Chapter 9: Why Aren’t You Dead?

How lucky, it was the attack skill she had been longing for.

When it came to adventure worlds of swords and magic, how could one do without the passionate plots of shouting skill names and defeating enemies while rambling about bonds and friendship?

Even if it was chuunibyou and embarrassing, an another world should be like this; otherwise, it just wouldn’t have the right flavor.

She was certain of it.

However, her pursuit of an attack skill wasn’t just for chuunibyou style points; it was simply the best judgment based on her current needs.

‘Anyway, let’s look at the skill description first.’

[Claw Strike]: Use sharp claws to attack.

Such a short textual explanation made Ning Lan’s heart skip a beat.

She had seen this kind of perfunctory writing before—the kind that seemed to have nothing to say but was required to have a description nonetheless.

It was usually for things like walls, stones, and mushrooms.

A mushroom was a mushroom, and a Claw Strike was a Claw Strike.

The former was the most humble, bottom-tier creature in the Great Labyrinth, while the latter… surely wouldn’t be much better.

At any rate, whether it was useful or not would only be known after trying it.

However, she never imagined that after pondering for a long time on how to release the skill, the final conclusion would be that a mushroom couldn’t use Claw Strike.

The reason was very realistic: mushrooms didn’t have claws.

It was perfectly logical.

It was so logical that Ning Lan’s mind was full of complaints, yet she found herself speechless.

‘Even skills exist now, so why can’t there be some adaptation? Getting something I can’t even use… this has to be a bug! Zero stars!’

Naturally, no one paid attention to her complaints.

Perhaps a mushroom that could obtain skills from other races was a bug in itself, but no one was coming to patch it, were they?

After calming down for a few seconds, Ning Lan felt she had been prejudiced again.

Ultimately, these game-like things came from the System Panel, but when the filter of the panel was removed, it was still a real and normal world.

She couldn’t truly treat reality as a game.

So, if a mushroom couldn’t use it, then so be it.

She would just look for skills a mushroom could use later.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

If she hadn’t been looking forward to it for so long, she wouldn’t have been this upset.

‘The road is long and difficult, and the life of a mushroom is full of bumps.’

However, it seemed this skill still had some hope.

A mushroom had no hands, but an elf did.

Although there were differences between hands and claws, it shouldn’t be completely unusable.

Looking around, Ning Lan found a target nearby.

A Screaming Wood—its trunk, wrapped in flexible bark, should be an excellent practice dummy.

She activated Claw Strike.

It succeeded, but only halfway.

Her hands could indeed be used as claws, but there was a difference after all.

The elf’s violet eyes filled with tears.

The “refreshing” feeling of having several fingernails flipped back was not one bit lighter than the pain of having her neck bitten through.

‘Seal it. Seal it permanently. I will never use this treacherous, trash skill again in my life.’

Ning Lan wiped away the tears that flowed from the physiological pain.

Even though she had never felt tired or sleepy since reincarnating as a mushroom, she specifically stopped to sit against a tree trunk to rest for a while.

The elf likely had a tear-prone constitution.

Once she started crying, her tear ducts were like a broken dam, letting the tears surge out uncontrollably.

She felt embarrassed in her heart, but she was also incredibly grateful that no one else was around.

If she were to cry like this in front of others, given her “men bleed but don’t cry” masculine mindset, she would probably be so ashamed that she’d want to prove her resolve through death.

‘Speaking of which, since this is the Second Floor of the Labyrinth, aren’t there too few adventurers?’

Even if one floor of the Labyrinth was unimaginably vast, it shouldn’t be to the point where she hadn’t seen a single other team besides the elf’s group.

Ning Lan realized something was wrong, but she couldn’t think of the reason.

Ultimately, she had been in this another world for too short a time and simply couldn’t gather enough information.

She thought for a bit, then like a student facing the final big question on a math exam, she threw up her hands and gave up thinking.

But the rare peace was always disturbed by creatures that didn’t know better.

A piece was missing from the vision she perceived—clearly, another slime had invaded her territory and damaged the Fungal Network.

A moment later, the elven girl held her staff, lightly sobbing while sniffing her nose.

Occasionally, she let out a few hiccups, looking pitiful and delicate, yet her hands were swift and decisive.

She swung the staff, completely annihilating the group of slimes that had appeared out of nowhere.

[Individual Level increased: LV 8 > LV 9. Basic attributes increased.]

[Proficiency has reached a certain level. Skill gained: Staff Strike LV 1]

[Staff Strike]: Use a staff to attack.

‘Wait, what?’

‘Are you playing with me, God? Why did this skill only show up now?’

If it had come a bit earlier, she wouldn’t have spent so much effort researching that Claw Strike, and she wouldn’t be sitting here constantly shedding tears because of the pain.

But thinking about her intelligence stat—the one related to skill experience—she didn’t feel like saying much.

Getting something for free was a win.

Even though it was late, Ning Lan still wanted to say it arrived just in time.

Although it was also a minimalist description, Staff Strike was far more suitable for her than Claw Strike.

Because it was a skill earned through her own proficiency accumulation, her understanding of Staff Strike was much clearer.

Recently, her insights into using the staff had become more distinct; some problems were resolved, and she understood more moves by analogy.

Perhaps limited by the skill level, the improvement wasn’t obvious, but compared to the disorganized attacks of a child swinging a stick before, it could now be considered a proper move.

If she faced a Gray Wolf again, she was confident she could take it down head-on.

‘Before I knew it, I reached Level 9. Have I already escaped the cannon fodder class?’ she thought happily.

Recently, some strange variants had appeared among the slimes.

[Acid Slime]

Distinctly different from the common transparent sky-blue slimes, its body was more blue-green—a very dirty-looking color.

Even though its level wasn’t high, its base statistics were significantly higher than slimes of the same level.

‘It’s like an evolutionary relationship,’ she guessed that the Acid Slime was a superior species of the common slime.

But regardless, she felt the same deep-seated loathing for all slimes.

Previously, they had only invaded her territory to gnaw on the Fungal Blanket, but now there were individuals with acid attacks.

She had to be careful not to be spat on when she went to clear them out.

The sensation of the acid landing on her skin didn’t exactly hurt; it was only a slight stinging pain, like a flame flicking past.

Perhaps it was because this wasn’t her own body and she was merely controlling it, so the sensations transmitted were partially weakened.

Thinking back on the fatal injuries she had sustained so far, if she had to endure them fully, any normal person would have collapsed.

She was someone who had seen great storms, so the pain of an acid attack was nothing.

However, the acid didn’t just burn skin; the fact that it corroded clothing was the real problem.

The Priest Robe on the elf already had a large hole from the Wolf King, and after these few encounters with the Acid Slimes, it was nearing total destruction.

Split between the top and bottom, it looked like only two strips of cloth remained.

It was very revealing and on the verge of falling apart; she didn’t even dare to make large movements with her staff.

She couldn’t stand this kind of midriff-baring outfit.

It was chilly, and she constantly felt like she would catch a cold.

‘According to the inverse relationship between temperature and grace, as the temperature drops, the grace rises.’

‘It probably looks quite good right now. After all, it’s that battle-damaged aesthetic. Combined with the elf’s natural beauty, it must be a pitifully lovely sight.’

The fact that such a beautiful girl was actually her—she still had no real sense of reality regarding it.

‘Ah, instead of thinking about this, I should think about how to get some clothes. Ideally, I’d like to take a bath. Whether it’s the acid or the liquid inside the slimes, once it gets on you, it’s as sticky as melted candy.’

Wait, adventurers!

Finally, this was the first time anyone had passed through the territory where her Mycelium had expanded.

The chance to leave the Labyrinth and return to civilization was right before her eyes.

She absolutely could not miss it.

Wilderness survival was interesting, but it was much better to watch someone else do it.

Ning Lan moved quickly, chasing after the two hurried adventurers.

“Wait, can you take me with you?”
She shouted with almost all her might, but some people are born with voices that can’t get very loud.

Elves were especially like that, their voices as soft and weak as a sheep’s bleat.

But Ning Lan felt the other side must have heard her.

Because as soon as she finished speaking, the way they accelerated further was proof.

‘No, wait, why are they speeding up after hearing my voice? I’m not some vengeful female ghost.’

Furthermore, she could understand the Ranger with high Agility, but why could the Shield Warrior run so fast?

She glanced at their System Panel.

‘Good grief, he’s using Charge to run away? Brother, where is your professional integrity?!’

Ning Lan failed.

Her short legs couldn’t possibly catch a ride from those two adventurers.

After standing for a moment where she had completely lost their trail, she slowly returned to her territory.

It was too much of a struggle for one person to find the exit without knowing the way.

On second thought, rushing out like that to ask them to take her away was also quite impulsive.

Who could guarantee those two adventurers were good people?

Things were different now than they used to be.

While she didn’t have any wealth to be robbed of, she couldn’t say the same for her looks.

Human nature is the thing that least withstands testing.

Being alone in a Labyrinth was already a danger in itself, let alone actively approaching strangers.

It felt a bit like delivering herself to them on a silver platter.

‘Ah, I should just continue raising my level. I’ll look for the exit after I have a bit of self-defense capability.’

Speaking of which, the panicked way those two adventurers acted really looked like they were running for their lives.

But why?

Surely it couldn’t have been her who scared them.

Ning Lan looked at the dense Screaming Wood around her.

‘Though in this kind of terrifying environment, it really is easy to get jumpy and scare yourself.’

It seemed they really did take her for some supernatural entity; otherwise, they wouldn’t have fled so desperately upon hearing her voice.

Returning to her territory, the disconnected Mycelium reattached.

Having only been gone for a short while, Ning Lan discovered more strange things on her land.

Are these… bees?

Transparent, giant wings.

A tail and abdomen with neatly arranged yellow and black patterns.

Three pairs of spear-like legs at the waist.

A head nearly the size of a basketball, with patterns similar to a tiger’s fur.

The stinger was short, but the mouthparts were exceptionally sharp, as if they didn’t collect nectar, but rather the blood of other creatures.

[Race: Large Hornet]

[Level 7]

[Skills: Unified Will (Subordinate) Level 1, Piercing Level 3, Flight Level 5, Paralyzing Toxin Level 1]

This thing truly lived up to the “Large” in its race name.

It was many times larger than a normal bee; even compared to that gray wolf, its size was only slightly smaller.

When insects are enlarged, the structure and details of their heads are strange enough to make one lose their sanity.

With just one look, Ning Lan felt her trypophobia flare up, and she lost all interest in the hornet’s head.

She turned her gaze to the skills.

[Unified Will]: All subordinates will obey the leader’s will, becoming an extension of the leader’s mental consciousness.

‘I found a great skill!’

The hive structure of bees was the original concept for the Swarm.

Since she wanted to turn the mushrooms into something similar to a Swarm, she really should look for skills from bees.

It had originally just been an idea, but she hadn’t expected to actually find one.

It was truly a case of “the pillow arriving just as one gets sleepy.”

Ning Lan was eager to try, but in reality, she couldn’t catch this “pillow” yet.

After all, the opponent had wings and could fly, while she, lacking long-range methods, could not possibly threaten an aerial unit.

‘Wait, why is it charging over?’

As expected of an enemy that controlled the skies; its aerial vision was broad, and it had actually discovered her presence.

At this point, there was only one thing to do… a tactical retreat!

Ning Lan took off running.

The moment she moved her legs, she suddenly understood why those two adventurers had been running for their lives.

As it turned out, they had accidentally provoked the hornets.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that a single hornet’s level isn’t high and its stats aren’t strong, making it look like it could be handled at will.

There were hundreds or even thousands of such hornets.

When they gathered in a swarm, who would dare not avoid their edge?

‘Wait, the hornets and I aren’t neighbors, are we?’

That would explain why there were slimes everywhere but no flesh-and-blood creatures like gray wolves.

They had all been wiped out by the hornets.

Judging by the shape of those mouthparts, she didn’t believe these hornets were herbivores.

Since there was a swarm nearby, they would certainly need a large amount of food to sustain the colony.

Under the hornets’ foraging, this area had eventually become completely empty over time.

Slimes were made entirely of water and had no meat, so they naturally survived.

But even if she understood the situation, it didn’t mean she could easily escape the hornet’s pursuit.

Flying was faster than running.

In less than half a minute, the buzzing sound of wings appeared behind her like a Reaper claiming a soul.

The stinger at the tail aimed for her shoulder.

Piercing activated.

Ning Lan first felt a pain in her right shoulder, followed by a paralyzing toxin that made half her body lose sensation.

It was pierced.

Stabbed right through again.

These guys, every single one of them, were forceful, overbearing, and mercilessly stabbed into her body.

Even though it hurt and she was bleeding, they just bullied her because she was weak and couldn’t fight back.

‘Just wait. Sooner or later, I’ll take all of you out.’

Ning Lan gritted her teeth, pushing through her injuries to continue running.

She harbored a fierce resentment, determined to keep today’s humiliation in her heart.

Run, you dead legs.

Since she had no way to deal with the paralyzing toxin, she could only rely on her own stubborn willpower to fight against the effects.

If she truly reached the end of her rope, she had one and only one chance to launch an attack while the hornet was collecting her corpse.

If that one strike failed, the opponent would likely wait in the sky like a vulture until she died.

She really was unwilling to take such a big risk.

But the change came suddenly.

She never expected that the body she was controlling would suddenly have a problem and completely disconnect.

‘It’s over. Is the first exploration going to end here?’

She was unwilling; she hadn’t even obtained any useful skills yet.

“Light Bullet!”
With a delicate shout lacking in vigor, the yellow gemstone at the top of the staff emitted a white light.

The sphere of light traced a perfect arc, predicting the hornet’s flight path and accurately blowing its head apart.

The moment she saw the staff release magic, Ning Lan understood instantly—the original account owner had logged back in.

‘Wait, how are you not dead?’