I Reincarnated into a Single-celled Organism! - Chapter 242

As the group moved forward, I remained silent, my focus entirely on the intricate network beneath our feet. The mycelium was a vast, living tapestry, and with each step, I sank deeper into its consciousness. I sent my cells into the mycelium, and using Mimic, I had begun to infiltrate the fungal threads. Every minute that passed, I was able to stretch my senses further throughout the underground system. Of course, this didn’t mean I had gained some kind of cheat map with the location of everything valuable.

Instead, the senses of the mycelium were subtle, one that was often difficult to put into words. For example, while I could detect the shape of the terrain, there was no mycelium in empty spaces, so rather than seeing the cavernous space were walking in, I could see the absence of mycelium. Sadly, the most important area, the underground cavern filled with the scent of damp earth, was completely invisible, as were any creatures within it.

That’s why I couldn’t see anything when a large chitinous, multi-limbed creature, like a nightmarish centipede made of obsidian and rage, lunged out from a hidden spot within a shrub of mold. Its mandibles clicked menacingly as it attacked the five of us.

“Hmph, a Ravenous Ravager!” Lord Blanche grunted, seemingly more annoyed by its presence than threatened.

He took a half-step back, his hands moving in a blur as he traced a glowing rune in the air. A shimmering wall of light materialized, just in time to block the creature’s lunge. The Ravager’s mandibles, strong enough to bite through stone, scraped against the barrier with a grating screech, unable to break through.

“Attack!” He gave the order to the other men.

They responded immediately, moving in perfect synchronization. One, a man with a heavy broadsword, slammed his blade into the side. It wasn’t strong enough to break through the creature’s carapace, but it was enough to cause it to fall off balance. The other, a wiry man with twin daggers, used the distraction to his advantage. He became a blur of motion, darting under the creature’s thrashing body and plunging his daggers into the soft joints of its underbelly.

The ravager shrieked, a high-pitched sound of fury and pain, thrashing wildly to dislodge its attacker. But the patriarch was already moving. He dismissed the barrier with a wave of his hand and thrust his palm forward. A bolt of pure, white-hot energy, thin as a needle and dense as a star, shot from his outstretched fingers. It struck the creature precisely at the base of its skull, where its head met its thorax. There was a sickening sizzle of chitin and flesh, and the creature’s frantic movements ceased instantly. Its head, severed by the pinpoint attack, slid cleanly off and landed on the ground with a soft thud, while the rest of its body collapsed in a heap of twitching, nerve-firing limbs.

I stared at the fight with my mouth open just a bit. Lord Blanche had used a combination of mana and skills to quickly dispatch the creature. I had rarely seen such coordinated fighting and use of magic. Most of the men I had seen fight before used weapons, and would only occasionally put magic into some kind of fiery attack. To see someone so casually use magic in such a way, I couldn’t help but feel a bit depressed. I had almost no magic ability, and I wasn’t even sure how I could counter such attacks.

“It really is a Ravenous Ravager. I thought these were hunted to extinction centuries ago,” Tiffany spoke in disbelief. “This place is a living fossil.”

Lord Blanche looked over at her and then sneered. “You’re lucky we found you then, or you’d be already dead.”

Of course, I hadn’t lifted a finger, Tiffany tensed beside me, but we both had let the three Blanches do the fighting. If I had to rate this creature, it would probably be a high-level flawless. Based on their understanding of our level, if we had to fight it on our own, it would have been a deadly fight. I had not sensed the creatures through the mycelium, but that was only because I didn’t know what I was looking for. I modified my senses within the mycelium to pick up the vibrations that indicated ambushes.

The group of us continued through the glowing landscape. There would be an occasional attack, but I got used to them, and the Blanch trio was able to handle them quickly. As a result, this place became quite a comforting stroll. Although it was dangerous, it was also quite beautiful. Yet, it wasn’t the beauty of it that made the men occasionally cry out in excitement. This place was a treasure trove that kept giving. Every once in a while, one of the men would suddenly point out and call in excitement.

“Look! A Moonpetal Bloom!” one of the men exclaimed, heading a few steps off path and carefully digging up a silvery-leafed flower that seemed to absorb the ambient light.

“Over here. A Ghostroot!” The other found a pale, ethereal plant.

I remained indifferent to their scavenger hunt. While they were distracted by the obvious, I was already reaping the true rewards. Through the mycelium, I could sense the location of every significant plant in this sector. The mycelium was sensitive to nutrient hogs and mana sinks, and most mystic plants were abundant as both. Whenever I identified one, I sent a thin tendril of cells out and then pulled it into my luminal space.

I wasn’t making the same mistake I had made when I was trapped within the antecedent subspace of Schrodinger’s box. I had read all of the books necessary to become an expert botanist, and it meant my ability to detect mystic plants and determine their value was top-notch. While they were grabbing anything they could see, I was detecting every plant of value within this entire space. I left the ones that were common or easy enough to acquire above ground, but everything of value went into my luminal space.

Although my attachment to the Capala household was minimal, I couldn’t help but think that if we could cultivate some of these rare or difficult lines, the entire business could be turned around. I was able to take the entire plant, roots and all, and within my space, it’d remain in stasis until I brought them out again. In other words, transplanting these plants was a very real possibility.

While I strip-mined the entire underground cavern, no one else noticed a thing. By the time the group had found a handful of mediocre herbs, I had already claimed the most valuable prizes this section of the realm had to offer, all stored safely within my own cellular structure. I left them a few lesser plants along the way so they wouldn’t grow suspicious or unhappy.

Although it was rewarding, the journey was not without its dangers. We faced swarms of bat-like creatures with razor-sharp wings and a lone, gelatinous blob that dissolved everything it touched. Each time, Lord Blanche would comment on how they should be extinct, relics of a bygone era. Each time, his men would handle the creature with practiced ease.

And each time, I would remain a passive observer, my awareness expanding further and further. I could now sense a massive structure deep underground, a complex of metal and stone that dwarfed anything we had seen so far. It was our destination; I was sure of it. The mycelium grew thickly around it, like a nervous system hugging a massive skeleton. I moved the position of some of the plants, so I subtly directed them toward this structure.

We were a short distance from what I had interpreted as the entrance when we came before a man. He wasn’t facing us, but was instead crouched facing a wall. His clothing was filthy and ripped, barely clinging to his body. His hair was a wild, matted tangle. He was rocking back and forth, babbling a constant stream of nonsensical syllables.

“Who’s there?” Lord Blanche called out, his hand resting on his belt.

The man stopped rocking. He slowly turned his head, and his eyes, wide and unfocused, locked onto us.

“Stay…. Away…” He hissed in a voice that was difficult to make out.

“Sir, do you know the way out?” Lord Blanche tried to ask.

“Out… OUT! There is no OOOOOOUUUUT!”

The man’s words ended in a shriek, and he suddenly turned and raced at the three. Lord Blanche threw up his barrier again, but when the man made a claw, his face changed.

“He’s strong!” he cried out.

The claw came out from his hand like it was on a spring, rushing forth and growing larger. When it struck the shield the patriarch created, it exploded.

“My lord!” One of the men leaped in front of Lord Blanch just as the madman’s clawed hand, glowing with a sickly green energy, tore through the defense.

The claw raked across his chest, shredding the armor and causing a nasty, weeping wound left behind. Before anyone could retaliate, the madman landed, pivoted, and fled, disappearing into the dense fungal forest with a speed that defied his apparent madness.

The wounded guard clutched his chest, his face pale. “The energy… it feels corrupt. It’s eating away at me!”

Lord Blanche rushed to his side, his face grim. He grabbed the man and pulled out a vial from his robes. He then immediately fed it to the man. It was a golden solution that the man gulped down quickly. The man’s features seemed to calm, but the wound on his chest didn’t close up as it should have.

“What is a high-level champion doing down here?” Lord Blanche mumbled.

“H-he was mad,” Tiffany said nervously. “I didn’t recognize him. He must have been someone else who stumbled on this realm.”

“W-will we end up like him?” the other Blanche man asked, looking down at the wounded one.

“Only if we don’t escape,” I responded.