fantasy novels Chapter 15 Dark Golden Wood
Chapter 15 Dark Golden Wood
As he left the meditation room, Rowling encountered another assistant from Eric's wizarding laboratory.
A taciturn third-class apprentice named Buck.
Buck, who rarely spoke to people, glanced at Rowling today and whispered, "Kyle Silvershine is a member of the Elemental Ring; his background is not simple. Be careful."
"The Ring of Elements?" This was the first time Rolin had ever heard of it.
"A small group of apprentices with strong backgrounds and majoring in the elemental faction wields considerable influence within the academy."
Buck gave a brief explanation, then left hastily without saying another word.
Rowling noted down the name; it seemed the power structure within the academy was more complex than he had imagined.
He became even more determined to develop in a low-key manner and enhance his own strength.
A few days later, Lina found Rolin as promised and took him to the Ash Marsh.
The trade fair was held in an abandoned warehouse, dimly lit, with many shadowy figures and people speaking in hushed tones.
The stall was filled with all sorts of things:
Unidentified minerals, crudely processed magical plants, incomplete magical items, unknown animal bones, and even some scrolls and notes of unknown origin.
Luo Lin activated the [Weak Force Field Armor], remaining vigilant, while simultaneously using [Word Proficiency] to quickly scan the items containing text.
Most of the items are ordinary, or of inferior quality.
Lina, on the other hand, was more interested in small objects that could be used for stealth or reconnaissance.
In a corner stall, Rowling's gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous, dark piece of wood, as if it were charred.
The stall owner claimed that it was found on the outskirts of some ancient site and could not be identified.
Everyone else scoffed at this "burnt wood," but Luo Lin, using his recent research into energy diagrams, vaguely sensed that the wood contained a very restrained, peaceful energy that leaned towards life and nature.
This energy is incongruous with its charred exterior.
Luo Lin stepped forward calmly and offered several of his own well-prepared [Stamina Recovery Potions] in exchange.
He easily obtained the piece of "burnt wood" from the stall owner who didn't know its value.
Lina watched from the side, puzzled but not asking any further questions.
After wandering around for a while and finding nothing else of value, the two parted ways in the ash swamp.
Back in the stone house, Rolin carefully examined the charred wood.
He gently scraped away a bit of the charred surface with a knife, revealing the dark golden wood underneath.
He tried to infuse a trace of magic into it, but Jiao Mu did not react at all.
But when he used his mental energy to study and perceive, that restrained and peaceful energy became even clearer.
"That's interesting."
Rowling carefully put it away.
The purpose of this thing is not yet clear, but his intuition tells him that this trade fair was not a waste of time.
In the days that followed, Rowling continued his research.
He sliced the charred wood and placed it in a flowerpot where several common medicinal herbs were growing.
A few days later, he was surprised to find that those herbs were growing much better than the ones next to them, with greener leaves and thicker stems.
"It does indeed contain life energy... Perhaps we could try using it to cultivate some magical plants that have demanding requirements for their growing environment?"
A new research direction popped into Rowling's mind.
This wasn't about increasing power; it was more like an extension of his exploration of the essence of life, and he was captivated by the pleasure it brought.
He continued to try to achieve perfect meditation techniques every day, but he still failed.
Instead of being anxious, he devoted more energy to the cross-learning and verification of energy particle configurations, magic array principles, and potion energy diagrams.
Luo Lin felt that his knowledge system was gradually taking shape.
Although it was a bit slow, it was exceptionally solid.
Although the total amount of magical power was increasing slowly, as his mental power was refined and his understanding of energy particles deepened, he felt that the mass and plasticity of each unit were increasing.
Casting spells seems to be smoother, and the energy consumption also seems to be decreasing.
College life continued in this uneventful rhythm, occasionally punctuated by small, amusing incidents.
Time moved forward steadily, and Rolin's life at the Shadow Raven Tower Secret Academy gradually formed a routine.
The controversy surrounding the assessment has long since subsided, and his status as a newly promoted third-class apprentice has been accepted by everyone.
Although he occasionally attracts attention due to his astonishing speed of advancement and his relationship with Wizard Eric, he spends most of his time immersed in his research and studies.
The piece of charred wood obtained from the Ash Marsh Trade Fair became an interesting subject of study for Rowling.
He named it Dark Goldwood.
After carefully slicing and testing the wood multiple times, he confirmed that it did indeed contain a gentle and lasting life energy.
He buried some thin wood chips in the soil of several small flowerpots and planted common calming flowers, blue tears grass used to make low-level mana recovery potions, and a magical plant called moonlight orchid that has slightly higher requirements for its growing environment.
The effect is remarkable.
Plants placed in pots containing fragments of dark goldwood showed significantly better growth than the control group.
The flowers of the calming flower are fuller, and the fragrance seems to be slightly stronger.
The blue of the blue tear grass is even deeper.
The moon orchid that was originally somewhat withered and yellow when it was planted has miraculously come back to life, with its leaves unfurling and even showing signs of prematurely forming flower buds.
This discovery delighted Rowling.
He began to consult relevant books to understand how to better utilize this life energy.
He also tried adding powdered dark goldwood to his improved stamina recovery potion, but found that the effect was not good and even occasionally caused drug interactions.
It seems that this energy works more in a long-term nourishing and guiding manner than in an immediate replenishment.
Undeterred, Rolin began to study how to use Dark Gold Wood to optimize the cultivation environment of magical plants.
He designed a small, basic array-based "Micro-Effect Nourishing Array," using a fragment of dark gold wood as the core of the array, attempting to guide that life energy more gently and continuously into the soil.
It took him most of the day to draw the magic circle the first time, and he failed several times before he finally activated it.
As the magic array operated, Luo Lin could clearly feel a faint, comforting life energy slowly flowing within the field.
He moved a mediocre Moon Orchid into this simple nourishing array.
Over the next few days, he closely observed the changes in the Moonlight Orchid.
Although it's not as immediately effective as directly burying wood chips, the condition of the Moon Orchid is indeed steadily improving.
The leaves are more moist, and the root system seems to have developed a bit more.
"It seems we're heading in the right direction."
"The magic array can utilize this energy more stably and for a longer period of time, but its efficiency and methods still need to be optimized."
Luo Lin recorded the observation data and pondered the next improvement plan.
This practice, which combined potion science, materials science, and magic array science, gave him a deeper understanding of the comprehensive application of knowledge.
Meanwhile, his work in the entomological laboratory was also on track.
The tasks assigned to him by the wizard Eric gradually became more complex, from initially processing fixed materials to later needing to temporarily process samples with different activities according to the progress of the experiment, and even occasionally needing him to assist in recording some experimental data.
Rowling always completed tasks meticulously, and his precise material handling skills and rigorous attitude earned him even more trust from Wizard Eric.
On one occasion, when the wizard Eric was dealing with the venom glands of an extremely volatile molten beetle, the glands suddenly began to fluctuate violently and uncontrollably.
Seeing that it was about to break, Buck's assistant was at a loss for what to do.
Rolin reacted extremely quickly, almost instinctively casting [Hand of the Mage], but instead of grabbing, he used an extremely gentle shockwave to instantly paralyze the nerve nodes around the poison gland.
This temporarily stabilized the situation, buying Eric the wizard valuable time to deal with it.
Afterwards, Wizard Eric glanced at Roland and said casually, "Good reaction, and very precise control over your power."
Although there were no further praises, Luo Lin could feel that he had gained more importance in the other person's heart.
In addition, Rowling also gained access to more information about the wizarding world through the laboratory.
He had heard that the power gap between formal wizards was huge, and the criteria for dividing them were not just mental strength and magical power, but more about their understanding and application of the rules.
They began to construct their own spells, which were no longer fixed spell models, but rather power systems derived from their own understanding of energy particles and the world, more suitable for their individual needs.