Chapter 116 – Germinating Wheat Seeds

Chapter 116 – Germinating Wheat Seeds

Ever since that conversation with the Headmistress where she’d stumbled upon her own problems, Mo Lan hadn’t missed a single Magic Q&A class.

Although none of these issues were ones she’d asked about during the Q&A sessions themselves, Mo Lan had come to recognize the true value of the Headmistress’s guidance.

Until her reading caught up, she couldn’t afford to miss these classes.

Especially given her situation—she was different from the other young witches. There was no telling where she might go astray, and she wouldn’t even know something was wrong.

Each time, Mo Lan would wait for the other young witches to finish asking their questions and have their doubts resolved before chatting with Lady Amisha.

Sometimes she didn’t even come with specific questions in mind—she’d simply start talking with the Headmistress and discover problems along the way.

Because sometimes, she couldn’t identify her own issues on her own.

In short, she was determined not to waste a single minute of Magic Q&A class.

Lady Amisha patiently answered each question while having one of her other selves help her eat a few more small cakes.

A class without small cakes was an imperfect class.

*

“Headmistress, I’ve finished fertilizing all my fields! Next I need to learn the Growth Acceleration spell for germination, right? What should we plant?”

Mo Lan could hardly wait to learn her next spell.

Amisha produced a small bag of wheat seeds from her pocket. “Let’s plant wheat! The book covers how to do it—just follow the instructions.

“Before the wheat produces ears, you can use the Lush Flourishing spell on the entire seedlings to make them grow stronger. Once the wheat has produced ears, apply it to the ears themselves.

“During the growing process, if the soil isn’t fertile enough, you’ll need to use the Fertile Soil spell to enrich it.

“If weeds sprout, use herbicide potion to remove them promptly. If insects appear, spray insecticide potion right away.

“Until you’ve started your potions classes, you can come to me for potions…”

Mo Lan couldn’t help interrupting at this point. “Headmistress, can I get recovery potions too?”

“No!” Amisha snapped. “Only these two types of potions! And only during planting magic class!”

“Oh!” No bargains to be had—Mo Lan was thoroughly disappointed.

Amisha ignored her puppy-dog eyes and continued:

“The climate in the Academy Core Area is pleasant, with frequent sunny weather. Only certain areas like the farmland receive a few hours of rainfall in the early morning hours of Saturday nights. So you won’t need the temperature-control magic array for now, though you will eventually—you can learn about that in Alchemy class…”

Mo Lan’s head snapped up, her eyes blazing with interest as she stared at Lady Amisha.

One look and Amisha knew—another question was coming. “Go ahead!”

“If the climate is so pleasant, then why were we issued School Robes for all four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter?” Mo Lan asked.

“Because only the Academy Core Area is like this, and even then, only most of it. You’ll need those clothes later when you visit the herb gardens and other areas of the Academy!”

Amisha said, “Any more questions?”

Mo Lan shook her head, and only then did Amisha continue:

“When you’re first learning planting magic, remember to germinate plenty of seeds and plant lots of wheat—you’ll need more practice material later on! Once you’ve used up this bag of seeds, you can get more from the seed warehouse next to the Ingredient Collection Station.

“Alright, off you go!”

Mo Lan carried her wheat seeds to her own plot and got to work.

She’d read the textbook. Wheat in the world of Valen wasn’t much different from wheat on Earth—the planting methods were largely the same.

The memories of Earth in her mind had long since taught her how to grow wheat. What she needed to learn now was how to use the Growth Acceleration spell for germination, the Fertile Soil spell to fertilize soil, the Lush Flourishing spell to promote harvests, and potions for weeding and pest control.

The casting methods for these spells were no different from those for the Fertile Soil spell and the Spring Water spell.

The command for the Growth Acceleration spell was to accelerate growth.

The command for the Lush Flourishing spell was to flourish and yield abundantly.

Once Mo Lan had settled on exactly how to frame her commands, she cast the germination spell on a single wheat seed.

Mana transformed into energy that promoted plant growth, surging from her wand tip and pouring into the seed. With a pop, a tiny sprout burst forth.

Mo Lan had barely a second to feel pleased before the sprout withered.

“???”

It had germinated—that was undeniably a success! So why had it withered so quickly?

“You pushed it too long, too hard. It’s just one tiny little seed—the nutrients couldn’t keep up, so of course it died.”

Lady Amisha had appeared behind her at some point, offering guidance.

“Isn’t the energy for rapid growth provided by the Growth Acceleration spell? How can it die so easily from lack of nutrients?” Mo Lan asked.

“Of course not. The Growth Acceleration spell only accelerates—it speeds up the plant’s growth process. The energy for growth still comes from the earth. If you’re talking about directly providing energy to a plant, that would be the Lush Flourishing spell,” Amisha said.

Now Mo Lan understood where the problem lay—she’d pushed the acceleration too far.

She picked up another wheat seed, used just a tiny bit of mana, and stopped casting the moment it successfully sprouted.

This time it worked. The sprout didn’t wither and looked perfectly healthy.

After that, Mo Lan wised up. She first lightly moistened the soil in front of her, then placed the wheat seed into the earth before using the Growth Acceleration spell to germinate it.

This time, after the sprout emerged, it also developed roots that gently gripped the soil, drawing up nutrients. It kept growing until it reached about ten centimeters, then stopped changing.

No matter how much more mana she poured in, the seedling wouldn’t grow any faster.

“Sigh! Looks like I’ll have to let it grow on its own,” Mo Lan sighed.

“Be grateful! An ordinary Apprentice-level young witch using an Apprentice-level Growth Acceleration spell can inject at most one percent of her total magical power—less than one Mana—which would only sprout a tiny bud at best,” Amisha said.

The Apprentice-level Growth Acceleration spell was originally only capable of producing a small bud, yet when a Sorceress used it, it grew straight into a seedling.

“Is that so!” Mo Lan suddenly felt quite satisfied with her five-centimeter seedling.

“When you have nothing else to do, go ahead and cast the Growth Acceleration spell on them more. As long as the soil is fertile enough and nutrients keep up, the effects will accumulate, and they’ll grow faster than they would naturally. It’s just that the difference isn’t very noticeable right now,” Amisha said.

“Got it!” Mo Lan obediently began germinating her wheat seeds.

She planned to plant about a third of this plot with wheat, practicing until she’d mastered the spells before moving on to growing other fruits and vegetables. There were so many different plants in *A Few Things About Growing Vegetables: An Introduction to Plant Magic*!

At the very least, she needed to learn how to grow everything she loved to eat, so she wouldn’t have to worry about food after her second year.

By the time she’d planted two small bags of wheat seeds—setting aside those whose seeds were in poor condition and hadn’t germinated successfully—all the rest had become seedlings.

With the seedlings planted, her Growth Acceleration spell had also advanced to the Beginner level. After enriching the soil once more, she cast the Growth Acceleration spell on the seedlings, and they shot up another stretch.

A small patch of verdant wheat field appeared in her plot.