Chapter Summaries

Inanna Saint Clair was betrayed by Pero and Oakes, transformed into a Puji, and thrown into the depths of the Dungeon. She survived the fall into Linden’s Mushroom Garden, where Linden connected her to the Mycelium Network and discovered how powerful she was.

• Pero and Oakes kidnapped Inanna and revealed that they planned to kill her to help bring down her father and win a noble title.
• Pero transformed Inanna into a Puji, used a Stabilizing Potion and Slow Fall Spell, and Oakes kicked her into a rift leading deep into the Dungeon.
• Inanna landed on a giant Mushroom and found herself surrounded by Pujis in Linden’s Mushroom Garden.
• Linden’s Pujis restrained Inanna and connected her to the Mycelium Network, where her panicked screams disrupted the garden.
• Linden inspected Inanna’s Panel and discovered that she was a powerful level 28 Puji with more than 3,000 Health and numerous high-level resistances.

Linden learned that the newly arrived pink Puji was Inanna Saint Clair, a duke’s daughter transformed and abandoned in the Dungeon’s Deep Zone. After feeding her and showing her around the Mushroom Garden, he left her to grasp how strangely organized his territory was.

• Linden stopped the Pujis from harming the pink mushroom and questioned her, learning that she was Inanna Saint Clair, daughter of Duke Amara.
• Inanna explained that two traitors had transformed her and thrown her into the Dungeon, where humans were at war with the Vampires of the Demon Race.
• Linden learned that Inanna wanted to return to the surface and seek revenge, but warned her that the route was blocked by dangerous Monsters, including a Flame Demon.
• Linden invited Inanna to eat, and she reluctantly lay on a Fungal Carpet until the Mycelium fed her, discovering that mushroom feeding felt unexpectedly pleasant.
• Linden showed Inanna the Mushroom Garden’s cultivation, mining, breeding, and work areas, leaving her bewildered by its size and organization.

Duke Amara learned that Inanna had been abducted to the Hermit Empire and arranged for adventurers to search for her while he planned to confront Duke Sigismund. Meanwhile, Inanna stayed with Linden in the Mushroom Garden, where Linden defended his territory from Fire Mosquitoes and discovered her secretly taking mined Amethyst.

• Eric told Duke Amara that Pero and Oakes had taken Inanna through the Amethyst Dungeon toward the Hermit Empire, likely seeking refuge with Duke Sigismund.
• Duke Amara gave Eric Inanna's tracking coordinates and ordered him to hire the Silver Thorn adventurer party while he prepared to lure and attack Sigismund.
• Inanna watched Slimes devour a Puji in the Mushroom Garden, and Linden warned her to stay away from the dangerous breeding area.
• Linden's Pujis and hallucinogenic Mushrooms drove off a swarm of Fire Mosquitoes, and Greed raised his High Temperature Resistance skill to level 6.
• Linden found Inanna secretly picking up mined Amethyst.

Linden let Inanna test whether she could cast spells through a Magic Crystal, then learned that crystal purity affected spellcasting. He brought her a huge, clear A-Rank Magic Crystal to try next.

• Inanna told Linden that she wanted Magic Crystals so she could try casting spells as a Puji.
• Linden showed Inanna how an overloaded Magic Crystal could explode, then bound one to her mushroom cap so she could cast Minor Glow.
• Inanna successfully cast Minor Glow through the Magic Crystal but could not cast the spell without one.
• Linden observed Inanna's mana flow and suspected that a Puji's body could not support human spellcasting methods.
• Inanna explained that purer Magic Crystals improved spells, and Linden had two Pujis bring her a huge, clear A-Rank crystal.

Linden gave Inanna an A-Rank Magic Crystal and tested how it strengthened her spells. He planned to have her practice with the Expedition Team before they tried subjugating Earth Worms to use their tunneling ability to reach the upper levels.

• Linden asked Inanna to list her spells and tied an A-Rank Magic Crystal to her mushroom cap.
• Inanna used Mud Swamp Art to trap a Mining Puji, then cut through most of its shell with an empowered Ice Blade.
• Linden offered Inanna the Magic Crystal in exchange for helping him subjugate Earth Worms, and she accepted.
• Linden explained that Earth Worms could tunnel through rock, potentially letting them bypass the Flame Demon guarding the passage to the upper levels.
• Linden told Inanna they would first join the Expedition Team so she could practice using the crystal and gain field experience.

Linden led his fourteenth Expedition Team of specialized Pujis to destroy the Fire Mosquitoes’ nest and raise his High Temperature Resistance. As the team reached the nest, Inanna tried to fend off the first attackers, but her spell barely hit a Fire Mosquito.

• Linden organized 120 specialized Pujis into an Expedition Team and told Inanna their target was the Fire Mosquitoes’ nest.
• Linden explained that he had delayed exterminating the Fire Mosquitoes to train his High Temperature Resistance, which had now reached LV6.
• Linden controlled the Pujis through the Mycelium Network as they advanced through the Dungeon’s Deep Zone toward the nest.
• The Expedition Team encountered several Fire Mosquitoes, which fled to warn the nest, and Linden let them go so he could draw them all together.
• Linden and Inanna reached the Fire Mosquitoes’ nest, where Inanna’s Water Snake Art barely struck one of the approaching insects.

Linden and Inanna defeated a swarm of Fire Mosquitoes by combining the Pujis’ defenses with Inanna’s Illumination Art, then discovered a Sun Stone Fragment in the larvae pool. They took the fragment back for study as another group on the surface was being driven to distraction by Inanna.

• Linden’s Pujis held off the Fire Mosquitoes while Inanna killed several with attack magic, but the swarm overwhelmed her with the scale of the battle.
• Linden told Inanna to cast Illumination Art, which disoriented the Fire Mosquitoes and helped the Pujis drive them away.
• Linden sent the Ox-Horse Pujis to collect the Fire Mosquito corpses and had the Turret Pujis destroy the larvae in the pool.
• Inanna used her Underwater Adaptation to retrieve a glowing fragment from the pool, and Linden’s Panel identified it as a Divine Artifact: Sun Stone Fragment.
• Linden had an Ox-Horse Puji wrap the fragment in mud and carry it back, while another group on the surface was being driven to distraction by Inanna.

The Silver Thorn Squad debated whether to enter the Amethyst Dungeon to rescue Duke Amara’s missing daughter or flee before the Duke could hold them accountable. They voted to proceed, with Nova and Night Owl planning to handle the first floors while Garr carried the magic-addicted Ivan.

• Garr urged the squad to flee to the Western Isles, warning that the missing girl might already be irreparably harmed in the Dungeon.
• Night Owl rejected the idea of fleeing because completing the mission could earn the squad a city.
• Nova argued that the squad should gamble on rescuing the girl and promised to take responsibility if they brought her back mentally damaged.
• The squad voted, with Nova and Night Owl choosing to enter the Dungeon and Garr choosing to run.
• Ivan replaced his damaged Magic Crystal with a new B-Rank crystal and fell into a magic-induced trance, leaving Nova to plan the expedition without him.
• Nova told Garr to carry Ivan while he and Night Owl explored the first floors, and Garr asked for a magic resistance potion to protect himself from Ivan’s spells.

Linden prepared to mass-produce four hundred Combat Pujis for the hunt for Earth Worms while Inanna discovered that her new talent let Elemental Spirits control her spells. As Linden finished preparations, powerful mana fluctuations from the Flame Demon’s nest suggested it had left to fight, though he did not know how long it would stay away.

• Linden spread the Fire Mosquito corpses and larvae across the Mushroom Garden, planning to use their mana to produce four hundred Combat Pujis.
• Inanna reached LV30 and gained Favor of the Elemental Spirit, which corrected her Ice Blade’s aim and helped control several of her spells.
• Linden raised Mental Integration to LV6 and focused on mass-producing Pujis while Inanna tested her new talent.
• Intense mana fluctuations came from the direction of the Flame Demon’s nest, unsettling Inanna.
• Linden identified the Flame Demon as the source and resumed his preparations, hoping its absence would not disrupt the Earth Worm hunt.

Linden led four hundred Puji and Inanna to hunt a level 49 Earth Worm, using Magic Crystals as bait and explosives. After the blast tore apart the worm’s mouth, Linden ordered Inanna to cast Mud Swamp Art as the injured creature tried to burrow away.

• Linden prepared four hundred Puji, ten crystal-filled Self-Destruct Puji, and Inanna for the Earth Worm hunt.
• Inanna agreed to join after Linden let her keep her A-Rank Magic Crystal even if she fled.
• The group reached a shattered cave, set the crystal bait, and fought off several Monsters while a level 35 Minotaur retreated.
• An Earth Worm burst from underground and swallowed the ten Self-Destruct Puji along with the Magic Crystals.
• The explosion destroyed the Earth Worm’s mouth, and Linden ordered Inanna to cast Mud Swamp Art as it thrashed and tried to burrow away.

Linden’s attempt to kill an Earth Worm ended in heavy losses after a second worm appeared, leaving him to choose between rebuilding his strength and risking an escape with Super Puji. Meanwhile, Nova’s group entered the Deep Zone and followed the Tracking Crystal toward the Duke’s daughter.

• Inanna’s Mud Swamp Art slowed the injured Earth Worm while Linden and the Pujis attacked its exposed Rock Armor, but a second Earth Worm burst into the cave and knocked Inanna unconscious.
• Linden’s forces retreated to the Mushroom Garden after the injured Earth Worm escaped and many Pujis were killed or stranded by cave-ins; Inanna woke up and claimed the A-Rank Magic Crystal.
• Linden considered whether to hunt the Earth Worm again or have Super Puji carry his true body upward while the Flame Demon was away.
• Night Owl, Ivan, Nova, and Garr entered the Deep Zone, where Nova used the Tracking Crystal to locate the Duke’s daughter in its upper half.
• Garr felt more hopeful that the Duke’s daughter had survived after the group ruled out a Parasitic Tree and a Tentacle Nest.

Night Owl, Nova, Ivan, and Garr found the Mushroom Garden and discovered Pujis living in the Deep Zone. Linden realized they had come for Inanna, likely to rescue her, and warned her that her family had sent people who might instead kill her.

• Night Owl killed a poisoned Minotaur, while Ivan recovered an Arachno's venom sac for a Poison Cloud Ritual.
• Nova led the group through a cave to the Mushroom Garden, where they found Pujis and Night Owl triggered a Puji's self-destruct explosion.
• Nova stopped Night Owl from attacking the remaining Pujis and led the group into the passage toward the Fire Mosquito nest.
• Linden monitored the adventurers through the mushrooms and judged that their levels and skills made them too strong to fight or evade.
• Linden told Inanna that her family had sent people to pick her up, but warned that they might have come to slaughter her.

The Silver Thorn Squad found Inanna in the Mushroom Garden and confirmed that they had come to rescue her. Linden stayed behind at first, wary of the Duke and the Adventurers, but then followed the squad through the passage with his remaining Pujis and supplies.

• Linden urged Inanna to prepare to Self-Destruct, and she posed as a dangerous Puji when the Silver Thorn Squad arrived.
• Nova recognized Inanna as the Duke’s Daughter and apologized for frightening her, while the squad lowered their weapons.
• Linden gave Inanna a final bonus and told her not to mention him before Ivan used telepathy to reassure her about reversing her transformation.
• Ivan collected a Magic Crystal, secured the one on Inanna’s head, and carried her out of the Mushroom Garden.
• Linden emerged from hiding, gathered his Combat Pujis and supplies, and followed the squad through the passage using Inanna’s fading Mycelium Network signal.

Linden followed the Adventurers toward the Flame Demon's lair and watched them fight the level 64 monster. Nova used an Artifact to destroy its Lava Heart, leaving Linden to realize that an Artifact had killed the strongest Monster he had ever seen.

• Linden recognized the road as the route to the Flame Demon's home and wondered whether the monster had returned to its lair.
• Garr and the Adventurers reunited with Inanna, who remained transformed into a Puji, and Ivan insisted he could reverse the transformation.
• Ivan detected unusual magic fluctuations and sent Night Owl away with Inanna before the Flame Demon and its Lava Golems emerged from the lava.
• Garr shielded the group while Nova healed him and Ivan used an A-Rank Magic Crystal to freeze the Lava Golems and slow the lava wave.
• Nova drained his life force into the Life-Seeking Wood Core and used it to pierce the Flame Demon's armor and shatter its Lava Heart.
• Linden watched the Flame Demon die and realized that an Artifact had killed the strongest Monster he had ever seen.

After surviving the Flame Demon's defeat, Linden followed the Silver Thorn Squad to the Tenth Floor, where he learned about its Werewolves and watched the Adventurers retreat from them to the Ninth Floor. As Linden waited for the Werewolves to leave, they caught his scent and turned toward his hiding place.

• Garr carried the unconscious Ivan and injured Nova away, and Linden emerged to recover a shard of the Lava Heart.
• Linden followed the Silver Thorn Squad through the passage to the Tenth Floor and recalled Inanna's account of the Thousand Stone Forest and its Werewolves.
• Linden watched a Wind Serpent hunt a Ripper Beast while following the Adventurers toward the Ninth Floor.
• The Half-Dragon, Elf, and Inanna fought off Werewolves and retreated into the Ninth Floor passage, which the Werewolves would not enter.
• As Linden waited for the Werewolves to leave, they sniffed out his hiding place and turned toward him.

Linden escaped the Werewolves and reached the Eighth Floor, where a teleportation array carried him away after three Adventurers attacked. He arrived in a maze of stone corridors with an arrow wound, separated from the Adventurers and still unable to sense Inanna.

• Linden used Rolling Charge to reach the Ninth Floor while the Werewolves killed the Pujis he left behind.
• Linden found that the Dungeon initially barred him from the Eighth Floor, but the restriction lifted when he was recognized as a Hero.
• Linden discovered four Magic Arrays on the Eighth Floor and encountered three Adventurers who attacked him.
• Linden dodged the Adventurers’ attacks and escaped through a Magic Array, but an archer’s arrow pierced his Puji form.
• Linden arrived in a stone-brick maze and considered what to do next.

Lost in the Teleportation Array Labyrinth and running low on mana, Linden found a sealed room with a treasure chest and a pool rich in mana. Unable to open the stone door, he settled in to grow more Pujis and wait for a way out.

• Linden entered a chamber filled with mana and found a treasure chest but no Monsters.
• He used his [Hero] title to bypass the chest’s restriction and acquired a cloak that raised his Agility and created controllable Phantoms.
• Linden discovered that the pool was the source of the chamber’s abundant mana and hoped to build an army of Pujis there.
• He failed to open the stone door and found a long-dead visitor’s skeleton nearby.
• Linden placed his true body beside the pool and spread spores, rapidly growing Mycelium in the dense mana.

Dylan sought illegal Ghost Sleep Powder from his old friend Fatty to harvest Parasitic Tree seeds and earn enough to buy a Rebirth Potion for his daughter, who had been infected with Blood Poison. Fatty gave him five packets despite believing the weakened former Adventurer would likely die, and Dylan left to take the risk.

• Dylan met Fatty at Rotten Willow Tavern and asked him for three portions of Ghost Sleep Powder.
• Fatty refused to sell to Dylan after seeing how much his strength had declined.
• Dylan revealed that his daughter had contracted Blood Poison and that he needed fifty gold coins for a Rebirth Potion.
• Fatty explained that harvesting Parasitic Tree fruits was dangerous and feared Dylan would go alone and die.
• Fatty took Dylan's money and discreetly gave him five packets of Ghost Sleep Powder.
• Dylan clutched the packets and left the tavern while Fatty regretted letting his soft heart keep him in the business.

Dylan discovered a Hidden Room while fleeing Parasitic Trees, freeing Linden and his Pujis from the Treasure Room. Linden killed the pursuing Monsters and used a Plundered skill to seal Dylan’s wound, leaving him alive but connected to the Mycelium Network.

• Wounded and surrounded by Parasitic Trees, Dylan found a concealed stone door and opened the Hidden Room.
• Linden reached LV47 in the Treasure Room, gained Self-Destruct, and produced forty more Pujis while searching for a way out.
• Dylan opened the stone door, and Linden’s Pujis protected his true body as Linden surveyed the adventurer and the Parasitic Trees.
• Linden’s Pujis destroyed the Parasitic Trees, leaving the badly wounded Dylan alive.
• Linden Plundered Fusion Parasitism, then used Mycelium to seal Dylan’s abdominal wound and restore some of his vitality.

Dylan woke in the Treasure Room after being parasitized, gathered Parasitic Tree seeds, and left while Linden let him go. Linden chose the Swamp Zone for a new Mushroom Garden and planned to conquer the area after producing Pujis suited to its terrain.

• Dylan woke among the dead Parasitic Trees and realized Mycelium had filled his wound and begun to parasitize him.
• Dylan collected the Parasitic Tree seeds from the Treasure Room and left through the stone door.
• Linden watched Dylan go without speaking, deciding that saving him and giving him the seeds had repaid his debt.
• Linden confirmed that the Treasure Room was on the Fifth Floor and considered the dangers of the Dungeon and its teleportation arrays.
• Linden chose the Swamp Zone for his new Mushroom Garden after learning that its Parasitic Trees could be powerful and difficult to defeat.
• Linden decided to begin conquering the Swamp Zone after producing Pujis suited to its terrain.