Chapter 12: The Mushroom and Evolution

“But I’m not telling.”

It was an unexpected answer.

“How could you?”

The Elf pouted, whispering a small complaint under her breath.

It was just a single sentence. She wasn’t actually looking forward to it. She definitely wasn’t thinking about how she should say thank you — thanking someone for being the first person to ever say such things to her.

But she didn’t need to worry about it anymore. It was just a joke, a playful remark. No one would take it seriously, and neither would she.

‘Rather than a random comment from a stranger you just met, you probably want understanding from your family more. So, keep a bit of that anticipation. Once you leave the Labyrinth and return home alive, you’ll definitely feel their concern.’

Conflicts between relatives were mostly due to communication issues — their bark was usually worse than their bite. What parent doesn’t love their child? They just don’t know how to express it, or they do so very subtly.

She believed one death-defying experience would ease the relationship between Lumina and her family. After all, no matter how much they discriminated against her lineage, they couldn’t possibly want her dead, right?

Wait. This was Another World. Perhaps the family customs here weren’t the same as her own harmonious upbringing.

‘In that case, wouldn’t I be the one who’s just talking without knowing the struggle?’

“Ahem. Anyway, no matter what, you still have me.”

Even if the Elf loved no one, could Marlow really not protect her own host? They shared glory and loss alike. Of course, it would be a different story if she could regain control of the body if the Elf disappeared.

‘We aren’t exactly strangers anymore,’ Lumina thought.

“I can’t even imagine my aunt being concerned about me.” She began counting on her fingers, listing out the possible scenarios. “She’ll just say ‘You’re always such a handful,’ ‘Why become an adventurer with those third-rate stats and that bottom-tier communication? You’d be better off farming in the Elf Village so you don’t drag your teammates down,’ ‘Don’t reveal our relationship, and don’t even think about using my status for personal gain…'”

Just imagining the scene of the two meeting, she could almost hear the other woman’s voice — flat, devoid of emotion, and filled with a sense of distance and indifference.

The mushroom felt her scalp tingle just listening. Talk about high pressure.

Clearly, this wasn’t a pleasant topic. They had just escaped death, so why dwell on a painful past? She decided to change the subject.

“How does it feel to have died and come back to life?”

In truth, she was curious about why Lumina had suddenly awakened. Asking directly was too blunt, so she tried to find the truth through a more indirect route.

“Nothing is better than being alive.”

The Elf’s answer was almost instantaneous.

“Do you know, Marlow? Death isn’t a peaceful sleep at all. It’s a continuation of the pain from when you were alive. After I was attacked by the monsters and died, my consciousness was constantly tormented by agony. It wasn’t until just now that this nightmare finally ended.”

She seemed to recall those terrible sensations. Her body, which had been relaxed and stretched out, curled back up. Her violet eyes trembled, revealing the girl’s anxiety and fear.

‘Mushroom Miss, do you have any clues?’

When Marlow heard Lumina describe the kind of pain she felt, it was as if she heard that question in her mind.

She finally understood. The reason the Elf’s consciousness had awakened from its slumber was also her fault. Lumina had died, but she wasn’t completely gone. The Mycelium had saved her body, but her consciousness had fallen into a state of self-preservation.

Normally, it was possible she might never have woken up for the rest of her life. However, the fatal injuries Marlow sustained while occupying the body had provided the necessary stimulus to the Elf’s dormant consciousness.

One had to realize that even the pain Marlow felt — which was dampened — was nearly unbearable. For the Elf to witness herself being suffocated, her throat pierced, and her bones broken while in a daze meant she hadn’t known a moment’s peace even in death.

As the culprit, Marlow felt a bit ashamed. She really couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth to the survival-driven Lumina. She didn’t even dare continue the conversation, fearing it would lead to more uncomfortable questions for both of them.

“You play by yourself for a bit. I’m going to sleep.”

Regardless of whether a mushroom actually needed sleep, the “sleep escape” was a useful way to bail when one didn’t want to chat anymore.

Though the Elf was confused, she restrained herself from asking more. She simply said goodnight… She wasn’t sure if it was actually night, but pre-sleep greetings were usually “goodnight.” It was rare to say “good morning” or “good afternoon.”

Lumina’s mind was likely exhausted as well. She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since the attack. Gradually, her eyelids grew heavy, and eventually, her breathing leveled out as she fell asleep.

Marlow tried to take over the body while the Elf was sleeping.

Unfortunately, it felt as though the body was already full. Without a gap or a vacant spot, she could no longer control it at will like she had before.

Taking advantage of the break, the now-free Marlow looked at her System Panel. She remembered that her level had increased to Level 10 after Lumina killed the bees with magic. Unlike previous level-ups, it felt as though she had reached a certain threshold, and something new had appeared.

**[Individual Purple Mushroom has met the requirements. Skills available for selection: Mana Crystallization, Spore Ejection.]**

**[Mana Crystallization]**: An advanced form of Mana Storage. Provides a higher mana cap and allows for the storage of excess mana to form solid Mana Crystallizations.

**[Spore Ejection]**: Fires spores like projectiles.

If Mana Crystallization was just an advanced version of the Slime’s skill, there was no need to pick it. After all, it only provided a higher mana limit, and she didn’t have many things that required mana right now.

Therefore, there was no need to hesitate. A combat skill like Spore Ejection, which was perfectly suited for her — unlike the useless Grey Wolf’s Claw Strike — was the best choice for a mushroom.

She clicked “Confirm” on the System Panel.

**[Skill: Spore Ejection confirmed. Individual Purple Mushroom has reached the level cap. Evolution requirements met. Evolution beginning…]**

**[Evolution failed, target does not exist. Uploading to Administrator… Administrator privileges granted. Loading… Individual Purple Mushroom has evolved into Small Puff-shroom.]**

Wait, what exactly was this long string of command-like data? The word “Administrator” was also impossible to ignore.

She had been certain that she had traveled into a game world, but what just happened overturned that conclusion. Many things were too realistic, lacking the slightly fuzzy logic of a game. Yet, this world truly possessed System Panels and data, reeking of a game at every turn.

To think conspiratorially, could an Administrator have created a game system and then pulled the entire world into it? Only a god could achieve something like that.

Well, that was too far off. Even if there was a conspiracy, it wasn’t something a tiny mushroom could influence. She could only remain wary of the System Panel and prepare herself mentally. It was impossible to give up using it. Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face was not the way to go. Otherwise, she would end up in a monster’s stomach before she could even get close to the truth.

She decided to look at the results of the evolution. This seemed to be a change that occurred only after a race reached its level cap, and the cap for a Purple Mushroom was Level 10.

Looking at the Wolf King, humans, and Elves, their levels all exceeded the limit of Level 10. Or perhaps, this was simply the limit for low-level races. She wondered how the Small Puff-shroom would fare.

[Status Window]

[Name: Marlow Lily of the Valley]

A name had been added to the panel. Could it be that the Elf’s naming had an effect similar to a certain slime?

[Race: Small Puff-shroom]

[Level: 1]

[Skills: Spread Spores (Level 4), Decomposition (Level 4), Mana Storage (Level 3), Luminescence (Level 1), Claw Strike (Level 1), Staff Strike (Level 6), Spore Ejection (Level 1)]

[HP: 12]

[MP: 15]

[STR: 12]

[DEF: 12]

[INT: 12]

[AGI: 0]

Apparently not. Her basic stats still only had small increases rather than a qualitative leap. According to her calculations, the growth stats for a Small Puff-shroom increased by 2 points per level. This was worth celebrating; her basic stats were finally on par with a Slime’s.

Wait, another category had appeared under her titles.

[Evolution Tree]

Purple Mushroom, Small Puff-shroom, Scaredy-shroom…

Hold on. Why did it look like the mushroom family from a certain game had been brought over? Did these things actually exist in Another World? She suddenly remembered seeing the “Loading” message during the evolution.

‘Am I the Administrator?’

Some things seemed different, though.

Mushroom Girl: A symbol of disaster and misfortune, a master of ash and magic, a hero and mastermind among mushrooms, and a perfect girl who charms all living beings.