Chapter 11: Sinister Mushrooms

Wang Mu's trip into the secret realm ended as abruptly as it had begun.

He took a total of two steps.

The first step was entering the secret realm.

The second was leaving it.

And he left with three Oddshrooms.

Shen Yu, who had been waiting by the entrance, had originally been planning to find a quiet corner and relax for a while. Instead, she saw the portal light up again. At once, she grew worried that something might have gone wrong.

Then she saw the three mushrooms cradled in that gentleman's arms. The tiny eyes beneath their caps darted about curiously, as though everything around them was new and interesting.

These were Oddshrooms. She had memorized them before. Were these mushrooms not supposed to spend the entire year in caves, come out only once to bask in the sun, and then go straight back to sleep? How had he run into them so quickly?

She put on a smile and took out her instrument. "Congratulations, sir, on selecting the spirit beasts you wanted. I'll record them for you right away."

After taking photographs of the Oddshrooms and having Wang Mu confirm them, she went off to purchase the breeding materials they would require.

To be honest, if Wang Mu did not still have money in his account, and if another batch of income were not coming in next month, he would not even dare raise these three little fellows.

In the natural world, certain special terrains would form and produce treasures. Oddshrooms could only grow in places where the concentration of earth spiritual energy exceeded ten. The spiritual energy concentration in the city was one, while inside the breeding center it was only five. That meant Wang Mu needed to buy earth-attribute ores and energy stones in order to build a suitable habitat.

And their breeding requirements were rather harsh as well. Cute as they looked, once they entered breeding season, they would kill higher-level prey, use Parasitic Spore, cultivate a breeding bed, and then scatter special Inheritance Spores. Once those spores developed, they would become Shroomlings.

Shroomlings could not move at all. They could only absorb the energy of the growth medium. After making it through that relatively fragile month, the Shroomlings would evolve into Oddshrooms.

Wang Mu had already drafted a rough plan in his mind for raising this species. First, he needed a sufficient supply of growth medium. Then, while they were still in the Shroomling stage, he would share skills with them and guide them toward mutation or evolution, which would very likely allow them to evolve with stronger bloodlines.

Once Commander-rank spirit beasts reached adulthood, most of them would be able to comprehend one mid-tier skill. Wang Mu looked forward to those greatly. When the next generation of Shroomlings was bred, and he shared mid-tier skills with them at that stage, just how much farther would they be able to go?

That was how breeders worked, cultivating and selecting generation after generation. Wang Mu's talent merely made that process stable.

The only thing he lacked was time.

And fortunately, both Greenwood Treants and Oddshrooms were spirit beasts famous for their longevity. As long as they reached the Fourth Rank, Wang Mu's own lifespan would exceed four hundred years. With that much time, Wang Mu could keep improving without end. It was a virtuous cycle.

After driving back to the breeding center, Wang Mu discovered that there were still people there. Guided by the intelligent robots, they were examining the main spirit beasts on offer. More than twenty of them had even reserved spirit butterflies from the second batch.

Sure enough, among mid-level Beast Tamers, the Silver Butterfly was the most popular. As for the Azure Jade Butterfly, because its talent had already reached the Commander standard, many parents were buying it for their children. That meant that after the contract was formed, the child's own talent would receive a greater enhancement.

Ordinary families preferred the spirit beasts displayed in the main hall. They did not need to empty too much of their savings in a single stroke, and their ability to withstand risk was much stronger.

That had been Wang Mu's intention from the start. Born into an ordinary family himself, he understood exactly how difficult it was for such families to raise a child into a Beast Tamer. So, within reasonable limits, he was willing to give them some convenience.

At the same time, they would not lose out by it. Once Wang Mu's breeding operation was fully on track, he would also begin developing evolved forms for the Silver Butterfly and Azure Jade Butterfly. The Poison Powder Butterfly, however, would have to be set aside for a while, because he still had not found suitable poison-attribute spells for it.

To put it another way, the juvenile form of the Oddshroom was called the Shroomling, and that reminded Wang Mu of a creature-battling game from his previous life. He had only watched the anime and never played the games, but he still knew a few tactics. Some worked very well in turn-based battles, while others simply would not work in reality.

That said, a poison-stall build backed by defensive delay, decoys, and an escape spell was entirely viable. Even a powerful Lord-rank demon beast would eventually die if it were badly poisoned and dragged into a long fight. In theory, dirty tactics absolutely could work.

If he remembered correctly, that garlic-headed turtle from his previous life had used a tactic involving Parasitic Seed and Rooted Form. This world had similar spells as well. But for that sort of tactic to truly work, one also needed a binding spell or some way to keep the enemy from escaping. Otherwise, once he used Rooted Form and lost the ability to move, the enemy could simply run away.

Still, Wang Mu did not spend too much time thinking it through on his own. He trusted the wisdom of those who came before him. In this world, Beast Tamers really did fight in person. When danger came, it was a matter of life and death. Countless systems had already been developed long ago. Wang Mu only needed to copy them.

Once he accumulated enough spells in the future, he would only need to raise one excellent spirit beast and share an entire set of spells with it. Its combat system would take shape at once.

To his shame, Wang Mu had always focused on breeder knowledge in the past and had paid relatively little attention to the combat styles of Beast Tamers. Fortunately, he had a foundation. He remembered a great many spells, and he also remembered his classmates once discussing which spirit beasts became invincible when paired with which spells.

The problem back then, however, had been that some spirit beasts simply could not learn certain spells. At present, Wang Mu knew of Sharing levels from one to five, plus MAX. Nothing beyond that had appeared yet. Rooted Form, for example, could not be given to a Phoenix-Eyed Butterfly.

If that became possible in the future, then some theoretically invincible tactics could truly be assembled and used.

During the time it took for the Greenleaf Caterpillars to complete their first-stage molt, Wang Mu directly searched up several spell combinations.

The first set was a wood-attribute control style: binding-type spells, energy-draining spells, poison spells, weakening spells. There was no fixed combination. As long as the effects suited one another, they could be included.

The second set was a wind-attribute movement style: acceleration spells, spells that increased the power of other spells, slowing or restraining spells, and battlefield spells.

The third set was for a utility pet: detection spells, flight spells for travel, fire-making, illumination, temperature-reducing spells, and protective spells. It would be even better if it possessed healing spells, though healing spells were considered rare. There were many that could heal oneself, but very few that could heal others.

Wang Mu did not bother searching for mental-type combat styles. His father already used that path, so Wang Mu understood it clearly. One only needed to make use of the mental type's invisible and colorless nature to launch long-range sneak attacks. Add a spell for concealing oneself, and the system was complete.

After browsing through all of it, Wang Mu only waited for the points to arrive so he could go buy skill crystals, or purchase other spirit beasts instead.

Once the Oddshrooms arrived at the breeding center, they settled down in the garden. They also liked Qingling very much. A Commander-rank Greenwood Treant was worth as much on the market as a Beast King-rank spirit beast. Their greatest use was not combat, but the creation of ecological environments suited to spirit beasts.

Qingling was still young, and it had only been at the breeding center for a few days, so no proper ecology had yet been established. But in a year's time at most, the environment here would begin to change.

Seeing that the new little darlings had no trouble adapting, Wang Mu turned to inspecting what they could share.

Oddshroom (Juvenile): 2

Bloodline: Commander

Talents: Wood (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Earth (Intermediate, Mid Grade)

Innate Spells: Parasitic Spore (Beginner), Earth Escape (Beginner), Stonewall (Beginner), Rock Lance (Beginner)

Inherited Spell: Earth Ward (Beginner)

"Hiss..."

Wang Mu sucked in a breath of cold air.

He felt his luck had been unreasonably good. He had only just stepped through the gate of the secret realm when he ran into Oddshrooms, and one of them even possessed the mid-tier earth spell Earth Ward, along with Earth Escape. Both were exceptionally powerful spells.

Earth Ward: So long as one stood upon the earth, it accelerated recovery and also generated a spiritual shield. As long as that shield was not shattered in a single blow, it could continuously draw upon the power of the earth to repair itself.

With Earth Ward, Earth Escape, and Rock Lance all together, this Oddshroom's ability to preserve its own life was utterly absurd. It could even serve as a stationary artillery platform. A skill combination like this was doomed to be raised as a main force by whoever got their hands on it.

Then Wang Mu looked at the others.

Oddshroom (Juvenile): 1

Bloodline: Commander

Talents: Wood (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Poison (Intermediate, Low Grade)

Innate Spells: Hallucinogenic Spore (Beginner), Parasitic Spore (Beginner), Toxic Spore (Beginner)

Inherited Spells: Hypnosis (Beginner), Rooted Form (Proficient)

"Where did this filthy little thing come from..." Wang Mu could barely stand to look at it. That skill set was simply perfect.

But the last one was even filthier, even more sinister.

Oddshroom (Juvenile): 1

Bloodline: Commander

Talents: Poison (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Darkness (Intermediate, Mid Grade), Wood (Intermediate, Low Grade)

Innate Spells: Toxic Spore (Beginner), Weakening Spore (Beginner), Hallucinogenic Spore (Beginner)

Inherited Spells: Enfeeblement (Beginner), Dark Bind (Beginner), Energy Drain (Beginner)

All three had a Shared Level of 1. They had only just been brought home, so they would need to be raised for a while before Wang Mu could share all of their abilities.

If not for the fact that these three little ones had not been bred by Wang Mu himself, and had not just been born, they actually would have been perfectly suited to become his contracted spirit beasts on the spot.

Still, this was not bad either. Once Wang Mu raised them to adulthood, he would start breeding a new generation. With careful care, he should be able to bring forth several strong new individuals.

When it came to the Greenleaf Butterfly lineage, Wang Mu could improvise plans as easily as breathing. After all, they were spirit beasts he had raised since childhood. He knew them far too well.

Oddshrooms, however, were different.

As Commander-rank spirit beasts, their information was naturally much harder to come by. What was publicly available covered only the most common points.

How should they be raised? What was the perfect environment for them? What nutrients did they need the most?

Wang Mu would have to research all of that himself.

When he had been younger, Wang Mu had also complained that breeders treasured their secrets like broken brooms and would ruin themselves sooner or later. But once he understood that knowing a spirit beast was equivalent to holding a nuclear weapon, equivalent to the lifeblood of a family, he had let the matter go.

In a world of the extraordinary, resources had to be fought over. One always had to ensure that one remained competitive enough, and the means of production were a crucial part of that.

Almost every Breeder would have a family of their own. After that, the evolution routes they themselves explored would only be passed down to their descendants. Over the course of growing up, everyone would inevitably touch someone else's利益. So if all those things were made public, what do you think would happen?

This world was relatively friendly to the younger generation, and Wang Mu could grow safely. But that did not mean it lacked its dark corners.

After performing the usual inspection on the Greenleaf Caterpillars, night had already fallen.

Wang Mu prepared to rest. Tomorrow, people would come and set up a cave habitat for the Oddshrooms. Feeling Qingling's tree roots had already pulled free of the soil, he resigned himself to letting them suffer a little for tonight.

What left Wang Mu both amused and helpless, however, was that the three little fellows had followed Qingling indoors as well. They did not even bother choosing a proper place. They simply buried themselves directly in the soil.

The moonlight flowed like water.

At this moment, Qingling and the Oddshrooms looked no different from an ordinary banyan tree and a cluster of mushrooms, falling asleep together beneath the evening breeze.

But some people could not sleep.

Those Beast Tamers who had contracted spirit butterflies today and brought them home, whether seasoned veterans or complete novices, were all busily preparing environments their new spirit butterflies would like, along with suitable food.

Raise, train, and use.

Those were the three great subjects every Beast Tamer had to master.

And now, what they faced was the first of them: raising.