Mana Mushroom

"Isn't there something a little off about the contents of this treasure chest?"

Inside the Goblin camp, Vinnie tilted her head as she looked at the contents of the chest. What kind of treasure chest had no equipment or treasures at all, but instead contained an entire chestful of mushrooms?

Was her luck really that bad, or was it because this was the Mushroom Forest, so treasure chests here were just like this?

"Hm?" Oliver crouched down, took out a mushroom from the chest, and held it before his eyes. After giving it a sniff, his eyes lit up. He snapped off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth. "It can actually restore mana and mental energy. This should be a magical plant that looks like a mushroom."

There were all kinds of plants in the world, born under different environments and magical influences. These plants had different effects and uses, and the magical plants needed for many alchemical potions were extremely valuable.

Oliver knew a little about potion-making. Quite a few of the mushrooms in this chest contained pure, gentle mana, making them a versatile magical plant that could be used to brew either mana potions or mental restoration potions.

"Each of these Mana Mushrooms is worth at least one gold coin." With that, Oliver licked his lips and ate the entire mushroom in his hand.

"They're worth that much?"

Mark and the others had been somewhat disappointed to find the chest full of mushrooms, but after hearing that each Mana Mushroom was worth one gold coin, and that there were at least dozens of them in the chest, worth at least dozens of gold coins—

Smiles immediately appeared on their faces. Although all of them were at the peak of the Formal Professional rank,

every step a professional took toward becoming stronger required a great deal of money. Otherwise, why would they risk their lives entering the Dungeon? Wasn't it all for the treasures and wealth within?

Oliver took several specialized boxes from his Alchemy Expansion Pack and carefully sorted out all the Mana Mushrooms from the chest. As for the remaining ordinary mushrooms, they only selected a few Delicious Mushrooms to make for dinner that day.

"Mark, I think we should temporarily give up riding the Clearwind Boat and thoroughly explore this area."

Vinnie's gaze swept across the enormous mushrooms around them, greed gleaming in her crimson eyes. She did not believe the mushrooms in the treasure chest had appeared there on their own. Most likely, the Goblins had taken out the equipment and used the chest to store mushrooms.

The best proof was the large number of edible mushrooms mixed in with them.

In other words, there had to be a Mana Mushroom growing area nearby. As long as they found it and harvested the mature Mana Mushrooms, they would have guaranteed profits even if they found nothing else afterward.

"Mm, I was thinking the same thing."

Oliver agreed with Vinnie as well. As both a mage and a part-time potion-maker, he was deeply interested in the environment in which Mana Mushrooms grew and formed. If possible, he even wanted to collect some spores to take back and study how to cultivate and reproduce Mana Mushrooms on a large scale.

"In that case, we'll start by exploring this area."

Mark took out the map he had drawn along the way and looked at the section marking the Mushroom Forest. He nodded in agreement. They had already escaped the poisonous mist region; it was time to begin a proper exploration.

"Everyone, change equipment."

As soon as Mark spoke, the group took out full sets of equipment from their respective Alchemy Expansion Packs. To pass through the Venomous Swamp earlier, they had all traveled lightly equipped, in case they fell into the swamp and sank straight down under their own weight.

More than ten minutes later, the four of them had undergone a complete transformation. Mark wore a suit of silver-white armor, held a round shield, and carried a fiery red greatsword on his back. It was his spare weapon; the enchanted greatsword he had spent a fortune forging had been lost in the Dungeon last time.

Vinnie and Oliver, both assassins, did not seem to have changed much. However, Ireland, the light priest, wore armor no less formidable than Mark's. He carried a spiked warhammer in one hand, with a chain hanging from its tail end and tightly wrapped around his wrist.

"Sure enough, this is still the most comfortable outfit."

Ireland's voice came from beneath his closed helmet. The enormous spiked warhammer seemed weightless in his hand. As priests of the gods, shepherds who guarded the flock and spread the faith, no formal priest recognized by the church was the delicate, fragile sort from bardic tales.

After all, weak priests had no power to spread the faith of the gods, eradicate heretics, or protect the flock.

"Move out."

Mark took the lead at the front of the party. Vinnie's figure slipped into the shadows and vanished. Oliver stood in the middle of the group, constantly watching for movement around them, while Ireland guarded the rear.

Time passed bit by bit. There was no cycle of day and night within the Dungeon, at least not on the Dungeon floors they had currently reached.

As Mark's Squad continued deeper, they encountered attacks from quite a few monsters, including Swamp Giant Crocodiles. Yet these monsters, which no adventurer dared provoke lightly amid the swamp's dense fog, were utterly vulnerable in this Mushroom Forest, where there was plenty of solid footing.

They were no match for Mark's group at all. Their nearly ten-meter-long bodies charged like full-speed semi-trucks, yet Ireland still dodged them easily before smashing their skulls apart with a single blow of his warhammer.

"Mark, go that way. The mana over there is denser."

Oliver, who had just blasted several Swamp Pythons away with a Fireball, suddenly looked toward the front right. Sensing the magical aura coming from that direction, he hurriedly shouted to Mark.

"Got it."

Mark answered without looking back, even as he fought. Flames erupted across his body, and the greatsword in his hand rose high as it began to expand. In the end, the ten-meter flaming greatsword slashed down fiercely, wiping out more than half the monsters surrounding them in a single strike.

"Go!"

Unleashing such immense power took no small toll on Mark. Before more monsters could arrive, he charged toward the direction Oliver had indicated.

Whoosh.

A nimble figure darted continuously between the shadows, taking a monster's life with every appearance. As an assassin, Vinnie was the first to clear all the monsters blocking their way, and after her teammates passed through, she casually tossed down temporary magical traps.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The flames of alchemical bombs blocked the monsters' pursuit. Mark's group ran all the way until they finally rushed into a strange space.

"What is this place?"

Mark raised his head to look at the canopy above, which emitted countless specks of light. Beneath his feet was soft ground with a faint springiness, while the surrounding walls were covered in mycelium, with countless mushrooms growing from them.

Ahead of them, beneath a cliff dozens of meters high, lay a massive sinkhole. Hundreds of Puchi were spraying mana spores within it. This was the interior of an enormous mushroom.