What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 236. Infrastructure in the Gray Desert

After the banquet, Chloe experienced a hangover and lazily leaned against the soft sofa, unwilling to move.

He didn't use magic to quickly wake up, but instead let himself sink into this lazy state, which had a unique feeling.

He stroked the trembling Misty Dragon lying beside him, a creature not much bigger than a dog, while his gaze was fixed on the crystal-clear sapphire he was holding in his fingers.

He is no longer the little mage who has to go through a lot of trouble to buy a magic book. During this time, he not only bought books from the Mage Association, but also from the Holy Spring Merchant Guild.

The saying "knowledge is power" was certainly true for the mage, which is why he easily recognized what the treasure was.

"The Heart of a Clear Spring".

"Let me take a look, it seems so..."

Kroya muttered something and casually tossed it to the ground. He then traced lines in the air with his finger, his mage hand as nimble as his own, drawing a magic circle made entirely of magic on the ground.

At the very center of the magic circle was that crystal-clear sapphire.

The magic flowed within the magic runes, was transformed through the Heart of the Clear Spring, and finally flowed out as clear spring water, which was absorbed by the grass growing on the ground and did not flow around aimlessly.

Honestly, it looks pretty good.

So he simply cut off the piece of turf, added some magical materials as filler, connected the tower spirit to the magic supply, and placed it in a corner of the bookshelf as a decorative piece.

I must say, the flowing spring water is quite beautiful.

"Let the construction team carry out the infrastructure construction over at Greystone Ridge."

"Yes, Master."

After giving his instructions to the tower spirit, he stared into the distance—it was a map of the Grey Desert that the Grey Sand Lord had given him, or more precisely, a map of the area surrounding Grey Sand City.

Since the first grain transaction, Lord Gray Sand has somehow gotten wind of a construction team composed of mages in Kroya's territory.

He then strongly hoped that Kroya could help him improve the infrastructure of Gray Sand City and the surrounding area. In return, he promised that all the magical plants, magical beasts, and minerals he encountered along the way could be given to Kroya.

This is actually a mining right.

It's important to know that each lord is extremely protective of the resources in their territory, and they absolutely forbid anyone from coveting them. They would rather leave them there to gather dust than give them away easily.

This shows that the sincerity is more than enough.

So Kroa was quite interested.

After all, who would complain about having too many resources? Sufficient resources are needed to support his magical research, the operation of the underwater factories around Hanju Island, and the learning progress of an ever-growing number of apprentices…

The current Sand Lord has apparently reached some kind of agreement with the Holy See, and coupled with his burial of that level seven archmage, the Kingdom of Norland is no longer able to restrain him.

The Gray Desert no longer belongs to the Kingdom of Norland.

Even if Kroya were to cooperate deeply with him, it wouldn't cause any dissatisfaction among the Papacy members.

Besides, he was genuinely curious to see what the gray desert was really like; the infrastructure work that transformed from chaos to order was fascinating.

He carefully examined the map and the terrain marked on it, his expression growing increasingly grim as he pondered what to do.

To be honest, the location of Grey Sand City is not bad.

The Sand Lord has chosen what was once the largest oasis, about 300 acres in circumference, surrounded by flat sand, to build the city.

In such a magical world, with a level 10 God-giver in charge, there's absolutely no need to worry about defense; one person is an army.

After all... neutrality requires strength.

What right do you have to remain neutral if you don't have the strength?

However, even the best geographical location becomes somewhat worthless in the face of the environment.

—Because the Sand Lord has summoned the magic of Leviathan, the Sand Desert is now in an extremely unstable state, and floods occur from time to time without warning.

Although the gray desert can withstand so much water flow, the sand has all turned into semi-liquid quicksand, making it impossible to pass through even when there is no flood.

Although the Sand Lord somehow managed to remove the corrosive demonic power from Leviathan's magic, it still caused the creatures in the desert to mutate.

Those monsters hide in the quicksand and attack passersby.

In addition, the environment created by magical conflicts makes the entire Gray Desert unsuitable for building spatial magic arrays, as they are prone to problems due to magical fluctuations.

Perhaps the conflicts caused by these strange magical powers will naturally dissipate in a few hundred years, but if we really wait a few hundred years...

"No wonder they offered such good terms."

Kroya rubbed his temples and began to think about how to successfully build the infrastructure.

To get rich, build roads first.

Such a harsh environment necessitates a safe and accessible road for subsequent work to proceed, whether it be transporting materials or anything else.

Various phantom images of magical plants flashed before his eyes, detailing the parameters of each plant. He looked closely and finally noticed a seemingly ordinary purple-leaved plant with flat leaves that resembled lotus leaves.

That's... duckweed.

To be precise, it is an elemental magical plant, its full name is Evil Sea Purple Demon Duckweed.

The name sounds like a very evil magical plant, but actually "Evil Sea" refers to the environment in which it grows, a region with an extremely complex and unstable magical structure.

There are many such places in the ocean. After all, it's the ocean; even if a few remnants of gods were to emerge from it, Kroya would still face it with a smile.

"We need to test it out first."

After temporarily deciding on the magical plant to be used as the main element, he contacted the Sand Lord through the Holy Spring Merchant Guild and unceremoniously asked the other party to send him several tons of sand for scene simulation.

The Sand Lord was overjoyed to learn that Kroya was finally willing to begin construction and immediately sent ten tons of sand.

Although he stole Leviathan's power and forcibly transformed himself into a level ten Demon God's Chosen One, he truly lacked talent in governing his territory.

He was like a child who had suddenly received a huge treasure, wanting to bring it all back to his hometown, but not knowing where to begin.

Hearing that Kroya was willing to help, he was overjoyed and personally grabbed a handful of sand and sent it over—a level ten God-given, a handful of sand meant ten tons.

……

After the sand arrived, Kroya found a place and set up a small sand pit to simulate the environment of the Gray Desert.

Not only the sandy land, but also the floodwaters gushing from the soil like the wrath of Leviathan and the gray mist swirling in the air were replicated as closely as possible.

The gray sand appeared to be flowing, but to the naked eye it appeared calm, the flow becoming a relative stillness, and a hazy mist swirled around it, filling it with an ominous atmosphere.

His apprentice Jamie stood beside him.

This is the first time that Kroya has contracted for external infrastructure construction, so he definitely needs to send his most trusted and experienced apprentice.

Jamie knew this too, so he cautiously stepped into the gray sand to experience firsthand what kind of threat it posed.

As soon as he stepped inside, he felt a tremendous pull from his feet, a cold, magical force that caused him to sink in before he could even react.

The chilling magic was like a sinister snake, winding its way up his feet, freezing his magic and blurring his consciousness, making him want to sink into the depths of the sand and sleep forever.

He's a level three mage! And this is just the gray desert that Kroya simulated, yet it already possesses such terrifying power.

However, he did not panic. Instead, he tried to sense as much as possible and think of ways to save himself. The monks always believed that even the most sophisticated instruments could not be as quick as one's own body's perception.

Because he knew very well that he wouldn't die, and the teacher was standing far away, this kind of situation where he could take risks without any fear of danger was extremely rare.

Kroya was indeed waiting for him to use his body to sense the magic within the gray sand. He couldn't go with him; he had to leave things there to Jamie and the others.

Suffer more now, and things will be easier later.

After a while, just as Jamie was about to sink completely, Chloe finally made her move, using four-colored magic to form a rope that pulled him up in one go.

The warmth instantly dispelled Jamie's chill, and without even shivering, he nimbly ran off to get the materials.

"you……"

Before Kroya could even stop him, he could only shake his head helplessly, take out the Evil Sea Demon Zi Ping, and casually throw it into the sand sea.

He had already imprinted the "Gigantification" magic on these purple duckweed plants; they would rapidly grow larger as soon as they came into contact with magic.

And that was indeed the case. After coming into contact with the gray sand, Zi Ping immediately took root in it and began to grow wildly, eventually becoming enormous.

The leaves of duckweed instantly covered the gray sand completely.

"It seems alright." He tried walking onto the duckweed and hopping around a few times. The duckweed under his feet was still as hard as a rock, without shaking or anything.

However, in Kroya's perception, these magical plants, which could withstand the magical pollution of the sea and even spread into a Purple Sea, would soon wither here.

Right now, its roots, which have penetrated deep into the gray sand, have already begun to turn grayish-white, as if they have been corroded by something.

The magic of Leviathan...

"It's like a poison."

His perception was very sharp, and he sighed softly: "The curse in the Gray Desert comes from who knows where, but only such a vicious curse can fight poison with poison."

Undoubtedly, this is a good thing for the people who will live in the desert in the future. When the curse and the magic of the demon are destroyed, what they will get is a green land.

But now, well, that's hard to say.

"It seems I not only need to make it adapt, but also make it able to purify this magic."

Kroya knew that the carriers of these magical powers were essentially the liquids flowing within them, liquids that contained the malice of Leviathan, and could be considered a kind of magical potion.

While it is indeed vicious, if you look at it from another perspective, it is an extremely powerful source of magic, but it cannot be easily used.

Of course, it's something that ordinary people can't use.

After a brief moment of thought, he came up with a solution and began to carry out a ruthless modification on the Purple Demon Lotus of the Evil Sea—the modification was divided into two types: the first was to adapt it to this magic, and the second was to separate the magic from the water.

The demon's magic is useless to ordinary people, but it is very valuable to him. As for the curse power that the gray desert originally contained within it, he also wants to study it.

Since these two magical powers have already been carried by "water", he will extract the water and then collect these magical powers by planting magical plants in the sand.

This transformation method is far more sophisticated than simple infrastructure construction, and it can even accelerate the normalization of the gray desert.

However, he didn't intend to tell the Gray Sand Lord directly; he wanted the other party to see this favor for himself.

The engraving was completed quickly.

This time, Kroa imprinted it with magic learned from other magical plants and beasts—

[Imprint successful, Evil Sea Purple Demon Duck (the adaptability of the Zerg and the tentacles and roots of the Deep Sea Demon Sunflower)]

The form of this magical plant will change.

The roots of the Evil Sea Purple Demon Duck will transform into the tentacles of the Deep Sea Demon Sunflower, possessing the ability to extend and absorb magic power.

The Purple Demon Water Lily of the Evil Sea withers more quickly in harsh environments, but it will rapidly grow back after withering until it adapts to its new surroundings.

[Note: Sufficient vitality is required to unleash the above magical properties.]

After the notification appeared, the previously seemingly normal Evil Sea Purple Demon Ping instantly became abnormal.

First of all, there are its roots. The roots of the Purple Dew are extremely fine and long, and can spread out in a large area in the water, which helps it absorb nutrients to the maximum extent.

But now, all the roots have turned into tentacles.

The tiny purple tentacles have suction cup-like structures at their tips, and they begin to extend rapidly into the sand. The tentacles of this deep-sea sanctuary are extensible and can extend more than ten times their original length.

When they absorb the moisture and magic of Leviathan from the ash and sand, they wither quickly because they cannot withstand the magic. But like a gecko with a broken tail, a second segment will quickly grow back after one segment is broken off.

Thus, withering and growth alternate.

Although it is not yet able to adapt, it is expected to make progress soon. Once the roots can adapt, the leaves will not be a problem.

"It works quite well. This magic comes from the Zerg and sea anemones, and it's probably more practical than some magic created by humans."

Kroya nodded in satisfaction, then caught a glimpse of Jamie approaching carrying large and small bags—space magic artifacts made from the reef island, using the pelts shed by the ethereal wolf.

That's right, those magical beasts can actually shed their skin.

God knows the shock Chloe felt when she saw those guys wriggling in a pile of skin, the sight of the skinless creatures revealing the magical veins inside their bodies that resembled blood vessels.

It's terrifying, but it's also incredibly useful.

Once the skin of this wolf is sewn together, a natural small space can be formed inside. Although it won't be very big, it's enough to decorate with some materials.

The only problem is that the appearance of the Ether Wolves in the material world is so peculiar that their skin is also peculiar.

At first glance, it looks like a real person carrying a creation from a comic book world, which is quite incongruous.

Kroya couldn't help but smile slightly.

Jamie, who had rushed over excitedly, was stunned when he saw the purple duckweed on the gray sand. He asked curiously, "Teacher, what is this...?"

"Let's start building around them."

"I modified them to be strong enough to withstand weight and to survive for a long time on the sand."

After listening to Chloe's words, Jamie immediately nodded and, without asking any further questions, began the construction work.

The material he chose was an "alloy" made from silver moonwood and another type of seabed mineral called floating iron. Because a sufficient amount of silver moonwood dust was added, it had a certain levitation ability.

When he placed the silver-blue alloy plate on the duckweed and began to build roads and houses like building blocks, using the duckweed as landing points, Kroya knew that this was a success.

However, he still didn't say anything, but simply gave Jamie more authority, allowing him to lead his promising apprentices, who had also been promoted to earth and wood mages, to work in the desert.

Time began to pass.

Two weeks after Cloa's birthday party, a dazzling silver-blue light had appeared in the desert—

Bridges and houses built on the surface of the duckweed were constructed using the floating moon alloy as a base. The bridges and houses made of the alloy were built wherever the duckweed could grow.

The bridges, houses, and even squares and platforms have formed a village.

This is a miracle that belongs entirely to magic. The structure of the steel alloy is filled with a sense of orderly beauty. It is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the combination of nature and magic that Kroya used to use.

However, the alloy did not completely adhere to the growth of the duckweed. Instead, it used the duckweed as a foothold and used magical materials to bond it together, gripping the duckweed tightly like a claw, creating a structure similar to the stilted house in his previous life.

Tall houses and bridges are suspended in mid-air, supported only by the seemingly insignificant duckweed below.

These seemingly tiny magical plants are what support this silver-blue village.

When the sunlight shines down, it illuminates the purple duckweed whose roots have penetrated deep into the sand, allowing them to enjoy the bounty of the sun.

When sandstorms sweep across the desert, and massive floods, like Leviathan, accompany them, the purple duckweed uses its roots to stand firm amidst the floodwaters.

They silently extend their roots deep into the soil, providing as much stable structural support as possible for the buildings above.

The buildings constructed on top of the duckweed have all undergone rigorous sealing tests, and their surfaces are engraved with magical patterns. Whenever a flood comes, as long as all the doors and windows are closed, they will remain unmoved.

More, such as water pipes, air circulation within the house, life-sustaining magic runes, and so on...

Kroya ignored all of these.

He simply called Jamie and the apprentices who had worked hard for half a month over, had a meal with them with a smile, and then saw them off to the teleportation array leading to the Gray Desert.

His apprentices are now worthy of his trust.

Kroya's only curiosity was how far they could go and what kind of miracles they could create in that desert.

They shouldn't let themselves down.

Thank you all for your monthly tickets and recommendations! Desert infrastructure construction has begun!

(End of this chapter)