Not on Purpose

Although the Magic Tide had subsided, the effects it brought were far from over.

The Fifth Floor, ravaged by the Magic Tide, was now a scene of utter devastation.

A third of the forest's trees had been set ablaze by burning Beetles, their charred trunks jutting haphazardly from the cracked earth.

Another third had been knocked down and trampled apart by gigantic Monsters. These thirty-meter-tall Giant Trees had been uprooted, their trunks covered in claw marks and footprints.

The forested area had shrunk by nearly seventy percent, exposing vast stretches of the Dome that had once been hidden beneath the canopy, now glowing with Fluorescence.

Still, the fallen trees could be used as growing beds for Mycelium, so Linden could accept that much.

Poison Mist Lake had suffered even worse.

That Three-Headed Snake, its entire body dripping venom, had crossed half the Fifth Floor, leaving a trail of dark green toxic scabs wherever it went. Nothing grew in its wake—and Poison Mist Lake happened to lie along that path.

Perhaps Venom Lake was a more fitting name for it now.

Every native species in the dark green water had vanished. Only masses of dead fish and shrimp had drifted to the shore, rotting in the stink.

The toxic water had also corroded the surrounding soil. No vegetation could grow nearby, and Linden's Mushrooms were no exception.

He did have Toxin Resistance, but it was only LV4.

The Spores he tried scattering there vanished in an instant, completely unable to withstand such potent poison.

Still, it had not become a completely dead zone.

A small Dragon Beast resembling a salamander covered in scales had moved in.

[Race: Dragon Beast - Mirage]

[Race Talent: Diaphragm (the entire body, inside and out, is protected by a diaphragm)]

Honestly, Linden had no idea how a diaphragm could completely block out the effects of venom, but they had indeed managed it.

Combined with their own degree of toxin resistance, they were living just fine in Venom Lake.

Unfortunately, racial talents could not be taken. Otherwise, wrapping Puji in a diaphragm sounded rather interesting.

Still, Linden felt these Mirages would not last much longer.

For now, they filled their bellies with the dead fish and shrimp by the lake, but those would eventually run out.

The lake's original ecosystem had long been destroyed by the venom.

In other words, they would soon run out of food.

Once that happened, they would probably go extinct on their own.

Still, they had the [Scale Armor] skill. Perhaps he could consider raising them?

He just did not know whether they ate Mushrooms.

The lake and the forest were the most severely damaged areas.

As for the Cave, Linden himself had blown it apart. Excavating it again would be a long project.

Of the entire Fifth Floor, only the Swamp Zone had seen little change.

Although the Fungal Carpet Linden had spread through the Swamp Zone had been completely trampled, the environment itself had not changed much. In fact, the concentration of magic within the swamp had increased because of the piled-up corpses.

It was one of the few pieces of good news after the Magic Tide.

Meanwhile, compared to the ground, the Fungal Carpet on the Dome had remained completely unscathed.

Even the flying Monsters during the Magic Tide had not wasted time destroying the Mushrooms on the Dome.

Now, the Mushrooms atop the Dome gently trembled their caps.

The long-accumulated Spores burst forth in wave after wave, and pale cyan and gray spore snow fell across the entire Fifth Floor.

Although the wandering magical beasts had not been completely cleared out, the remaining numbers could no longer cause much damage. It was time to restore life to the Mushroom Garden.

On the Fungal Carpet at the edge of Dylan's Cabin's ruins,

a brand-new Puji was cultivated. Linden had particularly high expectations for it.

The fully matured Puji twisted its body, severed its connection to the Fungal Carpet, and sprang to its feet full of energy.

A pair of claws lifted it up, and then the Dragonkin took a bite.

"How does this feel?" Linden asked.

With that bite, the Dragonkin actually could not bite through all the Mycelium. She had to tear it apart to eat it.

The Mycelium was chewed over and over by the Dragonkin before she finally swallowed it.

"This one is tasty. I like it!"

Good. This was a Spicy Strip Puji specially optimized for texture!

Besides [Magic Storage LV6], this Puji also had [Resilience LV5].

"Once you're done eating, go help me take out some Monsters first. When you come back, I'll give you a few more like this."

The Dragonkin nodded as she chewed. After fighting, there would be food. It was about the same as before.

But before, she could only eat those tough, hard-fleshed big lizards and stinky rats. Now she could eat soft, chewy, oversized Mushrooms!

She was very satisfied.

"Oh, right. Do you have a name?"

In truth, Linden had wanted to ask that for a long time.

Through the Panel, Linden could see everyone's names, but the Dragonkin's Panel did not have a name field.

He was not sure whether she simply had no name or whether some special reason prevented him from seeing it.

Logically, she should have a name.

Dragonkin could speak, though her pronunciation was strange, and Linden could only tell that she was not speaking a human language.

He strongly suspected it was Dragon Tongue.

If she had a language and could communicate, then she should have a name.

Yet as the Dragonkin chewed the Mycelium in her mouth, she shook her head and said,

"No name. Great Dragon said weak ones have no names."

Ah, damn...

Linden felt that, by that standard, he probably did not deserve a name either.

"Who is Great Dragon? That terrifying Dragon from that day?"

At the mention of that Dragon, the Dragonkin shuddered reflexively.

"No. That was Mother. Great Dragon is much smaller than Mother."

So she really was that Dragon's child!

But remembering how she had acted that day, why were you so afraid of your mom?

Was she some menopausal female Dragon?

As for Great Dragon, it sounded like another Dragon.

Did a whole bunch of Dragons and Dragonkin live together over there?

"Then what do they call you?"

"Swergis."

"Then isn't your name Swergis?"

The Dragonkin continued shaking her head. "No. All weak ones are Swergis."

Well, damn. It was a general term. Linden understood now.

He could already imagine a cruel draconic society, where weaklings were discriminated against so badly that they did not even have names and were only fit to be called something like "lowborn."

Still, even if the Dragonkin had no name, he could not keep calling her "you, you, you," could he?

Calling her Swergis felt strange too.

"Then how about I give you a name?"

To his surprise, the Dragonkin shook her head with great determination. "Get strong, then have name!"

So she just did not care for a name from him. She was a Dragonkin with dreams.

With no other choice, Linden had to settle for something less.

"But I need something to call you. Swergis doesn't refer to you alone, it feels awkward for me to use, and it's too much of a mouthful.

How about I call you Little Black?

It's not naming you. It's just what I'll call you."

It was not that Linden had no taste and only knew names like Little Black and Little White. The main thing was that this was not naming her.

Anyway, it was only a temporary form of address. There was no point putting more thought into it.

The Dragonkin tilted her head and thought about it. She seemed to find nothing wrong with it, so she nodded in agreement.

Once they had settled on what to call her, the Spicy Strip Puji was finally finished too—adding [Resilience] had indeed made it much more filling.

Little Black got down on all fours, stretched lazily, then eagerly went off to beat up Monsters as Linden had asked.

And as Linden looked at her Panel, a deep sense of guilt washed over him.

[Name: Little Black]

[Race: Dragonkin]

Sorry!

I should have thought of a proper one!

Didn't we say it didn't count as naming her? What the hell kind of mechanism is this!?