Is It Weird for a Guy to Apply to a Witch School?

Chapter 778: Plant Emotions, Affinity at the Boundary of Heart Sense

After becoming nominal friends with this simple Grass and Tree Elf through this method, we also chatted about some other topics.

For instance, we exchanged names, including mine and Big Sis Bai’s.

Unexpectedly, this Grass and Tree Elf actually had her own name!

According to Big Sis Bai and the records within the Great Tree of Knowledge, Grass and Tree Elves who haven't formed large communities generally do not possess language or script.

After some inquiry, I learned that they had lived in this “world” for a very long time and had been exploited and enslaved for a long time as well.

As for language and script… they weren't systematic, just very fragmented, to the point where even daily communication was quite difficult.

However, their internal desire to express their needs and meanings was still very clear.

I heard that these languages still had some connection to the original Grass and Tree Elves.

According to my guess, it’s possible that the original Grass and Tree Elves caught by the wizards were members of a large community and had their own language and script, but after arriving in this world fragment, the knowledge wasn't fully passed down, so it became semi-lost within this world fragment.

And this Grass and Tree Elf’s name was Ling Yi.

The naming convention for the Grass and Tree Elves living in this world followed the “Ling XX” style.

It could be said to have clashed with the naming convention of the Fool's Dream.

Perhaps this was the naming style favored by little fellows in small communities.

Afterward, Big Sis Bai and I simply set up a temporary tent on this lake island.

For the next few days, I planned to cast aside those external troubles and live a peaceful life for a few days with Big Sis Bai in a place where it was just the two of us.

After setting up the tent, I went to the small mound of earth where the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree was planted.

At this moment, under the nourishment of the energy environment dissipated by the Transcendent Primordial Crystal earlier, this Myriad Connection Main Network Tree was growing at high speed.

After my simple induction, it lost many of the abilities originally endowed upon it—or rather, its shackles.

It didn't need to become a Myriad Connection Main Network Tree; even that name was a shackle endowed upon it by that world.

Now, it was just a tree.

It would no longer actively spread its root network, nor would it actively attach itself to the earth veins to become a parasite upon them.

It would only become a large tree with a relatively developed root system.

I endowed a tree with temporary freedom of growth.

But I also had expectations for it.

I was truly curious… are plants also considered… life recognized by the Void?

Yes, plants are as well.

Among spells, there are also many transformation and summoning spells modeled after special transcendent plants.

Therefore… plants are also life that fits the Void's recognition.

This includes naturally born Grass and Tree Elves; they too are life recognized by the Void.

“Ling Yi, let me ask you a question. Can you understand the language of plants? Or rather, perceive the emotions of plants?”

I asked curiously.

The research field of botany is massive, much like zoology, and it also has “miraculous” settings like animal affinity.

And Grass and Tree Elves are the absolute “natural experts” of the plant field.

Even Forest Elves, in the “natural” domain, cannot compare with Grass and Tree Elves.

“The language of plants… if it’s plants… do they have a language too? But it's true that I can feel the emotions of plants. Just like this sprouting tree, I can feel its joy! But I can also feel her confusion… and a bit of loneliness. When she grows up later and I make my home on her, she won't feel lonely anymore!”

“Is that how it is?”

After getting an affirmative answer, I understood… plants indeed have their own emotions.

Then… since they have them, my perception should be able to perceive them!

But my sixth sense, Heart Sense, completely failed to feel such emotions…

Could it be that I don't yet understand the way plants transmit emotions, which is why I can't perceive them?

Pondering such things seemed meaningless.

It’s just like how those never-before-seen earth vein creatures could ignore world regionality to manipulate earth vein energy; Grass and Tree Elves could perceive plant emotions that couldn't be understood through ordinary means.

It’s possible that the emotions perceived by Grass and Tree Elves don't even belong to the category of emotions within the definitions we recognize.

However… I was still somewhat unwilling.

As a Somatic Perception Cultivator, I actually lost to a dorky Grass and Tree Elf in terms of perception channels.

So, I wanted to try making an effort.

Perception channels in the emotional category should belong to Heart Sense, and the Five Senses can also observe it to a certain extent.

“Ling Yi, could you please teach me how to perceive the emotions of plants?”

“Eh? Me? Teach you?”

“Yes, is that okay?”

While saying this, I pulled out a small fruit.

Speaking of fruits, I actually had quite a few here.

Many were swiped from the Aphrodite Forest Elf Academy.

Many of the fruits I ate earlier could no longer produce augmentation effects for me, so I had kept them fresh and hoarded them in my storage equipment.

“Here, how about just giving it a try? Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, I'll give this fruit to you just consider it a friend fee, how about it?”

“Eh? Friend… fee? B-but I truly don't know how to teach, that…”

Ling Yi looked at the fruit in my hand.

Although her mouth said she didn't know or couldn't, the expression on her face had completely betrayed her.

After seeing the fruit, she was almost unable to fly away.

Her face looked entirely like she wanted to take a bite.

“It's fine you just need to demonstrate how you perceive plant emotions in front of me, and I can give this fruit to you, you know.”

I pinched the fruit between two fingers and handed it to Ling Yi. Ling Yi opened her hands and happily hugged the fruit.

Then, unable to bear the weight, she slowly fell to the ground.

“Ugh… so heavy… hehehe.”

Even so, Ling Yi still hugged her fruit, revealing an expression similar to a creepy fan’s.

But even with such an expression, the Grass and Tree Elf was still very cute.

“Be careful.”

I waved my hand and used the wind to lightly support her for a moment, so she wouldn't fall too embarrassingly.

However, Ling Yi didn't seem to care at all.

After confirming that the fruit was indeed for her, she gained motivation!

“Okay! Since Xiao Han, you gave me such a fragrant fruit! Then I will try my best to teach you how to perceive the emotions of plants!”

“Then let's take this tree as an example, how about it?”

I pointed at the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree.

Although it could no longer be considered a Myriad Connection Main Network Tree, I hadn't thought of a new name for it yet.

“Mhm… okay new life always has very strong emotional expressions.”

Ling Yi flew up to my side.

At this moment, this tree, having been lightly nourished by me with basic wood-element spells, was already about half a person's height.

And I crouched down slightly, watching Ling Yi fly lightly beside the sapling.

“Look, this tree is very comfortable right now. It just received the moisture of wood-element energy, so it's very happy now!”

“Then how do you know? Did you see it, or hear it? Or… did you feel it just now by touching it?”

I asked my question curiously.

“Eh? It’s just… mhm… I don't know how to describe it… the branches and leaves are stretched out wide… it feels very comfortable to touch… and… it’s… growing very freely……”

Through the consciousness communication spell, Ling Yi transmitted some descriptions that could be put into words, as well as many cognitions that language could not describe.

I quickly realized where the problem with my question was.

This problem was like me asking a person why I felt they were very happy.

If I were to explain, I could only say they were laughing, their eyes were narrowed, the corners of their mouth were turned up, their body was very excited, and other such descriptions.

Emotion cannot be clearly expressed, or rather, just the word “smile” already encompasses all the meanings of this complex emotion.

So… I recalled the original ability of Heart Sense: perceiving heartbeats, establishing a connection and resonance between hearts.

The Five Senses are the channels of “perception,” and Heart Sense is the core of “understanding.”

The important part is the understanding.

I slowly returned to a kind of essence, and the Mental Realm Domain of Heart Sense expanded.

The expansion range was very small, only the space around me, encompassing Ling Yi and the sapling of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree.

At this moment, in this small area, there were no two Grand Spellbooks, no loss of senses, no time sense—only pure Heart Sense.

The external manifestation of the Mental Realm Domain born from Heart Sense appeared.

I closed my eyes and shut down my other perceptions, leaving only the small area covered by my mental state.

My world consisted of only this tiny range.

What I was doing was actually very simple: I was stripping away my abilities, letting one ability return to its most primitive form.

The origin of many abilities determines the direction of an ability, because it represents the most primitive “cognition” I have of it.

Power cannot jump out of its definition, just as a fist cannot reshape broken things with a single punch.

However… Heart Sense is not pure perception.

I didn't perceive the existence of the Myriad Connection Main Network Tree and Ling Yi within my mental state; I was simply trying to understand them.

Very quickly, an odd branch that deviated from the original form of the tree broke through the void of my cognition and drilled out.

It was like a sprout breaking through the soil.

But in my understanding, those branches were lines; my understanding of plants was too low.

I recalled the definition and composition of plants: root systems, trunks, bark, leaves… circuits for transporting nutrients, structures for storing nutrition, leaves for converting energy…

In my cognition, this tree seemed to become more complex and odd.

It could be anything, but not necessarily a tree.

Until… I gradually released the perception of the Five Senses.

First was hearing.

I felt the wind blowing, the sapling swaying.

Then the tree in my cognition also began to twist freely, looking exceptionally strange.

Next were smell and taste… the fragrance unique to plants entered my nasal cavity, and I also lightly stuck out my tongue.

With the help of my fingers, I felt the taste of the branches and leaves.

And when my hand touched the branches and leaves, my sense of touch also added brand new information data.

The tree within my cognition began to gradually have the feeling of a tree.

At the very least, when “it” swayed, it could produce the crisp sound of leaves rustling, and it also had the fragrance belonging to plants.

Finally, I opened my eyes.

The tree constructed within my cognition continuously shrunk within my ultimate vision, confirming it as a tree.

Because a tree is simply grown into such a form.

“Um… are you okay?”

Ling Yi was flying back and forth beside me, asking with some concern.

“I'm fine… really.”

After reassuring Ling Yi, I began to understand the concept belonging to the tree in my Heart Sense in a more abstract way.

I instinctively perceived that my current thoughts were a bit crazed, because I was treating myself as a tree to resonate Heart Sense with another tree.

But I knew very well that I was expanding the boundary of the definition of “Heart Sense.”

How does a tree have a heart?

How is there any Heart Sense?

How are there any emotions?

But if someone believes they have them……

On the boundary of exploring the unknown, any existing cognition is merely an obstacle on the road forward.

Only by perceiving unknown concepts in a more “emotional” way is it possible to step into a brand new field, just as I was willing to believe that plants have their own emotions.

So… I locked onto another concept: “Affinity.”

Unfortunately, what I measured back then was a neutral affinity.

However… I had another spell.

Protection of the Elemental Spirit.

It had been a long time since I used this spell.

This was a protection spell with a significant consumption, reaching three digits.

After being modded, I could already designate an element for the protection.

And after the routine derivation by the Great Tree of Knowledge, I also mastered other derivative effects of this spellbook.

However, it wasn't as easy to derive as basic spells, so my use of it was still relatively unfamiliar.

But… by relying on the protection of natural spirits, I could briefly increase my own natural affinity.

“Ugh… this! What is this!”

Ling Yi was startled by the intense energy that suddenly rose around me and hurriedly retreated in fear.

However, I had already deliberately restrained the prestige raised by the protection, yet it still caused a significant impact.

“Wow! This is… this! This is the protection of Mother Nature! You are actually someone chosen by nature?!”

Ling Yi felt the fluctuations of the protection from natural spirits beside me and no longer showed any look of fear.

As I looked at the simple Ling Yi, I sighed in my heart.

Power… does not represent good or evil.

After reassuring Ling Yi for a bit, I once again threw myself into the field of affinity perception.

Under the augmentation of nature affinity, I seemed to have a more profound cognition of… what “Affinity” actually meant.

Affinity is a talent, an innate talent, just like everyone has the talent of the Five Senses.

Affinity is a brand-new perception structure channel, and I didn't have any affinity, so I couldn't experience this feeling.

Suddenly, I was somewhat envious of those people with a certain affinity.

In the past, I didn't think much of it, but now, after cognizing its value, I admit I am envious.

But… that was all.

So what if one is born with it?

Being unable to utilize it is also a waste.

Precisely because I never had it, I will cherish it even more.

It’s just like how those innate Transcendent Witches don't care about the ability of Self-generating Magic Power.

Not only do they not care, but even if they did, they would have no way to cognize it.

And now that I am cognizing “Affinity” with “Heart Sense,” precisely because I am experiencing it from nothing, I can more clearly structure the expanded boundary of the Heart Sense field.

Heart Sense… now I can also say that Heart Sense is a way to perceive life and understand life, whether it be plant life or animal life…

After cognizing the affinity characteristic, my perception and understanding of life reached a level where I only lacked understanding, but not ability.

“Thank you, Ling Yi, you really are a great teacher. Now you have already taught me how to perceive the emotions of plants.”

“Eh? R-really? Then I really am amazing!”