"You… how do you have such high-quality magic crystals?"
"How long do you think I've been here…?"
Lin Jun wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed since she arrived in this world. Deep in the dungeon, there was no day or night, no seasons—only endless darkness. Still, she felt it had been at least two or three years.
Even counting from when she first established the mushroom garden, it wasn't a short period. This entire rock wall was her personal mine. After mining for so long, it was only natural that she had accumulated some top-grade magic crystals.
She hadn't collected them because she understood their true value, though. She simply thought the clean, sparkling amethysts were prettier. Placing them around her body helped attract ambient magic while also serving as decoration.
"Can you cast other spells faster with this one?"
"I can really use this? You're serious?"
Even though she didn't know Inanna very well yet, Lin Jun could tell the pink Puji genuinely loved magic crystals—or anything magic-related, for that matter.
"Of course. I'd also like to see more of your spells. Speaking of which, Inanna, I haven't asked yet—what spells do you actually know?"
Lin Jun could see [Light Magic LV4] and [Water Magic LV3] on the panel, but that only told her the highest rank Inanna could cast—not the specific spells in her repertoire.
Each magic system had dozens of spells per rank, and some even had numerous variations. The Transfiguration spell alone could turn someone into an eagle, a dog, a puppy…
Inanna stood motionless for a moment, clearly running through her mental list.
If she were still in human form, Lin Jun imagined she'd be ticking them off on her fingers.
"Let me see… Water Serpent, Water Mirror Refraction, Ice Blade, Purification, Healing Light, Invisibility, Illumination, Water Creation, Energy Protection, Mud Swamp… gulp… that's about it."
Quite a respectable list.
"Then try casting Mud Swamp on this Puji."
Lin Jun moved a mining Puji—the one that had been smashing rocks with its cap—into the open space where the earlier explosion had happened. At the same time, another mycelium tentacle extended from beneath her main body and carefully tied the A-rank magic crystal to Inanna's cap.
"Be careful not to break it this time. This is the last one."
"I'll be careful."
Magic surged from Inanna's tiny body into the crystal. Unlike the earlier Glimmer spell, this time ambient mana rushed in from all directions the moment the spell began. The A-rank crystal above her head acted like a miniature vortex, greedily devouring the surrounding magic.
No wonder people said high-grade crystals could function like staves. With this level of mana amplification, any spell's power would be multiplied several times over.
"It's ready!"
The mining Puji sank slightly. The once-solid ground beneath it turned into a thick, viscous puddle of mud. It tried to lift its feet, but they were hopelessly stuck.
In truth, Mud Swamp was only supposed to slow movement within a defined area. Even enhanced by an A-rank crystal, the effect should have been limited in scope.
The reason the Puji couldn't break free was simple: its chitinous shell was far too heavy, and its base strength was pitiful. It was effectively pinned in place.
"Now try Ice Blade on it."
"Huh? Is that okay? It might…"
"It's fine. Go ahead."
It was just a Puji. If it died in the mushroom garden, it would simply become fertilizer and be recycled. The loss was negligible.
"Okay… here goes."
In moments, an ice blade condensed in front of Inanna. Even she was startled by the result.
Unlike Mud Swamp, the enhancement on Ice Blade was dramatically visible. The blade, originally less than a meter long, now stretched over two meters. A deep, biting chill radiated from its edge—its power had clearly been boosted far beyond normal.
"Go!"
The ice blade met the chitinous shell with a sharp *crack*. It sliced in deeply, cutting three-quarters of the way through before stopping.
Even Lin Jun was impressed.
That was a LV4 Chitinous Shell. It usually took two direct hits from her own LV6 Mushroom Cannon to crack it open. Yet a single LV4 Ice Blade—enhanced by the crystal—had nearly bisected it in one strike.
She wasn't sure whether the increased power came from the spell itself or the A-rank crystal—probably both.
Magic truly was incredible. If she had known any spells in the early days, her survival wouldn't have been so painful.
But it wasn't too late. Although she didn't know magic yet, having a spellcasting ally opened up new possibilities—plans to reach the upper levels that had previously seemed impossible.
Of course, she wasn't talking about challenging the Balrog guarding the main passage. She had glimpsed that monster once through a sacrificed scout Puji. The level gap was enormous; even the panel hadn't shown detailed stats, but its LV64 was clearly far beyond her current reach.
Who said going upward required using the official passage?
"Inanna, do you want this magic crystal?"
"You're… giving it to me?"
Huh?
Was this mushroom being so generous just to set a trap?
Having just been betrayed by trusted companions, Inanna couldn't help feeling wary—especially toward a mysterious monster like Lin Jun.
"Of course it's not free. Cooperate with me to defeat some monsters, and it's yours."
"Okay!"
Hearing there were conditions attached, Inanna immediately relaxed. She desperately wanted the crystal, but she would have felt uneasy accepting such a valuable item as a outright gift.
But… monsters?
Come to think of it, this was the deep levels of the dungeon. The mushroom garden had so many bizarre features that she had almost forgotten the constant danger outside its borders.
Still—mushrooms hunting monsters?
How? With *Puji*?
"What kind of monsters are we going to hunt?"
"Earth worms. Do you know them?"
Earth worms?
That sounded familiar. Where had she heard that name…?
Ah, right—
"Excuse me… are you talking about those giant earthworms with rock-like skin that burrow deep underground and eat ore every day?"
Lin Jun paused, then nodded. "That's right."
"You mean you're hunting the adult ones?"
"The adults, yes."
"Aren't adult earthworms at least LV45? Only a full Gold-rank adventure team can hunt them safely! Mr. Lin Jun, I'm only LV28!"
Inanna's mind was screaming: *Me? Hunt earthworms?*
Even in her original human form, an earthworm would have swallowed her whole.
Was this mushroom out of its mind? A mushroom wanted to hunt earthworms?
"You seem to have a slightly… skewed impression of me."
Seeing Inanna's incredulous expression, Lin Jun realized she hadn't yet shown the new arrival the edge of the mushroom garden.
No wonder she had so little faith in Lin Jun's capabilities.
Hunting earthworms had been a long-standing goal. Those creatures possessed the skill [High-Temperature Drilling].
It allowed them to generate intense heat to embrittle rock, then use their rotating mouthparts to shred and swallow it, expelling useless non-mineral debris through gill-like vents to reinforce tunnel walls.
If Lin Jun could acquire that skill, she could dig a new tunnel straight upward through the rock wall—bypassing the Balrog entirely and avoiding the risk of sneaking past its lair.
The problem was that earthworms were expert burrowers. If they couldn't win a fight, they simply fled underground. They also had massive health pools, so finishing them off when they were low took far too long.
She had tried once before. The attempt ended in heavy losses and zero gains.
But after seeing Inanna's enhanced Mud Swamp spell, Lin Jun felt hopeful again. An earthworm trapped in thick mud probably wouldn't be able to burrow away so easily.
Still, she needed to let Inanna practice first.
"We don't have to go after earthworms right this second. You still need time to get comfortable casting with the magic crystal, right? This is a perfect chance to join an expedition team and practice."
"Expedition team?"