This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

Imperial northern frontier. Cold Bay Fort — the very city where Tanaka and Kiro first met.

Its walls were built from gray ironstone unique to the northern lands. Scoured year-round by icy winds, their surfaces were rough and hardened, dusted in a layer of frost-white.

The canals winding through parts of the city had long since frozen solid, reflecting cold light beneath the sun.

A young demon soldier tightened his thin-issue cloak and cautiously extended a scale-covered foot, testing the ice at the canal’s edge.

Crack—

A faint yet crisp fracture sounded. The ice dipped slightly but did not break.

He withdrew his foot and exhaled a long plume of white mist beneath his bone mask.

“Finally warming up a bit. I really thought I was going to freeze to death in this damned place. Those winds before? They cut between my scales like blades slicing meat.”

An older soldier with curved horns leaned against a stone wall opposite him and gave a crooked smile.

“What difference does it make if it’s warming up? Look around. In this Cold Bay Fort, aside from unlucky bastards like us chained here by military orders, how many breathing souls are left?”

“Anyone with working legs and half a brain already ran south, inland — anywhere’s better than staying here drinking north wind. Even if it’s warmer now, who’d dare come back? Afraid they’ll fall asleep and wake up as an ice statue. When people’s hearts scatter, a place becomes like this ice — looks solid, but hollow underneath.”

The younger soldier still clung to hope.

“Didn’t we hear there was movement from above? Duke Eugene is supposed to use this thaw to join forces with Duke Dean on the other side — investigate the source of this extreme cold together. Two northern dukes working together — what could they not handle?”

The older soldier opened his mouth to reply—

Smack!

A dull, wet thud sounded nearby — like a lump of mud slapping hard ground. In this empty city filled only with wind and their idle chatter, it was unnervingly loud.

Both fell silent instantly, muscles tensing as their hands moved to their weapons.

They exchanged a glance and carefully edged toward the source.

At a corner wall, they found a splatter of white mycelium, spread out as though it had fallen from an extreme height.

The two demon soldiers looked up at the sky.

There wasn’t even a bird in sight.

—

Unit Six Mana-Storage Puji detached! Long-range airdrop sequence continues!

In a high-altitude zone beyond the reach of ordinary detection, five Puji with tiny bat-like wings flapped laboriously through the sky.

Unless one possessed vision on par with Sophia’s, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish them against the vast clouds and horizon.

The wind was fierce up here. The Puji beat their wings at full strength, even using magic to maintain forward momentum.

They were linked together by mycelial tendrils, forming a peculiar airborne chain — like a flying centipede.

At the front was a Knight Puji. Behind it were several mana-storage Puji packed full of magical energy, fueling the long cross-border journey.

Whenever one mana-storage Puji exhausted its energy, it detached voluntarily and fell, while the next in line continued the relay.

After all, they were carrying the Yellow Book deep into Imperial territory. The distance was immense.

In the end, Lin Jun had granted the Yellow Book this opportunity.

Whether to secretly construct the large-scale ritual array tied to the abandoned space coordinate transfer within Imperial lands, or to generate sufficient chaos to divert Imperial attention and buy precious time for Puji Fort — both were necessary.

Among Lin Jun’s subordinates, only the Yellow Book possessed the capability to accomplish such tasks within a short timeframe.

In exchange, Lin Jun promised that if the mission succeeded and it returned safely, he would formally begin researching how to forge a true soul for it.

But stirring trouble inside the Empire was fraught with danger.

Though Elanor had temporarily shelved her search for the Holy Codex due to the previous rift-transfer incident — and was currently distracted building rapport with Thirteen while dealing with Qis in the sea — no one could predict when she might refocus her attention.

If that happened, hiding within Imperial territory would become far more difficult for the Yellow Book.

More importantly, Lin Jun did not fully trust it.

Thus, whether the Yellow Book made any suspicious moves on its own, or fell into Imperial hands, Lin Jun would crush its core immediately to prevent any intelligence leaks from the Mushroom Garden.

The Yellow Book knew this.

And yet, it seemed determined to gamble.

After spending so long among the Puji, it had learned a thing or two about the looming apocalypse.

No one knew how the world would end.

But before that day came, the Yellow Book longed for what it had always desired — a true soul that would allow it to genuinely “exist.”

—

Unit One Mana-Storage Puji detached!

Arrival at designated zone. Deploy Yellow Book!

Below, a sizable merchant caravan moved slowly along a forest road.

“Almost there… Once we deliver this batch of treasure to the Giant Beast Bone Grounds, I’m taking ten days off. Hauling these precious goods all the way — I’ve slept with one eye open the whole trip. Haven’t had a full night’s rest once!”

A weather-beaten horned demon guard grumbled, though he couldn’t hide the grin on his face.

Their cargo was currently the most sought-after luxury within the Empire — Blood Jade Wine from the Crimson Tower in the south.

Transported from the Empire’s southernmost lands across half the continent to the Giant Beast Bone Grounds, its value would multiply several times over.

Though the caravan employed nearly a hundred armed guards — many mouths to split the profit — if the delivery went smoothly, each demon would receive a generous commission, enough to enjoy himself thoroughly in the pleasure dens.

Thinking of the impending payout, the horned guard grinned and slapped the shoulder of a younger demon beside him.

“Hey! Kruma! What’re you spacing out for? Lucky brat — having a good big brother means your first caravan job already lands you this kind of juicy assignment! Know how much this trip’s worth? Enough to let you save for ten years back in your mountain hole!”

He leaned in with a mischievous grin.

“After we get paid, want me to show you around? I know the Bone Grounds well. There’s a succubus-run place there — the taste… heh!”

The young horned demon called Kruma withdrew his gaze from something in the sky and replied distractedly.

“Sorry, senior. We’ll talk about that later. I thought I saw something fall over there. I’ll check and be right back — tell my brother for me.”

Without waiting for a response, Kruma turned and darted into the dense forest.

“Tch. Acting all mysterious,” the older mercenary scoffed. “If not for your brother, who’d bother with a newbie like you…”

The forest was dim. Guided by memory, Kruma moved quickly through the trees.

Then he stopped.

“A book?”

His heart skipped. He hurried forward and carefully picked it up.

In the Empire, most demons used rough grass paper for records, or at best leather scrolls. Properly bound books with refined covers were rare — symbols of knowledge and status found only in the studies of wealthy merchants or nobles.

This was undoubtedly a valuable find.

But his excitement faded quickly.

The book contained only a few pages. Aside from a delicate golden trim around the first page’s border, the interior was blank.

The book itself might fetch some coin, but without secrets, spells, or technical knowledge inside, its value was significantly reduced.

Kruma sighed. Perhaps he had been too greedy.

“Well… I’ll show it to big brother…”

Just as he was about to close the book, the corner of his eye caught something.

The page, blank moments before, now bore a line of writing:

[Boy, if I were you… I wouldn’t choose to go back right now.]