Mushroom Lord in the Underground City-Chapter 283 - 275: Magic Potion Studies

In a quiet bough of the Elf Tree Street Market, a petite Magic Potion Shop hung, like a vine fruit naturally born from a giant tree.

The sign, shaped like a potion bottle woven from resilient branches, was clearly visible in the dappled sunlight piercing through layers of leaves in the afternoon.

Scout Puki fluttered its small wings and landed on a horizontal branch next to the shop’s door, on which several strands of dried herbs were hanging.

"Grandpa! Look! That flying mushroom is here again!" A clear voice sounded from within the shop.

A little elf girl, looking about eleven or twelve with two long braids, had somehow already tiptoed up to the window’s edge, observing Puki curiously with her bright, sparkling eyes.

The growth cycle of elves in this world is lengthy. Though not amplifying to the extent of over a hundred years to reach adulthood, it usually takes thirty years or more to develop a mature physique.

Therefore, this "little girl" is likely already over twenty years old.

Of course, by elf standards, being over twenty still counts as a child.

"Oh? Where, Riel?" Behind the counter, an old elf with a white beard nearly down to his waist slowly lifted his head.

For an elf to start aging visibly, it indicates he has less than ten years of life left, and one as aged as him might reach his end in a year or two.

The old elf followed the direction his granddaughter pointed and smiled faintly.

Yesterday, when Puki first popped into the house, they noticed the green cloth on its foot, but unfortunately, neither knew Elarwen nor realized she was searching for it, mistakenly thinking it was just a free-roaming pet.

"A special ’little guest,’ if you want to come in, feel free to." The old elf’s voice was hoarse and slow, carrying a peculiar calming power, "Riel, be careful not to scare it."

In truth, the old elf worried too much.

Riel hadn’t even had a chance to move from the window sill when Puki squeezed past her, making its way into the shop, filled with the fragrance of herbs, all by itself.

Lin Jun didn’t understand what they were saying, merely exploring where he felt like exploring.

To be honest, after a few days of exploring, Lin Jun really developed a liking for this Elf City.

The pleasant environment is secondary; for Puki, the foul-smelling swamp is the real good atmosphere... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

The main reason for liking this place is that elves are mostly friendly to Puki.

Even if they don’t show particular affection, they mostly choose to ignore him rather than trying to capture or harm him.

If it were six months ago in Dumb Wind Town, it would have been a strange occurrence if a human adventurer could resist "cleaning up" a Puki flitting by in front of them.

Of course, things are different now, almost no one in Dumb Wind Town would attack Puki.

A peculiar rumor has spread through the town recently: People who kill Puki would find its vengeful spirit demanding their lives in their dreams at night.

Despite the ghost story seeming nonsensical and the town’s priest detecting no evil aura, this tale has nonetheless gained traction.

Some have had related nightmares, and upon recalling injuring a Puki or destroying a fungal mat intentionally or unintentionally, they come to believe the rumor even more.

In truth, very few of the cases are related to Lin Jun; most are purely self-suggested by the dreamer, yet one truth mixed among nine falsehoods only fuels the rumor further...

Back to the elves’ side.

The green cloth on Scout Puki’s foot allowed almost unhindered movement, even in situations like this where there wasn’t a clear "invitation," no one would bother arguing with a Puki barging into the shop.

Puki brazenly hopped onto the smooth wooden counter, sitting right in front of the old elf engrossed in grinding herbs.

Riel hurriedly tidied up the scattered herbs and tools on the counter carefully, lest the "guest" knock them over.

She even reached a small hand under Puki’s round, soft bottom, cautiously pulling out a flower that had been flattened.

So soft!

She glanced at Puki, unable to resist reaching out a finger to poke at the seemingly bouncy white body again.

A mycelial tendril extended, steadily stopping her approaching fingertip...

The old elf’s motions were skilled and focused, accompanied by a calmness borne of years.

Grinding, blending, boiling... the deep purple potion quickly roiled and merged in the small cauldron.

He carefully distributed the finished potion into three small glass bottles.

Lin Jun couldn’t recognize the specific potion, but he identified the four substrates used.

Three of them were available in his own Underground City; the remaining yellow flower, he had also seen in the Divine Wood Dungeon.

Lin Jun’s interest in magic potions stemmed from having a wealth of materials without a way to convert them into truly valuable potions.

Previously, during the Demon Race’s formal alignment, to further draw in Demon Heart, Lin Jun had given Shu and Qiong body regeneration potions.

These were bought by Edin through internal Guild channels at a discount, which still cost Lin Jun five hundred gold coins.

Even with the considerable wealth accumulated from adventurers’ sponsorships, Lin Jun couldn’t afford such expenses multiple times.

How great it would be to achieve self-sufficiency!

He didn’t aim to profit from selling, just meeting internal demands and finding a way to utilize the various materials piling up in the Underground City.

Otherwise, there’s a frustrating feeling of sitting on a gold mountain yet starving.

In terms of magic potions, be it self-taught or hiring new faces.

Lin Jun decided to learn while scouting for recruits.

Puki wandered among the Magic Potion Shops, observing. Whenever he found a formula with available materials, regardless of the potion’s efficacy, he would mimic it in the Underground City.

Failure was common, but fortunately, the Underground City was vast and well-resourced, absorbing the losses.

Successes happened occasionally, followed by testing on Minotaur volunteers and recording the effects.

After finishing the three potions, the old elf leaned back into a vine chair behind him, closing his eyes to rest.

His energy indeed couldn’t match the young.

A few hundred meters away, the owner of another Magic Potion Shop could watch over three cauldrons simultaneously, brewing tirelessly for an entire day.

Unfortunately, that shop owner was among the few who would issue an eviction notice to Puki; otherwise, Scout Puki would surely frequent his shop to "learn."

No wonder the shop’s business was so miserable; it’s been ages since any customers were seen.

However, the old elf probably didn’t care much about business in any case.

Though the elf territory seemed small overall, the scope of the Elf Forest was much larger than that of a single large human city.

And within this vast Elf Forest, the population might not even reach ten thousand elves, resources are abundant, and no one worries about survival.

Those striving for progress do so merely because of higher aspirations.

Having finished watching the alchemy session, Scout Puki turned and flew away.

Riel, unable to grasp Puki in the end, pursed her lips, deciding that if Puki came the next day, she’d block the window, making it enter by squeezing past her!

...

Scout Puki, ready to rush to another venue, suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice from afar: "Xiao Ji—!"