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

Chapter 274. The Construction of the Magic Academy (Part 274)

Compared to the other two academies, the construction of the Earth Academy was basically decided from the beginning, because the Earth Academy not only focuses on earth magic, but also provides training in farming.

It would be more accurate to call it an "Agricultural Academy" rather than an "Earth Magic Academy".

Therefore, the area must be large, and there must be a space nearby to accommodate a magic flowerbed array that can grow various crops, including crops of different elements.

Theoretically speaking, it is the most important college, without exception.

therefore,

Orpheus Oak personally participated in the construction of the academy, even pushing Miffy aside.

However, the apprentices encountered a huge problem as soon as construction began: the earth itself refused their prayers!

It's quite an embarrassing story.

In the world of Thermio, when complex engineering and construction work needs to be carried out on the land, one must request the land's assistance.

This is a kind of custom, after all, 99.9% of people don't receive a response from the earth, it doesn't care what you're doing.

In order to bring good luck, the apprentices also held a ceremony, but it was just a formality.

However, this time... after the sacrificial ceremony ended, Jamie, who was in charge of the squad leader, was surprised to see a yellowish-brown light rising from the altar.

The heavy colors shimmered with a warm light, domineeringly covering the land where they planned to carry out infrastructure construction, emanating a wave of resistance.

The message conveyed was quite clear—it's not allowed!

"no?"

"What is this?"

"Have you gotten the ceremony wrong?"

Jamie and the other apprentices were dumbfounded.

Having lived in the North for so long, they had never seen the consciousness of the land that had given them birth, let alone been rejected to their faces.

Now they were completely helpless.

Fortunately, the Orpheus Oak remained there, and feeling some doubts, it decided to resolve the issue first.

As a chosen one of the Earth Mother Goddess, it naturally possesses the ability to communicate with the earth. It stepped forward and inserted its branch into the sphere of light.

The magic was fluctuating.

The tree's expression shifted, as if it were receiving some kind of information.

About three minutes later, it finally retracted the branch, and under the anxious gazes of the apprentices, said helplessly:

"It wants offerings."

"Sacrificial offerings?" The apprentices looked at each other in bewilderment.

The word "sacrifice" is definitely not a good thing, especially when it involves offering sacrifices to such an unknown and powerful being. Does it mean they want human souls and flesh?

If that were the case, the apprentices would absolutely not accept it.

As they were imagining things, the oak tree added, "It wanted food, saying it was starving to death."

"..."

"???"

"!!!"

All the apprentices wore complex expressions—the earth was starving, was this really not the ravings of a madman?

If the earth itself can starve to death, then what about the people living on it? Won't they also starve to death?

Orpheus Oak was also helpless about this.

It couldn't believe it either, but that was the information it received: the earth was now feeling very hungry, even to the point of being on the verge of death.

What frustrates it even more is that the Earth Mother Goddess's divine power seems to have died, and it now communicates with the earth entirely through its own magic.

This situation is actually quite wrong, but it doesn't think about it more deeply at all, and only cares about the absurdity of "the earth is hungry".

The other apprentices didn't think that much about it either.

They discussed what they should give to the hungry earth.

If people are hungry, that's easy to solve. Given the current environment in the North, you can find any village chief and get help.

If someone were to starve to death in a village, the village chief would surely be filled with despair and jump into the lake—this was an order personally given by Cloa.

The images left behind by those who starved to death in the snow in the North were so disturbing that even someone as hard-hearted as Kroya was deeply disturbed by them.

Therefore, he issued a mandatory order, demanding that the North be free from famine.

So much so that now, apprentices are completely stumped when they hear the word "hunger."

"How about we try feeding it magic crystals?"

After much deliberation, the apprentices decided to try feeding the magic crystals. According to the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess, these magic crystals were formed from the blood of the Mother Goddess, so they should be effective, right?

They immediately took out a bunch of magic crystals and threw them directly into the altar; there were several hundred of them.

A moment later, the earthen-yellow glow on the altar remained unchanged, still warm but half-dead.

The apprentices then tried feeding the trees with magical materials, metals, potions, monster meat, and magical plant fruits, and even cut a branch from the Orpheus Oak.

But none of them worked.

In the end, Orpheus Oak had no choice but to call upon Milfein.

After looking around, Miffy took out a bag of freshly cut golden wheat ears from his pocket and threw it into the bag.

As a result, the earthy yellow light truly turned into a golden yellow like waves of wheat, swaying with the radiance as it gently fell upon the earth.

This means that the earth has accepted their prayers.

"..."

Why?

The apprentices all turned to look at Mifein, but he shook his head with a serious expression: "If anything else happens, just throw the wheat in. I'm leaving now."

After he finished speaking, he left quickly. As he left, a force lingered in his mind, seemingly trying to force him to forget these things.

"The thirsty earth."

"Barren wheat ears".

"The Song of Hunger... No wonder Mammon appeared on this land."

He tried his best to channel his remaining doubts and questions into a pendant on his chest. His eyes briefly went unfocused, and he scratched his head strangely before quickly leaving.

Only the pendant shimmered, swaying with his movements.

After Miffy left.

Without any further obstacles, the apprentices began constructing the academy very quickly, building cultivation and experimental fields needed for planting, as well as an evolution laboratory illuminated by the star Bethlehem.

The planned area is ten hectares, and this is just the initial spatial plan. In order to complete the Earth Academy, the surrounding mountains and rivers have even been artificially modified.

Everything was for farming and research.

Earth Academy progressed smoothly, and so did the other academies.

The Wind Academy on a massive floating island made of silver moonwood high in the sky; the Ice and Snow Academy deep in the North, covered in snow and wind; the Atmospheric Magic Academy flashing with lightning and purple thunder...

Building their own campus was more exciting for them than taking stimulants, and the construction speed was incredibly fast.

I guess... I'll have to voluntarily endure it for a while.

……

Inside the Mage Tower.

Kroya watched as the colleges were lit up one after another under construction, feeling quite satisfied. This sense of satisfaction reached its peak when he saw that the bubble factory was also progressing rapidly.

He remarked to the tower, "It's really quite nice."

"I used to think I would be the babysitter of the whole territory, but I never thought that I could just lie back now and do nothing as long as the general direction is right."

The tower spirit remained silent for several minutes before finally snapping out of its daze: "Huh?"

"Huh? What are you doing?" Chloe asked curiously, glancing at the data screen before understanding dawned on her: "You want to go find Lady Ilister's mage tower, right?"

"Yes." The tower spirit had nothing to hide from Kroya: "Master, if I could obtain data exchange with this kind of high-level mage tower, I would grow much faster."

Although it was programmed and its operating logic modified by Miya herself, it is still too immature and needs time the most, which is exactly what the advanced mage tower can shorten.

Kroya didn't hesitate: "Of course you can, just go ahead and get some rest."

He reached out and gently stroked the tower spirit: "Even a soul like yours needs time to rest. I will stay here in the mage tower."

With Kroya's permission, the Tower Spirit did not hesitate any longer and immediately entered the ubiquitous pipes, heading straight north.

Kroya sighed softly as she watched the tower spirit leave, taking on the usual duties of the mage tower and replacing the tower spirit with her own thoughts.

The mage tower began to flash with white light.

……

The following two or three months were quite peaceful.

The North was like a rapidly operating machine: colleges were built and students were enrolled; factories were built and workers were recruited; and even refugees from outside the North entered the North in search of work.

During this time, Kroa observed the entire North and some potentially problematic individuals, such as the one who had wished to let his pigeons enter the Sky Garden.

As a result, they all behaved themselves and did not cause any trouble.

Infrastructure work in several other locations is also progressing smoothly; some resources have been recovered, and some connections have been established...

Everything looked so beautiful and harmonious.

However, Kroya felt increasingly uneasy. As he looked at the sunlight streaming down from the sky, his heart was filled with growing gloom.

"What on earth is going to happen?"

His inspiration seemed remarkably accurate, so he decided to do something about it.

So, through a magical plant nurtured by starlight and imprinted with prophecy, he cast a celestial prophecy, which foretold...

"hunger."

Will the North suffer from hunger?

He sighed softly, feeling frustrated by the vague prophecy, and even went to the angels in person to seek their help.

But the angel shook his head at him: "My dear friend, please be careful, I can no longer predict—but this blizzard will be far more severe than the last one."

The blizzard mentioned here is naturally the one caused by the merfolk last time...

So, does Miya refer to a separate disaster, or is it another deity planning to cause trouble?

Just as he was puzzled.

The current president of the Norland Mage Association, Estner, suddenly asked to meet him and then showed him a message without saying a word—a video he had recorded.

The location appears to be the Norland Plains, known as the kingdom's granary, which is currently jointly controlled by the royal family and the Mage Guild.

Logically speaking, this place has been protected by constant temperature control and harvest magic cast by the mages of the Mage Association and the priests of the church. Theoretically, it should be able to produce food crops in all four seasons.

But what he saw before him was a desolate landscape: the earth was parched and cracked, and the wheat and corn fields lay flat on the ground—a truly shocking sight.

Even through the images, Kroya could almost feel the overwhelming sense of despair.

It's important to understand that the kingdom's granaries are responsible for supplying food to almost half of the kingdom. If there is a complete crop failure here, it will not be the nobles who suffer, but the common people.

Nobles have many ways to cope with disasters, but commoners... they simply have no ability to resist natural disasters.

He recalled the impact of his past explorations in the North, the families and children starving to death, resorting to cannibalism...

That tragic, starving atmosphere.

"Why is this happening?" he asked Estner calmly. "What's the reason?"

Estner's face was also quite pale at this moment. He helplessly spread his hands and said, "The mages in the association and the priests and pastors of the church have rushed over, but the only conclusion they have reached is that the earth has undergone an anomaly."

Kroa... not only these ordinary crops, but also the potions in the various potion plantations have been affected to varying degrees.

All plants that still need to take root in the earth to grow are withering!

His tone was extremely anxious and contained a barely suppressed rage; even the omnipotent magician couldn't do anything about it.

If the land cannot grow plants, it will be devastating. Food is extremely important; without food, it's not just the Kingdom of Norland that will suffer...

"Wait a minute." Kroya's pupils contracted. "Is this happening in other countries too?"

Estner nodded with great difficulty: "Although specific news has not yet come out, I am certain that this situation has occurred in several countries surrounding Norland."

Even the Kingdom of Gait, where the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess is located, is like this.

His last words made Chloe gasp. Was even the Church of the Earth Mother in such a state?

They are the most skilled human force in crop cultivation, bar none.

Anyone else would probably be kneeling and kowtowing to the gods by now, but Kroya, as a qualified mage, calmed down completely in just a few seconds.

He looked at his friend:

"What do you need me to do?"

That's all you need to say in that short sentence; there's no need to say anything else.

"Food." Estner frowned. "I need a sufficient amount of food to stabilize the territory of the Mage Guild, at least to keep the mages and their families from worrying."

If the Mage Association falls into chaos... it will be even more troublesome.

After expressing his desire, Estner felt a little uneasy. Asking for food from people in this situation was really going too far.

Besides, to be honest, their statuses are completely unequal right now. A level six mage and a level three mage? That's the difference between a mentor and an apprentice.

Even the Mage Council cannot impose mandatory requirements on a mage lord stationed abroad, after all, he is a level six archmage.

But he had no choice.

He had even prepared what he would do if Kroya refused.

—There was only one word to answer him.

"Okay." Chloe's expression remained quite calm. "I understand your anxiety, Estner... I still hope we can be friends."

The seeds that Estner gave him when he first arrived, and the subsequent help he received, were all etched in Kroya's memory.

This is a favor, and of course we must repay it.

He had a very pleasant conversation with Estner, not to mention that he didn't want to see a chaotic country; if it really became chaotic, he would definitely be affected as well.

In conclusion, whether from a practical or friendly perspective, he would help out of both reason and emotion.

Estner looked up when he heard Kroya's reply.

After several seconds, he smiled slightly and said, "Then I'll leave it to you!"

The gloom vanished from his face. He waved to Kroya and then left the illusory space of the Holy Spring Merchant Guild.

No sooner had she left than Archmage Celeste, who was waiting nearby, couldn't help but say, "Judging from your behavior, you're already a qualified guild leader. You can't continue like this!"

The archmage rubbed Estner's face, then the bold latter grabbed him and hugged him tightly, causing the archmage to freeze instantly.

After a long while, she sighed helplessly: "I know this is a difficult decision for you, but I hope you can handle it well."

I'm about to leave this world, and you need a great achievement to maintain your prestige.

Dear Estner, you must understand... everything has two sides, good and bad. This is a disaster, but also an opportunity for you.

Maintaining a good relationship with him is also important.

Estner remained silent in the face of the Archmage's teachings.

In fact, he was very clear about these things.

Now that he has no worries about the future, he is already thinking about how to turn this disaster into an advantage for himself.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side...

After his brief conversation with Estner, Kroya immediately summoned Oak, Jamie and the other apprentices, Mifein and Elena to a meeting.

After both the man and the tree rushed over, he said directly, "If I'm not mistaken, the continent is likely to face a famine."

Everyone: "!!!"

Everyone who had just arrived was stunned by the explosive news, and Oak Tree and the others all gaped in disbelief. In the end, it was Miffy who was the first to recover.

It seemed like he had thought of something.

Suddenly, the bishop yanked off a pendant from his neck and said anxiously to Chloe, "My lord, I might know why!"

Now, surprisingly, it was Chloe who became the one.

He squinted at Mifein, pondering—this guy knows, so it really is related to the Earth Mother Goddess.

He did not answer immediately but reached out and took the necklace:

"Let me see what's inside the necklace."

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(End of this chapter)