Chapter 250 – Mutant Fruits

For example, the Mobile Kitchen Card contained oil pots, salt jars, and bags of flour — but the oil pots had no oil in them, the salt jars had no salt, and the flour bags had no flour.

This was because the Mobile Kitchen Card had no spatial storage function whatsoever. All of its components could only be stored because the objects themselves were part of the card.

So an oil pot that had been filled with oil couldn’t be directly recalled into the kitchen card.

But if it were a Mobile Kitchen Card with spatial properties, then the entire mobile kitchen would be a self-contained space, and what got stored away was that entire space.

Whether or not there was oil in the oil pot or salt in the salt jar wouldn’t matter — as long as everything was inside the kitchen space, it could all be stored in the card.

And however things looked when they went in was exactly how they’d look when they came out.

That was the difference.

Using the card’s storage capabilities, she could also create a Mobile House Card similar to the Mobile Kitchen Card.

The house itself, along with all its furniture, could be crafted.

But such a house couldn’t hold anything that wasn’t originally part of it.

And because the components were so numerous and varied, the crafting cost was extremely expensive!

A house was meant to be lived in — it was impossible to make everything inside it from cards.

And the longer you lived there, the more things you’d accumulate.

If everything had to stay exactly the same forever, you’d be better off just building a house in the wilderness yourself!

They would be learning Architectural Magic anyway — every generation of young witches had gotten by that way.

Even if the house they built wasn’t great, they’d only be living in it for a year or so.

It was only with the addition of Spatial Magic that a house card could truly become a mobile dwelling.

Mo Lan explained these difficulties to Vasida and Sylph.

“Didn’t you learn Spatial Magic a long time ago? You’ve already created a spatial-attribute magic gemstone — you still can’t make spatial cards?” Vasida asked.

Mo Lan shook her head. “That low-grade spatial-attribute magic gemstone I made with spatial arts — I gave it to the Book of Cards as a sample half a month ago. I can make spatial cards now, but I can only make ones with a maximum internal space of one cubic meter. They can’t store living things, and they can’t store spatial items either. The sample’s quality still limits the Book of Cards’ capabilities.”

“Huh? Then does that mean items shrunk with a shrinking spell can’t be stored in them either?” Sylph asked.

“That’s right,” Mo Lan said.

This was precisely why she hadn’t listed these small-capacity spatial cards in the card shop. For witches, spatial cards like that were too impractical — they weren’t even as useful as a large burlap sack!

Combined with a shrinking spell, a burlap sack actually worked quite well.

“Keep practicing your Spatial Magic!” Vasida patted her on the shoulder and said earnestly, “Even if the Headmistress won’t let us use spatial cards at the Academy, we’ll definitely need them after graduation!”

“Exactly!” Sylph’s eyes were full of anticipation. “If your Spatial Magic gets strong enough, maybe you could create something like a mobile plantation card! Then I’d have a place to keep all my plants!”

“That’s enough from you two!” Although Mo Lan had already been planning something along those lines, she couldn’t stand the way these two looked like they were counting entirely on her:

“You both have talent for Spatial Magic too, you know? Study hard, produce a high-quality spatial-attribute magic gemstone, use Alchemy Magic to craft it into a large-space magical item, and you could carry your own home around just the same.

It’s not going to happen overnight for me to create large-capacity spatial cards.”

“Alright, alright! We’ll study, we’ll study!” Vasida said. “It’s just that we need to learn some combat magic first, otherwise it’ll be a real problem if we can’t even beat wild beasts.”

“Even better — Spatial Magic has quite strong offensive power. And it’s harder to defend against than Elemental Magic,” Mo Lan said.

“Really? Then I should find some time to look into it!” Only now did Vasida show genuine interest.

When it came to learning magic, her priority was always filling her stomach first.

Planting magic and Plant Magic could grow things to eat, so she prioritized those.

Magic with strong offensive power could be used to hunt prey for food, so that was also a priority.

Seeing Mo Lan look her way, Sylph said helplessly, “I still need to prioritize wood-element, planting, plant, potion-brewing, and earth-element magic. Everything else will just have to wait.”

She knew her own situation. As a Sorceress, she had no limitations on magical talent and could learn whatever she wanted.

But her learning capacity and study time were finite. In the beginning, she could only make trade-offs — especially since she still had the mutant plant seeds in the Box of Ten Thousand Seeds to cultivate.

Not everyone could be like Mo Lan, capable of learning all types of magic simultaneously.

“We’ll have plenty of time in the future. Someday we’ll learn it all — for now, let’s just focus on what’s most urgent,” Vasida said. “So you see, when it comes to spatial items, we’re still counting on your cards, Moira.”

By the time they could craft large-capacity spatial items themselves, Mo Lan’s spatial cards would surely already be selling like hotcakes.

The topic was set aside. Mo Lan looked at the fruits and vegetables in their baskets and said, “This should be enough, right?”

They were already so full there was barely room for anything else.

“Two more types. Wait just a moment!” Sylph went ahead to the next two trees and picked a few things. “All done! Everything I’ve newly cultivated recently is right here!”

“Most of these new crops are fruits?” Mo Lan asked.

Though the changes were considerable, many of them were clearly recognizable as mutations based on familiar crops.

“That’s right. This is a mutant apple, this is a mutant raspberry, this is a mutant white pear… I’ve communicated with the plants, and they’re all non-toxic and edible. But as for the exact taste, the plants couldn’t describe it very clearly, so I’ll need you two to help me taste-test them!” Sylph said.

“What’s the trouble in that?” Vasida said. “If they’re good, we’ll have them for dinner. If they’re not, my stomach can still handle them. Absolutely zero waste!”

Mo Lan nodded in agreement. “The mutant plant seeds that appear in the Box of Ten Thousand Seeds are all beneficial mutations. Even if the taste isn’t great, they’ll have other advantages. Tasting them is actually quite fun!”

This wasn’t their first time sampling Sylph’s mutant plants. Every time felt like opening a mystery box.

The three of them used Cleaning spells to wash everything, then spread a picnic blanket on the ridge between the fields. Bathed in the warm glow of the Lantern Tomatoes, they began their tasting.

“Let’s start with this mutant apple!” Vasida picked up the largest fruit from the basket. “Big and red — it looks delicious. I bet the mutation is in the size.”

“Give it a try! The apple tree only said its fruit has more juice than regular apples,” Sylph said.

Hearing this, Vasida felt even more confident about the apple. But past experience with tasting these mutant crops told her she still couldn’t let her guard down completely.

She took a tiny bite, barely breaking the skin.