Chapter 397: Wild Monsters Have Appeared!

This bit of HP will automatically recover by the time Yun Mu reaches the next area; it doesn't count as a threat at all.

As for the operation of consuming Qi to restore HP, it seems to take up a turn in a game Dungeon, so forget it.

【Fungal Guard begins its turn!】

It is finally the Fungal Guard's turn to act; this guy just looks like a large mushroom covered in thick green spores, and its two arms, which are somewhat short and thick compared to a human's, wave about to block in front of the Spore Disseminator.

【Guard!】

【Defense +60%】

A very classic protection skill; while increasing its own defense, it can protect back-row teammates from being affected by single-target damage.

After the Fungal Guard finishes using the Guard skill, its defense actually soars directly to 94 points! It is only 6 points away from hitting triple digits.

Truly terrifying, isn't it? 【Current Turn Number: 2】

【Player Yun Mu acts first!】

The skill effect of the Red Oil Candle only takes effect on the first turn of combat, so when combat reaches the second turn, the first person to act is inevitably the one with the highest speed.

This time, Yun Mu does not use the Construct into Reality skill, but instead waves the staff in her hand, summoning a large Blizzard to shroud the tops of the monsters' heads.

【Shattered Snow Glacier!】

【-229!】*3 【-241!】*4 【-290!】*1 【Slow!】

Hiss. Yun Mu glances at her critical hit rate; counting the equipment bonuses, it is a full fifty-three percent.

How did not a single one crit?

Her blood pressure shot right up.

Though, whether it crits or not doesn't really matter.

After all, her damage is very high; the HP bars of the Fungal Guard, the Spore Disseminator, and the Mushroom Parasite have all been emptied, and they have entered the Demonization state.

HP restores to half of its maximum.

As for the skill effect of 【Shattered Snow Glacier】, the 90% freezing effect cannot function at all in a Dungeon where everyone has over 10 points of Tenacity.

This is, of course, not an equipment issue, but rather that this skill itself is not meant for crowd control.

You cannot expect any skill to guarantee high damage and high precision while also having very powerful control effects.

Such a triple-high-attribute skill only exists in dreams.

Besides this, if one possesses some kind of Path or equipment that can enhance control effects... 【Lilia Lucy begins her turn!】

"Miss Yun?"

Lucy's voice pulls Yun Mu, who is currently thinking, back.

"I'm fine." Shaking her head, Yun Mu temporarily casts these thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Lilia, continue using Star Fall, and as for Lucy..." After thinking for a moment, Yun Mu looks at a skill she has never paid much attention to: "Use Alchemy Synthesis."

With Lucy's current level and stats, aside from the 【Constellation Magic: Blade Constellation】 that can be used once per battle, there are no other useful offensive skills.

Using Blood Magic also increases pressure, so it is better to try 【Alchemy Synthesis】; in turn-based combat, the effect of this skill is as follows:

【Alchemy Synthesis: Lucy will randomly synthesize an Alchemy Tool and use it by throwing it or other means.】

The "random" here clearly refers to the phantom teammates used during combat in previous game Dungeons.

Now that they have been replaced by real people, Yun Mu believes that Lucy will decide what kind of Alchemy Tool to use based on her own judgment.

【Star Fall!】

【-17!】

【-0!】

【-87!】 (Critical Hit!) 【Growing Fear!】

【Decay!】

Rubble wreathed in starlight falls from the sky, shockingly dealing a total damage of up to 104 points! Ahem, of course, none of that is important.

The effects of Growing Fear and Decay are the most important things.

At the same time, Lucy, riding on Lilia's back, throws a white, round, pot-shaped object from her arms.

【Sleep Pot!】

【The damage of the Sleep Pot is modified by -100%, and it has an 85% probability of causing the enemy to enter the 【Sleep】 state.】

【The Sleep state will not be reduced by Tenacity and is only related to the enemy's 【Sleep】 resistance.】

【Sleep: The enemy will fall into a deep sleep and skip their current turn. They will wake up immediately after being attacked while asleep, and the damage of that attack will increase by 50%.】 (Three turns) 【Note: Due to the effect of Lucy's trait—【Alchemy Tool Proficiency】, the effect of the Sleep Pot is enhanced!】

Pong!

The Sleep Pot explodes the moment it hits the ground, and the hypnotic gas stored within is released, instantly shrouding the three fungal monsters.

【z~ZZ】

【z~ZZ】

【z~ZZ】

Sleep icons appear above the heads of all three fungal monsters.

"Success!" A joyful smile appears on Lucy's face: "The fungal monsters' sleep resistance is very low; although these fungal monsters are a bit different, it looks like they are also not good at dealing with sleep."

"Well done, Lucy!" Yun Mu's eyes light up, and she praises her.

Originally, she only had a "let's try it" attitude when she let Lucy use the 【Alchemy Synthesis】 skill; she didn't expect the effect to be unexpectedly good.

Sleep not only allows the enemy to skip their turn, but also increases the damage taken from the next attack! No more talk, start the sleep-attack! 【Brenna begins her turn!】

It is Brenna's turn to act; Yun Mu looks in the direction of the Princess and says without hesitation: "Blow them all away, Brenna!"

"I understand!" Brenna, sitting in the cockpit, responds.

【The time for Judgment has arrived!】

【-289!】

【-303！】

【-554！】（Critical Hit! ） The artillery fire poured down, and under the 50% damage bonus while in a sleeping state, the three half-health Fungal Monsters turned into ashes and dissipated one after another.

Only at this moment did the notification of the battle's end appear in Yun Mu's mind.

【You have won the battle—

Your 【Gold Coin】 has increased by 12960! (Pickpocketing +8%)

You have obtained the equipment 【Cystic Fungal Mass (Purple)】】 【Cystic Fungal Mass (Purple)】

【Defense +5】【Corrosion/Poison Resistance +40%】

【Healing Received +5%】

【Passive Skill: Fungal Affinity】

【You quite like the taste of mushrooms, and mushrooms also quite like you. When you consume mushrooms, you will gain different attribute bonuses or effects depending on the type of mushroom consumed.】

【Active Skill: Consume】

【Consume the Cystic Fungal Mass to immediately restore 85% of your lost HP, and restore 5% of your lost HP every turn for the next three turns.】

【After using this skill, there is a 145% probability of falling into the 【Poisoning】 state.】

【Poisoning: Deducts 15 HP per turn, lasting for three turns.】

【Eww~ Where on earth did you find this thing? It is truly... *gag*, too disgusting. However, its effects are not bad. If necessary, remember to just take a small bite; as long as it isn't completely destroyed, this piece of equipment will recover to its original state on its own... Strange, I suddenly feel it's not that hard to accept, and it actually looks quite delicious.】

"Eww~"

Yun Mu picked up the Cystic Fungal Mass that had fallen to the ground with a look of extreme disgust. This thing looked like a mushroom, but also like some kind of flesh, slowly squirming in her hand.

It was also stained with a lot of dirt, and when brought close, one could smell the scent unique to soil.

She would never use this piece of equipment even if it killed her, and neither would Lucy or Brenna! It would be more appropriate to throw it to a recruited Dungeon Leader.

Speaking of which, Yun Mu suddenly noticed something.

That is, after she obtained extra equipment in the game Dungeon, it seemed she was no longer restricted by the limit of only being able to equip five pieces?

In other words, can equipment obtained within the game Dungeon be distributed at will? Thinking this, Yun Mu handed the Cystic Fungal Mass to the Plague Croc.

This guy wasn't picky either; it directly held the fungal mass in its mouth, tucking it under its tongue.

It seemed this would not affect its movement or combat.

Seeing this scene only made Yun Mu more determined not to use the Cystic Fungal Mass.

Besides the Cystic Fungal Mass, there were a full 12,000-plus Gold Coins among the spoils of this battle! One can only say it is worthy of being a Master-level Dungeon; the harvest was even more than double that of the Plague Capital's Leader, the Plague Croc! But thinking about it, the Plague Croc's level was actually nearly half that of this Dungeon.

It was normal for it to give so many Gold Coins. Yun Mu and Lucy were familiar with absorbing the battle memories appearing in their minds, while Brenna, who was entering a game Dungeon for the first time, was very surprised.

Non-existent memories had increased! Even though she hadn't experienced that battle, the memories had appeared, and with them came the insights and experience after the battle ended.

"I finally know why Miss Yun improves so quickly," Brenna said with emotion, looking at Yun Mu.

At the same time, in the world of the game Dungeon.

The Dwarfs who had wiped out all the Fungal Monsters breathed a sigh of relief, and the figure holding a War Hammer among them came before Yun Mu and the others.

"Your strength and experience are surprising. Although they were just a group of Fungal Monsters, after being affected by that Gate, these already troublesome guys became even more difficult to deal with."

He sighed slightly when he said this: "Although we only just set out, we need to rest here for a dozen minutes or so... Many Dwarfs' weapons have had their edges rolled; damn Fungal Monsters."

"I understand, it's only a dozen minutes, no problem," Yun Mu nodded in response.

In those 'non-existent memories', she had also seen the Dwarfs fighting hard against the Fungal Monsters; these guys' strength was also not to be underestimated, each one a Master-level expert.

She didn't know if it was the increase in Dungeon level that promoted these guys to Master-level, or if the Dwarfs in the real world were just this powerful.

Yun Mu was clearly more inclined toward the former; after all, if the Dwarf Empire in reality were truly this powerful, with everyone being a Master, the Frost Kingdom fifty years ago wouldn't have been able to take any advantage.

"Phew, thank you for your understanding," the Dwarf holding the War Hammer laughed heartily after hearing Yun Mu's words.

【Dwarf Trust +20, current Trust is: 35 (Friendly)】 The strength of those Fungal Monsters wasn't any trouble, they were just pure meat; the trait of Skin Hardening would be enough to disgust the Dwarfs who liked melee combat to death in the real world.

Moreover, the Fungal Monsters' bodies weren't just hard; their resilience was also quite outstanding, causing the Dwarfs to have no feel for their strikes at all, which was more uncomfortable than eating shit.

"Hm?" Just then, Yun Mu suddenly noticed something strange; she discovered that the surrounding Dwarfs seemed to be collecting parts from the corpses of the dead Fungal Monsters.

"What are you doing?" she asked the Dwarf in front of her with some curiosity.

"Collecting food," the other party replied succinctly: "There isn't much food underground, and although these Fungal Monsters look disgusting, they are actually edible."

"Weren't they affected by the Gate?" Yun Mu swallowed subconsciously: "Won't there be trouble if you eat them?"

"As long as they are boiled until soft with high heat, it's fine..." After a pause, the Dwarf continued: "The food we carry is sufficient; these are just to guard against potential unexpected situations."

"I see," Yun Mu nodded.

However, at this moment, she suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, do you know what's going on with this suit of armor?" she asked, pointing to the armor parasitized by mushrooms, which didn't look like something a Dwarf could wear.

"This armor?" The Dwarf holding the War Hammer crouched down close to the armor and touched it with his hand: "The texture of this armor is very good; the forger must be a skilled craftsman. As for the reason it appeared here..."

"It should have been left behind voluntarily by the previous group that entered the Fungal Path, otherwise there's no reason for there to be no human corpse inside the armor."

"I see."

The two chatted, and the dozen minutes passed quickly.

The Dwarfs, having finished their reorganization, immediately set off and continued to advance along the narrow Fungal Path.

After walking for about five or six minutes, a familiar fork in the road suddenly appeared before Yun Mu's eyes.

Everything around her stalled at this moment. She looked at the Dwarfs, as well as Lucy and Brenna, and found that they were all maintaining their previous actions as if time had paused.

【Battle Area lv62 (Master)】

【Po Jiu Shen Xiang (Event)】

The figures of several monsters appeared on the path to the left. Yun Mu looked closely; although she couldn't see the full picture, she could roughly infer that they were two Fungal Monster Guards and one Spore Disseminator. As for the last one, it should be a new monster she hadn't seen before.

It looked relatively tall and sturdy, and its body seemed to be covered in hair.

And on the path to the right, a Stone statue that looked like it hadn't been tended to for a long time stood there, as if waiting for someone to offer sacrifices or kneel in worship.

"Hmm, which side should I choose?"

Yun Mu was very conflicted.

The path on the left was a Battle Area, which would undoubtedly yield fairly generous spoils.

The path on the right, however, was completely unknown; that said, there was also a probability of obtaining rewards far exceeding those of a Battle Area.

It really was a dilemma.

After hesitating for a moment, she still chose the right side, the direction where the statue was located.

And after she made her choice, the path on the left quickly disappeared, and the flow of time within the Dungeon returned to normal.

"Strange, when did a statue appear in the Fungal Path?" The Dwarf leading the team muttered in confusion after seeing the Po Jiu Shen Xiang in the distance.

However, he only felt puzzled; after all, he was not familiar with the Fungal Path, and the map he had bought was a product from several years ago.

So, it seemed not entirely incomprehensible that an extra statue had appeared here.

(End of this chapter)