NOVEL NEXT Ch34 - Hybridization
Chapter 34: Hybridization
A faint sweet fragrance wafts through the fields of lotus flowers. Small bumblebees are diligently collecting nectar from the light pink flowers with a hint of purple. Most of the delicate flowers are about seventy percent in bloom, and it seems there are still few that have produced seeds. Lena and the others scanned the entire flower field and began collecting seeds from the areas where the flowers were starting to wither.
“Maybe we missed the timing a bit. There aren’t many that have turned into seeds, but… well, we’re not cultivating lotus as our main product, so this should be enough for [hybridization] materials. Shall we look for the next flower field?”
“Yeah, let’s do that! … Oh! Patricia, look over there… there are some lotus flowers blooming in a strangely vivid color! Should we, um, collect some seeds?”
“Ugh!? … I guess we should collect them. It seems to be a rare variety. Um, it’s called Red Mustard Lotus? If you dry and crush the petals, it turns into a spicy medicine. It can also be used as a spice. That’s what it says in the encyclopedia.”
“Spices…!”
“You really get a happy look on your face when it comes to food, don’t you, Lena? It’s almost refreshing. Whoosh!”
“Pu-fu! You shouldn’t poke my cheeks…”
“Hahaha!”
The two playful girls seem to recognize each other as friends. It’s great to see them getting along.
Patricia has obtained 50 Lotus Seeds! Patricia has obtained 3 Red Mustard Lotus Seeds!
The group moved to their next location, arriving at the Chuure flower field. There were many colorful flowers that looked very similar to tulips. The colors were so vivid that they could almost be classified as primary colors, making them perfect materials for color adjustment.
“Are we going to use the bulbs of these flowers as materials…?”
“Yes, that’s right. You really know your flowers well, Lena. Chuure doesn’t produce seeds, so we use the bulbs instead. The reason we use seeds for [hybridization] materials is that all the information about the growing flowers is contained in them. Using bulbs isn’t a problem either. Apparently, ‘landscapers’ use either nuts or small branches for grafting as materials when they [hybridize].”
“Wow! … Oh. What’s that over there, another flower with a vivid color… a, lip!?”
“Another one!? And wow… it really does look like a lip. Is it a subspecies of Chuure? Um… no, it’s called Psychotria Errata. It seems it was originally a flower made for hot regions, but the seeds fell during transport and it went wild around here.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Kishaaaaaa!!”
A monster, Psychotria Errata, has appeared!
“Whoa!!?”
Hamar Drive! Bounce and then [Dissolve]! Complete victory!
Patricia has obtained 10 Chuure Bulbs! Patricia has obtained 2 Monster Flower Seeds!
…After being caught off guard, the group, looking somewhat fatigued, next arrived at a field of marigolds and clovers. Terrifyingly, every clover plant had a lucky four-leaf clover. Lena’s luck was at its peak. By the way, it seemed to be a mutated variety. Hmm? The masters seem to be acting strangely.
“Hmm, something… the air stings my eyes…! Ugh, I’m crying…”
“Where’s the flower that made our master cry—!? I won’t forgive it!!” “… Find the cause, bugs! Ugh, my eyes hurt…” “I can’t stop crying…”
“I really wonder what this is… sniff. Marigolds do have a bad smell, but it doesn’t sting like this… Wait, is this because it’s a mutated variety!?”
The bugs, feeling weak, discovered the cause of the tearful eyes. It was a remarkably large and round flower that resembled a dahlia, known as Smear Gold, which had an exceptionally pungent odor, like concentrated onion extract.
“Ugh, since I’ve cried so much… my eyes hurt and I’m annoyed, so I’m taking the seeds home! Damn it!”
Patricia has obtained 60 Lucky Clover Seeds! Patricia has obtained 30 Marigold Seeds! Patricia has obtained 5 Smear Gold Seeds!
…This is how the budding flower artisan continued gathering various flower seeds. More than half of them were very valuable mutated varieties or monster flowers. What luck!
Let me introduce some of them:
Walnut Flower (produces small white flowers and hard nuts) ×10
Super Fast Alfalfa (a leguminous plant with small purple flowers. Grows extremely quickly) ×20
Orchis Simia (a flower with small white petals resembling a little person. Almost turning into a monster. Sways back and forth) ×5
Demon Thistle (beautiful pink petals shaped like gathered knives. Can cut the skin if touched) ×9
…and more. Every flower field they visited had mutated or rare species blooming. Perhaps it was due to the luck of the tipsy master riding in front?
The probability of encountering monster flowers was surprisingly high, and during their escape, Lena, who was tied up by slime and shaken on a sheep’s back, was tipsy again. Of course, she sometimes ran away because she didn’t need to collect only monster flower seeds.
At this point, let’s reaffirm that Patricia’s dream is not to open a monster flower shop, but rather to run a regular flower shop. Lena, fortunately, hadn’t become too groggy thanks to the boy and girl supporting her from behind.
“Are you okay, Lena? We’ve gathered quite a few seeds, so shall we head back…? Thanks for keeping me company today!”
Her friend kindly rubbed Lena’s back.
“No, no… Since you went out of your way to request a commission, and it’s to help a dear friend with their dream, it’s only natural for us to do our best~! Hehe, I’m glad we were able to gather so many seeds. Shall we head back? Hā-kun, please take us to the gates of Anes Kingdom! …S-slowly, okay?”
“As you wish, Lena-sama. If you’re feeling unwell, let me know and we can stop along the way, okay?”
“Thank you…!”
The very easily swayed master was moved by her familiar’s kindness and cried. Yes, moved…
You have discovered the Simir Rose!
“Again?!” “That’s enough already!”
While all members except for the slime with [Status Condition Resistance] were sobbing, Patricia took her frustration out by gathering seeds, and they slowly made their way back to the small city of Troilia.
After returning to Troilia, Lena and the others headed to Patricia’s house. They had gone out early in the morning to efficiently gather seeds, so it was still just past noon. Interested in her friend’s work as a flower artisan, Lena decided to watch over Patricia as she worked. When she offered to help prepare dinner as well, Patricia gave a spirited thumbs-up. It was amusing, and everyone burst out laughing.
A pure white cloth was spread on the floor, with a metal cage containing the plant seeds and a plant encyclopedia placed on top. The white cloth was laid out to prevent losing any seeds that might fall.
“—Skill [Plant Breeding]!”
When Patricia activated her skill, a blue-purple magic circle appeared on the cloth. It was a large circular magic circle with two smaller magic circles attached below it. She placed the base flower seed on the right side of the smaller magic circle, and on the left, she placed the seed from which she wanted to extract characteristics, completing the preparations.
Only one characteristic can be added per improvement, and it is completely random. If the color of the flower changes, it will “swap” with the base seed’s color. The probability of the original seed’s characteristics remaining, resulting in a marbled color, is only about 3%. Beautiful and rare colors mixed in flowers are said to be favored as gifts by the upper class.
As her level as a flower artisan increased, she would be able to acquire improvement-specific skills like [Characteristic Exchange Selection] and [Probability Increase], allowing for greater freedom in arrangements.
“‘Arrangement!’”
Patricia held her hands over the two seeds and chanted a spell. Lush green shoots sprouted from the seeds on the small magic circle, growing and blooming instantly before wilting away. The seeds that bore fruit were absorbed into the magic circle, and a new variety of “pre-made flower seeds” appeared within the large circle.
Having witnessed the [Plant Breeding] process, Lena muttered, “It’s just like alchemy.” “Creating something new is similar, after all. Flower artisans specialize in flower seeds, while alchemists deal with minerals and potions,” she replied. It seems that the main job of an alchemist is to remove the bitterness of the potions made by herbalists or to enhance their effects.
Patricia created “Super Fast Slime Flower” using Super Fast Alfalfa and Slime Flower!
You obtained 1 seed of Super Fast Slime Flower!
“—Skill [Flower Appraisal]! Huh… It looks like it has the effect you wanted, Lena. You got lucky. It seems like a special slime flower that grows right after planting and lets you eat the gummies right away has been completed.”
“Really? Yay…! Thank you, Patricia-chan!”
“Well, today the goal is to level up by doing as much [Plant Breeding] as possible, so instead of creating flowers as products, let’s try out interesting combinations.”
“Sounds good!”
“Leave the innovative ideas to Ku and Iz! Hehe!” “…I want to create something cute too!” “……Munyuu…SuuSuu…”
Ah, I can’t help but think that this result is because Lena wanted it. She has a soft spot for delicious food and seemed eager to try the slime jelly-flavored gummies. Meanwhile, Kureha and Izumi only produced slime gel. (Just to clarify, gel is actually much more expensive and rare.)
Using the blue magic spell “Aqua,” Patricia created a grapefruit-sized water sphere on her palm. When she placed the freshly made seed inside, the seed absorbed the water, sprouting and growing into a blue flower resembling a hyacinth, about 50 cm tall. The flower produced fruit about 3 cm in diameter, resulting in a cute, delicious slime flower gummy.
“Wow…! Is it okay to eat this now?”
“Yeah, I think it’s just ripe enough.”
“Then, here we go! Everyone, help yourselves!”
“Woohoo! It’s cannibalism! So sweet!” “…Mmm! It’s squishy!” “Mmm…Munch munch…Wow! It’s delicious!”
“Yeah, it’s refreshing and tastes like soda gummies! …There’s already another fruit forming. Does ‘super fast’ mean only the growing and harvesting is super fast…?”
“Wow, it’s true! That’s pretty convenient, huh?!”
Everyone was amazed by the overly convenient flower. They snacked on the slime flower gummies, just enough to fill their stomachs a bit before dinner. By the way, Lena’s mention of “soda” was a complete slip of the tongue, as there is currently no such drink as soda in the world of Ranash.
Though the seed was created casually, it soon became popular with the catchy slogan of being a great emergency food! It eventually became one of the main products of Patricia’s shop. The flower continued to produce fruits for 30 minutes, withering afterward, leaving five seeds behind in the stem. It was a seedless gummy!
“Next…”
“Yes, yes! I think I want to try a Super Fast Slime Flower with Demon Thistle!”
“I have no idea what you’re saying?”
“Ta-da! Demonization!”
“Wait, Kureha and Izumi, you can’t be naked! Clothes, clothes…!”
After the meal, the slimes, now back in their monster forms, relaxed and decided to take on human forms for fun. It’s worth noting that the juvenile slimes are biologically neither male nor female, as they lack both breasts and reproductive organs. If they wanted to, they could freely create their own shapes and sizes.
That said… The idea of combining the demon thistle with a new species seemed terrifying, but Patricia and Lena found it amusing and decided to go along with the outrageous proposal.
“Skill [Hybridization]… ‘Arrangement!’”
▽ Patricia created “Super Speed Demon Thistle!”
When considering which features of the super-speed slime flower would be inherited, it appeared that only the “super speed” trait from the alfalfa was manifested. One might think it would have been better to use the super-speed alfalfa from the beginning, but the inherited traits are completely random. It seems to be a common occurrence.
The result was somewhat disappointing, so the childish slimes puffed up their cheeks in discontent. They looked up at Patricia with big, pleading eyes, begging her to try again. With a wry smile, she agreed to grow the thistle once, gather ten seeds, and then combine the “Super Speed Slime Flower” with the “Super Speed Demon Thistle.”
▽ Patricia created “Edible Super Speed Demon Thistle!”
“Ohhh! This one feels pretty good, right?”
“It looks like it has a different effect this time! It’s edible! Good for you, Kureha and Izumi. Shall we thank big sister?”
““Yay! Thank you, Sister Patricia!””
“Oh, uh…”
How very calculated. The slimes seemed to be aware of their own cuteness, but the boys, who had no resistance to such cuteness, were blushing. Their master? Definitely smitten.
After that, they decided to grow the previously made “Edible Super Speed Demon Thistle.” The sprouts shot up to about one meter tall, and with a cheerful pop, large pink flowers bloomed. …A flower? The thorny petals had transformed into rounded, stick-like shapes, resembling Pocky sticks. The two girls exchanged glances, and Patricia, nervously, pinched one of the petals (or sticks?) and tore it off.
“Mmm!? …It’s strawberry-flavored. It’s delicious, right?” “Seriously…!”
▽ “Edible Super Speed Demon Thistle” launches its “Eat Me” attack!
Unexpectedly, the torn petals automatically aimed for someone’s mouth, creating a peculiar style for the demon thistle. Why is it that such bizarre transformations keep happening?
““Kyaa! Kuu and Izumi want to eat too!”” “‘Give us some too!’”
“Hmm… I don’t want dinner to be ruined, so just a little bit, okay?”
With permission granted by their indulgent master, the second snack time began.
They decided to use the initially created “Super Speed Demon Thistle” for Patricia’s throwing weapon, utilizing the petals that kept sprouting no matter how many times they were plucked.
The second creation, the edible one, would become a popular party treat in Patricia’s future flower shop. Her dream is to be a florist, not a candy shop owner.
Additionally, due to the mischievous ideas of the slimes, various weapon flowers were born.
Super Speed Walnut Bomb Flower… Grows quickly and produces walnut-sized fruits. When it hits something, the fruit bursts, spreading a sticky goo.
▽ Became Patricia’s throwing weapon!
Karakteshimi Meal Gold… A toxic substance that makes people tear up from the moment of seeding. Handle with care. When the seeds crack open, a super spicy + smelly extract disperses within a one-meter radius.
▽ Became Patricia’s throwing weapon!
While other outrageous seeds were being produced, Patricia’s dream remained to be a florist, not a weapon shop owner… Let’s leave it at that.
Having produced mostly these bizarre creations, Patricia and Lena found themselves at a loss when it came to creating ordinary, cute flowers. Turning to their only hope, Lily, for advice, they received a rather peculiar suggestion: “How about ‘Psychotria Errata’ and ‘Withered Goldfish Plant’…?” They still lacked the courage to delve into monster flower seeds. There was no doubt they would end up looking like sexy lip skulls, so they politely declined Lily’s suggestion. While they liked cute things, it seemed they lacked a sense for flower creation.
As they ate their dinner of “Garlic Tomato Sauce Hamburger (no fillers),” the disappointed girls were at a loss.
▽ Next! Let’s enlist the help of that cute flower-loving girl!