Chapter 5: 5 Magic

"You… how do you have such a high-quality magic crystal?"

"Do you have any idea how long I've been here…?"

Lin Jun wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been in this world—the dungeon's depths had no day or night, no seasons—but he felt it must have been at least two or three years.

Even if you counted only from when he started the mushroom garden, that was already a long time; this entire rock face was his personal mine, and after years of mining, he naturally accumulated some high-quality magic crystals.

But Lin Jun collected them not because he knew their value—he simply preferred the clean purple crystals; they looked better arranged around his body, drawing in magic and serving as decoration.

"Can you cast other spells faster using this?"

"You're giving this to me? Really?"

Even though he wasn't yet familiar with Inanna, Lin Jun could tell she genuinely loved magic crystals—or anything related to magic.

"Of course. I'd like to see more spells too. By the way, Inanna, I haven't asked you—what spells can you cast?"

Lin Jun could see from his panel that she had 【Light Magic LV4】, but that only meant her highest-level Light Magic was fourth-tier—he had no idea which specific spells she knew.

Each magic school had countless spells of varying tiers, and many spells had numerous variants—for example, the Life Transformation spell could be subdivided into turning into an eagle, a dog, a Pukiji…

Inanna stood still for a moment, as if recalling the spells she knew.

Lin Jun imagined that if she were still in human form, she'd now be counting them off one by one on her fingers.

"Let's see… Water Serpent, Water Mirror Refraction, Ice Blade, Purification, Healing Light, Invisibility, Illumination, Water Creation, Energy Shield, Mud Pit…咕… that's all."

That's quite a few.

"Try casting Mud Pit on this Pukiji."

One Pukiji, which had been smashing rocks with its shell-cap, was moved by Lin Jun to the open space where another had previously exploded; meanwhile, a tentacle emerged from beneath the mushroom and tied the A-rank magic crystal to the cap.

"Be careful not to snap it again—this is the last one left."

"I'll be careful."

Magic surged from Inanna into the crystal—unlike last time, as soon as the spell began, magic from all around rushed toward her; the A-rank crystal above her head became a tiny vortex devouring magic.

No wonder it could be used as a staff—after such massive magical reinforcement, any spell's power would surely double.

"It's released!"

The mining Pukiji sank slightly; the once-solid ground turned into sludge. The Pukiji tried to lift its foot but was stuck fast in place.

Actually, Mud Pit should only slow movement—even with A-rank crystal enhancement, the effect should primarily expand in area.

The Pukiji couldn't escape simply because its shell was too heavy and its own strength too weak—it was pinned down by its own weight.

"Try Ice Blade on it next."

"Huh? Are you sure? It might…"

"It's fine. Cast it."

It's just a Pukiji—dead or alive in the mushroom garden, it just becomes fertilizer and recycles. The loss is negligible.

"Then I'll cast it."

Soon, an Ice Blade formed before Inanna—and this time, even she was startled.

Unlike Mud Pit, the enhanced Ice Blade showed a dramatic change: the blade, originally less than a meter long, now stretched over two meters.

The deep frost radiating from it also made Inanna clearly sense its power had greatly increased.

"Go!"

The blade struck the shell—there was a sharp crack, then it sliced through, stopping only after cutting three-quarters of the way in.

Even Lin Jun thought this power impressive—remember, that was a LV4 chitinous shell; even his own LV6 mushroom cannon needed two hits to break through, yet this same-tier Ice Blade had cut through most of it in one strike.

He didn't know whether it was the spell itself that was powerful, or the A-rank crystal's enhancement—or perhaps both.

Magic is truly powerful—if I could use spells, my early days wouldn't have been so painful.

But it's not too late now—I may not know any spells yet, but I have someone who can cast them. I can start trying to implement some plans to reach the upper levels.

Of course, I'm not talking about killing the Flame Demon guarding the passage—that creature Lin Jun had glimpsed through the sacrificed scout Pukiji; although its level gap was too vast for his panel to display any details, even its LV64 ultra-high level clearly placed it far beyond his current capabilities.

But who said you have to go up through the passage?

"Inanna, do you want this magic crystal?"

"You're giving it to me?"

Huh?

Is this mushroom being so nice to me some kind of trap?

Inanna, having just experienced betrayal, was now extremely cautious—especially toward Lin Jun, a monster whose true form was unknown.

"Of course not for free—help me hunt down some monsters, and it's yours."

"Okay!"

Hearing there was a condition, Inanna felt relieved—she truly wanted this crystal, but if Lin Jun had simply given it to her, she wouldn't have dared accept it.

But monsters?

Come to think of it, this was the deep dungeon—the mushroom garden was full of strange things, and she'd almost forgotten that.

But a mushroom… hunting monsters?

How? With Pukiji?

"So… what kind of monster are we hunting?"

"Earthworm. You know it?"

Earthworm?

That sounds familiar… where had she heard it before?

Ah, she remembered…

"Sorry, is the Earthworm you mean the one that's huge, with skin like rock, digs tunnels deep underground, and spends all day eating ore?"

Lin Jun thought for a moment: "That's right."

"You're going to subdue the larva of the Earth Worm?"

"The adult."

"Isn't the adult at least LV45, a large monster that requires a full Gold-rank Adventurer Party to subdue safely? Mr. Lin Jun, I'm only LV28!"

Inanna's mind was now filled with: Me, fighting an Earth Worm?

Even without being transformed, she would be one-shot by an Earth Worm.

Has this mushroom's brain gone bad? Is the mushroom going to hunt an Earth Worm?

"You seem to have a slight misjudgment of my role..."

Seeing the pink, fluffy creature's incredulous expression, Lin Jun remembered he hadn't yet taken her to see the edge of the Mushroom Garden.

No wonder she had so little trust in his strength.

Hunting Earth Worms was something he had wanted to do for a long time; these worms possess a skill known as 【High-Temperature Burrowing】.

They can generate high temperatures to brittle rocks, then use their rotating mouthparts to crush the stones, swallow them into their bellies, and expel unnecessary components from their side gills to reinforce the tunnel walls.

If he could seize this skill, he could dig a tunnel straight to the upper levels within the rock walls, avoiding the risk of sneaking past the Fire Demon's eyes.

However, these worms are excellent at burrowing; if they can't win, they will burrow underground to escape. Plus, with their large size and thick health, killing them even when they are low on health takes half a day.

He had tried once before, and the final result was significant losses with nothing gained.

But just now, seeing Inanna's Mud Swamp spell, Lin Jun felt there was hope again; Earth Worms probably can't move fast in mud.

However, before that, he indeed needed to coordinate with the new member.

"It's not that we're going to hunt Earth Worms right now. You still need practice familiarizing yourself with casting spells using this Magic Crystal. Just take this opportunity to set out with the Expedition Team and get some practice."

"Expedition Team?"

(End of this chapter)