[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms":3,"chapter-this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms-this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms-chapter-48":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","This Dungeon Has Sprouted Mushrooms",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2219103,3995,"Chapter 48","this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms-chapter-48",48,"\u003Cp>The sheepskin booklet had been flipped until its edges were frayed; Calvin had checked it three times, yet he still couldn't connect the fifth floor described in the guide to the scene outside the stairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this really the \"brightest floor\" they had promised?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a single cluster of firefly grass could be seen; in the pitch-black fifth floor, the eerie glow of mushrooms was the only source of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on this path leading out from the stairs, there happened to be a row of fluorescent mushrooms on each side, as if they had been deliberately planted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calvin felt this scene was even more bizarre than what he had seen in that small cave on the second floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Pero was starting to get cold feet: \"Your guide is way off! Are we... still going to keep moving forward?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Since we're already here... let's just take a look at the situation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After walking out, the two realized that even the dome was covered in mushrooms, their fluorescence connecting into a single expanse, like a canopy of sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calvin felt completely uneasy, as if someone were watching him, making him regret the decision he had made two minutes ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when he told Pero about this feeling, Pero shook his head, saying he hadn't sensed anything at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calvin couldn't just decide to turn back based on a feeling; that would be too impulsive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are we really going to follow this path?\" Pero asked, pointing to the mushroom-lined road in front of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This road certainly looked suspicious, but it overlapped with the direction of the forest written in the guide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the guide was outdated, the terrain shouldn't have changed completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking it over, Calvin took out his small magic staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First-tier magic—Illumination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A ball of orange light hovered at the tip of the staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's walk on the outer edge of the road.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Squish—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment they took their first step off the path, both felt a sticky sensation under their feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they leaned down to investigate, they were shocked to find that the area outside the path was covered in translucent mycelium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From beneath them all the way to the edge of the darkness, as far as the eye could see, it was all mycelium-covered ground!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I knew the ground color felt weird; it turns out it's all this stuff!\" Pero stepped back in disgust. \"How about we just stick to the road?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calvin could only nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The path itself was clean, as if the mycelium were being held back by the fluorescent mushrooms on either side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surroundings were quite quiet; they hadn't even seen a shadow of the monsters mentioned in the guide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only thing they encountered was a mountain-like corpse, mostly decomposed by the mycelium, so tattered that it was impossible to tell what it had originally been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything made the two increasingly uneasy; they remained on guard, not even speaking a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They didn't stop until they saw the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that the 'forest' you were talking about?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the direction Pero pointed, countless giant fluorescent mushrooms towered, with mycelium hanging down from their caps, forming a mushroom forest of varying heights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only a few giant trees were wedged in the gaps between the mushrooms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was obvious that the information in the guide was outdated even regarding the terrain!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Calvin could speak, a strange sound echoed through the forest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pfft—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pfft—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The heavy sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet environment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fat, three-meter-tall Puji slowly emerged from behind a giant mushroom, its four thick mycelium tentacles swaying in mid-air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And beside this giant Puji, there were a dozen smaller Pujis, identical to the one on the second floor, also sporting tentacles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pujis seemed to have discovered the two, and they all stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Calvin! We should retreat!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Calvin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pero then realized that the light from the Illumination spell beside him had vanished at some point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Calvin, you—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next second, Pero found his own body turning transparent, and Calvin's voice came from beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Me what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You... you did well, your reaction was faster than mine!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no time to argue, Calvin crouched down and grabbed the corner of Pero's clothes to ensure they wouldn't get separated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Retreat, retreat, this place is too strange.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what about your assignment?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What else can I do? I'll just have to use my savings to buy one from a black-market dealer.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his already meager savings about to shrink again, Calvin felt his heart bleeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his grief, Calvin didn't notice the pull on his hand and bumped headfirst into something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It hurts!\" His forehead seemed to have been cut; he could feel blood flowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he soon had no time to care about such a minor injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A humanoid creature covered in ink-black scales stood right in front of them, tilting its head to stare at the two invisible figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"D-d-dragon...\" Before Calvin could finish, the monster, which wasn't even as tall as him, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two's invisibility spell lost its support and instantly failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, a violent shout came from nearby!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Fury LV4]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Brute Force LV4]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Pero!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Calvin under attack, he decisively activated his buffs and slashed down with his sword held in both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Heavy Slash LV5]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The broken half of the sword flew into the air; Pero trembled, maintaining his downward slash posture, blood flowing from his split thumb-web.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't understand why his refined steel longsword couldn't even cut through a single scale on the opponent's shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had checked his equipment thoroughly before entering the dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn't this the fifth floor?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The monster grabbed Pero's throat with its other claw; Pero tried to resist, but his numbed hands couldn't even be raised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feeling the force from the claw increasing, Pero found it harder and harder to breathe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calvin, beside him, was purple in the face, already on the verge of suffocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if in an instant, or perhaps an eternity, the pressure on their necks suddenly vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pero collapsed to the ground in a sorry state, breathing greedily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After catching his breath, he looked up and saw the terrifying monster had disappeared, while Calvin lay on the ground motionless, his chest not even rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Calvin? Calvin! Wake up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He slapped Calvin's face twice, but still couldn't wake him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hurriedly opening his small bag, Pero wanted to take out a healing potion, but was interrupted by the Pujis surrounding them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subconsciously reaching for his sword, he grabbed nothing and remembered that only the broken blade remained on the ground nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was quickly tied up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Should've just let them choke me to death earlier...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Pero was wondering how he would be killed, he saw a Puji opposite him extend a hollow mycelium tentacle and shove it into Calvin's mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tentacle, along with the Puji's body, pulsed in and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tied up, Pero struggled, but could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Calvin opened his eyes wide and frantically ripped the mycelium tentacle from his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cough, cough—cough, cough—cough, cough, cough—ugh—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After coughing, Calvin lay on the ground as if half his life had been taken—in fact, his HP had indeed dropped by half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pfft—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With heavy footsteps, the fat Puji finally walked over slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It reached into its belly, pulled out four items, and tossed them in front of Pero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the Pujis released Pero, turned around, and left, disappearing into the mushroom forest shortly after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the longsword, fruit pit, magic crystal, and healing potion left behind by the Puji on the ground, Pero couldn't react for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was this... being saved from the monster by the Pujis?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Quickly gathering the items, Pero hoisted the weak and powerless Calvin and hurried back into the floor passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn it, I forgot to tell Xiao Hei that humans aren't monsters!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1331,"2026-06-17T15:02:37.041Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","76a7236f3df843c008cef3099bb401d4484b555ee7182daae1ef9efdda1458d6","this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms-chapter-49","this-dungeon-is-growing-mushrooms-chapter-47",165,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthis-dungeon-has-sprouted-mushrooms-cover.jpg"]