!
The thought sparked, and Char's gaze fell upon the Devil's Snare root before him. His Christmas holiday was nearly over. Soon, he'd be back at Hogwarts, juggling his courses, Quidditch training, and helping Snape with potions. There was no telling what other troubles might arise. This was his last window of uninterrupted time, and he had to make the most of it. He needed to master every detail of cultivating the Devil's Snare now, so that the moment he got his new experimental plot, he could begin planting immediately. This was the fastest path to tackling the Devil's Snare and, eventually, the even more advanced Whomping Willow.
For that reason, even if a failed attempt might slightly damage the future quality of this particular root, his eyes held a look of unwavering resolve.
Char took a deep breath, then plunged his head directly into a bucket of water, activating his water-enhancement ability. On his system panel, both his magic perception and magic strength surged. With his heightened perception, his newly promoted platinum-level Pruning Spell felt more intuitive than ever. The magic nodes on the Devil's Snare root became sharp and clear in his mind's eye.
Without hesitation, Char pointed his wand at a node. "Arbor-Siccus!"
The most powerful Pruning Spell he had ever cast shot forth, striking the magic node. The tough, leathery resistance he'd felt before was gone. Now, it was like cutting through a crisp sheet of paper with perfectly sharpened scissors. After a brief moment of sluggishness, a refreshing, clean sensation followed.
Rip!
The surface of the Devil's Snare covering the magic node split open. The magical energy within the node flowed like a river, converging at the cut. Seeing this, Char's eyes flashed with triumph. He immediately took out the nutrient potion and carefully dropped a single droplet onto the wound.
Soon, the cut healed over, but Char could feel a new current of magical power flowing into that spot. He knew it wouldn't be long before a new sprout began to grow there, forming the next branch of the Devil's Snare.
A look of delight spread across his face. He glanced above the root and saw a faint, new reward light ball beginning to form. This was it—the cultivation of the Devil's Snare had officially begun.
"Generally, the plant enters the next stage when it has at least ten first-level branches, and the total number of second- and third-level branches exceeds two hundred," he recalled. His eyes flickered with uncertainty. He wasn't sure if he could successfully cut the more obscure secondary and tertiary nodes; his magical perception might not be strong enough yet. But for now, he could at least try to create all the first-level branches.
He cast several more Pruning Spells, but the results were less than ideal. Some cuts produced the same successful reaction, promising new growth. But for nearly half of them, the magic node at the wound completely dissipated. New branches would never grow from those spots.
Char frowned. "About a fifty percent success rate." He paused. This root was in excellent condition; if cultivated perfectly, its rewards could be extraordinary. But if he pushed forward with this success rate, he would destroy almost half the magic nodes, drastically reducing the final number of branches. The final reward would barely reach the silver level. The difference was immense.
He shook his head. "It's still a matter of raw magic power. Even with the water enhancement, my strength is still a little too weak for the Devil's Snare's tough skin. If the Pruning Spell is even a fraction too slow, the magic node is destroyed." He sighed. "But if I wait two more days for the Margaret harvest, this shouldn't be a problem."
With that, Char stopped, planning to resume work on the root in a couple of days. Just as he was about to put it away, his eyes swept across his system panel and caught something unexpected. A small gasp escaped him. His Divine Edge Shadowless Spell, which had been boosted by the [Cutting Spell Blessing (Silver Level)], was already hovering on the edge of promotion from bronze to silver. But in the last few days, despite not practicing the spell at all, the silver luster had suddenly spread to cover more than half of it. It was just a hair's breadth away from a true promotion.
A guess formed in his mind. "I realized before that Snape must have found inspiration from the Pruning Spell when he created the Divine Edge curse. That's why practicing the Divine Edge spell benefits the Pruning Spell. Does it work the other way around, too? The benefits were probably too subtle for me to notice before, but this time, the Pruning Spell's massive leap from gold to platinum must have dragged the Divine Edge spell along with it."
A look of delight spread across his face. The Divine Edge Shadowless Spell was his most powerful offensive magic. Any improvement to it was a huge boon. If it reached the silver level, his overall strength would take another significant leap.
As he was about to put the Devil's Snare root away, a new idea struck him. Since the two spells were connected, could he use the Shadowless Spell instead of the Pruning Spell to cut the magic nodes? What would happen? The cutting power of the Divine Edge spell was far stronger. Could it slice through the tough skin with ease and dramatically increase his success rate?
Once the thought took root, it refused to let go. He gritted his teeth. "My aunt used so much Devil's Snare to guard the Philosopher's Stone; surely she has more roots. I can afford to risk this one."
He raised his wand again. "Sectumsempra!"
The Divine Edge Shadowless Curse shot from the tip of his wand. This time, it cut through the surface of the Devil's Snare with effortless grace. The process was so smooth that Char felt no resistance at all. What made his eyes light up even more was that as the spell cut into the root, the silver luster on his Divine Edge spell on the system panel brightened slightly. The improvement was small, but it was far more significant than when he practiced on his own.
"The Devil's Snare helps train the Divine Edge spell, too? My goodness, this thing is a natural teaching aid! I'll need to cultivate a lot more of these in the future, or I'll run out of practice dummies when my spells get to a higher level."
This discovery filled him with joy. But when his eyes fell on the new cut, his expression shifted to one of surprise and uncertainty. The Divine Edge spell had successfully cut the magic node, but the wound was now coated with the spell's own residual magic, creating a barrier that blocked the Devil's Snare's own power.
He frowned. "At this rate, the plant's magic can't flow out through the wound. Does that mean no new branches can grow?" He sighed inwardly. If that was the case, his brilliant idea was a failure. It was to be expected; the cultivation plans for these plants were the result of generations of work by herbalists. They couldn't be changed so easily.
"It seems I'll have to wait for my magic power to increase and stick with the Pruning Spell after all," he thought, a little dejected. "After all this, I just hope I haven't damaged the root's quality. I didn't kill it, did I?"
He looked up at the reward light ball floating above the root, bracing himself. He could accept it if the light was smaller or dimmer, as long as it didn't disappear entirely. But what he saw shocked him. The reward light ball hadn't shrunk or dimmed. If anything, it seemed slightly larger and was pulsing with a strange agitation, like an eggshell with life brewing inside.
He'd never seen anything like it. Surprised and puzzled, he focused his gaze back on the root, carefully sensing the magical aura at the incision. The Devil's Snare's own magic seemed to be trying to break through the barrier left by his spell, crashing against it in waves. Each impact seemed to correspond with a pulse from the reward light ball.
A new guess took shape. "Could it be… if the Devil's Snare's magic breaks through the barrier, will it produce some kind of strange change?" It reminded him of a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. Had his accidental whim created a chrysalis for the Devil's Snare? If the new branch could break through this cocoon, could it undergo a transformation?
But as he watched, the root's magic, wave after wave, failed to break through. Instead, its own magic and nutrients were being rapidly consumed. The reward light ball above began to flicker, threatening to go out.
Thinking fast, Char grabbed the nutrient potion and dripped a drop onto the wound. Instantly, the light ball stabilized, its pulsing growing stronger. The plant launched an even more violent assault on the barrier, but it still wasn't enough. So, Char poured a dozen more drops in one go.
Fueled by the rich nutrients, the Devil's Snare's magic crashed against the barrier countless times. Finally, in a trance, Char seemed to hear a faint click. A small crack appeared in the "cocoon."
Seeing his chance, he gritted his teeth and poured half the bottle of potion onto the root. It was the final straw. In an instant, the "cocoon" shattered. The Devil's Snare's magic finally seeped out from the wound, and the reward light ball suddenly expanded before his eyes.
A system prompt flashed.
[The Devil's Snare you cultivated has mutated and acquired better traits.]
[The rewards for Devil's Snare will be increased after it matures.]
Then he saw it. The original reward, [Binding Control Spell Chain +1 (Silver Level)], suddenly pulsed with a much brighter silver light, with a hint of gold shining within. It was now a silver-level reward bordering on gold!
At the same time, the original bronze-level [Fire-Resistant Skin] reward was engulfed in a silver glow, becoming [Fire-Fearing Skin (Silver Level)]!
When the changes finally settled, Char's eyes widened in disbelief.
"A double silver-level reward?!"