Chapter 21 The Phantom Mushroom Umbrella: This is Fair
After Murtrie turned around completely, he didn't say anything to defend himself, but silently lifted Ancia, who was like a koala in his arms.
Erlan: "..."
“Get out of the way, I need to find Yesika,” Mertri said to Erlan, who was blocking the passage.
Ailan approached, suppressing his anger, and observed Ancia's obviously abnormal state.
"Oh? Another one. You're so pretty." Ancia's attention finally shifted from Merri to Erlan.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Erlan, and she reached out to stroke Erlan's face.
"Tsk, you rascal." Airan gently dodged Ancia's touch. "It's a Phantom Fungus. Its spores can spread through light and amplify the deepest desires in one's heart."
He gritted his teeth and sneered, "Is Anciya's greatest desire simply lust? Or is she the kind who falls in love with every man she sees?"
“Since you recognize this magical plant, can you remove its side effects?” Mortley patted Ancia’s back again. She was still a little angry because she couldn’t touch Ellan, and she sullenly shrank back into Mortley’s arms.
“What’s so difficult about that?” Aierlan gathered light green magic at his fingertips and touched the corner of Ancia’s eye.
Ancia raised her face and pressed it against Erlan's approaching palm, the warmth and coolness making intimate contact. "You're so enthusiastic, you beautiful elf who says one thing but means another."
Aerlan's finger twitched, and the light green magic was instantly interrupted. He avoided Ancia's touch and tried to touch the corner of her eye again, but Ancia tilted her head and touched it back.
"You like playing hard to get?" Ancia said with a smile.
After repeating this several times, he closed his eyes, expressionlessly sacrificed one of his hands, and raised his other hand to use magic.
After the light green magic entered Ancia's body, she unconsciously resisted it. The sudden appearance of unfamiliar magic within her body aroused Ancia's vigilance. Ignoring the two men in front of her who matched her aesthetic standards, Ancia's expression hardened, and she devoured all the wood-type magic, converting it into her own energy.
"How could this be? Isn't Anciya a one-star mage? How could she absorb my wood magic?" Ellan withdrew his hand in astonishment. Anciya's main class was a one-star priest, and a wood mage wouldn't be higher than a one-star mage. How could she absorb his wood magic?
“I don’t know.” Mertri frowned. All the information about Ancia to the outside world was that she had a full affinity for the light element, and she had only taken the entrance exam once. No one knew about her wood element talent, but the dean certainly knew the details.
Erlan became serious, the magic at his fingertips turned dark green, and he channeled several times more magic into her. Some of it was still absorbed by Ancia, but the rest was enough to bring Ancia back to her senses.
As the wood-elemental magic was purified, pink tears flowed from Ancia's eyes, taking away the spores that had been taking effect in her mind.
"Ugh... there was something wrong with the spores of that mushroom." Ancia wiped away her tears uncontrollably, her vision blurred by the tears, unable to see her surroundings clearly.
After wiping away her tears, Ancia finally saw Erlan, whose line of sight was level with hers.
Airland crossed his arms and sneered, "Aren't you getting off? How long are you going to stay on the teacher?"
Ancia froze, too afraid to turn around. The broad, elastic touch behind her felt familiar, and memories of being infected by the spores flooded her mind. As if electrocuted, she released her grip, jumped off Murtrie, bowed her head, and apologized repeatedly.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Professor Murtrie! This wasn't my intention, I didn't have the guts! These were all accidents!"
Please don't lose points in affection!
Merriel simply lifted Ancia's chin, carefully observing her now-normal dark eyes. "It's good that you're alright. If Yesika had been here tonight, you wouldn't have been infected by the spores. It was my mistake."
"You're so considerate, Ms. Murtrie," Ancia said, touched. "You're truly the best teacher."
Airland narrowed his eyes. "And what about me? You won't be in any danger if I'm here. I was the one who helped you clear the spores; he's the best teacher. So what am I?"
Ancia wasn't so polite to him; her tone was much more familiar. "You're my second best friend in Gracia."
Airan gritted his teeth. "I was planning to help you with your punishment tonight, but now go find that top-ranked Herigalo!"
He turned to leave, but Ancia quickly called out, "You're number one! You're number one! You're number one now! Ellan!"
Having succeeded, Erlan finally turned around with satisfaction and stood back in his original spot with a haughty expression.
“He would have come back even if you hadn’t called him. He’s probably an assistant that Yesika sent because she doesn’t trust me,” Murtrie said calmly.
The arrogant look on Erlan's face faded, and he and Mortley stared at each other quietly. He didn't like this teacher.
Ancia was completely oblivious to the undercurrent between the two men, only frowning as she looked towards the flower stand. "The smallest plant that Teacher Yesika mentioned should be that mushroom. How do we get rid of it? Ellan, do you know?"
Airlan rattled off a string of technical terms, "It's a Phantom-Loving Fungus Cap. Its stem is covered in glowing veins, and its cap is like crystal. It projects spores into the pupils of those who approach it, amplifying the infected's inner desires infinitely. When it's nearing maturity, it can be harvested as a potion ingredient. After it matures..."
Ancia looked at him, puzzled. "What are you babbling about? I don't understand. Do you know how to clean it? If you don't, figure it out yourself."
"...Close your eyes and expose it to light magic; it hates light," Ellan said sullenly.
"Oh." Ancia counted her steps, closed her eyes, walked forward to the flower stand, squatted down, and precisely placed her hand on the flowerpot of the Illusionary Fungus.
A steady stream of light magic covered the flowerpot, and the tiny, fingernail-sized mycosis fungus caps quickly perished in the light, turning into harmless powder along with their spores.
"The first item is done. We still need the largest plant and the ugliest plant." Ancia clapped her hands in satisfaction.
“The former is the Dark Devouring Tree, and the latter is the Dark Vine. I know where they are. Follow me.” Ellan turned around nimbly and took the lead in walking in one direction.
"Why is Airlan being unusually easy to talk to today?" Ancia quickly caught up and asked with a grin.
Airland glanced at her and curled his lips into a smile. "Finish it as soon as possible and go back to rest."
“That makes sense, but why are you so familiar with high-risk restricted areas?” Ancia asked, seemingly casually.
"Guess?" Airan avoided answering, the emotion in her emerald eyes flashing by like a bird, impossible to catch.
“I won’t guess. If you could tell me, you wouldn’t hide it from me,” Ancia said calmly, shaking her head.
Erlan stopped in his tracks, a strange and secret hesitation rising in his heart: should he tell her?
Ancia turned and called to Mortley, who was walking at the very back, "Teacher Mortley, hurry up." Those two magical plants sounded dangerous; don't stray too far from this strongest fighter.
Erlan's hesitation vanished instantly. He wasn't going to tell Ancia; he'd let her guess for herself!
As Murtrie listened to the two laughing and chatting ahead, his pace slowed down. It seemed that Ancia was more relaxed when she was with younger people her own age. Except for the first time they met when her identity was not revealed, Ancia always seemed reserved in front of him.
“Too short.” A sigh escaped from Merri’s lips.
"Huh? What is Ms. Murtrie saying?" Ancia was a bit far away and didn't hear clearly.
He said it was too short.
The time Anciya was infected by the spores was too short.
The time spent treating him as an ordinary person, rather than an assassin and a teacher, was too short.
The time she had to completely depend on him and make unrestrained demands of him was too short.
"It's nothing, I'm here." Merri instantly flashed behind Ancia, catching up with her at an arm's length distance.
The Dark Eater Tree blended completely into the shadows of the night, and if it weren't for Ellan leading the way, Ancia would likely have completely overlooked its existence.
The branches twisted into a black dome, swallowing all the natural light, and black leaves fell softly onto the dark earth, merging with the soil.
“This Dark Devouring Tree has reached the end of its lifespan. Only the element of light can catalyze its death and allow it to start growing anew from its core.” Ellan stood at the edge of the Dark Devouring Tree planting area and earnestly instructed Ancia, “You stand here and do not step on the black soil. Circulate your light magic into the soil. The roots of the Dark Devouring Tree are buried beneath the soil, and the entire planting area is its territory.”
Ancia nodded and cautiously stopped at the edge. She didn't know how much magic the Dark Devouring Tree would consume, so it would be safer to use her staff for assistance.
The white gem at the tip of the staff shone brightly under Ancia's activation, and golden magic flowed out like water, pouring into the dark soil.
The calm soil churned and trembled under the impact of the golden waterfall, and deep within the soil, the roots of the Dark Devouring Tree struggled.
The massive, lush Dark Devouring Tree withered away little by little, eventually turning into nothingness and disappearing. The darkness in this planting area also faded, becoming much brighter. A faint heartbeat could be heard coming from the mud beneath the original tree trunk.
Before setting off for their final destination, Erlan hesitated and asked, "Ancia, do you have trypophobia?"
Ancia shook her head. "What's wrong?"
Airlan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. Let's go. I'll take you to find the Dark Vine."
The moment Anciya saw the Dark Vine, she understood what Ellan meant by her question.
She turned around and gagged, "...Why...why...there's...ugh...such an ugly thing..."
Murtrie patted her back, and Airland asked with amusement, "Didn't you say you didn't have trypophobia?"
It took Ancia a while to recover. "I don't have that. I just have ugliness phobia. I hate ugly things."
Airland chuckled and leaned closer. "So what do we do then? Wash our eyes by looking at my face? The Dark Vine also needs your light magic to pierce and burst the pustules on every vine."
Ancia gazed intently at Erlan's exquisite and handsome face until he looked away from her, before she mustered the courage to cast her light magic.
Even a fleeting glimpse made Ancia feel nauseous, so she grabbed Merriel and said, "Teacher, I can't take it anymore, let me see too."
“Okay.” Murtrie lowered her head, letting herself be exposed to her bright, watery black eyes, with nowhere to hide.
Erlan clicked his tongue in disapproval.
Ancia looked at it from the left and then from the right, and finally finished cleaning the Dark Vine on the fourth attempt.
That's fair.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
