This dungeon has mushrooms growing on it.

Chapter 653, Section 652: Magic Rampage
A mansion near the edge of the city walls in Norweg.

The house wasn't new, but it was quiet and spacious, with a sun-warmed stone slab in the yard.

For the semi-retired Silver Thorn team, this place already feels more like home than any hotel they've stayed in over the past few decades.

On the stone floor, Gar was squatting heavily, carrying two bundles of cast iron.

Sweat dripped down the scales on his neck, and the half-dragon's thick tail dragged behind him, pounding the ground with each movement, making a dull "thump-thump" sound.

In the corner, a shadowy mass writhed silently.

The next second, the night owl stepped out of the shadows, carrying several breakfasts wrapped in oil paper.

She casually tossed one of them, and it flew towards Gar.

Gar set down his load, reached out and caught it. The juice from the mushroom filling instantly filled his mouth, and the rich umami flavor made him squint his eyes.

He chewed on a steamed bun, his gaze falling on the night owl, who was leaning against a pillar, engrossed in a steaming mushroom drink, the slurping sounds particularly clear in the quiet courtyard.

Gar swallowed what was in his mouth and suddenly asked, "Night Owl, have you... gotten fat?"

The night owl's pointed ears twitched, and its entire movement froze for a moment.

Then, she took a big gulp of mushroom juice, swallowed it down with a thud, and said, "Where...where is it..."

Footsteps came from inside the house, and Nova came out wearing an outer robe, reaching out to take two breakfasts from Night Owl's arms.

"You've been eating more than Garr lately, be careful, the war isn't completely over yet."

After saying that, he turned and walked into the house, leaving Night Owl standing there alone, holding the rest of his breakfast, his expression frozen.

Nova walked to a door at the end of the corridor and knocked twice.

The sticky sound of shoes stepping on mycelium came from inside. After Ocas opened the door, he handed over the breakfast.

Orcas took it, nodded slightly, and then the door slowly closed.

There wasn't a single dialogue from beginning to end.

Nova was already used to this.

Although Orcas was not fond of speaking and his method of healing Ivan by wrapping him in mycelium was quite bizarre, his skills were genuine.

Ivan, who had been given a death sentence by other doctors and had only two months left to live, managed to survive for more than half a year with the help of Orcas and the mysterious mushroom tribe.

Nova didn't know when Ivan would wake up, or even if he would wake up at all, but as long as he was alive, as long as the old mage was still breathing, Nova could only trust Ocas.

What he didn't know was that the man in the room, whom he considered silent and reliable, was even more uncertain than he was at that moment.

Ocas placed the breakfast on the table without even glancing at it.

He leaned against the door, his gaze fixed on the human figure wrapped in mycelium on the bed, his lips moving slightly as he silently murmured something.

"By the God of Light...by the God of Death...by the Boss..."

Pray to whichever works.

His life was hanging by a thread, hoping a miracle would happen to Ivan.

Suddenly, a mushroom cap rose up on the fungal carpet.

Ocas knew what this was, and immediately knelt on the ground, motionless, to welcome the arrival of his boss.

boo——

A brand new mushroom sprang out from the fungal carpet, its round cap emitting a faint glow in the dim room.

Lin Jun ignored the trembling D-level personnel and went directly to Ivan inside the mycelium bag.

[Spiritual Guidance]

Lin Jun's consciousness followed the invisible link and entered Ivan's mental space.

The space remained the same enormous library, spiraling upwards, with bookshelves like pillars reaching to the heavens, densely packed with books that spiraled upwards, each one exuding a mysterious aura.

Upon entering, Lin Jun saw Ivan, the owner of this spiritual space.

Even more gruesome than in reality, the old mage's body was tightly bound by countless tentacles, which were the restraints formed by Number Ten's mental power.

The tentacles wrapped around his limbs, torso, and neck, and even covered his mouth and nose, obscuring his five senses.

He was suspended in mid-air, unable to move, see, hear, or perceive anything.

This is necessary to prevent him from continuing to absorb the knowledge of this super-magical library.

After all, if he weren't restricted, his weak soul simply wouldn't be able to contain so much knowledge; it would have burst long ago.

Lin Jun's senses extended upwards towards the location of Number Ten, but she couldn't reach its current position. It had climbed too high, and Lin Jun's current mental energy was insufficient to explore that place.

To help Number Ten absorb knowledge more quickly, Lin Jun used the Sun Stone to adjust nearly one-tenth of her soul power to assist Number Ten's learning. Whenever she thought of Number Ten's diligence and eagerness to learn, Lin Jun would proudly put on her mushroom cap.

After all, it is a part of one's own soul, which shows that there is such excellent self-discipline hidden deep within oneself.

As for those rather embarrassing mushrooms...

They all became corrupted by worldly corruption after losing their greatness.

As Lin Jun thought this, her mental energy continued to extend upwards, more and more.

Finally, the tentacles reached number ten.

"Bacteria...Master?" Number Ten's thoughts were hazy, like a student who had studied all night and was finally hearing someone call his name.

"How is it?" Lin Jun asked.

"I...I've finished reading it." Number Ten's thoughts were fragmented. "But I don't know why, I feel like I'm still a little bit...just a little bit...just a little bit more...to understand everything!"

"Magic... the essence of magic... just a little short!"

It kept muttering to itself, seemingly trapped in some kind of dead end, its mind growing increasingly agitated, as if it were about to go berserk.

Snapped--

Lin Jun touched it, and it bounced back and forth between the bookshelves seven or eight times before she rolled it up again.

Are you feeling better?

Number 10, dotted mushroom cap.

Lin Jun said that it felt like Number 10's mental energy had been stopped for a long time, and he was stuck there not knowing what he was doing. It turned out that he was getting stuck on a rut.

Lin Jun didn't know what else number ten was missing, but now that she had finished looking at it, there was no need to stay here any longer.

Just as Lin Jun was about to return with Number Ten, she suddenly remembered something.

Pointing at Ivan, who was playing a bondage game below, he asked, "Is there any hope for this guy?"

Lin Jun asked casually, and it didn't matter if there was no hope; it was just bad luck for Ocas.

But now it seems that number ten actually has a solution: "I can give it a try."

In the Super Magic Library, Number Ten gathered the scattered soul power, making it enormous.

Then, countless tentacles stretched out and climbed onto the bookshelves.

The books containing magical secrets shattered and vanished under the touch of the tentacles, and the entire library was gradually disintegrated.

The spiral library is collapsing.

Little by little, from top to bottom, Ivan's spiritual body seemed to sense something, and trembled violently within the restraints of the tentacles, "weeping" as two lines of tears streamed down his face.

It's unclear whether it's for the upcoming awakening or for the lost essence of magic.

The collapse of the library was like the reflection of starlight blurred in the water, beautiful and quiet.

But outside, it's a completely different story.

The magic around the mansion suddenly became unusually active, instantly triggering various spellcasting phenomena.

Hard stones rose up in the courtyard, the wooden mansion was suddenly set ablaze, and even the once clear sky was filled with dark clouds, followed by lightning and thunder and a torrential downpour.

The defensive magic array within Norvid City flickered wildly, but it still lacked sufficient magic power to activate.

All the magic was being drawn away by some irresistible force and gathered towards the inconspicuous mansion in the northwest corner of the city.

Every mage in the city sensed the terrifying gathering of magical power.

An immeasurable amount of magical power swirled and compressed at that point, threatening to break free at any moment.

Some turned and fled, some knelt and prayed, and many more simply stared blankly in that direction, with only one thought in their minds:
If that thing explodes, half of Norwich will be devastated.

Even the lord, who was about to spend a wonderful day with his mistress, was so frightened that he thought he had been attacked by demons and hurriedly ran towards the safe house.

Those most afraid, of course, are the few people right in the center of the magic storm.

The night owl clung tightly to a pillar, its elven form appearing exceptionally frail in the howling wind.

She stared wide-eyed at Ivan, who was floating in mid-air.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Night Owl's voice trembled in the wind and rain. "Is he going to go berserk again? I...I..."

She turned her head sharply, her gaze shifting back and forth between Gar and Nova.

"How about you two... play rock-paper-scissors? Let's see who I take into the shadows to hide in?"

(End of this chapter)