Chapter 38: 38 Why Would You Happen to Pass By My House?

Pupu—

Pupu—

On the spiral corridor, seven Pujis were hopping up step by step.

These stairs, tailored for humans, were far too high for the short-legged Pujis, who were only half a human's height, forcing them to advance one square at a time with little hops.

These were the Pujis Lin Jun had sent down to the first floor.

Thanks to the Moonshadow Stone left behind by a kind-hearted adventurer—a strange ore that changed color every half day.

It allowed Lin Jun to keep track of the days even within the dungeon.

After Dylan failed to return for seven consecutive days, and even the adventurers gradually vanished, Lin Jun clearly realized: something big had happened!

Could it be that the dungeon's usage period had expired and it was about to be demolished?

Regardless, Lin Jun naturally could not sit idly by.

To investigate, besides the large squad of Pujis sent earlier to the lower levels to scout the source of the mana fluctuations, Lin Jun also added a team heading upward.

Given that the monsters on the first four floors were of lower levels, this group of Pujis was not numerous, only seven of them.

As expected, although the monsters appeared restless and looked as if they wanted to take a bite out of the Pujis upon seeing them.

One shot of the Mushroom Cannon, and the corpses lay still.

Relying on the guidebook long ago obtained from Dylan, the squad reached the first floor in just one day.

Half of that time was spent climbing the stairs.

Come to think of it, although the terrain and ecology of each floor were vastly different, the stairs connecting the floors were all cast from the same mold.

Lin Jun strongly suspected the builders had been lazy and simply copy-pasted them.

When the Pujis finally arrived at the first floor, Lin Jun felt a little excitement in his heart.

This was the closest he had ever been to the outside world; previously, to avoid drawing attention, Lin Jun had tried his best not to send Pujis to other floors.

The first floor was a corridor maze, just as Dylan had described.

The architectural style was ancient bluestone brick, looking quite similar to the eighth floor at first glance.

However, unlike the hell-level difficulty maze of the eighth floor, the first-floor maze had no teleportation arrays, no traps, and did not even stack monsters.

The monsters were sparsely distributed and weak in combat power; even a novice just out of the cradle could handle them with ease.

Although the corridor structure itself was confusing, this challenge had long been completely neutralized by the detailed guidebook strategy.

Several Pujis walked directly toward the dungeon gate along the shortest route; he wanted to see for himself what was going on today.

Pupu—

Hmm?

A familiar sound came from the corner ahead; soon, a familiar figure emerged—

A wild Puj!

Opening the panel, Level LV1, five attributes of 1, with no skills at all except the innate talent of spreading spores.

Its sole purpose for existence was to scatter spores when eaten by other monsters.

It was a truly, genuinely pure natural Puj.

In comparison, Lin Jun's Pujis, carrying four or five high-level skills, were what one might call tyrants among mushrooms.

The wild Puj seemed completely unaware of the several of its own kind, wandering aimlessly along the corridor on its own.

Lin Jun's Puj gently swayed its mushroom cap, and a few spores stuck to the wild Puj.

A new member instantly appeared in the Mycelial Network.

Stop!

Retracting the little leg that had just stepped forward, this Puj obediently accepted Lin Jun's command, just like the seven beside it.

Lin Jun's hypothesis was verified; low-level monsters like Pujis, which possessed no self-awareness and only instincts, were far too easy to control.

Even if they were not produced by him, as long as they connected to the Mycelial Network, they could be easily controlled.

Though it didn't mean much, anyway.

Leading this Puj, the squad arrived near the gate.

When approaching the end, it was as if they had entered a completely different area; the difference was so great one might as well say they had changed floors.

Eight pure black Shi Zhu stood in the hall, each pillar body engraved with dark golden geometric patterns.

Faintly visible atop the pillars were some metal components connecting the eight pillars into a ring; sixteen chains extended from the ring structure toward the center, finally all connecting to a floating, non-corporeal circular magic array in the middle.

In the field of vision of mana perception, this array flickered on and off, like a broken lightbulb in a toilet from his past life.

Beyond this hall, further ahead lay the dungeon gate.

Lin Jun did not send all the Pujis; instead, he singled out that wild Puj to scout the way.

When the Puj reached the gate, it saw the ground covered in traps and barricades.

The twelve-meter-wide gate was stubbornly blocked, leaving only a horizontal slit.

Through the slit, Lin Jun saw several pairs of eyes filled with terror, and a crossbow aimed at the Puj.

Whoosh—

The poor wild Puj was shot through, flew three meters, died instantly, and exploded into a ground covered in spores.

However, Lin Jun noticed these spores quickly lost their vitality, seemingly affected by the special influence of this hall.

Now it was confirmed that humans had blocked the gate.

Why was still unknown, but just now, as he approached, he discovered a Mycelial Network signal outside the gate.

The seven Pujis moved along the wall corner, through the blind spots of vision, to the wall near the gate.

Only then did Lin Jun finally connect with the other side.

"Dylan?"

"Boss! You actually made it to the First Floor! Does that mean you're here to break through the dungeon too?"

For a moment, Dylan fell into deep inner turmoil, torn between standing with humanity or with the mushrooms...

"What is all this nonsense? Stop wasting time and tell me quickly why humans have sealed the dungeon's main gate!"

"Ah? Oh, oh!"

Realizing he had misunderstood Dylan, Lin Jun sighed in relief and immediately recounted all the intelligence regarding the Demon Tide Period to him in full detail.

This left Lin Jun utterly stunned.

The monsters are going to charge out in a mass?

And among them are even monsters from the Deep Zones?

So, before those monsters reach the First Floor, wouldn't they have to pass through my Fifth Floor first?

What kind of situation is this!

Dylan also mentioned that the Adventurer's Guild had hired almost all idle adventurers to take turns guarding the gate.

The need for such a high state of alert completely demonstrates the scale and strength of the monsters in the Demon Tide Period.

Can my Pujis even hold them off?

Judging by the situation outside the gate, it's impossible for me to hide outside the dungeon now.

But then again, I count as a monster too; if the monsters prioritize charging the main gate rather than fighting each other during the Demon Tide Period, it seems I don't need to worry too much.

Regardless, at least now I know what's going on.

He told Dylan not to get involved in the Demon Tide Period, as his disguise might be exposed if a fight broke out.

Lin Jun himself also needed to return and prepare properly.

The team of Pujis exploring downward was currently entangled with monsters on the Seventh Floor, so Lin Jun ordered them to retreat as well.

Before the Demon Tide arrives, I must make as many preparations as possible; the Pujis also need to be pushed beyond their limits to spawn a batch.

The only thing that comforted Lin Jun was that in the secret space within the Swamp Zone, he had successfully embedded two S-Rank Monster Cores onto his mount.

As for the third one, it wouldn't fit due to size constraints, so it could only be saved for other uses.

Although, since it wasn't created by his own skill but inherited from the Old Bat, the buff effect was discounted.

Still, two S-Rank Monster Cores boosting skill power by 200% was more than enough to be gratifying.

It was also time to formally name it; let's call it... Knight!

(End of Chapter)