This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 351, Section 350: The Dawn of a Low-Level Evil Mage
Deep within the cave, a discordant commotion is now echoing.

"Help! Help! Let us go!" Bound tightly by the mycelium and barely able to move, the tall, thin man and his companions huddled together like pigs and sheep awaiting slaughter, wailing in terror.

"Scream! Scream all you want! No one will come to save you even if you scream your lungs out! Hahaha!" A terrifying, inhuman voice rang out, and a brief silence fell over the cave, which was then followed by even more shrill cries of agony.

The little pig crossed its arms in disgust, frowning, "So noisy, boss, do you really have to tease them like this?"

"How clueless you are!" Despite her complaints, Lin Jun still fulfilled the little pig's request.

Hallucinogenic spores quietly spread, and the cries in the cave quickly subsided, soon falling into complete silence, leaving only heavy breathing and occasional unconscious murmurs.

After a short while of "processing", a "delicious, tall and thin" dish exuding a strange allure was freshly made.

The little pig carefully caught a drop of bright red liquid and put it in its mouth.

The moment the liquid entered its throat, the pig's entire body jolted, trembling as if it had been electrocuted!
She suddenly closed her eyes tightly, tilted her head back, as if savoring some exquisite delicacy, and remained motionless for a long time.

Lin Jun quickly asked, "How is it?"

The little pig slowly opened its eyes and looked at the tall, thin man who was still unconscious. The look in its eyes had completely changed. It was as if it were staring at a rare and unparalleled treasure!
“Boss,” her voice trembled slightly with excitement, “I can say without exaggeration that if we send this person to the Empire, a high-ranking duke might actually be willing to offer an entire city in exchange! Of course, there’s a higher chance they’ll fight over him…”

"Is it really that valuable?" Lin Jun was also surprised.

The little pig nodded vigorously, its tone utterly certain: "Boss! This is an absolutely unique and delicious blood!"

Still 【Delicious LV8】!
Lin Jun pondered it for a moment and felt that this assessment made a lot of sense.

Several jars were packed into cups engraved with preservation magic and sent back through the Duke's spy network, with the items classified as the highest level of importance.

……

On the other side, inside the scarlet spire.

Sigismund was frowning as he perused an ancient book about the nature of the soul and the art of stripping away its veil.

On his large desk, books on similar topics were piled up like a small mountain.

His newly appointed adjutant stood respectfully to one side, reporting on the latest developments regarding the "recruitment of abyssal magic users".

The adjutant who had initially doubted him had already been transferred by Sigismund, through a demotion in name only, to be in charge of tedious and unimportant logistical transport work in the rear.

The new adjutant was completely unaware of the Duke's "abnormal" behavior and instead felt that having access to core affairs was a great sign of trust.

Sigismund chose to turn a blind eye to the various absurd behaviors of his "cohabitant" who used his name for personal gain and ultimately had to clean up the mess, temporarily enduring and letting the other party do as they pleased.

Conversely, as part of this tacit understanding of "non-interference," Lin Jun did not prevent Sigismund from accessing this knowledge of the souls, even though Lin Jun knew that Sigismund wanted to find a way to completely eliminate or at least expel her, this uninvited guest.

The two maintained their "roommate" relationship under this strange and fragile balance, taking turns using each other's bodies and carrying out their own plans.

As for the fate of those low-level evil mages, no one cared. But in reality, the recruitment plan went surprisingly smoothly.
-
The half-demon Valen wrapped himself tightly in his old mage robe, the edges of which were already worn. His thin face was filled with exhaustion and a desperate anxiety, but his deep-set eyes gleamed with an unusual light because of the recruitment notice he had seen not long ago.

Duke Sigismund... has actually openly recruited evil mages, without even setting any level restrictions!

This news was like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, causing a huge uproar among the low-level evil mages who struggled in the shadows of the empire.

Valen made the decision almost without hesitation: he had to go!

While the profession of evil sorcerer is not explicitly prohibited or condemned in the Empire as it is in human kingdoms, this does not mean that they can have a good reputation here.

Their "glorious deeds" of frequently killing themselves and taking half a lab or a team of teammates with them are endless, making them, in the eyes of most people, no different from a group of walking, unstable, explosive runes.

Especially low-level evil mages.

Most of the evil mages who survive to reach the high ranks have already figured out a relatively reliable method of casting spells, and the empire is often willing to accept and cooperate with these people.

Valen is clearly not a high-level evil mage.

Just last week, he spent almost all his savings to buy seven strong slaves from black market dealers and dragged them back to his secret laboratory.

He was full of confidence as he prepared to perform a ritual he had deciphered from a tattered ancient book, a ritual that was said to be able to summon and control some kind of evil entity.

The result... was a complete disaster!

The ritual energy completely spiraled out of control at the last moment, and the seven slaves exploded before they could even let out a proper scream.

The lab still reeks of that lingering stench of blood, and cleaning up the debris almost made him vomit.

Not only did they lose all their experimental materials, but they also ran out of money to buy new "consumables".

Creditors had already started knocking on the door, and he knew that if he couldn't get the money soon, his fate would be no better than that of the slaves.

Just when he was in despair, he saw the Duke's recruitment notice.

Serve the Duke!
This means stable funding, sufficient valuable materials, and most importantly, protection!
As for the danger?

Valen scoffed, "Could it get any worse?"
Dying on the Duke's mission might be better than being captured by moneylenders and enslaved.

He never even considered the possibility that the Duke would deliberately frame him!
Even in the dog-eat-dog world of the empire, the public credibility of a powerful figure remains a valuable intangible asset.

Surely a noble duke wouldn't sacrifice his reputation just to swindle these insignificant, low-level evil mages who can't squeeze any more out of them?
He's more worried about the competition!

The announcement said there was no limit to the number of people, but anyone with a brain knows that the Duke could not possibly support a large group of losers like himself.
In the end, only the most outstanding or the luckiest one or two will likely remain.

He saw that his colleagues, who had come to register with the same hope as him, all had the same wariness and calculation in their eyes.

Regardless, this is his last chance, and he will definitely seize it!
(End of this chapter)