Chapter Twenty: The Little Mushroom

Qi Xiao opened his notebook and, sure enough, found a blank card inside.

“Channel your spirit force into it,” his teacher instructed.

Following the teacher’s words, Qi Xiao infused his spirit force into the card. Immediately, a projection appeared before his eyes, recording the following:

Name: [Qi Xiao]
Rank: [Apprentice Witch, Primary Level]
Affiliation: [Student of Heartlake Isle, All Souls Vault]
Mentor: [Midiel Karlost]
Contribution: [0]
Mission: [Craft a beautifully designed staff—
Reward: 5,000 Contribution Points]

“What is this?” he asked.

“This is your identity card,” Midiel explained, toying with his staff. “With it, you’re free to enter and leave the All Souls Vault and its associated properties. You can also use it to accept or post tasks in the mission hall. The value of each contribution point is about one-tenth that of a magic crystal.”

“Go on. All the materials in the storeroom are at your disposal. If you lack anything, speak to Merck. I have faith in your talent; I don’t expect you to disappoint me. The function isn’t important, as long as the appearance and feel are up to standard.”

Qi Xiao took the identity card, asked a few more questions about issues he’d encountered during his meditation, then took his leave from the study.

Outside the door, Qi Xiao focused on constructing his conjuration model. He truly enjoyed this sense of tangible daily progress, with clear goals laid out before him. This positive feedback only spurred him to work harder.

Back in his room, Qi Xiao picked up pen and paper, sketching out ideas for the staff’s design. The inner workings were less important—at his current level, at best he could craft a high-level apprentice’s ordinary alchemy staff, which to his teacher was little different from a basic one. Thus, the focus had to be on appearance.

Recalling the two times he’d seen his teacher’s staff, the structure was always quite simple, without extravagant modifications, but the colors and patterns were intricate. With inspiration forming in his mind, Qi Xiao outlined a draft, then turned his attention to practicing spatial teleportation. There was no rush; his teacher had set no deadline, so he planned to master the three basic zero-level alchemy conjurations before crafting the staff in earnest.

After another day of dedicated practice, Qi Xiao’s talent for spatial magic became evident. The environment here was highly conducive, and after just a few days, he could construct a spatial teleportation model in his mental sea within twenty seconds; externally, the process would be even faster.

Even accounting for the site’s spatial magic boost, Qi Xiao estimated he could manage a teleportation in under half a minute outside—though bringing someone else along would take longer.

This speed was already sufficient for daily travel, though combat use would require further practice and familiarity.

Changing into something more casual, Qi Xiao teleported to Heartlake Isle. Having spent nearly a week in the Bubble Space, he relished the salty tang of the sea breeze; his spirits soared.

As a surge of blood energy filled the air, Merck brought a griffin before him. With an apologetic pat on the creature’s head, Qi Xiao mounted, thanked Merck, and set off toward the dormitory district.

First, he stopped at the mount rental office to pay the outstanding fee, then hurried to the nearby commercial street, arriving at the alchemy shop Merck had helped him rent a few days earlier.

He had intended to rent for just a month or two, renewing once he’d earned enough magic crystals. But Merck had paid eight hundred magic crystals upfront for a year’s lease, leaving Qi Xiao deeply grateful, if a little indebted.

Qi Xiao disliked owing others money, so he seized every spare moment to prepare the shop for opening.

Surveying the interior, he found the space roomy, the display shelves well-stocked, and the location ideal—right in the bustling heart of the commercial street. The more he looked, the more satisfied he felt.

Were it not for Heartlake Isle’s prestige and the landlord’s wish to curry favor, even a thousand magic crystals wouldn't secure a year’s lease.

Finding nothing amiss, Qi Xiao made his way to the mission hall, where apprentice witches bustled to and fro, most on broomsticks or flying carpets.

Approaching the front desk, Qi Xiao handed over his identity card.

“I’d like to post a task: my alchemy shop is hiring two apprentice witches. Applicants should be courteous, mild-mannered, and preferably have relevant experience. Interested parties may come for an interview at 4 p.m., Friday, three days from now, at the alchemy shop near the south entrance to the commercial street—there’s only one, so you can’t miss it.”

Qi Xiao hadn’t yet settled on a name for the shop, so he left that aside for now.

“Very well. For recruitment tasks, you need to specify pay and submit ten points per day as a processing fee.”

“Fifty magic crystals a month for primary apprentices, seventy for intermediate, one hundred for advanced. The shop will close five days a month for rest.” Qi Xiao handed over three magic crystals to the apprentice at the desk.

The apprentice quickly recorded the task and returned his card. Soon, Qi Xiao spotted his recruitment notice on the task board, thanked the staff, and left the hall.

In truth, there were many ordinary people in the All Souls Vault. Even if the proportion of witches was higher here than outside, they were still rare—one in a hundred, perhaps. Most shops hired regular folks for a few silver coins, which saved a lot.

But Qi Xiao felt it safer to employ witches; if trouble broke out, a witch had more presence.

Returning to the mushroom cottage after a week away, he found the little mushroom spirit waiting impatiently at the door. Only after Qi Xiao petted it for five minutes did it finally let him in.

Over the next three days, Qi Xiao studied Melt, a conjuration spell used to soften materials, which could then be shaped with spells like Solidify or Molding.

With these three conjurations, most materials became easy to handle. For exceptionally tough or magic-resistant alchemical substances, however, one would need to learn higher-level spells—Fire Refinement at level one, or Molder’s Hand at level two.

Qi Xiao had always been patient by nature. Over those three days, he did little besides practice, meditate, and pay a visit to Senior Rocco.

He mainly sought information about the little mushroom spirit. According to Rocco, these mushrooms were the bio-alchemy creations of Vivian Sally, the “Witch of Magic Mushrooms,” a full member of their organization.

Once planted, the mushrooms slowly developed consciousness and grew close to the first human they met. Rocco had converted his own lodgings and headbands to mushroom shapes because his own mushroom liked those motifs. The little mushroom in Qi Xiao’s old place was apparently an accident—he wasn’t sure why it appeared.

“Lady Vivian deliberately sells these mushrooms to observe their effects. I’ve never heard of new mushrooms sprouting in territory already claimed by an old one. If you wish, you can report these findings to Lady Vivian—she’s not one to withhold rewards,” Rocco had said.

As for why Rocco didn’t report to Vivian himself, he simply shook his pale face and replied that, unlike Qi Xiao, he had no powerful backer like Midiel, and didn’t dare approach her.