On the sixth floor, in the unfinished new Mushroom Grove—
Little Green’s feet were rooted in the soil, tendrils churning the dirt beneath. Beside it, another treant planted tender saplings into a patch already tilled.
Soft, loose earth provided good aeration and drainage, ideal for roots to breathe and grow.
Compared to the slow growth of trees, mushrooms were far faster.
The planned ground had already been carpeted with mycelium mats. The mushroom trees hadn’t matured yet, but their shoots were poking up. In about half a month, they would reach initial form.
At the same time, spores were sprinkled onto the saplings. They would grow together—and beneficially.
The mushrooms growing on these saplings wouldn’t have their magic drained by Lin Jun. Instead, all of it would be fed back into the saplings, hastening their growth.
When the saplings became demonwood, awakening as treants, they would already be born Mushroom loyalists.
To help them grow better, Lin Jun even experimented with making some Puji tools.
At the center of the planted saplings sat a Puji, fixed in the ground, constantly swelling and contracting.Each contraction sprayed water from countless pores atop its cap, just like a sprinkler.
A special mycelium tube—really a modified tentacle—was attached beneath it.
Complex modifications, like adding wings, were beyond the Puji’s dull minds unless aided by skills. But simpler alterations, like a siphoning tube, were feasible.
The tube connected straight to the groundwater, with another Puji midway as relay.
In short, Lin Jun had made two Pujis into a sprinkler system—and so far it worked nicely.
Even off-duty treants sometimes came over to enjoy a shower, the spray soaking their bark giving them great pleasure.
Norris, just finishing his day of parole before returning to the slime cell, also noticed the invention.
He copied the treants, standing under the spray, letting droplets patter against his white scales.
But after a moment of enjoyment, he suddenly remembered, quickly stepping out of range and opening the Yellow Book in his hands.
“Yellow Book, does water hurt you?”
[Do you take me for some trashy roadside paperback worth ten copper?]
[Of course I’m not afraid of water.]
[Also, watch your mouth. Call me ‘senior.’ I’ve been in the Mushroom Garden longer than you.]
But hadn’t it been sealed away the whole time…?
Norris thought so, but didn’t say it. Instead, he humored it, calling it “senior.”
Originally, Norris wanted nothing to do with the Yellow Book. The things it discussed with the boss were terrifying. Compared to it, he was less than a garnish on a plate.
But the scripture, whose specialty was beguiling hearts, wasn’t about to fail at swaying a mere seventeen-year-old boy.
It told him a story.
Once upon a time, a princess was kidnapped by a dragon. A hero set out to rescue her.
On the way he gained companions, explored ruins, slew monsters. At last he found the dragon’s lair—only to discover the princess had already been digested to nothing. Shamed and furious, the hero killed the dragon for vengeance.
Returning home in despair, he found the little kingdom destroyed in his absence. With no one left to know of his failure, the black history was erased. Truly a happy ending.
Lin Jun, with his max-level [Common Tongue LV7], quietly eavesdropped. A darkly humorous tale. But Norris was entranced.
Having grown up with only a gambling father who died early, and falling into debt at fourteen, Norris had never had chances to hear stories. He was instantly captivated by the scripture’s twisted tales.
When the Yellow Book promised him a new story every three days, Norris happily agreed to carry it with him.
…
Meanwhile, Lin Jun’s mycelium carpet had begun spreading from the sixth floor into the seventh.
According to the Yellow Book, if no rift was found on the seventh, it meant the sixth floor’s rift was the starting point—then the problem wasn’t too big.
But if there was another on the seventh, the situation could be serious.
Unlikely, though. If the rift issue were that severe, adventurers would already have noticed.
Lin Jun asked Norris—at least before Norris descended, he’d heard no rumors of such.
The seventh floor was a very special level. Lin Jun would describe its terrain as a sewer.
A massive sewer.
Water channels ten meters wide, with dirt walkways on either side.
The waterways crisscrossed, the ceiling only seven or eight meters above the surface. Compared to the dozens of meters of space on the fifth and sixth floors, this floor seemed cramped. Few monsters lurked above water.
But that was an illusion. The true expanse was underwater. What lay above was less than a tenth. The monsters here were almost all aquatic.
Shrimp, oysters, turtles, grotesque fish—you name it. Why so many seafood-like creatures, who knew.
Lin Jun liked this floor. On land, only some amphibians roamed, plus a species of ceiling-dwelling insects—no slimes!
Spreading mycelium was effortless. The few land-walkers at worst nibbled mushrooms. None deliberately destroyed the mats.
The mycelium thrived on glowgrass, spreading smoothly. Compared to the struggle on the sixth floor, it was a world apart.
Still, there was a small issue.
Since most of the floor was underwater, any rift here would likely appear underwater.
For all he knew, his dungeon might even be leaking into another dungeon’s waters.
Exploring below meant he needed specialized Pujis.
But in his skill library, water-related skills were pitifully low-level. Their effects weak, insufficient for underwater exploration.
The highest was 【Underwater Adaptation LV4】—only letting Pujis stay submerged a bit longer. Useless in battle or escape.
He’d already tested dropping some Pujis in. The result? Fish food. Broken caps bobbed up in minutes.
Unavoidable, since Lin Jun had never fought aquatic monsters before. The few water skills he had were scraps Gray had brought back from her outings.
To succeed in exploration, he’d have to grind those skills first.
Not too high. LV4 across the board would suffice—quick to achieve and practical.
The problem: aquatic monsters couldn’t be swarmed like land ones.
He’d have to drag them ashore, or at least lure them to the surface, before killing them.
Luckily, Lin Jun was familiar with that too.
After all—wasn’t it just fishing?