Chapter 718: Senior Miya's Gift

Dorothy, having been teased, grumbled as she finished washing up.

However, after opening the door and seeing the lush forest outside, her mood instantly improved.

The perimeter of the Witch's Home floating island was a ring of forest. When Dorothy built the island, to save on costs, she had transplanted half-grown saplings rather than mature trees.

But now, three months later, nourished by the powerful mana supply from the mana furnace at the center of the floating island, these saplings had grown wildly as if sprinkled with Golden Miracle Fertilizer, and now they were beginning to take shape.

This couldn't help but make Dorothy sigh that Senior Senior Fan Ni was truly a treasure.

The Dragon Heart mana furnace, which served as the heart of the floating island, was currently burning a tentacle whisker transformed from a single strand of the senior's hair. It was incredibly durable, more nuclear than nuclear energy; regardless of what it looked like when thrown in, now...

Dorothy waved her hand to slice open a gap, then peered into it.

This space-type magic learned from Aunt Zi was truly useful, especially for peeping... ahem, I mean, for monitoring and reconnaissance; it was the best of the best.

There was no need to open a large gap, just a tiny one; it had low consumption while also serving as a long-distance camera, which was super awesome.

The Homebody Witch was actually quite curious about the purpose for which Aunt Zi had developed this magic. Was it really for eating melons and watching shows? She shouldn't be that bored, right?

But, whatever, as long as it was useful.

Dorothy shook her head, too lazy to think about it.

Thus, that tiny Eye of the Void opened in the core energy cabin of the floating island, spun around, and finally locked its gaze onto the massive Dragon Heart mana furnace at the core of the cabin.

This was the highest-grade mana furnace that Senior Miya had sponsored for her. Just as its name suggested, it was a mana furnace forged from the heart of a giant dragon.

Every time a Dragon Heart furnace was cast, a giant dragon would be harmed. Therefore, protect giant dragons, starting with you and me.

However, even Dragon Heart furnaces had distinctions of high and low, noble and base.

Generally, the hearts of hatchlings or juvenile dragons could only be made into small vehicles, such as high-grade racing brooms or luxury RVs.

And a Dragon Heart furnace capable of serving as the core of a floating island had to be at least at the level of a young dragon or an adult dragon.

As for the even higher-level Dragon Heart furnaces from prime-age or even elderly dragons, those were military supplies and generally wouldn't flow into the civilian market; they would be loaded onto witch warships.

Not to mention the Dragon Heart furnaces from ancient dragons, or even primordial or archaic dragons; those were rare treasures, and the furnaces themselves counted as high-level divine artifacts. If one really wanted to use them, they would certainly be used for casting legendary warships.

Those were legendary warships capable of giving birth to Shipgirl young ladies; so awesome, so awesome.

And if it was a legendary warship upgraded with an archaic Dragon Heart furnace you cast yourself, once the Shipgirl awakened, she would have full favorability toward you, the captain; the kind you could marry directly.

Back in the day, in the *Warship World* game, Dorothy had once desperately farmed quite a few ancient dragons and then married several wife fleets.

For example, the legendary bombardment-type annihilation ship—*Frozen Throne*, upgraded with an ancient-dragon-level Ice Curse Dragon Heart furnace; the legendary assault-type charge ship—*Shadowless God Blade*, upgraded with an ancient-dragon-level Extreme Slash Dragon Heart furnace; or the legendary stealth-type reconnaissance ship—*Night Queen*, upgraded with an ancient-dragon-level Shadow Dragon Heart furnace, and so on.

Of course, the most powerful one had to be her fleet flagship, the legendary all-purpose command ship—*Bahamut*, forged with an archaic-dragon-level Snake Long Wang Heart furnace.

This was the Homebody Witch's main wife; not only was her combat power formidable, she was the existence at the top of the entire game's comprehensive warship ranking, and her Shipgirl incarnation perfectly matched Dorothy's xp.

Well, after all, it was something she had crafted with her own hands from the start, so naturally, it couldn't fail to align with her personal preferences.

Back then, in order to crusade against that Ancient Serpent Long Wang, she had stubbornly commanded her fleet for months, chasing it across countless worlds, until she finally managed to beat that terrifying Long Wang to death in a group brawl, only for it to then become the heart of her "Big Wife."

Recalling those glorious days of the past, the hardships of winning that "Big Wife," and the joy and happiness of finally holding the beauty in her arms, Dorothy couldn't help but feel her blood surging—ah, ptooey, I mean, her blood boiling.

But never mind, there's no point in saying more; after all, that trash game with its terrible balance is something even a dog wouldn't play now.

The moment she thought about how her Dream Fleet could still be run over by someone using a trash civilian fleet, the Home Witch instantly wilted.

Forget it, whatever, I'm tired, let it all be destroyed.

Even if she knows now that the damn "fish-bomber" from back then was actually her own roommate, Sophie Liya, it's the same—in fact, it's even more annoying.

After all, this humiliation might be something Sophie Liya laughs about for a lifetime.

In short, trash among trash, garbage game, ruined my youth.

And after ending her reminiscence, Dorothy looked once again at the Floating Island Dragon Heart Furnace before her; this was also an Ancient Dragon-level Dragon Heart Furnace, and its dragon heart likely originated from a special dragon species known as the Mountain Dragon.

As the name suggests, these dragons are often as massive as mountains, and to maintain such a colossal size, their dragon hearts naturally possess quite powerful output, known for their thick, stable mana and excellent endurance.

A Dragon Heart Furnace forged using such a Mountain Dragon heart also retains these characteristics; although it lacks sufficient instantaneous explosive power and is unsuitable as the core for main-carry-level warships like Annihilation Ships, it is very suitable as the core for escort ships or various castle ships.

Of course, using it as the core for a residential floating island is naturally fine, and one could even say it is the most perfect choice; the mana emitted by this Mountain Dragon Heart Furnace provides a great bonus to the growth of resource crops on the floating island, making it most suitable for "farming-style" players.

Come to think of it, back in "World of Warships," Dorothy only had her mind set on grinding monsters and leveling up, so she hadn't bothered with this kind of farming logistics ship.

Well, in fact, if she had valued logistics and supplies more back then, she really would have been a "bucket-build" with no weaknesses, a truly perfect Dream Team; no matter how strong Sophie Liya's military strategy was, she would have had to bow down before absolute strength.

Her legendary bastion-type escort ship—the Royal Knight—used an Ancient Dragon-level Steel Dragon Heart Furnace; because she was too afraid of pain, she simply put all her skill points into defense.

Dorothy certainly hadn't expected back then that a rare divine artifact she couldn't even get in the game could actually be obtained in reality.

Although Senior Miya hadn't said anything when she gave this Dragon Heart Furnace to her as a floating island core, she had even gone out of her way to apply a layer of disguise, masking this Ancient Dragon Heart Furnace as an ordinary prime-age dragon's heart furnace.

But the Home Witch's eye is incredibly sharp; she has handled too many Ancient Dragon Furnaces, and almost no one understands them better than she does, so she had seen through the oddity of this furnace at a single glance.

However, at the time, she had agonized for a long time over whether or not to accept this gift, after all, this thing was truly too precious.

Even in a game where resources are just data, this was one of the top-tier pieces of equipment, let alone in reality; even with Senior Miya's status as the Princess of the Golden Township, this Ancient Mountain Dragon Heart Furnace was absolutely one of the most precious treasures in her treasury.

Dorothy even suspected that this Dragon Heart Furnace might have been the core for the future vehicle specifically prepared for Senior Miya by the Golden Township.

After all, the Brilliant Dragon is essentially Metal, and Earth generates Metal, so this Earth-attribute Mountain Dragon Heart Furnace was a very good match for Senior Miya's attributes.

However, after thinking about it, she ultimately didn't expose Senior Miya's disguise and pretended she hadn't discovered anything while accepting the gift.

After all, this Witch's Home isn't just her home alone; it's also Senior Miya's home, and anyway, most of the building materials this time were sponsored by this rich-lady senior; she already owed a lot, so she didn't care about owing more.

It's just that Dorothy couldn't really accept the senior's kindness with such peace of mind; she had actually been considering preparing a legendary Golden Warship to give to the senior as a return gift when the time came.

When it comes down to it, although Earth generates Metal and it really does suit Senior Miya, the senior is a Bombardment Witch; the most suitable vehicle for her would only be an Annihilation Ship, not a logistics escort ship like the Mountain Dragon.

The core that truly perfectly matches Senior Miya's vehicle is actually her evolution template: the Heart of the Brilliant Dragon.

It's just that the Brilliant Dragon is a rare dragon species, not even numerous in the Dragon Realm, and its strength belongs to the top-tier dragons, making the hunting difficulty too high.

Therefore, there are too few Brilliant Dragon Hearts circulating on the market, and any that occasionally appear have long since been acquired by the predecessors of the Golden Township.

If there were any way at all, the Golden Township would certainly have equipped Senior Miya with a Brilliant Dragon Heart Furnace, rather than this Mountain Dragon Heart Furnace.

But what the Golden Township cannot do does not mean Dorothy cannot do it either.

After all, although money can solve the vast majority of problems in this world, it is ultimately not omnipotent.

There are some witches who truly do not love money, but there is one thing that almost all witches cannot refuse.

That is knowledge.

For the witches of today, where the All-Knowing Sect is in charge and "Sage" is the highest-ranking title, knowledge is power, and knowledge is everything.

Even those muscle-heads who walk the path of omnipotence, no matter how much they loathe studying, still have to obediently make up for their lessons in the later stages, working hard to repay the debts they incurred after having fun in the early stages.

Hmm, I'm talking about you, Alice; you silly sister, skipping classes now is fun for a moment, but there will be a time in the future when you'll face the crematorium of make-up classes.

And most of the time, the special currency of the Mana Web Library, which is priceless and hard to find, is roughly equivalent to knowledge.

The Golden Township sits on the minting rights for Witch Gold Coins and is as wealthy as a nation, but in the ocean of knowledge, the academic cliques that control massive intellectual property are the true kings.

Although little witch Dorothy is of low status and little influence, and obviously cannot afford such a precious gift, the Witch of the Forest, Dorothy, still has a bit of energy.

May I ask, who is the largest academic clique in the Witch World?

Answer: The Three Kings.

Ask again, who is invincible under the Three Kings?

Answer: Yours truly, the Witch of the Forest, da.

Do you understand the gold content of being a designated partner of the Great Mana Web Library?

As long as Dorothy is willing to pay a little bit of library points, then collecting an Ancient-level Brilliant Dragon Heart from those ancient witches who experienced the Long Wang Campaign is not difficult.

Of course, wanting to get in touch with those ancient witches who actually retired years ago, ignore worldly affairs, and only mingle in small, high-level circles is not easy.

You have to be a big shot yourself before you can integrate into the circle of big shots.

But as the saying goes, do you understand the gold content of the Witch of the Forest?

In the past, there have been all sorts of strange organizations like the "Twilight Hermit Order," "Golden Dawn," "Truth Forum," and so on, that have sent invitation letters to the Witch of the Forest.

But the Home Witch has always been too lazy to respond in the past.

Well, actually, she didn't dare to respond; after all, she was just a paper tiger, how could she dare to really run around in front of those true big shots?

But now, the Home Witch's mindset has shifted slightly.

After all, although I am a noob, I have people backing me, okay? (Hands on hips).

She recently agreed to all the various invitation letters that had been piling up in one go, and then very easily found a big shot in that high-end academic circle who had an Ancient Brilliant Dragon Heart in their hands.

The price offered by the other party was also quite reasonable, perhaps even because of special care for her, a newcomer; the price was so discounted that it made one wonder if they were trying to scam people into getting their kidneys harvested.

But after all, it's a high-end circle, everyone is high-end talent with Mana Web certification, they shouldn't be greedy for a bit of kidney money, right?

Anyway, Dorothy has already made an appointment with that equally mysterious big-shot seller to complete the transaction in Venus City in a while.

That City of Art is a City of Entertainment, and also a City of Spies; all sorts of people from all walks of life gather there, and all kinds of transactions that are inconvenient to expose identities are also conducted there.

Although conducting black-market transactions under the nose of the Witch King has a sense of courting death by pulling the whiskers of a tiger, who told this Witch King to be the Demon King herself?

The Demon King herself is the Queen of Demons and Conspiracies, so naturally, she wouldn't dislike these gray-market transactions.

What the Demon King dislikes are shadows beyond her control, but for those things that are shady but not completely shady, she, the old lady, would instead turn a blind eye.

Water that is too clear has no fish, so whether the water is clear or not is not important; what is important is that every fish in this river must be under my control.

Completely disorderly evil will only be chaos in ruins, but darkness under the constraints of order can often radiate a different kind of vitality.

Venus City is such a peculiar city where darkness and prosperity coexist.

For this destination of her upcoming journey, Dorothy still has a bit of curiosity and expectation in her heart.

It's just...

"Damn it, how come these tentacles haven't decreased at all, and have even grown fatter instead?"

Through the observation port of the Dragon Heart Furnace, the Home Witch's Eye of the Interstice saw the Outer God's tentacles swimming leisurely inside the furnace; this unlucky tentacle even seemed to sense someone peeking and shook a few times in a friendly and enthusiastic manner, as if it were saying hello.

This tentacle, transformed from a strand of Senior Fan Ni's hair, hadn't become increasingly thin due to the squeezing of the Dragon Heart Furnace before being thrown in; instead, it had grown quite robust. It was like a planted tree, and now it had already taken root in this Dragon Heart Furnace and was growing sturdily.

"Tsk, Senior, your hair isn't going to break my furnace, is it?"

Dorothy asked with some worry.

"Hmph, that's my hair, okay, Qian Bao? Now you know how powerful I am, right? Anything that falls off me is a world-destroying demon god elsewhere, okay?"

On top of the Home Witch's head, the Hat Senior was quite smug.

"This child is really quite energetic; I see she seems to have completely adapted to life in the mana furnace. Hmm, it should be because we haven't been home for this period, and the floating island has been operating at low consumption, giving this child a chance to buffer, so she started targeted evolution. Now she has successfully reached a symbiotic relationship with this Dragon Heart Furnace; she really is a hardworking good child."

"However, Qian Bao, don't worry, this is a good thing. Once this child develops and grows a bit more, I reckon she can even upgrade this Dragon Heart Furnace in the process."

Senior Fan Ni also sensed the condition of this little tentacle, and then, with a sense of pride like "as expected of my hair, it's so hardworking," said this.

Dorothy: "..."

Fuel and furnace reaching symbiosis, and then being able to upgrade by stepping on each other's left and right feet—is this kind of thing really reasonable? Is it scientific?

But it is indeed quite magical, so never mind.

The Home Witch is speechless.

(End of chapter)