Weaving through towering trees, they flew for nearly half an hour before Jiai suddenly stopped her broomstick.
“Let’s stop for a moment.”
Though puzzled, everyone halted.
“What’s wrong?” Hilxi asked, turning her head toward Jiai.
“Hilcy-san, could you do another divination? We should be very close now.” Jiai said.
The forest terrain was complicated, and she worried they might have drifted off course.
“All right.” Hilxi nodded, then took out her Crystal Ball and silently chanted, “Magician Avia’s current location.”
A few seconds later, her brow furrowed slightly in surprise as she spoke:
“The target is still inside that house, but there’s also a young girl with her… Hmm, it seems like they’re talking.”
Unfortunately, divination only showed images, with no sound.
“I have no idea what’s going on.” Naersha looked confused.
With so little information, even Hilxi couldn’t figure out the target’s situation. She raised her hand and pointed in a direction:
“We’re off course. The target is this way, not far now.”
“Good thing we were cautious, or we might have missed the target.” Jiai sighed in relief.
“Thanks to Jiai-san~” Naersha smiled in praise.
Hearing the compliment, Jiai’s lips curled slightly, waving it off casually:
“It’s nothing, just a bit of experience.”
Jiai seemed to have been on many missions before… Hilxi nodded imperceptibly.
Having someone reliable made all the difference.
“Let’s move on.”
“Wait.” Monica, who was behind Hilxi, suddenly spoke. Upon hearing this, everyone stopped again and looked her way.
“What is it?”
“Is something wrong?”
Hilxi looked toward Monica, who raised her Magic Wand, pointing at some trees not far away.
Following the direction she indicated, Hilxi’s mouth opened slightly in shock as she spotted a massive mushroom!
The mushroom was nearly two meters tall, with a thick stalk even thicker than the surrounding trees. Its cap, shaped like an umbrella, was much smaller—only about ten centimeters wider than the stalk.
Such a huge mushroom? Hilxi was surprised, then maliciously thought:
If Saya-san were here, she’d probably be screaming by now, yelling things like “Waaah, scary giant mushroom!!” or “Is this hell? This must be hell!!” after all, Saya hated mushrooms the most.
“That’s one big mushroom!”
Naersha shouted excitedly; it seemed this was her first time seeing such a gigantic mushroom, and she couldn’t help but be amazed.
But Jiai’s expression darkened, her voice cautious:
“A mushroom this large is unusual. Everyone, don’t get close—it might be some kind of monster.”
Mushrooms could become monsters? Though curious, Hilxi wasn’t reckless. She said to Monica quietly:
“Monica-san, ignore it. Let’s keep moving.”
“…” Monica said nothing, quietly staring at the giant mushroom as if fascinated by it.
As if she’d seen something that caught her attention.
Monica interested in a giant mushroom? Hilxi flew over to her side, while Naersha and Jiai waited silently.
“Did you find something?” Hilxi asked, eyes still on the giant mushroom nearby.
It was just an enormously enlarged mushroom—though surprising, they still had a mission and no time to investigate.
She was just curious why Monica was staring at it so intently.
Monica’s expression turned confused; she murmured a few words:
“Sirdurok…”
In a village within the forest, inside a roughly constructed wooden hut.
The Mushroomfolk Chieftain, as large as a small giant, knelt on the floor with hands clasped, eyes fixed on a burning candle before him, silent.
He had thick limbs and a humanoid form, but his head was flat and large, with a pair of asymmetrical brown eyes and very vague facial features. His appearance alone was unsettling.
Beside him were several smaller Mushroomfolk, though still over two meters tall with thick limbs.
They knelt respectfully, hands clasped, seemingly praying without making any sound.
“Songgu Sasa still went to find that magician? She’s truly unrepentant. I already gave her a chance.”
The Chieftain’s lips, pale and wrinkled, parted as he spoke. His voice was distinctly different from a human’s—full-bodied and strange.
“Chieftain, how shall we handle this?” asked one Mushroomfolk, equally frightening in appearance. He looked up at the Chieftain’s shadowed face, awaiting orders.
After a few seconds of silence, the Chieftain spoke again:
“Let’s sacrifice that magician alive tomorrow. Tell the others it’s for consorting with outsiders.”
He paused, then continued:
“Just knock her out; she will bring new peace to our tribe—she’s the new candle. We must be grateful…”
“Yes.” The Mushroomfolk stood, their heavy footsteps echoing as they left the room.
“Sorry, this is for the good of the tribe.”
After the footsteps faded, the Chieftain whispered with a sigh, his face eerie in the candlelight. Yet his eyes were numb and calm.
In the dim, silent room, only the flickering flame breathed a hint of life.
“Sirdurok what?”
In the forest, Hilxi heard Monica’s voice and frowned in confusion. She looked again at the giant mushroom.
Thanks to the Night Vision Potion, she could clearly see details on the mushroom’s white body—it wasn’t smooth and curved like a normal mushroom…
Just as Hilxi was examining it, the giant mushroom suddenly moved!
Its body lengthened abruptly, revealing human-like legs, then it turned its head, revealing a terrifying face straight out of a horror movie.
Clunk.
Hilxi felt her heart nearly stop.
What kind of monster was this?
“It really is a monster! Everyone, don’t act rashly!” Jiai cautiously drew her Magic Wand, eyes fixed on the giant mushroom.
“Such a scary monster, and so ugly too. I can’t even look at mushroom soup now…” Naersha first complained, then drew her Magic Wand as well, turning to ask:
“What should we do? Subdue it?”
“Let’s see if it’s hostile first…”
Before Jiai finished speaking, Hilxi saw the mushroom monster charge forward, crushing leaves and grass beneath its feet, radiating immense pressure.
She quickly summoned her Magic Wand, pulling back on her broom to keep some distance:
“It’s clearly trying to eat us!”
“Then let’s take it down first!” Naersha waved her Magic Wand, firing a purple chain of magic that wrapped around the mushroom monster.
The creature’s speed noticeably faltered, but it then grabbed the magic chain with its thick arms.
Whoosh!
Before it could break free, Jiai cast Binding Spell, magic rings locking its arms tightly, preventing movement.
Hilxi’s wand glowed faintly; she was about to cast another Binding Spell to strengthen the restraint.
But then the mushroom monster spoke in a muffled voice:
“Humans… there really are magicians?”
“Eh, it can talk?” Hilxi stared in surprise at the restrained mushroom monster.
But remembering that even puppets could speak after turning into monsters, she quickly lost her shock.
“Why did you attack us?” Jiai asked calmly, maintaining the Binding Spell.
“I want to catch you.” The monster struggled, trying to break free.
Seeing its fierce resistance, Hilxi pointed her wand at it, a plan forming with a smirk:
“Let me cut off its limbs with Wind Magic—it might behave better that way. What do you think, Jiai-san?”
Jiai immediately caught Hilxi’s meaning and shook her head:
“No, if it accidentally dies, that would be bad. Use Flame Magic instead. Hmm… let’s roast it half-done first.”
The mushroom monster suddenly stopped struggling.
Naersha, watching the scene, felt a strange familiarity—as if she had undergone the same treatment.
“Terrifying… humans.” The mushroom monster’s huge body began trembling.
So easily scared? A bit cowardly.
Hilxi’s wand glowed as she threatened:
“If you don’t want to be killed, tell us everything you know! Why are you here? Do you have companions? Spill it all!”
Sounds like Hilxi-san turned into a villain.
Naersha and Jiai shared that feeling.
The mushroom monster trembled more and began stammering:
“I… I came out to bask in the moonlight…”
Bask in the moonlight? Hilxi felt confused.
“I’m… one of the village Mushroomfolk. My companions are all in the village, many of them…”
“Many monsters? There’s a village?”
Jiai’s unease grew. Fighting a single mushroom monster wasn’t hard, but three or five? A whole village of monsters? They would definitely lose.
This forest must have existed for a long time to nurture so many monsters.
“I… I already said. Can you spare me?” The mushroom monster begged, losing all will to resist.
“Have you or your companions seen a blue-haired magician?”
“I have. She was captured by my companions and taken to the village. She’s the sacrifice for tomorrow.”
Sacrifice? What kind of dark cult was this? Hilxi felt a headache coming and continued:
“Tell me more about this sacrifice.”
The mushroom monster revealed that the ritual took place every seven days, with the victim kept alive and led by several Mushroomfolk deep into the forest to be offered to the Forest God Sirdoruk.
“Forest God Sirdoruk?” Hilxi frowned.
“Yes. Our village’s survival is thanks to Forest God Sirdoruk. Without him, we would have perished long ago.”
“Why would you perish?”
“On the other side of the forest lives Poison Mushroom Village. Years ago, our tribe was often slaughtered by the Poison Mushroomfolk, until Forest God Sirdoruk appeared and defeated them. Only then did we survive.”
The mushroom monster first trembled in fear, then looked up with respect and worship. Forest God Sirdoruk was their savior, beyond doubt.
“Then why do you still perform live sacrifices?” Hilxi asked curiously. The mushroom monster honestly answered:
“Some Poison Mushroomfolk survived. Forest God Sirdoruk was wounded in battle and needs fresh meat to heal. That’s why our village started the ritual—to offer sacrifices for his protection, so the Poison Mushroomfolk won’t attack again.”
A bit absurd.
That was Hilxi’s first impression.
This Forest God Sirdoruk seemed suspicious—was he truly a benevolent deity or some evil entity?
“What does Forest God Sirdoruk look like?”
“I don’t know.”
“And the Poison Mushroomfolk?”
“I don’t know either.”
After asking a few more questions without results, Hilxi glanced at Jiai, who lightly tapped her forehead.
Knock out? Makes sense. They couldn’t let it escape to warn others.
“Close your eyes,” Hilxi instructed the mushroom monster.
“Will you spare me if I close my eyes?” The mushroom monster shut his uneven eyes nervously.
But the fear soon faded as his head grew drowsy. After a while, his massive body collapsed with a thud, falling into a deep sleep.
“All good now.”
Hilxi had used Sleep Magic, making it unlikely he’d regain consciousness anytime soon.
By the way, this magic was originally taught to her by Ireina-san.
“Sleep Magic? Hilcy-san knows a lot of magic~” Naersha licked her lips.
Complimenting me?
Hilxi flipped her long hair sitting on her broom, a smile playing at her lips as she straightened her chest.
“Of course, I’m a Magician Genius.”
“Uh… getting proud, huh.” Naersha’s smile vanished, embarrassed.
“Too narcissistic,” Jiai said, rubbing her forehead, then changed her tone:
“You all heard that. There could be hundreds of these mushroom monsters in the village ahead.”
“Definitely a problem. A direct assault rescue won’t work.” Naersha glanced at the sleeping mushroom monster.
“So, what now? Sneak in quietly, rescue the person, then sneak out?” Hilxi looked at Jiai expectantly.
If they couldn’t confront them directly, infiltration was the alternative.
Of course, if discovered during the infiltration, things could get worse—there was still high risk.
Jiai nodded:
“I agree with sneaking in. Our task is only to bring Avia back to the Kingdom of Magicians. No need to fight those monsters.”
“Mm.”
“I agree too.”
With everyone on board, they set off again toward their destination.
A short time later, the group was near the Mushroomfolk village, and it didn’t take long on broomsticks before they saw the settlement nestled in the forest.
Most buildings were wooden or stone houses, remarkably tall—about one and a half times normal size—with a rugged architectural style, radiating a primitive wild beauty.
At this moment, most houses were dark; only a few had candlelight glowing faintly through windows.
The quiet village was filled only with the sound of wind rustling leaves.
Behind the large trees on the village’s edge, four heads peeked out from the grass, scanning the area.
“No monsters spotted.” Monica stated flatly.
“Maybe they’re all inside.” Hilxi didn’t see anything either and could only guess.
Phew, Naersha breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought we’d see dozens of monsters right away. Guess I was exaggerating.”
“Who among you can use Transformation Magic?” Jiai asked.
Transformation Magic would still be necessary for infiltration, so Hilxi immediately nodded:
“I…”
Crunch! Crack!
At that moment, a heavy crashing sound and the sound of breaking wood rang out. Hilxi froze and turned toward the source.
Above the dark village, a girl in a magic robe with deep blue hair suddenly appeared, riding a broomstick in a panic.
It was the mysteriously missing magician, Avia!
Not far behind her were several large mushroom monsters.
The quiet village seemed to have torn off its disguise, suddenly becoming restless.
Witnessing this, Hilxi was at a loss:
“Ah, how are we supposed to sneak in now??”