Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Sacred Tree Spirit Puffball
Upon entering the secret realm fragment, Richard was greeted by a fragrant scent full of life. He surveyed his surroundings: the secret realm fragment was roughly 300 square meters in size, shaped like a hemisphere with a sky several hundred meters above. The ground was covered in delicate flowers, and a black barrier at the edges protected the fragment from being torn apart by spatial turbulence.
"The magic level here is about twice that of the wizarding world, though much lower than the Principal's secret realm. Temperature is about 26 degrees Celsius, humidity around 40%, air composition similar to the wizarding world, and no harmful components. Besides that..." Richard assessed the fragment based on his senses, then focused on a particularly large flower bud at the center of the floral field.
He approached and gently poked the bud.
The bud opened, revealing a white puffball with transparent wings, which flew out.
"Is this... a flower spirit?"
Richard attempted to communicate with the puffball using his mental power, receiving only a wave of fear in response.
"Don't eat me!" The puffball transmitted a mental wave to Richard. "I'm useful!"
Richard rubbed his chin. Did he look like some kind of demon?
Unbeknownst to him, the puffball perceived the world through life sense rather than sight. In its perception, Richard, as a wizard apprentice engaged in bloodline alchemy, resembled a stitched monster.
"Tell me your use," Richard communicated mentally.
"I can... I can do many things! I can make flowers grow better, bloom more abundantly. I can also... also..."
The puffball struggled to articulate its usefulness to the stitched monster.
As a basic flower spirit among the lowest of its kind, its capabilities were limited to hastening flower growth and producing nectar for noble spirits.
But the creature before it clearly preferred meat!
Sensing the puffball's trembling, Richard was puzzled.
Though he did consider dissecting the puffball, he intended first to conduct long-term behavioral observations and non-lethal tests.
Who would dissect their only specimen right away?
"Heh heh heh, hastening flowers, what's the use of that? What else can you hasten besides flowers?"
Richard suddenly laughed menacingly, feigning a fierce demeanor.
"Hasten other things? I can! I can hasten many things, everything except the Sacred Tree!" the puffball hurriedly responded.
The creature wasn't interested in nectar after all!
"Then prove it to me."
Richard placed an Egle Grass seed from his pocket on the ground. If the puffball could hasten its growth, he'd be thrilled.
The puffball flew in circles over the seed, releasing a faint magical wave into Richard's perception.
"Hmm? This little thing uses raw magic energy like a wizard," Richard thought, surprised.
According to wizard records, most astral creatures alter the nature of magic energy based on their bloodline or soul, granting various peculiar effects.
But this small creature used raw magic energy, a rarity.
A flicker of excitement crossed Richard's mind.
If not for having just one, he'd dissect it for a specimen right away.
As the magical wave ceased, Richard noticed a crack form on the seed, from which a small green shoot emerged.
"See! I wasn't lying!"
The puffball's mental wave was faint, seemingly exhausted by the hastening process.
"It did hasten, but this effect isn't enough!"
Richard continued his menacing laughter, nearly causing the puffball to crash to the ground.
"W-what more do you want?"
A sly glint appeared in Richard's eye as he pulled out a slave contract from his pocket.
"Sign this, and I won't eat you."
"R-really?" The puffball landed on the contract. "How do I sign it?"
"Leave a mental imprint on it."
"Okay! I'll sign it, but you must keep your word!"
The puffball left a mental imprint on the contract, and Richard followed suit with his name.
In an instant, the parchment turned to ash, establishing an invisible bond between Richard and the puffball.
The contract was sealed!
"With the contract signed, things are easier. From now on, you're my gardener. Your job is to hasten the seeds I plant."
Hearing Richard's words, the puffball felt relieved. Its small life was spared. While it didn't understand the concept of a gardener, hastening seeds was familiar work.
"Okay, as long as you don't eat me!"
Richard nodded in satisfaction. "Good! Very spirited! I'll give you a name—Puffball."
"Yes, I'll be called Puffball from now on!" the puffball replied enthusiastically.
As the lowest of flower spirits, it had no name. Names were for nobles.
Yet Richard had given it a name!
Puffball's mind, somewhat simple, had already forgotten Richard's earlier threats and even began to like him.
"Hee hee, Puffball. I have a name now!"
Richard planted several Egle Grass seeds from his collection in the ground, mindful that while Puffball could hasten their growth, the environment of the secret realm fragment might not support their survival.
Richard then asked Puffball numerous questions about its species, history, social structure, and reproduction. Puffball, not particularly intelligent, often strayed off-topic, keeping Richard engaged for over an hour.
From Puffball, Richard learned it belonged to a race called the Sacred Tree Spirits, a society operating under a feudal system. Puffball was the lowest tier, responsible for tending flowers and harvesting nectar, akin to peasants in human society.
Sacred Tree Spirits reproduced asexually, producing seeds during their lifetime. When planted, these seeds grew into spirit flowers housing the spirits.
Intriguingly, despite their low intelligence, Sacred Tree Spirits could inherit memories.
A spirit's seeds would inherit all its memories, initially sealed, but accessible as the spirit matured, serving as a knowledge repository.
If a Sacred Tree Spirit mastered a skill, its descendants would inherit that skill.
This feature led to a rigid societal structure, where low-tier spirits were prohibited from accessing other roles' 'magic.' Any spirit using magic beyond its status faced execution.
Nobles remained nobles, peasants remained peasants.
After gathering this knowledge, Richard left the secret realm fragment.
The Sacred Tree Spirits were too few to be of immediate use.
But the future held promise.
Wizards waged war for Grand Wizards not without reward; with enough merit, obtaining a piece of land from another world was feasible.
Given Sacred Tree Spirits' ability to hasten plant growth, Richard might cultivate medicinal herbs for a stable magic stone income.
With a wizard's long lifespan, long-term gains outweighed short-term ones.
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