Chapter Four: The Power of the Enlarging Mushroom

Unlike Wang Ling, Mario showed no sign of concern. Cheerful ease was the prevailing theme of this world, after all. As the world’s protagonist and a humble plumber, Mario never felt any negative psychological pressure, no matter the circumstances.

The two followed the path toward Bowser’s Castle. Soon, a patrolling monster noticed the uninvited guests. A Goomba started shuffling toward them.

This Goomba’s whole body was brown, its torso shaped like a mushroom, with fierce, gleaming eyes and two thick, sword-like eyebrows. Its large feet supported its body, and it had no arms or legs. Most striking was its enormous mouth, taking up nearly a fifth of its body—when opened, it could easily fit a human head inside. Rows of teeth, each as large as a person’s palm, filled its maw; though not fanged, their sheer size promised a formidable bite.

This was the weakest monster from Super Mario Bros. 1: the Goomba. Of course, its weakness lay in its slow speed, only a little faster than a walking human—easy to evade unless surrounded by several at once.

Yet Mario chose to fight. He sprinted forward and, as he neared the Goomba, leapt high into the air—nearly ten meters up, to Wang Ling’s astonishment. That was six times his own height!

Mario reached the peak of his jump, then came down squarely on the Goomba’s head. With a miserable cry, the creature’s body twisted and collapsed, flattening into a thin patty under Mario’s feet.

Wang Ling was dumbfounded. To crush a Goomba, which was nearly one and a half meters tall, completely flat in one stomp—what terrifying power! Who would have thought this simple, honest-looking protagonist from a classic game would possess such strength?

After dispatching the Goomba, Mario called out, “Stay close behind me! Let’s go together!”

He had his “dash” skill (in the game, holding the B button), so even running, Wang Ling struggled to keep up—Mario’s figure grew distant ahead. When Mario reached the first floating brick, he noticed a question mark indicating a hidden item and stopped without hesitation. He jumped straight up, striking the floating brick with his head.

The brick floated over five meters above the ground—no ordinary Earthling like Wang Ling could reach such a height. But Mario, with his superhuman leap, struck the brick squarely. He used considerable force; the brick gave a dull thud and bounced upward.

With a heavy “thunk,” mingled with a clear “ding,” a copper coin popped out. Quick as lightning, Mario snatched the coin and slipped it into his pocket before landing lightly on his feet.

This brief delay allowed Wang Ling, breathless, to catch up. Seeing the short, stocky plumber beaming with delight, he asked, “Was that a Mushroom Kingdom coin?”

Mario nodded, his voice cheerful. “Bowser hid the treasures he stole from the Mushroom Kingdom—including coins and special items—inside these bricks. Afraid he might forget their locations, he even marked them. We can reclaim these treasures as we rescue the princess!”

As he spoke, three more Goombas approached. Mario was about to charge in when Wang Ling quickly said, “Leave one for me. The road ahead is dangerous—I want to test my strength. Maybe I can help you if we run into a swarm of monsters.”

Mario, hearing this request, obligingly stomped only two of them, then hopped back, leaving the last for Wang Ling. Facing the giant, mushroom-shaped creature, Wang Ling gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on the large kitchen knife in his hand, and charged.

This was his first direct confrontation with a monster, and the pressure was intense. He lacked Mario’s jumping ability and head-stomping skill; his only asset was the knife.

As he neared the Goomba, Wang Ling gripped the knife with both hands and swung it hard. The blade, nearly half a meter long and gleaming, looked formidable enough even if its attack rating was only 1-1. More important than its stats, though, was its keen edge.

The knife cut through the Goomba’s flesh with little resistance, opening a long gash. Pale brown fluid—neither blood nor proper mucus—spurted from the wound. Caught off guard, Wang Ling felt the liquid sting his face like fire. A prompt from the Dream Mark appeared:

“You have suffered a counterattack from Goomba’s venom. You lose 5 health points and are poisoned. Based on the toxin level and your resistance, you will remain poisoned for 3 seconds, losing 1 health per second.”

A bit of venom splashed into his eyes, stinging so fiercely he could barely see. He felt something bite his arm and instinctively jerked back, hearing the fabric of his sleeve tear.

Three seconds passed quickly. Wang Ling retreated by feel, then punched his own nose, forcing tears to flush out the venom from his eyes. He heard a miserable howl—Mario must have stomped the Goomba—so he no longer panicked, closing his eyes and waiting for the poison’s effect to fade.

“Be careful,” Mario cautioned, “Goombas will spray venom when cut open.”

Wang Ling nodded. He saw his health had dropped from 45 to 37, the bar above his head noticeably shorter. His school uniform’s left sleeve was also torn, likely by the Goomba’s teeth.

Despite the setback, he felt calmer. The Goomba’s defenses were weak, his knife cut easily enough, and the creature was slow and clumsy. So long as he avoided the venom, killing it was simple.

Seeing Wang Ling remain composed even after suffering, Mario’s eyes shone with approval. He resumed his dash, heading forward.

Wang Ling hurried after him. There was something he urgently wanted to confirm for his plan—whether the second question-mark brick contained a Super Mushroom.

Mario stomped five more Goombas on the way to the second floating brick. In fact, “brick” was misleading—this was a cluster of six bricks: five lower ones (three plain, two with question marks between them) and a sixth question-mark brick set even higher.

Even Mario’s jump couldn’t reach the uppermost brick directly, but he could use the lower ones as stepping stones.

Wang Ling’s heart pounded as he watched Mario leap and strike the brick with his head. With a “thunk,” a large red-spotted Super Mushroom popped out.

The mushroom appeared to have a will of its own and immediately slid forward, as if trying to escape. Mario dashed after it, grabbed it, and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and swallowing with a sound reminiscent of Popeye eating spinach.

The miracle was immediate. Mario, barely one and a half meters tall, suddenly swelled to a size greater than Yao Ming and broader than Shaquille O’Neal—a true colossus.

Wang Ling stared in shock. He had been a head taller than Mario, but now he barely reached Mario’s waist. A single mushroom had doubled his height and size. Even knowing the effect from the game, witnessing it firsthand was astonishing.

“This is one of the Mushroom Kingdom’s most extraordinary treasures—the Super Mushroom! I feel power surging through me!” Mario laughed heartily. He now smashed normal floating bricks with his head, sending fragments flying. Even bricks he could once only nudge now shattered completely—proof that the mushroom granted not only size but great strength.

“If only I could get a mushroom like that…” Wang Ling clenched his jaw, formulating plans. Judging by the treasures found in the bricks, he could confirm that, aside from the scope and number of monsters, this world was extremely faithful to the original game. Having played it, he knew the layout of all eight castles, even without a map.

Grown to giant size, Mario hit the remaining three question-mark bricks, collecting three more mushroom coins, then stomped over a dozen Goombas before reaching the first green pipe.

It’s worth mentioning that Wang Ling also killed a Goomba; careful to avoid its venom, he took no damage. However, he received no reward for killing monsters—so grinding for points was apparently not an option.

With his limited leaping ability, Wang Ling couldn’t clear the five-meter-high green pipe. But unlike the game, the path wasn’t linear—they could simply walk around it.

They pressed onward and soon encountered a Koopa Troopa. Mario jumped and stomped on the turtle, whose hard green shell absorbed the blow. The Koopa immediately retracted its head, limbs, and tail, leaving only the shell on the ground.

Mario kicked the shell forward, and it slid in a straight line, knocking down several Goombas in its path and rendering them helpless.