Aloe wasn't a good teacher. She was well aware of that, and it didn't bother her. She had never taught anything, after all. To put her ideas into perspective, she essentially paraphrased Karaim's old teachings from his cultivation technique. It wasn't difficult reciting the booklet word for word even after so many years as she had read it many, many times.

"So I just need to think about how I want to change this seed?" Xochipilli summarized after she finished her explanation.

"Simple as that," Aloe confirmed with a nod.

"Hmm…" It was obvious from his attitude that the boy didn't have a clear picture, but they had all the time in the world.

She couldn't read Xochipilli's mind, but every time he failed and sighed in defeat, she was there to give him advice and nudge him in the right direction. Sometimes she asked herself how she was able to push her intent into seeds and other living beings.

A dark thought crossed her mind as she saw the child trying to perform an evolution for the first time. No, I don't need to, she mused to herself. I already know what a human evolves into, and even if I really want to check it, I can't just evolve a random woman's fetus. Part of her was irked that Aaliyah had been the only one to evolve humans when Evolution was her vital art, her magic, and the only solace she could find was the fact that the woman hadn't found out she was evolving her children.

Or maybe she has? Aloe bit her lip with enough strength to draw some sap. It has been many years since then, and they have been using evolved plants in Ydaz for a while now. The chances that they aren't my plants as the basis of their society but ones created by Aaliyah are non-zero.

That irked her even more, but there was no need to rush to Asina. She could grow faster than any other cultivator, delays would only make her stronger. Still, she was very angry, and it wasn't until she evolved her ninth Heartgrowth that she relaxed.

By that point, the child had yet to perform his first evolution.

"You should focus on your intention," Aloe said.

"Intention?" Xochipilli slightly panted as he uttered that word. He had been sitting cross-legged on the sofa for a good hour now with only Evolution on his mind.

"All vital arts are about intention," she explained. "Evolution and Infusion are about forcing change into other living beings, whilst Nurture changes yourself. If your intention isn't clear, you won't be able to succeed in any of these fields."

Of course, she failed to mention Enlightenment. She was very aware of the magic of the assassins – after all, it was what had brought her here – but even if she had seen it in action, she didn't have a single grasp on the field. Its existence and effects were all that her comprehension reached.

"For Evolution, you need to visualize how you want this seed to change. To mutate it. To metamorphose it. To transform it into a new, different living being. I guessed this should be easier after seeing the result of the evolution before your eyes, but perhaps…" The vegetable woman melodiously hummed in rumination. "Have you seen the plant of a grown black seed?"

"I… can't say I have," the chocolate-skinned boy responded crestfallen.

"What did I tell you about acting this dejected?" Not only did she ruffle his hair now, but she also swayed his head around. "It's not a child's fault that they don't know about the world. Especially if we don't know if these plants grow in your land."

Aloe unconsciously groaned and created a new black seed, this one she grew without evolving and now a nigella grew from her palm with its characteristic white flower.

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"This is the plant that grows from black seeds, a nigella sativa," she explained and offered the plant to the boy, who graciously caressed its white petals. "In some places, it's called black cumin, but I never called it that because I have another plant that evolves from cumin, and I didn't want to make my head a mess."

Nigella sativa was the name that the scholars gave to the plant, no one really called it that, maybe nigella but that was all. The reason why she told Xochipilli that name was because it felt appropriate; as if she was a teacher in a herbalism class. Calling it 'black seed plant' had worked for her all this time because she never really used the plant, only its seeds for either seasoning or its evolution.

"Now that you've seen both the default plant and its evolved counterpart, do you think you will be able to evolve it, Xochipilli?"

"Uhm… I think so?" The boy failed to portray any confidence, but that wasn't an issue. It wasn't like Aloe had succeeded in all her attempts with vital arts on the first time, so getting mad at the child – which would already be deplorable – would be hypocritical.

Aloe patiently observed as Xochipilli resumed his attempts. It worried her that he was having this many issues as it was a proven evolution so there shouldn't be any problem… Wait, she suddenly realized something. How much maximum vitality does he have?

But it was too late. By the time she became aware of her faults, Xochipilli's vitality had started to dwindle. The boy had found success at the worst of times. Hastily, Aloe produced grass seeds, evolved them, and forced them to grow, but by the moment she pulled the blades of Cure Grass from her hand, nothing mattered any longer.

"Is there something wrong?" Xochipilli said with a confused look as he saw her trying to shove grass into his mouth.

"Xochipilli!" She almost embraced the kid but held herself and simply grabbed him by the shoulders, damned by the grown plants on her palms. "Are you alright? Do you feel unwell?" She nervously patted around his body to detect signs of pain.

"I'm… a bit dizzy, but that's all," he responded sluggishly. "Did I make it?"

Aloe concealed her worry behind her glamour mask. "Sure, let's check it."

The vegetable woman undid the bandana on her head and pulled an Aloe Veritas leaf carefully and dipped the seed on Xochipilli's palm with the ink. The random blobs of ink in the leaf's parchment started shifting around until they set on the following text:

Species: Flourishing Spring

Sobriquet: Eversource

Description: An evolved member of the Nigella Sativa species, a species known for its ability to survive with mana alone and sprout streams of water.

Alignment: Life, Arcane

"Congratulations on your initiation on Evolution!" She had already recognized the slight watery glint on the seed's surface marking it as a Flourishing Spring one, but she wanted to make it official.

Even though the boy didn't say anything, he took the leaf from her hands and opened his eyes in elation. As he moved the leaf up and down and did small jumps on the sofa, Aloe couldn't help but worry about a whole other subject.

How has he managed to evolve a Flourishing Spring? She kept those thoughts to herself. Every time I reached near depletion of my reserves I puked, and if I depleted it completely, I passed out. Not only he's just dizzy, but he has also managed to evolve a seed that would need a bit more than a Haya to evolve when he's a child, meaning his reserves are smaller than those of an adult…

Who is he?

She almost felt bad for thinking about that question. That usage of words practically criminalized Xochipilli for his success, and he was but a small boy who was following her teachings. He literally didn't know any better.

So, how has he managed to evolve a seed with less vitality than is needed, and how is he still standing? Aloe prided herself in her tolerance of pain and whatnot, so she couldn't comprehend how a child could just be… fine after such prowess.

"Does this mean I'm like you?" Xochipilli asked after he calmed down a bit.

"Well, there's a few steps to get there…" Aloe saw those red eyes glimmering with hope and she knew she couldn't betray them. "…but yes. Welcome to the vital arts and the second Evolution user in Khaffat!"

She almost expected the boy to start jumping again after revealing that he was the only person besides her that knew about Evolution – Aaliyah notwithstanding as the woman didn't seem to be aware of it – but his response left her speechless.

"What's our name?" The child asked.

"What?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Our name!" Xochipilli reiterated, hopping on his butt. "I've heard that there are those called assassins with their own magic."

"Yes, Enlightenment." Aloe clarified.

"Then, if those that use Enlightenment are called assassins and those that use Nurture are called cultivators, and if we use Evolution… then what are we?"

"Uh…" Never before had she been left agape in her life. "I never thought about it…"