The Young Monk’s Request looks straightforward on paper, but it hides a prerequisite that the game never actually tells you about. If you keep getting knocked out and dragged away every time you approach Pororin Forest, you are not doing anything wrong. You simply need to unlock access first, and this guide walks you through every step to get it done cleanly.
Best attempted after unlocking the Greymane Camp on Howling Hill in Chapter 3. You may encounter the Young Monk naturally while working through other quests like “Grimzle, the Ledge Manager.”
Crimson Desert Young Monk’s Request Overview
| Step | What to Do | Location |
| Start the quest | Speak with the Young Monk at the camp | Coalvale Workshop, east of Unicorn Cliff |
| Unlock Pororin access | Get knocked out 3 times, then complete “The Unreachable Village” | Pororin village outskirts |
| Find the cave | Follow the river northeast of the village, look for a wooden pole with hanging plants | Base of hill near quest marker |
| Clear red mushrooms | Shoot them with a bow (~4 regular arrows each) | Inside Pororin Cave |
| Collect the mushroom | Pick up the Mystical Pine Mushroom from the back left / deepest part of Pororin Cave | Back left / deepest part of Pororin Cave |
How to Start the Young Monk’s Request
Head to the Coalvale Workshop, located east of Unicorn Cliff. On your first visit, a cutscene triggers with the young Shai monk from Jijeong Temple, who tells you about the Mystical Pine Mushroom. Speaking with him completes the initial dialogue step and officially starts the questline.
This is a Demeniss Faction Quest, filed under Demeniss Commissions in your journal. Your objective is to obtain one Mystical Pine Mushroom, which grows inside a cave in Pororin Forest to the south.
Tip: Save your game manually before heading toward Pororin Forest. This gives you a clean checkpoint before the prerequisite sequence begins.
How to Unlock Pororin Forest: The Unreachable Village Prerequisite
This is the part that catches most players off guard. Walking toward Pororin Forest without proper clearance results in the forest residents firing sleep darts at you and dragging you back outside the village border every single time. There is no way to force your way through. Instead, you need to complete a separate quest called “The Unreachable Village” first.
Here is exactly how to unlock access:
Step 1: Attempt to enter Pororin village three separate times.
Each attempt results in you getting knocked out and removed from the area. This is intentional. The prerequisite quest reliably triggers after your third ejection, so do not give up after the first or second attempt.
Step 2: After the third ejection, look for a Shai girl named Arkin near a tree or tree stump on the village outskirts.
You may first see a general “Speak with the Shai” prompt or need to interact with nearby residents before Arkin becomes fully available. Speak with Arkin to begin “The Unreachable Village” quest. You will find it in your journal under the Pororin Forest Guardians faction tab, within the Trembling Woods section. Completing this quest also finishes a related quest called “Authorized Access” at the same time. After completion, the entire Pororin village becomes freely explorable and the residents treat you as friendly.
Step 3: Retrieve the Relic of Pororin from a large roaming Ent in Trembling Gorge.
The Ent is a walking tree creature that follows a roughly clockwise patrol route through the area. To retrieve the relic, which is the village chief’s hat, you need to climb the Ent’s body from its torso up to its head and grab it. If there is a high ledge or cliff nearby, you can also glide or jump down onto the Ent to start the climb from above. Return to Arkin once you have the relic.
A few things worth knowing about the Ent spawn:
- The Ent most reliably appears during daytime in-game, around 5:30 AM or later, though it can occasionally appear at other times
- If the creature does not appear, wait at the marker, use a bed or campfire to skip time forward to morning, fast travel away and return, or perform a full game restart if nothing else works
- You can cross-reference the time-passing guide for details on using the Wait option via bed or campfire to advance to daytime reliably
Step 4: Return the relic to Arkin to complete the quest.
Once you hand it back, you receive permanent authorized access to Pororin Forest. The residents will no longer knock you out when you approach.
Important: The Young Monk’s Request quest itself never mentions this prerequisite. If you are stuck at the forest entrance, check your journal’s faction quest tab for “The Unreachable Village” under Pororin Forest Guardians.
How to Find Pororin Cave and Get 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. Note that the quest marker can sometimes point toward the top of the hill rather than the cave entrance. Always follow the river at the base of the hill regardless of where the marker appears.
Step 1: Head northeast of Pororin village and follow the small river running along the base of a hill.
Look for a wooden pole with hanging plants at the cliff face. This is the visual landmark for the cave entrance. The cave sits at the base of the hill, not the top, so if you end up on the wrong slope just circle around following the river until the pole comes into view. Note that fast travelling to the nearest Abyss Nexus can sometimes drop you on the opposite slope, so use the river as your guide.
Step 2: Do not walk straight into the cave.
Red mushrooms line the interior and release sleep spore clouds if you get too close. The spores will not damage your health, however they will put you to sleep and interrupt your progress. Instead, equip your bow before entering and shoot the red mushrooms from a safe distance. Each one takes roughly four regular arrow hits to destroy, and a fully charged shot breaks them faster.
Step 3: Clear the red mushrooms progressively as you advance deeper into the cave.
Wait for any lingering spore clouds to fully dissipate before moving forward. An alternative approach is to spam the wake-up button (Alt on PC, or the interact/confirm button on controller) and dodge-roll through the sleep effect, however using the bow is far more reliable. Also note that if you have counter-attack skills mapped to dodge and attack together, these can sometimes interfere with the wake-up input, so keep that in mind. Clearing the red mushrooms may also progress a related objective called “Mushrooms Growing Among Poisons” in your journal.
Step 4: Once the cave interior is clear, move to the back left side of the cave.
The Mystical Pine Mushroom sits on the ground near the back left wall or deepest part of the cave. It is on the ground and does not glow as obviously as the red mushrooms, so it can blend in with the other floor mushrooms. Look carefully. You will also find Poison Soaked Oakwood Mushrooms and other varieties nearby. Pick up the Mystical Pine Mushroom and your quest log updates and completes automatically. There is no return visit to the Young Monk required. Note that you may find multiple Mystical Pine Mushrooms in the cave, however only one is required to complete the quest.
Rewards for Completing Young Monk’s Request
| Reward | Quantity |
| Mystical Pine Mushroom | x1 (quest item, auto-completes on pickup) |
| Pine Mushroom | x5 (usable for cooking and recipes) |
Troubleshooting Common Issues
The Ent creature does not spawn: This is the most frequently reported issue with this quest. The Ent most reliably appears during daytime in-game. Try waiting at the marker, using a bed or campfire to skip time forward to morning, fast travelling far away and returning, or doing a full game restart if nothing else works.
The Mystical Pine Mushroom does not appear in the cave: This can happen if you entered the cave before fully completing The Unreachable Village, or if you destroyed the red mushrooms too aggressively before the area properly loaded. Fast travel out of the cave, wait a moment, then return. The mushroom is on the ground and can sometimes be pushed around by movement or skills, so check the exact back-left corner carefully. If the mushroom still does not appear, reload a manual save from before you entered.
Still getting knocked out after completing The Unreachable Village: Make sure you fully completed the quest and received the confirmation dialogue. If the residents are still hostile, try fast travelling away and back to reset the zone state.
Cannot find the cave entrance: The entrance sits at the base of the hill along the riverbank, marked by a wooden pole with hanging plants. The quest marker can sometimes point toward the top of the hill, so ignore it and walk around the hill following the river until the pole comes into view.
Key Takeaways
- The Young Monk’s Request starts at Coalvale Workshop, east of Unicorn Cliff, and is best attempted after Chapter 3
- The Young Monk is a Shai from Jijeong Temple and the quest files under Demeniss Commissions in your journal
- Pororin Forest is locked until you complete “The Unreachable Village”, which only triggers after being knocked out three times by sleep darts
- You may need to speak with nearby Shai residents first before Arkin appears on the village outskirts
- The prerequisite requires you to climb a roaming Ent in Trembling Gorge to retrieve the village chief’s relic; if a cliff or high ledge is nearby, you can glide or jump onto the Ent to begin climbing from above
- The Ent most reliably spawns during daytime, so use a bed or campfire to skip time forward if it does not appear
- The quest marker can point toward the hilltop; ignore it and follow the river at the base of the hill northeast of the village, looking for a wooden pole with hanging plants at the cave entrance
- Inside the cave, use a bow to destroy red mushrooms from a safe distance before advancing, as they only cause sleep and not HP damage
- The wake-up button is Alt on PC or the interact/confirm button on controller; be aware that counter-attack skills can interfere with this input
- The Mystical Pine Mushroom sits on the ground at the back left of the cave floor and does not glow as obviously as the red mushrooms, so look carefully
- Picking up the mushroom completes the quest automatically with no turn-in needed
- After completing Authorized Access, the entire Pororin village becomes freely explorable with friendly residents
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