Chapter 51: Aquatic Herbs, Piranha Algae

Thinking about being able to cultivate another new magical herb, Ciel was filled with anticipation. Currently, the herbs he was growing included Marguerites, Goldfish Vines, and Lumos Shrooms. The first two could respectively increase his magical strength and magical perception, which was essentially improving his magical talent. The Lumos Shrooms could increase his Lumos Charm insights, thereby making his cultivation more efficient. However, when it came to magical combat ability, these plants offered quite limited help. After all, no matter how high one's talent, it still required time to convert into actual strength. If Ciel had no particular concerns, that would be fine. Slowly cultivating these herbs, he would eventually be able to build his talent to unprecedented levels. With a little study of magic, his strength would definitely advance by leaps and bounds. But according to Ciel's memory, Antonin Dolohov's prison break would happen in just a few years. The Sprout family had a blood feud with Dolohov. This beast was also Professor Sprout's obsession. Ciel must kill him! But Dolohov's strength was far from ordinary. The battles he had experienced were countless. To possess the strength to kill Dolohov within just a few years, relying on his current plants was far from enough. Therefore, Ciel had an idea. "This time, let's see if I can find magical herbs that help with combat." Then Ciel walked toward Professor Sprout's office. As soon as he entered, he heard Professor Sprout's cheerful voice. "Ciel is here? You child, today our Hufflepuff held a special banquet to celebrate this week's Lumos Charm final test victory and for leading the House Cup for over a month straight. I thought you would come, but you disappeared somewhere again." Ciel showed some apologetic expression. "Sorry, Aunt. I went to study cultivation." Professor Sprout sighed with an expression of "just as I expected." "Well, I knew it would be like this. After working so hard for so long, you should rest too." Ciel smiled, then brought the topic back to the main point. Professor Sprout wasn't surprised by Ciel's request to grow a new herb. After all, she knew Ciel too well. His love for cultivation was truly ingrained in his bones. When she saw that the Lumos Shrooms had matured, she had already guessed that Ciel would definitely come to talk to her about this. However, Professor Sprout's face showed some difficulty. "Ciel, you wanting to grow new plants, that's no problem. You can use any plant seeds and materials I have here. But you know, several senior students from Hufflepuff are preparing for their herbology thesis publications. Plus some herbologists have applied to use Hogwarts greenhouses—some have been waiting in line for two or three years." She paused, looking genuinely regretful. "If you want to use another experimental plot to grow new plants while cultivating Lumos Shrooms, even I would find it difficult to coordinate." Upon hearing this, Ciel's heart sank slightly. But he also knew how precious the resources of Hogwarts greenhouses were. If not for being Professor Sprout's nephew, it would be impossible for a first-year to have a sizable experimental plot here. To want more, even though Professor Sprout was the Head of Hufflepuff, would be unreasonable. If Ciel was willing to uproot all the Lumos Shrooms, that would make room for growing new plants. But the rewards from Lumos Shrooms were very important to him. The Lumos Charm could improve the maturation speed of many plants, which he couldn't give up either. This was somewhat troublesome. However, Professor Sprout was already prepared for this situation. "Experimental plots are difficult to coordinate in the short term. But Ciel, sometimes growing herbs doesn't require soil. Hydroponics is also a cultivation method. Many herbs actually originate from underwater, and they prefer underwater cultivation environments over soil." Hearing this, Ciel's eyes lit up. "Aunt, you mean..." Professor Sprout smiled. She waved her wand, and a person-high box filled with water appeared before Ciel. "That's right. You can completely use specially made water tanks like this to cultivate some aquatic herbs. This is equally a major direction in herbology, and aquatic herbs are even more diverse than terrestrial ones. This time, try this different cultivation method." Then Professor Sprout waved her wand repeatedly. Water tanks appeared one after another. She controlled these tanks to float and led Ciel through a small door in the greenhouse into another area. The area here was only slightly smaller than the experimental plot areas outside. Such water tanks were neatly stacked everywhere. Professor Sprout stacked dozens of large water tanks in an open space, then smiled and said, "This is our Hogwarts aquatic herb cultivation shed. Except for some herbs that must be cultivated in the Black Lake environment, most aquatic herbs can be cultivated here. I've also coordinated a space for you here." Ciel's face showed delighted surprise. At the same time, warmth surged in his heart. Looking at Professor Sprout like this, she must have quietly prepared everything long ago. Professor Sprout brought over some water tanks containing aquatic herbs and introduced them to Ciel one by one. "This is Gillyweed. It can make the user grow gills and fins, with webbing between fingers and toes. Even people who can't swim can move freely in water like fish after using Gillyweed. This is a very precious herb." Ciel also had a deep impression of this herb. In the original story's Triwizard Tournament second task, they had to rescue hostages taken by merpeople. Harry relied on Gillyweed to dive into the Black Lake. That Gillyweed seemed to have been stolen from Snape's collection cabinet. Being collected by a Potions master showed its rarity was definitely not low. Ciel also glanced at the information that appeared on the Gillyweed. [After successful cultivation, rewards are available—Underwater Movement Ability (Silver Tier), Minimal Mermish Language Insight (Black Iron Tier)] Another herb with Silver-Tier rewards! Unfortunately, Ciel understood that herbs of this difficulty weren't easy to cultivate. The Gillyweed's rewards also didn't have much appeal for him. Therefore, Ciel's gaze turned to the other aquatic plants. Under Professor Sprout's introduction, their reward information became clear to him. But Ciel never saw the combat-related rewards he wanted. Until he saw a nearby water tank covered with completely opaque black cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside. Ciel asked curiously, "Aunt, what's in here?" Professor Sprout shook her head and sighed. "This should be a magical herb called Piranha Algae, cultivated by a former student specializing in herbology. Its requirements for magical perception aren't very high. But its requirements for growing environment are extremely strict—it cannot see the slightest light, or it will immediately wither." She continued with evident frustration. "At the same time, it needs daily trimming to remove some branches, and this process cannot be completed with spells or scissors—it must be done by hand. But it happens to be covered with dense, saw-toothed spines, just like piranha teeth. Every time you trim it in the dark, it leaves small wounds on your hands. The damage isn't severe, but it's very painful." Professor Sprout's expression grew weary. "Because of this, that student simply abandoned it, and no one has chosen to cultivate this herb since." With Professor Sprout's introduction, the reward information for Piranha Algae appeared before Ciel. [Planting Piranha Algae grants reward—Minor Water Affinity Enhancement (Black Iron Tier)] [Successfully cultivating mature Piranha Algae upgrades reward to—Slight Water Affinity Enhancement (Bronze Tier), Minimal Cutting Spell Amplification (Black Iron Tier)] (End of Chapter) *** [Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All Of My Fanfics!!] [www. [email protected]/meowthtl] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]