This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 173, Section 172: Aidin's Choice
The dimly lit room was illuminated only by a single candle, its flickering shadow dancing uneasily on the walls.

Aiding sat stiffly at the table, his face ashen.

He stared intently at the mycelium spreading on his arm, those pale, delicate veins deeply embedded beneath the skin, as if they had always grown there.

Beside him lay an empty medicine bottle—the regenerative potion he had just drunk.

This rare potion, which stimulates life potential and forcibly eliminates foreign substances from the body, is remarkably effective, but its price of fifty gold coins is enough to deter most adventurers.

But this is still within Aidin's budget.

However, the result hit him like a ton of bricks. Ten minutes had passed since he ingested the medicine, and the fungal hyphae on his arm remained completely still, even... appearing more active?
"Useless! Absolutely useless!" Aiding grabbed the empty bottle and slammed it to the ground!
The sharp crack of shattering glass was particularly jarring in the deathly silence. He gripped his head tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Why is this happening? Why am I the only one?

Despite saying that, Aidin actually had a pretty good idea of ​​why he was being parasitized—only he could easily hide the symptoms of being parasitized.

His illusion magic not only failed to help him escape, but instead became the reason why Puji was targeting him!

What will I become?
A corpse completely devoured by mycelium?
A twisted "mushroom"?
He dared not think about it; even the slightest thought was enough to cause fear to instantly tighten around his heart like cold vines, suffocating him.

That feeling... was exactly the same as when I was being chased in the Scarecrow Abyss back then!
This time, faced with fear, he made the same choice again—to run away.

Abandon everything!
Forget about the aftermath, forget about the generous compensation that's due tomorrow... To hell with all of that!
Only one thought remained in his mind, like a drowning person craving air:
Run! Now! Immediately!
Escape the Amethyst Dungeon, escape Puji, just like you escaped the Scarecrow back then.

Aiding hastily packed his bags and practically stumbled out of the guild.

The night sky was shrouded in thick dark clouds, and the three full moons were reduced to pale outlines, sparingly casting down a few rays of light.

The shops on both sides of the street were already closed and deathly silent, with only the distant taverns emitting a dim light and faint noise.

A drunk man slumped in the shadows of a street corner, like a bag of abandoned trash.

Aiding quickly slipped into a deserted narrow alley, took a deep breath, and disappeared silently as if blending into the night.

He planned to leave the town quietly.

However, just as his foot stepped onto the path leading into the wilderness, a sharp, tearing pain shot through his right leg!
"Ugh—!"

The invisible disguise crumbled instantly, and Aidin's staggering figure appeared.

He looked down in horror and saw that beneath the skin of his right leg, the dormant mycelium was writhing and swelling wildly like a venomous snake awakening!

His skin was stretched until it shone and became almost transparent. Then, with a soft "poof," a plump, wet mushroom emerged from his leg, its cap trembling slightly in the dim moonlight.

"Ha...haha, hahaha!"

The laughter was icy and chilling, filled with a desperate realization; he felt he understood everything.

I am always being watched!

Those invisible eyes, or rather, the will of "Puji," have never left.

It can finish him off at any time, just like crushing an insect.

The previous silence was nothing more than a cat toying with a mouse under its paws, watching with great interest as the mouse struggled in vain, fled in fear, and drank the expensive potion in hope... Finally, the cat gently pressed the mouse to the spot, unable to escape.

Looking at the road ahead leading to freedom, he dared not take another step.

After standing there for an unknown amount of time, Aiding, like a soulless shell, dragged his heavy steps and dejectedly returned to the streets of the town.

As he passed the still-noisy tavern, warm yellow light spilled through the cracks in the door, mingling with the rough laughter of adventurers and the clinking of glasses. A few scattered words of conversation, like cold steel needles, pierced his ears clearly:

"Haha, those Puji are pretty good, they knew to bring you back safe and sound!"

"It's a pity that kid Jer didn't have such good luck. His leg was blown off, so that money is only enough for him to find a corner to live out his days and wait to die."

"Tsk, don't mention him! Come on, this meal's on me tonight, bottoms up!"

The words "good luck" and "returned" only made him feel ironic and chilled.

As Aiding continued forward, the surrounding lights and voices quickly dissipated and faded away like the receding tide.

When he looked up again, he realized that he had unknowingly walked to the gate of the Amethyst Underground City!

Surprisingly, I spotted a familiar figure here.

Sensing someone approaching from behind, Fifteen turned around with a gentle smile on her face: "Aidin? Why aren't you resting? What are you doing here?"

Aidin could sense Fifteen's sincerity. After going through battles together, this man also regarded him as a comrade.

However, Aidin never expected to run into Fifteen here.

She forced a smile and said, "I just couldn't sleep. What about you? Why are you standing here all alone?"

“I’m thinking,” Fifteen’s gaze returned to the deep underground city entrance, his voice lowering, “why did those pukei… release the punitive expedition? Given the circumstances, even I might not have survived if we had continued fighting.”

Aiding's smile became even more strained, but fortunately, the moon was dim and the stars were few, and the shadows of the trees were swaying, so Fifteen didn't keep staring at his face.

"Who knows... I heard that Puji always strips the unruly adventurers on the fifth floor naked, maybe this time will be the same?"
Or perhaps it's afraid of humans and trying to befriend us?

Or perhaps... it just wants to release me... This thought silently slipped through Aiding's mind.

“Trying to be on good terms…” Fifteen repeated thoughtfully, then shrugged and said with relief, “Never mind, it’s good that everyone survived, no matter what.”

He dusted off the corner of his clothes and got up to return to town.

Before leaving, he turned back to remind her, "Aidin, don't stay too long. Go back and rest early. Don't forget that Far has called everyone together tomorrow; there are things to discuss."

"Understood," Aiding replied.

It wasn't until Fifteen's figure completely disappeared from the road leading to the town that a full ten minutes passed before Aiding, as if all his strength had been drained, slowly slid down to sit on the cold ground, leaning against a thick tree trunk.

Yes, being able to survive... is a good thing...

The thought left a bitter aftertaste.

He remained silent for a long time before finally turning his gaze back to the underground city gate, which resembled a colossal beast crouching in the night.

This time, he did not resist. His spirit followed the new instinct that had quietly grown after the parasitic infection and that he had been deliberately suppressing, sinking into that invisible network of consciousness composed of countless mycelia.

He knew that once he did this, he would have no way out, but... he just wanted to survive...

“King of Puji,” his thoughts transmitted through the fungal web, “no need to beat around the bush, tell me exactly what you want me to do?”

After a brief silence, a voice with a strange rhythm responded directly in his mind:
"Aidin Klar. From now on, you can call me 'Boss'."

(End of this chapter)