Soon after, Ciel returned once again to the greenhouse.
The moment he stepped inside, he felt something unusual—an uncanny clarity.
It was as if he could suddenly perceive the condition of the magical herbs with far greater precision.
For instance, with simpler magical plants like glow mushrooms, Ciel could now distinctly sense the flow of magic through their mycelium.
He could even trace the exact path of the magic coursing through each filament.
When he noticed the magical energy in a dozen or so hyphae was weak, he instinctively cast a pruning spell to cut them away.
As expected, the remaining hyphae immediately absorbed more magic, becoming stronger and more vibrant.
Compared to his past experiences, this was an enormous improvement in efficiency.
Ciel took a deep breath, awe in his eyes."No wonder magical perception is so crucial for herbalists, potionists, and alchemists," he murmured.
"With high perception talent, it's like reading magic flows as easily as reading lines on a palm.
Any problem becomes instantly apparent."He thought about his earlier struggles."Back then, with my weak magical perception, everything was a blur. I had to expend several—sometimes dozens—of times the effort to achieve a fraction of the results.""There's no way I could've ever achieved true mastery of herbology relying on that level of talent."He clenched his fist with resolve."Thankfully, I have the planting system. One day, I'll enhance my perception to a level even master herbalists can't reach."Then, Charles made his way across the experimental field into the aquatic plant cultivation shed.
He had previously halted his experiments with the piranha algae due to insufficient magical perception.
But now, both his magical perception and his mastery of the Frequency Light Spell had undergone qualitative breakthroughs.
His proficiency with the spell had even advanced to the Gold Level."That should be enough," Charles said seriously, focusing all his attention on the upcoming spell.He visualized the magic flowing within him—each thread of power clearly etched in his mind.
The energy gathered steadily into his ash wand.
His understanding of the Frequency Light Spell surged within him.
Then, he moved.
With a swift, practiced motion, Ciel drew a near-perfect circle in the air with his wand tip.
As he completed the circle, he gave a precise flick of the wrist, perfectly following the flow of magic.
He spoke in a low, resonant voice."Lumos—Frequens!"The wand hummed in affirmation—the spell had succeeded.
But to the naked eye, no light appeared.
Still, Charles exhaled slowly, a spark of excitement in his eyes."It's done!""My heightened perception and spell control have pushed the Frequency Light Spell beyond the visible spectrum.""Even farther than I imagined.""If my theory is correct—that the piranha algae thrives in light beyond the visible range—then this time, their reaction should be completely different."Without delay, Charles pulled out a fresh batch of piranha algae seeds.
He sorted them into experimental groups based on different light frequency bands produced by the spell.
After a moment to steady himself, he raised his wand."The experiment begins!"He first exposed the algae to light slightly beyond the visible spectrum.
This time, the mortality rate was significantly reduced.
More than half the algae survived exposure.
However, their condition still didn't match the control group grown in total darkness.
Then Charles turned his attention to other groups, each exposed to increasingly distant frequencies.
What he saw astounded him.
The farther the frequency moved from the visible range, the lower the mortality rate became.
The algae fronds appeared healthier, more vibrant.
Eventually, at a specific frequency, the growth of the piranha algae nearly matched the dark-grown control group."This must be the critical frequency—the threshold at which piranha algae begin to thrive."Charles's heart raced with anticipation.
And yet… he could push further.
His spellcasting ability could still handle higher frequencies."Let's see what happens when they receive the full spectrum of light they desire."He adjusted the frequency groups again and cast the spell.
On the surface, the algae looked the same.
But Charles, with his enhanced perception, noticed subtle changes.
The magical aura in the plants was shifting—gradually, yet unmistakably.
From the system panel, prompts began to appear.[Piranha algae is undergoing unknown mutations...]More lines followed.
Until finally, at a particularly high frequency:
The algae transformed.
They reacted like beasts waking from hibernation.
The air grew thick with magical energy—hunger radiated from the plants.
Their fronds began to stretch rapidly, far exceeding the size of the control group's.
They reached desperately for light, as if it were sustenance.
The small, jagged edges along their leaves began to expand into formidable, tooth-like spikes—resembling actual piranha teeth.
Then, the system message confirmed it:[Unknown mutation of Piranha algae completed]
[The rewards provided by Piranha Algae have changed...]A jolt of euphoria surged through Charles."I was right!""The piranha algae is a light-craving plant, only activating fully once it reaches this critical frequency!"But his excitement was short-lived.
The newly mutated algae began to move again.
They fought—violently.
Each frond fought to dominate the light source.
In mere moments, all but one algae remained in each test tube.
The victor swelled to enormous size, monopolizing every sliver of light.
Charles stared, stunned."From communal clusters to all-out combat for light?""Unbelievable."Indeed, no Muggle botanist could ever imagine a plant acting this way.
But the implications troubled him.
If this behavior persisted in larger tanks, only one algae would survive per container—yielding only one reward light ball per batch.
Compared to the previous dense clusters, this was a huge drop in output.
Charles frowned, weighing the gains and losses."I need to see what kind of reward this mutated piranha algae offers."He focused on the system's previous prompt.
The first thing he noticed was a bronze-colored notification.[Cultivate the mutated Piranha Algae to maturity and receive reward: Small Bonus to Cutting Spells (Bronze Level)]His eyes lit up."It's directly upgraded to Bronze?!"Previously, similar plants offered Iron-level bonuses.
A Bronze-level reward was a major leap—and worth considering despite lower quantity."If I want to stack spell enhancements, collecting countless Iron-level rewards loses effectiveness over time.
Bronze-level rewards stack more powerfully."Still caught in contemplation, Charles was about to analyze the full list of rewards when something else caught his attention—
A glimmer of silver appeared on the panel.
He froze."Is that… a Silver-level reward?!"His entire body tensed, stunned by the development.
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