Chapter 366: Attempts Regarding the Fool's Dream Drink
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 366: Attempts Regarding the Fool's Dream Drink
"It really is... quite magical."
I crouched down to look at the sprouted plants. Transcendent energy surged within them. It seemed Sofiri had added some elemental polymers to the soil, allowing the seeds to rapidly absorb energy and trigger their growth under its guidance.
Rather than saying transcendent plants grew naturally, it was more accurate to say their internal structures guided the energy. The direction of the energy flow and its dissipation cycle determined the direction of the plant's growth. No wonder transcendent plants looked so bizarre; because of this, many of them grew in ways that were completely counter-intuitive.
After observing for a while, I didn't waste any more time. My knowledge of planting was limited to the key points I had exchanged for in her notebooks earlier; beyond that, I was as clueless as a total beginner.
Sofiri, however, was whispering explanations on the side, seemingly teaching Dongli Yiren.
After standing up, I didn't interrupt their lesson. It seemed Sofiri actually quite enjoyed explaining things to others.
Of course, what mattered more was Dongli Yiren’s humble, attentive attitude and the way she was diligently scribbling in her little notebook.
With that level of seriousness, what teacher wouldn't be charmed?
Talk about a sense of accomplishment, right?
"Are you done looking?" Sofiri noticed I had stood up and was idle, so she found a gap in her explanation to look over at me.
"Yeah, I just came to check on the progress. I don't know much about this field, so if you can, please teach Yiren more. She has quite the ambition for this."
"Yiren is indeed very studious, and I’m happy to teach her. After all, aside from discussing professional knowledge with my mentor, I don't really have other friends..."
"I get it~"
I understood exactly what she meant. For someone introverted, discussing professional topics with a mentor can be psychologically taxing. Now she had a humble junior who hung on her every word and wouldn't talk back—how refreshing must that be?
"By the way... just out of curiosity, is it convenient for you to grow these plants on a large scale? Or do you have channels for mass cultivation?"
"Uh... I’m not sure I follow. Are you looking to... sell these fruits? They are transcendent fruits, but theoretically, their energy utilization rate is about the same as common ones. There are already plenty of similar fruits on the market. Trying to sell these would be a thankless task," Sofiri advised tactfully.
"Oh, remember how I brought these seeds back from that secret realm? These fruits are actually the raw material for a blended juice called 'Fool's Dream Drink.'"
"Fool's Dream Drink... Fool's Dream? Wait..."
"You know about the Fool's Dream?" I was a bit surprised. I remembered the Fool's Dream creatures had only recently arrived at the Witch Academy.
"Of course! I saw a video of the cute new cat-girls at the Witch Cat Cafe! Wait! Wait... let me wrap my head around this..."
"Mhm~" I nodded, letting her figure it out.
"You brought the seeds from the secret realm, they're the ingredients for the Fool's Dream Drink, so this drink... and the Fool's Dream creatures... that's not a coincidence, is it?"
"It's not," I said with a smile, shaking my head.
"So you're the one who broke that secret realm, and that's why those Fool's Dream creatures had to come to the Witch Academy to work?"
"Well... that is the logic, I suppose..." Though the way Sofiri put it sounded a bit weird, it was technically the truth.
And what did she mean, I broke the secret realm?
Did you completely forget my previous explanation?!
"But that’s not right... that secret realm was destroyed a while ago... why are they only showing up at the Witch Cat Cafe now?"
"How should I put this? When the secret realm collapsed, those Fool's Dream creatures... well, they didn't exactly die, but they almost all lost their original bodies. I heard the Academy Dean stepped in to reshape their forms. You know the Dean showed up when the secret realm collapsed, right?"
"That's true. I heard the Dean took the matter very seriously."
"Actually, that secret realm was one set up by the Dean herself, so it's not surprising she values those little guys and reshaped their bodies. As for why they're only back now, I think it has to do with the Sleeping Curse. I rescued them from the Ninglan New City where the curse was active, which is why they're only appearing now."
"Eh? The Fool's Dream creatures were caught in the Sleeping Curse too?!"
"I'm not sure. How would I know the details? I just know I got them out of there, so I have a bit of a connection with them."
"I see... thank you for telling me all this. I had no idea there were so many connections involved." She looked satisfied, like someone who had just been fed a juicy piece of gossip.
"Just don't go spreading it around. It's best not to let this circulate too much. Since it involves so many of the Witch Academy's 'incidents,' it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble."
"Don't worry. I don't really have many friends to tell anyway. My lips are sealed," Sofiri promised. "So... you're actually looking to collaborate with the Witch Cat Cafe to launch a Fool's Dream Drink made by the Fool's Dream creatures?"
"That's the gist of it... which is why I was asking about large-scale cultivation channels."
"Channels... honestly, in this plantation zone, you could find almost any plantation and they'd be happy to collaborate. Or... or you could collaborate with me! My plantation is actually quite large..."
Sofiri plucked up the courage to speak.
She could naturally see how much profit was involved. To keep the plantation she inherited from her mentor running, she had to learn how to make money. Instead of growing small batches of rare plants and hunting for buyers, a stable, high-volume channel was much better.
Besides, these plants weren't considered rare transcendent items and were easy to care for. At most, harvest time would be busy, but she could hire temporary workers to help.
The only concern was the risk—whether the Fool's Dream Drink would actually become popular. After all, the Witch Cat Cafe already served plenty of delicious drinks. If it flopped, she’d be the one losing money.
Furthermore, the Fool's Dream creatures were only popular right now, like internet celebrities. By the time they grew the plants from seeds to the point where the drink could be mass-promoted, the hype might have already passed.
So... Sofiri was also a bit worried. She had never handled a collaboration like this and was naturally anxious about many things.
"But aren't you growing a lot of your own collected plants here?"
"I can clear out some space. As you saw, I have a lot of empty land and wasn't sure what to plant... Maybe I can give it a try? After all, I've been involved in the breeding process from the start. Once the seeds are set, I'll have a full cycle of experience. And... if you really want to promote the Fool's Dream Drink, you'll probably need a small-scale test first, right? If the market response isn't good, we can cut our losses early."
"True."
I nodded, acknowledging her point.
Even if I had money, I wasn't going to just throw it away. If I asked Sofiri to plant and harvest, I couldn't just take the goods without paying, right?
What would that make me? A freeloader?
I wasn't that kind of person.
"Then... when you're ready to set the seeds, can you save some fruit? I'll invite you to taste the Fool's Dream Drink then," I said.
Personally, I thought the Fool's Dream Drink tasted great—balanced nutrition, excellent mouthfeel, and it provided a temporary boost to transcendent affinity along with some other effects. It even granted a sliver of special vision, allowing one to feel the flow of energy.
Why did it feel like the kind of drink you'd have while researching something?
And the effect of boosting transcendent affinity was indeed excellent. The higher your affinity with elements, the more pleasure that sense of connection brought—not to mention that higher affinity increased the power of corresponding Evocative Magic.
"That would be wonderful. I'm looking forward to the taste."
"Oh, right. Since you've already successfully grown all these seeds, there's no point in me keeping the extras. Why don't you plant them all? Maybe try using growth-acceleration spells on a control group?" I remembered the spare seeds I had kept just in case the initial breeding failed. Keeping them was just taking up space; better to give them away.
"Eh? That works! I wanted to study these plants more anyway. The better I understand them, the better I can grow them." Sofiri took the seeds, her joy plain to see.
Of course, she had her own little ideas. For a professional planter, simply growing a transcendent plant was no longer enough; their true pursuit lay in techniques like improving or creating variants of original species.
Because of the internal transcendent power, traditional methods like grafting or induction weren't the primary means for transcendent plants. The focus was on "harmonizing" the balance and counter-currents of the energy within the plant.
Afterward, I chatted with Sofiri for a while longer. She also asked me about some interesting stories regarding the Sleeping Curse and Ninglan New City.
During this time, Sofiri was also teaching Dongli Yiren how to plant transcendent plants step-by-step. It wasn't as simple as just burying a seed in the dirt.
I stood by and watched Dongli Yiren perform. Perhaps because I was there, her movements were a bit stiff and unnatural from nerves.
"Right. Based on the state of the seed just now and the corresponding constants of the elemental crystals in the soil, we calculate the optimal ratio of water elements for the irrigation... Precision cultivation is very tedious like this. Take it slow. A seed won't sprout just because it's in the ground; only changes in the environmental elements will trigger the energy resonance within the seed..."
Sofiri taught Yiren bit by bit. Just for planting a single seed, I saw Yiren flip through who-knows-how-many pages in her little notebook.
Talk about precision cultivation...
But this also showed me how difficult it was for ordinary students to learn the transcendent arts. They had to rely on constantly summarized laws and formulas to deduce things that, to me, were obvious at a glance.
Simply because they couldn't "see," they had to spend countless times more effort and rely on the experience of predecessors just to barely achieve what I could do effortlessly...
Was this the reality of the transcendent world in the eyes of an ordinary person?
Thinking of this gave me goosebumps. I felt the gap between us—the gap in effort, and the gap in perseverance when facing tedious difficulties.
And I was just an incredibly lucky fellow.
Ultimately, I shook my head to clear those thoughts. There was no point in dwelling on things that didn't benefit me. I didn't need to discard my advantages just to pit my weaknesses against others' strengths. "If Heaven offers and you do not take, you will suffer the consequences"—that was likely the principle here.
"Um... Xiao Han, I see you're not busy. Why don't you head back with Yiren? There isn't much left to do here; I can handle it alone."
Sofiri had finished planting almost all the seeds by then. The most time-consuming part had been teaching Yiren the operations and explaining the "why" behind them.
"I can stay and help," Dongli Yiren spoke up.
"Yiren, you freshmen have your monthly exams coming up soon. If you hadn't mentioned it earlier, I wouldn't have noticed. Go back and review. Your theory courses in the first few years are quite important; don't neglect them for this. The basics are vital—don't lose sight of your priorities." Sofiri put her hands on her hips, sounding like a lecturing elder.
"Oh..." Dongli Yiren lowered her head and let out a small, reluctant sound.
"She's right. We've bothered you long enough; it's time to go." I checked the time—a while had passed—and then looked at Yiren.
"Fine..."
Yiren finally nodded, ready to head back.
After saying goodbye to Sofiri, we walked out of her plantation.
"Laugh if you want to..."
Dongli Yiren suddenly spoke up.
"Laugh at what?" I looked at her suspiciously. What was this tsundere imagining now? Did I look like someone who enjoyed making fun of her?
"About me coming here..."
"Is there something funny about that? Chasing knowledge and loving to learn aren't things to be mocked. I only laugh at people who laugh at you, because they're the real idiots."
"I—I didn't mean that. You have to make me..."
"Then don't say it. There's no need to make yourself uncomfortable. By the way, with this setup, did you suddenly take a part-time job because you're short on money?"
"I earn enough for my expenses..." Yiren said stubbornly.
"Alright, I won't ask. So, while I was away... did anything happen with the others in the dorm?"
"What could happen? Every day is just plain and ordinary."
"True. It's good that nothing happened. Let's go back. How about it? Take the bus or ride a broom?"
"The bus. I'm taking the bus back anyway."
Since the bus is free, Yiren thought to herself. She could use the time on the bus to review what she had learned today.
More importantly, she didn't have a flight license or a flying broom, and she couldn't bring herself to let Xiao Han carry her.
"I can fly you back."
"I'm used to the bus. I know the route well. Quick... hurry, the bus is about to arrive." Yiren’s voice suddenly grew urgent. She looked at her phone and started running toward the station not far away.
When we reached the station, the bus was just pulling in. There weren't many senior sisters on board. As soon as Yiren got on, she avoided the areas with more people and sat in the very back by the window. It seemed the trauma from when she first enrolled was still there.
The moment she sat down, she opened her notebook and began reviewing. The radiance of her hard work was so bright I could barely keep my eyes open.
Good grief. The tables have turned—now it's Dongli Yiren's turn to start out-grinding me right to my face?