Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 377 - 369: Hunger Is the Devil

Salian gazed at the boundless black curtain that swallowed all light, connected to the massive tree trunk, and sighed deeply in helplessness.

The Captain of the Guard Eco and several other mages must also be trapped somewhere in this space.

Salian had originally planned to find them and regroup, though he knew well that several mages weaker than him, along with Eco who had no mastery of magic, would likely not come up with a way to escape.

But having more people around feels better than being alone.

But now it seems this space has been divided into several isolated areas, and he has been separated alone in one of them.

He was almost certain this was intentional on the part of his teacher, Ilo, solely to persuade him without interference from others.

He did not attempt to touch the wall seemingly condensed from pure darkness.

This thing seemed to be the same existence as those dangerous information blocks seen before, with such a huge volume, the impact of the information contained within would surely cause his spirit to collapse.

Retreating lost to where he started, Salian’s heart was filled with an unease that was hard to dispel.

This unease was not for himself, but for his ever scatterbrained sister Elarwen.

Although unaware of the specific details of Ilo’s plan, the fact that he mentioned "sacrifices are inevitable" suggests that many elves may have to sacrifice their lives.

He was very concerned that his sister might be involved, or even become a "sacrificed one".

At this moment, he was somewhat regretting. Had he known this would happen, perhaps he should have initially pretended to agree with the teacher, leave here to settle his sister, then look for a chance to reveal everything to the Elf King.

But thinking about it, with the teacher’s ability and deep understanding of him, his poor acting skills probably wouldn’t fool the teacher.

"Sigh..."

Salian found himself, alone in this absolute darkness and silence, unconsciously overthinking some useless things.

But perhaps this is also an inevitable form of escape.

He has been trapped here for countless days, the intense hunger burning relentlessly in his stomach.

Although relying on his constitution and magic power, he wasn’t at risk of starving for the time being, but the continuous torment was unavoidable.

If he didn’t purposely divert his attention, his thoughts would involuntarily drift toward that round Puki not far away... its body seemed so plump and thick, even eating it raw might be incredibly delicious...

He swallowed hard on the saliva involuntarily secreted in his mouth, casting his gaze at the Puki aimlessly wandering not far away.

This Puki seemed to possess an exceptionally strong self-healing ability.

Previously, its mushroom cap was cut off by the teacher, yet it didn’t die.

After the teacher left, picking it up, Salian was astonished to find it still alive.

Considering the teacher made a move, it was surely intended to kill the Puki, unexpectedly it survived!

However, although Puki survived by luck, it seemed to have been struck silly.

Now, sometimes it sits motionless, and sometimes walks a couple of steps aimlessly, just like an ordinary Puki, completely lacking the cleverness it had when riding on his head before.

Upon closer observation, one could see its mushroom cap was reattached somewhat crooked, clearly having regrown under its strong self-healing ability but not aligned correctly.

This situation is like an elf’s head being chopped off and reattached askew, no wonder it turns into a foolish appearance.

Or perhaps, surviving at all is already a miracle of life!

Salian understands that in the current predicament, these are insignificant matters.

But he still couldn’t help thinking about if he takes this already turned foolish Puki back, Elarwen would make quite a fuss...

Or... perhaps not take it back?

Once this thought emerged, it spread through his mind like rampant vines.

After all, Puki is already broken, while he’s so hungry...

Slap—!

He suddenly raised his hand, giving himself a harsh slap, using the fiery pain to interrupt the horrible notion in his mind.

Even if it’s just a Puki, it’s not only something his sister regards as a friend but has also helped him numerous times on the way down.

Eating a companion, no matter what, is far too dreadful!

For the first time, Salian profoundly realized hunger truly can turn an elf into a devil...

Just as Salian was fully focused on battling the demon within him, he did not notice that not far away, the Scout Puki with the crooked mushroom cap suddenly quivered all over, halting its pointless wandering.

...

"Peragel, what are you doing?"

"Me? Nothing," Peragel straightened up, naturally changing the topic without reaching for the backpack, "The chief is incredible, effortlessly using space magic like this. You are his student, has he taught you any of these?"

"That’s not true space magic," Seldan shook his head, his attention indeed diverted, "It’s merely a skillful borrowing of some inherent rules of the Underground City. That’s all I know; the teacher didn’t explain specifically how to achieve this."

"Seems the mentor still guards against us a bit." Peragel joked light-heartedly.

Seldan slightly frowned, "Being cautious is necessary."

While speaking, his gaze once again unintentionally flickered toward the quiver backpack left beside the sapling, feeling something was just not right.

At this moment, Peragel smoothly slung the backpack back onto his shoulder: "Alright, we should head back. Even if you are the temporary commander now, it’s not suitable to leave the post for too long, right?"

Seldan nodded in agreement, and the two turned and left the area illuminated by the sky light together.

Meanwhile, in the Abyssal Space, Lin Jun surprisingly reestablished and took control of the Scout Puki.

This was indeed unexpectedly delightful.

Lin Jun had been planning to research the sapling to see if he could manipulate the permissions like Ilo.

But while the permissions remained unclear, he managed to sense Scout Puki’s presence again, seizing control conveniently.

Technically, there’s no conventional sense of distance between the Abyss and the real space, possibly due to the Divine Wood roots penetrating and linking both ends, resulting in this anomaly?

Regardless, since regaining control over Scout Puki, there’s no need to focus solely on the sapling above.

Ilo was still able to access permissions here, indicating being within Divine Wood’s range was sufficient.

It also spared Peragel the effort of dragging time above.

The original plan was, if the delay couldn’t be sustained, let Peragel directly sneak attack, killing Seldan.

However, if Lin Jun hadn’t resolved the teleportation issue before other elves discovered, then Peragel could only self-destruct, ending this failed action.

Things are much more secure now.

Controlling Scout Puki, without paying any mind to Salian still reflecting nearby, it darted into the darkness, touching the black blocks without hesitation.

If any method to control could be found, naturally, it would be among these stationary information blocks!

...

After a long time, finally snapping back from chaotic thoughts, Salian found that foolish Puki was nowhere in sight. He searched all over but found nothing.

Just as he began to suspect whether due to hunger, he had unknowingly consumed the Puki, a clear voice suddenly pierced the darkness and called out his name!

Has his prolonged solitude caused auditory hallucinations?

But it was not.

"Salian! It’s so great to see you!" The Captain of the Guard Eco’s figure appeared at the edge of the Lighting Technique’s glow, striding over, his face filled with barely concealed joy.

The pitch-black wall isolating him had disappeared silently without a trace!

Looking at Eco, though worried but still spirited, Salian’s first thought was:

People with strong constitutions truly withstand hunger better than others...