Aethelgard: The Survival Game (Chloe) novel Chapter 27

Chapter 27 The Witch’s Curse

The Arcane Botany Compendium was more a collection of its owner’s observations, guesses, and analyses than a systematic reference.

But for Chloe, it cracked open a door to a completely new world. ‘Plants can have this many differences, she marveled She was still dizzy and feverish from her illness. Back in her school days, she’d never been able to read a single word when she was sick.

Now, this compendium had her so thoroughly engrossed that she forgot the discomfort of her fever entirely

She found the entry on Fleece-Grass: [Fleece-Grass: a plant rich in Wood Element attributes and high life activity.

[Can survive in the vast majority of environments across the highland continent and possessed a certain ability to treat soil corruption. Purifies water and consolidates the vitality of the soil.

[Fleece-Grass can be used in medicine, as bandages, its nature warm. Serves as a blending agent in alchemical materials. Can also be used as fodder for certain magical creatures.

[Under conditions of abundant magic and vigorous life force, Fleece-Grass can grow a Fleece Puff, and the puffs can be woven into special magical fabric with extremely high cold-proofing properties.

[In cases where the plant grew exceptionally well, reaching high-grade or superior quality, and with enough magic, there is a chance of cultivating a special harvest: Luminescent Fleece-Grass.

[It demands an extremely high soil purity level and emits a hazy, scattered glow in the dark, like a scattering of starry points hauntingly beautiful.]

The entry on Fleece-Grass went on for several more pages, all of it Beatrice’s sprawling notes and data, complete with drawings of the plant in its Fleece Puff stage.

The puffs were fluffy like fur, round and chubby, unbearably endearing. Chloe was utterly charmed. Back in the modern world, she’d raised plenty of flowers, but none of them had been as adorable as Fleece-Grass.

An urge to pot one and raise it immediately sparked in her chest. It was a magical plant. And Beatrice had said it absorbed corruption from the soil and purified water. It was a wonderfully good plant.

The compendium also warned, however, that with corruption growing worse by the day, Fleece-Grass was becoming increasingly rare.

Current corruption levels might cause a young Fleece-Grass sprout to perish abruptly. Raising one required extreme care and caution.

Chloe wanted to keep reading, but her fingers wouldn’t turn the pages. Her head was swimming, and it wasn’t until the system chimed that she realized something was wrong.

Notice: [You have been afflicted with the Witch’s Curse.

[Witch’s Curse: A curse placed by witches upon those with insufficient magical attributes.

[When the reader’s magical element is too low, their mental state too depleted, and their Magic stat fails to meet the required threshold, they will be unable to continue reading.

[Witches do not wish their manuscripts to be read by fools.]

Chloe’s head spun. She had the uncomfortable feeling that the fool in question was her.

She’d only managed ten pages, but she felt she’d already learned so much. What stood out most was the book’s deep focus on soil corruption.

From the very first pages, Beatrice had stated that the purpose of her manuscript was to study how magical plants grew under contaminated conditions and how corruption affected them.

The compendium referenced corruption constantly, but the corruption it described was clearly far less severe than what Chloe now faced.

Beatrice had described it as a few tiny black grains of sand suddenly appearing in the soil. Across an entire vast landscape, there might only be one or two such grains, easy to dismiss as irrelevant.

Yet she’d believed even those single black grains would eventually impact the entire magical plant ecosystem.

Now, looking at her own soil through the Magi Successfully unlocked! blight spots.

nd that every inch of it was carpeted in black

She knew Beatrice had been right. Chloe didn’t know how long ago this book had been written. A sigh slipped from her,

Chapter 27 The Witch’s Curse

and an inexplicable wave of melancholy settled over her

It was only then that she noticed it had grown dark. She glanced at the glass window. The world outside was completely black. She hadn’t even realized night had fallen.

Startled, she rose and moved to the door. Outside, pairs of blood-red eyes seemed to circle the wooden cabin: They’d crept up without her noticing.

She opened the door and hurled a Pyro Sphere outward. The blazing fireball lit up the soil and illuminated the eyes. Around eight mutant creatures were prowling outside, their gazes locked on the cabin.

Tonight, alongside the usual assortment of mutant animals, there was something she’d never seen before: a Wood Sprite drifting in the rain like a piece of animated timber.

It was called a elve because it was roughly the size of a human palm, with transparent little wings on its back. Its body and face were both made of wood.

It fluttered ceaselessly around the Arcane Soil Purifier. Its wings glowed a dark, luminescent black, and its eyes were al deep crimson. Its wooden body appeared suffused with black corruption, staining it an oily dark hue.

Watching this creature hover so close to her precious purifier, Chloe’s eyes went cold. Fortunately, her afternoon of rest had paid off. Her current status read Good.

Fighting monsters in the rain at night was indeed far more troublesome than usual. But Chloe was no longer the clueless newcomer she’d been. The past few days of combat had forced her to adapt fast.

By the time the last pyro sphere faded, the ground was littered with Bronze and Silver Chests.

She’d been careful to avoid her Basic Arcane Dew Collector and the giant Arcane Soil Purifier during the fight. Now, only one thing remained: the contaminated Wood Sprite hovering before her.

Flames blazed in Chloe’s palm. She flicked her fingers, and the fire latched onto the sprite with a crackling hiss.

Fire was especially effective against plant-type creatures. The corrupted sprite dropped to the ground. It hadn’t put up much of a fight. Ever since it surfaced, it had done nothing but cling to the soil purifier, showing no aggression at all. Chloe had watched it for a long time before finally deciding to kill this strange little creature whose behavior she couldn’t explain. When it died, it didn’t transform into a chest. Instead, a small body remained on the ground.

Chloe frowned, puzzled. Every other mutant creature had turned into a warm, waiting chest.

She stepped closer, and the system notification appeared: [One Wood Sprite Corpse (Special) acquired.

[Wood Sprite Corpse (Special): A creature once beloved by the Goddess of Life and the God of Elements, the most cherished guardian spirit of plants.

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