This Dungeon Grew Mushrooms

“As long as you follow my guidance… all of it shall be yours.”

“Awooo—!”

“Yes, yes, time for today’s routine check. Good girl.”

After successfully coaxing Little Black out of the mushroom house, Lin Jun had her lie down on an especially sturdy giant mushroom.

Several puji immediately got to work. Using filament-tentacles marked with measurement scales, they measured the arc length of her increasingly expansive dragon wings—from the base bone all the way to the tips—while also recording the growth progress of the incomplete patterns that had appeared on her scales.

To keep her cooperative, Lin Jun had deliberately placed some shiny trinkets on the ground in front of her.

A few round pearls, several colorful glass marbles, and—

Norris, who happened to be passing by, stopped. After hesitating for quite a while, he couldn’t help asking quietly:

“Boss… when you said ‘all of it’ just now… that doesn’t include me, right?”

…

Regular physical examinations for Little Black had now become one of Mushroom Garden’s weekly routines.

Through the daily use of the 【Bloodline Enhancement】 skill, the mysterious progress bar labeled 【Ancient Dragon Path】 in Little Black’s status panel was advancing slowly but steadily.

【Ancient Dragon Path 9%】

Anything connected to “Ancient Dragon” was bound to be extraordinary—and the actual changes were indeed happening.

Little Black’s already impressive dragon wings had expanded further. The wing membranes grew tougher, the skeletal outlines thicker and harder.

More striking were her scales. The originally pure-black scales were now beginning to show extremely subtle yet intricate patterns.

Those patterns bore some resemblance to the magical inscriptions on the Ancient Dragon scale Lin Jun had once obtained.

Unfortunately, once dragon scales fell off, the magic patterns seemed to lose their function, so their specific effects remained unknown.

But from these signs alone, it was clear that the so-called 【Ancient Dragon Path】 was likely a deep bloodline reversion—or perhaps sublimation—slowly guiding Little Black’s lifeform toward that of a true Ancient Dragon.

The question was…

Could a dragonkin truly transform into a complete Ancient Dragon?

Or would she become some kind of Ancient Dragon-kin hybrid?

Still, Lin Jun was only mildly curious.

When faced with higher-tier power, there was no reason not to seize it.

As for whether she could maintain a humanoid form after gaining such power?

Was a humanoid form really that important?

Lin Jun didn’t even have one himself and was doing just fine.

Only conservative types like Norris would fret over such details. A naturalist like Little Black probably wouldn’t care at all.

The real issue was…

Lin Jun had spoiled her too much.

Just like now—no sooner had the routine check ended than Little Black eagerly pulled her increasingly broad wings forward, forming a massive black tent. She wrapped herself, a plump juicy puji, and the shiny trinkets tightly inside.

Norris quickly stepped back, avoiding being swept in as well.

Soon, satisfied chewing sounds echoed from inside.

Before long, they shifted into steady, heavy breathing.

She had seamlessly transitioned from “eat” to “sleep.”

Lin Jun wasn’t even sure whether evolution required sleep—or whether he had accidentally raised her into a lazy dragon.

Probably both.

Fortunately, most of the extra nutrients and energy seemed to go toward wing growth and scale reinforcement. Otherwise, with her current lifestyle—never standing if she could lie down, never moving her claws if she could just open her mouth—she would have long since turned into a round, chubby homebody dragon.

There wasn’t a trace left of the agile, ferocious presence she’d shown when they first met—when she had chased a knight across miles with murderous intent.

In fact, if Lin Jun didn’t personally supervise her every day, she would never voluntarily use skills like 【Bloodline Enhancement】, which consumed energy and caused brief discomfort—unless she sensed danger.

While using his filaments to drag the just-dozing Little Black back up and urging her to complete today’s quota of 【Bloodline Enhancement】, Lin Jun sighed inwardly at his educational failure.

【Ancient Dragon Path 10%】

Oh?

The progress ticked up again. Not bad.

Just as Lin Jun was feeling a bit of satisfaction over this tiny improvement, Little Black—who had been drowsy moments ago—suddenly bristled.

Her scales flared, muscles tensed, and she spread her massive wings to their full extent. The wing tips even scraped and tore part of a nearby mushroom house.

She lowered her body, claws digging hard into the ground, and let out a continuous low growl toward a specific direction.

The sound was deep and fierce—completely unlike her usual lazy whimpers.

Lin Jun immediately became alert. His awareness extended rapidly along the direction of her growl. His perception swept across Mushroom Garden, across the northern wilderness, and all the way toward the Empire’s northern border…

Yet aside from detecting a few future D-rank personnel, he found no potential threat.

He checked Little Black’s status panel.

Aside from 【Ancient Dragon Path】 reaching 10%, everything else was normal. No new debuffs, no alerts.

A puji approached and scratched under Little Black’s chin with a filament, and after a while her growling subsided—but she still remained tense.

“Little Black, what’s wrong?” Lin Jun asked through the Mycelial Network.

“Fight… hatchling… fight!” Her transmitted thought was restless and filled with vague hostility.

After rephrasing his questions multiple times, Lin Jun finally pieced it together.

Little Black seemed to have a premonition that she would soon clash with some existence.

As for why they would fight, what the opponent was, or whether this premonition was even reliable—she had no idea.

The direction she had growled toward was south.

But Mushroom Garden lay in the north. Any threat would naturally come from the south anyway—so that alone revealed nothing.

After a moment’s thought, Lin Jun came up with an idea.

Surrounded by puji, the still-anxious Little Black was transported via rift to the Puji Dungeon.

Yet almost the instant she landed, her head snapped toward a different direction and the growling resumed. Her vigilance had not lessened at all.

Lin Jun pulled out a map.

He measured the new direction’s angle, compared it with the one recorded earlier at Mushroom Garden, then combined both locations’ relative positions. Two extension lines were drawn on the map… intersecting…

If Little Black’s instinct wasn’t too far off, then the sensed threat was… inside the Empire?

Honestly, Lin Jun found that hard to believe.

No perception skill could detect a threat from half a continent away—and this sensation hadn’t even appeared in Little Black’s panel.

Still, better safe than sorry.

He would make some preparations.

…

The Empire, Duskfall Fortress.

Emperor Mortis reclined against his luxurious throne, well-defined fingers slowly rotating a crystal-clear goblet.

He did not immediately drink the Blood Jade Wine within. Instead, he lifted the rim to his nose and inhaled the complex, domineering aroma. Only then did he take a small sip, letting the flavor bloom on his tongue before swallowing.

A few steps before him, the Empire’s chief intelligence officer, the succubus Mofrey, knelt on one knee, reporting recent developments.

The Empire’s progress in exterminating slimes…

Eugene and Dean’s northern investigation plans…

Sigismund secretly selling lower-grade Blood Jade Wine…

Elanor allegedly acquiring a puji and beginning to cultivate mycelial carpets in parts of her territory…

And—

“Abnormal activity in the Dragon Cliff Dungeon?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Mofrey replied immediately. “It currently resembles a mana tide. However, it has been less than two years since the last one, which does not align with the established cycle. We cannot yet confirm.”

She paused briefly before asking the question that required special authority.

“Your Majesty, shall we dispatch an exploration team to investigate Dragon Cliff?”

Dragon Cliff Dungeon held an extremely special status among all known Imperial dungeons.

It was not unclaimed territory. The Empire maintained a tacit understanding with it. Official forces typically did not intervene.

That was why Mofrey sought direct approval.

“No need.”

After a moment of contemplation, Mortis straightened from his throne.

“Make preparations. I will personally visit Dragon Cliff.”

“It is about time… I saw that old dragon again.”