In the Mist Swamp, Lizards was talking to a silly green-feathered bird, "The range of activity for the large river shrimps is, um... from here to there," it shook its head in distress, "How can I explain this more clearly?"
The Goldfinch fluttered down, shocked at the yell, "Big Head, you're actually playing with another bird!" Its eyes were round and wide, completely incredulous.
Lizards quickly explained, "This parrot is not even a magical beast, I just caught it to practice with me." Lizards glanced at the parrot beside him, the parrot shook violently, and the beans spilled out with a very standard pronunciation, "What do cold thorn fish and large river shrimps eat? How large is the range of activity they need? When is their breeding season each year? How adaptable are they to the environment, and what water temperature do they prefer?"
The Goldfinch knew this was Ina's assessment for Lizards and relaxed, "Why didn't you practice with me?"
Lizards laughed heartily, "Well, why don't you repeat what was just said?"
The Goldfinch was unconvinced, "Coldthorn fish... large river shrimp... eat... what..." It completely lost its temper, "You are right."
Lizards had indeed not been busy in vain these days, answering Ina's questions fluently when she arrived.
Coldthorn fish and large river shrimps were indeed quite suitable for cultivation, they did not eat their kind nor were they on each other's menu. They could even be raised in the same pond and had no high environmental requirements. They could be found in rivers throughout Mist Swamp and didn't need to migrate for spawning. However, strangely enough, cold thorn fish turned out to be unique to Mist Swamp and could not be found in other waters of the Moro Continent.
However, this was not the problem Ina needed to figure out right now. After discussing with the Lizards, they chose an appropriate location for the fish pond that would soon be under construction, not far from the river where the Lizards usually lived.
The Goldfinch and Lizards had the fortune to witness what was called violent relocation. Digging out a huge pit, building a high pond foundation, and compacting the soil, the fish pond began to take shape in less than half an hour under the combined power of magic and the formidable strength of the black dragon.
Next was to transport fertile river mud and aquatic plants from elsewhere and introduce river water.
Living in a magical world indeed made things much more convenient. The task of stocking fish and shrimp fry was entrusted to Lizards, who would catch a large number of cold thorn fish and large river shrimps from various places in the next few days, especially the female fish and shrimp with bulging bellies, ready to lay eggs.
Ina had also thought of a solution to the fish pond's feed problem. She placed one-way teleportation arrays at the bottom of the mainstream of several rivers in the Mist Swamp. These teleportation arrays would filter and transport aquatic creatures that accidentally passed through the array and were within a certain size range to the fish pond. The one-way teleportation array was like a filter, providing food for the cold thorn fish and large river shrimps while not allowing huge predators to enter the pond.
Lizards, the fish pond administrator, officially took up his post today. Its daily tasks mainly involved maintaining the basic ecosystem of the fish pond and trying to correct any imbalances, such as sudden algae blooms or food shortages for cold thorn fish and river shrimps. If bigger problems arose, like the fish pond suddenly becoming part of a powerful magical beast's territory, it might need to ask Ina for help.
The work was quite leisurely. Lizards' daily life was already spent wandering around this area, and now it could go to the Restaurant every few days to enjoy a delicious meal. It was quite satisfied with the current situation.
Ina was also equally satisfied. After the construction of the fish pond, the restaurant's business had expanded to include another site: Fish Pond (Mist Swamp - Coldthorn Fish, Large River Shrimp).
The Goldfinch fell into deep thought as it watched the scene before it. Lizard had become an employee, but she still had to spend money to eat at the Restaurant. What if its savings ran out and it couldn't find new gold coins?
No, it must also have a share of this meal and become an official employee of the Restaurant!
Ina had no idea about the Goldfinch's thoughts at this moment, otherwise, she would have told it that with its appetite, the one gold coin it had found might not even run out if it ate there for a year in the Restaurant.
Leaving Mist Swamp, Ina went to Frank's chicken coop on her way, as she wanted to try some dishes with chicken today. Frank had built two more chicken coops and had even set aside an empty room for hatching chicks.
Ina selected nine young roosters that had just matured, but now she faced a new problem - she didn't know how to kill a chicken. Not in the literal sense of killing; if that were the case, she had a thousand ways to deal with these spirited and confident young roosters in front of her. She meant the type of killing that involved plucking feathers, draining blood, gutting, and eventually turning them into clean ingredients.
Frank knew how, but he was unwilling to do it. Eventually, under Ina's persistent gaze, Frank reluctantly agreed to take the chickens to a more distant location to kill them, so the smell of blood wouldn't pollute his yard.
Frank walked out with a large basket in his right hand, which held the roosters, whose feet were tied but still struggling with their wings. In his left hand, he held a large iron basin. At this moment, it was apparent that he was a retired mercenary; these items weighed at least 70 to 80 pounds, but Frank still walked briskly. As he walked, he said, "We'll also need some boiling hot water."
"Leave that to me," Ina replied, keeping pace with him.
Frank first dug a large pit in the ground to bury the feathers and blood-stained soil. Ina conjured several water ball spells, and the iron basin was quickly filled with water.
Frank paused for a moment but soon returned to normal. As a mercenary for many years, he had seen many mages, although he had never seen one who owned a restaurant.
Ina used another heating spell to make the water in the iron basin boil, and Frank had already started to kill the chickens and drain their blood on the side. Ina idly watched the bubbles rising in the iron basin and suddenly had a wonderful idea – there was a water ball spell, but was there a boiling water ball spell?
If there was such a spell, wouldn't it be possible to directly obtain a basin of boiling water? If used in battle, the power of the boiling water ball would be far greater than the water ball spell. In fact, as a basic spell that even a mage apprentice could use, the water ball spell's lethality was inferior to the equally magic-consuming fireball spell. Its humiliating effect was not even as good as a slap in the face, making it a rather pointless spell.
But if it were a boiling water ball, that would be different. With this in mind, Ina began to experiment with this entirely new spell. When she became more proficient, Frank stood aside helplessly, holding the blood-drained chickens, "Miss Ina, we have enough water now. Also, if the water keeps boiling, I won't be able to pluck the chickens."
Ina looked at the overflowing water on the ground and smiled awkwardly, "I'll stop playing. You can start."
———
Upon returning to the restaurant, Ina processed the chicken meat while telling Lusen about her brilliant idea of the "boiling water ball spell."
Lusen looked troubled, "You're right. However, in practice, such a spell goes beyond the scope of basic spells and becomes a composite spell, consuming multiple times the magical power of the water ball spell. If a mage has such magical reserves and confidence in casting spells, they should use other offensive spells."
This was Ina's oversight, as she had been playing with the boiling water ball spell all afternoon and had not noticed the slight decrease in her magical power.
Seeing the boss's downcast expression, Lusen quickly added, "But the boiling water ball spell has advantages that other spells can't match!"
Ina looked at him skeptically, and Lusen racked his brain until he finally found the perfect angle, "The boiling water ball spell's magical flow and summoned water ball are extremely similar to the original water ball spell, making it the most unexpected!" The enemy would think you cast a weak water ball spell, but when the water ball bursts, it turns out to be boiling water!
Ina carefully considered this and agreed. In this regard, the new spell she had developed did have its merits. However, it was obviously more suited for tricking and ambushing enemies, which she wouldn't need to do!
She looked at Lusen with a loving expression, "Such an excellent spell should be shared with everyone. Come, let me teach you the key points of casting this spell. Once you've learned it, you'll be the one to kill the chickens next time."