23. [Mushroom - Unknown]

Barely registering the taste of the noodles, Xu Lei kept shoving them into his mouth to finish the meal as soon as possible. His eyes constantly wandered towards the corner of his now dimly-lit room to gaze at the silver, slick capsule. The mysterious quest awaited him.

'I'm gonna finish it tonight. I can't wait...' thoughts of the potential rewards blossomed in his mind like flowers in spring. His skin began to itch with excitement, but despite the annoying feeling, he finished his food, cleaned the dishes, and crawled inside the gaming machine.

He meticulously untangled the cords before donning the helmet and closing the lid. As he enveloped himself with a veil of shadows, it quickly disappeared, torn apart by the colorful light of the LEDs accompanied by the sound of the computer. "Start the game," he ordered after pressing the button on the side of the helmet. The capsule went dark, the humming of the machine vanished, and then a voice spoke in his ear: "Welcome to 'The Elysia,' Xu Lei. Your adventure begins now."

A bright light flooded his vision, and a rush of adrenaline surged through him as he was transported to another world. The transition was smooth, and he still felt the pain in his eyes, but he didn't have to close them since it was just a residual feeling from the transition.

The Zhuge, so early in the morning, was a much lovelier place than he remembered from the previous session. Villagers walked around, often accompanied by some animals like dogs and cats, busy with their chores.

Some of them tended to the livestock, while others prepared to go to the woods or visit the rice fields. Xu Lei spent a bit of time observing them while walking towards the wall of dense bamboo trees beyond the village.

Above this wall, snowy mountains stuck out like another layer of fortification protecting incredible treasures or secrets. The mystery of his quest and this sight added fuel to his already potent feeling of excitement. It supplied additional power to his footsteps, making him move faster.

In no time, he reached the rice fields and crossed a few bridges over the canals before quickly reaching the woods. Then complications started.

Struggling to make his way through the dense vegetation, he found himself forced to pull out his sword and start cutting. With each swing, he carved his way through the thick bushes and navigated among the towering bamboo, which made it slightly easier to pass.

Soon he learned that there were occasional points of density that gave way to slight clearings, where he could only walk with great difficulty. Maneuvering between them, he used the mountain peaks to guide himself, often changing direction to walk around those annoying clusters of bushes.

Despite his efforts, it was still a tough terrain to traverse, and he couldn't help but feel irritated as he wasted precious time. Eventually, he managed to pass through the first line of forest defenses and found himself in a much nicer area to travel through. He immediately spotted animal tracks.

'I should avoid them', went through his head, as the memories from the past conversation about the Great Tusker resurfaced. They made him go on high alert. Use all of his senses to detect anything around him.

The rustling of leaves mixed with the lovely hum of wind was the only thing he could hear, and it eased his anxiety somewhat.

Occasionally, he found himself using the animal paths to his advantage but mostly tried his best to avoid them. However, he suddenly stepped on something, and his foot slid out from under him, causing him to fall painfully on his ass. Although there was no damage notification, he felt a sharp pain up his back. Rolling to the side, he groaned, went on all fours, and glanced to the side to check what he had stepped on. It was a black, smeared mass.

"Poop," he muttered out loud, his face twisted in disgust. Surprisingly, he didn't smell any stench, but instead, a pleasant, familiar scent wafted around him. "Wet wood? No... roots? A hint of hazelnut?" he thought, narrowing his eyes in the process of trying to decipher the scent. The mystery of the smell intrigued him, and he crawled closer to the substance, even touching it.

"What is this?" he asked himself, and as if on cue, a notification window popped up, displaying: [Mushroom - Unknown], only to vanish almost immediately.

'Could it be?' Xu Lei thought to himself, eyes widening with realization. 'The mushroom that this Great Tusker likes so much? I should get out of here!'

He jumped back onto his feet, scanning his surroundings for any sign of danger. The thought of the potential value of the mushroom crossed his mind. "I bet it costs a lot... If I would put it in my inventory, it wouldn't smell. The rabbits don't," he muttered to himself.

His attention returned to the damaged mushroom on the ground. "Damn it," he cursed as he got closer, going down on all fours, to start digging around the black substance. The soil was hard, so he had to use his sword to loosen it up. After several minutes of work, he managed to dig out a massive, bulbous root-like something, comparable in size to the biggest watermelon he had ever seen. 'Is this it?', he asked himself, before shrugging his shoulders.

Xu Lei wasted no time and quickly shoved the mushroom into his inventory before jumping up and running away. 'I will get as much as I can out of this quest!' he thought, a smile spreading across his face.

After a few minutes of running, he was out of breath and slowed to a walk. Suddenly, a rustling noise behind him caught his attention. He spun around, hand on his sword, but relaxed when he saw a horned rabbit emerge from the bushes a safe distance away. Xu Lei took a few steps back, knowing it was best not to fight in the area where he had just dug up the valuable mushroom.

As he turned to leave, he caught sight of something unusual out of the corner of his eye. A blur of red amidst the sea of green caught his attention, and he turned to investigate. Through the bamboo trees, he saw a massive creature making its way toward him. It was at least nine feet tall with red, wire-like fur and an ashen-blue stripe running down its back. The creature's massive tusks stuck out from its toothy maw, and its bloodshot eyes were fixed on Xu Lei's small silhouette.

"Oh no," Xu Lei muttered under his breath as the boar let out a deafening squeal. The player took off in a sprint, trying to run in the correct direction.

At first, there was no sign of pursuit, only a loud grunt. But then the ground started to shake beneath his feet, and he knew he had to move even quicker.