The coconut tree wanted to be waited on

Meanwhile, Kroya arrived at the coconut grove.

He looked up at the coconut trees, which stood well over ten meters tall, reached out to touch one, and probed it with his mana.

With a steady supply of spring water rich in Water Magic irrigating them, these coconut trees were indeed showing signs of becoming magic plants—most first-level magic plants could be created through mana stimulation.

He sensed that mana had permeated the coconut tree's trunk, which brimmed with vitality.

He nodded in satisfaction. "These coconut trees are growing nicely."

"It's all thanks to you, my lord." Beside him, the former lord Batos wore a broad smile on his plump face. "Without that spring water, they could never have grown so well.

"You've given them new life. Your radiance shines as brightly as the sun..."

Seeing that he was about to keep piling on the flattery, Kroya couldn't help laughing. "And what about you? How does it feel to go from a lord to a farm servant tending Kaba Beasts and coconut trees?"

His tone was amused, as though he were only joking.

This was the final test. If Batos passed, Kroya could put him to good use without reservation.

Batos had been a lord, after all. Though his ability to govern a domain might not have amounted to much, he at least knew the surrounding area fairly well.

He laughed along with Kroya. "I'm very happy. Every day, I just tend the Kaba Beasts and coconut trees and watch them live without a care.

"I have you to thank for all of it."

"Oh, then just keep doing what you're doing."

Kroya looked away, took a bottle from his mage's robe, and slowly let a crystalline blue droplet fall onto the roots of the largest coconut tree.

Waterlight essence!

Then he used his mana to dissolve the Nature Mana Crystal he had just obtained and infused it into the coconut tree as well.

From his observations, this coconut tree was only a hair's breadth away from becoming a magic plant. Stimulating it with mana should allow it to evolve successfully.

"Don't disappoint me."

Once he finished, he activated the Astral Body Inscription Technique and began observing the coconut tree's changes-plants that had yet to advance into magic plants were all dull gray, without any radiance.

Yet the coconut tree's astral spirit body began to glimmer faintly.

The light didn't appear out of nowhere. It was as though existing pathways were reconnecting, slowly lighting up like a starry sky with a deep blue glow.

The process was extremely slow, but Kroya watched with complete concentration, without so much as blinking.

He didn't know what made it so captivating, but watching it felt soothing. His mana and mental energy seemed to merge with the coconut tree's astral spirit body.

He felt the joy and delight of its new birth.

He immersed himself in it.

The process lasted a full three hours, during which Kroya never moved a single step.

Naturally, Batos and the three boys beside him could only stand there with him. They weren't as physically fit as Kroya. Even if mages were frailer than warriors, they still tempered their bodies with mana.

Their backs and waists ached, but none dared move.

Fortunately, Kroya finally spoke. "You four, go fetch some mana spring water!"

As though granted a pardon, the four hurriedly agreed and ran back to the castle, fetching bucket after bucket of spring water from the pool filtered by the Magic Spring Pearl.

Then, following Kroya's instructions, they watered the coconut tree.

Under the irrigation of mana-rich spring water, the coconut tree's already pale bark gradually took on a lustrous sheen, like pure white jade.

Mana flowed through its bark, rising from its roots until it gradually filled the entire trunk and the coconuts at the very top.

Its astral spirit body had also lit up completely, and a thought emanated from within-

Ah, someone's waiting on me...

I really want people to wait on me...

Hearing that thought, Kroya was momentarily speechless. You're a tree, and you want to be waited on like us nobles?

Uh, wait. Maybe that isn't impossible.

He suddenly remembered a summoning spell he had learned after advancing to Second-Level Mage. It could summon spirits with limited intelligence to help him with tasks.

However, what it summoned depended on his own mana and the mana attributes in the surrounding area. In a seaside environment like this, the results were generally things like Water Slimes.

As for more advanced Water Spirits, those required higher-level summoning spells and incantations, which weren't included in the spellbooks his original self had brought.

All right. Since you want it, I'll give it to you.

Witnessing the birth of a magic plant firsthand had put him in a rather good mood, so he was naturally willing to grant such a small wish.

Besides, he genuinely wanted to see what a coconut tree capable of casting summoning spells would be like.

He stepped forward and began the inscription.

Perhaps it was because the coconut tree had been born under his care, but it accepted the spell inscription very quickly and even actively cooperated.

After only a few minutes, the inscription succeeded.

[Inscription successful: Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut (Beginner Summoning Spell)]

[During its growth, this magic plant will use summoning magic to summon beings to assist its growth, sharing its mana-rich coconut water and flesh with them.]

[As the inscriber, you may also freely command this magic plant's summons.]

[Its endless craving for summons will drive it to continually refine the Beginner Summoning Spell, with a chance of developing the summoning spell further.]

"Oh?" Kroya raised an eyebrow.

This seemed to be the second spell besides Sunflare Ray that could continually improve. Apart from being low-level, did it also require the magic plant to possess this sort of desire and longing?

If that really was the case, perhaps he needed to start giving the magic plants suggestions through mental magic or something similar.

Moreover, according to the description, he could command its summons too. But the mana powering the summoning spell would certainly come from the Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut, not him.

In other words... if I get a whole bunch of Pure White Sea Spirit Coconuts that can summon, won't I have an extra army of obedient summons that don't need my mana to sustain them?

The prospect immediately tempted him, and he cast a burning gaze over the other coconut trees.

These are all summoning portals!

Just then, Kroya suddenly sensed something and turned toward the Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut.

A faint halo of mana appeared on its bark, and strange patterns formed across it, drawing on the surrounding Water Magic.

Then the nearby Water Magic gathered, quickly forming one little droplet-shaped creature after another.

They were soft and adorable, like jelly.

The moment they appeared, they bounced across the ground, happily hopping over to the buckets of water that had yet to be poured out, and jumped inside with a splash.

Within seconds, their bodies were full of water. They left the buckets and began hopping toward the coconut tree, abruptly releasing the water when they reached its roots.

The Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut immediately absorbed the water.

They repeated this cycle over and over, looking just like diligent servants.

Kroya watched the scene, somewhat astonished.

How... how did it summon them so quickly? Even I would need five or six minutes.

Yet the Sea Spirit Coconut had summoned them effortlessly-and a whole bunch at once!

Thanks to Night's End in Jiangnan, Falling Spaceship, Drinking Alone Under the Moon, Tang Tang Tang, Reader140325121352974, Reader20201006041038555, and Bloodred Maple Kill for your monthly votes, and to everyone for your recommendation votes.

It's the first day of the holiday. Hope everyone has fun~