The dungeon has been parasitized

Chapter 7 The Withered Parasitic Plantation

Klein had a plantation in a small cave on the southeastern edge of the large cavern of Wild Dog Forest.

From there, Klein's vines spread all the way to the carnivorous grass thickets near the heart of the forest.

After Yanami retrieved the Demon Sword, Klein decided to return home. Afterwards, Klein planned to ask Yanami how to use the Demon Sword.

"Let's get out of here before it gets dark."

"it is good."

Yanami set off, following the vines.

The underground light comes entirely from the luminous crystals embedded in the cave walls. These crystals not only emit light but also exude magic, and they even stop emitting light at regular intervals.

It was almost like imitating the rising and setting of the sun, or rather, imitating the ecosystem under the sun, but Klein didn't know exactly how.

The glowing crystals were everywhere, not just on the cave walls, but even underground. Klein tried to dig them out, but strangely, they would turn into ordinary stones as soon as they were dug out.

"Is your foot injured?"

When walking, Yanami always quickly lifts her left foot, and she staggers a little.

"...A little bit, but it shouldn't be a problem."

"Then let's go back and rest for a while."

Passing through the drooping vines used for cover, the two entered Klein's plantation.

"Is this Klein's plantation?"

"yes."

Yanami stared wide-eyed at the sight before her.

This is a long, narrow cave covering several hundred square meters. The luminous crystals on the ceiling provide lighting, and there is a pool of water at the very back.

Klein took over this place and parasitized all the native plants, since he couldn't grow enough to fill the entire cave on his own.

Not long ago, this place was indeed lush and verdant.

"Why do they all look dead?"

In reality, only a branch leading to the forest and a small patch of lush vines remain; the rest is covered with withered leaves.

Yanami bent down to pick up a pale blade of grass, but easily crushed it into crumbs.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

She instinctively took a step back, and accidentally stepped on and crushed a piece of it.

"It's okay. Actually, it's because you used up too many nutrients just now, that's why it turned out like this."

Accelerated growth consumes magic to speed up the growth process, but the nutrients and water consumed during growth come from Klein himself.

The plant roots could not support the rampant growth, so they had to consume their own resources to replenish it, resulting in the near destruction of the plantation that Klein had been running for two months.

"Is this alright?"

"It's alright, the guild leader will be back. Come to the pond."

Klein led her to the edge of the pool, where the last remaining green leaves of Klein himself grew.

"What are these?"

Yanami noticed that among these green leaves were plants that looked like pockets, or like a water glass with a rounded bottom.

"These are insect-catching plants, which can catch insects."

This is a plant trait that Klein gained during his upgrade, allowing him to grow a special plant structure. Klein previously relied on Insect Cup Grass to catch insects to upgrade, but the effect was very limited.

Yanami leaned closer and sniffed, then pinched her nose.

"It smells a bit stinky."

"You should clean your wound first; there might be some medicine in those two bags."

"it is good."

Seeing Yanami sit down by the pool, Klein transferred his soul to a branch in the corner.

Yanami took off her blood-stained coat, and then her shoes.

Perhaps her constant walking made her overlook it, but the excruciating pain when she took off her shoes made her realize how serious her foot injury was.

The soles of his shoes and socks were soaked in blood, and the skin on the soles of his feet was completely disfigured.

After washing herself in the pool, Yanami was surprised to find fish in the clear water, but they disappeared again after she stirred up ripples.

Rol and Bourne's bags were stained with blood, and Yanami felt a mix of emotions, including a sense of disgust.

I opened my bag and found quite a few things inside. After rummaging through it, I realized that the food was soaked in blood, but the medicine was in a bottle and thus survived.

Then Yanami opened her bag, which contained only some clothes and travel supplies; the food and everything else had been taken by Rol.

Yanami recalled her journey, thankfully Rol hadn't done anything too outrageous to her, and she had endured it all along, otherwise she certainly wouldn't be in this state now...

After changing into clean clothes, Yanami took out the medicine and began to treat her wounds. She gritted her teeth and finished applying the medicine before wrapping it with a bandage.

I wonder what Klein is up to...

Yanami looked up and suddenly noticed a figure moving in the withered grass.

"Who is it?"

Yanami asked the question warily, while quietly getting up and grasping the demon sword that had been brought back.

Hi, it's me.

Klein's voice appeared in Yanami's mind. As long as Yanami maintained her ability to communicate telepathically, Klein could still talk to her as long as he didn't stray too far away.

"Klein?"

As the figure approached, Yanami realized it was just a vine puppet made of intertwined vines.

"How is it? I made this when I was bored. It's only good for walking around, it's not very useful."

After gaining the ability to make vines move, Klein tried to create such a vine puppet.

However, this is merely a toy at best, because the vines are too weak and need to be connected to other vines as nutrient channels; they cannot exist independently.

Yanami stood up and looked her over.

"What a crude puppet."

"Haha, yes."

"Gurgle, gurgle—" came a groan from Yanami's stomach.

That's... the sound of a hungry stomach, isn't it? It's been so long since I've heard that.

"are you hungry?"

Yanami nodded somewhat awkwardly.

"Then I'll see if there's anything to eat."

As he spoke, Klein pulled up a vine that connected to several cages made of withered black vines, which had previously hung underwater.

"This is... a fish basket?"

"Yes."

The bottom of this pool seems to be connected to a river, so fish swim in from time to time.

However, slimes sometimes come along. They always attack Klein when he uses his skills, and they seem to be able to sense magical fluctuations, making them very troublesome to deal with.

Klein made many fish baskets out of vines. Although the vines would die if left underwater for too long, all he needed were the cages, so it didn't matter if he couldn't control them.

Although Clay wasn't after food, but rather to kill fish and level up, his efficiency wasn't very high.

After opening several fish baskets, the two small fish caught should be enough to satisfy Yanami's appetite.

"But I don't know how to start a fire. Does Yanami know how?"

However, fire was Klein's nemesis; if it really caught fire, everything would be over.

"It's alright, I know fire magic."

"You can use magic?!"

"I know a little bit, but I learned it by secretly watching others use magic. My parents used to forbid me from learning magic, but I learned it by secretly watching others use magic."

She can learn just by watching... Could she be some kind of magical genius?!

As she spoke, Yanami extended her palm.

"Flame, please warm my palms."

puff--

After she finished chanting, a small flame ignited in her palm, swaying gently.

"Hey! Be careful, I'm flammable!"

Klein's puppet quickly retreated a few steps, afraid of getting stuck in the flames.

"Sorry! I didn't expect that!"

Yanami hurriedly extinguished the flames, bowing her head like a child who had made a mistake.

"Uh, it's okay, just be careful."

Klein manipulated the other vines to clear a space for Yanami.

"Make a campfire here, and remember to surround it with stones."

"good……"

listless...

"Alright, I'm ordering you to ignore this!"

"...Yes, sir!"

After saying that, Yanami raised her head and gave a shy smile.

"By the way, Yanami... do you know any other magic?"

She nodded.

"Well, besides this [Fireball] spell, I also know [Wind Walk] and [Water Control]. I didn't have many opportunities to learn them in Quilton City, so that's all I know."

"Is this how all humans learn magic?"

If life were as easy as Yanami's, wouldn't the humans in this world be terrifying?

"I'm not too sure about that, but I heard they'll be going to school to study."

Since there's a school, it means it's not that simple? It seems the exception is Yanami.

Klein felt he had struck gold.

"Um... Yanami, can you teach me magic?"

"It's possible, but can Klein sing?"

"Is it necessary to chant?"

Yanami nodded.

"Klein is a plant, so I'm not too sure, but it seems that once you use a spell countless times, you don't need to chant anymore."

Does that mean I failed in the very first step?