Chapter 83: Chapter 83
One month later, Locke looked at a Corrupt Soil Taro on the white workbench of his small laboratory.
This Corrupt Soil Taro was a Level 7 synthesized plant that he had created by using three ordinary Corrupt Soil Taros through the Horadric Synthesis Cube.
This Corrupt Soil Taro was gray-green throughout, with eight thick scarlet petals (mutated leaf parts that resembled petals), and the petal surfaces were covered with blue-purple spots, which were parasitic fungi.
These were also the means by which Corrupt Soil Taro manipulated creatures, created large-scale plagues, and reproduced.
Unlike ordinary varieties, the Level 7 Corrupt Soil Taro was not only larger overall by a full size.
Moreover, the top of the Level 7 Corrupt Soil Taro grew a dark green leaf crown, and the tops of the eight thick dark red petals had grown huge spikes.
Locke looked at the description of this Level 7 Corrupt Soil Taro: [Level 7 synthesized item, a mutated product among ordinary Corrupt Soil Taros with a probability of one in ten thousand, all trait expressions approximately twice as powerful as ordinary varieties.]
[Can secrete extremely dangerous toxic fungi. These fungi not only affect neural conduction but can also achieve short-term manipulation of opponents' neural cognition through fungal spore parasitism, confusing opponents' five senses and inverting enemies' cognitive abilities.] Thɪs chapter is updated by N0velFire.ɴet
The most powerful aspect of Corrupt Soil Taro was its ability to release fungi that interfered with biological nerves into the air.
It could be said that this enhancement increased the value of Corrupt Soil Taro itself by more than double.
With this quality of Corrupt Soil Taro, it would probably be difficult to appear on that previous reward list.
Those veteran first-class wizard apprentices would compete for it, how could it fall to those who had just become first-class wizard apprentices?
Locke recalled all the steps of the Mayfly Flower Cannon cantrip model, then carefully placed an oak wood board on the workbench, carved with 49 Ogham runes.
Ogham runes were the foundation of plant magic.
The previous Poison Berry Shot had used only 21 Ogham runes in total, Multiple Manipulation had used 30 Ogham runes, and the simpler Vine Hand had used only 16 Ogham runes in total.
But this time's Mayfly Flower Cannon used 49 Ogham runes in total!
Because this was a 0.8-level advanced magic that could only be learned and used at the first-class wizard apprentice stage, its complexity was incomparable to the Vine Hand series, or even the Vine Surge series spells.
Locke double-checked once more that all Ogham runes were carved correctly with proper angles.
If the Ogham runes were carved incorrectly, then his act of transplanting Mayfly Flower Cannon into his own mana and transforming his mana into a magical field for cultivating the Corrupt Soil Taro King would be extremely dangerous.
At best, he would be backlashed by the Corrupt Soil Taro King and his mana would be greatly damaged; at worst, unpredictable reactions between himself and the Corrupt Soil Taro King could cause severe injury or even death.
"Okla ji~" Locke began chanting the complex incantation, his mana continuously flowing into the Corrupt Soil Taro's body.
Sensing Locke's mana, the Corrupt Soil Taro King reacted. The thick petals and crown leaves swayed gently, and the roots began writhing, becoming incredibly greedy, even wanting to directly manipulate the roots to attack Locke and absorb his mana.
Soon, the roots of the Corrupt Soil Taro King, reeking of rotting stench, coiled around his back, and through his collar and sleeves, were about to burrow toward the skin surface under his clothes.
Locke's expression remained indifferent. This was something he had anticipated long ago.
This was one of the great dangers of Mayfly Flower Cannon.
Overly powerful magical plants would actively backlash against wizards.
Therefore, the danger level of transplanting a Corrupt Soil Taro King was actually much higher than transplanting an ordinary Corrupt Soil Taro.
Locke chanted an incantation, and his mana immediately transformed into heavy pressure, suppressing the Corrupt Soil Taro King and forcing it into submission.
Immediately, the Corrupt Soil Taro King's roots struggled continuously, seemingly very unwilling.
From inside its flower, it emitted sounds resembling animal whimpering.
Its roots continued greedily absorbing magical power on Locke's skin surface, engaging in a tug-of-war with Locke.
The medium-grade magical item Locke wore underneath as underwear, the Berserk Rhinoceros magic-resistant leather armor, was torn to tatters and soon full of holes.
It was fortunate he wore this leather armor, otherwise his own body would have been damaged.
During Locke's struggle with the Corrupt Soil Taro, around Locke's waist was a belt inlaid with thirty Indigo Jades that he had synthesized during this period.
This belt was concealed, and Locke rarely wore it out normally, so other wizards could hardly discover that he carried so many Indigo Jades.
Each of these Indigo Jades could store ten points of mana, and thirty of them could store three hundred points of mana. With this mana pouring in, Locke's magical power was greatly enhanced.
Thus, in this most crucial tug-of-war, the scales tipped toward Locke's side, and his mana completely subdued this Corrupt Soil Taro.
The Ogham runes on the workbench disappeared one by one, while the surface of the Corrupt Soil Taro King's dark green flower body lit up with rune after rune.
About half an hour later, all 49 Ogham runes appeared on the surface of the Corrupt Soil Taro King and merged into it, forming a complex cantrip model formula.
The roots of this Corrupt Soil Taro King were completely connected with Locke's mana. The two were interconnected, and this Corrupt Soil Taro King automatically floated in mid-air, slowly rotating behind Locke like a Ferris wheel.
Behind Locke, it was slowly rotating in a perfect circle.
The so-called Mayfly Flower Cannon was using cantrip model formulas to modify Corrupt Soil Taro, transplanting it and connecting it with one's own mana, using one's own mana to maintain the Corrupt Soil Taro's state while performing certain modifications and enhancements, giving it floating abilities and enabling it to fire forward like spore cannonballs.
Locke poured the Mayfly Flower Cannon energy modification liquid he had prepared in advance onto the Corrupt Soil Taro King floating behind him, completing the final step. In this final modification, Locke discovered that spell rune images representing Mayfly Flower Cannon had appeared in his mental sea.
This way, the spell potential of the Corrupt Soil Taro King would be fully unleashed by [Mayfly Flower Cannon], allowing it to fire powerful spell fungal spores at enemies in combat, many times faster than the fungi the Corrupt Soil Taro King could produce on its own, and at least several times stronger.
The difference between medium to high-level magical plants operated by first-class wizard apprentices and those without first-class wizard apprentice operation was enormous.
The threats they could pose were completely different.
Locke gently exhaled a breath of stale air. "Finally completed."
"If I hadn't used large quantities of Indigo Jades to assist me, with my current mana, I couldn't have completed Mayfly Flower Cannon at all."
"Because I have foundations in potion-making and decent foundations in botanical spells, I could learn the Mayfly Flower Cannon spell model relatively quickly, but insufficient mana is a critical weakness that's hard to change in the short term."
"However, Indigo Jades very well compensated for this weakness of mine."
Locke smiled. "Completing this spell has deepened my understanding of botanical magic. I still need to quickly obtain a breeder certificate so I can sell some relatively high-level synthesized plants for money."
"I need to escape poverty as soon as possible."
"Let me first test the power of Mayfly Flower Cannon."
The Mayfly Flower Cannon behind Locke fired a shot at one wall of the laboratory. Immediately, the eight thick petals of the Corrupt Soil Taro King opened like a mouth, revealing the dark space inside filled with fungal spores.