What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 181. The Grapevine of Bacchus, the Curse on the Barley

Estner actually cared about and thought about more things than Chloe—because the latter had been using the "Rainbow Poem" to practice magic ever since.

This unconventional meditation method completely spared him the predicament that most mages face, making leveling up a natural progression for him.

But Estner was different. He didn't start out by taking the archmage Celeste as his mentor and deeply understand how important it was to improve meditation efficiency and elemental perception.

Even the slightest improvement would be enough for those mages to fight over it regardless of their status.

It gets harder the higher you go.

Estner inquired, "How many of these potions are produced? Do you plan to sell them?"

"I can help you promote it within the Mage Association."

"It's still a bit difficult to produce this kind of potion."

Kroya shrugged: "First of all, there's the material. The moonlight required for Moonlight Dew Grass is very special, and I haven't been able to capture enough of it."

Secondly, there's sea lingzhi, but its yield is also low, making it even more troublesome to process into a magic potion.

Finally, there's the production method. It's an extremely difficult method that only I can use, so the production quantity will definitely be limited.

"It's normal that this special potion is produced in small quantities," Estner said without doubt.

After all, it would be strange if such a special potion could be produced in large quantities.

But since Kroya brought it out, he must have planned to sell it, otherwise what would he do with it? Just to tease him?

Just as he had expected, Kroya spoke:

"I will acquire some special magical beasts and magical plants, and when the acquisition price reaches a certain level, I will throw in some of these magical potions as a bonus."

"You're buying magical beasts and plants and then paying extra for this kind of magical potion? What could possibly make you do something like this?"

Estner was shocked, then he asked carefully, "Special, like what?"

In his view, Kroya might be trying to collect some rare magical plants or magical beasts with special effects.

Only then can it be worthy of such a magical potion.

But Kroya waved his hand and said, "For example, fish that want to fly, earth elementals that want to go to sea... those special kinds."

"Of course, I need to see it with my own eyes to be sure before I can decide whether or not to proceed with the transaction."

Estner: "..."

Fine, it's your stuff anyway. He has no objection to you collecting some strange magical plants and beasts, he just thinks it's a bit odd.

But then again, every mage has some peculiar quirks, right?

Estner was momentarily speechless, and could only ask, "Having seen it with your own eyes, if someone were to ask you to sell... you wouldn't be thinking of renting a space from the Holy Spring Merchant Guild, would you?"

He wasn't stupid; he immediately figured out what Kroya wanted to do. Only the Holy Spring Merchant Guild could manage to meet directly across thousands of miles.

The Holy Spring Merchant Guild not only offers goods that can be obtained through the Deep Blue Illusion, but also provides the option to meet people in person within a specific space.

However, that price was simply outrageous.

After all, the cost of creating an illusion and the cost of teleporting someone into a certain space are absolutely incomparable.

"Hmm." Kroya nodded. "If there really is something good, I will open the space after we talk."

For Kroya, rare magical beasts and magical plants are the stepping stones to his advancement, and spending some magic crystals is still acceptable.

The most expensive things are those that have no price—his reason for doing this was to make the mages feel that this wasn't something that could be bought with money.

Another reason was that he wanted to see if he could attract the attention of the Orpheus family through this method. If he could get their attention, then telling them about the oak tree would solve a major problem.

Of course, such a transaction can only begin once he has a sufficient reserve of magic crystals and magic potions; for now, he is simply informing Estner first.

We'll need Estner's help with this later.

"Alright, I'll help you then."

"Thank you. I'll give you some more of this potion when you leave."

Kroya extended her hand and invited, "Come on, let's continue to look at my magical plants."

"Let's go, I'm curious about what else you've planted."

Estner had actually noticed the area where magical energy was gathering nearby, but he didn't approach it casually for certain reasons.

Now that Kroya has invited me, I naturally have no such reservations.

The two chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at the area in Kroya where they grew yams and lilies of the valley.

At this time, the succulent and the calming lily of the valley had also reproduced, and were also ruthlessly marked by Kroya with a seal that severed their magic power.

Therefore, all their nutrients and magic are concentrated in the flowers and fruits.

In particular, the lily of the valley plants treated in this way grow exceptionally large; they used to be only the size of a fist, but now they are the size of a football.

Clusters of pink, bell-shaped flowers, each the size of a soccer ball, hang from the branches. The planted area covers four or five acres, making for a truly spectacular sight.

"Ring ring~"

As the cold wind blew, the sounds they made seemed to take on a chilly, desolate quality.

"What kind of magical plant is this? I've never seen it before!"

Estner asked curiously, "The sounds they make are a bit drowsy; they must have a calming effect."

As he spoke, he leaned closer to a flower and gently sniffed it.

What I smelled was a faint fragrance mixed with a chilling aura, and while I felt cold, I also felt drowsy.

Huh? You don't know what kind of magical plant this is?

Kroya was slightly surprised.

He thought that the second-level magical plant, the Calming Lily of the Valley, should be quite common, but now it seems... maybe the Holy Spring Merchant Guild specially sold it to him.

"This is a level-two magical plant I purchased from the Holy Spring Merchant Guild, called the Calming Lily of the Valley."

"I'm using its flowers to refine essential oils for making incense and potions. Would you like to try?"

"OK."

For a mage, essential oils and incense are things that are frequently used. Even a male mage like him has a huge incense burner in his room.

Good essential oils and aromatherapy products are in high demand and short supply in the market.

"Here you go." Chloe took out a bottle of essential oil made from this modified calming lily of the valley.

It is packaged in a crystal bottle, containing only 12 milliliters, and has a pinkish hue, making it look very pretty.

Estner opened the bottle and sniffed it.

A fragrance stronger than flowers wafts over; this fragrance doesn't refer to how strong the taste is, but rather its effect.

Just smelling the fragrance gave him an urge to find a warm and comfortable place to get a good night's sleep.

A calming essential oil that works on a level 3 mage is indeed quite good.

"If we sold them, we could probably get about ten bottles for one magic crystal, but it depends on how long it takes to take effect..."

As he was saying this, he suddenly sensed something was wrong, looked at Chloe, and feigned anger, saying, "Wait a minute, you're not planning to use me as a potion tester, are you?"

"Yeah, I don't hide anything, I just chuckled. "I don't spend much time at the Mage's Guild, so I don't know the prices of things."

"Don't be angry, I'll give you more later."

"That's more like it."

He wasn't really angry, because he knew that Kroya had shown him the product because she wanted him to help sell it. If the product was good, there would definitely be plenty of buyers.

Even if he wasn't the producer of these potions, he would definitely be able to build some interpersonal relationships with them, which is like a windfall.

After looking at the lily of the valley, Estner then noticed the magic field grapevines that were shielding him from the wind and snow.

"This...this is a Demon Field grapevine, isn't it?" He examined it carefully and was somewhat uncertain.

"You know?"

Since Kroya had brought him to the Demon Field, she didn't intend to hide it from him. However, she didn't expect that he wouldn't recognize the Anjin Lily of the Valley, but would recognize the Demon Field Grapevine.

"Of course I know."

Estner remembered a story his mentor had once told him and licked his lips.

Do you remember the daffodil my advisor gave you before?

"I remember, what's wrong?" Chloe was a little puzzled. Could there be a connection between the two?

"That item comes from the ruins of a civilization. It was a thank-you gift my mentor received after helping the Holy Spring Merchant Guild. It's said to be related to a man named Narcissus."

"..."

Kroya narrowed his eyes. He remembered that the transformed daffodil was called "Narcissus the Seeker of Beauty".

"So this grapevine... is it also related to that civilization's ruins?"

Estner nodded: "At that time, the Holy Spring Merchant Guild also gave the mentor a glass of wine, which was said to be made from grapes grown on some kind of magic field grapevine."

This grapevine was first planted by a god named Dionysus, who was associated with wine.

I was fortunate enough to taste a drop, and the flavor was real, like embracing all of nature, singing in the sunshine.

A look of ecstasy crossed his face.

"Dionysus..." Chloe pondered the name, a thought suddenly striking her. "I've heard of a god named Phoebus," she asked curiously. "Could he be like him?"

"I don't know about that, but I heard from my mentor that the Holy Spring Chamber of Commerce is very likely related to this lost civilization."

Kroya nodded, looking at the magic field grapevines, and suddenly felt... that the Holy Spring Merchant Guild might have sensed his magic power.

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that this was given to them?

However, he didn't think for long. As if he knew some secret, he pondered for a moment and then asked, "So you mean these grapes can be used to make wine?"

He knew how wine was made, mainly through fermentation, but these were grapes created purely by magic, could they really ferment?

"It is said that a special kind of magic is needed to aid fermentation, and the wine given to the mentor at that time was also a remnant from the ruins."

"After drinking that glass of wine, the mentor got drunk and said something like... wine is sunlight condensed in water."

"So I guess it might be some kind of magic involving water."

After hearing this, Kroya felt that the key point might not be the water, but the sunlight, since in his original world there was a saying that wine was fermented by sunlight.

Furthermore, Phoebus may have had other connections with Dionysus...

He decided to try it in a little while.

However, he didn't say anything for the time being, only that he would give it a try, and then took Estner to continue touring his magic field.

The two spent the afternoon exploring Kroa's Flame Demon Field, during which Estner offered many suggestions.

For example, you can plant magical plants with similar attributes together, create special flames to induce mutations, and change the soil to volcanic soil or desert soil, etc.

These are all relatively common methods of planting and mutating magical plants, which Kroya is familiar with.

However, he was still very grateful to Estner because he explained things in great detail.

As night fell, the wind and snow intensified.

The two felt that it was about time, so they returned to the castle. After hosting a banquet for Estner, Kroya returned to his laboratory.

……

While he and Estner were strolling through the fields, King Muyao Quteng had already brought back the Sea God's Barley and several bunches of grapes that looked as clear and translucent as crystal.

It's now neatly placed on his lab table.

"Let's study you first."

He first studied the barley from the sea god.

Just as I thought, researching divine power is obviously unrealistic, but experimenting with the power of the Sun should still be possible.

He directly soaked the sea god barley in spring water containing the essence of water, which was just ordinary spring water without any magic.

The magic inside has been completely extracted by Kroya.

When the barley was soaked in it, the originally calm barley ears suddenly trembled, as if some force on its surface was resisting the power of the water.

"What... what's going on?"

Kroya was somewhat surprised that the force of resistance was so strong that even the power of the essence of the Water element could not penetrate it.

Is this really something an ordinary plant could do?

"Was it done on purpose?"

He muttered something to himself and then unleashed his power, using the Seven Luminaries Separation Technique to help infuse the essence of the Water Luminaries into the barley.

This process was much more difficult than he had imagined, because the force of resistance was actually increasing as his magic power increased.

Even the Seven Luminaries Separation Technique, which is usually very adept at separating and fusing various forces, is somewhat inadequate in the face of this power.

But the more this was the case, the more he felt there was a big secret involved.

He subtly increased the supply of magic power, and inside the small container, the water flow almost formed a whirlpool, the blue whirlpool drilling into the sea god's barley like a drill.

"Sizzle!"

It even made the sound of an electric drill.

Time passed second by second, and the clock next to it ticked away. About an hour later, the resistance on the surface of the barley finally eased.

Kroya seized the opportunity and directly increased the supply of magic.

"Ding!"

It was accompanied by a crisp sound.

The power of Mercury can finally enter the barley of the sea god.

Each grain of wheat was filled with the clear blue of the power of water, and at the same time, the celestial body inside Kroa's eyes began to light up rapidly.

The speed was so fast that Kroa only blinked, and the celestial body of the sea god Barley was completely constructed, but the consumption of Mercury essence also increased dramatically.

The blue hue in the clear spring water was visibly absorbed by the Sea God Barley, which contains the essence of ten Water Crystals!

It's only a level one magical plant, yet it can absorb the power of ten Water Crystals.

This made Kroa realize that this thing's astral body was probably forcibly formed by being infused with the essence of Mercury, and it would be difficult to maintain for long.

Fortunately, the astral body is now fully formed—in the darkness, a clear blue barley stalk stands tall.

The name of Poseidon Barley also changed as the astral body completed its growth, becoming...

"Midday Mutant Sea God Barley, shall we try it?"

Kroya read the name aloud and noticed that the celestial beings that constituted the sea god Barley were slowly dimming over time, just as he had thought, and probably wouldn't last much longer.

This change stems from the inherent characteristics of the sea god barley itself; it not only repels magic, but more accurately, it repels all power.

It forms intricate magical patterns on the surface of the sea god's barley, resembling layers of mountains and earth, with an immense power faintly visible within.

Kroya was all too familiar with the nature and fluctuations of this power; if he saw it every day and still didn't know it, then there would truly be something fishy going on.

That is……

"The power of the Earth Mother Goddess." Kroya sighed softly. "Why is there the Earth Mother Goddess's power here?"

Even he was a little confused. This was food! The Earth Mother Goddess would actually curse a food crop. If this got out, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

His temple and priests have been proclaiming the grace of the Mother Goddess, and his greatest wish is to ensure that everyone in the world has enough to eat.

To curse food crops...

He didn't have time to think much; he had to find a way to stabilize this mutation immediately and turn it from a temporary magical plant into a true magical plant.

After a brief moment of thought, he came up with a solution.

It was obviously impossible to remove these magical runes, so he could only try to find a way to bypass them and allow the Sea God Barley to absorb magical power from the outside world.

For example, insert a straw.

He began to carefully inscribe the weakest point of the magic rune. The magic used for inscription was called "Magic Channel," and it used the power of water.

This is actually a technique used only when inscribing a magic circle. It can create a separate channel, allowing magic power to flow more easily within it without affecting the original magic runes.

Theoretically, it can coexist with most magic runes.

Kroya didn't know if the Earth Mother's magic runes were included, but she could give it a try.

If all else fails, he will consider using eternal magic to slowly grind away the magic runes.

Anyway, I won't lose out.

Fortunately, luck was on his side, and the engraving was successfully completed.

[Imprint complete, Sea God Barley - Earth Mother Goddess Curse (Magic Channel)]

[When this demonic plant absorbs the power of the Water Star, it can bypass the Earth Mother's curse through the demonic energy channel, but the mark will gradually disappear over time.]

[After the Earth Mother awakens, this seal will become completely ineffective. This can be avoided by altering the magic power of the seal.]

The current estimated remaining time is 30 days.

[While possessing this imprint, the sea god Barley could only draw upon the power of Mercury.]

Thank you to RainfallStars_ce, Xiaoyu114514, LoveIsNotTooCheap, YiShunJian, BookFriend2022110615444936, and LightOfLife for your monthly tickets and recommendations.

Busy Monday QAQ More 10,000 words tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)