Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 417 - 408: Jiro

The western side of Scarecrow Abyss has yet to feel the shadow of war.

Two adventurers were fiercely arguing over a single Puki.

"Two gold coins? Why don’t you just steal it?! Isn’t this just an ordinary Puki?"

"You’re saying that, but are you buying a Puki for its combat abilities right now? As far as I can tell, your team doesn’t even have a Puki Master, so why worry about the breed?"

The Puki seller was a wanderer in appearance, and he seemed unconcerned about the irate buyer potentially canceling the deal.

In this place, purchasing a Puki is mainly for its "non-falling" characteristic.

As long as you have a Puki produced in Pujie Dungeon with you, upon entering Scarecrow Abyss, you won’t "fall."

This allows people to achieve feats once deemed unimaginable - crossing Scarecrow Abyss.

Previously, it meant you had to "fall" all the way to the bottom, and then fight your way out.

Even Diamond Level teams took considerable risks attempting such a feat.

Nowadays, things are different.

There is still environmental corrosion and scarecrow demons in the top layer of Scarecrow Abyss, but their strength is limited. For Silver Level and above teams, the most crucial part of the journey is to protect the Puki, keeping it always within a 50-meter range.

If the Puki dies halfway, or triggers the "falling" alone outside the range, the outcome is obvious.

The wanderer thought, the first person who discovered this phenomenon must have been a tycoon.

After all, Fungal Mat is quite far from Scarecrow Abyss. When initially unaware of the Puki’s "non-falling" trait, only someone wealthy despite a low level, like a Puki Master, would be willing to make the journey here.

Similarly, due to the distance from Fungal Mat, Puki ends up being a rare item here.

After all, every second a Puki stays here means the consumption of Magic Potions.

The wanderer’s own team had just crossed from Dwarf Mountains to United Kingdom territory using the Puki.

Continuing forward with the Puki would be a losing proposition; selling it to a team heading this way is the most profitable choice.

Unable to negotiate the price down, the buyer reluctantly reached for his wallet.

At that moment, one of the buyer’s team members came over, saying, "Captain, there’s someone over there selling several Pukis, just one gold coin each!"

"Really!" the captain exclaimed in surprise.

Upon confirmation, he decisively put away his wallet.

As they started to leave, the wanderer chuckled, "A wise captain indeed, risking your team for saving one gold coin."

The wanderer’s words naturally caught the captain’s attention: "What do you mean?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Only mutated Pukis produced by Pujie Dungeon have the ’non-falling’ trait," said the wanderer, squeezing the tentacle of the Puki at his feet.

The captain glanced over to the other side, and sure enough, the Pukis by that person were all ordinary-looking, making it hard to distinguish whether they were produced by Pujie Dungeon.

Even though he couldn’t confirm outright that the person was selling fake goods, since some of the Pukis from Pujie Dungeon do resemble ordinary Pukis.

But regarding the safety of the whole team, the captain didn’t continue trying to save those gold coins and obediently pulled out two gold coins.

After acquiring the Puki, the team didn’t head directly to Scarecrow Abyss. Before entering, they still needed to apply a layer of Corrosion Resistance potion on the Puki.

Getting his gold coins, the wanderer whistled and made his way to his team’s campsite.

There, his two companions were tidying up the tents, while a white-haired Foxman sat on a rock not far away.

From afar, the wanderer greeted, "I’m back! How’s everything on your end, Jiro-sama?"

The Foxman, who had been clapping quietly with closed eyes, opened his slightly weary eyes: "I keep telling you to just call me Jiro; ’sama’ sounds odd. I’m no noble."

The wanderer laughed, "That’s not how it works. You saved my life; the rule back home is I should call you ’sama’! Without your pull in the Abyss, I would’ve surely rolled down the slope beyond the 50-meter range triggering the ’falling’. Honestly, if it weren’t for meeting you by chance, Jiro-sama, we’d all have died in the Abyss!"

In response to the wanderer’s effusive praise, Jiro merely smiled, saying nothing further.

Reality was, without Jiro joining, this trio would’ve been doomed in Scarecrow Abyss.

Quite some time passed, and the camp was packed up, yet Jiro remained seated on the rock, rhythmically clapping.

The three adventurers didn’t disturb him, instead sitting at a distance for some idle chatter.

This idleness stretched to dusk.

Having wasted a day, they exchanged looks, reluctantly pulling out the tents they’d just put away...

It was then that Jiro finally stood up.

"Jiro-sama, are you... alright?" Seeing Jiro’s bloodshot, exhausted eyes, the wanderer expressed concern, "Hang on a moment, we’ll get the camp sorted."

But Jiro waved his hand: "No need, I can’t continue with you all; I’ve another matter to attend. Sorry for taking up so much of your time."

The trio of adventurers waved their hands humbly: "No delay, no delay, Jiro-sama. Rest first, you look..."

Jiro took a swig from an Energy Potion, finally restoring the shine in his eyes.

The extravagant display had the three Silver Level adventurers swallowing hard secretly.

"I’ve dawdled too long. I must depart now," he said, without elaborating on where to or what for, and the adventurers did not inquire.

Their meeting was by mere chance, initially, Jiro had no Puki, and the adventurers willing to share led to subsequent events.

Before leaving, Jiro approached the wanderer, whispering: "Once back, avoid the casino; buy some delicious mushrooms for your child instead."

"Ah... okay..." The wanderer seemed momentarily stunned, watching Jiro’s departing figure with confusion—had he mentioned having a child to Jiro-sama?

Thinking about how much he talks, it’s quite possible...

Meanwhile, having bid farewell to the adventurers, Jiro gazed at the three moons in the sky, sighing deeply: "All three are stunning..."

Four hundred and thirty-six times, continuing westward, no matter what, would inevitably lead to that final conclusion.

Over there, an invisible hand had strangled all possibilities.

The variables aren’t in the west, nor in the United Kingdom.

The variable... resides in the Demon Race territory!

"Tanaka... Qixiu..."

Mumbling this peculiar name, Jiro moved northward.