As for why a coconut tree could summon more water spirit slimes than he could as a Second-Level Mage, Kroya figured it was probably because the tree itself was part of nature.
Compared to his contractual summoning, which was more like a mage's method of enslavement, the coconut tree's approach was rather like a druid's.
Friendship and mutual aid.
It provided these slimes with coconut water brimming with magic, and in return, the slimes helped it search for what it needed.
Watching the bouncing slimes, Kroya ordered, "Come here!"
The slimes immediately bounced over and even tried to climb up his trouser legs, but Kroya poked them back down without mercy.
They could indeed obey his commands, and they seemed even more obedient than the ones he sustained with his own spellcasting.
Kroya was naturally pleased with this result.
He played with the slimes, having them form a straight line one moment and a zigzag the next.
Only after thoroughly enjoying the pleasures of being a summoner did he stop putting them through their paces.
Then he reached out and patted the coconut tree's trunk, saying without ceremony, "Give me a coconut."
A magic plant's magic was most abundant immediately after advancing, and its influence on things like fruit would also be at its strongest. Unless something unexpected happened, the coconut tree should have a surprise for him.
"~~!"
The coconut tree immediately began to sway with a rustling sound, then dropped an enormous coconut right beside his feet.
It was the largest coconut on the tree, and naturally the one that had accumulated the most magic.
Kroya bent down to pick it up and examined it closely. Unlike the trunk, the coconut's shell was white with faint traces of blue.
It looked like the meeting of an azure sea and a milky-white beach.
It was exceptionally smooth and felt wonderful to the touch.
"This coconut shell is pretty nice too." He rubbed a finger over the shell, sensing the magic contained within.
An idea immediately stirred in his mind. Having magic in it was a good thing.
Materials like this, which naturally contained magic, were easy to sell if he inscribed a few magic-gathering arrays on them and carved them a little more finely, preferably with some connection to elves.
He had heard that nobles were particularly fond of such useless little trinkets.
Of course, making small magical implements like these required a mage's mental power and a basic grounding in alchemy, but the mental power requirement alone was enough to shut out most mages.
For Kroya, however, it would be easy. His mental power was exceptionally strong.
"If even the shell contains magic, then the coconut water and flesh inside..." Kroya gathered magic at his fingertips and carefully began cutting.
Crack, crack.
The blade formed from magic pierced the coconut's shell effortlessly and soon cut it open, revealing the white coconut water and flesh inside.
Just as he had expected.
The coconut water was brimming with magic and had turned completely pure white, without the slightest trace of impurity.
The flesh, however, showed a peculiar sign of crystallization, slowly solidifying like milky-white crystal.
He took a small sip of the coconut water and was immediately won over by its rich coconut sweetness and magic-infused flavor.
"That's delicious." He could not help praising it.
Because the coconut water was full of water magic, it tasted wonderfully fresh and sweet-not so sweet that it became unpleasant, but just right.
With a single sip, the magic inside slid down his throat, leaving his whole body refreshed. Even the excessively hot air around him seemed to cool.
It clearly had a gentle, nourishing effect on the body.
He smacked his lips and murmured to himself, "I should be able to use this coconut water to make potions... Let me think of a suitable one."
Not long ago, when buying the dolphins, he had also purchased a Beginner's Guide to Water-Element Potion Alchemy.
He had wanted to study alchemy so it could bring him greater profits.
The guide contained ten potions suitable for beginners, including a "Sea Spirit Lingzhi Potion" made from sea spirit lingzhi and a "Water Spirit Potion" made from the sap of water-element magic plants.
Water Spirit Potion was actually a very broad umbrella term. From low grades to high, almost any potion made from water-element magic plants could be called a Water Spirit Potion.
For example, a potion brewed from the coconut water of a Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut was called a Pure White Coconut Potion.
After reading the guide, Kroya had wanted to try brewing potions. Now this Pure White Sea Spirit Coconut's water had arrived at just the right time, and he could give it a try immediately.
He raised his head and instructed the four people beside him, "Take good care of this coconut tree. And you three, you can start as my apprentices."
"Thank you, Lord Mage!"
It had been only a casual remark, but the three youths were ecstatic. They kowtowed over and over, practically sobbing too hard to speak-they were utterly overwhelmed with joy.
Kroya had no intention of listening to any more of this, however, and briskly issued his first order:
"Your first task is to water the other coconut trees with this tree's sap. Water them with the magical spring water once a day too.
"Once they become magic plants, I'll teach you a basic meditation method."
He was really just dangling a future reward before them, but to them, it could not have been more generous. What other mage would be willing to give them a meditation method?
Even if it took years, or more than a decade, they would gladly do it as long as they could become the mage's apprentices.
"We obey your command!"
All three kowtowed in unison.
Kroya nodded and glanced at Batos.
"As for you, help me manage a few things. Go see Rob about exactly what you'll be handling."
With that, he turned and left with the coconut in his arms. As for what this former lord thought, he truly did not care, so long as the man could create value for him.
Soon, he returned to the laboratory, ready to begin preparing the potion.
The most important part of making a low-grade potion like this was the raw materials. He had spring water filtered through a Magic Spring Pearl, as well as coconut water from a magic plant that had just advanced.
There was naturally no need to worry about the materials.
The only minor difficulty was the potion-brewing method: water refinement.
Water refinement was a somewhat advanced method of brewing potions, included at the end of the alchemy guide as a bonus.
Simply put, it required a bucket of pure water. The ingredients were added in sequence, then fused within the water through resonance with the brewer's own magic. Finally, a technique was used to separate the ordinary water from the potion and refine it a second time.
A potion brewed this way would not be contaminated by foreign fire-element magic, making it a pure water-element potion.
It preserved the purity of the raw materials to the greatest possible extent.
It was obvious that this method placed extremely high demands on a mage's magic and mental power. After all, they had to ensure the potion ingredients did not separate in the flowing water while also using magical vibrations to fuse them...
Generally, only mages of Level Three or above attempted this technique.
For other low-level mages, it was very troublesome, so even though this method produced an absolutely pure water potion, they would not go to the effort.
For Kroya, however, it was easy.
Both his control over magic and the strength of his mental power were sufficient. With a spellcasting technique like Crimson Rondo, even casting simultaneously would not be a problem.
The only troublesome thing was... his magic seemed more inclined toward the fire element. Would that cause problems during the brewing process?
Before you continue