The Puji came back carrying bundles of “fresh werewolf fur.”
After all, Little Blue couldn’t exactly return looking like a giant furball, so the Puji had kindly given him a haircut.
There was far too much fur cut off—more than the Puji could even carry—but they didn’t need that much anyway.
When Lin Jun returned with the fur, the scene before him was utter chaos.
The Yellow Book was in Norris’s hands, its writing furiously barking orders at the demonkin who were carving the magic circle.
[Idiots! This line must be straight! Do you even know what a straight line is?!]
Norris leaned in for a look. “Isn’t this a straight line?”
[You lizard-brained fool! Are you blind or am I blind?! That bump there! Do you see it?! Have them redo it! Right now! Immediately!]
Norris scratched his head helplessly, then called over the demonkin and pointed out what the Yellow Book had complained about.
[Why so polite?! Scold him! That useless trash! Can’t even carve a straight line—trying to get me killed, is he?!]“Didn’t you say this ritual was for Louisa? How’s it going to kill you?” Norris muttered.
[…]
The moment the Puji appeared with the werewolf fur, the Yellow Book lit up like it had seen a savior:
[Boss! Finally, you’re back! You have to take control! If we let this bunch of idiots keep messing around, Louisa is as good as dead!]
With no choice, Lin Jun called for Xīnghuo(Spark), the new Chief of the demonkin tribe. At least Xīnghuo(Spark)’s knowledge of magic circles barely scraped past the Yellow Book’s harsh standards.
Meanwhile, the issue of the magic crystals…
The battle puppets were off limits—those were the Dungeon’s final and strongest line of defense.
That meant only one option remained: produce them himself.
Piles of crystals were hauled out and stacked into a small hill.
Six special Pujis surrounded the pile, constantly draining the essence inside.
With crackling, crunching sounds, the crystals dulled, cracked, and collapsed into heaps of useless powder.
The absorbed energy, however, was slowly and painstakingly condensed inside the Pujis into S-rank crystals.
This was all of Lin Jun’s stockpile!
Not that the Dungeon would never produce more, but digging up such a huge haul again would take who knows how long.
Strangely, the one most distressed wasn’t Lin Jun himself—but Gray(Little Black).
When she woke up for her daily “vault inspection,” she immediately noticed something wrong: the Pujis were “ruining” her future shinies!
Even though to her, these crystals were no better than marbles compared to silver scales and gemstones, they were still shiny!
Watching the Pujis crush one Xīnghuo(Spark)ling crystal after another, Gray(Little Black) panicked, pounced on them, and growled. Spreading her tail and wings wide, she tried to shield the crystals from their “atrocity.”
In the end, Lin Jun had no choice but to “promise” the Black General.
Only when the fat Pujis carefully packed the crystals back away did Gray(Little Black) finally calm down.
Then Lin Jun simply moved to a more secluded corner… and resumed his money-burning project.
Three days later.
With nearly ninety percent of the crystal stockpile gone, six palm-sized, flawless, radiant S-rank magic crystals finally came into existence!
Looking at this hard-won “achievement,” Lin Jun felt like a father who had pawned everything to send his child to study abroad—his heart bled.
To increase Louisa’s odds of success, Lin Jun even spent mana to grant her abilities like [Mycelium Reconstruction] and [Regeneration].
“Little Pig, you must succeed!” (Or else I’ll be ruined!)
[Louisa, you absolutely cannot die!] (If you die, Boss will tear me apart!)
“Blood Sis, you can do it!” (Sincerely)
Carrying everyone’s genuine hopes, Louisa stood at the center of the ritual circle.
Six S-rank magic crystals were embedded at its nodes, while several Mana-Storage Pujis supplied energy. Starlight-like radiance flowed through the circle.
And of course—the essential sacrifice, the great Vampire Countess Uniel.
She was dragged over by the Pujis like a slaughtered pig.
Though Lin Jun had wanted to exchange a few profound, philosophical lines with her in this moment, the outrageous cost of six S-rank crystals silenced that itch. He chose the safest method—drugging the sacrifice until she was completely unconscious!
As the ritual began under Louisa’s guidance, the starlight shifted blood-red. Then, scarlet light roared skyward, forming a twisted pillar that enveloped both Louisa and Uniel.
Countless vein-like energy threads stabbed into Louisa’s body, while another thicker, greedier set pierced directly into Uniel’s heart!
“AAAHHHHH—!!!”
The agony shocked Uniel awake, and her scream was so shrill it didn’t sound human at all.
But Lin Jun had laid multiple safeguards. She had no chance to resist.
Her body convulsed, shriveled, her skin turned ashen and wrinkled, her once-lustrous golden hair drained to dry grey—as if she’d aged a hundred years in seconds.
Her cries drowned all words.
Lin Jun observed her soul with keen interest, while the Yellow Book anxiously tracked the ritual’s process. Only Norris showed a hint of pity, though he never looked away.
Uniel’s essence blood—the source of her power—was brutally ripped out, flooding into Louisa.
Louisa screamed too.
Her body ballooned like it was being pumped full of air, veins bulging like dragons beneath her skin, bones groaning under the strain, muscles writhing and distorting as though about to burst!
[Hold on! Guide it! Break through the shackles!] The Yellow Book was frantic, and Norris read the words aloud at once.
But things only worsened.
[Not good. Her will is holding, but her body can’t! The backlash from her unique bloodline mix is stronger than expected!]
The Yellow Book nearly admitted outright: the problem was the mycelium.
[There’s still a chance. Put me in!]
Lin Jun didn’t hesitate. He threw it in.
The moment it entered, the Yellow Book floated, and Lin Jun wrapped its essence with his soul, ready to crush it instantly if needed.
Fortunately, this time the book played no tricks. It redirected several energy threads through itself, lessening the direct burden on Louisa.
But that only slowed the decline.
Louisa’s HP bar kept dropping under the ritual’s strain. Just as Lin Jun considered halting—
The mycelium moved!
Inside Louisa, the fungi that had long fused with her flesh stirred again. Whether driven by a skill or by parasitic instinct—at the brink of collapse, they began their second expansion.
They absorbed the rampaging energy, split, spread, and filled the torn gaps.
This exchange drastically relieved her pressure.
Finally, with Louisa’s screams echoing, all the scarlet light surged into her body.
Feeling the surging new power within, Louisa, barely able to stand, still split her bloodied lips into a grin. “Ha… this feels… so good.”
And then she blacked out completely.
The ritual circle dimmed. The six S-rank crystals crumbled into grey dust, and the Yellow Book fell.
The instant its cover touched the ground, fawning words appeared:
[Boss, um, could I maybe…]
Lin Jun knew what it meant. He looked at Louisa’s panel—LV53—and nodded. “Fine.”
[Boss, so generous!]
In the next instant, invisible suction pulled at Uniel’s shriveled corpse. Under [Inspiration]’s sight, her soul was ripped free, dragged like into a vortex, and devoured into the Yellow Book.
A brand-new page appeared—bordered with faint golden lace.