Chapter 62 Garden of Horror
This highland deep in the lightless forest is higher than the terraces everywhere, surrounded by a circle of towering Zekewood mushroom stalks, forming a natural fence.
In the quiet atmosphere, there are only vague murmurs from the highlands from time to time.
Bryan and Hesiah walked toward the high ground with cautious steps.
When they were about to reach the entrance of the highland fence, a strange breeze blew by, and a horrible stench hit their faces.
Hesiah frowned and covered his mouth and nose. Even Brian had to work hard to steady his breathing to prevent himself from suffocating.
He clearly felt that the stench was mixed with a disgusting strong mushroom aroma, which was the smell of rotting fungi.
"Is there a problem?" Brian cast a concerned look at the sword mage beside him.
To be honest, he was really worried that the girl wouldn't be able to stand this kind of atmosphere, so she wouldn't even have the courage to go in.
Because the high ground ahead is the newly established association of the myconids - the Masters Association.
The members of the association are all myconids inspired by the fungus queen Zugmoy.
Through the spores of Zugmoy, these myconids greedily share the pleasant images of Philo, the myconid king.
And they searched the Underdark for the corpses of various races and monsters to conduct experiments on activated spores, so that their territory looked like a fungus garden full of filth.
Xiseya relied on her strong willpower to resist vomiting out everything in her stomach. She turned to Brian, her face pale but full of determination, "It's okay, I can still hold on, let's go Bar"
At this moment.
A terrible, slimy roar, together with the stench of fungus that exuded death, came from the high ground towards which they were heading.
Then, something rushed towards the two of them at an alarming speed.
Brian held his breath and concentrated on observing the oncoming monster, with his right hand always ready for deadly magic.
Hisaya's rune sword suddenly shone brightly with the light of runes, and her silver-gray eyes stared at the two strange, swollen creatures, their bodies looming in front of Brian.
These two roaring monsters have three rotten thighs, and their eyes and noses are arranged on a vine-like flesh handle, winding and swinging from the top of their bloated and ulcerated bodies.
The monsters' thick, dark green liquid oozes from the many fungal pustules on their bodies.
As they run and roar full of phlegm, little bits of juice fall on the sparkling bacteria on the ground.
These are two fungal creatures similar to scavengers. Brian recognized the monsters in front of him.
Any creature of Large or smaller size can be resurrected by the Myconoid's animated spores and become a spore slave.
The biggest difference between them and undead creatures is that their whole bodies are covered with small mushrooms similar to mold. Both the smell and appearance are more frightening and disgusting than the undead creatures.
——"Freeze Ray!"
Brian stretched out his finger from a distance, and an ice-blue ray hit the scavenger spore slave rushing towards him.
The body of the spore that was hit froze, and was instantly covered with a thin layer of frost at a speed visible to the naked eye, standing motionless in the fungus like frozen carrion.
Seeing the 100 experience points gained, he was about to deal with another monster, but found that Hesiah had already rushed forward and killed it easily with a precise and fast swing of the rune sword.
“Get out of the way!”
Seeing this, Brian realized the danger and quickly reminded the sword mage.
"Huh?"
Hearing Brian's call, Hesiah looked stunned and instinctively prepared to stay away from the body of the spore slave.
It's a pity it's too late.
She was horrified to find that the monster she had killed suddenly burst open like a grape skin overflowing with juice, releasing a cloud of fragrant spores that enveloped her.
Immediately afterwards, the monster's deflated body quickly dissolved into the sparkling bacteria on the ground.
Smelling the aroma, Hesiah suddenly felt that his vision became a little blurry, followed by dizziness, numbness of limbs and weakness of legs.
She shook her head suddenly and quickly evacuated the scope of the spore cloud. Only then did the feeling gradually subside and she slowly regained consciousness.
“Drink this.”
Brian walked up to Hesiah and handed her a small gourd-shaped mushroom, “This is the magic potion prepared by the Myconid King. , after drinking it, you can be immune to most myconid spores, and of course, it can also block the stench of fungi.”
Hesiah put away the rune sword and drank the potion in one gulp without any doubt.
As soon as the sweet, mushroom-flavored liquid entered her throat, she immediately felt that the stench in the air had really weakened a lot, and her whole body returned to a full mental state.
"If you have this potion, why didn't you take it out earlier." She looked at Brian, frowned, and complained in a slightly dissatisfied tone.
She found that this guy was always self-centered in doing things.
No matter what he does, he will never discuss it with her in advance. He will always wait until she takes the initiative to ask questions before he explains it, so that she doesn’t even know when the Myconid King handed over the potion. For him.
"If I don't let you experience the characteristics of the spore servants in advance, I'm afraid you won't be able to adapt after entering. After all, we are facing the demon lord of the bottomless abyss. If you are not careful, you will lose your life."
< br> Brian explained to her with a smile, then patted the dimensional bag, took out a pair of gauntlets, and threw it to her:
"Remember, when dealing with the myconids and spore slaves here, try not to Wear this if you get close to me. It may help you in your next actions."
Hisaya, who was still secretly sulking, heard his playful explanation. It was a little more exciting, but when she saw an item handed to her by the other party, her eyes lit up and she immediately took it.
The moment she got it, just as she had guessed when she first saw it, the gauntlet Brian gave her was made of an unknown magic silk, with a flexible layer on the surface. Magic metal.
Unable to call her by a specific name, she can only be called that for the time being.
She stroked the surface of the glove and faintly felt a thin layer of static electricity seeping out from the magic runes, jumping out of tiny arcs that were thinner than hair.
This made her immediately realize how extraordinary this magic equipment was, and she even judged the quality of this magic equipment through the magic aura. Even compared with the most inferior legendary equipment, it was no different. Where to go.
Being from a noble family, Hesiah had seen many kinds of magic equipment in the Mage Tower in Arabe City.
But when she saw this magical equipment, she clearly felt that the quality of this equipment was definitely not inferior to any outstanding equipment she had ever seen.
"Is this for me?" Hesiah looked at Brian and subconsciously expressed her true thoughts.
After saying that, she immediately regretted it.
It would be a bit embarrassing if the other party just lent her this magical equipment for her own use, so much so that when she looked at Brian, she unconsciously felt guilty.
After all, in her eyes, although Brian always gave her a mysterious feeling, as if there was a layer of mist that was difficult to penetrate with eyes from beginning to end, but after spending the past few days together, it was obvious to her that Brian I found that the other party seemed to be a little greedy for money.
Because when hunting monsters with him, at the end of each battle, Brian would plunder all parts of the monster's body, as long as they could be used.
What surprised her even more.
The two of them killed three purple insects together.
Brian not only peeled off the huge body of the purple worm, but also broke its carapace into small pieces and collected them. He even didn’t let go of the undigested things in the purple worm’s stomach. .
What shocked her even more was that Brian didn't even let go of the slimy ooze monsters.
If he hadn't found many gems in these disgusting ooze monsters, she would have even thought that they had some special hobbies.
What depresses Hesaya the most is that she followed Brian to explore the lost mire temple of the ooze monster, and also entered the mansion of the preaching mage in another dimension.
All the trophies collected by the other party had no intention of sharing any of them with him.
Well, although she doesn't care about these things, it always gives her the illusion that she is a free thug for the other party.
Now, seeing Brian suddenly and generously handing her such an extraordinary piece of magical equipment, it really made her a little unbelievable, so much so that she blurted out such embarrassing words.
"If you think so, then let it be." Brian saw through the girl's little thoughts. He nodded indifferently, then changed the topic and said slightly seriously:
"If you like it, don't stand here in a daze. Put it on quickly and I'll teach you how to use it. We don't have much time."
The reason why he gave the other party this magical equipment was because First of all, it was because they couldn't use it, and then because they were facing the fungus queen Zugmoy next.
In this kind of battle that involves his own safety, Brian naturally wants to strengthen himself or his teammates as much as possible. As a sword mage who has reached the hero level, Xisaya's strength will definitely be greatly improved if he has the blessing of this magical equipment.
Of course, he also has a hidden little thought.
He took a fancy to Hesayah's Purple Dragon Seal Ring and her special identity.
Befriending the sword mage in front of you will not only provide him with great help when he returns to the surface world, but also during the journey in the underdark, this noble lady is also an obedient and hard-working person. Free guard part-time job as a thug to gain experience.
In short, it is very easy to use.
It is naturally impossible for Hesiah to know Brian's thoughts at this time.
Hearing that the other party actually gave it to her, she looked happy and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly nodded to him with a smile, put it on her hand with a face full of joy, and waited for the release. Lane taught himself how to use it.
There is no special activation password for this magical equipment.
Brian only explained to her the properties and usage of the equipment, so that she could maximize the effectiveness of the equipment.
“Let’s go.”
After explaining, he turned to look at the fungus garden heading to the highlands and said hello to Hesiah.
Hisaya nodded and quickly followed his footsteps, looking at him with a strange look in his eyes.
During Brian's explanation, when she learned the true function of this piece of equipment, she immediately realized how fitting and important it was to herself as a sword mage.
It can be seen from this that the other party is quite considerate in sending things.
And she can clearly feel that if this piece of equipment is brought back to the mage tower in Arabe City for further strengthening, it definitely has the potential to be upgraded to legendary quality equipment.
Thinking that Brian, who had always been so stingy, would suddenly give him such a precious item, Hesiah thought about it, quickly walked to him and said, "Brian, do you still remember my Purple Dragon Seal?" Ring?"
Hearing the noble lady suddenly mention the Purple Dragon Seal Ring to him, Brian's expression changed, he slowed down and said casually: "Of course I remember."
Could he not remember?
After all, the Purple Dragon Seal Ring is an item he could only dream of obtaining in the game world.
Of course, in today's world, he still wants it very much.
Because he has the Purple Dragon Seal Ring, he can carve out a territory for himself with the help of the Purple Dragon Knights and the War Mage Legion.
“Actually, the reason why I own this ring is mainly for Mokou Town, an important border town between the Kingdom of Cormyr and the Eno Oak Desert.”
Hesiah put the ring she had just taken off back on the finger covered by the glove, "If we return to the surface, I can make an exception and let you join the War Mage Legion, after all."
"Stop it! "
When Brian heard this, he immediately interrupted Hesiah's words, "I have never thought of joining the War Mage Legion, so I don't need your special promotion."
Hisaya's words made him want to laugh a little.
Because just now he was thinking about making the other party his personal guard, but it turned out that she had the same idea as him.
She actually wanted to win him over and become her subordinate on the pretext of taking back Mokou Town.
Should I say she is naive, she is still overly confident.
Although he deeply regretted the demise of the Kingdom of Cormyr in his previous life, and wanted to prevent the disaster from happening again after his rebirth, this did not mean that he would swear allegiance to the kingdom again.
After all, his goal is the universe of stars. How can he be restricted by a small kingdom?
The relationship between the two is at best a cooperative relationship, perhaps a vassal relationship, and it is naturally impossible for him to lower his status.
"Why do you say that?"
Xiseya looked at Brian in surprise, who clearly didn't seem to be joking, "Have you forgotten your original intention and the Red Dragon Rebellion ten years ago? ”
She originally thought that Brian, who was born in Mokou Town, would join her and help her fulfill her wish because of her determination to conquer the town.
In this case, she believed that with Brian's strength and potential, coupled with her own network of connections, his status would continue to rise in the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Who would have thought that the other party would be completely indifferent to this matter, as if he had already forgotten it.
While this confused her, it was also difficult to understand what Brian's real thoughts were.
Seeing the confused look on the face of the girl in front of him, Brian knew that if he did not explain the matter clearly today, this slightly stubborn noble lady would most likely be killed in the next battle. affected.
He looked around vigilantly and found that no spore servants appeared for the time being. Then he stopped with relief and looked at Hesiah seriously, admiring her appearance.
This aristocratic lady wore knee-high boots, her slender legs were wrapped in tight old leather breeches, a wide belt tied her coat around her slender waist, and the hem of her dress spread freely around her thighs, as if Flowing skirt.
Although her beautiful face looks a little haggard and sickly pale due to her unfortunate encounters and past travels in the Underdark, under her curved eyebrows, there is a pair of bright silver-gray hair. His eyes strangely revealed strong strength and sharp wisdom.
For Brian, what is more eye-catching is Hesiah's long reddish-brown hair, which sticks to her white face like silk and hangs down to her chest.
This forced him to admit that such otherworldly beauty was indeed very exciting.
"I have never forgotten my original intention." Brian retracted his gaze and said in a slightly solemn tone, "I have been working hard in that direction."
"Then Why are you?" Hesiah looked at him even more confused.
"Let me tell you a story about my original intention." Brian weighed his words and told her:
"When I was eighteen years old, I once fell in love with an eighteen-year-old girl, but she didn't like me because she preferred rich people. So when I was twenty-five years old, I became her favorite When she was a rich man, she started to like me again, but I was no longer interested in her."
"Does this have anything to do with my original intention?" Hesaya was startled and asked curiously. Said: "Since you like her, why are you not interested in her in the end?"
"Of course it does matter." Brian said with a smile:
"The reason why we didn't come together Together, it’s because our original intentions have not changed. You see, this 25-year-old girl still likes rich people, and the 25-year-old me still likes an 18-year-old girl. There’s nothing wrong with that. ?”
After saying that, he suppressed his smile, leaving the other person standing in a daze, turned around and continued walking forward.
"."
Hesiah frowned and thought for a moment. After she really couldn't figure it out, she looked at Brian's back with helplessness, "What kind of weird logic is this."
" Does he mean..." After thinking about it, Hesiah suddenly realized the true meaning of Brian's words.
For a moment.
She suddenly felt that the gloves she was wearing were as heavy as lead.
Only then did she understand that it was difficult to repay the debt she had accumulated from the moment she was rescued by Brian.
"Perhaps, there are other ways"
Xiseya sighed softly, recalling her recent series of encounters, she readjusted her mood, quickly quickened her pace, and chased Go up.
Obviously, the most important thing right now is to return to the surface first, instead of thinking about these messy things.
No words all the way.
When Brian led Hesiah to the rotting fungus garden, he clearly felt that the whispers became louder and louder, until they turned into a reverberation of sobs, cries and sighs.
Here The only light was from some glowing mushrooms growing on the edge of the mesa, but even in such darkness, he could not mistake the source of the sound.
He saw a dozen heads of humanoid creatures from various races in the Underdark looking over from the ground, and they were covered with creepy molds and fungi.
At this moment.
While struggling, a female drow shouted loudly to the two of them in Underground Common, pleading: "Please... in the name of your benevolent gods of light... kill them quickly. Me!”
Her mold-covered body kept struggling and shaking, finally revealing a bloated piece of flesh that used to be her arm, and a spider-shaped arm ornament half embedded in it.
Half of her face has been cysted by fungal decay and has become a breeding ground for various micro-mushrooms.
She looked at Brian and Brian with fear on her face, her swollen lips covered with tiny fungi, and said in a trembling voice, "The Great Sower...the Trap...she's coming...the Lady of Decay...the Ancestor" Gemoy..."
(End of this chapter)