Chapter 252: The Secret Realm Sightseeing Ends
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 252: The Secret Realm Sightseeing Ends
"It's so beautiful... such a perfect existence... what a pity..." Sofiri crouched before the so-called mother plant, sighing repeatedly in admiration and regret.
"A pity? Why's that?" I asked curiously.
"I probably won't be able to transplant it to my plantation alive. This large outer shell was originally a Constant Cocoon that maintained its growth and reproduction. The corrosive liquid that sprayed out earlier was the Constant Liquid used to soak this mother plant. Look, its color is already starting to yellow compared to before. The tools I brought aren't capable of storing it either..."
"So, was I too reckless?"
"No, it's not your fault. Even without you, we would have found a way to open it. If I had done more homework before coming here, there wouldn't be so many regrets." Sofiri shook her head and finally closed her book. "At most, I can take some specimens. Let's open it up and see if there's anything else to be found."
"Alright."
I nodded without objection. I wasn't a professional in this field, after all. Compared to specimens, I was more interested in whether there were any good items left behind by senior sisters from previous years.
With such a grand setup, this couldn't all just be an accident, right?
"By the way, if this thing dies, will it affect the rest of the Giant Erosion Thorn Vines?" I asked, a bit worried. I hadn't forgotten that I'd have to pay for any large-scale damage.
"That... shouldn't be an issue. This is just the mother plant. Without it, the Giant Erosion Thorn Vines will simply spread more slowly. In fact, because they no longer have to feed the mother plant, the vines here might actually grow even more lushly."
"Okay, then I'm good." I watched Sofiri's professional handling of the vines. I couldn't really help, so I just waited quietly.
"Almost done. The parts with the most research value have been salvaged. And look... there really is something inside!" After organizing her materials, Sofiri pulled a bottle out from the pile.
Plant roots were clinging to it as if they had grown right onto the glass, showing just how long it had been sitting in there.
I was also amazed by the quality of the bottle. To remain perfectly intact under such corrosive conditions and intense external pressure—what kind of divine manufacturing process was this?
"Let me see what's inside. It feels like there's quite a bit. It must be something precious."
Cheng Yu took the bottle and struggled with the stopper for a while. It took the help of her partner, Yanyan, to finally get it open.
"Thanks, Yanyan~ Good girl~" Cheng Yu praised the large bear, stroking its fur.
Then, she poured out the contents.
It was a stack of parchment covered in dense, tiny handwriting.
"Can you tell what it is?" I asked.
"Uh... it doesn't look like a potion recipe... none of these pages do..." Cheng Yu's brow furrowed deeply. It was clear she couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Let me see..." Sofiri took the parchment and held it close. After a moment, her expression became quite animated.
"This is a potion recipe, but it's not in a standard format. These are experimental records! It has the complete ratios and precautions! And... look at these failure cases and summaries at the back. It might not be as concise as a standard recipe, but its value is far higher!" Sofiri scanned the pages, her voice growing excited.
"Sorry... I'm a bit worked up. Um, this recipe seems to use the Giant Erosion Thorn Vine and its byproducts as the main ingredients... Moon, this is very important to me. I'll go back and scrape together the money..."
"Wait, I said I wanted a copy. There's no need for you to keep it all to yourselves, right?" I interrupted.
"Oh, right, right! Of course. I was just too nervous, sorry. That's exactly how it should be." Sofiri snapped out of it, realizing she had been a bit foolish. She was suddenly too embarrassed to look up.
"It's fine. I'll just take photos with my phone. Anyway, we should leave soon. We don't want to stay here too long. Aren't we supposed to head to the Dark Thorn Vine Grass area next?"
"Yes, exactly." Cheng Yu nodded in agreement.
There was only one path in and out. If someone else came along, a conflict would be hard to avoid.
As we left, we chose a different route, and I made sure to photograph the entire recipe.
It was a treasure left by a senior sister, after all. Even if I didn't use it, I could probably trade it for something good.
We continued forward. The territory of the Dark Thorn Vine Grass was adjacent to that of the Giant Erosion Thorn Vines. Unlike the latter, which nearly choked the trees to death, the Dark Thorn Vine Grass area was much more lush. Down below, you could hardly see any light filtering through from above.
Furthermore, the way the leaves refracted the light was unsettling, lending the area a truly eerie atmosphere.
"Dark Thorn Vine Grass is different from the Giant Erosion Thorn Vine. It's not as numerous, but it is absolutely the apex predator here. It could be anywhere... Whoa!"
Sofiri was introducing the area as she walked. Perhaps because of the shield I had given her, she wasn't as cautious as before. Before she could finish her sentence, a vine shot out and slammed into her energy shield.
"That scared me to death! I didn't expect to run into one so soon!" Once she recovered, Sofiri immediately threw a potion at the source.
The sound of corrosion and vines thrashing in the brush followed.
"Wait, didn't you say you wanted to collect Dark Thorn Vine Grass? You're just killing it?" I asked.
"That was just a regular Thorn Vine. Dark Thorn Vine Grass is a variant. The environment here is unique, so the probability of variants appearing is high. That one just now clearly wasn't it."
"I see..." I nodded and said no more. It seemed we needed to stay alert at all times; without a shield, one could get hurt at any moment.
After a long search, we finally found a mutated specimen.
By then, it was already noon. If we wanted to head back, even the nearest teleportation array was a long walk away, so we decided to rest in a relatively safe spot.
"Today's haul is bigger than expected, and things went much smoother than I thought they would." Cheng Yu sat on a large rock. Her partner, Yanyan the bear, mimicked her and sat down as well. It looked a bit silly, but the bear was looking around vigilantly for any danger.
We started a small fire to heat some food.
"Anyway, thank you, Moon. If it weren't for your protection spell, we probably would have gone back with heavy injuries again."
"I think I need to find a way to get a protection spell too. Seriously, the utility is amazing."
"Yeah, it really is. Speaking of which, you guys come to secret realms often—haven't you thought about using protection spells?" I asked curiously.
"We've thought about it! We want one so badly! But spellbooks aren't that easy to get. The ones in Small Spellbooks aren't very effective. I actually have a shield from a Small Spellbook, but the results are... underwhelming," Cheng Yu said, shaking her head.
"Is that so? That's a surprise... I thought..."
I raised an eyebrow. I had assumed Basic Consumption Spellbooks were common in the academy. I hadn't realized that even finding a decent protection spellbook was a struggle for them.
Or was this the reality for the average student at the Witch Academy? Was I just a lucky outlier who had already moved beyond this demographic?
"Of course. Without strength, you can't get resources. Without resources, you can't get spellbooks. It's a vicious cycle... If I'd known, I would have worked harder these past few years." Cheng Yu complained, looking at me with envy. Clearly, the methods I had displayed were something she truly coveted.
"It's fine. If worst comes to worst, I'll just take care of you~" Sofiri chimed in.
"I refuse to be a kept woman! Give me a chance to work harder. If I really can't make it, then you can take care of me..."
"If you don't mind me asking... what exactly is your relationship?" I asked, leaning back slightly with a frown.
Are they trying to feed me "dog food"?
"We're... like a couple that hasn't started dating yet..." Sofiri whispered, looking down.
"Don't listen to her nonsense. We're just roommates," Cheng Yu corrected.
"Oh, I think I get it." I looked at them with a knowing smile. Girls in the "ambiguous" stage, right?
Look at this damn Witch Academy, forcing girls into "improper" relationships!
But honestly, I didn't mind this kind of relationship between girls; in fact, I was happy to see it. From the moment we became witches, we only had one path: becoming Transcendent Witches.
Since we didn't have the ability to produce offspring ourselves, whether a partner was male or female wasn't really that important anymore.
It was noon now. I hadn't brought any food, so I ate what they shared with me. They had prepared to stay for a day or two; since they had storage equipment, they could just pack all their heavy supplies inside.
"By the way, we've collected almost everything we need. Our storage space isn't that big, and it's already getting full. How about we divide the loot now?" Cheng Yu suggested.
"Fine by me." I nodded. If I hadn't joined them, they might not have needed this step, but since I was an outsider, it was better to keep things clear.
"We originally planned for a long haul, but we finished early and the harvest is good. So, after this rest, should we keep exploring other areas or head back?"
Cheng Yu asked, mostly looking for my opinion. They actually wanted to seize the opportunity to keep exploring, since they could only come here once a month.
Unfortunately, their storage was full. They hadn't expected such a bountiful harvest, and the mother plant specimen took up a lot of space.
Exploring new areas wouldn't yield much if they couldn't carry anything, and it would be a waste of my time.
"Actually, I can leave first. This secret realm is quite different from what I imagined. If you want to keep exploring, don't worry about me," I said after a moment's thought.
The things here were far from what I expected. The harvest wasn't great, the monsters weren't very strong—mostly just strange plants—and there wasn't much value for trial purposes. After a busy morning, it was time to go back and summarize.
"Moon, are you heading back? Then let's go together. We've actually gained a lot, and our storage is full anyway. It's better to have company on the way back."
"Okay."
I nodded and didn't argue. I could tell they wanted to stay, but considering everything, they were following my lead. Was this the power of being the strongest in the group?
"Regarding these materials, Moon, is there anything else you want to take? If not, I'll convert your share into Red Copper."
"Hmm... if converted to Red Copper, about how much would it be?" I asked. I really didn't have much experience with this.
"Hmm... about a hundred or so," Cheng Yu said after a quick calculation.
"A hundred-plus..."
I had no concept of that price. I didn't even have any Red Copper; my lowest currency was Mithril. These things didn't have much value to me.
"Is that too little?" Cheng Yu asked worriedly. "This... it's actually not that little... after all, this is just the Carnivorous Forest. The market price for things from here isn't that high..."
"Maybe..." After all, the entry fee for this secret realm was only one Red Copper. A hundredfold return on one trip would make anyone's eyes turn red with envy.
Unfortunately, I still found it a bit underwhelming.
"Forget it, I don't need the money. Could I have some information or techniques related to planting these spiritual, magical, or alien plants instead? Or just recommend some book titles, and I'll look for them in the library."
"Eh?" Cheng Yu was caught off guard by my request, unsure of what I was thinking.
"Yes! Of course! I have a lot of planter's notes here, many of which I organized myself. Um, are you sure you don't want any other compensation?"
"Hmm? If you're willing to provide those, then I certainly don't need anything else." I nodded at Sofiri. I felt like my impression of her had changed again.
She was a "rich woman" who owned an entire plantation; why was she so concerned about this?
"Sorry, the plantation has been having some issues lately, so finances are a bit tight... A hundred-plus Red Copper is a significant amount for us. Oh, I have my notes with me. See which ones you want, and I can give them to you directly." She seemed to read my mind and explained.
Looking at Sofiri and Cheng Yu, I began to understand. Although Red Copper was the lowest of the three currencies I knew, it was still a transcendent material. If measured in ordinary money, it was actually very expensive. A hundred-plus Red Copper was likely worth much more than I had imagined.
I just hadn't adapted yet.
Becoming a Transcendent meant earning more, but the level of expenses rose as well. In reality, I hadn't earned that much yet—unless I was willing to lower myself and return to my previous environment.
But that was impossible. I had already stepped onto the path of the Transcendent; how could I be so self-destructive as to go back?
In the end, I picked several of her notebooks. Her handwriting was elegant and neat, very easy to read. Most were cultivation insights. Perhaps I could find time to record them into my Memory Bookshelf spellbook to enrich my foundation.
We finally reached the teleportation array. It was past noon.
"Um, one last confirmation—you really don't need any other compensation?"
"Yes, I only want things I'm interested in," I said again. I was starting to find it a bit annoying how she kept asking, as if she were afraid I was getting the short end of the stick.
"Alright then. Can we add each other as friends after we get out? If you ever need materials or potions, you can come to me! I'll give you a nine... no, an eight percent discount! Twenty percent off!"
"I appreciate the offer." I flipped through Sofiri's notebook. If I could memorize some of the content, I wouldn't have to let it take up space in my Memory Bookshelf.
"Then... see you around."
After exiting the teleportation array, I felt I had a good grasp of the process for entering and leaving secret realms. After adding them as friends, I quickly took my leave.
"She really is a great senior sister..." Cheng Yu sighed as she watched my retreating back. "Sofiri, say something. Why are you so quiet?"
"It's not that... why is her name Yang Yuehan?"
"Huh? What Yang Yue... wait, what's her name?"