CHAPTER 50: CHAPTER 50: ALMOST KILLED IN PASSING

The parchment booklet had its edges frayed; Calvin confirmed for the third time but couldn’t connect the five levels in the guide with the staircase view.

Is this supposed to be the brightest level?

Not a single Firefly Grass could be seen; in the pitch-black fifth level, the mushrooms’ eerie glow was the only light source.

On the road leading out of the staircase, there was just a single row of Glowing Mushrooms on each side, as if purposely lined up.

Calvin felt this scene was even more bizarre than when he saw the small cave on the second level.

Even Gray felt a bit discouraged: "Your guide is way off! Are we... still moving forward?"

"We’ve come all this way... might as well take a look around."

Upon stepping out, they realized the dome was covered in mushrooms, the fluorescence forming a sky-like canopy.

Calvin always felt uncomfortable, as if someone was watching him, making him regret his decision made two minutes ago.

However, upon expressing this to Gray, Gray just shook his head, claiming he felt nothing.

Calvin couldn’t justify returning solely based on gut feeling; that would be too capricious.

"Are we really going to walk along this road?" Gray asked, pointing at the Mushroom Road ahead.

Indeed, the road looked suspicious, yet it was aligned with the direction of the forest according to the guide.

Even if the guide was outdated, the terrain should not have completely changed.

After much consideration, Calvin took out his small Magic Staff.

Tier One Magic - Lighting Technique.

An orange-yellow light hovered at the tip of the staff.

"Let’s walk along the outside of the road."

Puki—

As soon as they took the first step off the path, both felt the sticky ground beneath their feet.

Leaning down to investigate, they were alarmed to find that the path’s outer edge was completely covered in transparent fungal threads.

From beneath them, extending to the edge of darkness, as far as their eyes could see, it was all fungal-thread ground!

"I told you the ground color felt weird; turns out it’s all this stuff!" Gray retreated in disgust, "Maybe we should just walk on the road?"

Calvin could only nod.

The path was clean, as if the fungal threads were blocked by the Glowing Mushrooms on either side.

It was notably quiet around, and the shadows of Demons mentioned in the guide were nowhere to be seen.

The only thing they encountered was a colossal corpse, half-decomposed by the fungal threads, now just a shell of its former self.

Everything made the two increasingly uneasy, keeping a constant watch on their surroundings and saying nothing.

It was only when they saw the forest that they stopped.

"Is that the ’forest’ you mentioned?"

Where Gray pointed, many luminescent giant mushrooms stood tall, fungal threads drooping from their caps, forming a Mushroom Forest at varying heights.

Only a few large trees were nestled among the giant mushrooms.

Clearly, the guide’s information was outdated, even concerning the terrain!

Calvin hadn’t yet spoken when a strange sound suddenly came from the forest.

Puki—

Puki—

The heavy sound was distinctly clear in the quiet setting.

A massive three-meter Fat Otaku Puki slowly emerged from behind a giant mushroom, four sturdy fungal-thread tentacles swaying in the air.

Beside this gigantic Puki, ten smaller Pukis sporting tentacles identical to those seen on the second level followed along.

The Pukis seemed to have noticed the two humans, stopping in their tracks.

"Calvin! Let’s retreat!"

"Calvin?"

Only then did Gray realize the Lighting Technique’s glow had mysteriously vanished.

"Calvin, you—"

The next moment, Gray noticed his body turning transparent, accompanied by Calvin’s voice nearby.

"What about me?"

"You... you reacted faster than me!"

"Tsk!"

No time to argue further, Calvin crouched and seized Gray’s sleeve, ensuring they wouldn’t be separated.

"Let’s retreat, this place is too strange."

"And what about your homework assignment?"

"What else can I do? I’ll have to use my savings to buy one from the black market."

His already inadequate small savings would shrink, and Calvin felt his heart bleeding.

In his distress, Calvin wasn’t paying attention to a force pulling at his hand, causing him to collide with something.

"Ouch!" His forehead seemed to split open, blood flowing out.

This minor injury was soon eclipsed by more pressing concerns.

A humanoid creature covered in inky scales stood ahead, tilting its head as it observed the invisible pair.

"Dragon, dragon, dragon..." Before he could finish, Calvin was grabbed by the neck and lifted by the creature, dwarfed by his height.

Their Invisibility Technique lost support and failed instantly.

At the same time, a loud roar came from beside them!

[Fury Level 4]

[Brute Force Level 4]

It was Gray!

Seeing Calvin under attack, he decisively activated his power-up and swung his sword down.

[Heavy Slash Level 5]

Clang—

A half-broken sword flew into the air, and Gray, trembling, maintained his slashing stance, blood streaming from his ruptured hand.

He couldn’t comprehend why his Fine Steel Longsword couldn’t even scratch a scale on the opponent’s shoulder?

Before entering the Underground City, he’d thoroughly checked his equipment.

Wasn’t this the fifth level?

The creature seized Gray’s neck with its other claw; Gray attempted resistance, but his numbed hands failed to even raise.

Feeling the force on his neck intensifying, Gray’s breath grew labored.

Beside him, Calvin’s face turned even bluer, nearing suffocation.

Somehow in an instance, that felt both brief and eternal, the pressure on their necks suddenly disappeared.

Gray collapsed onto the ground, greedily gasping for air.

After recovering, he noticed the terrifying creature had disappeared, leaving Calvin motionless, his chest still.

"Calvin? Calvin! Wake up!"

Slapping Calvin’s face twice did nothing to stir him.

Urgently rummaging through his small pouch, Gray attempted to retrieve a Healing Potion but was interrupted by surrounding Pukis.

Instinctively reaching for his sword felt futile, remembering only the Broken Sword remained.

Quickly, he found himself tied up.

"I’d rather be strangled to death just now..."

As Gray contemplated how he’d be killed, he saw an approaching Puki extend a hollow tentacle to Calvin’s mouth.

The tentacle pulsed with the Puki’s body in expansion and contraction.

Bound Gray struggled but remained helplessly watching, unable to act.

Suddenly, Calvin’s eyes shot open, frantically yanking the tentacle from his throat.

"Cough, cough—cough, cough—cough, cough, cough—ugh—"

After coughing, Calvin lay paralyzed, seeming half dead, and indeed his Blood Volume had halved.

Puki—

Heavy footsteps signaled the slow approach of the Fat Otaku Puki.

It rummaged its belly, pulling out four items, tossing them in front of Gray.

The Pukis released Gray, turned around, and soon vanished into the Mushroom Forest.

Gray stared at the ground, puzzled by the Puki’s gifts: a Longsword, seed core, Demon Crystal, and a Healing Potion, all left behind.

Did the Puki rescue them from the creature?

Quickly gathering the items, Gray lifted the feeble Calvin on his shoulder, swiftly escaping into the staircase passage.

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I forgot to tell Xiao Hai that humans are not Demons!

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