Chapter 70: Never Eat Random Mushrooms

Neo was running.

Not walking, not jogging, but sprinting flat out through the forest, branches whipping across his face, mud splattering up his legs with every desperate stride. Behind him, the ground itself seemed to be shaking, an endless, thundering roar of claws and hooves and wings tearing through the trees in his wake.

Hundreds of magical beasts.

Wolves with crackling lightning dancing along their fur. Boars the size of small carriages, tusks gleaming and murderous. Birds of prey diving between the treetops, shrieking with fury. All of them, every single one, bearing down on him with a single, unified purpose.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this?!"

Neo glanced over his shoulder and instantly regretted it. A massive stag was charging straight at him, its huge antlers crackling with electricity. Despite its size, the beast was moving frighteningly fast, closing the distance with every step.

He threw himself to the side and rolled beneath a fallen log. A heartbeat later, the stag’s antlers tore through the spot where he’d been standing, smashing the log apart and sending splinters flying in every direction.

"Okay... okay. Think. How the hell did I even end up in this mess?"

...

Twenty minutes earlier.

Neo had stumbled across a small clearing deep within the forest, one filled with strange, glowing blue mushrooms clustered thick around the base of an ancient, twisted tree. His stomach had been growling for the better part of an hour, and his rations, while durable, weren’t exactly appetizing after the third meal in a row.

The mushrooms, on the other hand, gave off a strong, concentrated flow of mana, their caps glowing with a soft blue light that pulsed gently in the darkness.

"Huh. I’ve never seen mushrooms glow like that before."

Curious, he quickly used Appraisal to check them.

[Name: Moonveil Mushroom]

[Type: Rare Plant]

[Description: A rare fungal species that grows only in areas saturated with high concentrations of natural mana. Known to significantly boost mana regeneration when consumed. Highly sought after by alchemists and cultivators alike.]

Neo’s eyes had lit up instantly.

"Mana regeneration boost? Hell yeah. That’s exactly what I need right now."

Without giving it much thought, he picked several of the glowing mushrooms and ate them right away. To his surprise, they tasted pretty good, with a faint sweetness that lingered on his tongue. A warm rush of mana spread through his body, easing some of the exhaustion he had been feeling.

What he didn’t notice was the small stone marker buried beneath the roots of the ancient tree behind him. Intricate carvings covered its surface, along with faded runes that gave off a faint pulse whenever the ground around them shifted.

A territorial ward.

The moment the third mushroom slipped down his throat, the runes on the stone flared brightly. A silent pulse spread through the forest, reaching every magical beast within a ten-mile radius.

An intruder had stolen from the sacred grove.

Neo, completely unaware of what he’d just triggered, simply sighed in satisfaction, wiped his mouth, and continued walking.

It wasn’t until two minutes later that he finally realized something was wrong.

The ground beneath his feet began to tremble.

At first, it was only a slight vibration. Then it grew stronger, shaking the earth hard enough to make the trees around him sway.

Neo came to a halt, his expression tightening as the earth continued to shake beneath him.

Whatever was approaching, it wasn’t coming alone.

...

Present:

Neo ducked under another swinging branch, his lungs burning as his legs grew heavier with every step. Still, he forced himself to run faster.

’Sacred grove. Of course. Of course it had to be a sacred grove. Why couldn’t they just be normal mushrooms?!’

A pack of wolves closed in from his left, snapping at his heels and forcing him sharply to the right—straight into the path of a massive boar charging toward him.

Neo dropped into a desperate slide just as the beast lowered its tusks. Ice spread across the ground beneath him, cutting down the friction and sending him gliding beneath the boar’s belly.

He came out the other side, scrambled back onto his feet, and kept running without slowing down. He risked another quick glance over his shoulder.

The entire treeline behind him was crawling with movement. Hundreds of glowing eyes, snapping jaws, and pounding hooves were closing in, all focused on him.

’I could probably handle a few of them. Maybe. But this many at once?’

His mind flashed back to the field of bones he’d found earlier—the broken swords, shattered armor, and royal crest half-buried in the dirt.

’Yeah. That’s probably how those knights ended up as a pile of bones. They must’ve wandered into the similar damn grove.’

His mana was already running low from the earlier fights, and his core felt heavy and strained. There was no way he had enough left to deal with an entire stampede, especially with Soulfire still refusing to work whenever he tried to use it.

’Options. I need options. Now.’

Ahead, a steep rocky outcropping rose from the forest, its jagged cliffs forming a narrow gap barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through.

’That’s it. That’s my chance.’

Neo pushed himself harder, forcing every bit of speed he had left into his legs. Gravity magic pulsed beneath his feet, making each step lighter and helping him move faster than his exhausted body should have been capable of.

The gap was getting closer.

Closer.

Behind him, the stampede was almost on top of him. The roar of pounding hooves and snarling beasts filled his ears. He could even feel the hot breath of the nearest wolf against the back of his legs.

Neo threw himself sideways through the gap at the last possible moment, his shoulder scraping hard against the rock as he squeezed through.

Behind him, the stampede crashed into the cliff with a deafening roar. Dozens of beasts were too large to fit through the narrow opening, snarling and clawing at the stone in a frenzy. The smaller creatures had no such problem, squeezing through one after another and continuing the chase.

Neo didn’t stop to catch his breath. He kept running deeper into the winding passage, his mind racing as fast as his legs.

’Great. Just great. First devils, then a Direfang, then a bear, and now an entire forest’s worth of magical beasts wants me dead because I ate some glowing mushrooms.’

He risked one last glance over his shoulder.

The first of the smaller wolves had finally squeezed through the gap. Its golden eyes immediately found Neo, burning with the same murderous intent as before.

’Yeah. This day just keeps getting better.’

He gritted his teeth and pushed his exhausted legs into one final burst of speed. Without looking back again, he disappeared deeper into the winding stone passage, while the furious howls of the sacred grove’s guardians echoed behind him.

...

[A/N: Hello guys, I mistakenly not put only the half of Chapter of the Quite walk Chapter, I just noticed it, so I had uploaded the whole Chapter there, so you can check it out!]