Morning light spilled through the gaps between pine needles.
The endless night rain had turned the ground into an unbearable mire.
Worse still, last night's [Plant Proliferation] had driven the vegetation into a frenzy of growth.
Thick, twisted roots burst from the earth, tangling with wildly spreading thorny vines to form a complex terrain where it was nearly impossible to set foot.
This harsh environment made the townsfolk who had risen early to try their luck turn back, and even the adventurers who had originally intended to gather Pujis for reward balked at the sight.
The muddy ground and barbs were enough to snap the ankles of even the most seasoned hunters.
But for Walking Mushrooms—peculiar creatures with flexible, fleshy fungal tendrils beneath them that moved by bouncing and gliding—this was simply a perfect morning.
Puji... puji...
Several round Walking Mushrooms happily darted between the crisscrossing vines.
The interwoven, twisted tree trunks became their joyful springboards.
The damp humus gave off a fragrance intoxicating to mushrooms.
"Puji?"
(Gugu, what are you spacing out about?)
A pale pink mushroom cap poked out from a patch of moss nearby. It was Gugu, the good friend of this Walking Mushroom named Jiji.
"Guji—"
(I was thinking about how incredibly happy we are.)
"Pu~"
(So happy!)
The two Walking Mushrooms huddled together and rubbed their caps against each other with their soft tendrils.
From behind rotting logs, beneath piles of moss, and through gaps in the pine needles, several fuzzy little figures emerged one after another.
Milky white, pale pink, light yellow, grayish brown—like flowers blooming for the first time after rain.
One especially small Puji even climbed up a slanted trunk onto a low branch, lazily stretching its cap in a shaft of light filtering through the pine boughs.
Pu~ pu~
Fine spores