CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: INNATE DEFICIENCY

The section of the Tentacle Mushroom Cannon slowly wriggled, and the end had now re-woven into a complete cone structure.

The Knight’s six fungal tentacles, under the influence of [Fungal Filament Reassembly Level 2], had now mostly returned to their original form.

It’s just that compared to other parts, the color was slightly lighter.

Instead, the claw marks on the shell were still clearly visible.

The shell is a product of skill and is not within the range of reassembly; it can only be replaced with a new one in exchange for the old one later.

The Demon Tide outside finally reached its end, with demons beginning to return to their respective levels, and those Dragon Beasts burrowing back into the rifts one by one.

The demons resumed their usual state of attacking each other.

Lin Jun saw a Split-tooth Beast suddenly snatch the tail fin of a small Dragon Beast before leaving, dragging the struggling prey into the staircase.

Some demons wandering aimlessly in the fifth layer, unable to find their way back, if they exceed Level 25, will have an added negative effect.

[Fixed State: Soul Suction (gradual loss of attributes and skill proficiency)]

Apparently, this is the Underground City’s way of restoring the original order between the levels after the Demon Tide.

If they can’t return, they’ll probably be drained dry in the end.

But... having one’s soul sucked...

Just the thought sent chills down Lin Jun’s spine.

Fortunately, Lin Jun didn’t have it.

Not only Lin Jun, but the Dragon Man also didn’t have it either.

This matched Lin Jun’s guess—he and the Dragon Man were not part of the Demon Tide.

As for Lin Jun, it’s clear; the Underground City family never truly accepted him.

In the Dragon Man’s behavior, one could see her actions during the Demon Tide, where they attacked other demons to protect their food; unlike other demons eager to rush out of the Underground City, she instead roamed the fifth floor looking for Lin Jun’s Puki to eat.

Lin Jun’s uniqueness was due to his Hero Title.

As for the Dragon Man?

Probably because of her Ancient Dragon Descendant status.

Speaking of the Dragon Man...

"I’m hungry..."

In a cave reduced to less than 20 square meters due to the collapse.

The Dragon Man crouched in the corner, with both claws on her knees, eyes fixed on a few Battery Pukis on the other side, almost drooling.

Sigh—

A Battery Puki climbed over the rubble in the middle, "puff puff", and walked to the Dragon Man’s side.

She grabbed the Puki, rubbing her cheek against it affectionately, but soon, the Puki was cut by the scales on her face.

Like Dylan, after being parasitized, the Dragon Man showed affection towards the Pukis.

At least she didn’t get into a life-or-death fight with Lin Jun’s Knight right after waking up, instead willing to listen to some of his words.

Of course, she still needed to eat the Pukis...

With only 10 Blood Volume, the Battery Puki was scraped to death by the scales and soon nibbled by the affectionate Dragon Man along the edge of the mushroom cap.

This Dragon Man wasn’t very smart.

After a brief connection with the Fungal Network and a bit of communication, Lin Jun found her intelligence was about the level of a child.

This level of intelligence matched her behavior in the fifth layer.

Yet logically, with one parent being human and the other an Ancient Dragon, none were of low intelligence; it didn’t make sense for her to be so dim-witted.

Just like the Half-dragon he’d seen before, whose intelligence seemed no different from ordinary humans.

The answer lay on the Dragon Man’s panel:

[Fixed State: Innate Deficiency. Int (Intelligence Attribute reduced by 80%)]

Although the Intelligence Attribute is related to Casting Ability, it isn’t equivalent to IQ.

But if she was innately deficient, she was probably born intellectually disabled, reflected in a low Intelligence Attribute.

Additionally, she had more than one Innate Deficiency.

[Fixed State: Innate Deficiency. Magic Power Loss (Magic Power naturally decreases over time)]

Lin Jun suspected she might have offended the heavens in a past life.

Magic Power, after all, is the foundation of most skills.

Beyond magic itself, many skills that don’t seem magical, like [Assault Ejection], also consume Magic Power, albeit in very small amounts.

When Magic Power is depleted, not only can skills not be used, but it also leads to dizziness, nausea, and even unconsciousness.

Lin Jun had much to say on this; when he first arrived in this world, knowing nothing, he had fallen into many pitfalls.

Hence, it’s no wonder she didn’t eat the Hallucinogenic Puki.

The Pukis she consumed all had the [Magic Storage] skill.

Eating Pukis was probably a means of replenishing her own Magic Power.

Just like now, as the Dragon Man ate the Puki in her arms, Lin Jun saw on the panel her Magic Power, once one-third empty, gradually being replenished.

Of course, the Pukis’ delicious taste was probably another reason.

After all, [Magic Storage] wasn’t a skill exclusive to him.

When the Dragon Man stuffed the last little short leg of the Puki into her mouth, she still licked her lips insatiably.

"Are you full?" Lin Jun asked.

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Man’s golden pupils slightly shifted, moving her gaze from the remaining Battery Pukis to the Knight.

In her understanding, the Knight Puki was the one talking to her—a delicious but very strong entity.

"I still want to eat!"

Lin Jun glanced at the panel.

Her Magic Power was full, yet she still wanted to eat!

"Help me first, and after that, I’ll let you eat, okay?"

Looking back at the remaining three Battery Pukis, the Dragon Man nodded vigorously.

What Lin Jun wanted her to do was nothing else, just to dig out the way she came in, now dig the way out.

Previously, their battle had collapsed much of the cave, and the Pukis responsible for digging were unfortunately crushed to death.

The Knight also had a digging skill, but its efficiency couldn’t compare to the Dragon Man’s claws.

After all, they were [Sharpness Level 9]!

But in fact, Lin Jun had thought a little wrongly.

Lin Jun assumed she dug with her claws, but in reality, her claws only served to break rocks, while the rest involved squeezing through using her physical strength!

After squeezing through, the rocks and soil would close up, not suitable for bringing the Pukis along.

The Knight had to tightly follow her footsteps, getting kicked unintentionally N times, barely squeezing through.

That was thanks to the hard shell.

As for the three shell-less Battery Pukis... they couldn’t keep up from the start...

Thus, when the Dragon Man eagerly asked for Pukis, Lin Jun was already drenched in sweat...

Lin Jun was genuinely afraid she would, without a word, plan to eat the Knight again.

It wasn’t that he feared truly being eaten; if it became too dangerous, completing the final step of parasitism would turn her into a Puppet.

But what about afterward?

Turning into a Puppet was like brain death, potentially triggering the Revenge Mark?

Lin Jun didn’t know and certainly didn’t want to take the gamble.

So, he had to divert this gluttonous fool first.

"Ah... over there," the Knight Puki pointed a tentacle towards the forest direction, "there’s food over there, go ahead and eat it."

Meanwhile, Lin Jun quickly searched the forest and found a small intact Fungal Mat near the ruins of Dylan’s Cottage, one of the few remaining intact after the demon trampling.

On the Fungal Mat, he accelerated the ripening of two Battery Pukis with full effort!

The fifth layer wasn’t safe yet, with many demons still wandering, searching for their way back.

But with such a Dragon Man beside Lin Jun, they either ignored her or directly detoured around her.

Of course, some lacked sense.

Lin Jun sincerely thanked them for buying him a little more time.

...

Beside the ruins of Dylan’s Cottage.

The Dragon Man eagerly picked up the not-yet-fully-charged Puki and gobbled it up—after just moving a bit, she was hungry again.

Soon, a skeptical query came through the Fungal Network from the Dragon Man:

"This one... doesn’t taste good..."