"It's fine. That's just synthetic sugar. It needs to be catalyzed before it can become a hallucinogenic anesthetic. We mixed it directly with water, so it's pure nutrition."
Ian possessed the Pure Rock Body himself, so he had never feared ordinary parasites or toxins. Besides, he had the Silver Chip. Naturally, he knew there was nothing wrong with the sugar water they had drunk.
Still, he could not help feeling a little sentimental. "Giant Gold Fungus does not actively kill its symbiotic beasts through symbiosis—they make the beasts' shells harder and their strength greater. The host gains more power, while the Giant Gold Fungus can travel to more places and spread its spores. All in all, it is a win-win in every respect."
"But after living in symbiosis for too long, as the mycelium spreads through their bodies, the symbiotic beasts will inevitably become half-fungal creatures. They grow unwilling to move, until eventually they simply bury themselves and regard themselves as enormous Giant Gold Fungus."
This was a transformation, not mere parasitism. There was a vast difference between the two.
That Fortress Giant Turtle was clearly such a case. It no longer thought of itself as a turtle, but as a walking mushroom.
If one insisted on explaining it from that angle, then Giant Gold Fungus really could drive people mad.
Still, something was strange.
Ian could roughly guess why the cavern where the Giant Gold Fungus grew was icy cold despite being filled with heat-loving metal-based lifeforms. It was likely due to the ruins' heat dissipation system—when the ruins released heat abnormally, the original cold here would turn into a high-temperature cavern suitable for their activity and survival. With an inexhaustible water source as well, it was an exceedingly precious place to settle.
But why were all the Giant