The Empire was clearly scheming something big behind the scenes. Lin Jun was very tempted to get involved, stirring the waters to see if he could fish out some unexpected benefits.

However, the Dwarf Kingdom was far too distant from his sphere of influence.

There was indeed a dungeon within dwarf territory connected to elemental creatures, but it had never once linked with Lin Jun’s own dungeon. It was out of reach.

Damn it, having information but being unable to use it—so frustrating! Thɪs chapter is updated by novel·fire.net

As for leaking the intel to the humans, letting them warn the dwarves to sabotage the Empire’s plans… that thought flashed through his mind for only a second before he dismissed it.

Such an action would bring him no tangible benefit, while obviously attracting a mountain of trouble.

That kind of loss-making deal—harming himself to help others, and strangers at that—had never been part of his considerations.

Putting aside these plans that could not be realized for now, the “delivery” Lin Jun had been waiting for finally arrived.

…

Inside the canopy of a plain-looking but disguised large wagon, the dark sorcerer Valen was observing the scenery outside.

He was not skilled at stealth, knew no disguise techniques, and could only speak a few words of human tongue!

Fortunately, the Duke had arranged all those technical matters for them in advance.

The leader of the group was a professional spy proficient in the craft. His masterful disguise skills, paired with the hidden array inside the wagon that could interfere with low-level detection spells and tools, formed a protective umbrella for the ten-odd members of their team as they traveled through human lands.

Of course, this level of disguise could never pass a formal inspection at a human city gate.

Luckily, their destination was not any city but a desolate wilderness, requiring no such checkpoints.

On the way, the greatest trouble did not come from official patrols, but from bandits!

They were disguised as a research team of scholars and students. This identity usually earned them basic respect and caution from patrols, avoiding unnecessary incidents.

But in the eyes of bandits, their group was nothing more than a juicy, fat piece of meat.

Killing a few bandits was not hard. What was difficult was erasing all traces of the fight, ensuring that not a single clue betrayed their demonic origins. That cleanup was far more tedious than the killing itself.

Thankfully, as the caravan penetrated deeper into human territory, such encounters grew rare.

Especially once vast stretches of white mycelium carpet began to appear in the surroundings, bandit activity vanished almost completely, and the journey became smooth.

The leader explained that this was partly because the region’s abundant mushroom farming ensured food security, eliminating the soil for large-scale banditry.

And partly because of a new adventurer class called “Puji Masters,” whose efficiency had completely squeezed out the bandits’ livelihood.

Nowadays in this area, there might still be the occasional thug acting on impulse, but they usually would not dare target a large caravan.

Valen himself had seen Puji Masters in action. To be honest, he really couldn’t understand what kind of combat strength they could have just by bringing along a bunch of walking Pujis.

Even mutated ones—still just Pujis!

And hearing the leader’s introduction, a troubling thought crept into his mind: why didn’t the Empire try to sabotage these high-yield mushroom fields, plunging humanity into famine?

Could that actually be their mission this time?

But on second thought, if food production truly needed to be destroyed, the Empire’s top alchemists could concoct more efficient, more covert poisons or withering agents. That would work far better and be much harder to trace than deploying unstable elements like dark sorcerers.

He voiced the question to the leader, but the man also knew nothing—he was merely following orders.

The wagon finally stopped at a forest clearing. Their true destination lay deeper within, in a dense woodland where wagons could not travel. From here on, they would have to proceed on foot.

Yet just as they were about to reach their goal, a human blocked their way.

“Stop! You can’t go any further!”

It was a young male human, clad in leather armor, armed, and dressed in the uniform of the Adventurers’ Guild.

But instead of the usual sword-and-shield badge on his chest, he wore a conspicuous emblem of a mushroom cap.

The spy leader stepped forward with a scholar’s gentle, harmless smile, showing a badge: “Greetings. You are with the Puji Master Association, yes? We are a team of scholars from the Relics Society, here to conduct necessary research in the area.”

The young man scratched his head, looking over Valen and the others’ dust-worn but scholarly appearance. His attitude softened with respect. “Uh… yeah. But the stone forest ahead isn’t safe. What exactly are you studying there?”

“We hope to observe and record it up close for an important ecological study,” the leader replied warmly. But behind his back, his hanging hand had already begun silently mutating into a deadly claw. “Is there a Guild prohibition in place? If so, we can wait here for clearance.”

The young man thought back to his orders, then shook his head. “No outright ban. The Guild just told us to warn outsiders not to go too deep. There are Pujis inside that emit faint petrifying energy. It’s weak, but long exposure is still risky. Please be careful.”

When the young man stepped aside, the leader’s claw quickly reverted to a hand.

They thanked him and continued forward.

Before long, they encountered a strange sight.

Not petrified land or trees—but petrified Pujis!

Right before Valen stood a Puji statue frozen mid-pose—one short leg balanced like a rooster standing on one foot, the other leg comically lifted, while four fungal tendrils on its cap intertwined into a heart shape.

And this was far from the only oddly-posed statue in sight.

“Who… who did this?” one dark sorcerer muttered, unsettled. The scene was too bizarre.

Puji—

The sound of a passing Puji drew their attention.

That seemingly ordinary Puji wandered among the stone forest, and all their magic shields rippled faintly under a wave of petrification energy.

But it was indeed extremely weak. Unless someone stayed here for a very long time, petrification was impossible.

There were no petrified animals or monsters here—only Pujis.

Soon, however, Valen refocused on the task at hand.

They split into three groups, each entering a separate underground chamber.

“As expected, divided by capability…” a fellow dark sorcerer in Valen’s group muttered bitterly.

Looking around, Valen realized that everyone grouped with him was the same as he was—[Abyss Magic] below LV3. Rookies.

The discovery made his heart sink.

This meant their assignment was clearly the most trivial and least meritorious part of the entire ritual.

Even if they succeeded, once back in the Empire, low-level dark sorcerers like them would hardly be rewarded or respected.

“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath, full of resentment.

Nevertheless, Valen and his group did as instructed—drawing an obscure abyssal magic circle in the chamber and activating it successfully.

Yet even after the glow faded, they had no idea what effect it had achieved.

“Did we fail?” Valen muttered anxiously, a sense of doom gnawing at him.

When they emerged from the chamber with their grim-faced leader, they realized theirs was the only group to return.

So they had failed and been cast aside?

Valen begged: “P-please… give us another chance! Let me check the circle again—I can find the problem!”

But the leader gave him a strange look, pausing before responding stiffly: “No. It wasn’t your fault. Yours was one of three interconnected circles… I don’t know the details, but clearly, the other two groups made a fatal mistake. Want to go ‘see’ the results?”

At once Valen recalled his past experience of a failed ritual—six slaves detonated into a bloody mess inside a chamber. His stomach lurched. He shook his head frantically, refusing the “offer.”

In silence, they followed the leader back, carefully avoiding the young Puji Master’s patrol, and returned to their hidden wagon.

Just like that, as if they had done something yet also nothing at all, Valen began his journey back to the Empire.

Like the other surviving novices, he was weighed down with dread, unsure of what fate awaited them.

The annihilation of the other two groups had once again proven—by bloody example—that the path of a dark sorcerer was unreliable and perilous. As “failed” survivors, they were likely to be abandoned as well.

For Valen, abandonment meant his enormous debts would remain unpaid, which meant ruthless creditors would come knocking, and then… he dared not think further.

But unbeknownst to him, abandonment was not what awaited.

He would in fact receive the promised resources to raise his meager casting ability.

Their survival would be proclaimed as success within dark sorcerer circles. And before long, Duke Sigismund would issue another recruitment order…

…

【Seven Sins of Greed Activated】

【Skill Plundered: Abyss Magic LV4】

Still too low—barely LV4!

According to the tomes inherited from Margas, opening that gateway to the Abyss required at least LV7 casting ability.

He needed more dark sorcerers, stronger ones, to contribute their knowledge and experience!

But LV4 was enough to try out some simple basics. Lin Jun decided he would personally test the taste of Abyss Magic.