Chapter 42: Cutting Effect, Nimbus 2000

Ciel Sprout stared at the Pruning Charm on his system panel, now upgraded to Silver Tier, a wave of joy swelling in his chest. His second Silver-Tier spell—finally achieved! After the Soil Loosening Charm had reached Silver Tier, it had unlocked the ability to stimulate more vitality in the soil itself. This improvement had increased Ciel's success rate when planting any magical herb, and the plants matured noticeably faster. The benefits were undeniable. Now, with the Pruning Charm also promoted, he wondered what kind of qualitative change it would bring. Unable to contain his anticipation, Ciel hurried toward the greenhouse. In his experimental plot, the Lumos Shrooms had already formed large clusters of caps, all entering the final stage of growth. But no matter how ideal the greenhouse conditions, some caps inevitably developed poorly and needed pruning. Others grew so densely that a single mushroom couldn't supply enough nutrients to all the caps. If left unpruned, the entire patch would suffer from malnourishment, and eventually, even the caps would degenerate. This was the busiest time for the Lumos Shroom field, demanding long hours of careful pruning. Ciel's eyes gleamed. "Perfect timing to test the upgraded Pruning Charm and see what's different." He raised his wand and began casting repeatedly. "Arbor Siccus!" The charm's light fell over the caps. One by one, they were pruned away, turning to ash that nourished the remaining mushrooms. Ciel carefully observed the spell's effects. "It's more precise than before," he noted. "It cuts exactly what needs to be removed, causing less damage to the healthy parts. Also, nutrient loss during pruning is reduced. The pruned parts provide more nourishment than before." He nodded slightly but still looked thoughtful. These were good improvements, but not yet a true qualitative leap. Where was the real change after the Pruning Charm's promotion? He continued casting, focusing on every subtle difference. Finally, on nearly the twentieth cast, a pruned cap caught his attention. Unlike the others, it didn't dissolve into nutrients. Instead, it remained perfectly intact—like a brand-new Lumos Shroom. Witnessing this, a guess formed in Ciel's mind. "Could it be that the Silver-Tier Pruning Charm has a chance to let pruned parts re-root and grow? Like cuttings?" He took a deep breath and carefully planted the cap into the soil. The next moment, glowing text appeared above the planted cap: [You have successfully planted a Lumos Shroom and can receive a reward...] [After the Lumos Shroom matures, the reward will upgrade...] At the same time, a smaller reward orb appeared on the newly planted mushroom. Ciel's guess was confirmed. "It really has a cutting-like effect! Some pruned parts can survive intact and grow into new individuals." Although cuttings were common in Muggle agriculture, they were much harder than ordinary planting. Getting cuttings to take root and grow was no easy feat—one wrong move and they would die. In magical herbology, the difficulty was even greater. Ciel hadn't expected the Silver-Tier Pruning Charm to achieve this effect. Though the success rate was low—at most five percent—if each pruning had a five percent chance of survival, after several large-scale prunings the accumulated gains would be significant. He estimated that a plant's growth cycle required at least four to five full prunings. By that calculation, planting one hundred plants could eventually yield one hundred and twenty. That meant a twenty percent increase in total rewards! An improvement too great to ignore. "And this is only the Silver-Tier Pruning Charm." "If it reaches a higher level, then after a hundred plants and several prunings, the harvest might even double!" Ciel's heart swelled with joy. He was very satisfied with the effect of the Pruning Charm after its upgrade. Looking over the field, still dotted with many caps waiting to be pruned, his eyes shone brightly. Pruning was absolutely the most tedious and patience-testing part of planting. After all, one had to carefully decide which branches to cut and which to keep. Pruning one or two plants could be a leisurely pleasure, but a whole field? It was a nightmare for any agricultural student. After hours of pruning, backs ached, and eyes blurred. Ciel had only persisted because he had long adapted to this boring, repetitive work—and his legendary vitality kept him from tiring. As for enjoyment? Not really. But now, the Pruning Charm made it feel like playing the lottery. Every time a cap was preserved and replanted, the thrill surged through him. "Another free reward! Awesome!" Ciel lost all sense of time, immersed in this blind-box-like experience. Even on his system panel, the silver glow on the newly promoted Pruning Charm deepened little by little. It wasn't until noon the next day that Professor Sprout entered the greenhouse and saw a surprising sight. Ciel was buried in the field, anxiously searching, looking very eager. "No luck?" "Why not?" "Can't find it anywhere." Professor Sprout hurried over. "Ciel, did you lose something? Tell me what it is—I'll help you find it with Accio." Ciel stood up. "Not lost anything." "I've just gained new insights into the Pruning Charm." "Pruning Lumos Shrooms is so satisfying." "But I think I've pruned all the parts I can. I can't cut the healthy caps, can I?" He sighed, his face full of lingering satisfaction. After this night's work, the silver glow on his Pruning Charm had noticeably deepened. Practically, the survival rate of pruned caps had risen by about ten percent—from five to roughly five and a half percent. This made Ciel eager to prune even more. If he could raise the success rate further, his final harvest would be much richer. Besides, casting the Pruning Charm on thin air was far less effective practice than actual pruning. Unfortunately, there was nothing left in his experimental plot for practice. The other plants in the greenhouse belonged to other students—some tied to important research papers. Naturally, Ciel wouldn't touch those. Professor Sprout listened, stunned for a moment, then smiled wryly. "You're quite the child..." "I've never seen anyone so passionate about pruning plants." She shook her head and advised him. "Ciel, your love for herbology is admirable, but at your age, you need to be more active. You can't spend all day in the greenhouse." "I'm afraid you're about to start growing mushrooms yourself." Like magic, she produced a long, slender package from behind her back. "Look what this is—a custom Nimbus 2000 flying broomstick!" "This is my gift to you for joining the Hufflepuff Quidditch team." "Perfect timing—our team starts training this afternoon." "You need to go relax." "Come on, open the package and take a look." Ciel's heart warmed. "Thank you, Auntie." He dismissed the idea of staying in the greenhouse any longer. His work was done, and there was little else to do. Besides, helping Hufflepuff win the Quidditch Cup and making Aunt Sprout happy was something he'd wanted to do for a long time. So this afternoon, he'd go train. Carefully, he unwrapped the package and pulled out the Nimbus 2000 broomstick—an absolute masterpiece. Its lines were elegant and glossy. The handle was crafted from mahogany, and the long tail was neatly bound with straight, orderly twigs. "Nimbus 2000, for my dear nephew Ciel Sprout." These golden words were inscribed on the broom's top. Ciel gently stroked the broom. It truly was a work of art. Professor Sprout smiled. "This is nothing like the brooms you used in Flying Class." "Those messy old things, with twigs untrimmed for who knows how long, almost ready to be discarded alongside brooms from hundreds of years ago." "They don't deserve your flying skills, Ciel." "This afternoon, show them what you can do with this Nimbus 2000." Ciel was about to nod when something caught his attention. "Auntie, what did you say?" "Messy brooms with twigs waiting to be pruned..." "What kind of wood are flying broom twigs made of? Magical willow, or something else?" "Hogwarts has discarded a huge number of such brooms over the centuries—some from hundreds of years ago are still stored in the warehouse by the Quidditch pitch?!" Ciel took a deep breath, gripped the Nimbus 2000, and dashed toward the Quidditch pitch. "I can't wait." "I'm heading there right now!" (End of Chapter) *** [Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All Of My Fanfics!!] [www. [email protected]/meowthtl] [+300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]