Chapter 252: The End of the Secret Realm Tour
“So beautiful… Such a perfect existence… What a pity…” Sofiry kept sighing in front of this so-called Mother Plant, but in the end, it turned into a deep sigh.
“What a pity? What’s wrong?” I asked curiously.
“I may not be able to transplant it to my plantation while alive. This outer shell is meant to maintain its growth and reproduction in a constant cocoon. The corrosive liquid that just sprayed out is the constant liquid used to soak this Mother Plant. Look, it has already started to turn yellow compared to its previous color, and the tools I brought can’t store it…”
“So it’s my rashness, is it?”
“No, it’s not your fault. Even without you, we would find a way to open it. If I had known to prepare better when we came here, we wouldn’t have so many regrets.” Sofiry shook her head and finally closed the book.
“At most, I can make a specimen of it. Let’s see if there’s anything else worth gaining.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded in agreement; after all, I’m not a professional in this area. Compared to specimens, I care more about whether there are good things left by previous seniors inside.
After all, such a grand event surely isn’t just an accident, right?
“By the way, if it dies, will the entire area of Giant Erosion Thorn have issues?” At this moment, I thought of something and asked with some worry, after all, I didn’t forget that causing significant damage would involve compensation.
“Well… It seems like nothing will happen. This is just the Mother Plant; without it, the Giant Erosion Thorn will only spread more slowly in this area. Moreover, since it won’t need to nourish the Mother Plant, the Giant Erosion Thorn here might grow even more vigorously.”
“Hmm, then I’m okay.” I watched as Sofiry skillfully dealt with the plant vines, and I couldn’t help but wait quietly.
“Almost done, the most valuable parts for research have been rescued. However, inside… there is indeed something!” After sorting out the items, Sofiry took out a bottle from the pile of materials.
The plant roots and stems clung to the surface as if they had grown on it for a long time.
However, I was also amazed by the quality of this bottle; it remained intact even in such a corrosive environment and under powerful external pressure. What kind of divine manufacturing technique is this?
“Let me see what’s inside; it feels like there are plenty of things, which should be very precious.”
Cheng Yu took the bottle and pulled at it for a while, working together with her Yan Yan before finally opening it.
“Thanks, Yan Yan~ You’re amazing~” Cheng Yu praised her big bear next to her.
Then she took out the contents from inside the bottle.
When the items inside were spilled out, they were all parchment papers densely filled with writing.
“Can you tell what it is?” I asked with concern.
“Um… It seems like it’s not a potion formula… These sheets don’t appear to be…” Cheng Yu frowned, clearly struggling to understand these items.
“Let me take a look…” Sofiry took the parchment and held it up to her face. After looking at it for a while, her expression became intriguing.
“This is a potion formula, but it’s not the usual formal format. Instead, it’s an experimental record, with complete potion proportions and precautions! Also… this part has failure cases and failure summaries. Although it doesn’t look as concise and clear as a formula, its value is much higher than that of a formula!” After reading the beginning, Sofiry’s gaze swept to the content below, and she excitedly spoke.
“Sorry… I got a bit too excited. This potion formula seems to use this Giant Erosion Thorn and its products as the main ingredients… Classmate Yue, this is very important to me. I will go back and make money…”
“Wait, I said I need to copy it; there’s no need for you to monopolize it, right?” I interrupted Sofiry.
“Oh, right, right, that’s true. I got too nervous; sorry, it should indeed be like that.” Sofiry quickly reacted, realizing her mistake and could hardly lift her head.
“It’s fine, I’ll just take pictures with my phone to record it. In any case, we need to leave here first. It’s best not to stay here too long; after all, don’t we still need to head to that area with the Dark Thorn Grass?”
“Right, that is indeed the case.” Cheng Yu nodded in agreement, supporting the idea of leaving first.
After all, there was only this road coming in, and if someone came along it, conflicts could easily arise.
When leaving, we chose another path, and I took a picture of the formula.
It was indeed a precious find left by previous seniors; if worst comes to worst, it could also be exchanged for good things.
Continuing onward, the area with the Dark Thorn Grass was adjacent to that of the Giant Erosion Thorn. Unlike the area of the Giant Erosion Thorn, which was nearly killing the trees, the Dark Thorn Grass here was relatively lush, and the light from above was barely visible.
Moreover, the refraction of light through the leaves here was also problematic, making it feel quite eerie as we walked.
“The Dark Thorn Grass is different from the Giant Erosion Thorn; this thing doesn’t have as many as the Giant Erosion Thorn, but it is definitely a top predator here. It might be anywhere… Wow!”
As Sofiry introduced us while walking forward, she seemed to be less cautious this time, possibly due to my protective shield. Before she finished her sentence, a vine shot out and directly hit the energy shield.
“That scared me! I didn’t expect to encounter Thorn Grass so quickly!” Recovering, Sofiry immediately took out a potion and threw it toward the source.
Then a sound of corrosion and the vine crashing into the grass followed.
“Wait, didn’t you say you wanted to collect Dark Thorn Grass? This just got rid of the grass, right?” I asked.
“This is Thorn Grass; Dark Thorn Grass is a variant of this type of Thorn Grass. The environment here is special, greatly increasing the probability of variance appearing. The previous one was very clearly not one.”
“Oh, I see…” I nodded and didn’t say anything further. It seems we still need to remain vigilant here; otherwise, without protective measures, injuries can happen at any time.
After a long search, we finally found such a mutated sample.
At this moment, it was noon, and returning would require a long journey to the nearest teleportation array, so we decided to rest at a relatively safe location.
“Today’s harvest was even better than expected, and it went more smoothly than anticipated.” Cheng Yu sat on a large rock, and her good partner, Yan Yan, the big bear, imitated her and sat down, appearing somewhat clumsy. However, it was looking around vigilantly, checking for any dangers.
We set up a campfire here to heat up food.
“Anyway, thank you, Yue. If it weren’t for your protective spell, we would probably be returning with serious injuries this time.”
“It seems I also need to find a way to get a protective spell. I have to say, it is indeed quite effective.”
“Hmm, it really is quite good. Speaking of which, don’t you often visit secret realms? Didn’t you ever think about using a protective spell?” I asked curiously.
“Thought about it, really wanted to, but obtaining spellbooks is not so easy, right? Small spellbooks have some inadequate effects. I do have a small spellbook shield, but the effects are subpar.” Cheng Yu shook her head.
“Oh, I see… it’s somewhat surprising… I thought…”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised. I thought basic consumable spellbooks were plentiful in the academy, but I didn’t expect them to struggle even to find a protective spellbook.
Or rather, is this the reality of ordinary students in Witch Academy? I’m just a lucky one who has deviated from this group?
“Of course, without strength, there are no resources to obtain, and without resources, you can’t get spellbooks. It’s a vicious cycle… If I had known a few years ago, I would have taken it more seriously.” Cheng Yu complained while looking at me enviously. It was clear that what I was demonstrating was making her slightly envious.
“It’s fine; at worst, I can support you~” Sofiry spoke up at this moment.
“I don’t accept sponsorship! Give me a chance to work harder; if it doesn’t work out, then you can sponsor me…”
“May I ask, what is your relationship with each other?” I frowned and leaned back a little, asking.
Are you trying to feed me dog food?
“Probably not yet officially dating…” Sofiry said quietly, looking down.
“Don’t listen to her nonsense; we’re just roommates.” Cheng Yu corrected.
“Oh, I see.” I smiled meaningfully at them, they’re still in the ambiguous stage, right?
Look at this damned Witch Academy, it has even forced girls to develop improper relationships!
But… actually, I don’t oppose this kind of relationship between girls and even find it pleasant. After all, at the moment we become witches, there is only one path we can take: to become Extraordinary Witches.
Otherwise, without the ability to conceive the next generation, it doesn’t really matter whether your partner is male or female.
At this moment, it was already noon, and I hadn’t brought any food. The food was given to me by them, as they were already prepared to stay for a whole day or two. After all, with storage equipment, all those complicated burdens were stored inside.
“By the way, we’ve actually collected enough. Our storage equipment is not large, and it was already a bit full just now. How about we divide up some of the spoils now?” Cheng Yu suggested.
“I have no problem.” I nodded. If it weren’t for my presence, they might not need this step, but since I’m an outsider, it’s necessary to clarify some things.
“We originally planned to engage in prolonged combat, but since we completed ahead of time and the harvest is still quite good, should we rest and then continue exploring other places or go back?”
Cheng Yu spoke, as this still depended on my opinion; they actually wanted to seize the opportunity to continue exploring since it was a place they could only visit once a month.
However, unfortunately, their storage equipment was full. They hadn’t expected such a rich harvest this time, especially the specimen of the Giant Erosion Thorn Mother Plant, which took up a large portion of space.
If we actually went to explore a new area, there wouldn’t really be any gains, and it would waste everyone’s time.
“In fact, I can leave first. The secret realm here is quite different from what I imagined. If you still want to continue exploring, you don’t need to consider me.” I pondered for a moment before speaking.
The things here were far from what I expected, and the gains weren’t substantial. The monsters weren’t powerful either; they mainly consisted of strange plants, offering little trial value. After busying for an entire morning, it was time to summarize a bit.
“Yue, are you going back? Then let’s go together. Actually, we have also gained quite a lot. Our storage equipment is full, so it’s good to go back together and have each other’s back.”
“Hmm.”
I nodded without refuting. I could tell they wanted to continue, but considering everything, they went along with my suggestion. Was this power dynamics?
“Regarding these materials, Classmate Yue, is there anything you want to keep? If not, I can convert them into red copper for you.”
“Hmm… How much would it be if these were converted to red copper?” I asked with curiosity since I really had no experience in this area.
“Well… Probably a little over a hundred.” Cheng Yu calculated and replied.
“A hundred…”
I had no concept of this price. I didn’t even have any red copper; the lowest I had was secret silver. For me, these had little value.
“Is it too little?” Cheng Yu asked with some concern, “This… actually isn’t that little. After all, it’s just a Carnivorous Forest secret realm; the market price of the things produced inside isn’t high…”
“Maybe…” After all, it only took a red copper to enter this secret realm, and a trip provided a hundredfold return, so who wouldn’t be envious?
Unfortunately, I seemed to still have some disdain for it.
“Forget it, I can do without these. Can I get some materials related to planting these spirit plants and magical variant plants? Or recommend some book titles; I’ll look for them in the library.”
“Um?” Cheng Yu seemed a bit at a loss upon hearing my request, unsure of what I was thinking.
“Sure, of course! I have a lot of planting master insights, many of which are content I compiled myself. May I ask if you really don’t want other compensations?”
“Hmm? If you’re willing to provide, then I naturally don’t need anything else.” I nodded and looked at Sofiry, sensing that she seemed to have changed her demeanor.
Clearly, she was a rich girl who contracted an entire plantation; why is she so concerned about this matter?
“Sorry, recently there’s been a situation with the plantation, and we’re short on funds. A little over a hundred red copper really amounts to a significant cost for us. Oh, I have those notes with me; let me know which ones you want, and I can give them to you directly.” She seemed to see through my thoughts and had to explain.
Looking at Sofiry and Cheng Yu, I also began to realize that although red copper was the lowest among the three currencies I was familiar with, it was still an extraordinary material. Its price, when measured in common currency, was indeed quite high. Therefore, the actual value of a little over a hundred red copper might be much more expensive than I had expected.
I just hadn’t adapted yet.
Achieving the extraordinary means you earn more, but the level of expenditures also increases. However, in reality, I still haven’t earned much. Unless I was willing to lower my status and go back to my previous environment.
But that was impossible. I had already embarked on the path of the extraordinary; how could I possibly regress like that?
In the end, I selected several of her handwritten notes, which were neatly written and clearly legible. Most of them were cultivation insights. Perhaps I could find a time to record these insights into the memory shelf spellbook and enrich my foundation.
We finally arrived at the teleportation array, and the noon time had already passed.
“By the way, just to confirm, are you really not taking any other compensation?”
“Hmm, I only want things that interest me.” I spoke again, feeling that the other party seemed worried about me being at a disadvantage, which was indeed a bit annoying.
“Well, fine. Can we add each other as friends after we go out? If you need any materials or potion formulas, feel free to ask me; I’ll give you a nine… eight percent discount, an eight percent discount!”
“Thank you for the kind offer.” I flipped through Sofiry’s notebook. If I could remember some of the content, I wouldn’t have to let these things occupy the space in my memory shelf.
“Well then… until we meet again by chance.”
After coming out from the teleportation array, I had gained a lot of understanding of the entry and exit processes of the secret realm. After adding each other as friends, I swiftly left.
“That one really is a great senior…” Cheng Yu sighed as she watched my disappearing figure, “Sofiry, say something. Why aren’t you speaking?”
“Wait… what was their name? Yang Yuelan?”
