Sporemageddon

I nodded. It was even more important to keep an eye up because my spores didn't tend to climb much. They weren't a gas, they were a particulate, and while after the initial burst they might rise up, they'd usually fall soon after.

We pushed into the woods, and while I glanced at the mushrooms at the base of the trees--at least two varieties--I didn't pause to pick any up, even if I was tempted to do just that.

That was probably for the best since, with a squeal, a goblin jumped down from the branches above, a long wooden club held in both hands.

I gasped and stumbled back, falling out of its range even as it came swinging down. My back foot caught on a root and I tripped. Still, I had mushrooms in my hands, so as the goblin landed before me and launched itself my way I squeezed my hands and flung them forwards, tossing a thick plume of spores right in the goblin's path.

Its eyes widened and it ducked to the side, but it was too late; its next breath came in as a choked-off cough. That didn't stop it right away though. Sure, its breathing was cut off, but it could still move onwards on its current momentum.

Half blind, it swung its club at me and missed, so I punished it with a hard blast of [Blight] that coated its entire front.

My mana sizzled against its dirty skin and the goblin stumbled. It still wasn't out of the fight though.

I fumbled for my knife, heart beating so fast it was thunder in my ears. I couldn't get my knife out of its sheath!

Then the goblin's head was smashed aside and Tyro came to stand before me. "Next time, scream or something. Can't keep all of our attention diverted behind," he said as he gave me a hand. I hadn't even noticed that I'd fallen. No wonder I couldn't get my knife out. "Th-thanks," I said as I took his hand.

"No problem," he replied, voice muffled by his mask.

I stood up, brushed down my overalls from all the dusts collecting on them, then shrugged to loosen my shoulders. This time I'd be moving with my knife out already and an explosive mushroom in my free hand. No more fumbling.

Maybe I could get a proper weapon too? A sword? No, those took years of practice to learn. A spear or something would make sense, and it would make up for my pitiful reach, but then I couldn't carry that in the city the way I could get away with a knife. Maybe I just needed to practise a little. So far all I'd done for that was swing my knife around in my farm while resisting the urge to make 'whooshing' noises like the child that I wasn't.

"Focus," I muttered to myself as I got my head back into the game. This wasn't the time for pointless distractions.

We continued forwards, and I idly noted that Phillipe and Tyro had wiped out a number of goblins already while I was distracted. Had that been why they didn't protect me? I imagined seeing someone rushing at me had narrowed my attention by enough that I hadn't seen the boys at work at all.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

With another push came more goblins coming out of everywhere. Fortunately, it seemed as if my spores had successfully crossed a good portion of the room already and that was hitting the goblins hard. As we arrived near what I suspected was the middle of the forest, I noticed rope ladders leading upwards into the tree canopy where little homes were perched at the junction of larger tree branches. Official source ıs 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝕟𝕖𝕥

Tree homes. Were goblins arboreal naturally, or was this just them being clever enough to make use of their environment?

Actually, no, that was a stupid question. They were obviously tool-users, and the slimes earlier had proven that they could adapt. Even their use as slave chattel for industrial work was proof enough that they were smart.

We still killed them by the dozen. My spores clogged their lungs up, the poisons sweeping into their brains and sending them tumbling out of their tree homes onto the hard ground below where Phillipe and Tyro made quick work of any that could still put up a fight.

It wa an unfair battle, which was the only kind of battle I ever wanted to participate in. Anything else would mean that I wasn't as prepared as I could be and not as lethal as I should.

"Only some stragglers left," Phillipe said. "But don't let your guard down any, that would just invite trouble."

"Got it," I said.

"Exit's there," Tyro said while pointing off to the side. There was a doorway, barely visible through the brush and bushes.

"Might as well leave now. Let the room settle. It'll be a while before we have to re-cross it the other way," Phillipe said.

"Uh, if we clear it, then I'll be able to grab some samples," I said, with a gesture to the mushrooms at the base of the trees.

Phillipe looked at me, then the mushrooms. "Can you pick those close to the door?"

I weighed the possibility that somewhere in this room there would be a single, rarer mushroom than the two species I'd been seeing so far. "I can do that," I agreed. If we had time on the way back, maybe I'd do a more comprehensive sweep of the room. Until then, there wasn't much of a point to do that.

"Good. Tyro, let's clear the exit."

Phillipe and Tyro got to work doing just that, trampling through the bushes around the exit doorway, and stomping on any goblins that had the temerity to stand up to their scouring.

I, in the meantime, got to work.

I'd only seen two kinds of mushrooms so far, and I'd like to think that I was pretty good at spotting them.

The first I really took a look at was a rather plain white-capped mushroom; the only interesting thing about it was the blue shading of its gills.

[Blue Gilled Sleeper] - Uncommon

A mushroom frequently found in arboreal regions next to specific sorts of thorned bushes. These mushrooms, when shaken, release a spore that can make a person feel tired and lethargic. Eating the flesh of the mushroom acts as a potent muscle relaxant. It is entirely edible.

Huh, that had some potential. Both as a non-lethal version of some of my current arsenal, and as potential for interesting combinations. I took a couple of samples, including some spore samples. They fell off easily, and when I inspected one I noticed that it had a very dandelion-seed-like body. To better disperse in the air?

Oh, that had lots of potential.

The other mushroom was a little harder to spot. A long, tubular mushroom that I noticed had maybe been harvested already. There were lots of nubs around, as if someone had gone and broken the stem of dozens of others. The mushroom itself was thin and tall, with a small flare at the base and very little room for gills beneath.

[Tubershroom] - Rare

A mushroom that is both nutritious and healthy when eaten raw. The Tubershroom has a weak but long-lasting healing effect that assists in the repair of tissues and the growth of those eating it regularly.

"Nice," I said.

"Found something good?" Tyro asked.

"Maybe," I said as I bagged a few samples. It seemed like this was a mushroom that grew easily and quickly too, which only made it all the better.

This one alone might have made the entire trip worth it, regardless of anything else.

***