’d been scouting deep, deep inside the dungeon—far deeper than anyone could reasonably stumble upon.

Three were wiped in the same instant.

Not bats or rock-lizards. Too clean.

He sent more Illusion Pujis to investigate.

They too collapsed instantly, HP drained to zero.

This time, he saw it.

[Infrasonic Attack].

A skill he himself possessed from the Crystal Bats.

And for a moment, he caught the enemy’s panel—

【Species: Crystal Bat】

【Level: LV25】

【HP: 850/850】

【MP: 1200/1200】

【Strength: 16/27】

【Agility: 20/34】

【Constitution: 13/22】

【Intelligence: 35/59】

【Spirit: 30/50】

【Racial Trait: Sonic and Crystal skills gain mastery bonus】

【Fixed Status:

Severe Senescence (all base stats -80%)

Crystal Symbiosis (skill power +500%)】

【Skills: Crystal Symbiosis LV10, Infrasonic Attack LV10, Sonic Detection LV10, Mental Resistance LV10, Physical Resistance LV8, Magic Resistance LV7, Heat Resistance LV5, Evasion LV6…】

【Titles:

Lizard Slayer: +10% damage vs lizards

Bat Slayer: +10% damage vs bats

Beyond Death: Aging-related debuffs halved】