A full moon hung high in the sky.
The moon commanded the tides and all the plants beneath it. Its pull altered the Magic Plants' growth cycles. By the time Witch Camilla's thirty man-eating flowers came within ten meters of Locke, their Magic Pressure had swollen almost to the limit for First-Ring Magic Plants.
At five meters, Camilla smiled. She did not know what was happening, but she felt she was about to win.
Then, one by one, the Magic Plants at the limit of First-Ring Magic Pressure began to wither at astonishing speed.
Witch Camilla froze.
The Man-Eating Flower Jungle around her collapsed with a series of crashes. Camilla frowned. "What magic is this? I've never seen it before. Tidal Growth?"
"How could the moon's gravity have such a powerful effect on Magic Plants' growth cycles?"
The wizards below the stage stared in shock.
A Second-Ring Breeder suddenly spoke up. "This is a Spell Model no one has ever seen before. Look at the Spell Model Augustine is using. We can't make out all of it, but if you watch closely, part of it has features unlike any known Spell Model."
"He must have created it himself. Judging by its power, it's either a blueprint spell for Great Magic or, more likely, a Spell Model he built after observing a Void Behemoth."
"Its characteristics are certainly strong enough for a Great Magic blueprint."
Onstage, Witch Camilla panicked as every Magic Plant in her Man-Eating Flower Jungle rapidly deteriorated.
"It's... their Magic Pressure keeps rising, but they don't have enough magical energy. That's why they're wasting away."
The difference between First-Ring and Second-Ring Magic Plants lay in the Imaginary Root.
Without an Imaginary Root, First-Ring Magic Plants could only raise their Magic Pressure so far. Beyond that point, they lacked