A Duke's Fury

"You. Say that again."

Duke Amara's knuckles whitened as he clenched his fists, and the mahogany armrest of his throne groaned under the strain.

Cold sweat trickled down the back of butler Eric's neck, yet he still enunciated every syllable clearly.

"After Pero and Oakes used your name to deceive the young lady and take her away, they first went to the Amethyst Dungeon, then crossed the border and fled to the Hermit Empire. Judging by their direction, they were likely seeking refuge with Duke Sigismund."

"Damn traitors! Damn Vampires!" The solid wooden armrest shattered in his grip, blood flames churning within the Duke's eyes. "Inanna is still alive. The Tracking Mark remains, and the Mark of Vengeance hasn't transferred. I have to save her."

"Master!"

Seeing the Duke take down his greatsword, ready to rush off and save his daughter regardless of consequences, Eric had no choice but to shout.

"The moment you leave, Sigismund will lead the Blood Knights to raze High Keep Fortress.

If High Keep falls, there will be no defensible ground beyond it. By then, not only your duchy but the entire Southern Federation will be in danger."

"Are you asking me to watch Inanna die?"

The bluestone tiles beneath Alama's feet cracked, spiderweb fissures spreading outward. The aura of a level 70 peak human powerhouse forced Eric to one knee.

"The Diamond Rank Adventurer party Silver Thorn is active nearby. We can privately hire them to search for the young lady in the Amethyst Dungeon. Here at High Keep Fortress, you can create the illusion of leaving, lure Sigismund here, then strike him head-on and avenge his treachery."

After blurting it all out in one breath, Eric nearly collapsed to the floor.

The pressure around Eric gradually vanished. Alama returned to his chair and, with a wave of his hand, condensed Inanna's tracked coordinates into a crystal and handed it to the butler.

"Do as you said. Tell those Adventurers that if they bring Inanna back alive, I'll give them a city!

But if anything happens to my daughter..."

"Yes, Master."

Deep within the Dungeon, in the Mushroom Garden.

Still unaware that her father had begun searching for her, Inanna watched the scene before her at the edge of the breeding area with slight terror.

Beside the deep pit where Slimes were raised, a hollow Puji filled with ordinary Mushrooms was feeding them. But as it poured out the Mushrooms, a Slime leaped up, stuck to its foot, and dragged the Puji down.

The next second, the Slimes in the pit swarmed over it and wrapped the Puji up tightly.

The bundled Puji was still struggling. It looked like it might yet be saved.

"Linden, Linden, your Slimes ate a Puji."

Busy at work, Linden's attention flicked back for an instant.

"I know. I'll send over a new Puji. I told you, the breeding area is dangerous. Stay away from there."

Inanna wanted to say that was not what she meant, but seeing the Puji amidst the Slimes had already stopped moving and begun to be broken down, she swallowed her words.

The underground world was truly cruel.

The underground world was indeed cruel.

In order to survive in this brutal place, Linden was never not busy.

The Pujis' intelligence only extended as far as automatically pathfinding to a destination after receiving an order.

Whether it was breeding or mining, Linden had to divide his attention to micromanage them. Not to mention that the borders of the Mushroom Garden were frequently harassed by all kinds of Monsters.

Even with level 5 Mental Integration, operating everything was quite taxing for Linden.

The fact that he could spare the energy to help Inanna familiarize herself with the surroundings was already rare enough—though he did not show it, Linden was actually happy to have someone he could communicate with. At the very least, he would no longer need to talk to himself to keep his language skills from deteriorating.

But after that, he had no time to attend to her and could only let her wander around on her own. Linden needed to focus his attention on the Mushroom Garden's perimeter, where swarms of Fire Mosquitoes had arrived again.

These flying insects looked like mosquitoes but were slightly larger than Pujis, with an average level of around 20.

They were far from the strongest Monsters here, but they were definitely the most annoying.

They could fly, were agile, appeared in swarms, and whenever they got the chance, would skewer and carry off lone Pujis with their sharp proboscises. They were Linden's greatest enemy during his early development.

Fortunately, Linden already had a mature strategy for dealing with them.

Facing the incoming swarm of Fire Mosquitoes, several Pujis whose Mushroom Caps had been replaced with nozzles forcefully sprayed Slime mucus into the sky.

This mucus had powerful adhesive and corrosive properties. Once Fire Mosquitoes touched it, they could no longer fly and were forced to land.

Meanwhile, patches of purple Mushrooms on the ground released Spores with hallucinogenic effects, incapacitating the Fire Mosquitoes that had fallen to the ground.

Very soon, after losing seven of their companions, the remaining Fire Mosquitoes fled without looking back.

But Linden knew that these things would not learn their lesson. They would return next time.

Pujis with carapaces on their heads went around finishing off the unconscious Fire Mosquitoes one by one. The Monster corpses were then thrown into the Mushroom Garden to become fresh fertilizer.

[Seven Sins: Greed activated]

[Plundered skill: High Temperature Resistance LV5→LV6]

It leveled up?

Nice. Once High Temperature Resistance got a little higher, he could try sneaking through the Flame Demons' nest and see what the upper level looked like.

He opened the Panel.

[Race: Mushroom - Fungal Lord]

[Level: LV42]

[HP: 420/420]

[Mana: 8045/12450]

[Racial Talents:

Mana Collection (Mycelium can draw Mana from the environment to continuously provide experience)

Scavenging (Break down corpses to gain nutrients and experience)]

[Fixed Status: Connect to Mycelium Network]

[Skills: Puji Creation LV5, Magic Storage LV4, Mana Perception LV4, Entanglement LV3, Mushroom Cannon LV6, Precision LV4, Mimicry LV2, Storage Cyst LV4, Mycelium Network LV6, Familiar Control LV6, Mental Integration LV5, Airflow Perception LV6, High Temperature Resistance LV6, Evasion LV6, Peck LV7, Hallucinogenic Spores LV4, Chitin Shell LV4, Digestive Mucus LV3, Rolling Charge LV5]

[Titles:

Seven Sins: Greed (Unique Title): Randomly seize skills/fixed buffs from corpses

Insect Slayer: Damage against insects increased by 10%

Hero: Not restricted by racial level limits; may randomly draw one special title or skill (used)]

There were not even any attributes on Linden's Panel. His true body was just an ordinary-looking Mushroom. At level 42, having only 420 HP was what a Mushroom should be like. Inanna having over 3,000 HP was simply ridiculous.

As for Linden's abnormally high Mana, it actually included the entire Mushroom Garden.

The most absurd thing on the Panel was the Hero title. Even he found it absurd.

How could a Mushroom like him have a title like that?

Linden had never met his summoner and did not know whether the person was a mad archmage or a deity with a twisted sense of humor.

But one thing was certain—there was definitely something wrong with that person's head.

Who would deliberately summon a Mushroom Hero?

Still, it was thanks to that title. Using the Hero privilege, Linden had drawn Greed, then used Greed to continuously seize the skills of underground Monsters, and finally armed the Pujis with those skills.

From being chased around by Slimes as food at the beginning to now claiming a corner of this level to farm, the entire journey had been full of bitterness and tears.

It was hard to imagine what he would have done if he had not drawn Greed back then. Most likely, he would already have turned into shit.

So why had he been summoned as a Mushroom?

That question had nearly become an obsession for him, second only to climbing up to the surface.

After dealing with the Fire Mosquitoes, Linden finally had time to see what the new little friend was doing.

Ah... she was secretly picking up the mined Amethyst...