Over the next few weeks, Leon checked the greenhouse every day, adjusting the temperature with the fire channels and spraying water to keep the humidity high. The mushroom bundles started to show small white growths after a week, and by the third week, tiny white mushrooms were pushing through the grass wrapping.
"Wow, they actually grew!" Dahlia exclaimed, leaning in to touch a small mushroom cap. "I thought Leon was just making it up."
Leon grinned, picking a mushroom and examining it. "Told you I could do it. These are button mushrooms—they'll be ready to harvest in a few days."
Flower nodded, impressed. "Now we can have fresh mushrooms even in winter. Lord Gabriel will be jealous when he finds out."
The mushroom harvest was small at first, but it grew quickly. Leon dried most of the mushrooms to store for winter, but he cooked a mushroom soup for dinner that night, adding fresh spinach from the greenhouse's small vegetable bed.
"This is the best soup I've ever had," Dahlia said, licking her bowl clean. "Even better than the soup Mother makes in the castle."
Im nodded, sipping his soup slowly. "You've done well, Leon. This greenhouse will be a valuable asset for the herb garden—and for our meals."
That night, Leon practiced his Tai Chi form outside the cottage, using the slow, flowing movements to circulate his mana. He'd noticed that when he combined Tai Chi with meditation, his mana pool grew faster, and his Mage Hand tentacles became even stronger.
As he finished his form, he felt a strange tingling in his chest—his mana was surging, pushing against the limits of his apprentice-level pool. "Wait, is this a breakthrough?" he muttered to himself, sitting down to meditate.
He closed his eyes, focusing on his mana flow. The tingling grew stronger, and he felt his mana pool expand, doubling in size almost instantly. When he opened his eyes, he could feel the mana humming in his veins, stronger than ever before.
"Teacher!" he called, running into the cottage. "I just had a mana breakthrough!"
Im looked up from his research papers, his eyes widening. "Let me check." He placed a hand on Leon's forehead, closing his eyes to sense Leon's mana. "Wow, your mana pool has doubled. That's impressive—most apprentices take years to make that kind of progress."
Leon grinned. "I think it's the Tai Chi combined with the Mage Hand training. The tempering from the furnace and the mana circulation from Tai Chi worked together."
Im nodded, smiling. "That makes sense. You've found a unique way to combine physical training with magic. You should write a paper about it for Wizard Monthly—other apprentices would benefit from it."
The next day, Leon wrote a short paper titled "Tai Chi and Mana Circulation: A New Approach to Apprentice Training" and sent it to Wizard Monthly with Im's recommendation. He didn't expect it to be published right away, but he hoped it would help other apprentices.
A week later, Lord Gabriel visited the valley again, this time to see the mushroom harvest. He stared at the rows of mushrooms in the greenhouse, his mouth open. "You actually grew mushrooms in spring? That's impossible—mushrooms only grow in damp, dark places in autumn."
Leon smiled, picking a basket of mushrooms and handing it to him. "Not with a greenhouse. We can grow mushrooms year-round now. And we're growing spinach too—fresh vegetables in spring, before the wild greens are ready."
Lord Gabriel took the mushrooms, turning them over in his hands. "How much would you sell these for? I could sell them to the nobles in the capital—they'd pay a fortune for fresh mushrooms in spring."
Leon shook his head. "We're keeping most of them for ourselves, but we can sell you a small basket for two silver coins. We need to save the rest to make spore prints for next year's harvest."
Lord Gabriel agreed, handing Leon two silver coins. "I'll send a servant to pick them up every week. And if you ever decide to make more mirrors, let me know—I can sell them for you."
Leon nodded, but he had no plans to make more mirrors. He was focused on his magic training and his new project: building a small glassblowing studio to make potion bottles for the Mage Guild.
Over the next month, Leon, Dahlia, and Flower continued their magic training, spending hours every day practicing their Mage Hand and studying rune arrays. Flower made progress in his rune carving, and Dahlia got better at casting small fire spells.
One afternoon, Leon was working on a new pen design in the cottage when Im walked in, holding a letter. "You got a letter from Wizard Monthly," he said, handing it to Leon. "They're publishing your paper."
Leon's eyes widened. "Really? That's fast."
He opened the letter, reading it quickly. The editor said the paper was "innovative and useful" and that they would publish it in the next issue, along with a small payment of five gold coins.
"Wow, five gold coins!" Leon said, grinning. "That's enough to buy a new mana crystal."
Im nodded, clapping him on the back. "I told you your paper was good. This will help you make a name for yourself in the mage community."
That night, Leon sat down to write in his journal, thinking about Eldrin. "I'm making progress, Eldrin," he wrote. "I'm learning magic, growing food, and even helping other apprentices. I'll be ready to explore your ruins soon, I promise."
He closed the journal, looking out the window at the greenhouse, where the mushrooms were growing tall and strong. For the first time, he felt like he was truly making a difference in Etho, and he knew Eldrin would be proud.