Chapter 249: Black Bramble
’The Master’s idea fits the game’s logic perfectly.’
’No matter how we try to survive, we’re still operating within the framework of the game system.’
’Learning based on game items couldn’t be more logical.’
"Young lady, have you told anyone else that you can move and swim freely in this black water?"
Seeing the look on the Master’s face, Faye’s eyes widened. "Was I not supposed to? But I already told Mr. Pierce—the founder of the First Legion Guild. I asked him to help look into it, so he’s probably told the relevant researchers by now. What’s wrong? Should I not have said anything?"
Silas said, "It’s not that you can’t tell anyone, but your situation is quite special. It’s either that, or both your Constitution and Spirit Attributes are exceptionally high, which allows you to resist the black water’s effects."
"Oh, really? My Constitution just broke 30, and my Spirit is already at 29, about to hit 30."
Giving her a thumbs-up, Silas showed his genuine admiration.
After all, he’d heard that Faye Yardley had needed to ask his young apprentice to teach her basic movements at the very beginning. That meant her starting point was much lower than people like him, who had trained in Taoist practices for years.
But now...
’She’s really surpassed all of them.’
’I originally thought the system’s individual combat rankings were heavily inflated by bonuses from things like weapons.’
’It seems I was being a bit stubborn and not looking at things objectively.’
Faye smiled. "Master, does this mean you acknowledge my hard work?"
"Of course. It just goes to show you, people who work hard usually have good luck on their side."
"Master, you can get changed in the first-floor bathroom. I have some new men’s clothes here. I’d originally gotten them for my brother."
Veridian looked at himself, then at her. They had both been in the water, so how did she look like not a single drop had touched her, aside from her hair?
"Alright, don’t mind if I do."
Cole Kensington leaned against the railing, staring blankly at the black sea.
Faye said to him directly, "Kingston, what are you thinking about? Want to go down and give it a try? You can ask Blackwood to go with you, but only if you know how to swim."
Meow?
Blackwood tilted its head, looking from one to the other, and finally nodded.
The black seawater itself held no appeal for it, but it could stomach the marine life that had lingered in the area for a long time.
In fact, even the black-and-white cabbage grown without using the black seawater was more appealing to it.
Unfortunately, the Water-Repelling Pearl’s usage time was up. It needed to recharge now and would probably take a few hours before it could be used again.
Otherwise, not knowing how to swim wouldn’t have been a problem.
The Master came out of the house wearing a casual tracksuit and a pair of iridescent sneakers. Faye immediately praised him, "Master, you look a good ten years younger dressed like that! If you shaved your long beard, you’d look even younger."
"What does this old Taoist need to look so young for? Hurry, hurry, young lady, help me collect some of this water. I need to take a good amount back with me."
"I have a better idea."
Faye remembered she had some water pipes. She could just pump it up directly, saving them the trouble of constantly fetching it by hand.
After the Master left, Faye told Zachary Pierce that the black water could be used to draw talismans—after all, it was a newly discovered use. She also mentioned what the Master had said about a person’s endurance in the water being related to their Constitution and Spirit Attributes.
They hadn’t produced any research results on their end just yet, but Faye wasn’t in a hurry.
Now, she had an even bolder idea.
’She still had two Magic Seeds. What would happen if she took one out and used this black water to cultivate it? What would it grow into in the end?’
She immediately put her thoughts into action.
So, after retrieving a High Level Planting Pot and some fertile soil from her warehouse, she took out a Magic Seed and planted it.
She decided to plant this one just outside the first-floor balcony.
Eamon, who had been in the planting room at the rear, suddenly came running over with a POUND-POUND-POUND of his feet.
Panting heavily, he pointed at the planting pot. "Sister, is that... is that... a legendary Magic Seed?"
Faye nodded. "It’s a Magic Seed. As for whether it’s the legendary one you’re talking about, I wouldn’t know."
"Ahhh! So they really exist! They’re real! Then..." Eamon suddenly looked up and pointed toward Faye’s second-floor bedroom. "So there was one there all along. My senses weren’t wrong!"
Then he started running excitedly in circles around the planting pot. Faye felt like she was getting dizzy just watching him.
"Stop, stop, stop! Get out of the way."
Eamon, of course, didn’t have the sense to stop on his own, but Cole Kensington came over, picked him up with one hand, and tossed him aside.
Faye took out the black water and poured it directly into the planting pot.
"AHH! Sister, why are you doing that?! Why..."
This time, before Faye could say anything, Cole Kensington simply picked him up and tossed him into the distance.
’Who was he to butt into Sister’s affairs?’
Faye poured a full wooden bucket of black water in, but unexpectedly, the High Level Planting Pot didn’t overflow. And aside from being slightly damp at first, the soil quickly returned to how it looked when she first took it out.
The only conclusion was that the entire bucket of black water had been absorbed by the Magic Seed.
"It absorbed so much. It must be about to sprout, right?"
The words had barely left her lips when a small black shoot poked out from the soil. Then, as if moved by an unseen force, it began to grow upwards at a frantic pace.
At first, Faye thought another black vine would grow, but the more it grew, the more it resembled a bramble tree.
Its main trunk, as thick as a bowl, was covered in sharp barbs, and the branches that shot out sideways were also covered in vicious-looking thorns.
It kept growing and growing until it was nearly two meters tall, then it seemed to run out of energy and stopped.
"You’re growing like crazy. Much faster than your predecessor." Faye looked at the dark bramble tree, unable to tell what it was. She didn’t dare to touch it, but after examining it from all sides, she asked, "By the way, what should I call you? Black Bramble?"
The bramble tree shook its branches slightly, giving a small response.
"You can probably keep growing, right?"
The bramble tree shook even more violently.
’This bramble tree would be perfect as a weapon for both defense and offense,’ Faye thought.
So she took out another wooden bucket of black water and poured it into the planting pot with a GLUG-GLUG.
The bramble tree shot upwards as if it were on stimulants, then began to expand horizontally.
Bucket after bucket, the bramble tree grew taller and taller, sprouting more and more branches.
Then, small buds slowly appeared on the branches, gradually unfurling into inky black leaves with clearly defined veins.
Not only did Bramble encircle the entire house, but it also automatically bent itself into the shape of an archway at the entrance for people to pass through.
Then its branches grew out toward the railing of the Goliath.
’Soon,’ Faye thought, ’it’ll be able to extend its branches into the black sea and become self-sufficient.’
Tsk, tsk. Compared to this, the little vine upstairs is growing so, so slowly.
In an instant, it had almost completely taken over the space between the house and the railing, casting a shadow over the area.
Before the leaves grew in, it had looked especially menacing. But now, with the black leaves sprouting out and concealing the barbs and thorns, it revealed a unique kind of beauty.