The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 124 The mantis stalks the cicada

"But... is this little guy still alive?"

"It should still be alive, right? I caught it yesterday."

The three of them curiously approached the walking mushroom, which had been loosened up quite a bit. Yesterday it was full of energy, but now it looked like it was asleep and didn't move at all.

"Come to think of it, I completely forgot about it yesterday."

Yanami poked its mushroom cap, and the Walking Mushroom twitched.

Seemingly sensing the removal of the restraints, and stimulated by Yanami, Walking Mushroom began to twist and turn vigorously again.

"Ah, it moved!"

"Hey, that's pretty energetic."

"I...this is my first time seeing a walking mushroom. So cute..."

Hyacinth and Yanami turned to look at Daisy, who had made a cute statement.

"...Isn't it cute?"

"I find it a bit disgusting."

"And the first time I saw it, it sprayed my face with spores."

"It's just so cute!"

Ignoring the still fussy daisy, Yanami had the vines place it on the ground. As soon as its legs made of fungal stems touched the ground, it began to frantically flap around, while also spitting out red spores.

If it weren't for the vines holding it back, it probably would have escaped.

"Are we really going to use it to scout ahead? Yanami, Walking Mushrooms are quite rare."

What is the use of the Walking Mushroom?

"No, it looks pretty good."

"It's delicious... I'd love to try it, but right now, the things in front of me are more important."

Yanami hesitated for only a moment before making up her mind again.

After adjusting the direction of the walking mushroom, she placed it on the sand and then loosened the vines.

Clap clap clap...

The freed walking mushroom immediately ran out and moved freely across the sand, leaving shallow footprints. However, it was actually connected to a thin vine that did not hinder its running.

If it can be recycled, Yanami certainly wouldn't let this delicious treat pass her by.

"Walk, walk mushroom..."

"We weren't attacked."

Along the way, a swarm of worms was startled. The worms seemed to avoid it at all costs, wriggling and rolling under the sand. Not a single worm attacked the Walking Mushroom.

"The rock-eating worms are quite docile today."

"But I feel like they're overreacting, and they're too scared."

The worms seemed to be fleeing, and when they burrowed into the sand, they were so ferocious that they kicked up a lot of sand.

stretch.

When it reached the depths of the tunnel, the Walking Mushroom suddenly stopped. The vines binding it had run out, halting its running pace, and it could only run in place like it was doing a moonwalk.

Looking a little deeper, you can see the end of the sand dunes, where the rock-eating worms should no longer exist.

"Looks like there's no problem; it doesn't seem to be attacking."

Yanami commanded the vines to pull the Walking Mushroom back. Feeling the vines pulling it from behind, the Walking Mushroom began to run even harder.

As the walking mushroom was pulled back, it flapped its legs, scattering sand and gravel everywhere, causing the worms in the sand to churn even more violently, but none of the worms attacked the walking mushroom.

The sound of sand rubbing together was quite loud, probably because the worms were moving around.

"It looks just like the Shahe River, with these worms rolling around underneath—"

欻——啪恰.

"What?!"

The three of them were stunned at the same time, because a pair of large mandibles suddenly appeared in the sand and bit the Walking Mushroom along with several worms!

rustling sounds...

Where the walking mushroom disappeared, the sand began to wriggle, and the worms began to flee even more frantically, making the entire sand seem to boil.

Immediately afterwards, the head of an insect with a black sheen emerged. It was a large head, about a meter wide, while its body was completely buried in the sand.

"Yes, it's melting—"

"It's a dissolving centipede... Be careful, don't move around."

Daisy seemed to recognize what it was by its head, but hyacinth spoke for her.

The three of them remained still, observing the movements of the dissolving centipede.

The centipede's mandibles clamped down on the walking mushroom and several worms, but after chewing a few times, it spat out the walking mushroom and tossed it aside, only swallowing the worms.

Does this mean... the person doesn't like vegetarian food?

I don't know whether walking mushrooms are considered vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

"What is that?"

Yanami asked the hyacinth in a low voice, and the hyacinth answered in an equally low voice.

"That's a large centipede. Only its head is visible right now. Its eyesight and hearing aren't very good, but it's extremely sensitive to vibrations. If we move around, it might notice us, so we have to be careful."

Moreover, it's likely that these worms were driven here by it, because there was no room to dig upwards, so they all stopped at this point in the passage. No wonder these worms all look terrified; it seems the dissolving centipede has made this its dining hall.

Yanami looked again at the large head, which was covered with glossy black armor, like polished obsidian, and a pair of long, thin whiskers swayed up and down with the movement of the head. The inside of the pair of curved jaws gleamed with a dark green luster, and one could vaguely see viscous corrosive liquid being drawn into thin strands between the teeth.

"But it looks so weak."

"Huh? Weak, really?"

Daisy found Yanami's remarks incomprehensible, and Hyacinth also widened her eyes, frowned, shook her head fiercely, and even made an X with her arms.

"Its outer shell is much harder than rock, and it can also defend against magic. Most importantly, it carries a strong acid that can corrode rock, making it extremely dangerous!"

The centipede swallowed the worm in its mouth, then suddenly moved, its body emerging halfway out. Segments of flat, long, black carapaces, like chains, emerged from beneath the sand, each segment edged with twisted, dark red lines, like cracks oozing blood.

Its several pairs of sharp, hook-like feet on both sides of its body were slightly inserted into the ground. Its head was placed on the sand, its whiskers touching the ground as if sensing the vibration. Its head began to slowly turn, finally aiming at Yanami and the other two.

"Hey! It's heading this way!"

"Just don't move!"

Snap!

Suddenly, the centipede's head thrust forward and plunged into the sand, revealing the rear half of its body. Countless side legs dug into the sand, propelling the centipede deeper into the ground.

The three held their breath as they watched the centipede disappear into the sand, but the sand continued to wriggle, slowly approaching them.

Yanami and Daisy gripped their wands tightly, preparing to cast spells, while Hyacinth drew her sword once more, silently chanting incantations.

rustling...

The wriggling stopped, and then the head of the dissolving centipede emerged again not far in front of the three people, with several more worms embedded in its mouth.

"Look, it seems it hasn't spotted us."

"Uh-huh."

"What should we do?"

The three whispered among themselves, echoed by the crunching sound of the centipede chewing on the worm. It seemed it didn't want to eat in the sand, so it deliberately stuck its head out.

Yanami thought to herself.