The speed of her kneeling was surprising.
Marlow had expected the Elf to be a bit more stubborn.
For example, she expected her to say something like, ‘Ugh, kill me! A proud member of the Elf race will never become a puppet for anyone to manipulate.’
Having failed to recreate such a classic scene, Marlow felt a bit regretful.
However, Lumina was not a pure-blood Elf, nor was she a particularly tough Knight or Ranger.
Besides, she had only refused the suggestion because facing the bees felt like certain death, so she wouldn’t throw her life away easily.
After all, she was just a cowardly Half-Elf Priest.
When thought of that way, it seemed quite reasonable.
It was just a shame that after such a scare, the trust they had managed to build…
Well, there probably wasn’t much trust to begin with.
They both had their own hidden agendas.
In any case, no matter how they got along in the future, it would likely be impossible to eliminate the barrier or bridge the gap between them.
Marlow had said she wanted to be the Elf’s helpful grandpa figure, but now their relationship had likely turned into an evil, twisted mushroom consciousness trying to seize the Elf’s body, while the poor Elf feigned submission while secretly looking for an opportunity to start a revolution and overthrow her oppressor.
Fast forward to the events of the past…
It wouldn’t quite come to that.
If Marlow really wanted to do something, she didn’t see how the little Elf could possibly win.
Survival came with a price.
At least one-third of the Elf’s body had already been replaced by matter composed of mycelium.
Ah, Miss Priest was still crying.
Marlow had forgotten about this body’s extreme constitution.
Once the tears started falling, they just wouldn’t stop.
She couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
Threatening a little girl by saying she would knock her up — it did seem like she had gone a bit too far.
Truly a criminal act.
A fellow like that deserved a volley of spore bullets.
She would take the smallest size, please.
Well, just a joke.
She wasn’t a lolicon; it was just a coincidence that the Elf was relatively delicate.
While teasing the Elf and admiring her aggrieved, pitiful expression was indeed physically and mentally pleasant, she was her host after all.
She couldn’t just break her.
“This is just a joke, you know? A joke. After all, I’m not some kind of demon… As long as you do as I say, there will be absolutely no problem. It’s hard for one person to deal with the bees, but there are two of us, aren’t there?”
What a terrible joke.
Lumina secretly rolled her eyes.
Regardless of whether the other party could actually do it, simply having such thoughts could be considered the pinnacle of evil.
Torturing prey for amusement, altering consciousness to create puppets, cultivating breeding grounds to spawn offspring…
Any one of these would be labeled in textbooks as an extremely dangerous monster that required an army to subjugate.
She had actually encountered a combination of all of them at once.
Not good, not good at all.
This was an outcome even more terrifying than death.
A monster was a monster.
One could not view them through a human lens.
Cute, soft, and possessing brilliant colors — the beauty seen by human eyes never held such shallow meaning in this world of the Labyrinth where the strong devoured the weak.
It was camouflage.
It was protective coloration.
No matter what, everything served only one purpose: survival.
She had actually thought the other party was a good person just because of some flowery words.
She must have been affected by a charm ability or something similar.
Even though the System Panel didn’t show any negative status effects, that was definitely the case.
In short, she had to survive.
Death meant suffering endlessly in an eternity of pain.
That was a purgatory that would cause a breakdown just by remembering it.
She absolutely did not want to try it again.
She also had to remain vigilant against Marlow.
Her own Purification Art didn’t work, but the high-ranking priests of the Church should have the ability to eliminate this demon.
Leaving Mendelair was a necessary prerequisite.
Before that, she had to play along with the mushroom to prevent those terrifying ideas from being used on her.
So, she could only — and must — obediently listen, Lumina thought resentfully.
“It’s a Half-Elf Priest and a mushroom,” the Elf corrected with a forced, joking smile.
“That’s enough,” the mushroom replied.
The Elf’s heart was stronger than Marlow had imagined.
After experiencing such a transformation, she could quickly adjust her mental state and even come up with a plan to cope.
Perhaps she was even thinking about how to deal with Marlow at this very moment.
But the master didn’t care.
The existence of her other mushroom main body was the source of her confidence.
Even if the Elf really found a way to destroy her here, she would only lose one body.
As long as she increased her level as much as possible during this time, it was a win.
“Let’s go!”
There happened to be a lone bee within the newly spread Fungal Network.
She would test her tactics on it first.
The Mendelair Great Labyrinth had never belonged to any single country or race.
Although they all wanted to claim this mountain of treasure for themselves, they were helpless due to its vast scale.
Scholars speculated that the center of the Labyrinth was located near the Duke Mountains in the northern part of the continent.
Spreading out from this horizontal mountain range that divided the north and south, it covered almost the entire continental area.
Compared to such a vast Great Labyrinth that practically intersected human kingdoms, demons, Elves, and even the mountains, its entrances were relatively scarce and randomly distributed.
Of course, the various entrances were connected.
If one had enough time and patience, it was possible to cross the entire continent through the Labyrinth.
The prerequisite was having a map to find the way and the strength to handle various dangers.
In all of history, barely more than ten people had accomplished such a feat.
Most adventurers still explored around their current entrance to earn money.
Mulory was one of the towns that had developed by relying on a Labyrinth entrance.
However, because it was surrounded by mountains on three sides and the flat valley land was limited, it was still difficult to compare it with other cities of the same type.
But being small had its advantages.
Aside from the semi-official organization known as the Adventurer’s Association, there was no nominal lord or other nobility.
It was an easily managed town and very popular among adventurers who longed for freedom.
In a lively, budget-friendly tavern, the bubbles in the mugs joined the patrons’ enthusiastic hearts in celebration.
A tipsy drunkard bragged loudly about his past achievements, and even a shy priestess girl was influenced by the atmosphere, raising her glass in cheer.
“Two mugs of ale, one order of cream mushroom soup, one order of roasted Dash Chicken legs, and a full platter of cheese-baked beef.”
Tis the Ranger took off the equipment he was carrying and piled it by the table legs.
Opposite him, the Shield Swordsman Duo Lun had not yet changed out of his light armor.
The moment he sat on the old bench, it bowed into a curve in the middle.
Every adventurer had a story, and the best stories belonged to those who returned with a sour face, looking as if someone owed them a fortune.
They usually met with failure or some stroke of bad luck.
In short, seeing a colleague’s misfortune generally made everyone else feel quite good.
An acquaintance carrying a mug of ale came over to chat.
It had to be an acquaintance.
If they had lost a teammate, doing this would be seen as looking for trouble and intentionally picking a fight.
“Yo, Tis, Duo Lun! Eating so well? Looks like you struck it rich this trip.”
He gave the server one silver coin, gesturing for him to add a few more rounds to the table, clearly intending not to go home until he was drunk.
“Don’t even mention it, Old Tok. We didn’t earn a thing this trip and almost lost our lives.”
Although he said not to mention it, his heart felt the need to vent.
With one willing to talk and the other willing to listen, the floodgates opened and couldn’t be closed.
“Which floor did you go down to?”
“The Second Floor.”
“Are you crazy? The Second Floor has a risk of falling. The Association’s notice is posted right there, and people have been spreading the word in the plaza and taverns not to go to the Second Floor lately. Yet you two still dared to go.”
Seemingly surprised by their suicidal behavior, Old Tok’s slightly raised voice drew the attention of half the tavern, along with looks of admiration for the two heroes.
“It hasn’t fallen yet, has it?”
Duo Lun, an honest fellow, scratched his head.
He wasn’t quite used to being admired by so many people for the first time.
“Not yet, but no one dares to gamble on it. If you run into that, you won’t be coming back. Tell me, then — what was worth going to the Second Floor for at a time like this?”
Tis didn’t plan on hiding it.
He took a gulp of ale and said straight out, “There’s a Hidden Room.”
Hiss —
Everyone gasped, and the temperature of the entire tavern seemed to drop several degrees because of it.
“Did you get it?”
‘Asking the obvious,’ Tis grumbled inwardly.
If he had gotten it, would his grin be reaching the back of his head instead of him drinking here in a gloomy mood?
“No. We found the place, but there’s a nest of Large Hornets there.”
“You two are lucky to be alive,” Old Tok patted their shoulders, feeling emotional about their great fortune.
“I want to find people to deal with the Tiger-Headed Bees together. Are any teams willing to go?”
Tis was still unwilling to give up.
He slammed his mug on the table and looked around at the adventurers before him, hoping a team would be willing to go with him.
Unfortunately, everyone just shook their heads at his words and tactfully ignored him.
“Sit down. Setting aside that it’s a struggle even for Bronze-rank teams to handle those killer bees — monsters that live in swarms are always trouble — the fact that the Second Floor could fall straight to the Sixth Floor is enough to make many people stay away.”
“Then I’ll sell the information. I’ll say the Sixth Floor has…”
“No one will want it. The big teams that can go to the Sixth Floor are at least Gold-rank or Diamond-rank teams. The items in a Hidden Room won’t change; no matter how good they are, they’re just trash to those people. If the loot turns out to be poor, aren’t you afraid they’ll come back for revenge?”
Tis held his mug and was silent for a while.
After a moment, he looked at Old Tok and said, “Come on, let’s drink.”
“That’s the spirit.”