This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Mid-level of the spiral structure within the ruins, inside a room filled with devices embedded with magic crystals.

Three blood descendants were treating the frostbite and lacerations they had accumulated along the way, dark-red blood frost congealing on their pale skin.

Cassinar surveyed the room. “This is… some kind of control room?”

His fingertips hovered over the nearest magic crystal, but he did not channel mana into it.

In ancient ruins like this, rashly activating unknown devices almost never led to good outcomes. If nothing else happened, that would already be considered lucky—at worst, it could trigger a collapse of the entire structure and bury him alive.

After a brief rest, the group continued toward the upper levels. Surprisingly, they passed through several corridors without encountering a single frost spirit?!

“Maybe the upper half was originally a safe zone?” one blood descendant guessed quietly.

“Or perhaps something even more dangerous is lurking here,” another cautioned.

Cassinar suddenly raised his hand, signaling for silence.

The next second, three blood-red arc blades tore through the air and slashed toward a corner of the wall.

From what had appeared to be empty space came several dull pfft sounds, and a few puji, severed in half, were revealed.

“Puji?” One blood descendant stared uncertainly at the now-motionless clumps of mycelium, unable to understand why such things would appear inside the ruins.

Cassinar did not look at the puji he had just dealt with. Instead, his gaze locked firmly onto the corridor opposite the room, where a pair of crimson eyes was slowly lighting up.

Tap. Tap. Tap—

Louisa strolled out from the darkness, her expression faintly amused as she regarded the group.

Cassinar’s face darkened immediately.

It wasn’t that he feared Louisa’s personal strength. In fact, though he didn’t recognize her, through blood power resonance he instantly grasped her level—a count, perhaps not even at sanctum-level yet.

What truly unsettled him was that this female blood race member could not possibly have come here alone. Behind her, there had to be another force.

Was the scroll not unique after all?

How long had they been here?

Had the secret treasure already been taken?

Countless questions surged through his mind.

And then—

“I didn’t expect to encounter a compatriot here as well.” Cassinar put on an expression of sincere delight, drawing the blood swirling around his body back into his sleeves as a sign that he had no intention of provoking conflict.

In reality, however, blood still coiled around his arms, held in check but ready to strike or defend at any moment.

He bowed elegantly, as though this were not a perilous ruin but a ballroom at court. “Honored lady, I am Cassinar Ulbrik, Marquis of the Empire. Forgive my lack of insight—may I ask which of my colleagues you serve?”

His tone was excessively courteous. When facing a mere count, he even deliberately placed himself in a lower position, because the power behind her was unknown.

And this was not imperial territory. Even if the other party were an imperial blood race colleague, killing for profit was hardly impossible—as long as things were done cleanly, who could trace it?

Most importantly, the way this female count was looking at him was deeply wrong.

Those crimson eyes were nothing like those of ordinary low-ranking blood race members. There was neither reverence nor fear within them—only a greed so intense it made even him feel a chill crawl up his spine.

As if he weren’t a higher-ranking marquis at all, but some priceless heavenly treasure?!

Louisa finally spoke, and her words made Cassinar’s heart sink to the bottom.

“I’m afraid my master is not one of your so-called colleagues. As for its name—” Louisa gently bit her fingertip, and a thread of blood rose like a living thing, curling into the air. “There’s no need for the dying to know.”

The moment her voice fell, several resonance cannons fired from the corridors on both sides.

From this position and distance, no matter how Cassinar dodged, he would be caught in the blast.

Yet to everyone’s surprise, Cassinar’s entire body merged into the shadow beneath his feet and instantly shifted backward, evading the attack.

The violent explosion shook the entire room. The three blood descendants braced against the shockwave, cold sweat pouring down their backs—if they had been the ones ambushed…

Chaotic footsteps and the soft puji puji sounds surged in from all directions.

Except for the passage they had entered from, every corridor mouth was now flooded with enemies.

What sent a chill straight down Cassinar’s spine was the composition of the opposing force.

Humans standing shoulder to shoulder with demonkin, dwarves marching alongside unknown humanoids over four meters tall—and filling the entire field of vision, countless puji.

This mixed-race force clearly belonged to no imperial faction.

“Norris, you were too greedy,” Louisa reprimanded.

“Sorry,” Norris lowered his head without hesitation. “I was thinking of dealing with the biggest threat first…”

“So it’s… a traitorous blood race?” Cassinar had never imagined that he would personally encounter one of these once-in-a-century blood race traitors.

That alone meant there was no room for negotiation between them.

Without the slightest hesitation, the marquis retreated rapidly, the three blood descendants following close behind. Blood magic detonated behind them, forming a thick crimson fog that blocked vision.

“Think you can get away?” Louisa sneered and waved her hand. Large numbers of puji curled into balls and rolled forward like a tide.

Charging at the very front alongside them was Norris. Relying on jida, he quickly caught up to the three blood descendants and clashed with them.

As for Cassinar—being a LV70 marquis with the talent [Shadow Traverse], he truly couldn’t be caught.

But Lin Jun had already personally led half of the puji master corps to circle around outside the spiral structure to block the rear route the moment he sensed a third party’s presence, so it wasn’t a big problem.

What no one expected, however, was that Cassinar didn’t simply flee outward.

Instead, he retreated back into the previous control room and, without hesitation, poured mana into every magic crystal device, activating them all!

Most of the crystal arrays showed no reaction. A few lit up briefly before going dark again—but several crystals were successfully activated!

Rumble—!

The entire spiral structure began to groan.

Norris, who was dragging the three blood descendants while waiting for reinforcements, suddenly felt the corridor beneath his feet shake violently.

Then, to his shock, he saw the corridor he was standing on detach from the room they had come from. Puji that couldn’t stop in time fell like raindrops into the darkness below.

From all directions came teeth-grinding sounds of collapse. The ice-sealed structure crumbled under brutal reconfiguration, and chain collapses spread inward like falling dominoes.

Norris was lucky—when everything finally went quiet, the section of corridor he was on had miraculously remained intact.

Norris was also unlucky—both ends of that corridor were dead ends. The only ones left there were him and the three diamond-level blood descendants.

The only companions still at his side were jida—and the Yellow Book.

Looking at those three pairs of crimson eyes, Norris felt that saying everything earlier had been a misunderstanding was probably too late…

[Little Norris, have you ever thought about coming to live between my pages after you die?]