The Young Monk's Request is a deceptively simple quest in Crimson Desert that asks you to grab a single mushroom. The catch is that the mushroom sits inside a restricted zone you cannot enter without first completing an entirely separate, unmarked prerequisite. If you've been repeatedly knocked unconscious and dragged away from Pororin Forest, you're not doing anything wrong — you just need to unlock access first.
Quick answer: Complete the "Unreachable Village" quest under the Pororin Forest Guardians faction tab to gain access to Pororin Forest, then find the Pororin cave northeast of the village and shoot the red mushrooms with your bow to safely reach the Mystical Pine Mushroom inside.
Starting the Young Monk's Request
Head to the Coalvale Workshop, located east of Unicorn Cliff and southeast of Powell. On your first visit to the camp, a cutscene triggers with a young boy — the monk — who tells you about the Mystical Pine Mushroom. Speaking with him completes the initial dialogue step and officially starts the questline. Your objective is to obtain one Mystical Pine Mushroom, which is found in the Pororin Forest to the south.
Unlock Pororin Forest — The "Unreachable Village" Prerequisite
Walking toward Pororin Forest without the proper clearance results in the forest's residents putting you to sleep with some kind of smoke and dragging you back outside the village border. This will happen every single time you approach, and there is no way to brute-force your way through it. You need to complete a prerequisite quest called "The Unreachable Village" before the forest opens up.
Step 1: Attempt to enter Pororin village three separate times. Each attempt will result in you being knocked out and removed. After the third time, a new quest becomes available.
Step 2: After your third ejection, look for a girl standing near a tree on the outskirts of the village. Speak with her to begin "The Unreachable Village" quest, which appears in your journal under the Pororin Forest Guardians faction tab within the "Trembling Woods" section.
Step 3: The quest requires you to retrieve a relic from a large creature that roams the area. Return the relic to complete the quest. Note that this creature can sometimes fail to spawn, which is a known bug — if it doesn't appear, try leaving the area and returning or reloading.
Step 4: Once the relic is returned, you receive authorized access to Pororin. The residents will no longer knock you out when you approach.
Finding the Pororin Cave and the Mystical Pine Mushroom
With Pororin access unlocked, travel to the quest marker for the Young Monk's Request. The nearest fast travel point is the Abyss Nexus in the area. Head northeast of the Pororin village itself and look for a small river running along the base of a hill.
Step 1: Follow the river toward the cliff face. At the water's edge, you'll find the entrance to a small cave — this is the Pororin cave where the Mystical Pine Mushroom grows. If you end up on the wrong side of the hill from the quest marker, circle around to find the river and cave entrance on the opposite face.
Step 2: Do not walk straight into the cave. Red mushrooms line the interior and will put you to sleep if you get too close. Instead, pull out your bow before entering. Shoot the red mushrooms from a safe distance to destroy them. Each one takes roughly four regular arrow hits, though a fully charged shot can break them faster.
Step 3: Clear the red mushrooms progressively as you move deeper into the cave. Wait for any lingering red spore clouds to dissipate before advancing. An alternative approach is to spam the wake-up button and dodge-roll forward through the sleep effect, but using the bow is far more reliable.
Step 4: Once the cave interior is safe, look to the left side near the back. The Mystical Pine Mushroom sits on the cave floor alongside a Poison Soaked Oakwood Mushroom. Pick up the Mystical Pine Mushroom to complete the quest objective. Your quest log will update immediately to confirm completion.
Quick Reference — Young Monk's Request Steps
| Phase | Action | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Start quest | Speak with the young monk at camp | Coalvale Workshop (east of Unicorn Cliff) |
| Unlock Pororin | Get knocked out 3 times, then complete "The Unreachable Village" | Pororin village outskirts |
| Enter cave | Follow the river northeast of the village to the cave entrance | Base of hill near quest marker |
| Clear red mushrooms | Shoot them with bow (~4 regular arrows each) | Inside Pororin cave |
| Collect mushroom | Pick up the Mystical Pine Mushroom from the cave floor | Left side, rear of cave |
Troubleshooting Common Issues
The most frequent problem players run into is simply not knowing the Unreachable Village quest exists. If you've been to Pororin and keep getting put to sleep, make sure you've been ejected at least three times — the prerequisite quest won't appear until after that third attempt. If the large creature needed for the relic retrieval doesn't spawn, leave the zone entirely and come back. The spawn can be inconsistent.
If you've already completed the Unreachable Village quest but still can't find the mushroom, double-check that you're on the correct side of the hill. The cave entrance sits right along the riverbank at the cliff face, and it's easy to end up on the opposite slope if you fast-travel to the wrong spot. Once you've picked up the Mystical Pine Mushroom, the quest completes automatically with no additional turn-in required.