Chapter 53: The Mushroom's Hidden Heart

Chapter 53: The Mushroom's Hidden Heart

The mushroom cap glowed periodically with mana, but nothing interesting happened. She moved closer, yet the System remained silent. Finally, she reached the mushroom itself and began to slowly circle it. She approached one of the spots that had pulsed with mana earlier. Still nothing. Then, guided by her Soul Sense skill, she reached out, and her fingers touched the underside of the cap. Instead of a firm surface, she felt something like a dense mist, and her hand sank in easily, without resistance.

The sensation was strange, as if she were dipping her hand into warm water, yet without the wetness. Her fingers instinctively curled, grasping something round and soft in the center of that ethereal space, and she pulled it out. It was the size of an egg but shaped like a small Greek amphora, cast from a soft yet dense substance. Its surface was covered with fine, barely visible patterns, and a pale, pulsating light emanated from its center. The energy she had sensed with her Soul Sense was clearly radiating from this object.

"Mental attack failed," the familiar voice of the Great System announced. "Congratulations, Emilia, you have unlocked the skill Soul Resistance." The System's voice delighted her. Every resistance skill was especially valuable, and soul attacks were among the most terrifying, often leaving one virtually defenseless.

So, these strange cores were attacking me, Emilia thought, and without hesitation, she gathered the other two strange cores. She then tucked them into her bag and hurried back to the base where Fjorn was waiting.

On the way back, she moved at least five times faster. She had explored and mentally mapped the area, providing her with numerous landmarks to guide her. She ran cautiously through the tunnels, slowing down only when approaching junctions or strange pieces of mirror.

Eventually, she returned and quickly told Fjorn everything. He listened, his face furrowed in a frown.

"Emilia... I understand you want to take risks. But..."

"But Uncle Fjorn," she quickly interjected, trying to apologize, "I'm from the city's poor district. I've never had money, and in all these years, I've only eaten three Earth Treasures. There was no way I could pass up that mushroom."

"Emilia, you're not listening to me. It's good that you managed to collect these cores. It's even very good. But why didn't you search the clay golems' bodies for monster cores? And those strange leaves, you should have waited to see where they came from and what they were used for. This was a reconnaissance mission."

Emilia, who had been ready to argue again and defend her choices, remained open-mouthed. A few seconds later, she slowly closed it.

"That..." she was speechless.

"If you absorb these strange things now, the corpses of the clay monsters might vanish or lose their properties. And we will need them for the formations."

"Come on, I just found myself a treasure. Besides, I don't feel like running all the way back," Emilia quietly mumbled.

"Don't forget to drink a glass of fresh root juice. It will refresh you on the way back," Fjorn replied.

Emilia looked at the old man with a slight smile.
"A glass of magical root juice a day keeps the grumpy old grandpas away."

"Hey, I am not an old grandpa! Fine then, I won't show you the mental concepts of a few new glyphs I prepared for you while you were gone."

Emilia's eyes immediately lit up.

"New glyphs, uncle Fjorn? No, no, no, brother Fjorn! Why, you are so young, endowed with a majestic presence! With that mighty beard, like that of some legendary hero! With that wild hair, as if... as if... as if made to instill terror in the hearts of enemies!"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my hair. Come a little closer," the old master of formations smiled maliciously. "Come, let me tell you something in your ear."

"Later! I have to hurry for the clay people's cores. Big brother Fjorn, drink a glass of juice, it will refresh you."

"A glass of magical root juice a day keeps the little girl's nonsense away," he quietly mumbled with a mock voice, gently stroking his beard and nodding his head.

"I heard that!" cried Emilia, who had drunk a glass of juice, was truly energized, and now ran back with restored strength and a smile on her face.

The bodies of the clay people had begun to lose their form. Also, Emilia felt no attraction from the mushroom with her Soul Sense. She even activated the Dispelling Ignorance skill and carefully inspected the mushroom from all sides. Nothing new appeared, and she quickly rushed to deactivate it. In just 10 seconds, she had consumed one fifth of her mana.

She then approached the clay people and clumsily began to search their bodies for cores. Strange, they really are made of mud and clay. Instead of blood, a strange sap and spores, like those of a mushroom, flow in their veins. After some time, she found not one, but two cores. One looked like a normal monster core, and the other was a small, strange orb, milky-gray in color and cold to the touch. It wasn't particularly rich in mana, but she decided to keep it in her backpack anyway. Now all that’s left is for that old, grumpy man to make me come back to bring him something else.

Emilia stopped for a moment and collected some of the clay. Just in case. She was beginning to learn.

When she finished with the bodies, she began to explore the nearby tunnels. There were seven in total; six led to large cavern galleries, and the seventh led to a strange hall, brilliantly illuminated with life.

Emilia gasped involuntarily when she first entered the chamber. Somewhere far above, water flowed down the walls and collected in a small lake. The walls were completely overgrown with various fluorescent mosses, and several large, colorful fish swam in the pond. Everything looked so beautiful and so out of place in the dark cave tunnels.

Emilia looked at the fish again and fell into thought. Somehow, this strange meadow in this gloomy place, after so many days filled with blood and battles, made her think of home. She remembered the warmth of the hearth and the savory dish her mother used to cook in the large cast-iron pot. She recalled her father and his wide smile. She thought of her brother, their games in the fields, and the talismans she quietly inscribed in her small room. She remembered transmigrating as a baby and starting this new life in a strange world.

Gradually, for some unknown reason, a little rhyme her mother often used when Emilia was two years old surfaced in her mind.

Little red fish in the pond so deep,
Swish, swish, swish—no time to sleep.
Flip your tail and off you go,
Through the reeds, so fast, so slow.

She remained hidden at the base of the tunnel for a long time. Once the moment passed, Emilia looked around again. There were three strange magical butterflies energetically flying around, carefully gathering pollen and spreading it among the blossoms and other plants nearby. They would occasionally stop and land on a plant, slowly feeding it with their mana. Perhaps they are the ones caring for this meadow, she mused admiringly.

A moment later, her gaze settled on a group of plants with enormous, mossy leaves. She quickly collected some of the leaves, as well as a few other interesting plants.

She watched the fish playing for a moment. They swam constantly, ceaselessly observing the water falling from above. Sometimes they would find strange particles that came down with the water and immediately swallow them. What could that be? she wondered.