This dungeon is overgrown with mushrooms.

This story is basically Kumo Desu Ga?, but with a different kind of twist. Instead of the protagonist gaining new personalities like split minds, this one leans heavily into a hive-mind concept. It’s all about coordination, strategy, and evolving as a collective. The MC isn’t just powering up solo, it’s like watching a commander gradually build a small army, with every loss and every battle becoming a lesson. The world-building is seriously solid too, full of mysteries that are slowly uncovered through dungeon crawling, encounters with other species, and little bits of lore scattered across the story. The pacing is definitely slow early on, but there’s a good reason for it. The author uses the first arcs to really set up the world and lay the groundwork for the bigger story. The MC is still in the growth phase, stuck in a dungeon, slowly figuring out how everything works. He’s constantly experimenting with skills, crafting tactics, and trying out different ways to manage and evolve his army of Puffs. It’s methodical and full of trial and error. But it’s never boring because you can actually feel the progress. The MC isn't grinding just for the sake of it, he's learning, adapting, and making use of every resource around him. Something I appreciated is that even when the author introduces new characters, they don’t just get thrown away after a few chapters. Everyone gets reused and reintroduced in a meaningful way. At first, you might think some characters have no connection to the MC, but over time, the story starts stitching all of them together. It becomes clear that no one’s here just to fill space, every side story ties back into the bigger picture. The interconnectedness makes the world feel alive, like there’s more happening than just what the MC sees. Now, the MC himself is definitely morally gray. He’s not a hero, not even close. But he’s not some random killer either. He retaliates when needed, and he’s not afraid to be brutal if it means protecting himself or expanding his army. That said, he doesn’t go around killing people just because he can. He understands that sometimes it’s smarter to let things slide, because more corpses usually mean more problems. But when someone really pushes him, he’s not the type to give mercy. He’ll make an example out of them, not out of cruelty, but because he knows when fear is a better tool than force. What really makes this stand out is how the battles aren’t just “MC slaps enemy with overpower skill.” It’s full-on strategy. It honestly starts feeling like military fiction. The MC sends out wave after wave of Puff soldiers, each generation improving upon the last. And the more that die, the stronger the next batch becomes. Every group of soldiers learns from the last, coming back with new formations, new styles, and better synergy. The most effective method they develop? Self-destruction. It’s grim, but it works. Cost-effective, efficient, and able to end most threats on the spot. And while the MC does keep building power, it’s not all war. He doesn’t just hate everything that moves. There are moments where he forms relationships, trades with other species, and barters for supplies or knowledge. He doesn’t go out of his way to dominate or destroy everyone. If they’re not a threat, he’s more than willing to keep things civil. That balance between hostility and practicality makes him feel way more grounded than most characters in this genre. Just a quick reminder for anyone planning to read: Chapters 1 to 150 are heavy on the world-building, dungeon exploration, and the MC figuring things out. But after that, the action ramps up fast. And again, don’t ignore the characters you think are random or useless at first, they all matter later. Every character, even the ones that show up for a brief moment, ends up connected to something else. It’s all part of the bigger structure the author is slowly building, and honestly? It’s pretty impressive. Definitely a 10/10 for me