Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 217 - 214: Everything Is Ready

Stone Castle Dungeon.

The Ancient Castle Area has almost been completely covered by the Fungal Mat, and the Upper Area has spread significantly as well.

As for the Lower Area, although it is the area richest in magic power, with little time left, Lin Jun only set up a few observation points to study the entire process of the Underground City collapsing.

In the Middle Area, a secret chamber was excavated in a hidden corner by the Drilling Pukis.

This chamber can only be accessed through the Fungal Mycelium Network. Unless someone can dig through fifty meters of rock, it’s impossible to find it.

The chamber is carpeted with Fungal Mat, but unlike others, these mats are light green.

A slender metal rod is inserted in the center of the chamber, a treasure Lin Jun "scavenged" from behind the gates in the ruins.

This unknown metal material, who knows how many years it has endured, aside from the dust, it hasn’t suffered much damage, and it’s heat-resistant!

Knight Puki No. 2 took out the [Sunstone (Fragment)] and placed it on the rod.

Another Puki also brought out a [Sunstone (Shard)].

Carefully aligning the angles, they finally fit the pieces flawlessly together!

Golden light flowed from the break, and the two fragments instantly fused as one!

[Sunstone (Fragment)]

The panel name remained unchanged, but the light and heat it emitted suddenly surged, truly like a small sun being ignited in the chamber.

The two Pukis retreated repeatedly, even with Level Eight [High Temperature Resistance], getting too close would still end up getting burned.

Fortunately, that metal rod lived up to expectations, supporting the Sunstone steadily.

In the chamber, the light green Fungal Mat greedily absorbed the sunlight, and through the Fungal Network, continuously transmitted the magic power outwards!

Although it was just an additional shard, the magic power production was more than double that of before.

Just from this small chamber, the amount of magic power produced equaled half of what was previously gathered from the Fungal Mat throughout the entire Purple Crystal Dungeon.

Looking at this Sunstone, Lin Jun had only managed to gather nearly half; how much magic power could a complete Sunstone produce?

Moreover, using [Photosynthesis] to make the Sunstone the energy core is purely an unconventional method Lin Jun came up with himself.

Logically, the Sunstone should have its original functions, but unfortunately, Lin Jun hasn’t figured them out yet.

It would be great to find some sort of "Divine Artifact Manual" or something similar.

Speaking of its uses, Lin Jun couldn’t help but recall the scene where the fragment weakened and harmed Little Pig.

A complete Sunstone... could it be the core gemstone of some weapon, specifically countering vampires?

If that’s the case, it would be a bit awkward... He hadn’t planned to trouble the Empire...

This time, not only the Sunstone was transported here, but a Split-body Mushroom was also brought and tucked under Knight Puki’s mushroom cap as a backup, while the main body remained stationary on Level Six of the Purple Crystal.

The biggest credit goes to Little Pig this time.

Originally, Lin Jun considered raising some Blood Packs to improve Little Pig’s lifestyle, but Little Pig clearly had her own ideas.

"Boss! I want to become stronger!" Looking at Little Pig kneeling on one knee with her scarlet eyes burning with passion, Lin Jun hadn’t expected her to be so motivated...

It wasn’t impossible.

Although Little Pig had plenty of skills, with the substantial increase in magic power income, some could be spared to provide her with one or two core skills.

After discussing with Little Pig, they finally decided to enhance two skills for her: [Magic Storage Level 7] and [Petrification Beam Level 3].

The former Little Pig already had, but only at a mere Level Four.

Little Pig’s total magic power wasn’t considered high; back then, Puki had lost due to exhaustion of magic.

As for the petrification ability, although its level was a bit low, it indeed was a formidable initial encounter skill.

Used unexpectedly, even mid-battle, petrifying an opponent’s joint could pose a significant threat.

Moreover, Lin Jun agreed to help her continue to enhance this skill level in the future.

Although self-training was slow, reaching Level Five or Six wasn’t a problem.

To be honest, Lin Jun initially wanted to try adding [Photosynthesis] for her, but on second thought, it was better to experiment with other vampires first, considering the preciousness of Skill Bar slots...

Lin Jun sent Little Pig into the Mushroom House for "upgrade modifications", while on the other side, Norris, who had just been enhanced with Cold Resistance, couldn’t wait to crawl out of the Mushroom House and dive straight into his treasured Gidda.

Gidda used [Assault Ejection Level 6], leaping two meters high.

On landing, it failed to maintain balance, toppling sideways.

Fortunately, the Level Nine [Chitin Shell] wouldn’t crack due to such a small impact, with only a few faint scratches on it.

"Is it not working well?" Lin Jun asked.

"No, no, no! Boss! It’s my operational issue!" Norris hastily explained, "It’s, it’s too powerful! I’ll get used to it! Absolutely practical!"

"Alright then, but be careful, don’t hurt yourself." Lin Jun advised earnestly, "You’re now an indispensable core member in the Mushroom Garden."

"Bo... Boss!" Caught off guard, Norris was touched to the point of a lump in his throat, his eyes slightly wet.

Core member!

Though unspoken, he always felt like a dispensable fringe character, yet he never imagined he meant so much to the boss?!

The feeling of being cared for and valued made his heart warm, as he sniffed, his voice choked, "I-I will be careful!"

On another side, at the doorway of Xiao Hei’s exclusive Mushroom House, a plump Puki with a "Buddha-like" aura was helping Xiao Hei move house.

Xiao Hei had half of his body burrowed into Kuro’s soft mushroom belly, huffing and puffing, carrying a handful of Bright Crystals back to his Mushroom House.

He transported them with extreme care, and if a small piece of "treasure" dropped to the ground, he would immediately stop, cautiously picking it up with his claws, making sure not a single piece was missed before continuing his task.

Among these Bright Crystals, three-tenths were scales contributed by Norris, seven-tenths were cheap Glass Beads, mixed in with a few real gemstones given by Lin Jun.

Now, the core members and important items had almost all been relocated to the relatively safe Stone Castle Dungeon, just waiting for the Deep Area over there to reach the core area, which would happen in a couple of days.

Everything was going smoothly, except for one thing—Chis ran away!

The two Tracking Pukis couldn’t find traces of Chis throughout the vast snowy plains, advancing futilely for several days, ultimately losing contact due to magic exhaustion.

It was expected, yet still disappointing for Mushroom.

Regarding Chis’s origin, Lin Jun did manage to uncover some relevant information in the ruins behind the gate.

Quite classic mural information.

Apparently, Chis’s appearance here wasn’t accidental.

There were only two incomplete murals that could be distinguished, which was the result of Lin Jun’s efforts to piece them together.

The first mural: A towering fortress with thick walls, being frantically besieged by a swarm of insect armies like a tide. Among these insects were many species familiar to Lin Jun. Inside the fortress, tiny figures fought desperately, and upon closer inspection, some figures distinctly exhibited non-human traits.

The second mural: Over ten giant wooden ships sailing on the sea, yet deeply trapped in a hunting encirclement of Sea Beasts! The scene was filled with silhouettes of Sea Beasts of various sizes, surging waves, and dangerously tilting, beginning-to-capsize ship hulls.

Lin Jun wasn’t sure if this implied that Chis had many underwater units.

But since it got away, pondering over this wouldn’t yield any meaning now.