Chapter 22: Failure, Glowing Mushrooms

Robert's eyes widened, and his heart started racing. The reward for planting the Guardian Tree was far more generous than he had expected. Just successfully planting the seed could earn him a Bronze Level reward? And if he could cultivate the Guardian Tree to full maturity, there would even be a Silver Level reward?!

Don't be fooled by the fact that Robert currently possessed several legendary-level abilities. Those didn't come overnight. They were the result of years of persistent effort since the day he transmigrated. Take his Heat Resistance Enhancement ability, for example. Robert had planted acres upon acres of cotton over countless days. He earned countless Bronze Level rewards for Slight Heat Resistance Enhancement, stacking them over time until he finally reached the Legendary tier—only after meeting Professor Sprout.

He alone knew how much sweat and perseverance had gone into achieving that.

And now, the Guardian Tree offered a shortcut.

If he could grow it to maturity, he could get a Silver Level reward for just one success. To reach Legendary Level, stacking a few of these would be vastly more efficient than slogging through years of minor rewards.

It was like the difference between someone who sells breakfast pancakes every day until they become a billionaire, versus a rich second-generation starting a business and hitting the jackpot. The gap in effort required was almost absurd.

Even more tempting were the Guardian Tree's exclusive rewards—Dark Arts comprehension and even Dark Arts resistance. If he could stack these to Legendary Level...

Then even Antonin Dolohov would be nothing to him. Bring on Lord Voldemort himself!

After his moment of excitement, Robert calmed down. He clearly understood—such rich rewards must come with extreme difficulty. Even Professor Sprout only expected him to succeed by his third year.

Even with the support of his Planting System, Robert estimated it wasn't something he could complete quickly. But the earlier he started, the sooner he'd gain experience.

Taking a deep breath, Robert declared, "Aunt, I want to try. I'll definitely walk the path of a Herbology Master. Inheriting the glory of the Sprout Family is my responsibility."

Professor Sprout's expression softened, filled with relief. Soon, she led Robert to the Greenhouse behind Hogwarts Castle. They stopped in front of an empty plot of land.

"Robert," she said. "This is the experimental plot I've assigned to you. From now on, feel free to experiment with your ideas here anytime."

Robert looked at the plot, moved. He had long heard about this greenhouse from Professor Sprout. It wasn't just any greenhouse—it was the oldest and most prestigious in Britain, perhaps even the entire wizarding world.

The Sprout Family's greenhouse, which had been passed down for centuries, was already excellent. But compared to Hogwarts' greenhouse, it was lacking. This greenhouse had been personally built by Helga Hufflepuff, one of the Four Founders. Every inch of its soil contained her magic.

Add to that the countless resources Hogwarts had poured into its maintenance for a thousand years, and even a handful of soil here was a treasure that outside Herbology Masters would kill for. Plants grew faster, mutations were more likely, and the quality of magical ingredients was top-notch.

Many herbologists had to wait years just to send in one seed to be cultivated here.

Yet Robert had been given his own plot.

He took a deep breath, wanting to speak, but Professor Sprout interrupted him gently.

"Child," she said, "we are the last bloodline of the Sprout Family. You're my closest family. Everything I have—my knowledge, my resources—I'll use them to pave the way for you. This plot of land? It's nothing. Now, let me teach you how to cultivate the Guardian Tree."

Robert focused as Professor Sprout began to explain.

"The Guardian Tree is a magical plant with powerful magic that can influence wizards. From the moment of sowing, your magic flow must be precisely regulated. Even your emotions matter."

"There was once a wizard who, having cast a Dark Arts spell the day before, tried to plant a Guardian Tree. But the seed responded to his lingering dark magic and mutated into a cursed plant. The poor wizard later died from the backlash."

"Such cases are rare, but they show just how sensitive the Guardian Tree is to magic."

"Don't rush, Robert. You have plenty of time."

It was clear that even Professor Sprout didn't expect Robert to succeed anytime soon.

But Robert, having a research background in his previous life, wasn't under any delusions. Even geniuses only rose through accumulated failure and iteration. Failure was an essential part of experimentation. He wasn't discouraged.

Taking a Guardian Tree seed from Professor Sprout, he tapped it lightly with his wand, filling his mind with cheerful and positive thoughts, hoping to attune his magic to a compatible state.

Unfortunately, his Magic Perception wasn't sensitive enough to fine-tune his magic in real time. He could only try his best.

Next, he soaked the seed in a prepared Potion bottle, tapped the bottle's opening three times with his wand, and drew three clockwise concentric circles.

Then he cast the spell.

"Protego—Arboris!"

The seed trembled, and the transparent potion began turning green.

But in the next moment, the green faded into a dull grayish-brown. The seed lost its luster.

Failure.

Robert exhaled. Clearly, the seed processing had failed.

Professor Sprout offered warm encouragement.

"It's alright, Robert. Aside from a few figures mentioned in the History of Magic, no one has ever successfully planted a Guardian Tree on their first try. Those few were the most legendary Herbology Masters. Even I pale in comparison."

"Take your time."

But Robert merely smiled. "I'm prepared for long-term effort."

"There are two more sets of seeds and reagents," she said. "You can try again."

Robert shook his head.

His Magic Perception was simply too weak. Based on this attempt, he guessed he'd need at least a Silver Level Magic Perception Enhancement just to process the Guardian Tree seed properly. Otherwise, it would all be left to luck.

And even if he got lucky once, that wouldn't help him repeat the process. He didn't want to burn through expensive resources gambling for a fluke.

Once his current batch of Goldfish Vine matured, his Magic Perception should improve. He'd wait until then.

Besides, seed processing was only the simplest step. Future stages would be even more complex. To cultivate the entire Guardian Tree, he might need Gold Level Magic Perception, or higher.

Robert estimated he might achieve his first success by the end of first year.

Until then, he'd grow other magical plants.

He explained this plan to Professor Sprout. She nodded with a smile, as though she had already expected this.

"These are Leaping Root seeds. And these are Bubble-Stem seeds."

She introduced each plant in turn.

"The difficulty is higher than Goldfish Vine, but much easier than Guardian Tree."

With his system, Robert could view the rewards just by inspecting the seeds.

Leaping Root:

Reward – Slight Jump Ability Enhancement (Bronze Level)

Bubble-Stem:

Reward – Bubble-Head Charm Comprehension (Bronze Level)

Robert sighed.

Jump Ability? Even at the legendary level, could it beat a flying broom? Worthless.

Bubble-Head Charm Comprehension was a rare bonus in Charms, but unfortunately, it wasn't a widely used spell.

Still, between the two, the latter had more potential. At least it was magical.

Just as he was about to commit to planting Bubble-Stem, something above caught his eye—a mushroom on the greenhouse ceiling, glowing with soft light.

His eyes lit up.

"Aunt," he asked, "what kind of mushroom is that?"

Professor Sprout followed his gaze. "That? Oh, that's a Luminous Mushroom. It emits light similar to the Lumos Charm, but it has no real value. You can't use it in potions—it turns into floating specks of light."

"It's mostly ornamental. At best, it's used in lanterns. Later, a Herbology Master bred a mutated version that emitted brighter light. Now we use them as light sources for the greenhouse."

"You're interested in that?"

At that moment, Robert's Planting System offered a new reward readout:[Mutated Luminous Mushroom]

– Successful planting grants Extremely Slight Night Vision Enhancement (Bronze Level)

– Once matured, reward upgrades to:

Slight Night Vision Enhancement (Bronze Level)

Very Small Amount of Lumos Charm Comprehension (Bronze Level)Robert's heart stirred again.

Not flashy, not powerful—but useful. Perhaps it was time to try something... glowing.

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