Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 345 - 337: Popularity

North of Novid, at the edge of the fungal mat network, a busy scene unfolded.

A group of Puki Masters, tasked with an official commission, was busily at work in an orderly manner.

Standing on the land not yet covered by fungal mats, they held their Puki in both hands and shook them like fruit baskets, scattering all the spores stored inside onto the soil.

Once one Puki’s spores were exhausted, they switched to the next one.

This was the preliminary phase of the "Puki Master Legion" plan. By intervening, they controlled the direction of the fungal mat’s spread, ensuring it extended toward the strategic fortress cities that needed defense.

Relying solely on the natural growth of fungal mats could take ages to cover strategic locations.

This was also why Lin Jun never added "Photosynthesis" to the Puki she distributed.

There would always be opposition to the spread of fungal mats.

By deliberately making Puki Masters rely on fungal mats for obtaining Puki activity magic power, both the Puki Masters themselves and the organizations intending to utilize this power would proactively become pioneers in promoting fungal mats and expanding the network, thus suppressing opposition.

Meanwhile, in Mushroom City, the hottest topic was none other than the newly posted "Puki Master New Army Recruitment" notice.

Whether interested in signing up or not, almost all Puki Masters felt excited about this announcement.

Because it essentially reinforced the legitimacy of the Puki Master’s identity.

Previously, labels like "freak," "demon puppet," "degenerate"... almost every Puki Master had borne such stigmas.

Thanks to the coordination and management of the Puki Master Professional Association established by Fa’er in Mushroom City, the atmosphere there was relatively better.

But in two other cities, similar discrimination was much more severe.

This recruitment notice undoubtedly dismantled those malicious claims on its own.

Discrimination would certainly not disappear overnight, but every Puki Master would walk the streets with a straighter back.

Moreover, the fairly generous benefits offered by the new army attracted many who were still hesitant, ultimately motivating them to choose the path of becoming a Puki Master.

In terms of both enhancing social status and practical benefits, this was greatly beneficial to the entire Puki Master community.

Interestingly, the ordinary adventurer community also welcomed this move.

From their perspective, taking away a group of Puki Masters into the army meant fewer competitors left in the market vying for tasks!

Even if some could foresee that this would lead to an increase in Puki Masters in the long run, it was as if they thought the number of Puki Masters had stopped growing now.

For adventurers who valued immediate practical benefits, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

And what if it truly becomes unbearable later on?

At worst, they could just shift to other cities not yet covered by fungal mats!

Thus, the "Puki Master New Army Recruitment" unfolded smoothly amid this intriguingly pleasant atmosphere for all parties involved.

However, those who actively signed up to participate were mostly the Puki Masters who came from civilian backgrounds.

They possessed low innate strength, and even as Puki Masters, they lagged in reaction speed, mobility, combat experience, and all aspects compared to their colleagues who switched from being adventurers.

For example, caravan escorts typically wouldn’t hire civilian Puki Masters who hadn’t even earned Copper Level certification.

Lacking basic self-defense skills, their weaknesses were too apparent in small skirmishes; should they perish accidentally, the compensation employers needed to pay wasn’t trivial.

Amidst the current shortage of task bounties and the increasing number of Puki Masters, the army indeed offered an excellent outlet for these civilian Puki Masters.

Reportedly, it was primarily the City Defense Army rather than the Field Army, offering much higher safety.

In the past, civilians with such low strength wouldn’t even qualify as cannon fodder for the army; dragging them to the front lines would merely have been a waste of resources, with only some logistics support units recruiting a few civilians, whose treatment was far inferior to that of regular soldiers.

Today, however, the treatment offered by this "Puki Master New Army Recruitment" was even more generous than the standard for ordinary soldiers.

New ventures in their developmental stage always needed more attractive conditions to recruit personnel, which was logical.

Many Puki Masters acted on the mindset of "If I don’t join now, the benefits might not be as good later" and scrambled to sign up.

Yet, there were limited spots available.

Mushroom City was allocated 300 slots, while Fish Sail Port and Novid each received 100 slots.

The first round of recruitment for the new army totaled just 500 people, with some basic requirements: being healthy and having all limbs went without saying, and for Puki Master’s qualifications, a hard requirement of being able to control at least twenty Puki was required.

This criterion alone eliminated about 15% of applicants.

Special talents able to control over thirty Puki could be directly selected.

However, such talents would typically do well as adventurers too; thus far, only one person had been directly recruited by this standard.

...

Fish Sail Port.

The recruitment point here was completely surrounded by people, appearing even livelier than the one in Mushroom City at first glance.

But in truth, the number of Puki Masters in Mushroom City was the largest; otherwise, it wouldn’t have claimed 60% of the total slots.

The crowding here was simply because the city hadn’t yet restricted the number of Puki a Puki Master could carry.

At the moment, the area around the recruitment point had become a sea of Puki, a variety of Puki jostling shoulder to shoulder, leaving nearly no place to step.

"What are you doing blocking the way? Please leave after signing up!"

"Don’t push from outside! How are people supposed to get out?" 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Hey! Are you daring to step on my Puki?!"

The noisy hubbub almost lifted the roof, leaving the staff dizzy and overwhelmed.

Solalin, standing a short distance away, felt equally dizzy.

One hand gripping the shoulder of Priest Mein beside her, her face was pale, almost unable to stand steady.

She couldn’t comprehend how matters had unexpectedly escalated to this extent, with the government openly encouraging the development of Puki Masters?

Though her findings and speculations might not be entirely accurate, at the very least... they should have undergone some review, right?

How could such an initiative be easily promoted on an official level, even incorporating it into the military framework?

She found the team leader for an urgent inquiry, only to receive a slightly displeased look and was told her report had long since been submitted to higher authorities. The lack of response meant it was a result of the Bishop’s careful consideration.

Solalin walked out somewhat lost.

The thought of what terrifying scene the future of this city might hold was unimaginable for her.

What scared her more was that Fish Sail Port’s present might be tomorrow for many other places!

She wandered aimlessly, and as she passed a dim alley entrance, an unusual splash of color caught her eye—a colorful Puki with a dreamlike sheen she had never seen before in this city!

The colors on its body flowed and shifted harmoniously, like a spilled palette merging with the purest light.

Although Solalin knew well that under the "Realm of Truth," its essence must be that unsettling Chaos, the sight before her eyes involuntarily filled her with a sense of eerie yet breathtaking beauty and mystery.

Instinctively glancing around, Solalin saw no sign of anyone who might own this peculiar Puki.

Was it wild?

The colorful Puki stood silently in the depths of the alley, facing her without moving, as if... as if inviting her over!

Should she go over?

Solalin struggled intensely inside, her gaze gradually dazed and confused. She unconsciously lifted her foot, stepping toward the alley...

"Solalin! Did you ask the team leader about the report?" Mein’s voice suddenly called from afar.

Solalin jolted, instinctively turning toward Mein.

When she quickly looked back at the alley, it was empty, featuring only speckled walls and piled-up debris.

The colorful Puki had vanished without a trace, as if everything moments ago had been an illusion born from her stress.