29. Questionable Choices

Jake weaves through attacking Deepdwellers and confronts four Fungalmancers, including a towering, rapidly regenerating mutant, a spore-spewer, a vine controller hiding deep underground, and a life-infuser empowering the swarm. Initial head strikes fail to hinder the hulking mutant’s life-fueled regeneration.

Switching targets, Jake uses One Step Mile to reach the spore-spewer, shrugs off invasive spores by toxifying his blood, and kills it with a dark- and arcane-empowered thrust. He then coats his blades in potent common-rarity Necrotic Poison and, with Touch of the Malefic Viper, overwhelms the hulking mutant’s life energy, leaving corrosive handprints that finish it.

While considering how to reach the subterranean vine controller, Jake observes the life-infuser saturating the battlefield. The life-infuser triggers a surge that supercharges fungal growth on surrounding Deepdwellers and Jake’s cloak. Jake burns off the growth and braces with scales and an arcane barrier.

The empowered swarm detonates in a vast green explosion spanning kilometers; Jake endures at the epicenter. The narrative then shifts to Sanctdomo, where Jacob reviews D-grade prospects for the Treasure Hunt, notes a blacksmith’s evolution after adopting a learner’s mindset, and reflects on his Augur role—having sent Neil toward Haven, trusting Jake beyond divination, extending comrades’ Holyland lifespans in the tutorial, and preserving William for his grand fate.