Above the mage

Chapter 138 The Day of Harvest

The Nurturing Room was originally a storeroom of the School of Ceres, located in a remote corner of the school.

After Professor Shaw rented it long-term, he converted it into a breeding room for poisonous insects.

The entrance to the cultivation room is a sturdy hardwood door commonly used in warehouses, and there is also a simple small barrier.

A special key needs to be inserted into a recessed slot in the middle of the wooden door to unlock the barrier before the hardwood door can be opened.

The entire insect breeding room is about 100 square meters and is divided into two rooms: one is the "hatching room" and the other is the "breeding room".

The incubation room was carefully arranged and filled with incubators arranged in a staggered manner.

The incubator also features special temperature and humidity controls tailored to different types of insect eggs, simulating the environment required for the development of venomous insect eggs.

The walls are inlaid with glowing magic crystal lamps that emit a soft and even light, which satisfies the lighting requirements of the poisonous insect eggs without being too glaring and affecting observation.

The air was filled with a smell that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

This is a "nutrient solution" that Xiao Er carefully prepared using various materials. Adding it to the incubator can promote better development of the insect eggs.

As for the breeding room, it was much simpler. Three large incubation boxes were set up according to the needs of the three types of venomous insects, and a higher concentration of "nutrient solution" was added to them.

"You've mastered [Toxicity Detection], right?" Shaw confirmed.

Gao De nodded.

"That's good. You need to check the eggs in the hatchery at least once a day using the [Toxicity Detection] function."

"Once toxins are found in the insect eggs, it means that the larvae inside the eggs have fully developed and will hatch within 1-2 days."

"You need to quickly transfer these soon-to-hatch eggs from the hatching room to the three incubators in the rearing room."

"This is a hatchery for fire ants, and this is for scorpions."

Shaw explained the specific details to Gao De, pointing to the last large incubator, "This is the incubator for the Phantom Spiny Centipede. The Phantom Spiny Centipede is a hybrid of the Phantom Centipede and the Thorn Centipede."

"A healthy fire ant larva that has just hatched should have a smooth and flawless body surface, clearly visible bright red stripes on its back, and a uniform and glossy color. In addition, it should move nimbly and powerfully."

"If the back lines are blurred, the color is dull, the body is deformed, or the movement is slow, it means that it is a defective product."

"You should remove it from the incubator and dispose of it promptly to avoid adverse effects on the entire colony."

"The characteristics of a healthy scorpion larva are the same as those of a centipede. If you find any defective ones, you should screen and dispose of them immediately."

"Finally, let me remind you that their mothers have all undergone special cultivation by me, so even if these offspring are defective, the toxins they contain should not be underestimated. You should be careful when handling them."

"Do you understand?"

"I understand." Gao De nodded seriously.

"Here, there are a total of 137 fire ant eggs, 89 scorpion eggs, and 43 phantom centipede eggs. Under normal circumstances, it will take about a month and a half for them all to hatch."

"Finally, if the number of qualified larvae does not reach 50% of the number of eggs, the mission will be considered a failure, and you will not receive any reward. It's like you've worked for free for two months."

"If the number of qualified larvae reaches 50% of the number of eggs, the mission will be considered complete. In addition, for every 10% of the number of qualified larvae that exceeds 50%, I will pay you an extra 5 gold coins as a reward." The potion master said with a serious expression, combining kindness and severity.

"I will definitely do my best to complete the task with high quality and quantity," Gao De said respectfully.

Seeing Gao De's attitude, Shaw nodded in satisfaction.

After explaining several details to ensure the survival rate of the insect eggs, he tossed the key to the insect breeding room to Gao De and left in a hurry without looking back.

Potions masters are always very busy.

After watching Shaw leave, Gao De put away the key and began to wander around the incubation room.

Since we're already here, we might as well finish today's work while we're at it.

The next moment, Gao De had already used [Detect Toxicity] to check for any insect eggs that were about to hatch.

Sure enough, after spending half an hour checking all 269 insect eggs, Gaode actually found four eggs that had already produced toxins.

Gao De quickly used [Mage's Hand] to carefully remove the four insect eggs from the small incubator in the hatching room, and then placed them into the three large incubators in the cultivation room according to their species.

After conducting a thorough inspection and confirming that the temperature and humidity of each incubator were within the optimal range for the insect eggs, Gao De closed the door to the insect breeding room again.

Today's work on [poisonous insect breeding] is now complete.

He took out his pocket watch, glanced at the time, and realized it was already dinner time.

Gao De rushed to the restaurant without stopping.

He behaved himself after that meal.

I ordered a budget-friendly set meal for 4 copper coins: rye bread, pea soup, and a piece of smoked pork.

After a good dinner, Gaode returned to Building 30 in Zone 1.

Almost as soon as he returned to his room, Gao De couldn't wait to go to the kitchen and open the earthenware jars where fruit drinks were being fermented with leak-free water.

At this point, a whole day had passed since he cast [Water Creation+] yesterday.

Now is the time to verify whether his conjecture is correct.

When Gao De opened the lid of the earthenware jar, a familiar, peculiar, and delicate fragrance, mixed with a faint fruity aroma, wafted from the jar's opening and entered his nose.

An overwhelming joy welled up in Gao De's heart.

The leak-proof water in the earthenware jar did not disappear!

After half a day of fermentation, the water in the several earthenware jars, which were previously leak-proof, underwent a slight color change, indicating that they had undergone some minor, fundamental alterations.

It is this change that allows the leak-free water to still exist.

The conjecture is correct!

In fact, the flaws in the water-making technique are not difficult to find.

The reason why it has not been discovered, or rather, not widely known, is mainly because it was unnecessary.

The purpose of the "water-making technique" is to produce drinking water for emergency use.

The purpose of producing drinking water is for drinking.

If the water created by the [Water Creation Spell] isn't consumed within a day and dissipates, no one will care.

Because you can simply cast [Water Creation] again when needed.

Who would bother to go through all that trouble to research how to preserve the drinking water produced by the "water-making technique"?

Even Gaode Maps wouldn't.

He went to great lengths to preserve the "leak-free water" created by the [Water Creation Technique+].

"Let's try it tomorrow and see if the 'leak-proof water' effect is still there after fermentation," Gao De thought to himself, clenching his fist.

If the effects can be maintained, the remaining nearly 1 gallon of "Leak-Free Water" fruit drink can last for almost a month if consumed sparingly.

During this short period of time, he persisted in "drawing the lottery every day," and if he could draw "leak-free water" once more, he could continue.

One has two.

Gaode believes that the occurrence of "leak-free water" will definitely not be a one-time event.

As he pondered this, he scooped out the fruit pieces from the earthenware jar to prevent the fruit drink from fermenting further and to allow the leak-proof water to undergo more possible changes in its effects.

After doing all this, Gaode resealed the small pottery jar and then went to the large pottery jar.

With a slight thought, Gao De's magical power began to flow.

Liquid immediately began to gush out of the previously empty earthenware jar.

This is today's "Daily First Draw".

Within seconds, two gallons of liquid appeared in the earthenware jar.

Gao De sniffed.

A familiar, rich, and sweet aroma wafts towards you.

Damn, it's the "minimum guarantee" again!

For the rest of the evening, Gao De set a task for himself: to read through the general books he had borrowed from the library, covering various fields.

He must make up for his lack of "common sense" in these areas in the shortest possible time.

(End of this chapter)