Wizards: Starting with Synthetic Gems

Chapter 261 Universal Super Rootstock Magical Plant
A week later.

In front of the magic field in his botanical garden, Locke transplanted a seedling grown from a seed obtained from a large blue owl banana plant onto a branch of a sycamore tree using a grafting method.

Locke used a medium-sized enchanted item, a grafting knife covered in runes, which was specially used by formal breeders for grafting and cultivating magical plants. He then cut open one of the main trunks of the sycamore tree, which had been pruned of almost all its branches and leaves, leaving only a few main trunks.

He carefully cut a V-shaped wound under the bark.

Next, Locke carefully inserted the seedling of the Great Green Owl Banana into the V-shaped cut of the sycamore tree and tied it with a thin thread. This is the "peel bud grafting" method in grafting cultivation.

Currently, Locke has mastered ten common grafting methods under the broad category of grafting cultivation.

These ten common grafting methods correspond to the grafting methods between different types of magical plants.

The Great Green Owl Banana is a perennial herbaceous magical plant, in other words, a kind of grass. To graft a grass onto a tree, the most common grafting method, the cleft grafting, cannot be used.

A special method of grafting, called "skin grafting," must be used.

Only in this way can the large green banana plant, which is a type of grass, be grafted onto this sycamore tree.

If a typical breeder doesn't realize this, the grafting will fail from the start.

Therefore, the theoretical level of breeders largely determines the speed and quality of their results.

Locke used a [Secondary Grafting Healing Spell] and sprinkled high-grade nutrient solution, high-grade nutrient soil, and high-grade growth-promoting gel on the roots of the magical plant.

The bark of the parasol tree gleamed slightly, and surprisingly, it grew alongside the seedlings of the Great Green Owl Banana, quickly becoming smooth without any scars.

The seedling of the Great Green Owl Banana grew rapidly on the trunk of this tree, quickly transforming from the size of a thumb into a magical plant seedling the size of an adult's palm.

"This time it actually succeeded."

Locke was stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to believe it himself.

Over the past three months, I have synthesized countless common rootstock-type magical plants, and after synthesizing them, I have started to try grafting the seedlings of the Great Green Owl Banana onto these rootstock-type magical plants using the [Peel Bud Grafting Method].

As a result, they failed every time.

On the contrary, I've become increasingly proficient in using my own "skin grafting method".

Rootstock-type magical plants that can be used as rootstock for rare magical plants are not so easy to develop.

But this time I succeeded.

Locke looked at the sycamore tree before him, and at the inscription on it: "[Two-Ball Sycamore Tree, Level 7 Crafting Item, crafted from one medium-grade magical plant, Two-Ball Garlic Scape, and two medium-to-high-grade magical plants, Sycamore Trees.]"

[Rootstock-type magical plants possess haploid, diploid, triploid, and tetraploid plant essences within their bodies, naturally possessing multiple sets of plant essences. When the sap of a certain magical plant is injected into them, if the magical plant does not exhibit a violent rejection reaction, its internal structure will develop self-adaptability.]

The interior of the two-ball sycamore tree produces various natural magical structural components that create a kind of 'secondary grafting healing technique,' adapting to the different magical plants grafted onto it.

The growth of the Two-Sphere Sycamore Tree requires a large amount of magical tides; the more concentrated the magical tides, the faster it grows.

Its root system is robust, its immunity is strong, and it contains multiple natural magical structural components that can resist various diseases and pests, making it extremely resilient.

[It requires a lot of space to grow and needs specific sun-labradorite to provide nutrients. It is not demanding in terms of temperature and humidity, and will not die even when the magical tide is low, but its growth rate is extremely slow.]

Locke put down the grafting knife, gently exhaled a breath of stale air, and felt joy in his heart.

Regardless, he had succeeded; he had grafted the seedlings of the Great Green Owl Banana onto the Two-Ball Sycamore Tree.

This means that the large green banana tree, which was originally afraid of a bunch of insect diseases, mutated fungal diseases, and other diseases, and required a lot of conditions, and some of these conditions could not be met, and thus could not grow successfully, can be directly grafted onto the two-ball sycamore tree, which has strong vitality, relatively less demanding growing conditions, and various disease resistances.

This is equivalent to changing the difficulty of cultivating a large green banana tree to the difficulty of cultivating a two-ball sycamore tree.

Although the cultivation difficulty of the Two-Ball Sycamore Tree is still considered to be above average among mid-to-high-level magical plants, and because it is a woody magical plant, it grows relatively slowly, it is indeed possible to mass-produce the Large Green Owl Banana and the Large Green Leaf Banana by using it as rootstock!
Locke could even extract some of the plant essence from rare magical plants he possessed, such as the Rotten Amorphophallus, Clivia miniata, and Black Lock Bamboo, and inject it into the Two-Ball Sycamore Tree to see if it could adapt.

If they can adapt, the two-ball sycamore tree can also be used as rootstock for their production.

Rootstock-type magic plants are magic plants that are naturally suitable for grafting.

For example, the two-ball sycamore tree, this magical plant, actually contains multiple sets of plant essences naturally within its body.

A single set of plant essences contains all the genes of a magical plant; a magical plant that possesses two sets of the same plant essences is a diploid magical plant.

A magical plant that possesses three identical magical plant essences is a triploid magical plant.

Similarly, those who possess four sets are tetraploid magical plants.

Most animals are diploid (possessing two identical sets of blood essence, so if one set is damaged, the other set can be repaired), otherwise they would be unable to reproduce or would mutate.

However, magical plants are special because they can have polyploid bodies, so their mutation ability is also strong.

But even for ordinary magical plants, you are either diploid, triploid, or haploid.

However, the two-ball sycamore tree is actually a hybrid, which gives it a foundation to be used as a general-purpose rootstock for magical plants in terms of plant essence.

At the same time, after adapting to the plant essence of a magical plant, the two-ball sycamore tree can secrete various types of secondary grafting healing magical structural components, which makes it easy to turn it into rootstock.

Locke was in high spirits, as this meant he had essentially provided a way to mass-produce rare magical plants.

"We can immediately begin breeding multiple Great Green Owl Bananas, and at the same time, start trying to graft other rare magical plants I have," Locke said. "We want to turn these rare magical plants into ones that everyone can buy with money."

"This way I will have access to a huge amount of magical resources."

“However, now that we have a direction, to quickly expand and strengthen our operations and acquire resources, I need a large number of people,” Locke pondered. “This will be a mega-project.”

"At the same time, the very existence of this type of universal super rootstock magical plant means it has enormous value!"

The gray dwarf servant entered the botanical garden, bowed to Locke, and told him that a powerful wizard had come to visit.

Locke frowned, ordered his servants to put his grafting knife back in the tool storage room, and then left the plantation for his residence.

Locke was surprised to see Carrie Ackerman, a first-class wizard apprentice, in front of his residence. She was the assistant to Angron's first-class wizard apprentice in Angron's workshop, and his junior sister.

At this moment, Carrie Ackerman was still dressed beautifully, her wizard robes specially modified to fit her curves gracefully.

Moreover, Carrie Ackerman had painted nails, wore eyeliner, and dressed very fashionably, looking more like a socialite in a high-society circle than a wizard.

This time, however, when Carrie Ackerman saw him, she didn't mock him or pretend not to see him. Instead, she gave him a fawning smile, acting as if they were very close.

"Hello, Senior Locke." Carrie Ackerman gave Locke a slight bow, showing him great respect. "Senior, you are as radiant as ever, still as wise as before. I learned a lot from you when we were in the treatment center."

"I have come here today specifically to invite you to this banquet."

Locke frowned slightly.

Carrie Ackerman quickly replied, "It is my teacher, Harlan Vera, along with the academy's higher-ups and advisor Francis, who are inviting you to dinner at the Witch's Kitchen. It is Harlan Vera's treat."

Locke gave Carrie Ackerman a strange look, not understanding why this woman was treating him this way.

Although Carrie Ackerman had been extremely respectful to him before and dared not be arrogant, she didn't need to be as obsequious as she is now.

Her current attitude towards me is almost exactly the same as her usual attitude towards Anglong; her eyes are full of admiration and respect when she looks at me.

Locke's brow furrowed. Could it be...?
(End of this chapter)