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You point towards the giant glowing ghostly mushroom and say, "I wanted to investigate the great mushroom tree first. I know little enough of dungeoneering, but a mushroom would not grow to such a size lest it stood at a convergence of mana. If that is not where the floor boss lays in wait, then I am quite certain that we'll find something there that's of use."
Astra's pale green eyes follow your finger and blink in surprise when they come to rest upon the giant mushroom.
With a sniff of the air, she nods her head. "Yeah, I can <span class="mu-i">smell</span> the magic pouring off that thing from here. Definitely worth checking out."
She follows you through the mycelium forest. The two of you walk and talk about the circumstances of your arrival in the dungeon. You tell her of the Boar Empire's sudden and unprovoked invasion, how the dastardly fiends took your people hostage, and how the way out of the labyrinth has been barred by through the invocation of a <span class="mu-i">Full Completion Run</span>. High risk and high reward for the Boar Empire, as it guarantees you cannot escape... but the rewards for slaying monsters have greatly increased.
A lesser incubus would only rarely drop a magic crystal of such high quality as to provide a full resistance bonus against not one, but two types of damage. You could already harden your skin through the flow of prana, but wearing that ring upon your ear eases the burden of maintaining that defense by a hundred fold.
Astra admits to being a novice adventurer. An elf who left the Elvenglens the moment she reached adulthood and - enamored by tales of adventurers - joined a women's only guild. Her judgment of people appears to be lacking, as those women used her as bait to escape from the goblin horde the moment they got in over their heads.
"That was a while ago," she says. "What year is it, again?"
"5326," you tell her.
"Wow, it's been over three hundred years since I got here," she blinks. "Well, I suppose that's only a little while. My old man's walkabout lasted a thousand years or so, before he came back and settle down. Apparently I have a few important bloodlines that descend from my half-siblings..."
"Fascinating," you tell her. "I suppose when you live that long, and spend so much time spreading you wild oat... I'd wonder if I'm related to you, but father says my mother never carried me."
"<span class="mu-i">Really</span>?" Astra asks, suddenly quite fascinated.
"Aye," you nod. "Mother is mother, but unlike my younger siblings, I came from a tube beneath Mount Lilyrose."
Before you can elaborate, you find yourself approaching the clearing where the great glowing mushroom tree grows. Resting beneath it, there is a chimera beast with mushrooms growing from its back...
>Try to sneak around it to approach the mushroom tree.
>Use the elf as bait to distract it.
>Wrestle it into submission and put it into a strangle hold.
>Attempt to end it rightly in its sleep.
>Maybe it's friendly! Approach with a strong handshake and a smile.
