Chapter 230: Chapter 230

Belissar watched as the karnuq hunters took turns at the Shrine of Bees. The shrine glowed bright for each one and Belissar noticed the hunters’ mana grow stronger. It seemed that this indeed was the way forward for the karnuq to receive blessings, which in turn would progress one of his longest-running missions.

He considered how else he might help them. He recalled Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik both mention that mana-infused food, like his bees’ mana honey, would promote the growth of mana in those who ate it. Maybe he should start giving the karnuq more honey?

On the other hand, they would naturally gain access to more as he taught them beekeeping and invited hunters who fought in purifications to the post-battle celebrations, so perhaps things were fine as they were now. In any case, it was time for the celebration, so Belissar put those thoughts to the side and started to bring out the honey these hunters had earned.

It would turn out, however, that the karnuq were not the only ones growing…

A worker covered in small, glowing specks of mana flower pollen landed on a water lotus, careful not to fall into the water. After drinking some nectar and flying off, the center of the lotus began to glow faintly…

A gardener landed on the flax flower, dusting her legs to brush off the glowing pollen. The workers didn’t like to visit this one. It produced less nectar than other flowers, its nectar had no particular features of note, its pollen was heavy and hard to carry, and its delicate petals that couldn’t Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.

So, the gardener took it upon herself to see that these flowers were properly cross-pollinated, allowing the workers to focus on more productive flowers. She brushed her antennae up and down the stem of the flower, mingling her mana into the trace amounts flowing through the mundane plant. If her observations were accurate…the flowers were nearly ready to produce seeds. She’d find out in the next day or two if her efforts would be rewarded…

In the Dirt Tunnels of the Fourth Floor, a digging worker flew through pitch-black tunnels. She could send out small pulses of mana through the air to identify her immediate surroundings, and landed at regular intervals to send longer ranged pulses through the ground. As such, she had no issue navigating without her sight.

And then, finally, she found her target. Vines growing along the floor of the tunnels, melding into the darkness to hide from sight. But practically shining bright to her mana pulses given the density of their own mana…especially within their flowers. She landed on the closest flower and found it gushing with nectar for its first ever visitor.

The gardener steeled herself and approached the seed once more, shivering as she passed through the mist. She wrapped her legs in a loose cage around the glowing light, holding it with mana rather than chitin. She then flew off, the light pulled along by her mana as she made her way to the shortcuts. She passed through and arrived in the orchard. A worker from the Orchard hives flew up to her immediately.

She danced as best as she could while keeping hold of the seed.

“Fairy Grove. New seed.”

The gardener followed the worker to the Fairy Grove’s entrance. A gardener from the Orchard hives flew over as they approached.

“New seed? What kind?”

“From mana flower, wants cold. Feels cold.”

The Flower Meadow gardener couldn’t help but shiver as she danced.

The Orchard gardener took over from the worker and led the Flower Meadow gardener inside, and then the two gardeners flew through the Fairy Grove. The grove was…weird. The colors of the trees and the flowers seemed to shift ever so slightly, telling the gardener to turn to stay on course. The leaves above rustled and swayed and somehow made it seem like the sun’s rays were coming from different directions, throwing off her orientation. Even the tiny-lightnings everywhere tried to pull her in different directions. The mana of the Tower, however, still flowed through this place, and it told her to keep flying straight. And that is what the Orchard gardener did, so the Flower Meadow gardener did so as well. Ɽ𝘼₦о𝐁Ε𝐒

Eventually, they arrived near a nexus of rapidly shifting mana.

The Flower Meadow gardener didn’t need the Orchard gardener to tell her so. The seed in her legs began to vibrate as it resonated with the mana concentrating in the air. The temperature of the area was still too high but the rapidly shifting mana ahead of her contained occasional flashes of light-blue and white that matched the seed’s own glow. Her instincts felt it should be sufficient to make up for the unsuitable environment.

So, she simply let go of the seed. The seed agreed with her assessment as it drifted down, passing into the dirt near the nexus. The Flower Meadow gardener landed and brushed her antennae against the soil, buzzing her wings as her mana felt the seed begin to take root.

The Orchard gardener acknowledged her and then the two flew off. There was plenty to do before the seed grew…