This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 369, Chapter 368: It's so good you're not dead!

Inside the inner room of the potion shop, the air was filled with the aroma of various exotic ingredients. The little elf Riel was standing on a wooden stool, concentrating intently on brewing a potion of Heavenly Light.

The potion in the crucible was in the most critical reaction stage, emitting a soft amber light. The slightest mistake could render the previously added starlight moss and night-blooming orchid petals useless.

Riel held his breath and carefully sprinkled the Moon Dew Butterfly Wing Powder evenly into the pot. Watching the potion gradually develop delicate silver spots, he breathed a sigh of relief and stirred it clockwise three and a half times with a silver spoon.

Just then, a familiar creaking sound came from outside as a window frame was pushed open.

Riel was delighted, knowing that it was the sound of the big mushroom walking in through the window.

After Grandpa left, only Big Mushroom would stay with her in the pharmacy and watch her concoct medicines.

For the past few days, the big mushroom hasn't appeared, and Riel is worried that it might have been caught and eaten by a big bird.

After all, big mushrooms look like they're delicious and easy to eat.

What puzzled her was that the creaking sound from the window never stopped, even though the big mushroom didn't have the habit of playing with windows.

Riel's attention wandered, and she stirred the potion a few times too much. By the time she realized what was wrong, the silvery liquid in the crucible had quickly turned into specks of yellow lumps.

"Oh no... I'm doomed!"

Frustrated, she threw down the silver spoon, puffed out her cheeks, and stormed out of the studio. She immediately spotted the culprit behind the chaos—a round, plump little creature stuck in the window frame, twisting and turning as it tried to squeeze in.

Riel quickly ran outside and carefully checked the green cloth strap tied to Puji's leg before reaching out to help. With a push, he finally managed to squeeze the now chubby Puji inside.

"Big mushroom! Where have you been these past few days? You've gotten so fat!" If it weren't for the green stripe, Riel would hardly have recognized it.

Looking at the noticeably bigger, fuller, and rounder Puji in front of him, Riel suddenly wanted to hug it; it would probably be very comfortable.

She tentatively reached out her hand, but as expected, Puji pressed her hand back with its mycelial tentacles without hesitation, clearly rejecting the intimacy.

After pushing away Riel's restless little hand, she plopped into the inner room and tumbled onto a raised platform.

This spot, being far from Riel's reach and offering a good view, allowed for a clear observation of the potion-making process, naturally becoming Puji's exclusive shelf.

Lin Jun didn't let Rui'er hug Puji, but it was actually for her own good.

The Puji in front of us may look like just a fatter version of the Scout Puji, but it is actually a special individual born for battle.

Besides its conventional methods, its chubby body contains incredibly sharp spines that can burst open like a hedgehog when exerted, and when combined with the [Blade Storm] skill, it can tear enemies apart in an instant during a sneak attack.

Its hyphal tentacles also conceal tiny poisonous needles containing toxins that paralyze the nerves. And within its core...

It even coexists with an A-grade magic crystal, which, in addition to amplifying skills, allows Lin Jun to cast spells when necessary, making her fully armed.

Moreover, the fungal carpet has now spread throughout the forest.

Although there was no visible change on the tree, various kinds of mushrooms were already everywhere on the ground below.

If needed, Lin Jun can quickly spawn a large number of cannon fodder Puji at any time, but it's best not to go that far.

The increase in mushrooms naturally attracted the attention of some elves, but they did not see it as a threat.

After all, there are many kinds of fungi in the forest, and this year they are just growing particularly vigorously.

Even if some scholars became interested and wanted to conduct in-depth research, they were all reassigned to assist with the mission in the Shenmu Underground City.

For ordinary elves, the biggest change brought by mushrooms was the addition of several delicious mushroom dishes that glowed with a shimmering light, as well as a uniquely flavored mushroom sauce. Even Riel had secretly kept a small jar of it.

However, she probably felt it wasn't appropriate to eat mushrooms in front of Puji, so she secretly hid them. In short, Lin Jun had made ample arrangements for defense.

If even this can't protect Riel, then the little elf can only blame his bad luck.

If that really comes to that, the only thing Lin Jun can do for her is probably to send her to reunite with her grandfather.

As for Elawen, since the scout Puji was personally handed over to Salian, the new Puji couldn't go directly to her. So he had to hide in the forest near her hut in disguise, just in case.

……

On the other side, through the fungal carpet, Lin Jun watched as Iros left the underground city and headed towards the Elf King's City.

Meanwhile, Pelagal, having carefully avoided the "safe passage" cleared by the rangers, spent considerably more time and only just managed to reach the bottom level.

In fact, the bottom three levels are already quite dangerous for a Diamond-level Ranger acting alone.

Fortunately, many of the crazed monsters had been eliminated in the previous extermination operation, and with the excellent reconnaissance and early warning capabilities provided by the specially made super backpack on his back, he was able to cross the dangerous area without any major incidents and gradually approach the elf's front-line camp.

According to the Ranger Force's original plan, after clearing out most of the crazed monsters and confirming that there were no greater hidden dangers in the Sacred Tree Dungeon, the main force should have gradually withdrawn, leaving only a small number of elite squads to continue sweeping away the remaining madmen.

However, an unexpected event occurred. Their chief guard, Eko, along with several mages, were trapped in an anomalous space. Only Chief Eros managed to escape thanks to his profound knowledge and powerful spellcasting abilities.

In the chaos, the chief only managed to rescue the student closest to him, while the rest were all trapped inside.

Under these circumstances, retreat was out of the question. The entire frontline camp could only hold their ground and wait for the chief to return to the royal city so that he could discuss a rescue plan with the Elf King.

Before leaving, Chief Elos handed over temporary command of the camp to the student he had rescued, Serdan.

Lin Jun and Perrager were naturally unaware of these internal changes. Therefore, Perrager's original plan was to try to bypass the camp and sneak directly to the central area to investigate the mysterious sapling.

However, when he caught a glimpse of that familiar figure in the camp from afar, he put away his longbow, changed his mind, and walked straight toward the camp.

……

“Peragol? Is it really you? Tell me this isn’t my imagination!” In the center of the camp, Seldan’s eyes glistened with disbelief as he looked excitedly at his friend who had “come back to life.”

Perragel simply crossed his arms, his tone as unchanging as ever: "You still haven't returned that high-grade magic potion you borrowed from me last time. Do I need to slap you again to make sure you're not dreaming?"

"It really is you! You're not dead! That's wonderful!" Serdan was overjoyed and opened his arms to give his good brother a warm hug, but Peraguer reached out and firmly pressed down on his shoulder.

Hugging is not an option; it might cause Serdan to come into contact with the mycelium on his body.

“Don’t be so mushy,” Perrager said calmly, brushing off the hug. “I just accidentally got poisoned by some weird toxin and found a safe place to hide.”

"Poisoning? Are there any residues? Do you need me...?"

“No need,” Perrager interrupted him, getting straight to the point. “When I returned after recovering, I happened to run into the Chief, who ordered me to assist you. But to be honest, I’m still a bit confused about the situation here.”

Serdan opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to explain immediately, but after glancing at the other elves coming and going in the camp, he ultimately swallowed his words.

He gestured for Perragal to follow him and led him to the area where the sapling was located in the center of the underground city.

Other elves are not allowed to come here.

After confirming that there was no one else nearby, Seldan cautiously used a magic shield to isolate their voices before telling his friend everything he knew.

(End of this chapter)