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

Chapter 24. The Essence of Water and the Consciousness of the Vine

Ten minutes later.

Cloa personally escorted the Baron out of the castle.

They eventually signed a contract, with Kroya agreeing to help him refine the ore, and to do so quickly, delivering it within ten days if possible.

What puzzled Kroya was that... he didn't mention sunflower seeds at all, as if he didn't know anything about them.

And that Serious also cast pleading glances at her many times.

It seems they don't want him to mention this.

There must be something going on here.

However, he didn't intend to meddle in other people's business. Whatever happened between the two of them, as long as it didn't affect his profits, that was fine.

"This haul was alright. Next time you come to collect your goods, promise to bring me a magical beast..."

He stood there, gazing into the distance for a while.

Then he ordered his men to put all two hundred catties of holy white iron brought from the baron's carriage into the storeroom, and then Rob personally led the Kaba beast inside.

The fact that Kabamon can refine ores must never be revealed.

It can only be done by someone you trust.

"You can handle the rest from here on out."

After watching the Baron leave, Kroya quickly departed and returned to his laboratory.

Just now, when he activated the Star Spirit Imprint Technique, he heard the magical beast named "Wooden Vine" say that it wanted the power of Water.

Isn't that a coincidence?

He happens to possess the power of the Water element!

However, just to be on the safe side, he needed to completely complete the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array beforehand, otherwise, who knows what kind of impact the chaotic water element power might have.

So he immediately got busy.

The most difficult part of the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array is the flow of magic power; everything else is very simple. He has reviewed it many times during this period.

The speed of construction, the input of magic power, and the accuracy of magic power impact are all well controlled.

After an hour of setup, he quickly completed the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array, and the array's veins, which were originally impossible to connect at once, were successfully linked.

One by one, energy-gathering crystals floated up, forming some kind of mysterious pattern around the magic circle, with the center of each crystal facing the core of the magic circle.

It is a metal platform made of magic-absorbing iron.

The seven colors of light flashed in turn through the invisible veins inside the energy-gathering crystal, but only for a moment before only the blue light representing the water element remained.

All the other lights dimmed.

This is because only the Water element uses Water Crystals among the seven nodes of the Seven Luminaries Divine Law Array; the others use magic crystals of different attributes.

In other words, it can only purify water crystals.

To purify other crystals, you need to find more Seven Luminaries Crystals.

It's worth mentioning that there are seven types of Seven Luminaries Crystals: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Time, Space, and Illusion. The first four are relatively easier to find, but the latter... well, it really depends on luck.

"Phew, it worked!"

Seeing this, Kroya quickly placed a piece of water crystal into the magic circle, and then resonated with the ripples of the magic circle with his own power.

During this time, he discovered that his magic and the magic circle were unusually harmonious, as if they were naturally in sync.

The magic within him, under his control, danced like musical notes, continuously washing over the crystal.

The whole process was not painful at all, but rather had a kind of enjoyable feeling of being immersed in it.

Soon the crystal, which was already a clear blue, became even bluer, but it changed from a deep blue to a pure blue.

It's like the difference between shallow and deep sea.

The water element within became very docile, completely lacking its previous violent nature.

"So fast?" Kroya was a little surprised. According to the parchment, it would take at least ten minutes of magical manipulation for a level two mage to purify.

But the current situation is... thirty seconds?

He easily pushed away those violent forces in thirty seconds. Could it be related to his magic and meditation?

Perhaps it was because of the Crimson Song's extremely strong control over magic and the resonant technique of the Crimson Overlap that he was able to quickly control the magic of the magic circle.

He didn't understand, but that didn't stop him from continuing to control the magic circle to draw out the power from the water crystal. The blue crystal quickly lost its color and turned grayish-white.

Then it fell to the ground with a "crack" and instantly shattered into gray dust, which was dispersed by the wind.

However, in the beaker next to the magic circle, there was about one milliliter of liquid with an ocean-like blue glow.

That's the product of purified water crystals; this is the liquid that mermaids need.

Kroya stepped forward, picked up the beaker, and shook it. She discovered that the liquid was similar to a gel, and it would remain intact as it rolled around.

He touched it with his finger and immediately felt an abundance of water magic, but other than that, he didn't discover anything special.

When his attempts failed, he quickly gave up.

"Hey, that makes sense. If I could find it so easily, wouldn't that level ten archmage have found it too?"

He temporarily set aside his doubts and continued to refine this strange essence of water. Thanks to the special nature of his own magic, he hardly had to expend any effort.

Of the one hundred Water Crystals the mermaid gave him, aside from the one given to the Solid Demon Hanging Bottle Grass, the remaining ninety-nine were all refined.

To be honest, he still couldn't quite believe it.

According to the parchment, anyone who can refine forty out of one hundred pieces of material using the array on their first attempt is considered a genius.

But what about him?

All ninety-nine pieces have been extracted!

According to the mermaid, if he takes out half of the hundred coins, the rest will all be his reward.

However, he wouldn't hand in even a single extra drop, and planned to hand in only forty-five or forty-six drops—he couldn't let the merman think he could refine it steadily; he needed a gradual and controlled process.

If he really paid the full amount, the mermaid might find something incredible about him, and it would be a real hardship if he were kidnapped and forced to work as a laborer.

As for the contract?

Once the Mage Association finds out and sends people over, he might suffer some inhuman treatment.

……

Holding a full cup of Water Essence, he first came to the Solid Magic Bottle Grass—the grass had already sprouted a tender bud.

Without hesitation, he dripped a drop of essence onto the tender bud.

The azure essence fell onto the soil, quickly seeped into the soil layer, and was absorbed by the tender shoots.

"Grow up quickly, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you'll look like when you're all grown up."

After saying this, he took out another drop and slowly dripped it onto the magical beast named Woody Curved Vine.

The emerald green vines, resembling bracelets, began to sway and vibrate immediately upon contact with the essence of water.

"Waaah~"

It faintly conveyed a sense of desire, seemingly wanting more Water Essence.

Without hesitation, Kroya continued to drip.

One drop, two drops, ten drops...

It wasn't until fifteen drops that it finally stopped craving.

Then, under Kroya's watchful eye, it quickly sprouted and grew, soon transforming from an ordinary vine into a giant vine as tall as a person.

A gentle voice came from inside.

"Praise be to your kindness, Master."

The voice was like a clear spring flowing through a meadow, formed by the vibrations of magic, yet it felt completely natural, as if a woman were truly speaking.

(End of this chapter)