A free elf!
The Scout Puffshroom extended its small foot and gently poked the elf's pale cheek. There was no response.
Pale complexion, labored breathing, deep unconsciousness—clearly heat stroke!
Those exaggerated chest muscles... this was a real female elf, not one of those breathtakingly beautiful creatures that stood while urinating, causing great psychological trauma to the Puffshroom's young mind.
It's just...
The Puffshroom used its soft mycelium to brush away the dirt and dead leaves staining the elf's face, revealing her complete features.
What was wrong with the elf race?
How could this female elf's appearance not even compare to a male elf?!
Though she'd be considered top-tier among humans, the gap between her and Sirian was like the vast chasm between Sirian and ordinary humans!
If there were a skill called [Beauty], she might have LV9, while Sirian would be LV12...
Opening her status panel.
[Level: LV49]
[Status: Unconscious, Paralyzed, Poisoned (Neurotoxin)]
[Title: Friend of Animals (Naturally emits an aura that makes animals feel close and at ease)]
The wound was on her leg—a deep gash with torn flesh.
The bleeding had stopped, but deep purple toxins were spreading around the wound.
The elf's health was less than one-third and still dropping. She was clearly dying.
But that wasn't important. What mattered was that someone at LV49 was about to die here. Could this seemingly peaceful forest undergrowth actually be hiding deadly dangers?
Just moments ago, while chasing that stupid parrot all the way here, though Lin Jun had sensed some monster presences, none seemed particularly strong. He had no idea which direction the monster that injured this elf had gone.
The title was somewhat interesting though—Friend of Animals?
Anyway, Lin Jun didn't feel any particular closeness to this elf through the Scout Puffshroom. But were Puffshrooms classified as animals or plants in this world? Or neither?
Lin Jun looked at her skills. She seemed like a ranger, though her skill set still included [Nature Magic], albeit at a low skill level.
The Puffshroom wandered around the tree hollow and found a relatively flat spot to plop down.
Lin Jun didn't plan to do anything—he'd just help collect her corpse after she died.
After all, he was just a Puffshroom who didn't know how to cure poisoning.
He couldn't possibly be kind enough to carry her through the rift to the surface to find antidotes, right?
That would lead to all sorts of troublesome complications afterward. She was just a stranger elf, after all.
As for finishing her off... that would be too evil. They had no grudges, and it wasn't worth it just for a skill that wasn't even that precious.
The Puffshroom just waited. When Lin Jun got bored, he even temporarily shifted his attention elsewhere.
...
Dizzy and disoriented, her stomach churning like turbulent seas, every breath required all her strength yet still left her feeling suffocated.
Eyes that could normally see clearly for hundreds of meters now couldn't even make out nearby scenery through the blur.
That strange little tree she'd never seen before... silver-gray branches with liquid starlight-like veins flowing through them.
It looked so serene and sacred, like something crafted from condensed moonlight.
Who would have thought it was highly poisonous, and the kind of trap that would actively come after you even if you didn't touch it?
The antidote paste she carried had been completely consumed, only slightly slowing the toxin's erosion without eliminating it entirely.
It seemed... she was truly about to return to nature. She wondered which wild beast would make a meal of her?
Her brother would surely come looking when he discovered she hadn't returned... but in this vast spiral forest descending downward, would he be able to find her remains?
Her lucidity was brief. The elf's thoughts began to scatter again, as if sinking into a chaotic swamp.
In her haze, she spotted a large white presence in her blurred vision.
"Furball...?" Her voice was as weak as a sigh. "How are you... here?"
She used the last of her strength to support herself with her elbows, dragging her completely numb lower body toward that white shadow.
Finally, she gently rested her burning forehead against that incredibly soft "furball," feeling a trace of comfort in her heart.
"Did you... come specifically to find me?" A barely perceptible curve appeared at her pale lips. "How wonderful..."
Consciousness receded like a tide. In the moment before complete submersion, a long wolf howl faintly penetrated the tree wall and reached her ears.
She hoped... that after the wolves finished enjoying her, they would spare the furball...
...
This elf had been muttering something incomprehensibly to herself before making herself comfortable by using the Puffshroom as a pillow. What nerve!
However, considering she'd soon be joining the mycelial network, Lin Jun wouldn't hold it against her.
The toxins were steadily draining her life. It would probably take less than half a day. Lin Jun could wait.
However, though the torn wound on the elf's body had barely stopped bleeding, the bloody scent seeping from the depths quickly attracted some uninvited guests with keen senses of smell.
After the wolf howl, rustling sounds of leaves brushing and claws scraping earth came from outside.
Soon, a ferocious wolf head covered in gray-brown fur suddenly squeezed through the narrow entrance, its ghostly green eyes glowing with greedy malice in the darkness.
[Race: Wind Wolf]
[Level: LV28]
There were Wind Wolves here too...
Come to think of it, forests should have wolves!
Meeting an "old acquaintance" in the depths of this unfamiliar Divine Tree Dungeon felt quite nostalgic!
But nostalgia aside, trying to steal something he'd been guarding for half the day? That wouldn't do!
The Wind Wolf that had only gotten halfway through didn't even have time to whimper before its body was instantly and cleanly severed in two, blood and entrails splattering against the tree hollow's walls and ground with a "splurt."
It wasn't over yet. [Magic Perception] had long since detected that there were over forty more outside!
After instantly killing another Wind Wolf that dared poke its head inside, Lin Jun was considering whether to have the Scout Puffshroom burrow out and clean them all up—dealing with them one by one was too slow.
However, after another wolf howl, the entire pack actually retreated.
Pretty smart!
Lin Jun didn't pursue them. There was no mycelial network nearby, so killing them would yield no benefits.
He turned his attention back to the elf.
Mm, very good, very good!
On the status panel, the health bar representing her life force had dropped to the dangerous red line—less than 10%! Victory was in sight!
He felt like he needed to send another scout over!
One could actually carry her, but it would be slow and potentially dangerous...
Lin Jun was calculating how to transport this elf afterward when he suddenly noticed her health bar had stopped moving.
[Status: Unconscious, Paralyzed]
Where was the poison?
Had it been consumed completely?!
The Scout Puffshroom stepped on the elf's face—would she die or not? Give some indication!—
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