On a branch halfway up a giant tree, not too high or low, the Scout Puffshroom sat quietly.
The guy who barged into the hut earlier had the same “Whitestone” last name as Airaven on his status panel. Probably her brother or dad? Elves’ ages didn’t show on their panels or faces, so Lin Jun guessed the guy was older based on his level.
He looked like he wanted to cut open the Puffshroom, which had a B-grade Magic Crystal inside! Not a huge deal, but better to keep it hidden.
Lin Jun didn’t want rumors spreading about killing Puffshrooms to get Magic Crystals.
The Scout Puffshroom left for another reason too—it had real work to do.
Sneaking into the elven city wasn’t about acting cute as a pet! The goal was to get [Nature Magic], and now [Gravity Field] was on the list too.
No rush, though—the Mycelial Network wasn’t even set up yet. First step: get to know this elven city.
Safety wasn’t an issue. The Scout Puffshroom’s right foot had a small green cloth with Elvish writing on it. Airaven’s parrot, bear, and snake had similar cloths, and so did other elves’ pets—like a pet collar.
So, the Scout Puffshroom was an official pet now!
Could this cloth get it past the outer guards? If it could…
The Puffshroom zipped low through the forest under the giant trees. The fancy “sky market” up top was cool, but Lin Jun didn’t know Elvish—going there would be like watching a play with no sound. Better to explore the ground first.
Lin Jun was also thinking about learning Elvish. If he could raise [Analysis] to LV3 or LV4, he could pick it up slowly in daily life. But where could he find a fresh elf corpse?
Try his luck in the Godwood Dungeon?
Lin Jun wasn’t hopeful. That place was nothing like the busy Amethyst Dungeon—super wild, barely explored, with hardly any elven adventurers. Airaven didn’t meet a single one on her way back.
Even if an elf died in there, monsters would probably eat the body fast. Finding another half-dead elf like before was too much to hope for.
So, where could he find a freshly dead elf that monsters wouldn’t eat right away?
After flying half the day, the Scout Puffshroom landed by a special woodland. Every tree here had a small stone tablet with Elvish writing.
At the edge, an elven funeral was happening.
A few elves stood quietly around a shallow pit, about a meter deep. Inside, with no coffin, lay an old elf, no longer breathing. Lin Jun had never seen an elf so old—wrinkled like tree bark, thin silver hair, all their famous beauty gone.
Some elves noticed the Puffshroom, giving its weird look a glance but ignoring it—maybe because of the green cloth on its foot.
No long speeches, no loud crying, not even much sadness. The elves quietly covered their friend with dirt. When done, they planted a dark brown seed in the middle of the grave.
Then, they poured a bottle of potion glowing green over the seed.
Soft, lively [Nature Magic] glowed from the elves’ hands, gently wrapping the soil. The seed sprouted fast, pushing through the dirt, growing tiny leaves. With the magic and potion’s help, it safely became a small, lively sapling.
It was the same kind as the old trees around it.
With [Mana Perception], Lin Jun saw the sapling’s roots wrapping around the buried elf, probably using it as food for the tree.
What a simple funeral.
Lin Jun liked this back-to-nature idea, but trees soaking up bodies was slow. As a helpful mushroom, he was happy to speed things up!
Okay, corpses found.
Now the problem—how to sneak these “great fertilizers” back to the Mycelial Network?
In the Godwood Dungeon, at the crevice where the Scout Puffshroom came out, another Scout Puffshroom hopped through.
Scout One was taken by the elves, so Scout Two got stuck with exploring the dungeon. But it wasn’t alone—some regular Puffshrooms jumped out too.
The seventh layer’s water being mostly gone was handy—it made spreading the Mycelial Network easier, all the way to the crevice.
Right away, the Puffshrooms shook their heads and spread spores.
Since elves didn’t come to the Godwood Dungeon much, the main problem for the Mycelial Network was local monsters. But Lin Jun knew how to handle that!
Surface Mycelial Network and underground tunnels, both at once!
Kill slimes!
Get rid of Glowgrass too!
The deep-layer plantations run by demonkin were enough for Glowgrass. The dungeon didn’t need other lights!
The crevice was a bit too obvious, though, so Lin Jun decided to hide it.
After half a day, when the Mycelial Network started taking shape, a few Fatshroom Puffshrooms were made. They huddled around the crevice, while other Puffshrooms brought stones for them to eat.
With [Rock Eater LV8] and [Resonance LV2], they turned into a big boulder.
Then, Lin Jun broke down the Fatshrooms inside with [Analysis] and smoothed the boulder’s shape, finishing the basic cover-up. To anyone looking, it was just a big rock on the Mycelial Network.
It was hollow, but the skills made it tougher than regular stone—no worry about it breaking.
Unless one of those moving trees showed up—then forget Lin Jun said anything.
The Mycelial Network kept spreading slowly, while Scout Two flew off alone.
The crevice was on the fourth spiral layer, pretty close to the surface. Lin Jun planned to send Scout Two to the center, then down the shortest path to check what monsters were in this dungeon.
As Scout Two started its adventure, Pink Puffshroom, gone for three days, popped back onto the Mycelial Network.
No need for detection skills—her smug little face said it all: she brought the stuff back!
(End of Chapter)
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