Chapter 24: Serie's Shock
With Serie's hands-on guidance, Rhodes quickly got the hang of plant magic.
He cast a spell, manipulating a vine as thick as his finger, making it slowly coil around his hand, then tighten. After getting a feel for its strength, he released it.
Seeing Rhodes learn plant magic so quickly, the expression on Serie's face was a little unnatural. The speed was simply too fast.
She should have known. She should have realized it the moment she met him outside the Great Elven Forest.
How could he cast the elves' light magic just by watching it?
How could he modify and even analyze the arrow rain spell on his very first try?
Why was there no obstacle for him when it came to learning magic?
There was only one answer.
This man's talent for magic was far greater than her own.
The small spark of pride she had felt moments ago was instantly crushed into dust. For our little Grand Master, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Perhaps he just happens to be good at light and plant magic. If it were any other type of magic, he wouldn't be this efficient.
Having managed to convince herself with this line of reasoning, Serie put on a nonchalant expression. "Not bad. A little slower than I was, though."
"Can't be helped. I'm already trying my best." Rhodes, of course, had no idea our little Grand Master was just putting on a brave face. "By the way, do you elves have any more useful plant spells? Something that can promote plant growth, for example."
"How could there be!?"
Rhodes was dumbfounded. What kind of plant magic doesn't have a rapid-growth spell? That's just heresy.
He had been hoping to learn such a spell, so he would only need to carry some seeds with him. When he needed food, he could just sow a handful and solve all their problems. The rapidly grown plants might even produce more seeds for next time. An endless, self-sustaining cycle. He wouldn't have to worry about genetic limitations; magic was just that incredible. Truly great, no more words needed.
"But you could try to create one," Serie said, a mischievous tone in her voice. "That should be your specialty."
From the spells Rhodes had created so far, she had deduced that his [Creation] needed a basis, a starting point. His light and arrow rain spells were based on her own light magic, and his fire spell seemed to need a medium. This meant that he couldn't just have a sudden flash of inspiration and create a new spell out of thin air. If he could, the very laws of magic in this world would be thrown into chaos.
Faced with Serie's teasing, Rhodes lowered his head, contemplating the feasibility of such a spell.
"You know, I think I will give it a try."
"Er..." Serie was stunned. "You can really create it? We could just go look for a druid. They have similar spells."
Druids had special plant seeds. When thrown to the ground and infused with mana, they would rapidly grow into a thicket of vines. But this wasn't truly a plant-growth spell; it still relied on the properties of the seed itself. It was different from what Rhodes was asking for. And if Rhodes really did create a rapid-growth spell just by 'thinking about it', Serie would be well and truly shocked. Because that would mean he had an incredibly terrifying potential.
Perhaps her decision to go on this adventure with him had been the best decision of her life.
"It's fine. I reckon the principle is more or less the same. And even if it's different, I should be able to achieve the same effect. I'll give it a go."
In his old world, there were many ways to make a plant grow quickly. The slower methods involved controlling factors like fertilization, sunlight, and temperature. The faster method was to just use growth regulators. Fortunately, he understood the principles behind it all. Who knew being a poor, beleaguered science student in his past life would come in so handy?
Rhodes sat down cross-legged and took a handful of seeds from his pocket. He had collected them from various edible plants along their journey, originally intending to use them for tea. After all, when you're out in the wild, you can suffer many hardships, but you should never have to suffer bad food. Flower tea, leaf tea, seed tea… rotating through the different kinds was the true way to enjoy afternoon tea.
"First..." he muttered to himself, "I need to accelerate the breaking of the seed's shell."
Curiosity piqued, Serie squatted down beside him, her golden hair hanging just above the ground. She watched as he buried the seeds in the earth, closed his eyes, and a green mana began to flow from his fingertips.
"Accelerate cell division, and at the same time, regulate the seed's hormone levels."
Rhodes mumbled a string of words Serie didn't understand. The light of his mana flowed from his fingertips and into the ground, seeping into the seeds.
Then, a faint green light emanated from the buried seeds, and a tender sprout emerged from the earth, growing at a visible rate.
"This...!" Serie's eyes widened. He actually did it!?
Tiny beads of sweat formed on Rhodes's forehead, but a triumphant smile played on his lips. This level of fine mana control was no less difficult than attaching mana to a spell that had already been cast. It required immense concentration. A single misstep would have rendered the seed inert. Rhodes had been prepared for failure, but to his surprise, he had succeeded on the first try.
"Why have you stopped?" Serie asked, seeing that the seed had only sprouted and wasn't continuing to grow.
"It's night. I have to wait until daytime to use photosynthesis to promote growth."
"Photosynthesis?" Serie tilted her cute little head. The man had been spouting a stream of incomprehensible words. 'Cells,' 'hormones,' 'photosynthesis'—she didn't understand any of it! Was it some kind of special human code?
"Er, it means sunlight," Rhodes quickly explained. "Plants need light to grow. It's common knowledge in my homeland."
Hearing this, Serie extended a delicate finger, and a small 'Light' spell appeared at her fingertip, a beacon in the dark night. "Will this do?"
"No. That light is too intense for a plant." The light from a spell was different from sunlight. It was like the difference between the artificial sun of the Land of Light and the sun of Earth. The former could make an entire race evolve, while the latter was just a big, hot star.
"But how did you do it?" Even though the plant hadn't grown to the extent she had imagined, the mere fact that it had sprouted was enough to leave Serie in awe.
"Did you... just create a druid spell out of thin air?" she mumbled.
Rhodes scratched his head. "The principle is actually quite simple. You just accelerate the division of the plant cells and..." Seeing the blank look in Serie's eyes, he changed his explanation. "Er, you just make the plant think it's been growing for many years."
Serie looked at him with disbelief, her expression clearly saying, are you taking me for a fool?
Rhodes just shrugged, as if to say, that's just how it is.
"Too weird," Serie finally managed to squeeze out through her teeth.