This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Nova’s hands were tightly clasped beneath the table, his mind racing as he reviewed every past detail, trying to figure out—where had he slipped up?

He clearly remembered that when he used the Heartwood Core in the dungeon, Inanna’s transformed pink Puji had long since been taken by Night Owl to the tenth floor. There was no way it could have witnessed that scene.

Could someone have later examined the Infernal Demon’s remains?

That didn’t make sense either—residual energy traces proved nothing.

And since that mission, he hadn’t used the relic again.

Could it have been exposed even earlier?

Another possibility—someone in the team leaked the information…

But the moment that thought surfaced, he pushed it down. If he couldn’t trust the teammates he lived and fought alongside, the Silverthorn Squad would’ve fallen apart long ago.

He raised his head, meeting Aiden’s ever-calm gaze. “What do you plan to do?”

The relic fragment in his possession wasn’t merely a desperate trump card—its value was far beyond that. He couldn’t easily…

Three S-grade magic crystals were gently placed on the table. The moment they were revealed, the surrounding mana was instantly drawn toward them.

Gulp—

To his shame, Nova had only ever seen S-grade crystals from afar—during the ambush against the Demon Duke at Oath City.

But never had he been this close.

What shocked him even more was their size—each crystal was as large as a clenched fist. He had never imagined that S-grade crystals could reach such magnitude.

Even the one embedded in the staff of the Relic Association’s vice president, if he remembered correctly, was smaller than these by a wide margin.

Nova couldn’t help but inwardly whistle at the Saint-Claire family’s extravagance.

And this was clearly only their opening offer—by the look of it, there was room to negotiate.

Lady Inanna’s sincerity in this matter was undeniable.

Thinking of the consequences of refusal, Nova’s heart wavered.

He chose his words carefully. “For something like this, I’ll have to discuss it with my teammates first. Could we…”

Aiden nodded, calmly returning each S-grade crystal into his satchel.

When the last one disappeared into the bag, he raised his hand to dispel the Veil of Mist that had blanketed the room, then gestured politely for Nova to proceed as he pleased.

Watching the crystals vanish, Nova knew—at least old Ivan would go completely mad for them.

…

The four gathered in a side chamber of the lord’s mansion. As soon as Nova finished recounting his conversation with Aiden, Night Owl was the first to leap to her feet.

“You sure your eyes didn’t trick you?” she leaned over the table, both hands pressing down. “What if someone used illusion magic to fool you?”

Nova sighed. “Aiden’s too well-known to impersonate a ducal envoy in broad daylight. You’ll see the crystals for yourselves soon enough. The question is—do we trade or not?”

“Trade! Of course we trade!” Ivan almost knocked over the inkwell in excitement. “Those are S-grade crystals—fist-sized ones! Do you even realize what that means? If we’d had those against the Infernal Demon, I wouldn’t have needed that stupid branch! Not to mention… not to mention…”

Night Owl narrowed her eyes. “You idiot—don’t tell me you want to eat an S-grade crystal?”

“I-I wouldn’t be that wasteful…” Ivan’s gaze drifted away, Adam’s apple bobbing guiltily.

Night Owl clicked her tongue, folded her arms, and sat back down, but didn’t continue arguing.

Just as Nova thought the discussion was over, the half-dragon Gal, who’d been silent until now, slid a slip of paper across the table. “But crafting S-grade crystals into staves and tools takes time. I think you should look at this first.”

The message on the note was simple—but it made everyone’s hearts sink.

Earthpeak Fort, located between Three Mountains City and Redstone City, was under siege by demons.

Since the human army’s retreat to Three Mountains City and activation of the grand defensive magic array, the demon forces had begun systematically wiping out surrounding strongholds.

Earthpeak Fort was only an ordinary fortress—it wouldn’t last long.

Worse, once it fell, the demons’ next target would inevitably be Redstone City.

At this critical moment, they simply didn’t have time to convert S-grade crystals into actual combat power.

“Keeping the branch for now at least lets us attempt a decapitation strike,” Gal said. “Or, we could make the trade and run for it—head to the islands—”

Night Owl kicked him under the table. “I’m not spending the rest of my life stuck at sea!”

Back when they debated whether to accept the rescue mission for Inanna, fleeing would’ve only offended Duke Alama; once they left the United Kingdom, they would’ve been safe.

But now, as Redstone City’s rulers, to flee before the battle even began—abandoning their post—would make them outcasts even among the elves and dwarves. They’d truly be exiles, living among the scattered islanders.

Nova thought for a long while, then made his decision.

He reentered the office and said to the waiting Aiden, “We’re willing to trade—but not yet.”

He handed over the intelligence slip. “The Church’s reinforcements will soon reach Three Mountains City. The situation may change then. Until that happens, we still need the Core.”

He didn’t say how he thought things would change. In truth, he didn’t have much faith in the Church’s reinforcements.

Two outcomes were possible: either the Church helped Three Mountains City repel the demon army—solving Redstone City’s crisis—or they all fell together.

If the latter happened, abandoning Redstone City later would be far easier to justify. Even if held accountable afterward, he wouldn’t face the gallows.

And honestly, by then, would the United Kingdom even have the strength left to punish anyone?

All of this, of course, hinged on one condition—Redstone City had to hold until then.

Aiden read the message, slightly surprised. What poor timing.

If only he had arrived a little sooner…

After leaving the lord’s mansion, Aiden entered an inn and went up to his reserved room—but he didn’t rest.

Instead, he climbed back out the window, slipped into a narrow alley, and after confirming he wasn’t being followed, ducked into an abandoned house.

There, his figure shimmered—and dissolved into mist, leaving behind a small object that dropped into the hands of the real Aiden.

It was a high-grade illusion construct, made from an S-grade crystal no larger than a finger. The replica was indistinguishable from reality, capable of activating artifacts and even casting basic spells. It could convincingly mimic death itself; unless examined in detail, no one would notice.

Aiden would never risk sending his true self on such a dangerous errand.

And inside that ruined house sat the true mission handler—a scout Puji.

“Boss, what’s the plan?”