I Have a Task Log

"Okay... Leave," the Mushroomman King continued. "But... ahead... are vicious creatures."

Colin frowned and asked, "What kind of vicious creatures?"

"They... are short... covered in small stones... faces have stones too."

Colin was baffled.

'Covered in stones, and their faces have stones too. Are they some kind of earth elemental?'

Unable to figure it out, Colin asked, "If they're covered in stones, doesn't that mean their faces have stones too?"

"Where it opens... has stones... like you."

Short, covered in stones, and stones in their mouths.

Colin thought carefully. 'The Mushroommen have probably never seen teeth, so the stones in their mouths must be teeth. And the stones on their bodies... scales?'

"Kobolds?" "They must be Kobolds."

Colin and Ale said in unison.

In other words, there was a hidden Kobold lair to the southwest of the Fog-Locked Rift, or rather, a secret base for the Dragon Worship Cult.

If that was the case, things would be difficult.

If they pretended not to notice and just walked past the Kobold lair's entrance, would the Kobolds also pretend not to notice? Colin frowned silently. He didn't want to bet his life on something so uncertain.

But if they had to clear out a Kobold lair, neither he nor Ale were skilled at stealth or disarming traps.

The traps Colin had encountered while clearing out a Kobold lair not long ago were still fresh in his memory. He really didn't want to just barge in. It would be too humiliating to die at the hands of Kobolds.

'So, should we turn back?'

No, better not. If there was another Kobold lair in the other direction, it would be better to press on this way. At least they had some intel now.

At this thought, an idea suddenly struck Colin.

He looked at the Mushroommen and asked, "Why do you know these creatures are vicious?"

At this question, the caps of the surrounding Mushroommen turned a deeper shade of red.

"They are vicious... They take us... to care for mushrooms," the Mushroomman King said, a hint of anger in his tone.

'Capturing Mushroommen to be slaves for cultivating mushrooms? It's a bit immoral to think this way, but it's a perfect professional match. I guess I have these Kobolds to thank. Now there might be a breakthrough in our conversation.'

Colin continued, "We really need to pass through that area to leave. Can you offer any help?"

"Help?"

"For example, help us attack them. That way, you could also free your kin," Colin asked tentatively.

"There are few of us left," the Mushroomman King said. "We retreated into the mushroom forest."

'He probably means they were driven into the mushroom forest,' Colin thought, then said, "At the very least, you could help us with their traps. That way, we'd have a better chance of rescuing the other Mushroommen."

Of course, even if they couldn't help, he had no other choice.

The Mushroomman King fell silent.

The blue spores emanating from his body grew more numerous. The surrounding Mushroommen also began to release blue spores. It seemed they were communicating.

As they communicated, their caps slowly turned from red to blue.

Colin and Ale exchanged a look.

The two could only stand by and wait in silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the Mushroomman King's voice echoed in his mind again. "We can... let you see... our dead."

Colin thought for a moment and asked, "You've attacked those creatures recently?"

"Yes..."

'So some Mushroommen must have died in the Kobolds' traps. That means we can infer the locations of traps from where the Mushroommen died.'

'Talking with these mushroom people is exhausting,' Colin grumbled internally as he spoke aloud, "That'll work."

"Then come... to our village."

After speaking, the Mushroomman King turned and slowly walked in another direction. The other Mushroommen followed him.

"Alright, they've agreed to help," Colin said to Ale, then followed the Mushroommen.

Much like the Blights, which were living plants, these Mushroommen walked quite slowly. Their limping gait seemed very clumsy.

The two patiently followed at the rear of the group.

After a short while, they arrived at a small lake where the stream from the bottom of the rift finally converged.

There were no houses or other buildings here, only a small, cleared-out space.

As the group arrived, some Mushroommen who had been scattered around the area gradually came over.

Colin took a closer look. There were probably only about forty Mushroommen here.

He remembered reading in a book that Mushroommen reproduced via spores. Logically, this method of reproduction should be very fast, but because they highly valued ecological balance, they always limited their own population.

The Mushroommen gathered on a platform by the small lake.

They split into two groups, with no more than twenty in each, then formed two circles at the edge of the platform and raised their hands high.

The spores on their bodies began to spread outwards, covering a much wider area than when they had been communicating with Colin and Ale earlier.

The blue fluorescence reflected on the lake's surface, looking a bit like moonlight.

'This must be the so-called "Mind Fusion."'

It was said to be a special ability of the Mushroommen. They could use telepathic spores to link the minds of all participants in the Mind Fusion, then use hallucinogenic spores to make everyone share the same dream.

Although it sounded a bit strange, it was an important method of communication and a form of entertainment for the Mushroommen.

"Looks like we have to wait again," Colin said, exchanging a helpless glance with Ale.

The two sat down nearby, silently watching the Mushroommen communicate.

After a long time, the Mushroommen's Mind Fusion ritual finally ended.

The tall Mushroomman King slowly approached Colin.

He reached out, picked up a human-head-sized Little Myconid that was following him, and presented it to Colin.

The Mushroomman King's voice appeared in his mind. "We can help..."

Colin took the Little Myconid. The creature struggled in his hands for a moment, then started crawling up his arm and sat on his shoulder.

'Having a mushroom sitting on my shoulder feels really weird.'

While complaining internally, Colin spoke up again, "Can you give us some food? We're running low on our own supplies. Also, can we rest here for a few hours?"

You couldn't say Colin was being greedy; they were genuinely short on supplies, so getting more was certainly a good thing.

"Agreed... but not for long," the Mushroomman King said flatly. "We do not like you... but we hate... those creatures more."

'What a high-EQ conversation,' Colin griped to himself.