Beside the laboratory's Magic Field, Locke opened an Astral Ring Witch Catherine had given him.
He took out a small glass bottle containing emerald-green duckweed.
A small card beside the bottle bore the duckweed's name. It was a special magic plant his senior, Fiona, had discovered in a Greater World while traveling through the void. It was only at First-Ring Crystallization.
It had been named fiona cloud duckweed.
Following the instructions on the card, Locke took a First-Ring Water Magic scroll from his Astral Ring. He always kept these frequently used basic spells on hand. When he tore the scroll apart, filling the surroundings with mist, he opened the bottle. The First-Ring Crystallization fiona cloud duckweed began sprouting, then dividing through asexual reproduction. One clump after another began multiplying in the airborne mist.
Before long, cloud duckweed surrounded Locke.
Locke looked up at this First-Ring Magic Plant of the duckweed genus, carefully considering why Witch Catherine had given it to him. He also took out the pile of half-finished projects she had previously handed over. "Increasing the number of duckweed magic plants can change the surrounding ecosystem on a large scale."
"Life Magic includes a category of terrain-altering magic."
"Teacher noticed the potential of duckweed magic plants for altering terrain long ago. So that's it."
"Duckweed magic plants are extremely simple, having eliminated all unnecessary expenditure, so their demands on resources and growing conditions are exceptionally low. They possess a special Energy-Locking Structure—the frond. They have no true stems, leaves, flowers, or other complex structures, and their roots have degenerated to the utmost degree. This gives them the ability to multiply rapidly, along with the special potential to increase their numbers when their environment takes a turn for the worse. All of this does fit terrain-altering magic very well."
Locke