The information in his mind was clear but limited, like a map showing only the beginning of a much longer journey.
Ren could see the first steps of his spore’s cultivation with perfect clarity: the specific types of fungi needed, the exact conditions for growth, the strengthening rituals.
There was something he could take from the tunnel for the final step of his cultivation.
But the other parts needed for its cultivation?
None of that was anywhere near here.
“The first fungi I need…” he murmured, processing the information, “grow in the swamp zones north of the rival city. Not in this forest.”
The revelation hit him with both frustration and relief.
However, something else gleamed at the edges of this new knowledge, a promise.
When his spore reached Bronze rank, a possibility would open that made his heart beat faster: a second contract.
A second beast.
The rest was nebulous, like looking through murky water.
But the certainty was there, each evolution of his spore would not only strengthen it but also expand his understanding of beasts and their paths.
“I have to go back,” he said aloud, this time with determination rather than fear or regret. “I have to get a lot of stuff and start cultivating from the beginning.”
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed softly, as if nodding.
It was time to return home.
His parents would be worried sick if he arrived too late, and now… now he had a real plan. Not a desperate search, but a clear path.
Although first, he’d have to find a way out of this cave.
♢♢♢♢
The mana density in this cave was insane; Ren would be poisoned if he didn’t get out soon.
How there could be so much mana in a place in the Bronze ring was a mystery to him, even with his expanded knowledge.
He wanted to take some of the enormous mana crystals from the cave, but none were loose, it was a great joint formation, as if it were someone’s work from the past rather than something natural. Since it was impossible to break the incredibly hard formations, perhaps he could return to try another time.
A mana crystal became much more resistant the larger it grew; he’d need something really powerful to extract it. Much more than a pick, even the Bronze-rank mantis probably couldn’t have broken it.
Decided to retreat…
Ren observed the tunnel through which he’d arrived.
The ancestral spores were still there, dancing in the darkness with their sickly golden glow.
But now he saw them differently, understood their nature with astonishing clarity.
“They’re not aggressive by nature,” he murmured, processing the knowledge flowing in his mind. “They attack because they’re hungry after centuries of hibernation, but their true method is…”
He stopped, an idea forming.
The ancestral spores, like all fungi, followed basic behavioral patterns. They sought nutrients, yes, but more importantly: they responded to specific chemical signals.
Ren took some mud.
“And if I combine this with…”
A yellowish mold formed where the ancestral spores fell, as if analyzing its composition…
Ren closed his eyes, concentrating.
The mushrooms in his hair pulsed, releasing gray spores that mixed with his sweat. It was disgusting, but now he understood the purpose of the information pulsing in his head: the spores from his own beast contained chemical markers that identified him as “part of the colony.”
He smeared the mixture on his exposed skin full of spores.
“The ancestral spores should recognize me as another fungal colony now,” he murmured. “And should keep them at sufficient distance to…”
Ren knelt beside the Mirror Mantis’s remains. Under the broken plates and yellowish mold, he could see what he was looking for, the crystalline core, a structure of the beasts that acted as their power center.
It was the size of his fist.
“Beast cores,” he whispered, the knowledge unfolding in his mind, “are like concentrated eggs. They contain all the creature’s genetic information, its mana patterns, its essence… And there’s a way to revive them.”
He took some of the mantis’s plates, those he could carry in his backpack, and the golden fungus from the ancestral spores that had formed while consuming the mantis.
He stepped toward the tunnel. The golden spores swirled around him but didn’t attack. To them, he was now just another fungal organism of the same species, not prey.
“It works,” he whispered, amazed by his own knowledge. “It really works.”
While carefully advancing through the tunnel, Ren couldn’t help but smile. A few hours ago, he’d been convinced his spore was useless.
Now, that same “weakest monster” had given him the knowledge to survive where a Bronze-rank beast had perished.
And the core in his hands… anyone else would see it as a mere trophy. But Ren could see its true value: an option to obtain the Mirror Mantis.
A creature that, someday, he might need.
♢♢♢♢
The ancestral spores tunnel ended up being the easiest stretch of the return journey.
Ren emerged covered in mud and a mixture of gray and some stray golden spores, but alive and with a valuable treasure in his backpack.
He first cleaned the excess mud and golden spores carefully.
Now, facing the return path, everything looked different. Where before there was terror and uncertainty, now there was understanding.
The Night Excavator tunnels weren’t a random maze as he’d thought. “They always dig in spirals,” he murmured to himself, recognizing the patterns in the ceiling. “And they mark their active territories with deeper scratches on the eastern walls.”
Thanks to this, he could avoid zones where other excavators might be active while looking for a less steep trap to exit through.
Emerging into the Moon Toads’ zone, he stopped to listen. The melodious croaking came from the distance, but now he understood its meaning.
“Three ascending tones, they’re hunting. Four descending tones would be mating,” he whispered. “And they always leave one toad watching escape routes while the others chase prey.”
He waited patiently until the croaking pattern changed, indicating the toads had moved away following some nocturnal prey’s trail.
Only then did he move, keeping to areas where the ground was more compacted.
“Moon Toads hate hard, dry earth,” the knowledge flowed naturally now. “Their feet are designed for soft terrain where they can bury themselves quickly. On firm ground, their bodies lose moisture.”
Even the natural trap zones were obvious now.
The Excavators always left small signs: stones arranged in certain ways, patterns in soil erosion. To untrained eyes they seemed like coincidences, but to Ren now they were like warning signs glowing in the night.
The mushrooms in his hair, still shining with that more intense yellowish tone than before, lit his path as he advanced with renewed confidence. They showed the pattern of the frogs’ eyes; Ren was no longer worried about being betrayed by their light, now they even served as camouflage.
Every step was calculated, every decision informed by knowledge that just hours ago he didn’t even know existed.
“It’s as if I’d been blind my whole life,” he thought while skillfully avoiding a zone that showed clear signs of Toad activity.
“And now I can finally see.”
The night that had begun as a desperate struggle to survive had become a practical lesson about the true nature of beasts. And his supposed “curse,” the weakest spore, turned out to be the key to understanding all these secrets.
The magical forest’s end finally appeared before him, the last ‘magical trees’ glowing (from frog urine) against the night sky.
Ren stopped a moment, unconsciously touching the Mantis core in his pack. He had set out seeking a second beast, a miracle to change his destiny.
What he’d found was something far more valuable: understanding.