Chapter Summaries

Linden used [Mental Guidance] to put Galen through a brutal arena nightmare, but Galen’s mental defenses held. After waking in captivity, Galen threatened Shou with the Empire’s response, while Linden dismissed the danger and left him for Louisa to handle.

• Linden shaped Galen’s training-ground dream into a mushroom arena and sent waves of monsters, including an enhanced Little Black, against him.
• Galen endured the attacks until dawn without yielding, and then woke pinned by Puji Tentacles in the underground prison.
• Shou questioned Galen about his attack, and Galen asked whether Gray had colluded with them before realizing Shou’s confusion was genuine.
• Galen claimed the demon descendants wanted the Magic Core and threatened that the Empire would destroy Shou’s tribe unless he was released with his people and the core.
• Linden taunted Galen for information, then handed him over to Louisa when he refused to speak.
• Linden decided the Empire’s threat was manageable because he could retreat to his home base and move the demon descendants.

Linden trained Mushroom Cannon to max level and continued expanding the Fungal Carpet beneath the Sacred Tree Dungeon. Little Black’s collection overflowed her Mushroom House, while the Puji digging team unexpectedly broke into a deep underground basement.

• Linden reached level 10 with Mushroom Cannon and considered the Resonance Cannon’s limits in aiming and mana consumption.
• Little Black’s damaged scales began to regrow, and Linden gave her gems in exchange for Delicious Red Mushrooms.
• Fahr ignored nobles who tried to restrict mushroom production as Mute Wind Town grew through trade and construction.
• Little Black stopped entering her overflowing Mushroom House and slept outside its entrance.
• Linden sent Pujis to extend the Fungal Carpet underground, and they dug undetected through the elves’ territory.
• A Drilling Puji broke through into a deserted basement nearly two hundred meters underground, and Linden decided to search its chest.

Linden’s Pujis looted a hidden chamber, then plundered skills from an old elf’s corpse and discovered Voice Mimicry. The chapter ended with Elf Rangers finding the collapsed chamber and deciding to report it.

• Linden’s Pujis opened a trapped chest, collected rations, water, a Pendant, and an Elvish booklet, then collapsed the chamber to hide their tracks.
• Linden’s Pujis reached the graveyard, where Linden used [Greed] on the old elf’s incomplete corpse and plundered Elvish, Nature Magic, and Voice Mimicry.
• Linden tested Voice Mimicry with a Voice Puji and found it could imitate Norris’s timbre but produced an unpleasant, hoarse voice.
• Two Elf Rangers discovered the collapsed chamber and planned to report it, while speculating that an earth-type mage might be sent to investigate.

Linden secretly harvested corpses in the Elf Cemetery and Scout Puji showed its ability to make potions at the Magic Potion Shop. As the old elf’s life dwindled, he promised to teach Riel his formulas, while Linden tested a successful Hair Growth Potion on Norris.

• Linden secretly used Fungal Carpet and Drilling Pujis to break down corpses in the Elf Cemetery, gaining skill levels in Elvish and Nature Magic.
• Elawen remained grounded after her dangerous solo adventure and complained that her animal companions should count as teammates.
• Scout Puji entered the Magic Potion Shop through the door and watched the old elf struggle through a coughing fit.
• When Riel forgot an ingredient while trying to finish a Hair Growth Potion, Scout Puji added the correct roots and completed it successfully.
• The old elf promised to teach Riel his potion formulas and techniques, and she agreed.
• Linden tested the Hair Growth Potion on the bound Minotaur volunteer Norris, whose hair grew wildly.

Dylan and Norris left the Dungeon to visit the Adventurer Guild and post requests for alchemy ingredients and Monsters with [Negative Energy Collection]. They discovered that Mute Wind Town had grown into Mushroom Town, where mushroom farming and Puji had become part of everyday life.

• Dylan reassured Norris about using his level-seven Mimicry, while two Puji gathered Norris's long hair into a bun and pinned it with a twig.
• Dylan and Norris stepped onto the surface, adjusted to the sunlight, and set out with gold and an A-Rank Magic Crystal to post tasks and a bounty.
• They were astonished to find the town greatly expanded, with stone houses, mushroom fields, and Puji mingling among the residents.
• A drunk passerby told Norris the town was now called Mushroom Town and promoted its creamy mushroom soup.
• The drunk fell onto a Puji, and the onlookers warned that the Monster would come for him before he hurried to a Monster Corpse Trading Market to make an offering.

Rita, a Demon Race spy, failed to poison Mushroom Garden’s fields and instead exchanged intelligence and supplies with Dylan and Norris. Linden decided to manage the spies by building a mutual-aid network, while Norris returned to Mushroom Garden with drinks and triggered a trap at his Mushroom House.

• Rita discovered that even Corruption Potion barely damaged the Fungal Carpet and grew frustrated that her sabotage mission had earned her no merit.
• Rita overheard Dylan and Norris exchanging intelligence, revealed herself, and offered them several bottles of poison in return for information.
• Rita memorized their intelligence and agreed to a longer partnership with Dylan, who told her to visit the future Puji House inn.
• Linden explained that he planned to organize the Demon Race spies into a mutual-aid network, with Dylan posing as an innkeeper and Norris playing a greedy Lizardman.
• Norris returned to No. 3 Mushroom Garden with a bucket of drinks, opened his Mushroom House, and set off a trap as a familiar growl sounded behind him.

Norris joined Qiong on a trip to the Demon Descendant tribe, where he saw its ruins being rebuilt into a frontline fortress. The tribe captured a Lizardman scout, who revealed the Empire had promised his people fertile land in exchange for stealing Demon Descendant Magic Cores, before the Fungal Carpet killed and consumed him.

• Norris woke in Qiong's Mushroom House, and Louisa returned from breakfast with blood on her mouth.
• Qiong loaded herbs and war supplies onto a Jida cart, and Norris accompanied him to the tribe.
• Norris saw the destroyed tribe being rebuilt as a fortress, with heavy stone walls, supply buildings, and a tunnel to the Dungeon.
• Two Demon Descendant warriors brought in Toke, a Lizardman caught spying, and Shou stabbed him while demanding to know his purpose.
• Toke confessed that the Empire had sent the Broken Rock Tribe to steal Demon Descendant Magic Cores in exchange for fertile land in the south.
• The Fungal Carpet's pujis dissolved Toke, and Voice Puji declared that it liked war.

Linden learned that nearby Half-Demon tribes were being mobilized by the Empire and directed the Fungal Carpet toward them to track their movements. Meanwhile, Empire envoys pressured the Lizardman and Half-Demon chiefs to assemble their forces for an attack on the Demon Descendant Tribe within three days.

• Puji caught another scout, and Linden learned about the Half-Demons and their nearby tribes.
• Linden redirected the Fungal Carpet toward the two tribes to detect their movements early.
• Tak and Bastardos met with the Empire envoys Eunice, Gray, and Pine to discuss an attack on the Demon Descendant Tribe.
• Tak and Bastardos argued over which tribe should go first, while Eunice ordered both to prepare their forces and march within three days.

Linden prepared Arctic Fortress for an expected attack as the Demon Descendants’ Resonance Cannons reached the limit of their mana supply. A Half-Demon scouting squad was lured into an ambush by the corrupted Early, and the chapter ended with scouts from both the Half-Demon and Lizardman tribes disappearing near the fortress.

• Linden directed the Demon Descendants as they arranged eighteen Resonance Cannons and kept captured scouts in reserve.
• A Half-Demon squad advanced through the icefield under cover of mist, destroying invisible Pujis as it approached the Demon Descendants’ territory.
• The squad encountered Early, who urged them to hide in a tunnel and claimed he was injured.
• The captain demanded that Early uncover his face, revealing Mycelium embedded in his flesh, and Early accused Bastardos before attacking the squad with explosive Pujis.
• The captain killed Early, but the injured squad was surrounded by countless Pujis.
• A Lizardman scouting squad also vanished, leaving both tribal leaders troubled by the lack of information.

Bastardos led the Half-Demons and Lizardmen toward the Demon Descendant Tribe under pressure from the Empire's envoy, Pine, while worrying about the ease of their march. The chapter ended with Bastardos learning that all four supply depots had vanished overnight without a fight.

• Bastardos heard that tribesmen had gone missing by the Luo River and wanted to leave more warriors behind, but Pine ordered him to march with his full strength.
• Bastardos compromised by leaving only a few warriors behind, and the Half-Demons and Lizardmen set out separately for the Demon Descendant Tribe.
• The tribes crossed the Fungal Carpet without noticing the Mycelium and approached the former Demon Descendant Tribe without encountering resistance.
• Bastardos told his warriors to hide their supplies in four depots and double the night watch, expecting a possible attack.
• Bastardos learned that all four supply depots had disappeared overnight despite no signs of a raid or fighting.

Linden’s Demon Descendants lured the exhausted Half-Demons and Lizardmen to their fortified stronghold, where they revealed overwhelming magical weapons and a hidden army of Pujis. The allied force was trapped between the fortress and eight thousand Pujis as Linden declared his advantage.

• Invisible Self-Destruct Pujis harassed Bastardos’s Half-Demons and the Lizardmen through the night, while stolen supplies and bitter cold weakened both armies.
• Bastardos and the Lizardman force led by Tak finally reached the Demon Descendant fortress at noon and saw Linden on its walls.
• Linden insulted the invading forces and offered them a chance to surrender, but Tak angrily ordered his warriors to attack.
• Linden’s magical weapons struck Tak, an elderly Lizardman mage, and nearby warriors, killing them in a devastating blast.
• Bastardos ordered a charge against the fortress, while Gray and Eunice rallied the Lizardmen to avenge Tak.
• Linden revealed thousands of hidden Pujis surrounding the battlefield and announced that his eight thousand fighters outnumbered the allied two thousand.

Elawen noticed Scout Puji had become sluggish and wondered if it was hibernating, while the battle at Arctic Fortress revealed that Kins had been fused with the fungi and forced to fight his former friend. The fighting continued as Eunice confronted Louisa, only for dozens of Pujis to contest her control of the battlefield’s blood.

• Elawen carried the drowsy Scout Puji inside, tucked it into bed, and returned to the yard bored and alone.
• Kins fought a Half-Demon friend trying to reach him, but fungal growth took over his body and left him aiming his staff at the fallen warrior.
• Pine watched the breakthrough squad get stopped and urged Bastardos to advance while offering magical cover.
• Eunice hurled a Blood Spear at Marshal Puji, but the layered Mana Shields stopped it, and her next attack collapsed when her blood control was contested.
• Eunice identified Louisa as a Blood Clan traitor and tried to overpower her, but dozens of Pujis interfered, forcing both women to summon blood from their own bodies.

Bastardos learned that his tribe had been overrun and ordered the Half-Demons to retreat, while Pine decided to withdraw with Gray after the battle proved far more dangerous than expected. Linden revealed Little Black to protect Norris from Pine’s attack, leaving the opposing forces facing off as the retreat began.

• Sergio told Bastardos that invisible Monsters had destroyed the Half-Demon tribe, prompting Bastardos to abandon the attack and lead his warriors in retreat.
• Pine judged that the Pujis’ strength made continuing the fight too risky and decided to withdraw with Gray.
• Gray fought the Jidas and Norris’s Drilling Puji, then was wounded by Shou before Pine intervened and ordered him to pull out.
• Pine struck Norris with a Wind Blade, but Little Black appeared and blocked the attack with its Black Scales.
• Linden released Little Black after the enemy retreated instead of entering the fortress that could Self-Destruct.

Little Black joined the battle and chased Pine while Linden guided her attacks against his illusions. Pine was badly injured but began casting Abyss Magic as the chapter ended, with Little Black charging in the wrong direction.

• Linden promised Little Black a huge red shiny reward, and she abandoned Norris to pursue Pine and Gray.
• Pine blasted Little Black with a combined fire-and-lightning spell, but her dragon scales withstood his attacks as he tried to wear her down.
• Pine created illusions and prepared two eighth-tier spells, but Linden repeatedly directed Little Black toward him and forced him to interrupt his casting.
• Knight Puji Number Three struck Pine with a boosted Mushroom Cannon, and Little Black followed by hitting him in the chest.
• Eunice attacked Little Black with blood blades, but Little Black countered with dragon breath as Pine began casting the seventh-tier Abyss spell Gate of Transference.
• Linden called out a misleading direction to Little Black, who charged toward front-left instead of Pine at front-right.

Linden’s forces won the battle and captured Eunice after Pine and Gray escaped through a dark opening. Gray awoke in unfamiliar surroundings beside the dying Pine, took his Magic Core, and set out to find a way back.

• Pine opened a pitch-black portal and escaped with Gray, while Eunice turned into a blood arrow and pursued them.
• Knight Puji No. 3 self-destructed and the Resonance Cannons blasted Eunice, who was captured after the portal vanished.
• Linden learned from the Yellow Book that Eunice could help Louisa raise her rank through a special ritual, and allowed the book to keep one page.
• Gray woke beside a rock with his left arm fused into it, then broke the rock and lost the arm.
• Pine told Gray to take his Magic Core before dying, and Gray took it and searched for a way back.

Gora was captured by the Pujis after fleeing across the icefield, while Linden collected the spoils from his victory and moved to seize the weakened neighboring tribes. Linden brought the Lizardmen back to his base and accepted Bastardos’s surrender, leaving both groups in captivity.

• Gora fled from invisible Pujis, was captured, and woke in a crowded dungeon with other Half-Demons and Lizardmen.
• The Demon Descendants counted their dead and wounded, gathered battlefield spoils, and Linden plundered numerous skills from the defeated forces.
• Linden suspected Kees’s Six-Claws were connected to the Half-Demon tribe’s retreat and sent the Puji Legion to claim the weakened neighboring tribes.
• Linden found the Half-Demon tribe in ruins, where Bastardos and the hundred people he had protected surrendered.
• Linden crushed the Lizardman tribe’s remaining defense, parasitized more than a thousand Lizardmen, and escorted them back to be branded as Sinners and earn Contribution Points toward freedom.

Linden tested newly acquired skills, upgraded his Mental Integration, and considered the Empire’s response to the destruction of the nearby tribes. He concluded that he needed to move before the Empire sent a powerful opponent after him.

• Linden tested Charm Human on Norris and captured Lizardmen, finding that it made targets protective of a Puji but did not let him control them.
• Linden tested Kiss of Temptation, Regeneration, and Feigned Death, and judged Regeneration the most useful of the skills.
• Linden raised Mental Integration to LV8, doubling his Puji control limit to 5,000, and realized the Dungeon Core used one-sixth of his total capacity.
• Linden found that raising Spark’s and the other Demon Descendants’ Mental Integration did not expand their control limits or grant new abilities.
• Linden reasoned that news of the defeated tribes would reach the Empire, which might send a duke, and decided it was time to move.

Little Black moved her treasures with the Pujis while Linden began re-educating the Far North captives through meal lines. After Slick staged a confrontation to offer his loyalty, Linden accepted his strength and ordered that he be given meat soup, while Louisa watched with mockery.

• Little Black followed the Pujis’ move and packed her shiny things into a warehouse cave, where Linden helped her find the right transport team.
• Linden had the captives line up for Mushroom soup, but disorder broke out among the Half-Demons and Lizardmen.
• Slick cut to the front of the line, challenged Shou, and then knelt before Marshal Puji to offer his loyalty.
• Linden spoke through a Voice Puji, praised the strong, and ordered Shou to bring Slick meat.
• Slick accepted the meat soup smugly, while Louisa watched him with a mocking smile.

Linden used Slick’s forced transformation into a Mushroom Man to stop the captives from seeking special treatment, then established work rules and Contribution Points for their re-education. He summoned Louisa to a meeting room, where she saw a one-page Yellow Book she recognized as a Holy Scripture.

• Voice Puji exposed Slick’s cowardice, and Linden’s words led to mushrooms erupting from Slick until he became a Jailer.
• Shou read the captives the new rules, including daily work requirements and the chance to earn Contribution Points toward supplies or freedom.
• Linden considered how to integrate the captives into the Mushroom Garden and reserved complete parasitism for cases where it was necessary.
• Louisa savored Slick’s punishment and thought about urging Linden to punish Lady Eunice, who remained imprisoned in the dungeon.
• Linden called Louisa to the meeting room, where she spotted the Yellow Book and identified it as a Holy Scripture.

Linden learned from the Yellow Book about the dangerous Blood-Stealing Ritual, which could let vampires steal essence blood across bloodline branches. Louisa chose to risk the ritual using Eunice, hoping to continue advancing.

• Linden questioned Louisa and the Yellow Book about the Blood-Stealing Ritual after their investigations had found no information.
• The Yellow Book explained that the ritual could forcibly extract origin essence blood from a higher-ranking vampire, but carried severe risks and required large quantities of high-grade Magic Crystals.
• The Yellow Book revealed that the previous Vampire Grand Duke created the ritual and that Mortis Drakon, the current Vampire Grand Duke and Emperor, was its only official user.
• Linden asked Louisa whether she would undergo the ritual using Eunice, and she eagerly agreed despite the chance of death.
• Linden accepted Louisa's choice and joked that the Yellow Book would keep her company if the ritual killed her.