Elf-like Life

Chapter 22, Mushroom Forest

Thank you to Yueyibu for the 100-coin reward, thank you to Jinyiyushi for the 500-coin reward, and thank you to the AFK master for the 500-coin reward.

the other side,

After following the incredible map for a while, the two little ones successfully arrived at the Mushroom Forest.

[Maze Name: Mushroom Forest]

English name: Mushroom Forest

Number of floors: 7F

The items that appear are: Pocket Coins, Apples, and Blue Oranges.

Home Pokémon: Paras, Mushroom, Breloom, Amanita, Oddish, Parasect.

Maze Environment Overview: This is a dense forest covered with mushrooms, with abundant rainfall, and sometimes even sunlight struggles to penetrate the shade.

It had just finished drizzling.

It's still a bit overcast.

Walking through the mushroom forest, the soil underfoot is damp, and the footprints of small animals are easily visible. Two sets of footprints belong to a little dragon and a Pikachu, respectively.

Moss grows everywhere under the tree roots, and the damp environment is more suitable for fungi to survive, so much so that wild mushrooms grow on many tree stumps.

There are white, light blue, purple-pink, and even unidentified black mushrooms.

Charmander remembers that there are many kinds of poisonous mushrooms in the human world, and these mushrooms in the wild should definitely not be eaten casually.

There are just too many mushrooms,

But the most hidden place in this forest is where little elves lurk beneath the wild mushroom bushes:

For example, there's the little Paras with two small mushroom clusters on its back, and the Mushroom Mushroom mixed in with the dark green mushrooms, and so on.

As for the walking grass, it has long been so integrated with nature that it is difficult to distinguish, and the two little ones did not encounter many along the way.

"So we'd better get to the deepest part as quickly as possible, and be careful not to disturb the Paras and the mushrooms!"

Charmander was still leading the way, and with its leader clearing the path, Pikachu, following behind, looked completely at ease.

"As expected of a little fire dragon!"

"Those two little mushrooms just now, we thought they were wild fungi. We almost didn't realize they were Paras in disguise. Amazing!"

Actually, when it comes to being powerful, Pikachu is a true encyclopedia scholar; he knows far more than Charmander.

For example, next time.

The little dragon was stretching out its tiny claws ahead, breathing in the fragrance of the earth as it walked:

"what!"

"It's that fresh, earthy smell!"

"You know, Pikachu, I used to love taking a walk in the park after it rained. The fresh scent would instantly make me feel better."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pikachu sensed that something was off about the earthy fragrance.

As the two little ones ventured deeper into the maze, the smell of earth emanating from its depths grew stronger.

Pikachu happened to read a paper while pursuing his Bachelor of Science degree, which was about the relationship between the smell of soil after rain and spores.

The smell of earth after the rain

It was actually a trap set by fungi.

The Mushroom Forest is home to clusters of wild mushrooms of all sizes. These fungi release a "trap odorant" after rain.

This odorant smells like earth, but it actually attracts Paras, Mushrooms, and Baby Mushrooms to come closer.

The so-called trap is to wait for these little sprites to get close, and then use their small bodies to help spread spores.

While continuously spreading the microbial community, they jointly create a harmonious and symbiotic forest environment.

Charmander was amazed by Pikachu's encyclopedic knowledge:

"Oh, so that's how it is!"

We always thought the smell after rain was simply the fragrance of damp earth!

Just as I finished reminiscing, I heard Pikachu behind me suddenly slip and let out a startled yelp:

"Oh dear, little dragon!!"

【!】

"I... I think I just stepped on something by accident. I don't know if it's a wild mushroom or a small parasitic mushroom. If it's a small parasitic mushroom, what should I do?!"

At this moment, Pikachu was so exaggeratedly afraid to move that it looked like it had stepped on a landmine.

Stepping on a small parasitic coin isn't a big deal; it's not like it's a landmine that will explode.

"Forehead."

"It's okay, Pikachu, you stepped on a mushroom."

In fact, the little animal's paws stepped on a cluster of wild white mushrooms, and they were non-toxic wild mushrooms at that.

"Waaaah, that scared me to death!"

There was actually a reason why Pikachu tripped and fell.

After the rain, the soil in the entire forest was moist, and the light became weaker the further you went in.

The trees already provided thick shade, and the sky was overcast, looking like it was about to rain again, so even less light filtered through the leaves.

The light was dim.

The two little ones had to slow down.

"Thank goodness for Charmander, we didn't dare walk in front. If we accidentally stepped on a mushroom or something, we'd be doomed!"

The little dragon, however, was full of confidence: "Haha, no, I'll be very careful!"

[Soon, Mushroom Forest 5F]

The two little ones mostly avoided the mushroom groves along the way.

Several large, visible clusters of mushrooms have been deliberately avoided because they are home to too many small Paras, and sometimes even a medium-sized Paras can be seen.

The deeper you go into the dense forest, the more complicated it becomes.

Sometimes you have to cross several mossy tree trunks that are blocking your way.

Pikachu kept scaring itself along the way.

She's naturally timid and has a vivid imagination, and as she walked behind the little dragon, she started telling herself a ghost story again:

"Hey, little fire dragon~"

"Have you heard of the urban legends about Paraster? I looked up information about it in the library before and even took notes."

Charmander isn't particularly interested in ghost stories, but listening to Pikachu tell ghost stories in the gloomy forest might actually be quite interesting.

"What urban legend?"

Pikachu's Encyclopedic Knowledge:

The Zombie Legends of Parastra.

A long, long time ago,

Little Paras has a pair of adorable big eyes and always carries two little mushrooms on his back.

However, after evolving, Paraster's mushroom on its back became a single, enormous mushroom, encompassing half of its body, as if it were carrying a mountain.

At this moment, Paraster, which still appears to be moving as an insect, is actually dead.

The evolved Paraster has no emotions left, only two empty eyeballs with only the whites showing.

What's even more terrifying is that what actually controls the insect's movement is the large mushroom on Paraster's back.

In other words, Paraster is just a worm-like zombie walking through the dense forest, its body being devoured, and everything being controlled by the giant mushroom behind it.

Combined with the previously mentioned scent trap, the plot unfolds in a way that's absolutely terrifying to think about!

That is,

Train to Busan 4: Paras Invasion!!

"That little Charmander was terrifying! I don't even dare to continue the story!"

Charmander hadn't sensed anything terrifying, but suddenly, without warning, it braked sharply in front of Pikachu, signaling that it was in danger!

"Stop! Watch out ahead!"

Just moments ago, Pikachu was telling ghost stories and scaring itself, but now it's completely panicked, its little tail twitching wildly.

"Wha...what's going on? What's that in front of me? No, could it be Paraster the zombie?!"

Charmander suddenly became serious:

"wrong!"

"It seems we've already stepped into their territory!"

"Take...territory?"

"He, they...who do you mean?"

Fortunately, it wasn't Paraster, nor was it Paraster Jr.

The two little ones stepped into a secret realm ruled by a small group of mushrooms.

The second maze has opened! This time, it's an adventure in a dense forest. How will the two little ones fare on their first team adventure? Let's begin the Mushroom Forest Battle!

(End of this chapter)