A Fungal Dream

Just finished watching The Witcher and I am quite a fan of Dandelion. So much that I tried my hand at making a ballade. This is the result.

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“Come on. Just a little drop and-“

BOOM!”

The compound blew up into my face, burning it slightly. Thanks to the regenerative properties of my body, the wounds quickly disappeared, but they still hurt especially when I wasn’t wearing any safety glasses.

“Damn it, the compound isn’t stable! How am I going to carry this around when it would explode in my pocket?! …Let’s do something else, maybe it will come to me while working on something else.”

I pushed the melted container aside and lifted up the mirror on the wall, revealing a hidden passage behind it.

As I entered, I put the mirror back in place and walked down the dark tunnel that led me down to what you may refer to as a second sub-basement.

“How’s the work going?”

The basement or ‘Garden’ as I started to call it was the size of a small wine cellar.

A pretty impressive creation, considering the materials I used to make it.

The surplus corpses of my research experiments turned into wields for digging, while using the mold spiked with some chemicals to digest the earth into nutrition for my plants.

In three rows, three different molds were growing with great speed.

On my left was a metallic-looking type, making me think of mercury. Silver crystals of diverse sizes were grooving from it. These crystals, mold metal name pending, were as malleable and durable as real metal but they had their own unique properties.

From the limited number of tests, I could tell that the objects made entirely of this metal were alive.

No idea how they survived the melting and smelting process, but I could somehow feel them like any other mold.

I had grand expectations for these things, with their still hidden potentials and qualities.

In the center were the most magical of my molds.

From roots as white as snow, real crystals grew out from the ground, shining with all the colors of the rainbow.

These Magic Molds were great since they were constantly absorbing magic from the air, making those crystals that had a mixture of almost all elemental mana in them.

The only thing that bothered me was a glaring design flaw.

If I broke the crystals off, they would release all the men and become worthless.

Still, I was working on a way to grow these crystals in my devices. The idea of perpetually charged machinery was too tempting.

And lastly, on my left were the mold species, I couldn’t understand.

It was black my usual ones, but from it, black branch-like things grew out, that were perpetually covered in a dark purple aura.

No idea what these things did, but I could tell with just a glance that touching them was a bad idea. When I receive new test subjects, I will test them out.

“How are things going?”

One of the servants came to me, a godless amalgamation of multiple arms connected to a deformed head. The thing didn’t talk, instead, it gave me a piece of paper that had a terribly written text on it, telling me what I needed.

“Good. Keep up the work. I want the passage ready as soon as possible.”

Yes, I am making an escape tunnel. The last time it was especially handy, and I am not stupid enough to stay here without making one.

Plus, an escape tunnel can be used to bring stuff in, for example… more test subjects.

This time I was thinking about using animals and not targeting humans.

When I did that, I was in the middle of a monster territory where humans were treated worse than slaves.

Now, I have no idea where I was. I could be in the middle of an overzealous human habitat, and it wouldn’t be good for me to bet the attention of the people living here.

So, no. Till I am hundred percent sure that there is no danger, I am putting myself on a no-human experiment diet.

“Hopefully, this one is like the other diets I tried and didn’t make me thinner. I am already a skeleton, I don't want to disappear just yet.”

As I was thinking through my plans, I felt something.

It was hard to describe it.

It was a presence, which was gently pulling me as a whisper could be heard in my head.

‘The meeting starts.’

In a blink of an eye, I found myself back in that black space, with those creeps.

The clay statue which was Mr. History sat on his chair and gently tapped the table.

“My brothers, we have a problem. Some of the heroes escaped, using the powers of an apostle.”

There was a heavy silence between us, as I was completely clueless about what was happening.

I raised my hand and spoke aloud.

“Sorry, I am a new guy. What heroes? We had heroes imprisoned?”

Mister History cleared his throat before he spoke.

“Yes, we had heroes. The incompetent emperor of humanity is constantly summoning them to fill up the numbers of his army. We decided to use his foolishness to our advantage to locate future apostles of the enemy camp. Before the cards could reach them, we would steal and lock them off and once the time is right, we would save and… indoctrinate them amongst us.”

“You want to brainwash them.”

“Considering that they are tortured all day, being in our care is so much better than staying with the fat emperor.”

… Since I had no way to compare, I stayed silent, but I made a mental note to check on these heroes soon as possible.

If these people are truly from different worlds, the knowledge they have could help me. And if they are from my world… No matter where they will be in the future, I should save them at least. Call it a slither of humanity, but I like to think that I have a heart. I mean a human heart and not that sack from which I come out each time I evolve. Speaking of sacks, I should make another BB. it wou-

“What are we going to do now?”

Lady War at my side grinned, probably imagining hunting the heroes down.

Mr. H Stayed silent to think before he spoke again.

“Finding these heroes is important and disposing of that apostle is now our top priority. The closest amongst us to the capital are… Wind and Hatred, but it will take a week for you to get there. I could send some assassins, but we have no idea how these outer world humans operate.”

“I can help with that.”

I stood up from my seat, as I fixed my tie.

“During my stay in the monster king’s castle, I spent days in its library, gathering knowledge. In one of the books, there was a detailed explanation of how to find heroes easily. If you allow me, I can train a group to locate and eliminate these people.”

If I play my cards right, I can meet these people before these psychos and help them. I read an UNHEALTHY amount of mangas when I was young, so I hope that I understand how reincarnated brains work.

If I am wrong then, at least I bought some time for the families themselves to hide their traces better.

I hope this won’t backfire on me. I have a human mind and I also reincarnated so I…Oh shit! The cockroach! I completely forgot about him! Is he even alive?4 Did I kill him?! Fuck, I need to ask the kayeri to check if he is still in his cage. How long can these insects survive without food?

Mister History smiled again, before nodding.

“Alright. I will allow a small squad of assassins to learn under you.”

“…Cane I-“

“Yes, you can use your powers on them. Just keep them sentient and undetectable. From what I saw, the armors you used are too flashy for assassinations.”

“I can work with that. Just going to need more animal carcasses, weapons, mana cores… and about a dozen bags filled with potatoes.”

*****

??? POV:

In a village, a couple of kilometers away from the Holy Capital, was an inn. The atmosphere in the establishment was lively with musicians playing their instruments as girls were dancing in revealing clothes.

The majority of the people here were mercenaries who came to look for jobs or soldiers who just came back from some sort of mission.

Amongst these people, sitting in a corner under the stairs that head upstairs, was a group of high school kids.

They wore unusual clothes that were torn and dirtied by dirt and blood, each one had a dark bag under their eyes, and each time someone passed by their tables, they tensed up.

Once the girls finished their dance, a bard came up to the stage with a harp in his hands.

“Hello everyone! Are the drinks good tonight?”

The crowd cheered as they heard this.

“As you may all know, The Black Thong kingdom fell!”

This caused another round of cheers from the crowd, mostly from the soldiers who were mostly raised by priests and parents who were influenced by said priests, engraving the teachings of hatred towards any other race than human.

“Good riddance!”

“They deserved it!”

“Death to those monsters!”

After the crowd calmed down a little the bard continued speaking.

“ This is a ballad written in accounts of what happened there. I title it ‘The Ballad of The Green Handed.’ Here it goes.”

The bard took a deep breath and started to play.

“

Once upon a time,

There was a kingdom of monsters,

It was a place where the bells don’t chime,

ruled by the king without honor,

They treated humans like cattle.

They cut them, sell them, ate them

Their cries turning into mad rabbles

Their lives not worth even a gem.

Then he came to his castle.

A healer who was came as aid

Blinded by the golden dazzle

He kneeled before the king afraid

Come ye, people in need.

Hear the story of the green handed.

Sit around and hear his deed

Hear the pain he granted.

The healer tried to help his people,

He treated all wounded and saved the dying,

He brought back the feeble.

Keeping the windows from crying.

The king in his foolishness,

Decided to kill the healer,

Disposing of the body in brutishness,

As his soul burning with hatred,

As the king was to strike,

His youngest had scheme,

So bleak and-

“

“Shut up!”

“You suck!”

“Bring back the girls!”

Tomatoes and other vegetables flew at the bard who was forced to retreat to a corner of the room, just where the youth have gathered.

“Those beasts! They cannot understand talent even when it bits them in the leg!”

One of the youths sitting at the table turned to him and spoke in a faint voice.

“ H-How did that story end?”

“Hmmm?”

The bard turned to the one who asked.

It was a young girl, in a ragged school uniform that you would see in England. Her eyes were devoid of life and a scar ran through under her left cheek that will definitely leave a scar. In her bird nest-like blond hair, branches were entertained with different colored flowers that somehow formed a crown-looking thing.

“How does my ballad end? Well, there is no point in singing a song at its end so I will just tell you. The healer became a demon in his pain and destroyed the kingdom. Supposedly the king is still alive, trying to rebuild it amongst the white flowers the healer left behind.”

The bard picked up a half-rotten tomato from the ground and placed it on the table.

“But it's just a story. The monster’s kingdom was indeed destroyed, but the tail of the healer is just something I heard from passing by demi-human slave. Nothing but a story.”

The bard walked away, dejected by the crowd who were now cheering the newly arrived dancers.

The young girl put her index finger on the tomato and murmured.

Immediately, the potato became red and ripe as if it were just harvested.

“The healer. What sort of person is he?”

*****

In the ruins of a fallen kingdom, filled with white flowers, a horde of deformed monsters ran through the deserted streets looking for food.

Through the mold they could tell that something that wasn’t them was slowly moving towards them, a meal offered on a silver platter.

The monster turned around a corner ready to jump on their prey when something happened.

While in midair, their bodies got cut into little pieces of meat which were burned to ash, leaving nothing behind.

The one who just did that was a woman who wore a half-broken black armor, her white skin stained by green bruises from which small white flowers grew out.

On her side, hanging on a belt buckle was a thick book that was shining slightly.

The woman threw her rusted black great sword on her shoulder and looked up into the night sky.

“Phil Smith. I will fucking kill you. That’s a royal decree.”

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[

Name: Darwin Tim Right 'Plague Father'

Race: [ True Kayeri (Mechanically Augmented)] LV: 1/10 000 (1/10 000)

Main Class: [Dark Apostle of Putrefaction]

Sub Class: [Life Father]

MP: 6000/6000

Blessings: [Blessing of Nergal] [Blessing of Airmed]

Active Skills: [Basic Steady Hand] [[Hive control] [Hive Absorption] [Hive Repulsion] [Mold Field] [Basic Spirit Voice] [Aether Vision] [Steam Engineering] [Dagger Arts][Presence Concealment] [Lock Picking] [Mold Manipulation]  [Fly manipulation] [Plant Manipulation] [ Decomposing touch] [Plague Berserker]  [Inorganic conversion] [Plague Mist]

Passive Skills: [Body Knowledge] [ Plant Knowledge] [Medicine Knowledge] [Stamina Enhancement] [ Movement Enhancement] [ Reflex Enhancement.] [Basic Sponge Mind] [Perfect Stomach] [Hive Mind] [Music Instrument Knowledge[Healing Hands][Medical Senses] [Medical Mind] [Surgical Precision] [Mechanical Skeleton] [Toxic Air] [ High Regeneration] [Organic Clockwork] Demon’s Presence]

Affinities: [Basic Farming Affinity] [Basic War Affinity] [Basic Pestilence Affinity][ Basic Fire Affinity.] [Basic Life Affinity] [Basic Death Affinity]

Titles: [The One Who Saw a Thousand Worlds] [Knowledge Driven] [Chosen by Flies] [Medicine Pioneer] [Hive Master] [Giver of Life] [The 13th Dark Apostle]

]