Chapter 35: 35 Level 50, New Skill

Magic missiles exploded in the swamp, sending up a skyful of black mud and half-rotten bark fragments.

After several months, fierce artillery fire descended upon the swamp area once more.

But this time, there were only two orcs as enemies.

Realizing they were surrounded, Inigo and Milo's beast eyes simultaneously locked onto the forest direction.

If they could break out of the swamp area, even if enemies remained further out, they could escape using the forest's complex terrain.

Of course, the premise was that they had to be able to break out of the swamp zone.

Neither had any intention of fighting; the Pujis were simply too numerous.

So many that even if they stood still and let them chop, they could exhaust the two of them to death.

Only by breaking through before the encirclement closed could there be a sliver of hope for survival.

While sprinting, several mushroom shells broke through the air, plummeting toward their positions.

【Acceleration LV6】

【Flash Step LV7】

Both used their respective skills to dodge the attacks, but this was merely the overture.

Near-saturated firepower coverage made the entire swamp boil; the two exerted their full strength to leap and maneuver through the mud, managing only to avoid being directly hit.

As for the shockwaves from the explosions, they could only endure them.

Inigo, feeling his skin was thicker and flesh tougher, charged even more fiercely and wildly.

Seeing they were nearing the edge of the encirclement, dozens of scattered Pujis stood before them.

Inigo raised his long blade high and, in a single charge, flashed behind a Puji, sending that Puji's upper half flying into the air.

Agile footwork and the orcs' exceptional combat intuition allowed Inigo to always find gaps precisely within the killing formation, breaking outward along the way.

Almost at the edge!

Facing them, several Pujis rolled into balls and simultaneously charged at Inigo.

This scene almost made the tiger-man laugh.

He indeed dared not take those magic missiles head-on, but could something as soft and limp as a Puji engage him in close combat?

With his horizontal blade clashing against theirs, he could in an instant...

Amidst a string of self-detonation sounds, the tiger-man burst out, his body covered in scorch marks.

At the very last moment, instinct in his heart triggered a flight response, but it was slightly too late.

Everything below Inigo's left knee vanished without a trace.

By now, he had collapsed onto the ground and could no longer stand.

Meanwhile, the Pujis aimed their mushroom shells at him from a distance.

"The Fifth Layer... cough... cough... I'm going to be laughed to death; this is worse than hanging in the Mist."

In the final moment, he turned his gaze toward Milo's direction.

He saw that figure blown into the air.

The posture of being thrown was too comical; Inigo couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pfft!"

Bang—

————

Having finally dealt with the two adventurers who came to his door causing trouble, Lin Jun was about to tally up the losses.

Suddenly, a piece of information he had been longing for appeared in his mind.

【Level Up LV49→LV50】

【New Selectable Race Skill +】

Finally!

Finally reached level 50!

Leveling up was truly too hard; he had already been LV48 when he first arrived at the Fifth Layer.

First, he nearly ate all the Fifth Layer monsters, then relied on mycelium spread throughout the entire layer to gather for several months.

Finally, at this moment, he completed the finishing touch!

He was so moved he almost cried.

According to Lin Jun's experience, skills granted every 10 levels were always skills that perfectly suited his own race.

Something like the Mushroom Shell, for instance, was clearly tailor-made for the mushroom race and more useful than most randomly snatched skills.

Quickly, let's see what skills can be chosen.

【Selectable Skills:

Long-Range Propagation (Greatly increases spore dispersal distance; enables ultra-long-range propagation)

Mycelium Reorganization (Regardless of individual life or death, can automatically repair using mycelium as the unit)

Delicious (Unparalleled taste)】

Is this "Delicious" serious?

Aspiring to become the most delicious ingredient in another world?

Come to think of it, the option "Juicy" appeared before as well.

So does the mushroom race really have an upgrade path to becoming a super ingredient?

That's just too absurd.

Excluding "Delicious," the first option, "Long-Range Propagation," held little significance for Lin Jun either.

If the mycelium does not connect into a single network, Lin Jun's will cannot transmit, and he cannot manage it.

Just like that mushroom garden in the Deep Zone; once he moved far away, he could no longer sense it at all.

It seemed there was no room for choice.

【Skill Acquired: Mycelium Reorganization LV1】

Soon, a test Pujji was rapidly matured in the Swamp Zone.

A small knife, held by a tentacle, stabbed into the Pujji's body.

The Pujji, with a mere 10 HP, died on the spot.

After waiting a long while, the Pujji seemed to show no reaction.

However, Lin Jun, who had been watching closely, saw clearly that the skill indeed had an effect.

The intact mycelium surrounding the wound slowly gathered mana, splitting new mycelium to replace the severed parts.

It was just that this process was very slow.

It took a long time before the Pujji stood up again.

【HP: 1/10】

At this moment, the wound had not fully healed, but the Pujji had already regained its mobility.

Lin Jun struck again with his knife, this time slicing the Pujji directly in half.

Then,

the Pujji truly died...

After several more trials, Lin Jun finally figured it out.

The Pujji's integrity must be above 80% for repair to be possible, and the greater the damage, the slower the repair.

Things like being cut in half, smashed flat, burned, or frozen to death could not be recovered from.

At the same time, since new mycelium must be generated to fill the wound, it consumes mana from the surrounding environment.

If the Pujji itself possessed a skill like 【Mana Storage】, the repair speed could increase by more than half.

All in all, it was not as useful as Lin Jun had thought; he had assumed it could be like a Slime, where even if only a small lump remained, adding some mana would allow it to grow back.

It might also be because it was only LV1.

However, even at only LV1, it seemed there were places where it could be put to use.

————

At the bottom of the Cave Zone, where the Old Bat's den was located.

A Hallucinogenic Pujji swaggered out of the passage.

Just as before, it was instantly killed by infrasound the moment it showed its head.

The Pujji, with several tiny wounds bursting internally, collapsed right where it stood, lying among its predecessors who had already rotted around it.

After dealing with it, the Old Bat lost interest.

These mushrooms were all poisonous and inedible; with them coming constantly, it only felt annoyed.

It just didn't know that the mycelium inside this Pujji was slowly repairing itself.

After a long time, the Pujji jumped up again.

The Old Bat, which had been sleeping with its eyes closed, instantly woke up at the sound and killed the Pujji again as it had only just run two steps.

This time, the Old Bat looked at the Pujji a couple more times, but still couldn't figure out what was going on.

When the Pujji stood up once more, the Old Bat finally lost its composure.

It stomped the Pujji to pieces with one claw.

This time, it would not regenerate, but the violent destruction directly caused the hallucinogenic spores on the Pujji to explode outward.

The Old Bat was too close; even after frantically flapping its wings and retreating, it still inhaled a bit of the spores.

Fortunately, it wasn't much; the Old Bat was only slightly uncomfortable and returned to normal after hanging upside down to rest for a short while.

It was just that an ominous feeling lingered in its heart.

It certainly should feel ominous.

On Lin Jun's side, now that it was confirmed to be useful, a new batch of 100 Pujjis specially made for the Old Bat had already entered the production sequence.

Once this unit landed, those three S-Rank Magic Crystals would be in Lin Jun's grasp!

(End of Chapter)