Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 329 - 321: Distinction

The city guards of Novid arrived at the scene and cleaned up the aftermath of the brawl.

In the end, one Puki Master and two mercenaries were seriously injured, while another mercenary died on the spot.

As the fight concluded, all the Pukis self-destructed, and the shockwave from the explosion completely destroyed the tavern’s entrance, lightly injuring two unfortunate onlookers.

Fortunately, there were no more casualties; most of the adventurers were seasoned pros who, upon seeing the conflict escalate, had long since skillfully hidden at a safe distance to watch the spectacle.

Drunken adventurers brawling and even killing someone was not uncommon in such border towns.

In fact, having one death and three injuries was far from the worst outcome in such incidents.

But this time was completely different; it represented the increasingly intense conflict between local adventurers and the emerging Puki Master group.

Unfortunately, although Viscount Parren realized this, he was thinking in the wrong direction.

Initially, the two offending mercenaries were released after simple treatment, while the Puki Master was locked up alone in a cell.

This biased handling immediately enraged all the Puki Masters in Novid.

They all gathered with their Pukis, surrounding the administration hall to protest loudly, demanding a fair explanation, as no Puki Master wanted to face the same unfair treatment!

Although Puki Masters were few in number, when combined with their large followers of Pukis, the scene appeared exceptionally imposing.

Viscount Parren looked out at the surging "white sea" outside the window and felt a splitting headache.

He had released the mercenaries, believing that the local adventurers, being more numerous, would not cause trouble, and that the Puki Masters, being few, could not stir up much, but he did not expect it to backfire.

In desperation, he made his second wrong decision and re-arrested the two mercenaries he had just released.

Now, not only were the Puki Masters still protesting, but the local adventurers were also gathering, angrily accusing the City Lord of being "weak and indecisive."

Two groups already at odds were now simultaneously gathered outside the City Lord’s mansion, tensions high, on the brink of a larger conflict.

Knowing he had messed up, Viscount Parren had no choice but to mobilize a large batch of city guards to forcibly disperse both groups.

Then, he imposed a hefty fine on the two offending mercenaries and the Puki Master, and regardless of whether they could pay, he simply threw them all out of jail, clearly just wanting to get rid of these "hot potatoes" as quickly as possible.

Throughout the ordeal, Viscount Parren was always weighing "how to handle it to his greatest benefit," rather than making a legally just decision.

He did temporarily get rid of the trouble, but it was only temporary.

Afterward, conflicts between Puki Masters and local adventurers became more frequent, ranging from common arguments and small brawls to incidents that resulted in death, happening almost every few days.

By the time Viscount Parren wanted to curb this trend, he found he was powerless.

Worse still, the conflict did not remain confined to Novid; it gradually spread to Fish Sail Port and Mushroom City.

What was different was that Fish Sail Port almost replicated Novid’s experience: escalating conflict, rapidly deteriorating public order, with city guards running ragged.

On the other hand, Mushroom City demonstrated a different response.

At the first sign of similar conflict in Mushroom City, Vera stepped in and stopped both parties on the verge of clashing swords.

The troublemakers might not have wanted to save face for Vera, but other adventurers watching the show were happy to back him up in standing behind him at this moment.

With Vera’s timely mediation, the conflict did not escalate further into a life-or-death struggle.

Upon receiving the report, Fa’er, taking into account Novid’s precedent, quickly realized the severity of the problem.

He increased the deployment of guards to intensify patrols, strictly preventing potential bloodshed, while urgently summoning Edin, Mira Belle, and other core members to discuss countermeasures.

Finally, a new department named "Puki Master Professional Association" was established under the Adventurer’s Guild.

This department was specifically responsible for the information registration, dispute mediation, and task assignment for Puki Masters.

Edin aggressively separated the tasks available for Puki Masters from those other adventurers could take, imposing certain restrictions on Puki Masters’ task acceptance to ensure they would not completely squeeze out the survival space of traditional adventurers.

This was essentially just a temporary, stopgap measure and did not fundamentally resolve the conflict.

But a temporary solution was still a solution and was much better than the inaction of the City Lords of Novid and Fish Sail Port.

Ironically, at its inception, the "Puki Master Professional Association" did not even have a single true Puki Master among its core members; it could entirely be said to be a makeshift setup by outsiders.

But having something was better than having nothing.

Fa’er devoted almost all his efforts to the construction and adjustment of this new department, immediately addressing issues wherever they arose.

The results were significant, as, in contrast to the continuously worsening public order in the other two cities, Mushroom City had not experienced a single fatality due to such conflicts so far.

...

Lin Jun did not get involved in these affairs.

Whether it was the rise of the Puki Masters or the various conflicts it sparked, the emergence of any new phenomenon would inevitably lead to a series of chain reactions.

What was happening now was merely the beginning.

Since the larger trend was irreversible, it was best left to humans to find ways to adapt and resolve it themselves.

Compared to conflicts among humans, Lin Jun’s attention was temporarily drawn to the Elves.

What attracted his attention was nothing significant, just an ordinary small matter—a death of an Old Elf.

The Old Elf, who spent his days on alchemy, ultimately did not live to see the arrival of spring.

The day before, he was patiently teaching his granddaughter Riel a new potion formula under the watchful eyes of Scout Puki.

The next day, he peacefully passed away in his sleep, looking serene as if he had simply drifted into an endless slumber.

Little Riel was extremely saddened, her cries drawing in passing Elves and nearby neighbors.

The Elves gathered the old man’s remains and held a simple funeral for him in the now mushroom-covered cemetery. Apart from Riel, the attendees were all old neighbors.

The funeral continued to follow the characteristic tranquility and calm of the Elven race, with the sole exception of a Riel who couldn’t stop crying.

The other Elves did not show sadness; they just went about their farewells calmly.

Through the now five-level [Elf Language] and long-term observations, Lin Jun gradually understood the culture of the adult Elves.

To them, death was not a disappearance but a transformation of life forms; hence, a proper farewell was enough.

Only the young Riel did not understand this yet, hence her tearful sorrow.

The surrounding Elves did not show any impatience or disgust and merely expressed silent companionship to encompass this youthful sorrow.

The funeral concluded with Riel’s low sobs.

After all the Elves left, Lin Jun, as per usual, disassembled the Old Elf’s remains.

When Scout Puki flew back to the familiar apothecary shop, Riel had just bid farewell to a few neighbors who comforted her to "speak up if she needed anything."

With reddened eyes, she quietly sorted through the various herbs on the shelves.

Seeing Puki fly in, she seemed to find someone to confide in, murmuring, as if speaking to Puki or perhaps trying to encourage herself: "Flying Mushroom, you’re here again... Grandpa is gone, but I will continue to run the apothecary shop! Would you... like to watch me make potions?"

However, three days later, an Elf official in uniform knocked on the apothecary shop’s door, bringing with him a formal notice.