【Seven Sins: Greed Triggered】
【Delicious: LV1】
Dylan had only managed to bring back three fruits. One had been damaged during a fight.
But that wasn’t a big problem—Lin Jun successfully obtained a skill from the remaining three.
At this moment, in a warm, fungus-covered cavern deep within the dungeon, Lin Jun’s core companions sat in a circle, their eyes fixed on a newly sprouted mushroom.
Its cap glowed with a vibrant, dripping crimson unlike anything seen before!
A new mushroom color had appeared!
Was it because the fruit itself had been red?
That didn’t matter. What Lin Jun wanted to know now was: What kind of experience did this [Delicious LV1] skill provide?
As a mushroom without a sense of taste, he could only rely on his “taste testers” for feedback.Louisa was the first to lift her hand gracefully in refusal. Vampires consumed nothing but blood.
That was true—but what if food was enhanced with “Delicious”?
Lin Jun glanced toward Norris… surely not? Later, they could grab some minotaur to experiment on.
Gray rolled across the mycelium carpet, hugging her tail, showing no interest at all in the little red mushroom.
So it was Dylan who plucked it. He tore off a small piece and chewed carefully, then picked a nearby ordinary gray mushroom to compare.
“Mm…” His brows furrowed as he tried to distinguish the flavors. “It’s… a little sweet? With some umami? But… honestly, not much tastier than the regular ones.”
Norris tried as well, giving a similar assessment: “Yeah, a bit different… but not very noticeable.”
“Just that?” Lin Jun felt disappointed.
Was the mushroom’s base flavor too poor for [Delicious] to improve much?
“Maybe it shouldn’t be eaten raw?” Dylan suggested, recalling the fruit’s taste, which had been far richer.
Then, right before Dylan’s eyes, a brand new Digging Puji was generated.
The other Pujis tossed the red mushroom inside and poured some water into the hollow at its center.
Its cap began to spin, its body vibrating with high-speed hums!
With the strange resonance, the water and mushroom heated quickly, soon boiling. In just two minutes, a steaming mushroom soup, rich with an enticing aroma, was ready.
Dylan scooped a spoonful, blew gently, and tasted. He sprinkled in a pinch of salt, tasted again—and his eyes brightened.
When Norris tried it next, his eyes bulged wide: “So good! So good!”
He didn’t care about appearances anymore, gulping down the hot soup without hesitation, even burning himself in his haste.
As he ate, tears slipped unbidden down his cheeks. In the past, a honey-glazed steak at a tavern was the finest delicacy he knew.
He’d only ever heard other adventurers talk about [Delicious] food. Never thought he’d actually taste it himself!
Eager for more, Norris reached for another bowl—but in his haste, his elbow struck the Digging Puji’s sharp edge with a loud crack!
Between the high temperature and constant vibration, one of the scales on his elbow snapped off instantly!
“Ahh—damn that hurts!” Norris recoiled, though the pain was sharp, it was brief. No serious injury.
A breeze stirred. Norris instinctively searched for his lost scale, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Looking up suspiciously, he spotted Gray in the farthest corner, back turned, curled up tight into a ball, feigning calmness.
“Boss!” Norris suddenly realized something. He pointed at the marvelous Digging Puji, his voice rising with excitement. “This! Can you… graft it onto my Gida arm?!”
“Where exactly? Your backside?”
“O-of course on my arm!” Norris flailed his hands in a hurry. “Replace the blade whip with it!”
The whip was long, yes—but its power was underwhelming. Seeing how the Digging Puji pierced armor so easily, he couldn’t resist.
“It can be done… but it won’t be as great as you imagine,” Lin Jun replied lazily. No need to explain. Once installed, Norris would understand soon enough.
But Lin Jun hadn’t forgotten about Gray, huddled in the corner.
Before her, the mycelium carpet bulged upward, producing a plump, crimson-capped, magic-laced Delicious Puji.
Gray’s attention snapped to it immediately. She tucked Norris’s lost scale neatly between her own, then—
Sniff, pat, chomp.
She shoved her entire head deep into the Puji’s round body, chewing noisily and quickly, as if afraid it might vanish if she ate too slowly. Clearly, she loved it.
【Skill Level Up: Delicious LV1 → LV2】
Hm?
So producing more was the way to upgrade it!
But unlike low-cost skills like [Photosynthesis] or [Luminescence], [Delicious] consumed a surprising amount of mana.
Still, for Lin Jun, the expense was trivial.
Soon after, the demonkin side discovered that the exchange list now featured a new option beside the usual mushrooms: Delicious Mushrooms. Qiong tried redeeming a bundle…
……
On the surface, near Yafeng(Silentwind) Town.
An adventurer weighed the half-bag of mushrooms left in his hand and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He’d been among the first to catch the scent of “mushroom fortune” here, and had made a killing in the first two rounds.
But good times never lasted.
Looking around, he saw crowds of adventurers, refugees, and guild staff swarming everywhere.
Mushrooms weren’t endless. At first, he could easily gather several sacks a day. Now, after working all day, he had barely half a bag.
That might tempt commoners, but for a professional adventurer like him, it wasn’t worth the effort. He decided he would leave this overcrowded place tomorrow.
Just then, the corner of his eye caught a flash of red!
A red mushroom!
Never seen before! Around the Amethyst Dungeon, mushrooms came in only three colors: green, gray, and blue.
Gray and green were edible, though green had to be carefully distinguished from the poisonous blue variety. Many unfortunates had collapsed into comas from mistaking the two—and some even died, fainting in unsafe areas.
But red? This was the first time ever!
So bright in color… surely poisonous.
He cautiously pulled on thick leather gloves and pinched the stem, uprooting it carefully. He planned to take it back and show the others…
……
Two days later, at the temporary camp inside the Adventurers’ Guild tent.
“Fahl! Look who I brought!” Aiden’s voice carried a note of pride as he yanked open the tent flap.
Inside, Fahl held a wooden bowl, red mushroom pieces floating inside. He had clearly just drunk deeply—the corners of his mouth and chin were still dotted with glowing soup, his face radiating the joy of drought-breaking rain.
At the sight of the two who entered, he instantly wiped away all expression, hastily scrubbing his mouth, and stood to block the glowing mushroom soup on the table, bowing politely to Inanna.
His manners remained impeccable—though it would have helped if he’d wiped away the glowing stains a little better…