Cultivating Plants

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

What if you wanted to discover a world of magic and plants, but cultivating nobles, hashish-obsessed assassins, and a tight budget were constantly a nuisance in your way?

Aloe had been a simple girl who lived with her mother; yet after her grandfather died, she finds herself the heiress of a greenhouse, a luxurious commodity for a desert dweller like her. However, as she was predisposed to sell the greenhouse because she was desperate for money, she finds her grandfather's secret cultivation technique!

Her grandfather's research opens a whole new world of magic and possibilities, but it soon becomes clear that life is not as simple as a fairytale and her life will be filled with strife.

~ What to expect ~-Slow burn.-Lots of drugs.-Lots of ART.-Unique spin on cultivation! No cults or sect crap.

Chapter updates 4 times per week.

[Winner in the Royal Road Writathon challenge 2024!]

[Winner in the Royal Road Writathon challenge 2025!]

Information

Status: Completed
Year: 2023
Author: Epsilon Twilight

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.0/ 5.0
Followers: 659
Views: 747,555

Reviews

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Community Reviews(10)

SocSRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Ive been following this story for a while now and while it started quite magical and delightfully it first turned thirsty and then dark in recent chapters. Yet i keep coming back to it.
Ive read the negative reviews and it does make sense to me that someone might be disturbed at the sudden twist in the story. Whithout Spoiling too much but not having Fellow readers unaware: Death of Loved ones and Sexual Assault are Topics. As well as the odd review about linguistics - this fictions magic system reads like it is still in development while being written and the logic behind it is quite wonky.
Nonetheless i enjoy this story i keep coming back to it to see aloe stumble experiment and grow. One thing that is currently a bit amiss for me is that Aloe is quite a loner and the charakters overall relationships seem very cold and political. Even in interactions between old family friends. (2.4. Summon - despite her Uncles family helping her there is a certain coldness and awkwardness i cant quite describe) Id love to see genuine Friendships maybe in contrast to Aloes cool buisness relations(eg.with the Scribe of Commerce or the Hashish Dealer/Assasin) or her Political Persona in the Palace.(e.g. with Rani and other Sultahnazade/the Sulthana)
Worldbuilding is slowly revealed through contrasting book inserts. Which i find quite refreshing but also confusing at the current time. These Worldbuilding Snippets are in conflict with each other and since Aloe isnt traveled in the world yet and we also havent seen or had any interaction with a charakter from other parts of the world it is impossible to know which snippet is the truth. (Addendums01/Addendums02- though i recommend rereading them after the book. Eg. Reading book 2 and Rereading Addendums 01)
Id love to see more people of this world, and id be nice if aloe wasnt always at the bottom of palace politics but i think thats whats currently underway.
I would recommend this story although it has its dark parts.
tienunrealRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Really enjoyed aracane soul and this one looks to have a very interesting setting/magic systen. So far the exact mechanics are still to be revealed but there seems to be a lot of unique mechanics. So far we know it involves using plants and potentially some kind of evolutionary cultivation to create stronger ingredients almost like alchemy.. Other than that Epsilon is great at providing consistant updates so can't wait to see where this one goes.
D.M. Rhodes (Razzmatazz)Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Cultivating Plants, written by author Epsilon Twilight, is a progression cultivation novel about… cultivating (plants!). The story follows Aloe, who inherits a mysterious greenhouse in the desert and undergoes her adventure to find out its secrets and learn everything there is to discover about the odd, magical plants that her grandfather had been keeping there.
It’s a very unique premise and the author commissions a little unique art of the plants here and there, which is super cool. Give it a fair shot! =)
God Of KnowledgeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This novel takes a slower more investigative dive into the meat that is magic. The system is truly unique, I haven't encountered something like it. So far it seems to head in a good direction. No drama no problems. Truly a glass of water that is the parched desert of good novels.
KingFoxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There are some awkward moments whiles reading but overall the story is so far pretty good. The characters that have been introduced are charismatic and I'm excited to see where the author goes with them. I also like the idea of the mc studying magic and selling the good stuff;⁠).
StarswornAdminRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Usually you'll only need Aloe if you spend too much time in the sun, but after reading Cultivating Plants you'll need a daily dose!
Puns aside, what a fantastic story that Epsilon Twilight has put together! It's different from a lot of the stories on this site, and it's as refreshing as a cool breeze on a summer day. Let's get into it!
Style - The writing is FUN! The author does a great job blending together dialogue and exposition, keeping the reading light and engaging. The style is clean, humor is present throughout, and the prose is well-constructed.
Story - The premise is pretty simple, for me what makes the story work the best is the characters. The author also does an excellent job of showing vs telling, without large exposition dumps. It's been a fun read so far and I'm excited about whatever comes next!
Grammar - Not much to say, it's clean and there are no typos that really jumped out at me. The author has done a great job editing and revising their fiction (or they're just that good!)
Character - This is the differentiator for me compared to a lot of the other fictions out there. Aloe, our protagonist, is delightful. The author has created a believable, multifaceted, and fun character as she goes through her journey. The author also has put a lot of effort into thinking through what this character might be feeling, and expanding on it. Several scenes got me audibly laughing.
To conclude, Cultivating Plants is a story you won't want to miss. I didn't know what to expect when I saw the title, and I'm very glad to have given it a read. I'm sure you will be too.
Some_Random_CultivatorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Exotic, different, breathing and real.
This is not your "numbers go up, by-the-numbers", this is exploration, discovery, heartache, despair and trauma.
And maybe, if Aloe lasts long enough, hope.
It's not niche, it's good. Read it.
Ah, apparently I need more words because a short review can't be succinct without giving away plot spoilers.
AggressivelyconfusedRoyal Road
★★★★ 3.5
Overall, i like the story. It is not my usual cup of tea, and there are certainly things i did not enjoy in the story, it was a good read, even if it left me a bit scarred. I would have preferred it if Epsilon would have been a bit less... blunt when it comes to certain very harsh topics in the story?
To clarify, and i cannot stress this enough, this story is not for the faint of heart. SA is ever present. I cannot stress enough how epsilon should have handled the branding of this story better. I want to avoid spoilers so that is all i will say.
KrischanRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
I did go into the reading with the wrong attitude, I admit. I made the mistake and read the blurb, which is astonishingly awful: ...yet after her grandfather died, she finds herself the heiress of a greenhouse, a luxurious commodity for a desert dweller like her. However, as she was predisposed to sell the greenhouse because she was desperate for money, she finds her grandfather's secret cultivation technique!
Mixing plants and elaborating medicine, Aloe will ascent to greater heights...
Grandiose words wrongly used, mangled tenses, a genuine disregard for readability - an introduction which unfortunately reflects the content. According to the authors comment when called out on a similar clanger in the first chapter: author's choice. Sure, it is. I was hoping that the apparently novel magic system would make up for it but could not get there. There are just too many choices I would disagree with vehemently: oasis is not synonymous with lake and lots of lakes are closed stagnant bodies of water with creatures inside. And let's all remember Crocodylus suchus.
This reads as if a book of synonyms was used heavily and the author is not aware that wikipedia is not a subscription service.
This may be too harsh but my level of annoyance is currently rather high.
BrGastlRoyal Road
★★ 2.0
This book contains some promising aspects, but it doesnt deliver. Espacially since it features traumas, emotions, disgusting things and overall crass topics.
Such storys need to deliver on coping mechanisms or put in a way that you may understamd the trauma on a deeper level to actually enjoy the new experience. But the characters arent that deep, they dont show what makes their trauma so traumatic, they dont truly deal with it. You could view it maybe as a sarcastic view how many psychich damaged people roam the earth without an inkling of knowledge to heal what was destroyed in the process of living, hurting and getting hurt. Though this story doesnt has this snarky edge to fulfill such a purpose. After following this story for a year just because I was interested what will happen down the line I find myself wonderimg what purpose this book contains because its definetly the story of all these traumas. I sometimes wonder if this books is autobiographic and I just dont understand... anyway a book you maybe might be able to enjoy better, if you take three steps away and think outside the box. IMO