Chapter 3: The Duke

"You, say that again."

Duke Amara's knuckles turned white, the redwood armrest of the main seat groaning under unbearable strain.

The butler Eric's nape dripped with cold sweat, yet he enunciated every syllable clearly.

"After Pero and Oakes deceived the Young Lady under your name, they first went to the Purple Crystal Underground City, then crossed the border and fled into the Hermit Empire—by direction, they appear to have sought refuge with Duke Sigmond."

"Damned traitors! Damned vampires!" The solid wood armrest shattered in his grip, blood-red flames churning in the Duke's pupils, "Inanna is still alive, the tracking mark remains, the vengeance sigil hasn't transferred—I must go save her."

"My Lord!"

Seeing the Duke reach for his greatsword and prepare to rush off recklessly to rescue his daughter, Eric could only shout aloud.

"The moment you leave, Sigmond will march the Blood Knights straight to crush Highcastle Fortress."

Lose Highcastle, and there will be no more natural defenses—your duchy won't be the only one in danger, but the entire Southern Federation."

"So you want me to watch Inanna die?"

The blue stone tiles beneath Amara cracked open, spiderweb fractures spreading rapidly; the aura of a Level 70 human apex warrior crushed Eric into a single-knee kneeling position.

"The Diamond-rank adventuring team 'Silver Thorn' is active nearby—we can privately hire them to search the Purple Crystal Underground City for the Young Lady."

"Meanwhile, you feign departure from Highcastle Fortress to lure Sigmond in, then strike him a crushing blow to avenge the treachery."

After spitting out the entire plan, Eric nearly collapsed onto the floor.

The pressure on Eric gradually lifted; Amara sat back in his chair, reached out, and condensed the coordinates tracking Inanna into a crystal, handing it to the butler.

"Do as you say—tell those adventurers to bring Inanna back alive, and I'll give them a city!"

"But if my daughter suffers even a hair's breadth of harm..."

"Yes, my Lord."

————

Deep within the underground city, in the mushroom garden.

Inanna, still unaware that her father had begun sending people to search for her, stood at the edge of the breeding zone, watching the scene before her with faint horror.

Beside the deep pit housing slime, a hollow-bodied Pukki, filled to the brim with ordinary mushrooms, was being used to feed the slimes.

As it tipped the mushrooms in, the slime leapt, clinging to its foot and dragging the Pukki down.

The next instant, the slimes in the pit surged forward, completely enveloping the Pukki.

The engulfed Pukki still struggled, as if there might still be hope.

"Lin Jun, Lin Jun, your slime is eating a Pukki!"

Lin Jun, busy at work, glanced over briefly at the call.

"I know—I'll send a new Pukki over. I've told you before, the breeding zone is dangerous—stay away from there."

Inanna wanted to say she didn't mean that—but seeing the Pukki inside the slime now motionless, already being broken down, she swallowed her words.

The underground world is truly cruel.

————

The underground world truly is cruel.

To survive in this cruel place, Lin Jun had no time to rest.

Pukkis themselves possessed at most the intelligence to autonomously navigate after receiving orders.

Whether breeding or mining, Lin Jun had to micro-manage every detail—let alone the mushroom garden's borders, which were periodically harassed by various demonic creatures.

Even with Level 5 Mental Integration, Lin Jun struggled to manage it all.

The fact that he could spare any attention to guide Inanna through the environment was already rare.

Though he showed no sign, Lin Jun was genuinely pleased to have a being he could communicate with.

At least now he wouldn't need to talk to himself just to keep his language skills from decaying.

But after that, he had no time to attend to her—she could only wander on her own.

Lin Jun needed to focus on the mushroom garden's border, where the Fire Mosquitoes had returned in swarms again.

These flying insects, shaped like mosquitoes but slightly larger than Pukkis, averaged Level 20.

They were far from the strongest demons here, but unquestionably the most annoying.

They could fly, were agile, moved in swarms, and whenever they saw an opportunity, would pierce lone Pukkis with their needle-like mouths—Lin Jun's greatest enemy during his early development.

Fortunately, Lin Jun already had a mature countermeasure.

Facing the swarms of approaching Fire Mosquitoes, several Pukkis had their caps replaced with nozzles, forcefully ejecting clouds of slime mucus.

This mucus was highly adhesive and corrosive—once the Fire Mosquitoes touched it, they could no longer fly and were forced to the ground.

Meanwhile, vast patches of purple mushrooms on the ground released hallucinogenic spores, paralyzing the grounded Fire Mosquitoes.

Soon, after losing seven companions, the remaining Fire Mosquitoes fled without looking back.

But Lin Jun knew these creatures never learned—they'd return next time.

Pukkis with armored heads methodically finished off the unconscious Fire Mosquitoes; their corpses were then tossed into the mushroom garden to become fresh fertilizer.

【The Sin of Greed Triggered】

【Loot Skill: High-Temperature Resistance LV5 → LV6】

Upgraded?

Good, good—once High-Temperature Resistance climbs higher, I can try smuggling past the Fire Demon's lair and see what's above.

Open the panel.

【Race: Mushroom - Fungus Lord】

【Level LV42】

【HP: 420/420】

【Mana: 8045/12450】

【Race Talent:

Magic Collection (Mycelium continuously absorbs magic from the environment to provide experience)

Scavenger (Breaks down corpses to gain nutrients and experience)】

【Fixed Status: Connected to Mycelial Network】

【Skills: Pukki Creation LV5, Magic Storage LV4, Magic Perception LV4, Entanglement LV3, Mushroom Cannon LV6, Precision LV4, Camouflage LV2, Storage Sac LV4, Mycelial Network LV6, Familiar Manipulation LV6, Mental Integration LV5, Airflow Perception LV6, High-Temperature Resistance LV6, Evasion LV6, Peck LV7, Hallucinogenic Spores LV4, Chitinous Shell LV4, Digestive Mucus LV3, Rolling Charge LV5】

【Titles:

Greed of the Seven Sins (Unique Title): Randomly steals a skill or permanent buff from a corpse

Insect Slayer: +10% damage against insects

Hero: Unrestricted by race level; may randomly draw one special title or skill (already used)】

Lin Jun's panel had no attributes at all—he was nothing but an ordinary-looking mushroom.

Only 420 HP at level 42 was what a mushroom should have; 3,000+ HP like Inanna's was absurd.

As for Lin Jun's abnormally high magic pool, it actually included the entire mushroom garden.

The most absurd thing on his panel was the Hero title—he himself thought it was ridiculous.

How could a mushroom have such a title?

Lin Jun had never seen his summoner; he didn't know if the summoner was a mad archmage or a sadistic deity.

But one thing was certain—the summoner's mind was definitely not normal.

Would anyone seriously summon a mushroom Hero?

Yet thanks to this title, Lin Jun used the Hero's privilege to draw Greed, then used Greed to constantly steal skills from subterranean monsters, finally arming his Pukkis with those skills.

From being chased by slimes for a meal at first, to now claiming territory in the layer's corner to farm, every step was filled with heartache and tears.

It was hard to imagine what would've happened if he hadn't drawn Greed—he'd most likely already become feces.

So why summon a mushroom at all?

This question had nearly become his obsession, second only to climbing to the surface.

…

After dealing with the fire mosquitoes, Lin Jun finally had time to see what the new little one was doing.

Ah… stealing the dug-up purple crystals…

(End of Chapter)