The Ennis Fungus trembled violently, as if it couldn't wait any longer and was desperate to pounce straight at Ma Jun.
[Beep! Detecting a growable item: Ennis Fungus!]
[Player–Ennis Fungus compatibility: Excellent!]
[Player brain activity: Transcendent!]
[Overall evaluation: SSS Rank!]
[Recommendation: Fuse with the Ennis Fungus to obtain transcendent power!]
Seeing the Ennis Fungus go so berserk, Daniela froze, her face full of shock.
"How can this be?!"
She stared at Ma Jun in disbelief.
"Master… the Ennis Fungus seems to really like you!"
"My mother once said that it only reacts like this when it encounters something it's extremely compatible with."
"When I fused with it, the Ennis Fungus actually resisted me…"
As she spoke, Daniela's expression dimmed.
She was supposed to have a younger sister.
But the Ennis Fungus rejected her sister far too strongly. Unable to endure it—and unwilling to turn into a mindless monster—her sister chose to end her own life.
"My mother said that even when she fused with it, she could only get a few strands of fungus to come close."
"This kind of situation… I've never even heard of it!"
Daniela's eyes lit up.
"Master, hurry up and fuse with it! As long as you swallow the Ennis Fungus, you'll obtain supreme, unparalleled power!"
"You might even surpass the Mother Goddess!"
"Fuse…?"
Ma Jun murmured softly as he accepted the Ennis Fungus.
"Yes! Just eat it and it's done—super simple!"
As the fungus continued writhing in his hand, Ma Jun suddenly curled his lips into a smile.
"Want to fuse with me?"
"Keep dreaming."
"I only control others. I will never accept being controlled by anyone else."
Fuse with the fungus and become a monster?
Even if he gained power, it wouldn't truly belong to him.
Ma Jun wasn't interested.
As long as he kept playing the nightmare game, he would eventually grow stronger anyway.
As if understanding his words, the Ennis Fungus trembled violently twice… then gradually calmed down.
Immediately after, it shrank.
From palm-sized, it compressed into a white sphere no bigger than a fingertip.
It lay quietly in Ma Jun's hand.
"Huh?"
An item description appeared on the panel.
[Ennis Fungus Derivative (Nameable)]
[Quality: Blue (Growable)]
[Through autonomous decision-making, the Ennis Fungus has weakened its own functions. Even without fusion, it can still exert partial effects.]
[Note: This is a growable item. By devouring Ennis Fungus of the same origin, its quality can evolve!]
[Effect: Can attach to the player's body, altering the size of a specific body part, while increasing that part's hardness and strength!]
…This item was kind of insane.
When Ma Jun read the effect, he fell silent.
Change the size of an attached body part?
And increase its strength and hardness?
No matter how he looked at it…
This thing felt like it had been tailor-made for him!
Although one part of his body was already quite well-developed, in a nightmare world—
Bigger was always better.
In the past, when he encountered those giant enemies dozens—or even hundreds—of meters tall, all he could do was sigh in despair.
Even forcing himself on would just be throwing away his life.
Like trying to stir the sea with a toothpick.
But now?
Now that he had this item, everything was different.
Once attached—
Even a hundred-meter-tall giant wouldn't make him flinch!
Charging straight in, fearless—true heroic spirit!
He was even confident he could blow a giant apart directly.
[Please name the item!]
Ma Jun thought for a moment.
"Name it… Tribute."
When he blew the horn of advance, the giants would surely sing him praises!
With a flick of his wrist, Tribute vanished from his palm and entered his inventory.
Daniela cried out in shock again.
"How is this possible?!"
Her expression grew even more complicated.
"Normally, the Ennis Fungus rejects all living beings. Even direct consumption causes violent mutation reactions!"
"Yet now… it voluntarily weakened itself and chose to attach to you?!"
Her heart felt strangely sour.
It was like watching a lofty, untouchable goddess—aloof and cold to everyone—
Suddenly turn into a clingy, tail-wagging puppy in front of Ma Jun.
The contrast was too great.
For a moment, she couldn't accept it.
But very quickly, she relaxed.
"As expected… Master is extraordinary!"
Her resolve to serve him only grew stronger.
Ma Jun didn't know how to explain it either.
He could only conclude that even items couldn't escape the influence of his Charm stat.
He was extremely satisfied with Tribute.
This was a growable item, capable of evolving by devouring items of the same origin.
That made things very convenient.
After all, Ma Jun knew very well—
Lady Dimitrescu and her two remaining daughters definitely possessed Ennis Fungus of the same origin.
Although Tribute was currently only blue-quality elite-tier, evolving it to gold heroic-tier—or even higher—was absolutely possible.
In the nightmare game, purple epic-tier items and above were already considered high-end.
Take the previous [Charcoal-Grilled Dragonfish] for example.
It only added one point of Agility, but it was reusable!
Every epic-tier item could sell for an astronomical price among players.
And Ma Jun's growable Tribute?
Its value was simply impossible to estimate.