Chapter 5 Magic
"You... why do you have such good magic crystals?"
"How long do you think I've been here..."
Lin Jun wasn't sure exactly how long he had been in this world. The depths of the dungeon had no day or night, no seasons, but Lin Jun estimated it had been at least two or three years.
Even if you start counting from when he first established the mushroom garden, it's been quite some time. This entire rock wall was his personal mine, and after mining for so long, it was natural to come across some high-quality magic crystals.
However, Lin Jun had collected them not because he knew their value, but simply because the clean purple crystals were more aesthetically pleasing. Placing them around his body could both attract magic and serve as decoration.
"Can you cast other spells faster with this?"
"This for me? Really?"
Even though he wasn't very familiar with Inanna yet, it was clear that this guy truly loved magic crystals or anything related to magic.
"Of course, I also want to learn more about spells. Speaking of Inanna, I haven't asked you yet, what spells can you cast?"
Lin Jun could indeed see from the interface that she had [Light Magic LV4], but this only indicated that the highest-level light magic she could cast was 4th-tier, without specifying which spells she could use.
Each elemental magic has a wide variety of spells across different levels, and some spells even have numerous variations. For example, the Biotransformation spell can be further divided into Eagle Transformation, Dog Transformation, Puchi Transformation...
Inanna stood there for a moment, seemingly recalling the spells she knew.
Lin Jun felt that if she were still in human form, she would be counting them one by one on her fingers.
"Let me see… Water Snake, Water Mirror Reflection, Ice Blade, Purification, Healing Light, Invisibility, Illumination, Water Creation, Energy Protection, Mud Swamp… Gulp… That's all."
That's quite a lot.
"Then try using the Mud Swamp spell on this puji."
A mining puji that was using a shelled mushroom cap to smash stones was moved by Lin Jun to the empty space where the explosion had occurred earlier. At the same time, a tentacle extended from under the mushroom to help Inanna tie the A-grade magic crystal to the mushroom cap.
"Be careful not to break it again; this is the last one."
"I'll be careful."
Magic surged from Inanna's body into the magic crystal. Unlike the previous time, as soon as the spell was cast, magic from all around rushed in, and the A-grade magic crystal on Inanna's head resembled a small vortex devouring magic.
No wonder it can be used as a staff—after being imbued with such a massive amount of magic, the power of any spell cast with it would undoubtedly be amplified.
"It's out!"
The mining puji sank slightly, and the once solid ground turned into a pool of mud. Puji tried to lift its foot but was stuck in place by the sticky mud.
In reality, the Mud Swamp spell should only slow movement. Even if enhanced by the A-rank magic crystal, its effect should be area-based.
Puji couldn't break free simply because its shell was too heavy, and Puji itself didn't have enough strength, so it was stuck in place.
"Try using an ice blade on it again."
"Huh? Is that okay? It might..."
"It's fine, go ahead."
It's just Puji. If it dies in the mushroom garden, it'll just turn into fertilizer and be recycled. The loss is negligible.
"Then I'll use it."
Soon, the ice blade solidified in front of Inanna, startling her.
Unlike the Mud Swamp spell, the Ice Blade spell, when enhanced, showed a significant change. The ice blade, which was originally less than a meter long, had grown to over two meters under the enhancement.
Moreover, the intense cold emanating from it made Inanna realize that its power had likely increased significantly as well.
"Go!"
The ice blade collided with the carapace, emitting a crisp sound before slicing through it, continuing to cut until it stopped at three-quarters of the way through.
Even Lin Jun was impressed by the power, as that was a Level 4 chitinous shell. Lin Jun himself would need two hits with his Level 6 Mushroom Cannon to break through it, yet the ice blade of the same level had sliced through most of it in one go.
It was unclear whether it was the spell itself or the A-grade magic crystal that made it so powerful, but it was probably both.
Magic is truly powerful. If I knew how to use spells, the early stages wouldn't have been so painful.
However, it's not too late now. Even though I don't know how to use spells yet, having a helper who can use them means I can try implementing some plans to go to the upper levels.
Of course, I'm not talking about taking down the flame demon guarding the passageway. Lin Jun saw it through the sacrificed scout Puji, and although the level difference was too great to see any detailed information on the interface, just looking at its LV64 ultra-high level, it's clearly not something I can handle right now.
But who says we have to go through the passageway to go up?
"Inanna, do you want this magic crystal?"
"You're giving it to me?"
Huh?
Is this mushroom being so kind to me some kind of trap?
Having just experienced betrayal, Inanna was now extremely cautious, especially since the offer came from Lin Jun, a monster whose true form was unknown.
"Of course it's not free. Help me defeat some monsters, and it's yours."
"Alright!"
Upon hearing that there were conditions, Inanna felt relieved. She really wanted the magic crystal, but if Lin Jun gave it to her, she wouldn't dare accept it.
But monsters?
Come to think of it, this was the deep underground city. There were so many strange things in the mushroom garden that she had almost forgotten about it.
But why would mushrooms need to defeat monsters…
How do you defeat them, with a puji?
"But what kind of monsters are we talking about?"
"Earthworms, do you know them?"
Earthworms?
That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before?
Ah, I remember...
"Sorry, are you talking about the kind of earthworm that's huge in size, has skin like rock, likes to burrow deep underground, and eats minerals every day?"
Lin Jun thought for a moment: "That's right."
"Are we going to defeat the larvae of the earthworms?"
"The adults."
"Aren't the adults at least LV45, large monsters that can only be safely defeated by a complete golden-level adventuring party? Mr. Lin Jun, I'm only LV28!"
Inanna's mind was filled with: Me, fight the earthworm?
Even if I weren't transformed, I wouldn't stand a chance against the earthworm.
Is this mushroom brain broken? A mushroom going to hunt an earthworm?
"You seem to have a misunderstanding about my role..."
Seeing her disbelieving expression, Lin Jun realized he hadn't taken her to the mushroom garden border yet.
No wonder she doesn't trust her own abilities.
Hunting earthworms was something he had wanted to do for a long time. These worms possess a skill called [High-Temperature Drilling].
They can generate high temperatures to weaken rocks, then use their rotating mouthparts to crush the stones and swallow them, expelling unnecessary components through their lateral gills to reinforce the tunnel walls.
If he could obtain this skill, he could dig a direct passage to the upper layers within the rock walls, avoiding the risk of sneaking past the Flaming Demon's watchful eye.
However, these worms have exceptional burrowing abilities; if they can't be defeated, they'll burrow underground to escape. Plus, they're large and have thick armor, so even if they're low on health, it takes half a day to kill them.
I tried it once before, and the result was significant losses with nothing to show for it.
But after seeing Inanna's Mud Swamp spell, Lin Jun felt hopeful again. The earthworms probably can't move quickly in the mud.
However, before that, it's indeed necessary to coordinate with the new members.
"It's not that we have to go hunting earthworms right now. You still need practice using this magic crystal to cast spells, so why not take this opportunity to join the expedition team and get some hands-on experience?"
"Expedition team?"
(End of this chapter)