Avoiding Death in an Otome Game

Chapter 67: Chapter - 67: The Hygroryza Dubia

I continued feeding my water attribute mana into the pot at the slow pace Venesa had instructed, keeping the flow as steady as possible while making sure that the mana remained pure and did not suddenly surge into the plant, because according to her explanation the purpose of the experiment was not to see how much energy the Hygroryza Dubia could withstand but rather to observe how its body responded when exposed to a controlled supply of high quality water attribute mana.

For the first few moments, there was almost no visible change.

The clear water inside the pot continued to ripple gently around the roots, while the faint blue mana surrounding my hand gradually disappeared beneath its surface, and the plant itself remained almost completely motionless except for a slight trembling along its thin, grass-like branches.

Venesa immediately leaned closer to the table.

”Do not change the output yet.”

”Okay.”

Her eyes remained fixed on the plant as one hand moved rapidly across the notebook she was holding, recording even the smallest movement she could observe.

Elena and Lily were also watching quietly from the side, although neither of them seemed to know exactly what they were supposed to be looking for.

Then the first noticeable change occurred.

One of the thin blue branches slowly curled inward.

It was not a sudden movement, nor did it resemble the way a normal plant would move when exposed to sunlight or water; instead, the branch seemed to respond directly to the mana flowing through the water, bending toward the center of the pot before another branch beside it began doing the same.

Venesa stopped writing for a moment.

”...There.”

I maintained the same flow.

The branches continued curling.

What had originally looked like weak strands of blue grass gradually began intertwining with one another, forming a more organized structure as they grew longer and thicker, and the change happened so smoothly that it almost looked as though the plant had simply decided that its previous form was no longer sufficient.

The thin branches began to swell.

They became thicker and more defined, slowly reaching the width of a finger while their surfaces lost the dull, fragile appearance they had possessed only moments earlier.

Elena leaned forward slightly.

”It’s changing.”

”Yes,” Venesa replied without taking her eyes away from the plant, although her voice had become considerably quieter because she was concentrating on every detail. ”Keep going, Lord Kai.”

I continued.

The transformation became more obvious as the branches grew longer and began twisting around one another in smooth curves, eventually taking on an appearance much closer to that of vines than its previously ordinary grass like one, while the structure beneath their surfaces seemed to become considerably denser.

There was something strange about watching it happen.

The plant had previously looked as though a strong pull would have been enough to tear its branches apart, but now the same branches seemed to possess an internal structure that had not existed before, almost as if an invisible skeleton had formed inside them and was giving the entire plant strength and stability.

Venesa noticed it as well.

”The tensile strength is increasing.”

She quickly wrote something down before looking back at the plant.

”There is a structural reinforcement occurring throughout the entire body rather than simply around the roots.”

Lily looked at her in confusion.

”Is that good?”

”It is better than good.”

Venesa’s expression made the answer obvious.

”It’s exactly what we wanted.”

The plant continued growing.

Its vines extended farther upward and outward, gradually occupying more of the space above the pot, while the thicker branches curled naturally around one another without appearing tangled or uncontrolled.

At the same time, another change began taking place across their surface.

The dull blue color became deeper and clearer, and a glossy luster gradually appeared across the vines, reflecting the light from the magical lamps hanging above the laboratory.

Then I noticed something else.

A faint blue halo had begun forming around the plant.

It was not bright enough to illuminate the room, nor was it particularly strong, but it was clearly visible around the edges of the vines, giving the entire plant an appearance that was considerably more striking than before.

”It has started emitting excess mana,” Lily said quietly.

Venesa immediately shook her head.

”Not excess mana.”

She paused, studying the faint glow.

”It is probably mana that the plant is not storing internally, but we need more observations before I can say that with certainty.”

I continued feeding it mana while listening to her explanation, but soon I noticed that the plant had begun growing considerably faster than before.

Its vines were now reaching upward, extending farther and farther until the plant had nearly reached the height of an adult human.

The small pot that had initially contained what looked like an ordinary grass-like magical plant now supported a long collection of thick blue vines, and although the plant had grown dramatically, it did not appear unstable or strained by its increased size.

Instead, it seemed surprisingly comfortable in its new form.

Venesa’s writing became faster.

”Growth rate has increased by approximately—”

She stopped and frowned at her own calculation before writing something else.

”No, that is not right. I need to measure the starting point again.”

Elena could not help but smile.

”Senior Venesa, you really are going to record everything, are not you?”

”Obviously.”

She did not even look up.

”If I leave out something important now, I might spend the next three months trying to figure out why the results do not match.”

Elena quietly watched the plant for another few seconds before looking toward me.

”How much longer do you need to keep doing this?”

”I am not sure.”

I kept my attention on the mana flowing from my hand.

”Senior?”

”Just a little longer.”

I nodded and continued.

The plant reached its maximum growth gradually, with the longest vine extending almost to the height of an adult human before its growth finally began slowing down.

Then, unexpectedly, one of the vines moved.

I immediately stopped thinking about the experiment and focused on it.

The branch slowly lifted itself from the cluster of vines and began moving in my direction.

”Is that supposed to happen?” Elena asked.

Venesa stopped writing ”I do.... not know?”

That answer immediately made me more alert.

The branch continued moving.

It was not fast, but its movement was deliberate enough that it clearly was not simply swaying from the mana flowing through its body.

It extended toward my right hand.

I instinctively prepared myself to stop it if necessary, although I did not interrupt the mana flow yet because I wanted to see what it intended to do.

The vine eventually reached my hand. For a brief moment, it simply hovered there.

Then it gently touched my palm.

I expected some kind of reaction, perhaps an attempt to absorb my mana directly or even an instinctive attack, but nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, the moment the vine touched my skin, its normally firm surface became remarkably soft and flexible, bending slightly around my fingers without exerting any force.

I looked at it in silence. The plant moved again, gently brushing against my hand. It almost felt as though it was saying hello.

”...”

Elena’s eyes widened slightly.

Lily stared at the plant with an expression of genuine fascination, while Venesa looked as though someone had just handed her the most valuable research discovery of her life.

”It responded to direct contact.”

Venesa immediately started writing again.

”Not only that, the texture changed upon contact, and the movement does not appear defensive.”

She looked at me.

”Lord Kai, do not move your hand yet.”

The vine gently curled around the side of my palm before relaxing again, remaining completely harmless as it continued touching my hand.

”It likes you,” Lily said.

”I do not know if plants can like people.”

”That certainly looks like liking to me.” Elena smiled faintly as she watched the plant.

”It probably recognizes the mana.”

Venesa nodded enthusiastically.

”That is possible, and if that is the case, then this could mean that the Hygroryza Dubia possesses a considerably stronger mana recognition ability than we anticipated.”

She quickly looked back at her notes.

”I need to test whether it reacts similarly to other water mages, whether the response changes depending on mana purity, and whether repeated exposure to the same person creates a stronger response.”

”You already have three more experiments planned, do not you?” I asked with a wry smile.

”Five.” Venesa replied as if it is normal.

Elena covered a small smile with her hand, while Lily quietly laughed.

Venesa, however, didn’t seem embarrassed in the slightest ”Research requires preparation.”

”That sounds suspiciously like an excuse to keep experimenting.” Elena said.

”It is not an excuse” She gave us a perfectly serious expression ”It is a responsibility.”

I could not help but shake my head.

After another minute of observation, Venesa finally raised her hand.

”Alright, now slowly withdraw your mana.”

I gradually reduced the flow instead of stopping it abruptly, allowing the plant to adjust to the decreasing supply.

The blue glow surrounding its body slowly weakened, and the vines began shrinking almost immediately.

They curled inward as their length decreased, gradually returning toward the pot while retaining the thicker structure they had developed during the experiment.

The entire process was considerably slower than the initial growth, and I kept withdrawing my mana until the last traces of it disappeared from the water.

The plant eventually settled back into its pot.

It was much smaller than it had been a moment ago, but it was not quite the same as before.

Venesa immediately noticed it, she stepped closer.

”The final size....” She looked at the plant. It had returned to roughly its original form, but its height was now noticeably greater than before.

”Did not it become taller?” Lily asked.

Venesa quickly took out a measuring tool and compared its current size with the measurements recorded before the experiment.

Her expression slowly changed ”Half a foot.”

She looked at the measurement again ”Exactly half a foot taller than its original size.”

Elena looked at the plant.

”So it permanently grew?”

”It seems so.” Venesa’s excitement returned almost instantly as she began writing again.

”And the glow has not disappeared either.”

The faint blue halo was still visible across the plant’s glossy surface, although it was much weaker than it had been during the infusion.

I looked at my hand, then at the plant ”It seems the experiment worked.”

Venesa stared at the Hygroryza Dubia for a few seconds before suddenly smiling.

”More than worked.”

She turned toward me.

”Lord Kai, I think you just helped me confirm that this species can permanently adapt to high quality water attribute mana.”

”Does that mean I get my priority when you start selling them?”

Venesa paused.

Then she laughed.

”Yes, yes, you still get your priority.”

Elena smiled at my side ”You really were thinking about that the entire time.”

”Of course. This will benefit our territory.”

I looked at the small blue plant sitting quietly in its pot.

*And it would be interesting to own a plant familiar* I thought to myself.