V401, An Epic Victory

The Magic Crystal above Inanna's head lit up as she nervously cast Mud Swamp Art.

The ground beneath the Earth Worm, once solid, instantly turned into a bog, and the rubble it had dug up became muddy water.

However, the swampy layer of ground was limited in thickness. Deeper underground, beneath the rear end of the giant worm's body, the earth remained solid.

Relying on that small stretch of solid ground below, the Earth Worm was still slowly burrowing downward.

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Of course, Linden would not just watch it escape.

"Inanna, keep using Mud Swamp Art. Don't stop!"

"Okay."

At the same time, the Pujis that had been taking damage all around them finally began to fight back. The popping sounds of Mushroom Cannons firing rang out without pause.

Linden directed their firepower at the shattered sections of the Earth Worm's Rock Armor.

The Earth Worm's health kept dropping on the Panel. At its current burrowing speed, it would not be able to escape!

It was going to work!

My hope of escaping the Dungeon!

As long as I temporarily move over here afterward and eat the Earth Worm to gain its skill, I can dig upward and see daylight again!

It's been so long since I last basked in the sun.

But... why was the ground shaking again?

The tremors were coming from...

"Inanna, run back!"

"Huh?"

Still focused on maintaining Mud Swamp Art, Inanna did not react in time and only instinctively took two steps back.

The very next second, another giant worm burst through the rocks in front of her!

Its protruding Rock Armor swept past her, sending Inanna flying into the passage as though she had been struck by an uppercut.

"Inanna? Inanna!"

There was no response. Linden hurriedly opened the Panel—she had lost 400 health.

Fortunately, she had more than three thousand health, so she was still far from dying. However, she had clearly fallen unconscious.

Four nearby Pujis picked up the unconscious Inanna and the A-Rank Magic Crystal that had fallen to the ground, then retreated deeper into the tunnel.

Inanna was temporarily safe, but the situation on the battlefield was far from optimistic.

The second Earth Worm that had suddenly intruded was rampaging around the Cave, crushing large numbers of Pujis to death.

Without Inanna maintaining it, the swamp trapping the injured Earth Worm was gradually hardening, and its burrowing speed was visibly increasing.

Why was there a second Earth Worm?

Had he placed too many Magic Crystals, making the lure too strong?

Or did these worms also have companions and help one another?

There was no time to think. The second Earth Worm was definitely impossible to deal with, so Linden could only concentrate his firepower on the injured one.

Ignoring the Pujis that were continuously dying, Linden unleashed all his firepower.

As long as I can bring its health down to zero before it escapes...

"What? You're saying another Earth Worm sent me flying?"

Twenty-three Pujis, and one Inanna who had already woken up but was still utterly confused—and even a little excited.

That was all the strength they had left after retreating to the Mushroom Garden.

The badly wounded Earth Worm had ultimately escaped with a sliver of health remaining, while the remaining Pujis had suffered grievous losses under the harassment of the other Earth Worm.

Even worse, many areas had collapsed. Numerous Pujis could not return through the tunnels they had come from and could only be abandoned.

The only thing worth celebrating was that the magical disturbances from the battle had scared off all the nearby small Monsters.

They did not encounter any more attacks on the way back.

Otherwise, they might not have made it back at all.

Linden now felt like an investor who had poured everything into the stock market and walked away with nothing but the clothes on his back.

All his savings were gone.

Fortunately, there was no mortgage or lending in the Dungeon. He still had a Mushroom Garden...

Mushrooms did not share the same joys and sorrows.

While Linden was secretly grieving over his losses, Inanna was in quite a good mood.

She did not know that Linden had hunted the Earth Worm to escape the Dungeon, nor did she know how much he had wagered on this hunt.

As far as she was concerned, they could just organize another hunt later. It was not as though there would be two Earth Worms every time, right?

All she knew was that Linden had kept his promise. The A-Rank Magic Crystal tied back onto her Mushroom Cap finally officially belonged to her.

Inanna decided that she would call Linden Boss from now on!

As for nearly being bitten by the Earth Worm?

She had no real sense of it at all.

She had suddenly passed out, and with her LV4 Health Regeneration, her health was already full when she woke up.

She had no impression of being injured at all. It felt like she had earned the Magic Crystal just by lying down...

She even wondered whether the next hunt might earn her another A-Rank Magic Crystal.

In one corner of the Mushroom Garden, beneath a Big Mushroom, was a ten-meter-long passage made of Mycelium that extended downward. At its end was a 3x3 underground space.

Linden's true body, an utterly ordinary Cyan Mushroom, was there.

Also in the room was a special Puji emanating a powerful aura.

Unlike those Cannon Fodder Pujis, this one had been nurtured since the Mushroom Garden was first established, with its skills and level raised to Linden's limit. It was the Strongest Puji.

It was the exclusive mount Linden had prepared for himself.

The problem now facing Linden was this:

Should he honestly spend a great deal of time accumulating strength again and hunt the Earth Worm once more?

Or should he return to his original plan and, the next time the Flame Demon left, risk having the Super Puji smuggle Linden's true body upward?

Meanwhile, at the passage entrance between the Deep Zone and the Tenth Floor, at the Flame Demon's nest.

"It's so hot! Is this the Deep Zone of Amethyst Dungeon? It's not all lava territory, is it? Are you sure that young lady would be in a place like this?"

Night Owl tugged uncomfortably at the collar of her bodysuit.

She had no High Temperature Resistance at all and could only barely stand here after drinking a Fire Protection Potion.

Even so, she felt terribly uncomfortable and only wanted to leave as soon as possible.

A Cooling Art fell over the group, and Night Owl's expression finally relaxed.

"You really saved my life."

The light on his staff faded, and Ivan smiled as he nodded.

When he was not suffering from magic withdrawal, the Halfling Archmage was quite reliable.

Nova, the captain, held the Tracking Crystal in his hand and sensed its direction.

"That's right. The indicated direction is nearly horizontal now. She should be in the upper half of the Deep Zone."

"But this is the Deep Zone! I might not even survive for a month here."

Unlike the first ten floors, which had clear divisions.

Each previous floor had its own characteristics, Monster level ranges, rules that could be exploited, and so on.

Night Owl believed that as long as she had a guide, she could easily survive alone.

But the Deep Zone was different. Chaos was its defining trait. Monsters of every level could be found here.

More importantly, the Monsters inside also wandered around. Every time Adventurers came down, they could face an entirely different situation.

For example, the information in their hands was from three years ago and stated that a LV59 Flame Demon would be at this passage exit.

Yet now, aside from a sea of lava, there were no Monsters at all.

Of course, that was a good thing.

But it also meant that the Deep Zone had changed again, and that information had expired and lost all reference value.

"Alright, once we find her, we'll know how she survived."

Half-Dragon Garr no longer sounded as despondent as he had before setting out.

The two worst possibilities—Parasitic Tree and Tentacle Nest—had already been ruled out.

In his view, the possibility that the Duke's daughter had survived with her mind intact was much greater than they had previously expected.

Yes, perhaps it had risen from 2% to 20%.