October, the autumn winds gradually faded.

Sylutia crouched in the backyard field, carefully examining the Swan Orchid before her that reached arm's height.

The greenish bulbs resembled spindles, standing in the soft soil, with light green long leaves branching from the bulbs, naturally curving.

【Swan Orchid】(Good-53): Growing, humidity and light suitable, good ventilation.

Only good? The young girl gently touched the flower stem with her hand, feeling slightly disappointed.

She had originally thought that by fulfilling all the growth requirements for the Swan Orchid, the quality should reach excellent.

It seems things aren't that simple.

If meeting the growth requirements isn't enough, then she needs to further analyze the growth situation to achieve an optimal state. The problem is, how would she know under which conditions the Swan Orchid grows best?

Communicate with the plant? But the Swan Orchid is just a plant, not a living creature that can speak.

Sylutia felt a surge of hope. She placed her hand on the Swan Orchid's bulb, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed, searching for that subtle rhythm.

Time passed...

After a long while, she opened her eyes and shook her head in disappointment.

Plants and animals differ greatly. They don't have heartbeats, so there's no such thing as a rhythm.

She could only go ask Scholar Hyde.

...

The next day, after class ended, Sylutia went to Scholar Hyde's study to inquire about plant cultivation.

"It seems you've encountered a bottleneck." Scholar Hyde had anticipated this.

"Your problem is the same one that the earliest gardeners faced several eras ago."

"Unlike fairies who are naturally skilled at cultivating plants, if humans and other beings want to learn how to cultivate extraordinary crops, they must overcome the barrier of communication and understanding."

"There are actually two approaches. The first is very common - directly replicating based on experiences left by predecessors. The second is to individually understand each plant's situation in detail, then make targeted adjustments."

"The latter is clearly more effective, but also much more difficult. Most gardeners use the first method in the early stages."

"That's why you can see in the same orchard, there are both high-quality fruits and poor-quality fruits. What gardeners can do is only try to increase the base number to allow more high-quality fruits to appear."

"I actually wanted to suggest that you simply cultivate according to experience templates for now."

"However, through our time together, Tia, I know you're certainly not satisfied with just following experience and waiting for luck, right?" Scholar Hyde stroked his beard and spoke with understanding.

"Yes, teacher, please teach me." Seeing his confident manner, the young girl knew full well that this teacher must have a solution.

"Hehe, you always call me teacher so affectionately at times like this." The old man complained slightly. Sylutia rarely communicated with him in class, usually staying quietly in the corner listening without actively answering questions.

"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you." He stood up, searched through the bookshelf, and finally pulled out one book.

"Book of Pears (Transcribed Copy)", authored by the Forest Dweller of the Fifth Era, describing the cultivation process of 'Red Pear Fruit (Second-Tier)' and methods for observing red pear trees.

He opened a page in the book and showed the contents to Sylutia.

【Verdant Eye Potion Recipe】(First-Tier); Magical potion dripped into the eyes, one of the seven basic eye medicines, allowing the recipient to perceive the delicate flows and states of plants.

"This is the recipe for Verdant Eye Potion. Originally, such secret knowledge should only be given to you after graduation." Scholar Hyde explained.

"Since you urgently need it now, I'm imparting it to you early. When you graduate later, there won't be any additional rewards, so don't blame this teacher for being stingy then."

"Brewing the magical potion 'Verdant Eye' requires some rare herbs. I can provide you with one set for free, but after that, you'll have to prepare them yourself." He explained again.

"I understand." Sylutia took the book and sat to the side, using paper to transcribe this magical potion recipe again.

Most of the herbs in the recipe had no Aspect tiers, just relatively scarce herbs. However, one key ingredient required fresh buds with 'First-Tier Verdant Nectar' Aspect. Just this one plant cost nearly 70 silver coins, no wonder Scholar Hyde couldn't be too generous. If he funded every student, he probably couldn't sustain it.

Adding everything up, the material cost would be about 90 silver coins, the young girl estimated mentally. And this was under ideal circumstances - if any of the herbs were hard to find, the cost would increase further.

"Thank you, teacher." After finishing the transcription, the young girl bowed in thanks.

"Alright, take my note and find Manson. In a couple of days, he'll have the materials ready for you. The reason I'm not giving you money is because some materials are difficult to buy even if you have money."

Indeed, using Scholar Hyde's name, he could easily obtain materials from various guilds and nobles in the city, but if it were an unknown person, it would be extremely difficult.

...

While Sylutia worked hard on her path as a gardener, other students from the same period gradually formed their own plans.

"Mick, don't you have class today? Why are you back?"

In a courtyard in the lower district, adventurer team members saw the youth walking in.

"We don't have class today." Mick answered, though he clearly had something on his mind.

"Is Brother Jello here?"

"He's not here right now, probably at the bar."

"The bar? Then I'll go directly there."

Half an hour later, Mick finally found the drunk Jello in the dimly lit bar and helped him out.

"Brother Jello, I need to ask for your help with something." He hesitated for a moment but finally spoke.

"Wha, what is it... tell me." Jello was still quite drunk, his right hand waving randomly in the air, the accompanying force almost making Mick lose his grip.

"It's like this - next month we students will have an assessment. If we rank in the top few, there will be substantial rewards." Mick gritted his teeth.

"So, I want to improve my strength to get good results in the assessment, and this requires some help."

"Haha... what help? Just say it directly." Jello sobered up a bit.

"I need 'Blood Wine' to improve my Breathing Technique." Mick felt somewhat ashamed, feeling like he was relying too much on this big brother, when in fact they weren't related by blood, having only met through adventure work.

"Heh, I thought it was something major." Jello's large hand patted Mick's shoulder.

"Here, take it!" He fumbled through the inner layer of his belt and pulled out a shiny gold coin.

A gold coin, a metallic disc emitting faint golden luster, with a Cold Feather Bird pattern on it, indicating it came from the northern Winter Kingdom.

Looking at this gold coin, Mick felt complex emotions - gratitude, nervousness, guilt, and a hint of anticipation.

Clutching the body-warmed gold coin in his palm, Mick helped Jello back to rest in the small courtyard's room.

After explaining to his friends, Mick left with the gold coin, heading to the Adventurers' Guild, where the guild sold 'Blood Wine' on behalf. This was a medicinal wine refined from the blood of First-Tier Aspect or higher beasts, which could enhance abilities related to the 'Bloodline' Aspect and was also very suitable for Breathing Technique training.

"With this, I can break through to the second stage of Breathing Technique within a month." Mick walked out holding the blood-red wine bottle, secretly determined in his heart.

Once he gained strength in the future, he must repay Brother Jello.