Magnificent and grand, a sight of sheer majesty.
No matter the era, unique architecture always managed to catch the eye.
‘A castle,’ Marlow thought. ‘If a mushroom ever gets the chance to claim a spot in the Labyrinth, I want to circle a territory and build a sturdy fortress to fulfill my dream.’
As for the name, it would be Mushroomtinople.
After amusing herself with the pun, she continued to observe the details of this world through the little elf’s perspective.
There was only one sun in the sky, and it looked a bit larger than the one from her original world. Then again, she might have been misremembering. Even though the sun was the most familiar daily object, the impression it left in her mind was nothing more than a blurry sensation.
‘Unless someone specifically intended to, who would actually look up to observe the sun?’
‘Weren’t they afraid of their eyes hurting?’
She suddenly felt the urge to see if the sun would show any information on the System Panel.
**[Sun]**
‘Well, just like walls or stones, it only gives a perfunctory name and nothing else.’
Changing her perspective, she supposed she should be grateful the sun’s panel was so simple. If a health bar actually appeared, she would have probably lost her mind.
‘That kind of world is terrifying just to think about.’
Fortunately, the current world was quite normal. Aside from the strange and exotic monsters, there were at least no cosmic horrors.
Lumina walked straight through the city gates.
Passing through the narrow passage designed for foot traffic, the view suddenly opened up. Rather than an academy, this place felt more like the inner city of a town on Langa Island.
Universities weren’t exactly rare in her era, but in this world, a place of this scale was undoubtedly a world-class, top-tier institution.
‘The elves studying here are more influential than I thought.’
‘No, no, the fact that her aunt is the Academy Head is enough to explain everything, isn’t it?’
It was no wonder the silly girl could enroll despite being so dense.
However, as a language teacher, Marlow had to admit that the elves’ teaching standards were excellent. Since acquiring the Human Common Language skill, the skill level had unconsciously risen to Level 5.
According to her estimates, a Level 5 skill was enough for basic literacy and daily conversation, allowing her to recognize the writing and speech she encountered along the way.
The subsequent levels were likely for reading and writing, but unfortunately, as a mushroom, Marlow could neither speak nor write, so she remained stuck at this stage.
Lumina had no idea that the mushroom was criticizing her again in her mind. She kept her head down and walked, unlike people who enjoyed looking at the scenery while strolling. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead as she marched forward, focused entirely on reaching her destination.
She was usually like this — hurried and energetic. Her pace was twice as fast as everyone else’s, proving that the high Agility stat on the elf’s System Panel was well-founded.
However, what puzzled Marlow was that even though a white-haired, short little girl was rushing past them, the passersby reacted with indifference, as if they didn’t even see her.
‘Is the elf’s presence really that low?’
The reason she cared was partly because Lumina was moving too fast, and partly because she wanted Lumina to slow down.
Ideally, she wanted her to scatter spores in every single corner.
It was likely impossible to spread the Fungal Network in a populated town. Leaving aside whether Mycelium could even grow on houses built of brick and stone, even if it could, it would likely be cleared away as a weed or moss.
A single strand of Mycelium might be inconspicuous, but dreaming of spreading a whole network without being detected was a bit far-fetched. As for the main roads, the fragile Mycelium would be crushed into a pancake the moment a carriage passed over it; there was no chance for it to function there.
It was only after entering the academy, a place with actual greenery, that the mushroom found a spot to take root.
She repeatedly activated her skill. The tiny mushroom atop the elf’s head shook down clusters of invisible, grayish-white spores that dispersed in the air and drifted into the nearby lawn.
‘They might be discovered, but wasn’t it perfectly normal for mushrooms to grow in the grass?’
Following this logic, she could perhaps spread a scattered Fungal Blanket in the outer towns — under eaves, in the corners of houses, or in dark, damp places like gutters.
That was reasonable.
However, considering coverage and concealment, the best choice would be beneath the soil. But for the Mycelium to achieve that, it seemed she was still missing some key, practical skills.
She could do it, but compared to spreading it on the surface, the efficiency of the latter for one day was worth two or three months of the former.
Therefore, she really didn’t have the patience to focus on such a slow advancement.
**[Proficiency has reached a certain level. Spread Spores: Level 8 > Level 9]**
‘Ho ho, another level up?’
Thanks to frequent use, the mushroom’s innate skill levels were significantly higher than the skills she had gained through titles.
Among them, Spread Spores would likely be the first skill to reach its maximum level.
After learning that reaching the max level of a skill might cause a change, she looked forward immensely to the wonderful reaction that would occur when the mushroom’s skill was fully leveled.
‘I hope it’s not a simple numerical increase like Bee Piercing becoming Great Piercing. It would be best if it added some new mechanics; that’s the only way it’ll stay useful.’
The little elf headed straight for her dormitory.
Pushing the door open, the first floor revealed a common lounge for the students living in this building. Heavy, deep red curtains blocked out the harsh sunlight from outside, and the interior was lit only by the stable, soft Illuminate provided by magic crystal lamps.
On one side of the hall were many small round tables, each paired with two mahogany chairs. On the other side was a fireplace built of square bricks. It likely wasn’t time to use it yet, as it was dark inside with no burning charcoal.
In the center sat a long red-and-white sofa with a matching genuine wool rug.
The decor here followed the style of the Andes Empire. Anyone with eyes could see which faction this building belonged to.
Raciel Clinck was leaning against the sofa as usual, flipping through a magic book to review her knowledge.
As a genius rarely seen in one hundred years, she always studied twice as hard as others to ensure she was worthy of her reputation and glory.
That was until a set of hurried footsteps reached her ears, causing the girl to frown. She wondered which ill-mannered fellow was sprinting indoors.
She picked up her nearly cold tea, took a small sip, and kept a close eye on the hallway out of the corner of her eye, planning to satisfy her curiosity.
‘Lina? No, she is always composed. Is it Veronica then? That girl is indeed quite boisterous and often makes a lot of noise, but she pays great attention to rhythm. Every move she makes is like a continuous piece of music, so it isn’t her either.’
‘Who could it be?’
Just as she was wondering, a girl wearing a priest’s robe, with short white hair and two long ribbon-like twin tails, slipped past her like a gust of wind.
‘What the hell?’
‘Where would a ghost come from in broad daylight? Moreover, it was wearing the robes of the Church of the God of Nature. Even if it were a spirit, shouldn’t it be called a Holy Spirit?’
But obviously, a phantom spirit wouldn’t have such light and hurried footsteps.
“Lumina?!” the girl with fiery red curly hair suddenly raised her voice. “I heard something happened to you in Mendeler. What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Hey, stop! I’m asking you a question!”
Watching the back of the figure disappear around the corner, Raciel stamped her foot in frustration.
She slammed her magic book shut and glared, muttering to herself, “The third time. Three whole times. No one has ever dared to ignore me like this.”
***
Lumina charged all the way to the top floor in one breath.
Her room was in the attic. Unlike the normally assigned dorms, this room was a bit smaller, but as compensation, the elf lived there alone.
It was originally intended to be an emergency room, but after a bit of stubbornness from Lumina, she had managed to secure it from the academy for her private use.
She took the key out of her bag, inserted it into the lock, and turned the handle. The door opened. The room was exactly as she had left it, perhaps with a bit more dust.
With no time to clean, she dove headfirst onto her soft bed, burying her face in the quilt. In a muffled voice, she repeated a lazy person’s mantra about being tired, how this felt the best, and how she didn’t want to move anymore.
‘Who could have guessed that her rushing back was just so she could lie down like a corpse?’
However, it was understandable. After all, she hadn’t had a good rest since she was in the Labyrinth.
‘How could a desolate mountain compare to the comfort of one’s own little home?’
“Someone was calling you just now,” the mushroom gently reminded her.
“Who?”
She propped herself up with both hands and sat up abruptly.
After being missing for so long, someone actually remembered her? That was rare—truly rare.
“A girl with red hair, back in the first-floor lounge… Did you really not hear her?”
Marlow found it a bit strange. Logically, if she could hear it, there was no reason the elf would be completely unaware.
“I didn’t.”
Once she realized who Marlow was talking about, the elf’s arms went weak, and she fell back onto the bed.
“The person you’re talking about is likely Raciel Clinck. She has a noble status, being the daughter of an Imperial Duke, and she’s also a publicly recognized magical genius. However, I don’t really get along with her.”
“We clearly haven’t had much contact, let alone any grudges. She’s not like the typical elves who discriminate against half-breeds, either. To be honest, I still don’t understand why they are so hostile toward me.”