The next morning, Ryan woke up early. He had already decided that his next journey would take him to a more dangerous world. However, before venturing into such an unpredictable place, he needed to learn more magic and strengthen his abilities to ensure his safety.
After all, worlds with high rewards and low risks, like the one where superpowers went out of control, were rare. More often than not, stepping into a new world meant being surrounded by hordes of monsters immediately upon arrival.
Just as he was having breakfast, a new notification came from the system:
Crazy Dave has enhanced several plants using the magic-infused specimens Ryan had brought back a month ago. He now invites Ryan to help test these new plants.
Testing plants? That basically meant fighting. However, since this was a controlled environment where he could leave anytime, there shouldn't be any major risks.
After giving it some thought, Ryan decided to accept the invitation. He wasn't making much progress in improving his abilities in the short term, so using external resources to enhance his power was a good strategy.
Once breakfast was over, Ryan went to the library with Hermione for his usual study session. However, he was somewhat distracted, preoccupied with thoughts of his upcoming activities that night. Even Hermione noticed his unusual behavior.
"Ryan, what's up with you today? Something feels off. You've been staring at the same page for nearly ten minutes without turning it."
"Oh, it's nothing," Ryan replied with a forced smile. "Just feeling a little off today. Thanks for asking."
"I'm not asking because I care," Hermione huffed, turning her head away. "Uncle Lambert told me to keep an eye on you, and I don't break promises."
With that, she opened her thick book and started taking notes. Ryan chuckled and decided to refocus on the homework assigned by Professor McGonagall.
That was how he spent his Saturday—studying during the day, exchanging weekend homework with a few classmates in the common room after dinner, and finally returning to the dormitory to wait for his roommates to fall asleep. Once the coast was clear, he set off on his next adventure.
Standing in his backyard, Ryan admired the lush greenery before making his way to Crazy Dave's house, which was just beyond the yard wall.
Before he could even knock, the door swung open violently.
"Ah, come in, kid! I've been waiting for you!" Dave exclaimed, pulling him inside. "Hurry up! Let's head to the lab and check out my latest inventions!"
Ryan followed Dave through the house, listening to his endless chatter.
"The plants you brought back… I've never seen anything like them! Absolutely incredible! They've given me countless ideas, so I decided to combine them with some of our native plants. The results? Stunning! Perfect for dealing with those annoying zombies. Seriously, I'm really curious about the world these plants came from."
Eventually, they reached the living room. Dave plopped onto a double-seated sofa and motioned for Ryan to sit beside him.
As soon as they were both seated, Dave took off his left shoe and pressed his big toe against a flower painted on the floor tile.
With a loud beep, seat belts popped out, securing them in place. The sofa then tilted backward before the belts retracted again. Dave quickly jumped to his feet, pulling Ryan up along with him.
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Why did you sit down before activating the mechanism?"
"Because shaking my head like that gives me inspiration!" Dave grinned.
"And why did you make me sit there too?"
"Good things should be shared with friends!"
Ryan sighed. "..."
Twisting down a hidden staircase, they descended four or five floors until they reached a massive alloy door.
Dave ignored the nearby security scanner and instead pressed his face against the glass of a fire equipment box next to the door. The scanner recognized him, and the heavy door slid open.
"See?" Dave smirked. "No enemy would ever think of this as a security measure. You should install something similar in your home!"
Ryan didn't know how to respond to that, so he simply nodded politely.
Beyond the door lay an underground space about half the size of a football field and three stories high. The entire area was illuminated by crystallized sunlight.
"This is my lab!" Dave announced proudly. "It's run by an intelligent system I built myself. Dave is good at everything, after all!"
Ryan followed him past rows of soilless cultivation tanks. Within these tanks, familiar plant species from the Plants vs. Zombies game thrived—Cherry Bombs, Wall-Nuts, Potato Mines, and more.
As Ryan walked by, the plants turned their tiny eyes toward him, whispering to each other.
"Looks like they like you, kid," Dave chuckled before waving him over to another room. "Come on! Let's meet the newest members of our plant army!"
Inside, Ryan found himself in a smaller chamber, roughly 100 square meters in size. Half of the space was occupied by tall, intricate scientific instruments, while the rest housed rows of iron shelves with plants growing on them.
Dave clapped his hands excitedly. "I've only developed three new plant species so far, mainly because there wasn't enough time to work on more."
He pointed to a half-human-sized cabbage plant. "First up, this is the Cabbage Boxer! I combined the seeds from the Biting Cabbage you gave me. It continuously punches any zombie that gets close!"
As if to demonstrate, the cabbage opened its eyes and immediately took a boxing stance.
"Wait… isn't this the same variety from Plants vs. Zombies 2?" Ryan asked in confusion.
Dave shrugged. "Well, all the plants in Plants vs. Zombies were originally cultivated by me. So, it's only natural that I'd create them ahead of time when inspired by new discoveries!"
He then pointed to a bean-shaped plant next to the cabbage. "This is the Spring Bean! It can launch zombies backward with its powerful elasticity. Thanks to that vine pod you gave me, I realized elasticity could also be lethal against zombies!"
Finally, Dave led Ryan to the back of the room, where a row of peculiar dragon-headed plants stood.
"I always thought dragons were just a myth," Dave admitted. "That was until you gave me that vial of dragon blood."
Ryan grimaced. "Ten Galleons for a tube the size of an index finger… daylight robbery."
Dave ignored him. "Anyway! That dragon blood gave me the idea to combine animal traits with plants. And thus, I created Dragon Grass! Think of it as a living flamethrower!"
After introducing the new plants, Dave turned to Ryan with a serious expression.
"I invited you here because I need help testing these plants in real combat. There's a large wave of zombies near our village, and it's the perfect opportunity to put our creations to the test. After we clean them out, I'll give you some of the recovered buildings as a reward. The village doesn't need new houses anyway, so you might as well take them."
Ryan thought for a moment before nodding. "No problem. As a human, I don't particularly like zombies either. I'd be happy to help you get rid of them!"
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