He had truly experienced firsthand why both heroes and villains alike loved to ramble on with lengthy declarations when victory was within their grasp—spouting a few nonsensical words just felt so satisfying! It hadn't been in vain that he'd specially generated a voice puffshroom for this moment! What a pity these were merely small fry; his years of accumulated victory declaration repertoire was already itching to be delivered to various heroes and champions!
【Sin of Greed Triggered】
【Human Universal Language: LV9→LV10】
【Blunt Weapon Mastery: LV4→LV5】
【Crossbow Mastery: LV6→LV7】
......
The bandits' flesh and blood were rapidly decomposed and absorbed, while the remaining bones, tattered leather armor, and weapons were swallowed by several acid puffshrooms, producing faint corrosive sounds. Before long, aside from a few fresh dirt pits in the area, not a single trace remained of those seven bandits' existence.
Universal Language had reached maximum level, though its significance wasn't particularly great. At LV9, communication had already been seamless—presumably only some obscure vocabulary remained unknown. Now that it had reached the peak, the symbolic meaning far outweighed the practical benefit, giving him a rather melancholic sense of achieving perfect merit yet experiencing little change. Still, it was ultimately a good thing!
After retrieving all the puffshrooms one by one, Lin Jun had Dylan return to the dungeon on his own.
Dylan witnessed the dramatically transformed Mute Wind Town and saw the crowds scattered across the nearby area searching for mushrooms. Since Mute Wind Town's horse station was now unmanned, Dylan could only trade his bay horse to a group of adventurers before entering the dungeon alone.
One adventurer who had just completed the trade with Dylan watched his unhesitating figure disappear into the entrance, couldn't help but shake his head and click his tongue, commenting to his companion in a low voice: "Tsk, there really are people with a death wish, charging in there right now..."
Dylan advanced through the familiar yet strange passages, his gaze sweeping over the terrifying fissures visible everywhere, inevitably feeling a chill run down his spine. But since the boss had explicitly guaranteed his safety, he chose to trust.
Sure enough, upon entering the second floor, those unsettling fissures diminished by more than half, and continuing downward they almost completely disappeared. Dylan breathed a sigh of relief, his steps becoming lighter.
All the way down, Lin Jun leisurely narrated the dungeon's changes in his mind, with the most delightful news being the increase in "half-mushroom people"! When Old Dylan had left, only Little Black had lived with him in the mushroom forest, but now there were so many people! Besides Little Pig and Norris, there were also demons and cave dwellers.
Dylan was genuinely happy about the mushroom garden's expansion! This feeling of "no longer being alone" was truly wonderful—he was almost eager to meet these new companions he'd never encountered.
Reaching the fifth floor, Dylan instinctively walked toward the corner where he had once built his mushroom hut, but times had changed, and the place was already unrecognizable. His former little nest was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a crude stone monument standing there alone.
On the monument's surface, carved in obviously unskilled, crooked Universal Language script, were several lines:
[Here rests a fellow traveler on the mushroom path, a follower sworn by mycelium]
[You witnessed the first campfire, fell before the unfinished dawn]
[Rest in peace, my friend]
Dylan's heart sank heavily. Someone had actually... sacrificed their life?
Dylan thought about it—indeed, while the boss had implied the mushroom garden was incomparably better than before, the process certainly hadn't been smooth sailing. The boss had simply chosen not to mention those painful memories.
The joy in his heart quietly faded, replaced by a heavy, overwhelming sorrow. This fellow traveler he'd never met who now slept here eternally... at least, let me know your name.
Dylan crouched down and, with reverence, carefully brushed away the mud and moss at the monument's base with his hands. A line of deeper engravings was revealed:
[Dylan Slick rests here eternally]
"..."
"Boss, I have a question," he paused, "How did I die?"
"Ah?" On the other end, Lin Jun's consciousness had been enthusiastically describing the bright prospects of the fat worm breeding facility when his voice abruptly stopped...
......
Several puffshrooms huffed and puffed as they moved the obstructive stone monument aside, while a digging puffshroom that had been standing ready immediately swung its mushroom cap and smashed it to pieces with two "clang clang" strikes. The entire process flowed like water, everyone tacitly agreeing never to mention it again, as if that stone inscribed with "Dylan rests eternally" had never existed.
Continuing to the sixth floor, then from the sixth floor giving Dylan the experience of being carried along at high speed, they headed straight for the stone fortress fissure. It wasn't until Dylan was shivering from the cold, his snot even beginning to crystallize into small ice crystals, that Lin Jun remembered this fellow lacked sufficient cold resistance.
After some thought, Lin Jun simply called all three of them out—everyone had been quite idle lately anyway.
Just two minutes later, Louisa's figure was the first to step out gracefully. Next, Norris also cautiously emerged. The most dawdling was Little Black, who only reluctantly shuffled out in an extremely awkward posture—one step at a time—after Lin Jun repeatedly assured her that puffshrooms would help watch the house, clutching her big tail to her chest.
Ever since her tail had been severed once, Little Black had become extraordinarily precious about it. When going out, keeping the tail behind her was no longer safe—it had to be held in her arms at all times. Because she was holding her tail, she could only walk in a half-crouch, which even Lin Jun found exhausting to watch.
Seeing Dylan after so long, Little Black tilted her head in confusion, leaned close to sniff carefully, and finally confirmed the old acquaintance by his scent. She extended the tip of her tail that she'd been clutching to her chest toward Dylan, letting him gently touch it once as a greeting.
Louisa stepped forward, her crimson eyes carrying a trace of friendly assessment, lips slightly curved to reveal a hint of snow-white, sharp fangs, extending her hand to Dylan: "Louisa, Diamond-rank blood clan. As we both serve under the boss, please take care of me in the future."
Her handshake was firm and steady, her attitude peaceful, showing not the slightest contempt despite Dylan's aged appearance and weak magical fluctuations—as long as someone was valued by the boss, she would show respect.
Though Lin Jun had given advance warning, having a vampire over two meters tall who radiated powerful pressure shake hands so amicably still left Dylan feeling somewhat unreal and dazed. He instinctively praised: "Your... your Universal Language is really fluent..."
"Professional necessity. I used to do some intelligence work," Louisa replied indifferently.
Dylan nodded, thinking of Chloe—indeed, their Universal Language had been quite skilled.
At this moment, Norris hurried forward as well, extending his right hand covered in fine scales with carefully trimmed nails, trying his best to straighten his back: "My name is Norris! Very pleased to meet you, senior! Please take care of me in the future!"
Dylan grasped that hand bearing non-human characteristics, feeling the slightly cool texture of the scales, watching Norris's earnest attempt to appear friendly, and sincerely praised again: "Your Universal Language is really good too!"
After releasing his hand, Norris seemed to suffer a heavy blow, instantly deflating and collapsing to the ground, nearly crying.
Only then did Dylan remember that in the boss's description, Norris was supposed to be human, but... looking at Norris covered in scales and claws, was this still human?!
He connected this to Lin Jun's casual "joke" about giving him extra arms and legs, couldn't help but shudder...
It was Lin Jun who comforted Norris, saying he'd upgrade him with 【Mimicry LV7】 later, that helped Dylan resolve the awkwardness.
"Oh right, boss, I brought back your fruit!" Finally remembering the main business, Dylan pulled several red fruits covered in spiral patterns from his backpack.
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