“So this is the Witch's Forest... It's a bit different from what I imagined.”
Diana, the Witch of Knowledge, stood in a daze after parting ways with Susie and the others. She had followed Lan Qingyou through a teleportation to the Witch's Habitat, only to be met by the lush, verdant greenery and the gently flowing streams of the Abandoned Forest.
Because this was the domain of the Witch of the Tower, she had envisioned a place that was somewhat gloomy, with crows perched on gnarled branches cawing ominously.
Or perhaps there would be bubbling cauldrons emitting thick steam, surrounded by a chaotic assortment of herbs and various alchemy apparatus.
Indeed.
Even though she was a witch herself, she still harbored certain unrealistic fantasies about those at the pinnacle of their craft.
But in reality, it was just a forest.
In fact, due to the abundant sunlight, the swaying of branches in the breeze, and the rustling of leaves, the forest felt remarkably peaceful and cozy.
One could say that, aside from the immediate area where she stood and the several giant trees nearby, the rest of the place looked like an ordinary forest.
However, if there was one thing that matched her expectations, it was likely the herb field in front of the small house diagonally across from them.
It was clearly a herb field, carved out by hand.
And, well... many of those herbs appeared to be rare specimens she had never even seen before.
Then again, it was perfectly fitting for someone of Lan Qingyou's status as an alchemist.
Oh, right.
There were also those tiny glimmers of mana floating in the air above the irrigation channels.
Incredible.
For mana to manifest directly as visible light, the concentration here must be staggering.
Thump!
Just as Diana was admiring the tranquil scenery, a dull sound echoed from the distance.
She turned her head and saw people about a few hundred meters away.
And it wasn't just one or two; there was a whole group. Judging by the ripples in the air, they seemed to be using magic.
“Clan Leader, that is...”
“The construction of houses and streets on the outskirts,” Lan Qingyou replied with a nod after glancing over.
Over the past few days, a portion of the buildings had already been erected under Shang Chuan's direction.
These structures were made entirely of wood.
After all, whether it was the designated Witch's Forest or the surrounding Abandoned Forest, wood was the one resource they had in abundance.
Because of the many streams in the forest, Shang Chuan had adopted a stilt house design—elevated half a meter or a meter off the ground—similar to the one used for the Delight Restaurant.
On one hand, this was to avoid disturbing the natural landscape.
On the other hand, it was because Lan Qingyou had specifically requested it.
After all, streams meant flowing water, and the significance of flowing water within the Witch's Forest was self-evident.
The main body of the massive magic circle was composed of these irrigation channels, and flowing through them was the Spring of Repose, which had an extremely high mana concentration.
Ultimately, Shang Chuan had chosen the model used by Gu Xiaobei's family.
He occasionally ate at the Delight Restaurant, so he was very familiar with the design.
Lan Qingyou's decision to make this requirement was primarily influenced by her discussion with Diana regarding the scrolls.
“Shall we begin now, Clan Leader?” Diana asked, unable to hide her eagerness to start the experiment.
“No, not yet.”
“But the concentration in those flowing waters is already quite high,” Diana countered immediately, knowing what Lan Qingyou meant by 'not yet.'
A witch's Magic Eye perceived mana concentration and flow as a passive skill; she couldn't help but see it whether she wanted to or not.
“It is high, but not enough to pay the summoning fee.”
Lan Qingyou shook her head. As she spoke, she flew toward the gazebo.
Because vines had been planted earlier, the gazebo no longer looked bare as it had at the start. It was now partially covered in greenery, which immediately gave it a much better aesthetic.
Beneath the four corners of the gazebo roof, there were statues of Orichalcum toads with their mouths open toward the sky. These had been ordered and installed later.
“Clan Leader, what is the purpose of these?”
Diana, lacking the same level of Magic Eye as Lan Qingyou, couldn't see anything special about the objects. She only saw what looked like white sand falling from the roof of the gazebo into the toads' mouths.
“Sunlight Salt, a type of salt used in alchemy,” Lan Qingyou said calmly.
She then pulled out a long spear and gave one of the toad statues a poke.
The toad tilted back, and the Sunlight Salt inside its body poured out with a rustling sound, sinking directly into the adjacent Spring of Repose.
Whoosh—
The moment the salt merged with the spring, Diana could clearly feel the surrounding mana concentration surge by more than a single level.
This high concentration of mana then began to spread throughout the entire habitat, carried by the flow of the Spring of Repose.
Simultaneously, it flowed through the magic circle's outlets into the downstream streams, causing the mana in the 'downstream' area of the Witch's Forest to explode in intensity as well.
This was a practical example of one plus one being greater than two.
It was something Lan Qingyou had discovered when the Sunlight Salt first started sprinkling down.
One couldn't underestimate that stuff.
When exposed to air, it produced over a thousand pounds a day.
Otherwise, Lan Qingyou wouldn't have gone to the extra expense of custom-ordering those four swallowing toads with storage capabilities.
“Let's go. Find a spot you like and try the experiment.”
The surge in mana meant that the payment conditions had been met.
Lan Qingyou gestured for Diana to proceed.
Led by Lan Qingyou, Diana chose a slightly rounded hillock in the downstream area where the mana was surging. She then pulled a magic desk from her card.
Affixed to the magic desk was a pale scroll.
This was the Away Scroll.
Diana placed the magic desk at the foot of the hillock and then abruptly tore the scroll from the table.
Boom!
In an instant, a magic circle roughly thirty meters wide lit up on the hillock. Massive spatial fluctuations manifested, and the mana in the surrounding air was sucked dry, creating a mana vacuum.
Even Lan Qingyou, flying in the distance, swayed slightly from the force of the fluctuations, illustrating just how powerful they were.
After about ten seconds, the magic circle and the spatial fluctuations vanished together.
In their place, a semi-circular door now stood in front of the hillock.
“Is this your shelter?”
Lan Qingyou followed Diana as she pushed open the door to inspect the interior.
“Yes, it is indeed my shelter. Moreover, the walls, internal decorations, and items are all undamaged. It seems we truly succeeded this time.”
Diana nodded happily.
Likely due to the thrill of the successful experiment, she even gave Lan Qingyou a brief tour.
It was a dugout-style shelter. Aside from various functional rooms for experiments, the most prominent feature was the rows of bookshelves filled with neatly arranged books.
It was perfectly suited for someone with the title 'Witch of Knowledge.'
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