This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

The Dungeon of the pujis — Mushroom Garden No. 1.

This was once the soil where dreams sprouted—the birthplace of the great Green Mushroom legend!

After going through abandonment and reclamation, it had once become a settlement for the cavemen to live and multiply.

As Lin Jun gained complete control of the Dungeon and opened up new, wider spaces, the cavemen gradually migrated to the new districts. This garden, carrying countless memories of hardship, finally returned to being the original mycelium cavern.

But leaving such a place full of meaning idle seemed a waste. Lin Jun gave it new significance.

In one corner of the cave stood a carefully polished stone monument, upon which were engraved just two characters: Aiden.

The rest of the stone was blank.

Having learned from Dylan’s tombstone last time, Lin Jun had grown wiser—he didn’t write any epitaph this time.

It was too painful to smash apart a beautifully worded eulogy with his own hands afterward.

As it turned out, his decision was the right one—Aiden had survived even that! Truly remarkable!

The pujis lifted the stone with mixed feelings.

After all this time, not a single heroic sacrifice had yet occurred—this left the Mushroom Garden lacking a touch of epic weight.

After all, he couldn’t just pick some random expendable casualty and erect a monument for them, right?!

He was about to smash it, but after a moment’s thought, he refrained. Instead, he took the stone to a lake and sank it there.

It wasn’t easy carving such a beautiful slab, and since the epitaph wasn’t written, he could always reuse it later…

Of course, Lin Jun was genuinely happy that Aiden had returned safely!

After finishing his thoughts, a puji suddenly popped up from in front of the still-crying Aiden.

It immediately stretched out its tentacles to lift him up. “Mu—Aiden! What happened to you?”

Aiden’s face stiffened slightly, a twitch at the corner of his eye—but then he put on a look of anguish and began recounting his thrilling escape.

At that time, he had watched with his own eyes as the storm elemental rapidly condensed before him, feeling the suffocating pressure that made him certain death was imminent.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Storm Elemental Lord was only level seventy-something—it already qualified as a natural disaster, far beyond the reach of any ordinary duke.

Before that being, Aiden—a mere Diamond-rank—was like an ant gazing up at a mountain, especially since it was his most hated kind of encounter: a face-to-face ambush.

The proof was clear—just a stray arc of electricity from the elemental had shattered his full-power magic barrier.

Fortunately, Aiden’s “insignificance” made the storm elemental ignore him. The far larger target—the pigmen army—became its main prey.

Aiden had intended to flee the battlefield entirely, but remembering his mission, he gritted his teeth and turned back after a short distance, running toward Redstone City instead.

He hadn’t used a clone because the three S-grade crystals and the artifact Heartwood were far too valuable—he couldn’t risk them being lost with a clone.

He’d planned to negotiate directly with the Silverthorn Squad to complete the deal, but the demon army’s collapse came even faster than expected.

He had barely entered Redstone City when he was horrified to see the storm elemental turning its wrath upon the city!

Though the pigman duke Xenophon was strong enough to block direct blows, his enchanted war axe could barely scratch that massive, formless being.

His brute strength was useless—he could only watch helplessly as his army crumbled beneath the clash of wind and thunder.

The moment the citizens saw the storm elemental turning their way, they began to flee in panic.

But the creature was not only enormous and destructive—it was fast.

Those who hesitated for even a second, or had the misfortune to be caught in its path, were instantly reduced to ash in the storm’s fury.

Only when there were no longer any large gatherings of life in sight did the storm elemental finally turn northward, leaving behind a colossal, jagged V-shaped scar across Redstone’s ruins.

Unfortunately, Aiden and the Silverthorn Squad fell squarely into the “unlucky” category.

——

“Duke’s envoy? You didn’t leave?!” Nova shouted as she noticed Aiden amid the chaos.

Aiden had already been ready to give up, never expecting to run into the Silverthorn Squad again mid-escape.

“What the hell are you still talking for?! Run faster!” Night Owl leapt between shadows, the only one capable of evading quickly. Watching Nova and the others crawl at a snail’s pace drove her mad.

The half-dragon Gaal was also sprinting, though with an old mage slung across his back. “Ivan, why don’t you cast Wind Speed on us?!”

Ivan snapped, instantly furious. “Do you even know what’s behind us? That’s the Storm Elemental Lord—the master of wind and lightning! You want me to compete with him for wind control? The moment I cast, we’ll be swept into a tornado and sent straight into his body!”

“Then think of something! It’s coming right at us!”

As the storm elemental drew near and escape became impossible, Gaal suddenly halted. “Behind me!”

【Damage Transfer LV7】

【Shield Domain LV8】

【Group Defense Boost LV8】

The moment he set Ivan down, the old mage cast an elemental resistance enhancement on everyone.

Even so, the barrier only held for a short while—blocking three thunderbolts before the fourth sent them all flying. Aiden was nearly blasted half to death.

At the last second, Night Owl managed to grab Ivan and dive into the shadows, barely surviving.

But she couldn’t save everyone.

Just as the rest were about to perish, Ivan suddenly lunged toward Aiden, snatching an S-grade crystal that had fallen beside him.

“Seriously?! You’re worrying about that right now?!” Night Owl was speechless. If she’d known, she would’ve saved Nova instead—they could’ve at least gambled on the artifact!

Ivan ignored her completely.

Unmindful of the raging thunder above, he focused his entire mind on the crystal.

Magic light flared in his hands as he crudely sliced open the precious S-grade crystal, cutting it into a long shard—and without hesitation, jammed it into the magic-core slot in his abdomen.

Another thunderbolt struck—but this time, a blue magic shield flared to life, blocking it.

A triumphant shout burst from his throat:

“OOOOOH! So this is the power of a top-tier magic crystal! Incredible—this feels… absolutely exhilarating! Hah!”

And indeed, Ivan did fly.

A torrent of mana surged into him, dazzling light streaming from his mouth and eyes.

This sudden transformation finally drew the storm elemental’s attention.

A barrage of even fiercer lightning followed. The new magic barrier trembled violently, but held.

Underneath, Night Owl trembled uncontrollably—if that shield broke, even her shadow-step wouldn’t save her.

Over the roar of thunder, she screamed, “Old man! You got anything else?! If you do, now’s the time—we’re about to die here!”

But Ivan didn’t hear her. He was lost in his own world. “So this is what magic truly is! I… finally understand!”

In the next instant, a magic circle of pure mana spread beneath his feet, enveloping everyone within its light.

This circle had no external casting materials, yet Ivan maintained perfect control over every flow of energy.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the half-ruined Redstone City, a short-range teleportation array flared to life!

——

“They all escaped? So… did you manage to… bring back that…” Lin Jun resisted the urge to have the puji search Aiden’s body on the spot.

“Boss, we’ve got to go save them!”