When the three puffshrooms arrived at the Dryad Grove once again, Lin Jun discovered that the number of dryads connected to the mycelial network had increased.
"We meet again, my dryad neighbors. Five of you this time, I see..."
Compared to the hundreds of dryads that comprised the entire grove's population, this was still very few, but it was a good beginning.
Several dryads had clearly sensed the puffshrooms' presence through the mycelial network long ago and had been waiting for Lin Jun's arrival.
Lin Jun could feel their nervousness.
However, after discovering that Little Black hadn't followed along this time, their tension decreased considerably.
It seemed they were worried that Lin Jun might find their numbers insufficient. The same dryad from before—the one with a mushroom growing atop its head—stepped forward and said, "Mushroom Sovereign, our people need more time to accept this change. Please understand."
A soothing emotional intent flowed through the mycelial network to the several dryads: "I'm very pleased to see five beings willing to step forward for communication. In fact, I came this time hoping to ask you all for a small favor. Would anyone be willing? Of course, there will be compensation."
Lin Jun didn't explain what the "small favor" entailed—testing relay nodes was something that would take quite a while to explain clearly.
The several dryads exchanged glances. They had all mentally prepared themselves before connecting to the mycelial network, so naturally, they had no reason to refuse at this moment. They all stepped forward together.
However, no matter how Lin Jun looked at it, there was a sense of grim determination about them.
Well, that was understandable. Thanks to Little Black's "fine example," they probably thought the "small favor" involved being sent to Little Black as playthings to be dismantled...
They'd have to take things slowly.
The puffshrooms led the several dryads out of the grove, heading toward the base of the cliff wall near the staircase that had already been covered with fungal carpet.
The Dryad Grove's location was indeed quite remote. Along the way, they had to pass through several territories belonging to other magical creatures.
Actually, when the puffshrooms had set out, there had been five of them. But without Little Black clearing the path, only three remained by the time they reached the Dryad Grove.
For instance, right now during the return journey, the group encountered another situation. A vine-type magical creature suddenly entangled a passing puffshroom, gradually tightening its grip, clearly about to squeeze the puffshroom to death.
Lin Jun originally hadn't paid much attention to this—rescue would have been impossible anyway.
With puffshrooms spanning multiple floors, it was common for dozens or even hundreds to die on any given day, especially during the current sixth-floor campaign period when casualties were even higher.
But then one of the dryads stepped forward, extending its hand to touch the vine. Amazingly, the vine voluntarily released its prey!
What kind of ability was this?
Lin Jun opened his status panel and searched for quite a while before finally spotting a skill: [Plant Affinity LV4].
He had known the dryads possessed this skill before, but had always assumed it was used for growing mushrooms and moss on their bodies.
So this was its actual effect?
If the puffshrooms had this skill, wouldn't that mean...
The several dryads inexplicably felt a chill, though they couldn't locate its source.
No, no, no! There was no need for such extreme measures.
He could just go back and collect some accidentally deceased dryad corpses later... They probably didn't have cremation customs, right?
After being attacked by the vine once, the dryads moved ahead of the puffshrooms, proactively taking on the role of pathfinders.
Whenever they encountered aggressive plants, they would first use [Plant Affinity] to pacify them before letting the group pass through.
This also gave Lin Jun a clearer understanding of the skill—it wasn't as useful as he had initially thought.
At first, Lin Jun had assumed that having this skill meant they wouldn't be attacked at all. But after watching the dryads use it several times, he realized it was an active skill, not a passive one.
When using it, they had to make physical contact with the plant. But the problem was, when a puffshroom was touched, it would most likely die instantly...
Moreover, the skill's effect seemed more like a plant-based version of charm magic.
When used successfully, it would make the target abandon its attack. When it failed... a vine that the dryad had forcibly torn apart through brute strength demonstrated the result.
By the time the five dryads finally reached their destination, they were greeted by fungal carpet spreading across the entire cliff wall and over sixty puffshrooms at its base.
Each dryad's heart was shrouded with unease about the unknown. One of the bolder dryads asked directly:
"Mushroom Sovereign, may we now know what we need to do?"
Lin Jun didn't deliberately keep them in suspense and explained directly:
"The favor I'd like to ask of you this time is to test the mycelial network—the thing we're using to communicate right now. You just need to have a general understanding of it."
As he spoke, Lin Jun transferred control of two puffshrooms to the dryad who had asked the question.
The dryad became aware of the change almost instantly.
It first looked at these two puffshrooms that were mimicking its movements, and within half a minute—without any additional prompting from Lin Jun—it understood how to give commands to the puffshrooms.
"How does it feel?" Lin Jun asked.
"It feels..." The dryad controlled the two puffshrooms, making them perform different actions in front of it. "A bit like root-speech, but different."
Lin Jun knew about root-speech—it was the dryads' method of communication, but it could only convey emotions, with specific meanings left to guesswork. It was far less convenient than the mycelial network.
But that wasn't what Lin Jun wanted to ask about.
"How do you feel mentally? Any pressure?"
The dryad shook its head, indicating there wasn't any.
Lin Jun decisively allocated four more puffshrooms to it.
Seeing that it still seemed fine, Lin Jun continued increasing the number.
"Tell me if you feel any pressure!"
It wasn't until the count reached twenty-four that the dryad waved its hand, indicating it felt uncomfortable.
"Dizzy..."
Lin Jun quickly reclaimed all control rights and had the dryad rest to one side.
Next, Lin Jun had the other dryads test one by one.
He discovered that dryads could generally control more than twelve puffshrooms, while the mushroom-topped dryad could manage up to twenty.
It seemed that giving Little Black over twenty at once had indeed been a bit much...
These dryads felt very suitable for serving as his assistants!
However, Lin Jun wasn't hasty about having them lead puffshrooms in rampaging across the sixth floor. Such matters couldn't be rushed.
Five dryads alone wouldn't suffice anyway.
After completing the tests, Lin Jun brought out the compensation he had prepared long ago.
Five C-grade magic crystals, each the size of a finger.
It didn't seem like much, but considering this task had essentially been just a casual outing for these dryads, it could be considered quite generous compensation.
Moreover, Lin Jun had observed that while magic crystals did exist on the sixth floor, they were riddled with cracks and impurities, with abysmal quality—practically废品 [waste products].
The quality was so poor that some crystals were directly exposed outside the earthen walls, yet passing adventurers couldn't even be bothered to pick them up.
C-grade magic crystals were definitely rare resources for sixth-floor creatures.
And for dryads, magic crystals should be no different than they were for mushrooms—they could be used as fertilizer.
Indeed, the several dryads' spirits visibly lifted upon receiving the crystals, seemingly not having expected such a good deal!
Lin Jun didn't delay further. After distributing the daily wages, he let them return on their own.
Seeing their expressions, Lin Jun knew his second objective had also been achieved.
After a few more such occasions, once a foundation of trust was established, Lin Jun could select some dryads willing to fully align with him from among them and grant them greater privileges.
With role models in place, the mushroom faction among the dryads would gradually grow, until they were completely absorbed into his ranks!
Lin Jun had already planned out the dryads' future.
When the time came, relying on the mycelial network's relay nodes, perhaps the sixth floor's management and maintenance could be handled entirely without his personal involvement?
It would be great if other floors also had dryads.
Thinking about it, Lin Jun remembered that the tenth floor's werewolves might meet the criteria?
But firstly, the tenth floor was still quite distant—he hadn't even figured out how to break through the eighth floor's teleportation maze.
Secondly, werewolves would probably be difficult to deal with. His memories of werewolves contained no particularly positive impressions...
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