I made up magic and taught a world-destroying witch?

Chapter 91 Practical Application: Starting with the Water Beetle

"What's that sound?" Mia looked up as well.

The fisherman took out a glowing stone and looked down; the tense expression on his face quickly relaxed.

"It's nothing, it's probably a woodworm." He said, reaching for the long-handled shovel next to him. "These things sometimes crawl near the logs, just flip them over."

Joseph and the others looked down as well. In the light, some hard shells did indeed rise up on the mudflats next to the wooden stakes. At first glance, those things looked like rocks washed up by the sea, except that occasionally a few short legs would stick out from under the shells and slowly climb up.

The people at the stalls in the distance didn't react much, and the fisherman's movements were very practiced, which seemed to be quite common in Yachao Bay.

"Watch closely," the fisherman said to them, "insert the shovel under the shell and pry it open. Once it flips over, it won't be able to get up on its own. Then you can either flatten it or throw it back into the mud. It's going to die anyway."

"Won't it bite?" Mia asked curiously.

"It has a mouth, but it usually can't reach people."

After the fisherman finished speaking, he extended his long-handled iron shovel down the edge of the pontoon bridge, aimed it at the edge of the shell of the nearest water beetle, and thrust it in. He then lifted it up forcefully, but to his surprise, it made a sound and the water beetle did not flip over.

Several locals who were packing up their stalls nearby also noticed the commotion below.

"The mealybugs have climbed up again?" "Can't we just flip them over with a shovel?"

A vendor selling used fishing gear skillfully picked up a wooden bucket and poured half a bucket of salt water under the pontoon bridge. The group grabbed the tools at hand and splashed the water a few times. Under normal circumstances, the scale insects would quickly burrow back into the mud after being shaken or stimulated by the salt water. If they couldn't get out, they could just turn them over with a shovel and let them die on their own.

But today was different. After the first few were flipped over by the shovel, their thin legs flailed wildly in the air a few times, and they actually managed to push themselves back up little by little, speeding up their climb up the wooden stake!

"Why are there so many?"

"The tide hasn't gone out yet!"

"Move the goods on the side first!"

The surrounding stall owners panicked, quickly grabbing their wooden crates and running back. Some even grabbed oars and sticks to whack the insects. Those who had been watching the spectacle earlier realized that the water crickets were actually climbing onto the pontoon bridge and ran faster than anyone else.

The bard who had been singing love stories on his lute almost forgot to take it with him. He ran a few steps before turning back to pick it up again, shouting, "The siren's curse! This is the siren's curse upon Raven Tide Bay!"

Joseph: "————" Is it possible that it's just a few bugs acting a little strange, and it's not the siren's turn yet?

However, Joseph's heart stirred as he looked at the scale insects climbing up the wooden stakes below.

Isn't this a practical opportunity that has fallen from the sky? What we've taught so far are basic things like understanding, guiding, and repairing, but students can't just have life skills.

This is, after all, a magical world.

If we don't learn how to protect ourselves when we encounter danger, are we supposed to discuss with the other party before we fight, asking if we can wait for them to take out their tools?

Moreover, he had tried the combination of purple lines and red-gold sparks on the puppet in the training tower a few days ago, and the power was not bad. Although it cannot be said to be earth-shattering at present, it should be enough to deal with a few slow-moving sea bugs.

These things don't seem too dangerous. Their shells are about the size of a washbasin, their legs are short, and they don't crawl fast enough to catch you off guard. However, they can be a bit troublesome when there are many of them.

Find a spot with few people around and a suitable distance, and try it out; there shouldn't be any major problems.

At that moment, a series of urgent whistles sounded from the other side of the main pontoon bridge, and a dozen or so people wearing dark gray short jackets pushed through the crowd and rushed over. They were carrying long hooks, short spears and wide-headed iron shovels, and they looked like the patrol team from Yachao Bay.

"Everyone, retreat to shore!" the lead patrolman shouted. "Pack up the goods! Don't block the main pontoon bridge!"

He led his men to the edge of the pontoon bridge, and several long hooks simultaneously reached down, quickly sweeping away two scale insects that had just crawled onto the edge of the planks.

The patrolman's gaze swept over Joseph and his group, then he raised his hand to shoo them back: "You guys over there! Go on, don't cause trouble here!"

The fisherman, dragging his bucket, couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing this, "This is a gentleman from the academy! He was just teaching magic here!"

A patrolman used a long hook to sweep a water beetle that had just climbed onto the pontoon bridge back down, saying, "It's dangerous here. Magic might not work. Let us handle this."

The patrol team members were indeed skilled; with several long hooks and shovels, they quickly pushed the first few scale insects back onto the mudflat. But more and more emerged from behind, and the mudflat was filled with slowly moving hard shells.

"Get out of here right now!" the patrolman shouted back.

Mia was clearly unconvinced when she heard this, and was just about to say that the gentleman was very capable when Joseph reached out to stop her.

"Let's change seats first."

There's no point in explaining how capable you are to the patrol now. More importantly, what that man said wasn't entirely wrong.

The area around the main pontoon bridge was teeming with people moving things and fleeing. If you were to cast a spell here, aside from whether you'd actually kill any insects, you might accidentally injure a few stall owners or set the pontoon bridge on fire, which would be quite embarrassing.

Joseph led Mia and Grace back a short distance along the main pontoon bridge and soon circled around to an old pontoon bridge without any stalls.

Boats must have moored here before, but now the planks are old and blackened, and there are only a few empty wooden crates and a roll of tattered rope around it. Near the wooden stakes under the pontoon bridge, five or six scale insects are crawling up.

The patrol team's attention was mostly drawn to the denser swarm of insects ahead, so no one paid attention to this area for the time being. There were no people running around, and no stalls that could easily be set on fire.

If a problem does occur, the patrol team can arrive quickly. There aren't many people wandering around, making it a good place to try.

Joseph walked to the edge of the old pontoon bridge and looked down at the few mollusks below. The closest one had already climbed halfway up the wooden stake. Its gray-black hard shell was still covered with wet mud, and its short legs were clinging to the gaps in the wood. It didn't look particularly scary.

However, when the number becomes too large, it can be a bit unsettling.

Joseph raised his hand, and a purple line extended from his fingertip, sliding down the wooden stake and quickly wrapping around the mollusk, pulling it into the air to reveal the constantly writhing grayish-white flesh beneath.

"Sir's purple line!" Mia's eyes lit up.

A reddish-gold spark ignited again from his fingertips, quickly sliding down the thin purple line and landing on the exposed soft flesh of the mollusk!

A smell that was hard to tell was either grilled fish or grilled insects wafted up, and the mealy beetle instantly turned into charcoal.

Joseph held his breath slightly.

Well, at least the taste proves that the Red Gold Sparkling Essence is indeed effective. Joseph felt a little more confident.

The fisherman, dragging his wooden bucket, had somehow followed us over. He stood there staring at it for a long time before finally managing to utter, "—It's cooked."

Joseph: "————" There's no need to specifically help confirm this at times like this.

"Did you understand?" Joseph turned to ask Mia and Grace.