Magic Farm 89

Chapter 89: The Constant Temperature Magic Array

A question mark slowly appeared above Qi Yu’s head.

If he remembered correctly, it had already been several hours since his friends messaged him about ImVeryDominant and MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s falling out and arguing.

How were they still at it?

Didn’t they need to kill swallows, too?

He was still puzzling over this when he saw MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s actually come out and respond.

【MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s: There’s no such item at all.】

【ImVeryDominant: Heh, you bragged about it yourself. Back then, there were several of us in the small group—me, HandsomeBelow, TinyOldMe—we all know.】

【MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s: If I really had that item, would you still be alive to spread rumors here?】

【ImVeryDominant: Who knows where you used it.】

【ImVeryDominant: Curse item, let me think… That Calamity Rain from before—wasn’t that your doing?】

In truth, ImVeryDominant had no evidence, nor did he really believe the Calamity Rain was MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s doing.

Such a massive disaster—he didn’t think any player could cause that much chaos.

But to put it bluntly, he wasn’t a good person to begin with. Now that he’d fallen out with MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s, with no hope of reconciliation, of course he’d pin every bit of filth he could on him, wanting nothing more than to see him ruined and never able to recover.

The more accusations, the better. If any leaderboard boss believed him, maybe someone would “eliminate evil for the people” and take care of MyFate for good.

Even he hadn’t expected that this particular accusation would actually hit the mark.

MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s was startled and uncertain. Though arrogant, he wasn’t completely hopeless—items like this were private, and while he might brag a little in the small group, he’d never be stupid enough to reveal the details.

Besides, that disaster was beyond anything he’d imagined.

How could ImVeryDominant possibly know?

【CockroachTasteIsWeird: Argue all you want, but this kind of thing isn’t something to joke about.】

【TheMoreYouGrindTheWorseItGets: Yeah, so many lives lost—don’t make light of it.】

【ILoveSurvivalGames: There’s a kind of enormous black tree in the Star Forest. Swallows like to use them as nests. If you’re out exploring, keep an eye out.】

The moment he spoke, all the onlookers who’d been quietly spectating could no longer sit still.

【ReachForTheMoonInSeptember: So this is the secret to the boss’s point farming?】

【LiverKing: Got it! I’ll head out first thing in the morning to look.】

【IAmLily: Boss is generous.】

【ImVeryDominant: @ILoveSurvivalGames, boss, you’d better be careful of MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s. That guy is really sneaky.】

ImVeryDominant didn’t actually have any fondness for Qi Yu; it was simply that now MyFate was his biggest enemy.

And “ILoveSurvivalGames” was, in MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s mind, his greatest rival.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He was eager for the number one to take care of MyFate for him and remove a major threat.

【MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s: You ***! Just you wait—if I get the chance, I’ll kill you!】

The two were still bickering, but everyone’s attention had already shifted.

【TinyOldMe: Once you find the nest, is there any trick to dealing with swallows? @ILoveSurvivalGames, to score over seventy thousand points in a day, it can’t just be about finding swallows, right? Boss, do you have any special techniques for killing them?】

Qi Yu: ?

He found this baffling, so he asked directly:

【ILoveSurvivalGames: ? Are we that close?】

【ILoveSurvivalGames: You’re being awfully forward.】

【ILoveSurvivalGames: The trick is that I’m number one on the combat leaderboard. I killed them head-on. You should try it, too.】

【GrumpyOldBro: Hahahaha.】

【GrumpyOldBro: Serves you right! The boss already told you to look for the trees, and you still want more. If points could be transferred, would you just ask the boss to send you some?】

【TinyOldMe: I just wanted to ask if there’s a method everyone could use. I really meant no harm this time, just wanted to help everyone in the region get more points and better rewards. Why so hostile?】

Qi Yu ignored him.

【ILoveSurvivalGames: The black trees might be far from your shelter. If you miss out on killing swallows because you’re searching for trees, I’m not responsible.】

【LiverKing: Of course! If you want more, you have to take risks.】

【ReachForTheMoonInSeptember: At this rate, it’s almost impossible to get a level three shelter blueprint. If you miss this chance, who knows when the next one will come? The risk is worth it.】

Qi Yu felt he’d said all he needed to and was about to leave the regional channel.

【ImVeryDominant: @ILoveSurvivalGames. Boss, I really didn’t lie to you—I even have screenshots of MyFateIsMineNotHeaven’s cursing you in private!】

【ILoveSurvivalGames: Oh.】

【ImVeryDominant: ? What do you mean, ‘oh’? Don’t you care? Let me tell you something else: when the first locator teleport scroll appeared in the region, he wanted to buy it just to use against you.】

Qi Yu glanced out the window at the energy towers, alchemy golems, and mutant plants diligently killing monsters.

He thought, well, that’s certainly bold.

ImVeryDominant saw that ILoveSurvivalGames didn’t seem to react at all and grew agitated: This is the number one on the leaderboard! How can he be such a coward? Even a ball of dough is tougher than you!

【ImVeryDominant: You stole his number one spot! Don’t you get that he wants you dead?】

【ILoveSurvivalGames: And if I do? Am I supposed to crawl into the survival panel and kill him myself?】

ImVeryDominant: …

Qi Yu truly found it baffling.

He couldn’t even meet other players, and neither could they. Whether someone hated him or wanted to kill him, what could they actually do?

【CantBearToOpenMyEyes: Some people are too shallow-minded. Don’t try to use others as your weapon.】

【GrumpyOldBro: Don’t say I’m afraid to speak up, but if MyFate really could kill someone right now, I’d bet nine out of ten it would be you, @ImVeryDominant.】

Qi Yu exited the regional channel. Suddenly, he realized the screaming had stopped.

What happened?

He walked to the door.

The swallows were still there, and the demon vine was enthusiastically competing with the energy towers for kills.

Was there something wrong with the screaming lily-of-the-valley?

He hurried over to check.

He saw the little lily-of-the-valley drooping its head, looking rather exhausted. But above its head, tiny flecks of golden light had appeared.

Qi Yu recognized this well—it was a sign of a plant undergoing mutation.

[Screaming Lily-of-the-Valley—Mutating: Excessive use of its voice has made this lily realize that mindless screaming is pointless. It needs to become smarter.]

It really had worked hard today.

Qi Yu quietly gave his model employee lily a blessing of life, then cast a large-scale blessing spell over the entire territory.

Returning to the main hall, he sat by the fireplace and opened the book, Basic Principles of Magic Arrays.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself back in that familiar room.

The difference was, this time, the once-blurry figure was now clear.

Master Kallen was a kindly-looking middle-aged man.

“Welcome to my magic array course,” he said warmly. “Now, let’s begin the next stage of instruction.”

Two hours passed in a flash.

“Qi Yu, do you have any questions?”

Qi Yu shook his head.

The magic array class was truly fascinating.

Master Kallen: “…Did you really understand everything?”

“Yes, Teacher Kallen.”

“All right. Now, following the pattern I just taught you, set up a small plant growth array.”

Qi Yu stood and, using what he’d just learned, smoothly laid out an array.

At some point, Master Kallen had produced a flowerpot. He placed it atop the array.

Before their eyes, the tiny flower sprout shot up, unfurling new leaves and buds at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A delicate fragrance filled the air.

Master Kallen praised him: “Excellent. For your first lesson, you’ve already drawn a perfect magic array. Today’s class…”

The smiling man’s voice suddenly paused.

Qi Yu, who was curiously observing the flowerpot, didn’t notice.

“Qi Yu?”

He heard the master call his name, the tone somehow different from before.

Qi Yu straightened up at once. “Teacher Kallen.”

The blond man smiled at him, eyes narrowed. “Is this your first time studying magic arrays?”

Qi Yu found it odd—this instructor had only ever taught the course content before, never engaging in extra conversation.

Maybe, now that he’d paid, the teaching experience was better?

He nodded. “Yes.”

“You’re very talented,” the master said. “Why did you buy this book?”

Ah, so it was market research.

Qi Yu answered honestly, “I have a small territory. Lately, the weather’s been bad, and I’d like to improve the climate a little.”

He explained, “Individual magic arrays are too expensive, and there are a lot I want to buy. So I thought I’d see if I could learn to do it myself.”

Master Kallen nodded.

Once he was sure Qi Yu had mastered the mini growth array, he continued the lesson.

As the class went on, Qi Yu clearly felt something was different.

The content and process were the same: Kallen would teach, Qi Yu would learn, ask questions if needed, and then practice under guidance.

But after the “market research,” Teacher Kallen seemed to teach even better.

Sensing his distraction, the master asked, while guiding Qi Yu through drawing a constant temperature magic array, “Any questions?”

Qi Yu shook his head. “No, I just feel like your lessons have become even easier to understand.”

The blond master smiled, looking at him with satisfaction.

He cleared his throat. “You’re a very gifted child, Qi Yu. Would you like to—”

He stopped abruptly, his face freezing.

Qi Yu looked up at him in confusion.

He saw that, at some point, the master’s features had grown blurry again.

The next moment, everything went black. When he came to, his consciousness had returned.

The fireplace had warmed him through. Checking the time, it was almost midnight.

Qi Yu wasn’t the least bit sleepy; his mind was full of the arrays he’d just learned.

He took a magic crystal from his backpack and, following the steps he’d just mastered, began to lay out the array bit by bit.

After a dozen minutes, the survival panel popped up a message:

[Basic Constant Temperature Magic Array detected. Bind to territory?]

Success!

Qi Yu’s eyes lit up. “Bind.”

Soon, a new icon appeared on the lord module.