"Say that again."
Duke Amara's knuckles turned white as he gripped the armrests of his mahogany throne, the wood groaning under the immense pressure.
Cold sweat trickled down the back of the steward, Eric's neck, yet he forced himself to enunciate every syllable clearly.
"Perry and Oaks used your name to lure the Young Lady away. They first went to the Amethyst Dungeon, then crossed the border, fleeing into the Hermit Empire. Judging by their route, they are likely seeking asylum with Duke Sigismund."
"Damned traitors! Damned bloodsuckers!"
CRACK.
The solid wood armrests shattered into splinters. Blood-red flames danced in the Duke's pupils.
"Eleanor is still alive. The [Tracking Mark] is active, and the [Vengeance Mark] hasn't transferred. I must go to her."
"My Lord!"
Seeing the Duke reach for his greatsword, ready to storm out regardless of the consequences, Eric shouted in desperation.
"The moment you leave, Sigismund will lead the Crimson Knights to flatten High Castle Fortress! Once the Fortress falls, there are no natural barriers left. Not only your duchy, but the entire Southern Federation will be in danger!"
"Are you asking me to watch Eleanor die?"
BOOM.
The bluestone floor beneath Amara's feet cracked open, spiderweb fractures spreading outward. The terrifying aura of a Level 70 human apex powerhouse crushed Eric down to one knee.
"The Diamond-rank adventurer party 'Silver Thorn' is operating nearby. We can issue a private commission for them to search the Amethyst Dungeon for the Young Lady. Meanwhile, you must feign your departure from High Castle Fortress to lure Sigismund out, then deliver a crushing blow. That will be your revenge for the assassination attempt."
Eric finished his speech in one breath, nearly collapsing onto the floor.
Slowly, the pressure receded. Amara sank back into his chair. He extended a hand, condensing the mana coordinates of Eleanor's location into a crystal, and tossed it to his steward.
"Do as you said. Tell those adventurers: bring Eleanor back alive, and I will give them a city! But if anything happens to my daughter..."
"Understood, my Lord."
---
Meanwhile, deep in the dungeon, inside the Mushroom Garden.
Eleanor, completely unaware that her father had started a rescue mission, was standing at the edge of the Ranch, watching a scene that horrified her.
Next to a deep pit used for raising Slimes, a hollowed-out Shroomie was dumping a load of common mushrooms into the pit as feed.
Suddenly, a Slime leaped up, stuck to the worker's foot, and dragged it down.
In the next second, the Slimes in the pit swarmed, engulfing the worker completely.
The trapped Shroomie struggled for a moment inside the gelatinous mass. It looked like it could still be saved.
"Liam! Liam! Your Slimes are eating a Shroomie!"
Liam, who was busy elsewhere, shifted his attention for a split second.
"Copy that. I'm dispatching a replacement unit. I told you the Ranch is dangerous. Stay away from there."
Eleanor wanted to explain that wasn't her point. But seeing the Shroomie inside the Slime stop moving and begin to dissolve, she swallowed her words.
The underground world is truly cruel.
---
The underground world was indeed cruel.
To survive in such a harsh environment, Liam never had a moment of rest.
The Shroomies themselves had barely enough intelligence to pathfind from point A to point B after receiving a command. Whether it was ranching or mining, everything required Liam's micromanagement. Not to mention the constant harassment from monsters at the garden's borders.
Even with [Hive Mind Lv.5], the mental strain was immense.
It was actually quite rare for him to spare the bandwidth to show Eleanor around. Although he didn't show it, Liam was genuinely happy to have someone to talk to—at least now he didn't have to talk to himself to keep his language skills from atrophying.
But playtime was over. He had to leave her to wander on her own.
Liam needed to focus his attention on the perimeter. The Fire Mosquitoes were swarming again.
These flying insects, roughly the size of a Shroomie but shaped like mosquitoes, averaged around Level 20.
They were far from the strongest monsters here, but they were definitely the most annoying.
Flight, agility, and swarm tactics. They would swoop down and impale straggling Shroomies with their needle-like proboscises. They were the bane of Liam's early game.
Fortunately, Liam had developed a mature counter-strategy.
Facing the incoming cloud of Fire Mosquitoes, a squad of specialized "Artillery Shroomies"—their caps replaced by pressurized nozzles—squeezed out a barrage of Slime Mucus.
This mucus was sticky and corrosive. Once hit, the Fire Mosquitoes' wings gummed up, forcing them to crash-land.
On the ground, patches of purple mushrooms released clouds of [Hallucinogenic Spores], neutralizing the fallen insects instantly.
Soon, after losing seven of their kin, the remaining Fire Mosquitoes turned tail and fled.
But Liam knew these things had no memory. They would be back.
Armored Shroomies with chitinous caps moved in to finish off the unconscious mosquitoes. The corpses were then tossed into the garden to become fresh fertilizer.
[Seven Sins: Greed Triggered]
[Skill Plundered: Heat Resistance Lv.5 $$\rightarrow$$ Lv.6]
A level up?
Nice. Once my Heat Resistance gets a bit higher, I might be able to sneak past the Balrog's lair and see what the upper floors look like.
Liam opened his Status Window.
[Race: Mushroom - Mycelium Lord]
[Level: 42]
[HP: 420/420]
[Mana: 8045/12450]
[Racial Traits:]
- Mana Siphon: Mycelium absorbs ambient mana from the environment to provide continuous XP.
- Scavenger: Decompose corpses to gain nutrients and XP.
[Fixed State:] Connected to Network.
[Skills:] Shroomie Creation Lv.5, Mana Storage Lv.4, Mana Sense Lv.4, Bind Lv.3, Mushroom Cannon Lv.6, Precision Lv.4, Mimicry Lv.2, Storage Cyst Lv.4, Mycelium Network Lv.6, Minion Control Lv.6, Hive Mind Lv.5, Airflow Sense Lv.6, Heat Resistance Lv.6, Evasion Lv.6, Peck Lv.7, Hallucinogenic Spores Lv.4, Chitin Carapace Lv.4, Digestive Acid Lv.3, Rolling Charge Lv.5.
[Titles:]
- Seven Sins: Greed (Unique): Randomly plunder skills or fixed buffs from corpses.
- Pest Killer: +10% damage to insect-type monsters.
- Hero: Ignore racial level limits. Grants one random Special Title or Skill upon summoning (Used).
Liam's stats didn't even show attributes like Strength or Agility. His main body was just an ordinary-looking mushroom. 420 HP at Level 42 was exactly what a mushroom deserved. Eleanor's 3,000 HP was the real anomaly.
As for his absurdly high Mana pool, it actually included the total mana capacity of the entire Mushroom Garden.
The most ridiculous thing on his panel was the [Hero] title. Even he thought it was a joke.
Since when do mushrooms get to be Heroes?
Liam had never met his summoner. He didn't know if it was a mad archmage or a god with a twisted sense of humor.
But one thing was certain—whoever did this was definitely not right in the head.
Who summons a mushroom to save the world?
But thanks to this title, Liam had drawn the [Greed] skill. He used it to steal skills from dungeon monsters endlessly, then used those skills to upgrade his Shroomies.
From being chased by Slimes as food in the beginning to fencing off land and farming in the Deep Zone now, the journey was paved with blood and tears.
It was hard to imagine what he would have done without [Greed]. He probably would have turned into poop a long time ago.
So, why a mushroom?
This question had become his obsession, second only to reaching the surface.
...
Having dealt with the mosquitoes, Liam finally had time to check on what the new kid was doing.
Ah... she's stealing the mined amethysts...