BXBX NOVEL Chapter 69 Weed Solved
Although the solution Alex came up with was a little farfetched, it did have its advantage.
For example, by using high temperatures to heat the ground, anything alive would die. That includes weeds and pests. It was a surefire way to make the farmland cultivatable. And he would only have to do it once per field.
This way, he can also prevent himself from making permanent damage to the field. Pesticides or weedicides cannot give him the same result.
So, before anyone could come, Alex began to work.
Alex cut the grass that covered the farmland and stored them in his inventory. It was enough to feed a hundred cattle for a day. It was too much grass for him to dispose of it without someone seeing it. After that, he prepared to engrave runes.
He had the worst mana core in the history of the planet. The weakest one possible for a human. And yet, this didn't stop him from dreaming big. He was going to use everything at his disposal to heat the ground. And he had two possible ways to heat the land.
Due to how small Alex's mana core was, he could divide the land into small portions and heat them individually by drawing runes in each part. So, rather than trying to activate a big spell that can heat the entire farmland, Alex could chop up the task into smaller portions and do it slowly.
This would ease the load on his mana core.
But Alex shied away from this method of heating the land because he came up with a better solution. He could use water to do the trick.
Taking out the watering can from the interdimensional farm, Alex created a master plan to heat the entire farmland.
He raised his hand and engraved a heating rune on the watering can. The rune was simple and it had one job. To convert all the mana injected into it to heat.
The rate at which Alex injects mana into it will determine the temperature.
Usually, a mage would have created the rune with the required mana and let it maintain the heat until the mana runs out. Then the rune would break apart. But Alex did it differently, he was more focused on the ability of the rune to change the mana to heat rather than the mana it should carry within it.
By using basic mana manipulation, he could always pump more mana into it. So, why should he waste time by engraving each time? After all, a rechargeable tool was better than a non-rechargeable one.
He got this idea from the chain that bound him in the underground prison of the evil organisation. He thought it would be a good addition to the watering can.
This way, he changed the heating rune's functionality to suit his need. Rather than using magic the way he learned, he was trying to use creative ways to solve the problem. He was off to a good start to becoming a mage.
Tiny specs of light materialised in his hand and moved towards the watering can. It floated on the surface of the can before forming a distinct triangular shape. It didn't have to be a triangular shape, Alex thought it was easy to draw a triangle. So, he drew one.
Intention or the action embedded in the rune was more important than its shape. Usually, rune shapes were determined by the creator of the rune and were often used as an identifying mark, just like a fingerprint.
Often, complex runes and their action cannot be deciphered. So, mages copy it in its entirety and use them, rather than spending the time to recreate it.
So, It was a matter of status for others to copy their runes and use them. It shows the influence of a person inside the magic circle.
This time, Alex was the original creator of the heating rune. He created it by analysing hundreds of runes and deciphering them. And that's why he created a random symbol to represent his runes.
There might have been other people who used the triangle as their symbol. But Alex wasn't bothered by it. Anyway, the rune was simple. Anyone could decipher and recreate it. Symbols as an identity only mattered in the case of complex runes.
Engraving the rune on the watering can was easy for Alex. It didn't take much of his time.
The glowing runes flickered for a moment before hiding beneath the surface of the watering can. Only when mana was pumped into it would it be activated?
The watering can contained approximately about hundred thousand litres of water. If you consider a square meter of land needs 200 litres of hot water to heat the ground, Alex would need to use 180,000 litres of water to heat the entire farmland. This might have been a monumental task if he was using the conventional method to heat the water.
Fortunately, he had the watering can from the interdimensional farm. With that, he only needs to split the area into two and water each part once.
Without any more thought, Alex began to apply mana to the rune on the watering can.
A normal mage might have needed the support of the mana core to transfer a huge amount of mana into the rune. But for Alex, someone who was a warrior and a mage. The conditions were different. Due to the asynchronous energy circulation skill provided by the interdimensional farm, Alex could always access a large amount of mana at will.
So, without bothering about exhaustion, he began to pump his mana into the rune. The rune barely held on while he transferred the mana. It took him about ten minutes to transfer the mana.
Steam was already coming out of the watering can. Alex didn't know how the watering can that was smaller than a dog was carrying such a huge amount of water. But it had something to do with the spatial ability of the interdimensional farm.
Even if it was the case, he had no trouble heating the water inside the watering can. When a quarter of his mana was spent, thick plumes of steam began to rise from the watering can. So, Alex was sure that the water was boiling.
After that, he didn't waste any more time. He grabbed the watering can and began watering the farmland. This was miles better than his initial idea of splitting the farmland into portions before heating it slowly.
Within minutes after that, Alex watered the entire farmland. A thick cloud of water vapour filled the area. It almost looked like the valley was under the cover of a thick fog.
Alex could smell the distinct smell of cooked earth. It was slightly muddy at the same time a little woody. Even the smell of freshly cut grass was melded into it.
"Uff! It feels like a sauna. I barely survived by using mana to protect my body. I don't think anything weed would survive that." Alex said while wiping off his sweat.
'I can let the land cool down for today and continue sowing the seed later. I don't want to cook the seeds right now by sowing them into the hot land.' Thinking that, Alex teleported into the farm.
He had one more chore left before he can rest.
Inside his inventory was a couple of tons of freshly cut grass. He had to find some way to dispose of it.
And this thought led him towards the barn inside the interdimensional farm. In there were ten cows.
"Beef1, beef2…" He called out.
Like a maniac, he had named the cows 'beef' with a number attached to it. His impure intention to eat them was clearly shown there.
He stored the grass inside the feed dispenser inside the barn. This way, he will use it up within a week or so.
After that, he exited the interdimensional farm and went home. While he was walking towards his house, he was in deep thought. He was slowly forming a plan to cultivate a huge area of land.
His usage of boiling water was a sustainable method. But that itself won't solve the problem. Seeds of weeds can appear in the farmland through other modes. Some might stick to the clothes of people who walk into the farmland and disperse inside. Some might appear on the farm through, bird or animal droppings.
This meant that he should find a way to periodically eliminate the weed.
Alex decided to employ some of the villagers to take care of the farmland. They would be tasked with plucking the weed and watering the plants. And most importantly protecting the crops from wild animals and pests.
If the farmland is not taken care of properly, his plans wouldn't come to fruition. Alex realised that early on. Fortunately, due to his quick thinking, Alex dealt with all the immediate problems. He had more time to make thorough plans for the future.