“Mana Shield, Resonance—!”
The echoing mushroom-voice in the cave made Norris shiver all over.
“B-Boss…” Norris rubbed at his ears, abused by the noise. “Why do you have to shout it out like that?”
“Because shouting your ultimate before casting is common sense!” Lin Jun replied matter-of-factly.
That’s not common sense at all! Norris screamed inwardly, but out loud he only dared to ask weakly: “Then… why did you call me over?”
“Duh!” Lin Jun said with a “how can you not get this” tone. “If no one’s here to hear me shout, what’s the point of shouting?”
“…”
Beside him, three Pujis raised [Mana Shield LV6] at Lin Jun’s command. He figured this was the easiest skill to test [Resonance] with.
The edges of the three pale-blue shields fused together under Resonance’s effect.
It really looked like a skill fusion!But when Lin Jun tested the strength, he was disappointed—the shields weren’t much stronger.
That couldn’t be right.
A Level 60 skill upgrade shouldn’t just be “no blind spots,” right? Where was the promised stacking effect?
“Mana Shield, Resonance!”
“Mana Shield, Resonance!”
“Mana—”
Ignoring Norris—now pale-faced and on the verge of vomiting under both sonic and psychic assault—Lin Jun kept experimenting with different poses. Soon, he had a breakthrough!
He tangled the Pujis’ mycelium tendrils together, knotted them up, and rolled them into a ball!
This time, the shields they released truly merged, glowing blue with a dense, solid sheen!
With equal Intelligence stats, a shot from a Level 9 Artillery Pujis that once made the shields ripple violently now caused only gentle waves.
Their defense had clearly risen!
But staring at the writhing ball of Pujis on the ground…
“How the hell do I use this in real combat?”
Lin Jun scratched his head. The extinct “something-bees” had Resonance too—did they also just roll into a ball like this?
If so, no wonder they went extinct!
“How about… putting it on Gida?” Norris croaked from the corner. Even half-stunned, his thoughts clung to his precious Gida.
That did sound workable. With Gida, at least there wouldn’t be mobility issues.
Still, Lin Jun wanted to try other methods first.
Like stuffing a small Pujis inside a big one, then casting Shield!
The result was disappointing. The Resonance effect was worse than before—basically separate shields, no fusion.
After much testing, Lin Jun figured it out.
Size, attributes, and skill level all affected Resonance. The closer they were, the stronger the effect!
Big-and-small combos, while technically the same skill, seemed out of sync—no resonance.
He tried other skills.
As expected, it didn’t work on physical ones like [Claw Attack], or toxin ones like [Hallucinogenic Spores].
But [Artillery Pujis], [Mana Shield], and [Infrasound Attack]—the energy-based skills—worked fine.
Among them, [Infrasound Attack] was easiest. No need to bundle up—just set the Pujis near each other. The downside was the same old issue: indiscriminate AoE. At high intensity, it was practically another form of self-destruct.
[Artillery Pujis] was trickier. When the Pujis clustered side by side, their energy clashed and blew up. Lin Jun solved it by making them fire in series.
That required custom-made Pujis though—he had to sculpt hollow ones from cap to base, then slot them together like parts of a cannon barrel. Only then did it work.
This “long-barrel Pujis cannon” couldn’t move on its own, obviously. Another fit for Gida.
There were surprises too. Resonance slightly boosted skills like [Chitinous Carapace] and [Rock Consumption].
Pujis standing together formed thicker armor or tougher stone plating. Not by much, but still.
The carapace made Gida sturdier. The rock armor… well, sticking boulders together was tough, but it welded them immobile, which wasn’t exactly useful.
Maybe if a row of Heavy-Armor Pujis stood together, they could make a stone wall?
Currently, Resonance only supported three Pujis at once. Not because Lin Jun didn’t want more—at LV1, any attempt beyond three just made them interfere with each other.
But three was enough for Gida.
So he got to work!
He dismantled Gida’s heavy left-arm rock shield, replacing it with a cluster of three Pujis forming a “Mana Shield Ball.” More Pujis, but lighter overall.
Next, he removed the two single-barrel cannons on Gida’s shoulders and swapped them for a new triple-barrel “long-barrel cannon.”
Mounted on the right shoulder.
He actually wanted it on the right arm—better for aiming!
But Norris refused to part with the right-arm Drill Pujis, rejecting even Lin Jun’s “brilliant compromise” of moving the drill to the crotch.
So shoulder it was.
The Pujis he used for Resonance on Gida were all elite variants.
And the results? After Resonance reinforcement, the shields’ defense and the cannon’s destructive power both reached diamond-tier levels!
Of course, if Norris took Gida against Piggy, the boar boss would still dismantle him easily—without brute-forcing it.
Still, LV1 Resonance only allowed so much.
What about at LV10? Could he build a hundred-meter Pujis cannon, piercing the void with a single shot—sniping the Sword Saint himself?
A hundred-meter mushroom cannon… abstract as hell. But exciting nonetheless!
Clearly, Resonance had to be widely used. Not just with his direct Pujis, but those under node control too.
Maybe it was time to promote Gida production among the demonkin…
—
Meanwhile, Inanna practically flew back to the ducal estate, lightning-fast.
Truthfully, she was nervous.
Her memory of the Dreamflower was from childhood. There should still be some left, but she couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t like she’d ever checked the vault herself.
But after Boss had been so happy, ruffling her hair and praising her—if she returned empty-handed… she couldn’t bear the thought of his disappointment!
Driven by anxiety, she cut a two-day trip into one, racing through the night straight to the ducal mansion.
She didn’t even stop to find Butler Eric—she went straight for the family treasury.
And luck was with her!
Guided by the guards, she quickly found the Dreamflower.
Only… there was way more than she expected!
Two whole rows of shelves, stacked to the brim—nothing but Dreamflowers!
Each bloom carefully sealed in a special box, carved with intricate arrays.
Even without the flowers, the boxes alone were valuable.
She took two. Boss said he only needed one, but she grabbed an extra just in case.
Still, gazing at those rows of flowers, she couldn’t help but wonder: why did her family store so many Dreamflowers?
A deliberate footstep sounded behind her, loud enough to make sure she noticed.
Then came Butler Eric’s emotionless voice:
“Miss, you’re taking Dreamflowers… is there some special purpose?”