Chapter 120 – Pop Pop Pop

Chapter 120: Pop Pop Pop~

The young witches obediently lined up one by one and walked deeper along the path, examining the various grasses on either side as they went.

Most of them had thick main stems and fine, dense secondary stems—one glance was enough to tell they’d be suitable for making broomsticks.

And many were in their seeding period!

With such a wide range to choose from, it was actually harder to make a decision.

The young witches would walk a couple of steps, spot a nice-looking plant, and pick a few seeds. Then walk a couple more steps, spot another nice one, and pick a few more.

By the time they reached the end of the path, Lady Amisha reminded them, “We’ve arrived at the Broomstick Grass planting area.”

By this point, every young witch had a big handful of grass seeds in her pockets.

At the end of the path lay a sunny meadow, complete with a small stream.

A wooden plank bridge sat across the stream, and beyond it stretched a patch of overgrown farmland with several red brick buildings behind it.

The plots weren’t large—each one roughly four square meters, perfectly square, separated by low hedges.

But the fields appeared to have been left fallow for some time, overrun with weeds.

Lady Amisha stopped once she’d led them to the farmland. “This is where you’ll plant your Broomstick Grass. One plot per person. First, clear the weeds, turn the soil, and fertilize it.

That shortest building over there is the tool shed—there are some small farming implements you can use, though I imagine you probably won’t need them.”

This was the young witches’ area of expertise.

One by one, they fished their Witch Farming Tool Cards out of their pockets.

For plots this small, the young witches had them tidied up in less than half a class period.

“Next, you need to use your magical power to attune the seeds until they sprout!” Amisha said. “Take note—you are not allowed to use the Growth Acceleration spell!”

The young witches pulled out the grass seeds they’d picked along the way and were about to blanket them with magical power.

With their current level of Magic Infusion skill, spreading their magical power to attune something palm-sized was practically effortless.

Lady Amisha said nothing, and quietly took a few steps back.

“Pop~”

“Pop~”

“Pop~”

The grass seeds exploded in the young witches’ palms, blasting them right in the face.

Not a single seed survived.

When the young witches had first started learning Magic Infusion, none of them had ever made a blunder this spectacular. They were filled with disbelief.

Even Mo Lan was a bit dazed. The moment she’d begun attuning, the instant her mana covered the seeds, they’d reacted as if they bore a personal grudge against each other—the whole handful just blew up!

She’d even faintly sensed a wave of indignation and humiliation.

“Two tigers cannot share one mountain, and one witch cannot ride two broomsticks. Never handle two Broomstick Grass seeds at the same time, and never cultivate two Broomstick Grass plants together. Even if you’re preparing two broomsticks, don’t let them share the same space—they’ll fight!” Amisha’s explanation arrived fashionably late.

The young witches: “…”

This Broomstick Grass sure had a temper!

But it could fly! What else could they do? Pamper it, of course!

The seeds from before were all ruined, so the young witches had no choice but to head back into the forest and pick new ones.

They might not have a temper with the Broomstick Grass, but that didn’t mean they had no temper with Lady Amisha. “I definitely didn’t imagine it! The corners of Lady Amisha’s mouth never went down the whole time she was talking! She was absolutely laughing at us!” Vasida said.

“Look on the bright side—this is Lady Amisha’s signature trial-and-error teaching method. At least it left a deep impression on us. What can you do? She’s the Headmistress!” Mo Lan said.

She didn’t dare say much more, lest Vasida get flicked on the forehead from a distance again.

Teachers in her previous life couldn’t wait to teach you everything beforehand and then have you do practice problems. Lady Amisha, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to let you score a big fat zero first, have a laugh at your expense, and then tell you how the problem was actually supposed to be solved.

It had to be said—on the merit of making a lasting impression alone, Amisha’s teaching method was superior. It was just a bit hard on the young witches.

This time, they’d wised up. Each witch picked only a single seed, giving it the absolute treatment of an only-child Broomstick Grass.

The seed didn’t snub them this time either—no more exploding in their faces. It obediently sprouted and was planted in the soil.

The tiny sprout tip was quite adorable, showing absolutely no sign of its earlier blow-up-in-your-face attitude.

“Good! Starting today, you must come and attune your Broomstick Grass at least once every day, until it’s fully grown and can be harvested to make a broomstick!

During this period, you may use the Fertile Soil spell to enrich the soil, and you may use the Lush Flourishing spell to help the Broomstick Grass grow better, but you may not use the Growth Acceleration spell.

If it grows too fast and the Broomstick Grass hasn’t been thoroughly attuned—hasn’t had time to become familiar with your power—the broomstick you make in the end won’t be able to fly.”

Amisha continued, “That concludes Broomgrass Cultivation class. Starting tomorrow, the afternoon class period will be switched to Potions class. Tomorrow we’ll still meet in Greenhouse No. 1, where we’ll begin by getting acquainted with common magical plants.”

The young witches: “???”

“Wait, Headmistress, that’s it? Class is over?” Sylph had heard from Mo Lan earlier that Broomgrass Cultivation wouldn’t last very long, but she’d never expected it to be just one lesson!

“This is a magical plant too! You’re just going to let us cultivate it on our own? What if we kill it?!”

“What’s left is simply ongoing attunement—there’s not much more I can teach you.

These grasses are inherently hardy, and after being attuned, they’re even easier to keep alive. With your prior experience growing vegetables, it’s essentially impossible for you to kill them.

And even if you do, you can just plant another one. You’ll just end up making your broomstick a bit later than the other young witches.”

With that, Lady Amisha made her glamorous exit.

“Hold on! Lady Amisha said to attune once a day, but she never said how long each session should be!” Vasida suddenly realized.

Mo Lan had already summoned her Grimoire. “Don’t bother thinking about it—it’s definitely in the book! At this rate, I bet public classes will get fewer and fewer before long…”

“No wonder I’ve never seen any fourth or fifth-year seniors coming to the Castle for classes since the enrollment ceremony. Don’t tell me they’ve all been self-studying at their residences!” Cheryl quipped.

“You guessed right!” Mo Lan had proofread the upper-years’ workbooks, so she had a fair understanding. “The fourth and fifth-year workbooks are given to them for supplementary practice on their own—they don’t count as mandatory homework…”

“What? How is that fair?!” The young witches didn’t mind having little, but they did mind having less than others.

“But the exams still cover everything.” Mo Lan added.

“Oh, well then…” The young witches felt better about that.

“Found it! Page 29!” Mo Lan said, looking at 《A Guide to Cultivating Broomstick Grass》. “During the Broomstick Grass cultivation period, attune at least once per day. Each session must attune every part of the Broomstick Grass, and it must be the witch herself who personally performs the attunement. Only then will the resulting broomstick be more compatible with its witch…”

“At least once? So the more times the better?” Sylph asked.

Mo Lan nodded. “Most likely. The book says the attunement process is also the process by which the Broomstick Grass recognizes its master.”