When Dylan opened his eyes, he was back in the familiar mushroom house.

As he sat up, the fungal threads connecting his back to the mycelium mat snapped one by one.

He grabbed the wool cloth by his side, wiping away the sticky residue from his back before putting on his clothes.

This small inconvenience of living among the mushroom people—he had already grown used to it.

“Finally awake? How do you feel?” The boss’s voice echoed in his mind.

Right—this hadn’t been an ordinary sleep.

The boss had said something about increasing his survival rate… probably adding another skill to him.

At this point, he didn’t feel much different from Puchi…

Dylan stood at the edge of the mushroom hut, focusing on the changes within himself.

【Acceleration LV6】

He drew the sword at his waist and tested it with a few swings.

Downward slash! Straight thrust! Spinning strike!

Though each was a separate move, with the boost of acceleration, every motion flowed seamlessly like water!

“This feels amazing!”

“No. You won’t grasp it that way.”

“Then how…”

As the boss spoke, four Puchis walked out from the mushroom grove.

Familiar scales, familiar bladed tentacles—mass-produced melee Puchis. Just two of them had once forced Dylan to run for his life.

Now, seeing four closing in together, Dylan instinctively stepped back twice.

“Boss… maybe start with two?”

“If you dare run, I’ll have Little Black spar with you.”

Gulp—

Such cruel words!

Was that a joke? He glanced at Little Black gnawing on a Puchi in the distance, recalling the sheer power of her claws…

Suddenly, courage surged in his chest.

“Just four Puchis—nothing to fear!”

Charging forward, Dylan now fought them head-on. With acceleration, he wasn’t falling behind at all!

His speed advantage gone, the Puchis struggled. Dylan’s sharper footwork kept them from surrounding him.

He even seized an opening, slashing one’s body before taking any hits himself.

The blade only cut its scales, causing shallow wounds, but that was enough.

After all, the boss had given him 【Acceleration】 to keep him alive. If he couldn’t win, he could still dodge and run.

“That’s enough.”

Over time, Dylan’s strength waned. Unable to deal fatal damage, he began to falter.

Since the skill’s effect had been tested, Lin Jun simply called off the fight, letting the Puchis retreat.

Dylan plopped to the ground, staring at his hands with excitement.

Too strong! With this, even against those three information brokers, he wouldn’t need an ambush—he could beat them outright!

This kind of rapid growth—he had never experienced it before. It was intoxicating.

Still, Dylan didn’t let power cloud his head. He remembered his purpose.

“Boss, when do we leave?”

“Not yet. Lie back down. I’ll add another ability.”

“Another one?” Dylan worried about wasting too much time.

“It’s nearly two months’ travel. A day or two won’t matter,” Lin Jun snapped.

He had halted mushroom farm production for two days just to give Dylan skills—yet Dylan was nitpicking!

Scratching his head, Dylan asked, “Boss, what ability this time?”

“Mana Storage.”

——

Night Owl crouched atop the carriage, eyes narrowing at the road ahead.

Something was happening.

From inside the covered wagon came the rustle of cloth—Ivan had been woken and was already casting 【Detection】 toward the front.

“Humans, humans… wind wolves… Wind Wolf King…”

His voice jumped several pitches.

“Monsters attacking a convoy! Quick—help them!”

…

Dozens of wind wolves swarmed a caravan guarded by just over ten soldiers.

The soldiers formed a spiked ring of twelve spears around the wagons, every shaft already stained with gray fur.

Two spellcasters within the circle hurled spells, barely holding back the waves of attackers.

“Hold the line! Don’t leave gaps! Any beast that gets close—skewer its head!”

The captain barked orders, thrusting his own spear to kill a wolf pressing in.

But that strike gave the Wind Wolf King, watching from a boulder, the opening it wanted.

With a sharp howl, a wind blade shot from its maw, flying straight at the captain as he tugged his spear free.

Clang—

The blade slammed into his armor, failing to pierce but knocking him back.

The formation opened. Wolves lunged through before he could recover.

Two soldiers fell instantly under the pack’s pounce. The line crumbled.

Even the captain was dragged down, wolves gnawing his arms.

It was over!

Just as despair set in, a black shadow flashed past like the wind.

The captain blinked in shock as blood spurted from the necks of the two wolves pinning him.

Their bodies collapsed, jaws still locked onto his vambrace.

Not just them—every wolf that had broken through fell headless in moments.

“Ice Storm!”

A distant, aged voice rang out.

A freezing gale swept across the battlefield, sparing the caravan but freezing dozens of wolves—including the King—into lifeless ice statues.

Even so, the chill lingering in the air made the captain shiver.

“Are you all unharmed?” Nova approached with Ivan and Gal.

Looking around, the captain saw every man wounded, but none mortally.

“Thank you… we’re saved.”

“No—wait,” he suddenly recalled, panic rising. “Save Mena!”

“Mena?”

“The priestess! She was separated in the chaos—she ran into the woods!”

Ivan instantly scanned the forest, pointing.

“Night Owl—there!”

She bolted off like lightning. Moments later, the forest echoed with dying howls.

Soon, she returned with a dirt-smeared, half-torn priestess in tow.

Seeing her safe, the captain finally exhaled.

“Good thing I was fast. Her barrier was about to give,” Night Owl said, grinning at Mena.

The captain reclaimed the priestess, bowing deeply in thanks.

“You’re escorting priests to Oath City as well?” Nova asked.

The captain nodded, then glanced bitterly at their broken carriage wheel.

Nova understood. It was on their way, after all.

“Want us to take your priestesses the rest of the way?”

“Truly… thank you!” the captain said, bowing low.