Magic Field Grape Vine (please keep reading)

Taking stock of his gains took Kroya quite a long time.

These were not merely magic plants; they also came with a thick set of instructions-a sort of planting guide.

To ensure he understood their characteristics well enough, he naturally had to read carefully. He could not afford to be careless.

The instructions for the soothing lilies and thicksoil potatoes were comparatively brief.

The magic field grape vine gave Kroya a pleasant surprise.

It was an extremely rare elemental magic plant, very similar to the sunflower that had formed by chance. Its physical form was constructed from elements.

Generally speaking, an elemental magic plant's growth cycle could be extremely long or extremely short. It mainly depended on whether enough mana could be supplied to make it grow quickly.

In the world of mages, elemental magic plants were generally something only archmages could handle. Ordinary mages barely had enough time for their own cultivation, let alone spare mana to feed magic plants.

Kroya, however, was in a fairly good position. He planned to divert some of the sunflower's mana to nourish it, allowing it to grow a little faster.

He had already said he could not sell too much, anyway, and he had no way of obtaining purer mana for the time being. He might as well put it to use.

If all else failed, he could order the grape vine to grow into the sea. There was certainly more than enough mana in the seawater.

Its effects were unusual-its roots could replace those formed from magic crystals and extend over a vast area, while the grapes it grew could continuously drip liquid mana of the corresponding element. Working together with the roots, they would transform the land on two fronts.

According to the description, as it grew, its main vine would branch into six secondary vines. Each branch could be infused with mana of a different element to transform different kinds of land.

In other words, water magic fields, fire magic fields, ice magic fields... as long as mana was supplied, it could create them.

After reading it, Kroya could not help marveling, "What an amazing magic plant. Its characteristics practically make it born to transform land..."

He finished reading the instructions carefully, picked up the box containing the little grape seedling, and gently used his mana to break the rotating emblem of the Sacred Spring Trade Guild on its surface. The box immediately opened on its own with a click.

Inside was a deep-blue, somewhat translucent little grape seedling. Rooted in a peculiar emerald-green soil, it looked full of vitality.

"This soil... why does it give off a fluctuation so similar to the Earth Mother Goddess's power, yet without the same strangeness...?"

He scratched his head, puzzled.

According to the description, this was a special kind of magic soil that could ensure the magic field grape vine's initial rooting and sprouting.

As for its coverage, that was roughly one mu of land.

Beyond that, he knew nothing.

Unable to discern anything, Kroya could only give up on pondering it further and try using his special ability.

That did not work either.

"Not even the Astral Spirit Body?"

This left him a little disappointed, but only a little. Kroya set it down and opened another box.

"Let's see what this jellyfish is."

This box was made from a blue-green stone and contained a pool of clear water. It truly was extraordinarily clear and pure.

"Pure water from the Water Elemental Plane?" Kroya narrowed his eyes and examined it, but could not sense anything in the water at all. He could only follow the Sacred Spring Trade Guild's instructions and slowly pour his mana into it.

A tiny body immediately appeared in the previously empty water-a very ordinary-looking, translucent, umbrella-shaped jellyfish.

It floated gently in the pure water and sent Kroya a somewhat puzzled thought. The thought was extremely straightforward, without the slightest complexity.

Translated by Kroya, it roughly amounted to-

"?"

That was right: a question mark.

Elemental creatures had extremely frail bodies in the material world, almost nonexistent ones, but their souls were comparatively powerful.

Although this was only a second-level elemental creature, it possessed the intelligence of a seven- or eight-year-old child and could understand some of Kroya's simpler instructions.

"Let's put you in the magic spring... since Master Seagull said he could detect the scent of seawater, that means it still has impurities.

"We might as well keep this pure magic spring inside the castle."

Having decided where it would go, Kroya immediately picked up the box, rose, and carried it to the room where the magic spring flowed.

An apprentice carrying a bucket of spring water out of the room was startled when he saw him and hurriedly bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Master!"

"Mm." Kroya gave him a casual glance.

He vaguely remembered that his name was Jamie. He was one of the three apprentices who had fetched things for him that night, and now he had finally earned Kroya's notice.

The steward was putting them through intensive lessons in the basics. At the very least, they needed to learn to read, write, and perform simple calculations-and they truly treasured this opportunity.

Apparently, they even practiced writing on the beach by moonlight every night.

It was already evening, yet he was still carrying water for irrigation. It seemed he had truly taken Kroya's words to heart.

Kroya rather liked hardworking people like these. Given an opportunity, they would fight their hardest to climb higher.

As long as he maintained firm control, their efforts would also contribute to building up his territory. Naturally, the more of them, the better.

As he walked into the room, he asked casually, "How are the coconut trees doing? And the barley?"

Jamie immediately followed him with the bucket and answered, "They're all growing very well. The amount of barley has already tripled, and all the bread in the castle is now baked from it."

"That's pretty good, then. Take a basket of bread tomorrow and give it to Elena's family as a reward," he instructed.

"Yes, I'll see to it right away."

Kroya nodded and walked up to the spring's source. He felt around in it with his fingers, took out the Magic Spring Pearl, and then put the jellyfish inside.

As soon as the jellyfish entered the spring's source, it burrowed deeper inside. The flowing water slowed considerably, but became visibly clearer.

He gently scooped up a handful and tasted it. He found that it had lost a trace of the sea's salty, fishy flavor and gained a peculiar coolness.

"They were right. Only water this pure would be free of impurities in its mana."

Looking down at the magic pearl in his hand, he hesitated briefly, then beckoned to Jamie. "Find a suitable spring outside the castle and put this in it. Then have Rob build another house there.

"From now on, draw all the water from there!

"Also, have Ate take some people to clear up the place behind the mountain where we found the air coral. I'm going to plant some magic plants."

Jamie stared incredulously at the pearl Kroya had given him. Trembling all over with excitement, he hurriedly dropped to his knees. "Master, even if it costs me my life, I will carry out your orders!"

"Go do it."

What Kroya wanted to see was results, not promises and flattery full of pretty words.

After settling the jellyfish in, Kroya returned to the laboratory and sorted out the soothing lilies and thicksoil potatoes. They were all seedlings that had already sprouted, and according to the trade guild, they only needed to be planted in a magic field.

As for the location of that magic field, he chose the place where they had previously discovered the air coral.

The emerald-green magic soil could ensure their initial rooting and sprouting, but after that...

"Once they sprout, they'll have to depend on my mana supply."

He closed his eyes, temporarily set aside all his scattered thoughts, and returned to his room.

The Crescent Moon Fruit resting on the cabinet had already begun releasing pale silver mist and the sound of surging tides.

He lay down on his bed and soon entered a meditative state. Although he no longer had the power of daylight to help him, meditation still brought gains.

Life might be comfortable now, but he could not neglect his cultivation. Perhaps, given a little more time, he would become a third-level mage.

Just like that, the next morning soon arrived.

After breakfast, he waited for Knight Ate to bring his men over, then ordered them to carry the baskets containing the soothing lilies and thicksoil potatoes.

He personally carried the box containing the magic field grape vine.

It was time to go farming.