This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Thanks to Seral’s final order—“scatter and retreat”—the cultist force was not completely wiped out by the Sword Saint puji.

Despite suffering heavy losses, roughly a quarter of them managed to escape by relying on their familiarity with the terrain and dispersing along different routes, vanishing into the vast mountain forests.

Most of the rescued survivors, after a brief rest and repeated expressions of gratitude, chose to return to the small town. Their belongings were still there—though they had likely been picked nearly clean by the adventurers who arrived later.

Only Eugene stayed behind.

Eugene was a middle-aged man, level 47, gold-rank—already quite formidable among adventurers.

Yet his greatest strength wasn’t combat, but alchemy.

Whether brewing poisons or neutralizing them, he excelled at both, and he even liked to tinker with original toxins of his own making. The apothecary shop he ran was the very place in town that showed clear signs of battle.

According to Eugene’s recollection, the cultists exploited the town’s lack of governance and infiltrated it with ease. They used some kind of extremely potent mixed sedative smoke, knocking out nearly all two hundred-plus residents overnight.

A small number—those with higher resistance, sharper vigilance, or sheer luck—remained conscious, but even they were unable to organize effective resistance against the black-robed figures and were quickly subdued.

Eugene had intended to hide and wait for the cultists to leave.

Unfortunately, his hiding skills were far inferior to his ability with bottles and crucibles.

When Aurora was about to discover him during a search, he had no choice but to strike first in an ambush.

Sadly, the gap in strength was too great. His first strike failed to kill Aurora outright, and the ensuing fight… as Eugene himself put it, “like trying to parry an executioner’s axe with a mortar pestle.”

Worse still, this earned him Aurora’s “special attention.” During his imprisonment, he became her daily form of entertainment.

He had never imagined he would live to see the sun again—much less that the one to pull him out of the abyss of despair would be… a puji.

As someone who had done business near the Scarecrow Abyss for years, Eugene was naturally familiar with puji.

But in his previous understanding, puji were nothing more than practical tools for safely traversing dangerous regions, or extremely cost-effective magical pets under the command of puji-masters.

As for the mushroom folk, he had only heard half-true rumors from passing adventurers, always feeling they were far removed from his own life.

What do you mean there’s a puji that can instantly kill a diamond-rank powerhouse?

And yet—even the leader of this cult had been slain by it!

When Eugene personally witnessed the Sword Saint puji sever Aurora’s arms with less effort than killing a chicken, his reverence for his savior had reached the point where he practically wanted to prostrate himself and kiss the puji’s stubby little feet.

Naturally, the Sword Saint puji had no desire to have a middle-aged man kissing its feet—but Eugene still hovered attentively around it, admiration overflowing.

After learning that the mushroom folk could communicate through the mycelial network, Eugene made a move that left everyone stunned.

Using the limited medicinal ingredients he could find on the spot, he immediately brewed a precisely dosed poison and swallowed it without hesitation, placing himself in a state of near-death—but not quite—successfully completing parasitization.

Even the Sword Saint couldn’t help but praise him:

“That’s one ruthless guy.”

When Eugene heard his benefactor’s voice in his mind for the first time, the expression on his pale face was one of near-pilgrimage-like fulfillment.

Number Four was so jealous.

It wanted a devoted follower like that too.

Right now, the only one who praised it was Pink Puji.

But Pink Puji praised everyone.

She praised Number Ten for being reliable, praised Fourteen for being amazing, praised it for being soft and obedient…

That wasn’t what it wanted!!!

Now, everyone in the delegation—from Ronan, who oversaw all affairs, down to the ordinary guards whose names and faces Number Four couldn’t even remember—knew that Fourteen had nearly annihilated an entire vicious cultist force single-handedly.

This awe, born purely of strength, was clearly reflected in how everyone treated Fourteen.

Whenever Fourteen, carrying four swords, went “puji puji” past them, whether people were talking or resting, they would unconsciously pause, nod slightly, and adopt a respectful expression—breathing more softly than before.

Only Pink Puji still casually rua’d it as usual.

Number Four wanted to experience that kind of reverence too.

It decided that next time something happened, it would charge ahead of Fourteen…

…

The delegation continued southeast, gradually approaching the edge of the Elven Forest. Along the way, no other travelers were seen.

After all, elves were famously unwelcoming to outsiders—trespassers really would be shot into hedgehogs.

Since the delegation had come specifically to negotiate with the elves, no one felt particularly surprised.

The puji, on the other hand, didn’t think the Elven Forest was anything special at all.

Puji went wherever they pleased.

Only Eugene grew nervous.

Though he had made a living just a few days’ travel from the elven border, he had actually seen an elf only once.

That time, when he had first arrived, his group had taken a wrong turn and been stopped by elven rangers with bows drawn.

One foul-mouthed member of the group cursed out of habit—and was immediately shot through the neck. Blood splattered onto Eugene’s face beside him.

So yes, it was impossible not to be nervous now.

What made him even more anxious was that Eugene had just realized the delegation had already been quietly surrounded by elves—while everyone else seemed completely unaware!

Just as he was about to warn them, a set of steady footsteps sounded from the forest ahead.

A towering figure stepped out, crushing through the thick layer of fallen leaves.

Eugene’s pupils shrank, his breath catching.

That height… nearly two and a half meters?!

Could there really be elves that tall?!

However, when the figure fully emerged from the shadows into the brighter forest light, Eugene saw clearly.

Several people behind him in the delegation gasped softly, a mix of surprise and realization.

It was an elf—emerald eyes, clad in lightweight yet exquisitely crafted leather armor and a dark-green cloak—but that abnormal height…

Because atop the head of this roughly 1.8-meter-tall elven ranger commander Eko sat a round, plump puji!

Why are there puji everywhere?!

The thought flashed through Eugene’s mind, but this was clearly not the moment for him to speak.

Ronan stepped forward from the delegation, presenting the kingdom’s official documents to Eko’s adjutant for inspection.

Eko himself, however, paid no attention to Ronan.

He first glanced at Inanna. As a war hero who had recently risen to fame thanks to puji, she was someone he had heard of—pink hair and pink eyes made her unmistakable.

Then Eko’s gaze swept over the puji in the group, finally settling on Fourteen.

For no particular reason—pure instinct—he felt that this puji with four swords was most likely the most dangerous presence in the entire delegation.

And for reasons he couldn’t explain, although he found most puji quite likable, he instinctively disliked this one he was seeing for the first time.

That puji also seemed to be “watching” him—its tentacles even resting on sword hilts.

Interesting…

Just as Eko was considering how to ask about this puji’s origins, the puji on his head kicked off and jumped to the ground.

At the same time, Number Four leapt out of Inanna’s arms.

“Big brother!”

“Fourth brother!”

“Big brother!!!”

“Fourth brother!!!”

The two puji—who had only been apart for half a month since their last meeting—embraced tightly.