The Witch Hunter System
chapter-855

Sea of Stars, Lunar Base

Back in the moon colony, the dragons and witches suddenly encountered an unexpected disaster and blessing that no one could have seen coming.

The crops within the plantation section suddenly grew rapidly and uncontrollably as if they had undergone some incredible mutation.

Ordinary vegetables like potatoes only took a few minutes to an hour to grow to five times their mature size. Fruit trees were even more exaggerated, as fruits like grapes reached tenfold their normal maturity size.

As a result, the original spacious plantation quickly became overcrowded with vegetation as the overgrowing crops took up all the available space inside the region.

Everyone working on the plantation was forced to flee outside the affected area, fearing they would become entangled and trapped within.

"W-What the hell happened to the crops? Why did they suddenly grow so quickly?!" a wood- element High Witch exclaimed in shock.

At the same time, she stared wide-eyed at the lush vegetation that had sealed up the entrance to the plantation section and continued to expand outward at a slower rate.

"I-I don't know, but we better do something about the vegetation's expansion. We can't let it continue its growth and encroach on other sections of the colony!"

"R-Right! We need to seal off this corridor completely!" an earth-attribute High Witch stated.

Shortly after, a thick wall of earth was quickly summoned to block off the expanding roots and vines.

...

When Vaan returned to the moon colony, he was quickly alerted to the situation. Even he was dumbfounded when he scanned the plantation section with Fourth Dimensional Sense.

He didn't expect the situation in the moon colony to change so drastically within a few couple of hours of absence.

"My Lord, it's great to have you back!" Fourth Dragon Lady Pedyssin rejoiced before informing Vaan, "We currently have a situation here."

"Un, I can see that," Vaan calmly nodded before asking, "What happened?"

"That is the problem, my Lord. We are still trying to figure out what caused the crops to overgrow so quickly," Pedyssin replied before mentioning, "So far, we have only managed to gather everyone in the agriculture division here."

"We are still questioning them, but I'm sure at least one of them will provide us with some insights into the source of the matter," Pedyssin believed.

The crops wouldn't just mutate and grow rapidly for no reason. There had to be a stimulus or source that fueled the uncontrollable growth.

As the activities of everyone in the agriculture division were being investigated, a dragon suddenly thought of something and mentioned, "Lady Pedyssin, do you think the change had anything to do with the new soil we used?"

"New soil? How could any soil trigger such miraculous growth in the crops?" Pedyssin frowned in doubt but still asked, "Do we know where this new soil comes from? And why was it used?"

"The new soil was recently obtained from deep within the subterranean region, Lady Pedyssin," the dragon answered.

"The mining division found it when they were noting down the locations of mineral deposits on the path opened by the Supreme Leader. The mining division members brought the new soil back because they thought the agriculture division could use its rich nutrients."

After Vaan overheard that much, he immediately knew which exact soil the dragon was talking about. At the same time, he concluded that the soil had triggered the change in the crops.

However, even he would have never imagined that the soil would have such startling effects. It had completely defied all logic and reasoning.

"The soil obtained from the depths of the subterranean region, has it been sent anywhere else other than the agriculture division?" Vaan inquired.

"I believe most of the soil brought back by the mining division was sent to the agriculture division, and the remaining portion was left with the research division, my Lord," the dragon answered honestly.

"I see," Vaan nodded before instructing the dragon, "Inform the mining division to seal off the special soil region and not procure any more special soil for the time being."

"Understood, Supreme Leader," the dragon complied.

Shortly after the dragon's swift departure, Pedyssin quickly asked, "Do you believe the new soil was the source of change in the crops, my Lord?"

"Most likely," Vaan calmly nodded before informing Pedyssin, "We will head to the research division now."

"Yes, my Lord," Pedyssin readily agreed, as she was responsible for getting to the bottom of the investigation.

The research division was mostly made up of dragon members and only five other witch scholars. Its main responsibility was recovering lost technology from the old moon colony.

However, they had also been studying various minerals and soil obtained from the pure mana-rich subterranean region.

Ever since Narvim arrived on the moon, he has been spending his time here in the research division.

Vaan had also hoped that the pure mana environment of the subterranean region would help Narvim improve his strength and catch up with the other dragon lords, who had almost all entered the Demigod rank.

"Supreme Leader, what brings you here today?" Narvim warmly greeted.

"You might have already heard about the situation at the plantation section. We believe the rapid overgrowth was caused by the new nutrient-rich soil used for cultivating the crops, Lord Narvim," Vaan mentioned before asking, "I heard a portion was left here for study. Has it been done?"

Narvim was immediately startled before he replied, "The nutrient-rich soil had indeed been studied... However, our observations did not reveal anything special or unique about it."

"As such, we were planning to run a few practical tests on it soon... But after hearing what happened at that plantation section, perhaps this place isn't the best place to run some tests

on it."

Vaan nodded before he demanded custody of the special soil. However, he was quickly surprised by the quantity when Narvim directed him to it.

"This is all of it?" Vaan asked with surprise, staring at the ten grams of special soil. Shortly after, he added, "If this is all of it, how much was used in the agriculture division?"

"That's right, Supreme Leader," Narvim answered Vaan's first question before saying, "I believe the amount of special soil used at the plantation wasn't more than a human fist's

worth."

Vaan was even more amazed after learning about that.

In other words, it didn't take more than a fist's worth of special soil to turn the entire plantation section into a vegetation heaven that could supply a full colony at its present state

with at least a hundred years' worth of food.

As long as the overgrown vegetables and fruits at the plantation were tested for safe consumption, it would be considered an extraordinary bumper harvest.

Nevertheless, although Vaan strongly believed the special soil was the root of the change, he

still had to confirm with his own eyes.

As such, he took the special soil outside to the moon's surface and sprinkled a gram of it onto the ground. Afterward, he observed it for changes under the exposure of sunlight. Pedyssin and Narvim had also followed him to witness the power of the special soil.

They were both dumbfounded when they saw the gram of special soil slowly transform the rocky surface into a small patch of grassland.

When Vaan dripped some water on the patch of grass, it expanded even more rapidly and covered over thirty square meters in a short instant. The grass roots even dug through the hard rocky surface of the moon.

"H-How can there be something so miraculous in this world?" Narvim exclaimed in shock.

The special soil had overturned all his knowledge of plants and soil.

After all, he couldn't even feel a shred of energy from the special soil before it received water

or was bathed in sunlight for several breaths.

However, once it actually received water or showered in sunlight, extraordinary energy was

rapidly produced and stimulated incredible grass formation and growth.

Neither Vaan nor the dragon lords had quite seen something so miraculous.

"We haven't seen the best of it yet," Vaan believed.

Shortly after, he continued with his tests by planting some magical plants onto the new

grassland.

Moments later, the magical plants started growing bigger and faster.

The special soil didn't rob the life force of any of the magical plants but nurtured them

alongside the grass that grew from them instead.

It was simply incredible.

Shortly after, Vaan glanced at the remaining special soil in his hand-or rather, he focused on

the composition of humus in the special soil.

Ding!

<You have discovered the Essence of the Divine Tree of Life (Dormant)>

<The Essence of the Divine Tree of Life (Dormant) is in a state of deep sleep to preserve itself

but can be quickly awakened with sunlight or water>

Vaan only managed to discover the secret of the special soil after focusing his Fourth

Dimensional Sense to a greater extent.

However, that also showed how deeply hidden the Essence of the Divine Tree of Life had been. It had actually retreated into the subatomic realm to prevent itself from destruction.

Nevertheless, the discovery of the Essence of the Divine Tree of Life only further proved the subterranean region was a part of the Purpleflame Territory, which had once been a marvelous green planet full of miraculous plants.

In fact, the Divine Tree of Life might have very well been the source of all the excellent

growth in the magical plants.

It was truly a miracle of life.

Vaan suddenly frowned with doubt.

If the existence of the Divine Tree of Life was known, how could any divine being find the heart to destroy it along with the rest of the planet?

Would they not have been tempted to uproot it and plant it in their own territory? Upon asking himself these questions, Vaan had a strong feeling that Gehenna and the

Skymagia Star Kingdom must have never known about the Divine Tree of Life.

It was the only plausible explanation.

However, that would also imply the Divine Tree of Life had remained hidden and undiscovered throughout the ages.

How was it able to achieve that? By being in an unreachable place or a place no one ever

thought to look?

Vaan had a feeling the subterranean region was much, much deeper underground than he had

originally presumed.