In the Dream Garden, Inanna hosted an elegant tea party, joined only by Puffshrooms.
Round Puffshrooms sat primly on boosted chairs around a lace-covered table, waiting quietly.
Inanna held a delicate porcelain pot, carefully pouring warm tea into each tiny cup, then one for herself.
The Puffshrooms curled soft mycelium tendrils around steaming cups, gracefully tipping tea onto their plump caps.
Inanna smiled, sipping her tea, lost in this private joy and calm.
Over time, the light dimmed subtly.
Beyond the garden’s pure white edge, a woman’s figure appeared, kneeling silently, her cascading pink hair spilling across the ground, hiding her face.
Though childhood memories were hazy, Inanna blurted, “Mother…?”
She stood, drawn to look closer.
But as she neared the garden’s edge, Puffshrooms stretched tendrils, gently tugging her skirt.
Inanna paused, crouched, and soothed each Puffshroom with soft pats.
When they calmed, she looked again—the figure was gone.
Inanna returned to the table, resuming the interrupted tea party.
“Mother…” Inanna murmured, waking from sleep, eyes groggy, chest tight, breathing hard.
Moving a Puffshroom sprawled across her chest helped.
Puzzled, she wondered why she’d dreamt of her mother.
Nothing recent had stirred such memories. Her mother, long gone since Inanna’s childhood, was a faded symbol.
Beyond that striking pink hair and scattered fragments, Inanna couldn’t recall her face or voice.
No portraits or keepsakes remained in the duke’s mansion—her father had them removed to avoid pain.
Just a strange dream.
It didn’t sadden Inanna much. She’d long grown used to life without parents. That was normal.
Plus, she had Puffshrooms now!
Seeing the bed littered with lolling Puffshrooms, Inanna shook off the dream’s confusion, leading her little crew out of the bedroom with a bounce.
“Miss.” A maid waited outside as the door opened.
In the distant courtyard, two Gold-tier guards sparred in the morning light.
Servants and guards bustled through the estate.
Since Inanna chose to settle in Mushroom Town, Farr had swiftly gifted her a prime plot near the guild for this cozy manor.
Butler Eric bolstered the guard detail and assigned a maid team for her care.
Inanna found Eric’s quick approval to live outside the stuffy duke’s mansion odd—she’d expected a fight.
But since it suited her perfectly, she didn’t question it.
What if asking reminded Eric to drag her back to that dreary mansion?
Life here thrilled Inanna.
Puffshrooms always by her side, the Mycelial Network wrapping her thoughts, and the boss to chat with anytime!
“Boss, I dreamt of my mother…”
“All I remember is her lying in bed…”
“Boss, do you have a mother?”
Lin Jun: “???”
After their usual “Inanna talks five times, boss replies once” chat, she scooped up her Knight Puffshroom No. 3, skipping out of the manor.
Her good mood didn’t last.
Seeing two so-called “Puffshroom Masters” gleefully testing their Puffshrooms’ Mushroom Cannon power soured her sunny vibe.
If anything irked her lately, it was these sudden “Puffshroom Masters.”
First, one lucky guy bonded with mycelium, gaining Puffshroom control. Then, a crazy guy stabbed himself to force symbiosis!
The second guy not only sold detailed bonding steps to the guild but hawked them to adventurers, sparking eager copycats.
Their numbers were still low, but the trend was clear—more would come.
Despite the guild’s warnings about unknown risks, many couldn’t resist the easy power.
Inanna loathed these people. Unlike Edin, she couldn’t sense them in the Mycelial Network.
Worse, they had no love for Puffshrooms, only cold exploitation.
Those two compared Puffshroom damage like swords or shields—tools, expendable.
They sent Puffshrooms to fight, discarded them when spent, and grabbed new ones, over and over.
Inanna longed to ban this as the duke’s daughter, but the boss didn’t agree.
The boss was perfect, just too kind, bending over for humans, letting Puffshrooms suffer. Only Inanna’s heart ached for them.
She knew, though, even her status couldn’t stop this power-chasing craze.
So, she buried her anger, quietly despising those who treated Puffshrooms as tools.
Out of sight, out of mind. Inanna left with her Puffshrooms and guards.
The two new “Puffshroom Masters” didn’t know they’d earned a duke’s daughter’s scorn.
They’d just made a big find—Puffshrooms’ stats weren’t all the same!
Everyone knew Puffshrooms ranked in tiers: Inanna’s Puffshroom King, then Fatshroom or elite Puffshrooms, and finally common ones everywhere.
But now they saw even common Puffshrooms varied!
Same breed, some had higher stats!
(End of Chapter)
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