Chapter 775: Red Root Tree

"Brother, do I really have to take time to play the piano and sing every day?"

"Yes."

"But Acheronides feels there's no time. There's so much research to do. The Magic Eye mage initiative needs to be implemented soon—without the Magic Eye, Acheronides' magic research would be much harder. The elemental transformation also requires time to study, otherwise Acheronides' strength is greatly limited..."

"Occasionally switching your focus will actually improve research efficiency. No more excuses, Acheronides. This is a daily task you must complete," Liszt said firmly. Regardless of whether Acheronides found magic research more enjoyable, he didn’t want the small mermaid to become a one-dimensional mage.

Two days later.

Marquis Niuwei finally departed, riding the successfully tamed black albatross. Meanwhile, after Nami spent several days cultivating the mangroves on the first island, the haze mission was completed.

"Mission complete. Reward: Root-enhanced mangrove variant."

"Root mutation? What does that mean?" Liszt soon understood the nature of this mutation. After Acheronides returned to Black Horse Island with Nami, Nami proudly scattered a batch of mangrove seeds.

The seeds swiftly grew into seedlings, their roots occupying two-thirds of the plant’s mass and rapidly sinking into the water, anchoring into the coastal mud.

"So that’s it. Root mutation means the mangrove seedlings develop stronger roots, helping them anchor more easily. This way, the mangroves can expand rapidly!"

When mangrove seedlings break off from the parent plant, they require very specific conditions to anchor in the mud and avoid being washed away by the sea. In areas with strong currents, seedlings often fail to take root, stunting mangrove growth. With this new variant, mangroves could now spread quickly.

Mangroves offered many benefits.

Their main uses included raising green caterpillars, mallards, and flamingos. They also served as windbreaks, wave dampeners, sediment stabilizers, shoreline protectors, and purifiers of seawater and air. Additionally, mangroves could be used as livestock feed, and some variants even had medicinal value.

In *Aristotle’s Herbal Compendium*, several mangrove species were recorded for their medicinal and seasoning properties.

"Since these are root-mutated mangroves, let’s name them Root Mangroves," Liszt declared, promptly naming the new variant and rewarding Nami with a bag of peanut-nougat.

Holding the bag of peanut-nougat, Nami was delighted. "Jigu!" She took out a piece and offered it to Liszt as a gesture of sharing.

"Thank you." Liszt smiled and accepted it, though he didn’t particularly like the treat. Still, he ate it to indulge her.

Seeing Liszt eat the nougat, Nami then offered a piece to Acheronides.

Acheronides also didn’t care for it but ate it anyway.

Pleased that both had accepted her gift, Nami chirped, "Jigu! Jigu! Jigu!" Carrying her rubber-leaf bag, she knocked on every spirit bug room’s door.

The spirit bugs had a decent impression of Nami. Though not overly enthusiastic, they quickly accepted the peanut-nougat. Even Mickey, the corn spirit bug who only liked counting corn kernels, took a piece and peeled off the wrapper to count the peanuts inside.

One, two, five, three, one, seven, three, two... Annoying. Start over. One, three, four, six, seven, five...

When Nami reached Ash, the Grand Pea Sprite’s door, Ash shook her head and pulled out a length of rope. "Nami, peanut-nougat is disgusting. Want to try rope art instead?"

Nami quickly waved her hands and flew away.

Finally, she knocked on Jie La’s door.

Jie La had known Nami the longest but wasn’t particularly warm toward her. Still, she didn’t refuse the nougat. "I don’t like peanut-nougat. Next time, bring me jade powder!"

"Jigu."

"Nami, you can’t even talk. Moron!" Jie La scoffed, nose in the air.

Unfazed, Nami giggled, unwrapped a nougat, and crunched on it happily. "Jigu!" Then she flew back to Acheronides, perched on Acheronides’ shoulder, and chattered and gestured. She wanted Acheronides to take her to the underwater sprite chambers so she could share peanut-nougat with Pyke and the others.

Watching this, Liszt patted the tiny sprout on her head and remarked, "If Nami evolves into a Grand Sprite, she’ll definitely make an excellent sprite caretaker."

Considerate, amiable, and hardworking—such a spirit is truly rare.

...

After handing out candy to everyone, Nami went back to work. Just like Acheronides loves researching magic, she loves working—it brings her joy.

Liszt had originally planned to stay in the castle to closely observe the evolution of the rubber bug triplets, but a new task forced him to depart at once.

"Task: The volcano on Dodo Island is on the verge of dying out. Both you and Leo have sensed the impending crisis brought by its demise. Though the event is irreversible, it can still go out in a final blaze of glory. Why not attempt to guide Leo in controlling the volcano to trigger one last eruption? Reward: Dragonbreath Heating."

This was a peculiar task—having Leo trigger a volcanic eruption.

Though the purpose of the volcanic task was unclear, the reward of Dragonbreath Heating made it impossible for Liszt to refuse. Leo's dragonbreath wasn't particularly hot, reaching only around one or two thousand degrees at most. It was more of a release of magic rather than a conventional attack method.

Previously, Liszt had been using dragonbreath for training—a technique called Dragonbreath Tempering, which continuously strengthened his physique through the dragon's magic power.

However, the effects of Dragonbreath Tempering had now diminished. The human form had inherent limitations—once his skin became harder than steel, further improvement was impossible.

"Perhaps after Leo's dragonbreath heats up, the effects of Dragonbreath Tempering can advance further, allowing my physique to break through its limits once more and grow even stronger!"

Growing stronger remained the eternal theme of personal struggle in this world—never outdated.

Arriving at Dodo Island,

Liszt first met the Grand Sprite Ai Ni from the Phoenix-Roost Parasol, instructing her to witness the volcano's last eruption before it would no longer sustain life on Dodo Island.

Then, he had Acheronides protect the dormant Lightgreen Gem Dragon.

He then rode Leo to the crater of Dodo Island's volcano, where only a lake remained, emitting feeble tendrils of smoke—the once-molten lava lake had completely solidified. Leo landed on it, pounding furiously on the hardened volcanic rock, but aside from cracking it, nothing happened.

It could no longer transform into flames and merge with the magma.

"Roar!"

A roar of frustration sent rubble tumbling down the crater walls.

Liszt cast Dragon Eye Trajectory, carefully examining the crater. In his enhanced vision, faint traces of magic power became visible. Though the volcano had extinguished, he could still discern its magic circuitry: "I can see the volcano's magic composition, but how do I trigger an eruption?"

After a moment,

inspiration struck.

"Perhaps I can attempt to expand the Dragon Rider Resonance to encompass the entire volcano, achieving a mega Dragon Rider Resonance?"