Chapter 139: 137 Some Resources Previously Unnoticed

A pinch of powder ground from low-grade magic crystals;

A small cup of slime liquid that, after processing, retained only its stickiness;

Graywood bark from the second floor;

Plus a precious material from the eighth floor—firefly grass.

One Pujie crushed and mixed these materials, finally forming a purple paste.

Lying on the ground was another dead Pujie; its body had been slit open, revealing within its hollow interior the prototype array Lin Jun had molded.

He spread the paste evenly inside, waited for it to solidify, then sealed the slit shut.

Under the effect of 【Mycelium Reorganization Lv4】, the dead Pujie on the ground was revived shortly after.

He controlled the Pujie to inject mana into the array within its body.

After a brief flicker, the Pujie successfully emitted an orange-yellow glow.

A Light-Spell Pujie was complete!

The biggest reason Lin Jun's initial experiments failed was the lack of these auxiliary materials; relying solely on mycelium to conduct and bind mana was too forced.

After reading that book on basic arrays, following the steps within, and adding a small modification suited to the Pujie, a Pujie capable of rapidly casting a fixed spell was born.

Honestly, it was quite troublesome.

This was merely the lowest-grade Light Spell; not only was its structure simple, but the materials required were also minimal.

As for high-grade arrays, Lin Jun possessed no relevant books, yet he could guess some aspects just by imagining them.

Complex array structures might require a Fat Pujie to house them, and the materials needed would become various high-grade goods.

In summary, the cost was somewhat high.

Lin Jun's original idea was to mold an array structure casually to cast spells, but in the end, it was no different from ordinary arrays, requiring various auxiliary materials.

The only advantage was that Lin Jun's array could move along with the Pujie.

By comparison, directly using skills was still more cost-effective.

Just like a Pujie engraved with a Fireball Spell would likely be less cheap and effective than two 【Mushroom Cannon Lv8】 turret Pujies.

Of course, this didn't mean magic and arrays held no value; some special spells could not be replaced by skills.

The most typical example was teleportation, a type of magic involving space.

At least, Lin Jun had never heard of any skill capable of achieving a teleportation effect up to now.

Therefore, arrays and magic still needed research, serving to supplement certain weaknesses in his own skill system.

But magic was fine; a few disposable magic Pujies, a few magic crystals, and some negligible mana consumption.

Combined with those dozen-plus books on various schools of magic, Lin Jun could gradually familiarize himself with various spells and hone his casting ability.

But what about arrays?

The materials required were a major problem; while the materials for the Light Spell could be gathered in the Amethyst Dungeon, others were not so certain.

Moreover, Lin Jun possessed only one book on arrays.

From this, one could see that among humans, arrays were either a niche choice, or those who studied them simply did not come to become adventurers.

Lin Jun thought for a moment and felt he still had to approach this from two aspects.

For materials already present in the Amethyst Dungeon, he should collect an appropriate amount.

Types easy to store, such as ores, teeth, and bark, should be stockpiled a bit.

For those difficult to store, such as certain plant materials that died quickly after being picked, he would see if he could transplant some to hidden places for convenient access when needed.

Not too many; after all, it was only for his own array practice, and he couldn't possibly exhaust all the dungeon's materials.

The more difficult part was the materials not found in the Amethyst Dungeon, as well as more profound knowledge books.

It seemed he could only disguise himself and trade with humans to acquire them; money was not lacking, but Dylan was not currently by his side...

Noris was out of the question; not only had he not yet been equipped with 【Mimicry】, but even if he had, Lin Jun would not feel comfortable letting him handle such a task.

This unlucky fellow's past life experience consisted of being bullied, mining, and repaying debts; sending him to do this, being treated as a fool and fleeced would likely be the best-case scenario.

In Lin Jun's view, causing a real mess was a high-probability event.

Actually, there was another method: let the Huang Pishu charm a person, have them procure everything, and then bring it back to the dungeon.

The drawback of this method was also obvious; after all, he was a useless person.

Charm did not erase memory; once the charm was lifted, that person would naturally spread the news that they had been controlled by a book, bringing trouble. In other words, to avoid subsequent trouble, Lin Jun would have to dispose of a person every time he used it.

Some secret cult plot...

After thinking it over, Lin Jun decided against it; the existing materials in the Amethyst Dungeon would have to suffice for now.

—

Inside the cave, Noris walked into a secluded tunnel.

"Hmm... seems like... here?"

Following the mycelial network's sensation, Noris fumbled his way to a stone wall and whispered the password:

"Pujie, open the door!"

The stone wall slowly opened a slit.

This stone wall was a Pujie disguised with rock armor and mimicry; looking closely, one could even see the Pujie tentacles acting as the rotating door mechanism.

Behind the mimicry door was a long, sloping passage leading to some happy little house.

Noris had come this time to retrieve the Huang Pishu.

The rough, unpolished uphill path; finally, after climbing up, Noris couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh.

Immediately, he sensed the presence of numerous Pujies around him, but looking out, there was clearly only an altar and a few Shi Zhu...

【Junior! You finally came to pick me up!】

【I thought I'd be locked up here for months again.】

"I've prepared several stories; let's hurry out."

Seeing Norris, the Holy Scripture felt as if it had met a relative and couldn't wait to leave this place.

These Pujis, usually motionless while guarding it, were about to drive it mad with boredom.

Norris nodded, cradling the Yellow-Book in his arms; he had applied to the Boss beforehand for this trip.

Clang-clang-clang—

After exiting the hidden passage, Norris heard the sound of mining echoing along the return path.

Norris felt a bit strange; precisely because no adventurers were mining in the cave at this moment had the Boss agreed to let him take the Yellow-Book away, so why was there mining noise now?

Glancing back at the hidden door, now completely closed and leaving not a single trace, Norris also relaxed.

If no one had directly seen the hidden passage, there should be no problem.

Stepping out, Norris saw a tall woman holding a pickaxe, and the other party noticed Norris as well.

Norris suddenly remembered; the Boss had mentioned a vampire captive on leave mining here.

Although he didn't know how "on leave" and "mining" combined, was the one before his eyes a vampire?

Instinctively, Norris took a step back.

Where had he ever seen a real vampire? Wasn't every story he'd heard about vampires bloody and terrifying?

Plus, this vampire woman was nearly two meters tall, a full head taller than him.

Norris truly felt the sense of oppression.

"Go, go, go, ignore this guy."

Seeing Norris stop in place, the Yellow-Book impatiently urged him on.

The Yellow-Book didn't like this demon race at all, which had nearly caused it to be implicated.

That time, it had clearly perceived the cluster consciousness of that mushroom; at that moment, it truly intended to wipe it out.

If it hadn't remained calm in danger and used its eloquent tongue to prove its worth, not a single page might have remained of it now.

Urged by the Yellow-Book, Norris, holding the book, went around to the other side of the tunnel and walked past cautiously.

Seeing that the vampire seemed to have no further reaction, he quickly ran out.

Meanwhile, Louisa kept staring at the Holy Scripture long after Norris disappeared from sight.

Lin Jun received Louisa's private message within the Fungal Network.

"Lord Pujis, I pledge my loyalty to you!

I am willing to trade important intelligence for my freedom!"

In the mine, Louisa knelt on one knee before the rock wall sprouting sparse fungal threads and proposed a deal.

What the hell, Lord Pujis!

Although he felt he could obtain this so-called intelligence through interrogation or charm, Lin Jun still gave her a chance.

"Tell me."

"The Holy Scripture is very dangerous!"

Good lord, playing Werewolf here!

(End of this chapter)