Chapter 84: Successful Fruit Cultivation? [BONUS - ]

Ethan’s mind immediately went to the untouched apple he had left behind from yesterday’s dinner.

His eyes lit up.

"Of course!"

It wasn’t exactly some rare spiritual fruit, but it was fresh, edible, and, most importantly, it was the only real fruit he had access to at the moment.

With barely any time left before his next class, Ethan decided there was no point wasting another second. He needed to leave the dungeon, retrieve the apple, and return as quickly as possible.

He glanced around his strange new domain one last time before concentrating on the connection between himself and the outside world.

The next moment, his surroundings blurred, and his body disappeared from the dungeon.

When Ethan opened his eyes again, he was back inside his dorm room.

He immediately grabbed the apple from where he had left it and returned to the dungeon without wasting time.

The familiar spiritual atmosphere welcomed him the moment he appeared.

Ethan took a deep breath and looked down at the apple in his hand.

"Alright, let’s see if I can actually do this."

He sat down and held the apple between both palms, remembering Aster’s instructions.

The first step was to channel purified spiritual energy into the fruit.

Ethan closed his eyes and carefully circulated the spiritual energy within his body, drawing it toward his palms instead of releasing it all at once. He had learned from his previous experiences that forcing spiritual energy into something without proper control was a terrible idea, so he deliberately kept the flow slow and steady.

A faint spiritual glow gradually gathered around his hands.

Ethan concentrated harder.

Instead of allowing the energy to spill outward, he guided it toward the apple and slowly pushed it through its outer layer.

At first, nothing happened.

Then he felt a faint resistance.

The apple seemed to reject the energy as though its ordinary structure couldn’t accept such a foreign force.

Ethan frowned but didn’t give up.

He adjusted the flow, lowering the intensity and allowing the purified spiritual energy to seep into the apple little by little.

Gradually, the resistance weakened.

The spiritual energy began spreading through the fruit, passing from the skin toward its flesh and eventually reaching the core.

A faint glow appeared beneath the apple’s surface.

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly.

"It worked."

He continued carefully, maintaining the flow until he could feel the entire fruit becoming saturated with spiritual energy.

By the time he finally stopped, his forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes and examined the apple.

It looked almost exactly the same as before, except for the faint spiritual aura surrounding it.

He carefully moved his fingers across its surface.

This should be enough.

Or at least, he hoped it was.

Now came the next part.

The planting location.

Ethan stood up and began examining his dungeon properly.

Aster’s book had made it clear that location could affect the results, so he couldn’t simply bury the apple somewhere random and call it a day.

His gaze wandered across the strange landscape.

Eventually, his attention settled on one of the places he had already grown considerably fond of.

The enormous spiritual tree.

Its roots spread across the ground beneath him, while its branches stretched upward into the vast space above, carrying beautiful leaves and glowing spiritual energy throughout the surrounding area.

Ethan’s gaze then shifted toward the waterfall.

The moment he saw the clear water cascading down into the pool, he remembered what had happened when he drank from it.

The exhaustion that had been weighing down his body had disappeared.

The lingering pain had vanished.

Even his spiritual energy had felt refreshed.

That could only mean one thing.

The water probably possessed beneficial spiritual properties.

Ethan looked between the waterfall and the magnificent tree.

Then his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

The waterfall had good spiritual properties.

The tree was already growing beautifully, which meant the soil around it was probably highly suitable for cultivation.

"So why choose one when I can use both?"

Ethan nodded to himself.

It was simple logic. His simple logic.

If the area around the tree had fertile spiritual soil and the waterfall supplied beneficial spiritual energy to the surrounding environment, then planting the fruit somewhere between the two might allow it to benefit from both.

At least, that was his theory.

And considering he had never grown a spiritual fruit before, theory was the best thing he had.

Ethan carefully walked toward the space between the enormous tree and the waterfall, crouched down, and examined the ground.

The soil felt surprisingly soft beneath his fingers, and even without using any special ability, he could sense a gentle concentration of spiritual energy flowing through it.

His eyes brightened.

"This should do."

He carefully dug a small hole in the soil and placed the spiritual-energy-infused apple inside.

Once the fruit was properly positioned, he covered it with the surrounding soil, making sure not to disturb the spiritual energy he had infused into it.

He pressed the soil down gently and then leaned back.

For a few seconds, Ethan simply stared at his work.

Then he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Phew!"

All done.

He had done everything the best way he could think of.

The apple was fresh, his spiritual energy had been purified before being channelled into it, and he had deliberately chosen what seemed to be one of the most spiritually productive locations in his dungeon.

Now there was nothing left for him to do except wait.

Ethan clasped his hands together and stared at the spot where he had buried the fruit.

"Please work."

He wasn’t expecting hundreds of spiritual fruits immediately, but after putting this much effort into his first attempt, he really hoped he wouldn’t end up with one pathetic fruit months later.

Or worse...

Nothing.

He was just about to stand up when the alarm on his phone suddenly rang.

Ethan nearly jumped.

"Shit!"

He quickly pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen.

The fifty-minute alarm he had set was ringing.

He had only ten minutes left.

He couldn’t believe an entire fifty minutes had already passed.

"Lumi!"

His response was a tiny sound from somewhere nearby.

"Yip-yip."

Ethan turned toward the sound.

A small head slowly poked out from behind a cluster of flowers.

Lumi.

The little spiritual companion had apparently disappeared the moment Ethan entered the dungeon, and now she was emerging from the most comfortable-looking flower bed Ethan had ever seen.

Judging from the way several flowers had been pushed aside and arranged around her tiny body, she had apparently made herself a little home.

Ethan stared at her.

"You made yourself a bed?"

Lumi blinked innocently.

"Yip."

Ethan couldn’t help laughing.

This little creature had been here for less than an hour and had already claimed a part of his dungeon as her personal residence.

He shook his head before checking the time again.

"Alright, Lumi. It’s time to go."

Lumi’s enormous ears immediately drooped.

"Yip..."

Her voice carried a clear reluctance this time, and she slowly curled herself deeper into the flower bed as though hiding would somehow prevent Ethan from leaving.

Ethan paused.

He stared at her.

Then he laughed again.

"You really like this place that much?"

"Yip-yip..."

The tiny creature gave another reluctant response, her glowing body sinking farther into the flowers.

Ethan’s heart softened.

Apparently, Lumi had already fallen in love with his dungeon.

He couldn’t blame her.

It was peaceful, filled with spiritual energy, and probably far more comfortable than his academy dorm room.

"Fine, you can stay for now."

Lumi’s ears immediately perked up.

Her eyes brightened.

"Yip!"

Ethan smiled at her reaction before turning toward the exit.

"I’ll be back later."

With that, Ethan focused on leaving the dungeon.

The strange spiritual world slowly faded from his vision as he prepared to return to the academy.

He had less than ten minutes to get to class.