This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Bardley Deepfurnace honored his promise, and did so with considerable thoroughness.

Not only did he assign a veteran dwarf guide who knew every mountain path and narrow pass by heart, he also replenished the delegation’s supplies with enough provisions to support them all the way to the Forgefire Capital.

More importantly, he provided an official letter of passage bearing both the crest of the Deepfurnace clan and the seal of the Lord of Ashfurnace City.

This parchment proved extremely useful during the group’s subsequent journey through the territories of various dwarf clans. Once the guards at checkpoints examined it, they would usually wave them through, sparing the delegation a great deal of questioning and negotiation.

Of course, this so-called “smooth passage” was only in comparison to deliberate obstruction.

The dwarven domain was not particularly vast, but the terrain was steep and treacherous, the roads winding and indirect.

Day after day, the group trekked along mountain stone roads that seemed to stretch on without end. Hooves and wheels struck against rough rock, producing monotonous sounds as the long, arduous journey continued.

The guide’s name was Bromm Stoneanvil, a middle-aged dwarf with a booming voice and a beard braided into several thick plaits. He was a notably talkative fellow.

According to him, by tomorrow they would pass by Goldflame City, the one that had once suffered a great calamity.

That also meant they were less than three days away from their destination, the Forgefire Capital.

When night fell, the group made camp behind a wind-sheltered rock face.

The dwarves set up a thick iron pot, poured in water and various dried ingredients, and before long, bubbling sounds rose from within as a rich aroma spread through the air.

Even while cooking, Bromm’s mouth never stopped moving.

“Hey, this is our dwarves’ treasure, Forge Stew!” Bromm said proudly as he stirred the thick, paste-like contents with a long-handled ladle. “Dried highland wolf meat, rock-hard tubers, and more than a dozen spices, all thrown in together and simmered. Look at that color! Smell that aroma! After a long day’s work, one pot of this, hot and filling, and you’ll feel strength flow right back into your body. I’ll say this much—the taste isn’t far off from those so-called ‘Delicious’ foods!”

A straightforward human female warrior in the delegation curiously ladled out a small bowl.

She blew on it, took a cautious bite, chewed a few times, and raised one eyebrow.

“Well?” Bromm asked eagerly.

She hesitated for a moment, then answered honestly. “The flavor is… solid, I guess. But it’s still a long way from ‘Delicious’ level. At least, it’s much worse than the Delicious mushrooms I’ve eaten.”

Bromm’s smile stiffened. “That can’t be right…”

“But Delicious mushrooms really are better,” the warrior insisted, scooping another spoonful and tasting it carefully. “The spices here are a bit too aggressive. Delicious mushrooms are fresher in texture, and the flavor is much gentler.”

Bromm’s beard twitched upward slightly as he muttered something about outsiders having no sense of taste, clearly displeased.

Their argument made Inanna feel a little hungry.

While rubbing Number Four in her arms, she sighed regretfully. “If I’d known, I would’ve brought more Delicious mushrooms with me.”

The moment she finished speaking, Number Four rolled out of her arms with a plop.

“Number Four?”

“Pink one, there are actually still Delicious mushrooms in the group.”

“Where?” Inanna asked in confusion.

Could it be that someone in the delegation had secretly brought some dried Delicious mushrooms?

But that would be someone else’s food. Inanna wouldn’t do something like ordering her subordinates to hand over their snacks.

Number Four, however, merely left her with a cool-looking back view, at least in its own mind.

To everyone’s shock, Number Four rolled up a cleaver, spun around wildly like the Sword Saint had on the dueling platform, then sliced off one of its own tentacles and tossed the pieces straight into the pot.

Huge question marks seemed to pop up over everyone’s heads.

Inanna hurriedly took out a mana potion and applied it to the slowly regenerating cut surface of the tentacle, distressed. “Number Four, what are you doing?”

Number Four simply took the ladle from the stunned dwarf’s hands, gave the pot a few practiced stirs, then handed the ladle to Inanna. “Try it!”

Number Four was very confident about its own taste.

Every time that black demon gnawed on it, it always wore an expression of pure bliss.

Looking at the porridge-like stew now floating with bits of fungal tentacle, Inanna wore a troubled expression.

Some people nearby even looked horrified.

For the first time, Inanna wondered whether Number Four might not be very bright.

Who tells their companions to taste themselves?

Yet through the fungal network, Number Four’s expectant emotions kept flowing toward her.

If she didn’t eat it, Inanna feared she’d hurt its feelings.

Left with no choice, she took the bowl and tried a small bite.

Mm!

It was exactly the flavor she was used to—the taste of Delicious LV10!

It even had more chew than ordinary Delicious mushrooms.

Inanna took a big, satisfied gulp, instantly feeling as though she had returned to the Mushroom Garden.

Seeing her satisfied expression, Number Four stood a little taller.

Not far away, the Sword Saint had no idea what that foolish mushroom, which had just placed itself into the category of emergency rations, was feeling proud about.

“So this is Delicious mushroom?” Bromm the dwarf was still hung up on the earlier argument. After Inanna finished eating, he immediately served himself a small bowl.

He wanted to see just how good this Delicious mushroom was, the one the female warrior claimed was far superior to their Forge Stew.

A few seconds later, the sight of a dwarf writhing on the ground, shouting things like “I’m so happy” and “I’ve lived my life in vain,” made the female warrior snort in disdain.

Mountain bumpkin. His reaction to tasting Delicious mushrooms for the first time was just too embarrassing.

When she herself had first tried Delicious mushrooms, she had been amazed, sure, but not to the point of losing all composure like this.

Thinking that, she stepped forward and scooped herself a bowl.

Then she, too, started muttering “How can this be so good?” as she twisted together with the dwarf on the ground.

Watching the two of them wriggling like worms, Ronan stared at his own bowl, suddenly afraid to make a move.

He couldn’t imagine how he’d maintain authority within the group if he ended up like that.

The others, however, had no such concerns. Once they realized the two weren’t poisoned, just overwhelmed by deliciousness to the point of losing their minds, no one wanted to miss out on the experience.

In the end, a whole crowd lay collapsed around the pot. Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought the entire group had been poisoned to death.

They couldn’t really be blamed for such an overreaction.

Inanna didn’t respond as strongly because back in the Mushroom Garden, she ate Delicious LV10 every single day.

Most of the others, however, had only ever eaten Delicious mushrooms between LV1 and LV3.

Even someone like Ronan, with an official position, had at most tasted LV4 Delicious food.

Still, once everyone finally managed to get back on their feet, the way they looked at Number Four had changed, just a little.

Of course, Number Four didn’t notice this change at all.

…

The next day, the delegation continued onward along the mountain road.

Most members still wore slightly dazed expressions, as if the taste of that Delicious puji tentacle from the previous day lingered on their tongues.

Only Bromm seemed a bit downcast, and not because of the Delicious mushroom incident.

“Up ahead is Goldflame City. In the past, when you reached this bend and looked up, you could see the copper spire of the city’s great clock tower, shining brilliantly in the sunlight. But now…”

He couldn’t continue, only letting out a heavy sigh.

Even before reaching the city, the scars left by the elemental upheaval from deep underground were already laid bare before them all.

On both sides of the road, the trees and ironthorn shrubs that had lined earlier stretches were gone, replaced by endless stretches of blackened ground.

The land was pocked with craters, their edges exposed with twisted stone shells that had been melted by extreme heat and then cooled and solidified.

There was no birdsong, no sign of beasts. Even the wind passing over this land sounded hollow. A faint scent of ash hung in the air.

Before they had gone much farther, the delegation ran headlong into a squad of fully armed dwarf warriors.