Fyar and his party continued to walk through the dungeon area. They went deeper into the mushroom forest.
Giant mushrooms stood tall around them. Their caps glowed softly in blue and purple. Spores drifted down slowly, like glowing dust falling from the sky.
The forest floor was covered in thick blue moss. Every step sank slightly into it. The air felt damp and cold. A thin mist hung low between the dark mushroom stems.
The sound of liquid dripping from the mushroom caps onto the moss was clearly audible throughout the forest.
Drip... drip...
Zaefal led the way. He walked with a limp, but his eyes remained focused, scanning for gaps in the roots and places that could be used for rest.
We haven’t encountered any monsters... If we meet a monster, can we fight back? No, Zaefal... you have to focus on finding a place to rest first, Zaefal muttered inwardly.
He stopped in front of a large mushroom stem with roots protruding outward, forming a natural alcove.
The ground was dry enough.
"Here," Zaefal said. "The ground is dry. We can take for shelter."
They entered the alcove. Illya helped Cyhas sit on a dry root. Fyar and Rasie leaned their backs against the hard mushroom wall.
"Rest for a bit. Recover your energy... I’ll keep watch here," Zaefal said. He stood outside the alcove, his eyes alert.
Inside the alcove, Illya rubbed Cyhas’s back, who was still trembling.
"Have you calmed down, Lady Cyhas?" Illya asked softly.
Cyhas nodded slowly. "Better. Now let’s focus on resting, Lady Illya."
Illya smiled. "Yes."
"Finally... after three hours of wandering aimlessly..." Fyar spread his arms, stretching his stiff muscles.
"For some reason, this place reminds me of the level fifteen dungeon..." Fyar said.
"Just different colors. And this place is cooler..." Rasie chimed in, massaging her own shoulder.
"Today feels like a dream... I won the tournament... monsters came... two crazy people 00 and... now we’re here?"
Rasie chuckled softly. "It would be really interesting if this story were made into a novel..."
"Hasn’t it been made into a novel already?" Fyar said with a thin smile.
"What are you talking about?" Rasie asked, confused.
"Don’t worry, I’ll write it later..."
Rasie raised an eyebrow. "You can write, Purple Hair? Heh, have you ever written a novel before?"
"No... I just feel like I could write it. In my opinion, the word structure and writing style..."
"Haaah, you disappoint me... idiot," Rasie sighed.
Fyar fell silent for a moment, shifting his position to be more comfortable.
"What genre do you usually read?" Fyar asked.
"Heh, you curious?" Rasie smiled thinly. "Well, usually romance or adventure genres."
"Like what?"
Rasie sighed. She started moving her hands as she explained enthusiastically.
"Well, for romance, I read about cheating. Love triangles within a party... Like the guy is already dating someone but another female character tries to steal him and the adventurer secretly cheats behind her back..."
C-cheating behind her back?! Illya instantly flinched. She immediately turned to look at Fyar.
Fyar shook his head quickly. His hands crossed to form an X in front of his chest.
Rasie laughed lightly before continuing.
"Or about a noble who is arranged to marry another noble but falls in love with an ordinary adventurer with no status..." Rasie glanced at Illya and Fyar.
Illya flinched again. Her ears turned red. She looked down and smiled faintly.
Meanwhile, Fyar just played with his hair, pretending not to see Rasie’s gaze. He coughed lightly. "Alright, alright. Besides romance?"
"Besides romance... besides romance..." Rasie tapped her chin, trying to remember. "Oh, an adventurer reincarnated from another world and has a harem of four and ends up pathetic because he lost gambling..."
"Someone who turns into a pencil."
Huh? Pencil? How? Someone turns into a pencil? People read that? What’s the story like, was the author drunk? that mf must be high! Fyar criticized inwardly.
Rasie started getting excited. "Oh, or about the adventure of a hero who pretends to be weak but is actually the demon king... he tries to be normal but ends up accidentally showing his power..."
Hooh, that’s quite... fa... familiar... don’t tell me she took stories from Earth? Heh, maybe I should try it... Fyar muttered inwardly.
"Speaking of romance... do you have your own type, Rasie?" Fyar asked. "Don’t tell me your type has been tainted by the novels you read?"
Rasie hissed. "Tch, tch, tch... what kind of question is that..." Rasie fell silent for a moment, her eyes gazing into the distance. "Hmm, my type, huh... he has to be funny... similar to me... and... very strong... And ohhh wild... likes to socialize and is active... and willing to fight with me every day."
"What kind of fight do you mean?" Fyar smirked.
"What else, you perverted idiot?" Rasie snapped.
On the other side, Zaefal, who was keeping watch, turned his head slightly. His face was strange.
They’re talking about novels and types? I-I-I’m quite impressed with their mentality... Zaefal muttered inwardly.
Grrrrumble.
A long stomach growl broke the conversation. Everyone turned to Rasie.
Rasie grinned widely while holding her stomach. "Walking for three hours... of course I’m hungry!! Hey!! Y-you guys are secretly hungry too, right?!"
Zaefal checked his pockets. Empty. "I didn’t bring any food..." he said.
Fyar checked his coat. Only bullets and a rag.
Ugh... I’m starting to feel hungry too now...
Hunger began to sting their stomachs.
"I’ll look for food," Fyar said. He stood up.
"I’m coming!" Rasie stood up quickly.
"Don’t go far," Zaefal instructed. "And don’t eat before I check it."
Fyar and Rasie stepped out of the alcove. The blue-purple mushroom light immediately illuminated their path. Their skin was showered by the falling thin spores.
They both walked while looking around, searching for something that looked edible.
"Hey... do you know what plants that shouldn’t be eaten look like?" Fyar asked, pushing aside a moss bush.
"Of course not," Rasie answered briefly.
"Then what? Why did you come?"
"Because I’m curious about this place, idiot..." Rasie answered, raising her tone slightly.
"I think this time I’m not the idiot..." Fyar sighed.
Fyar stopped when he saw something behind a moss bush. A vine with clear fruit the size of a pomegranate. Its skin was hard like glass.
"That... looks like food..." Fyar said.
"Like fruit..." Rasie added.
They looked at each other.
"What do you think? Take it?" Fyar asked.
"But is it safe?" Rasie asked back.
"It looks edible..." Fyar looked back at the fruit, squinting slightly.
"Just try taking it..." Rasie moved forward, approaching the fruit.
"Wait!" Fyar spread his arms in front, blocking Rasie. "Wh-wh-what if it’s poisonous? What if because we bring that fruit and eat it our party dies foolishly? What if-"
THUD!
Rasie kicked Fyar in the stomach. "Shut up, idiot! Just look at it first, too much thinking."
"Ugh!" Fyar stumbled back, clutching his stomach.
Rasie picked one fruit and cracked it on the ground.
Crack.
Thick blue liquid oozed out of the broken fruit. The aroma was sweet and fresh.
"I-it smells good..." Fyar muttered, approaching again. He picked several whole fruits.
"Yeah, agreed... let’s take them first..."
They put several fruits into their respective pockets.
"Fyar! Here, there’s more! Look, hahah this is definitely edible!!!" Rasie called from behind another mushroom stem.
She crouched in front of a maroon mushroom growing low on the ground. Its surface was dense and thick.
"The texture is like raw meat," she said, cutting a small piece of the tip with a pocket knife. "Smells like meat too."
"Let’s take this...," Fyar said.
"That fast, bro?" Rasie stared in surprise.
"I’m hungry, bro," Fyar answered.
They returned to the shelter with their hands full.
Zaefal examined the red mushroom. He sliced a bit, sniffed, and nodded. "Safe. The fibers are
similar to animal muscle."
He then took the crystal fruit and bit a little of its flesh.
"This is also quite safe..." Zaefal chewed slowly. "Tasty."
Zaefal gave a thumbs up. "Good job."
Fyar and Rasie high-fived.
Zaefal then piled dry twigs from surrounding plants in the center of the alcove.
"Illya."
Illya raised her finger. Her breathing was heavy, but she focused. A small spark appeared from her fingertip, igniting the twigs.
Whoosh.
Blue fire flared up. The color matched the chemical elements of the mushroom wood. Soft blue light reflected on the mushroom walls and their tired faces.
Zaefal skewered pieces of the red mushroom with clean twigs and roasted them over the blue fire.
The hiss of fat was heard as liquid dripped into the fire. A savory aroma slowly filled the alcove. Asimple roasted smell, but warm and appetizing.
"Done," Zaefal said.
He distributed the mushroom skewers and crystal fruits to them.
Rasie immediately bit into the hot mushroom. "Hot! But tasty! This really tastes like meat!! Hahahah this is damn good hoooo!"
Fyar blew on his mushroom for a moment and took a bite.
The texture was chewy and juicy. The taste was savory, naturally salty. Simple, but enough to restore drained energy.
Illya ate slowly beside him. Color began to return to her face. Cyhas ate in silence, focused on her hunger.
The blue firelight danced in their eyes. Rasie smiled widely with a full mouth. Zaefal looked calmer as he chewed. Illya leaned on Cyhas’s shoulder.
Fyar exhaled a long breath. His shoulders relaxed.