Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

Lynn leaned against the rock wall and touched Ruby's philtrum with his hand, his fingertips feeling a warm, moist breath.

Ruby exhaled a breath of hot air and pushed Lynn's hand away.

Her chest heaved violently, and she said irritably, "I'm still alive. Lynn, what about you? Are you still alive?"

Lynn nodded.

"Actually, I'm kind of dead."

He looked at the potato vines scattered on the ground and the piles of fertilizer that had already been prepared, and was deeply moved.

Yesterday he was full of confidence and wanted to catch the flying stick, believing that being attacked by the flying stick might be the only threat to his survival.

This morning, he pulled a cart laden with potatoes, enough to last him twenty days. He solved both the shelter problem and the food problem.

The vibrant scene of life and all things flourishing is still vivid in my mind.

But only one day later,

To be precise, in just half a day, will this sand dune planet become his final resting place?

Lynn leaned closer to the cave entrance.

Fermentation gases produced by composting leak out from the gaps around the bucket, mixing with the air inside the hole and creating a peculiar odor.

The stench activated an ancient human mechanism for comfort, and Lynn actually felt physically at ease first.

Ruby coughed a few times, quite bothered by the fumes.

For a moment, she suspected that Lynn had deliberately made her smell this strange odor.

To calm herself down, she stood up, limped over to Lynn, and took a deep breath of oxygen at the cave entrance.

Lynn felt Ruby's body temperature pressed against his side.

Her hair was completely wet, and the bruises on her calves were still oozing tissue fluid. Her cuffs had two holes from the hail.

"Where's the wheelchair?"

Lynn turned the wheelchair over to check.

Three support rods of the frame were bent, one of the wheel spokes was broken, the seat was completely unusable, and there were three holes through the leather surface, which had turned dark brown from being soaked in ice water.

But the wheel can still turn, and the axle is not broken.

99% new.

All I can say is, it's still usable.

Ruby didn't seem to care much.

Lynn is usually in charge of herding the sheep.

Lynn, having received algae transplantation, wasn't experiencing much oxygen deficiency and recovered well. Since he didn't need this, the small wheelchair simply broke.

She never imagined that, besides the two of them, the rescue team would need wheelchairs.

It can't be such a coincidence that a disabled wizard came along.

"At least we know there's going to be a cold snap, right? And the worms don't immediately seek shelter like we do. On the other hand, if the worms can reproduce, then the hail probably won't last long."

Ruby covered her head and rubbed her temples.

Lynn handed Ruby his oxygen tank, but Ruby waved it away.

Lynn was thankful that Ruby was the one who was with him on the desert island, and not anyone else.

Such an optimistic and easygoing person is always better than someone who hesitates and waits.

"Then let's wait."

"kindness."

Hailstones fell on the cave ceiling, making a rustling sound.

The rocks on the cliff face fell due to the vibration.

The two leaned against the cave wall, gazing at the water droplets dripping from the stone pillar.

The rock face near the hot spring even broke off in whole pieces, with stone slabs crashing into the hot spring pool. The splashing water hit the shore and thoroughly drenched a few potato vines.

It can only be said that although the cave roof has not collapsed, the structure of this cave is much more fragile than they thought; it's just that the outside is hard enough that it hasn't been smashed through.

Ruby patted her chest and said haltingly, "Lynn, do you know what I'm thinking about?"

"Um?"

"Luckily we moved to a different location. If we had encountered hail in the original place, our shelter would have collapsed, and none of us would have escaped."

Lynn replied

"We also repaired the stone house. Although it took a lot of effort, we don't have to worry about it collapsing now. So, sometimes taking a longer route is the shortest way."

The original test station was temporarily modified by Ruby using the spaceship's doors and materials.

The material was taken from the crashed spacecraft, so its hardness is not an issue, but its structure is loose and cannot withstand such turbulent weather.

The houses they've been working so hard to build these past few days are much sturdier.

Ruby thought for a moment, then took out a few eggs from her pocket.

It was an egg case of a flying rod, dug out from a crevice in the rocks of the black island. One of them was shiny, with a very fine crack on its outer shell. The larva had already escaped, leaving only an empty shell inside.

"New discovery. A newly hatched egg."

Lynn said:

"What's the use?"

Ruby said mysteriously

"As I understand it, newly hatched cephalopods wouldn't survive this hailstorm. Maybe after this damn weather passes, we'll have a good harvest."

"You mean, after the hailstorm stops, we'll go to the beach to collect the bodies? I don't think the throwing rod is that inflexible."

"It's worth a try, even if it's just a corpse."

Lynn was somewhat interested in this.

Symbiosis requires living things, but studying dead things allows him to further understand living things.

However, Lynn's primary problem has shifted again.

The hailstorm shouldn't last long.

But how long should the interval be? Will it affect the rescue efforts?

These issues will not matter if the rescue is successful.

But if there is no rescue, then it's a matter of life and death.

Lynn let out a breath.

Survival is something that cannot be taken lightly.

Ruby thought he was cold, and also to warm herself, so she used magic to start a fire.

Flames erupted from her palm and landed on a small pile of withered potato vines. The dried vines ignited as soon as they touched the fire, crackling and popping.

Lynn found more withered vines to continue the process.

The two of them warmed their hands over the fire.

I don't know how long these days will last.

...

A few hours later, a drowsy Ruby woke up by wiping her drool off on the rock face.

Lynn woke up too.

The sounds outside the cave had completely stopped.

Lynn pushed open the partition and glanced outside.

The hailstorm did indeed stop.

The air was so cold it felt like it had been washed, and the perceived temperature had dropped by at least five or six degrees. The hailstones, large and small, on the sand showed no signs of melting.

Ruby patted Lynn on the shoulder. "Let's go back. Staying here isn't a solution."

Lynn looked at the sky.

The clouds hadn't dispersed; they were churning at the bottom, and a second hailstorm was brewing.

The college's rescue team will be setting off in two days.

They couldn't stay in this hole forever; he needed to be in an open area near the experimental station when the rescue team landed.

"Let's go then."

Lynn lifted the wheelchair and strode forward.

Ruby clicked her tongue.

"Just like that, you're leaving?"

Lynn turned around. Ruby lifted the hem of her robe, showing Lynn her smooth thighs, on which were several shocking wounds.

"Lynn, what's that saying again? I'm kind of dead. I hope you can save me."

Lynn didn't waste any words, went back and helped Ruby up. He slipped one arm under Ruby's armpit and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, I'll come to your rescue."

If the hail comes again, he wouldn't mind resorting to the brutal method again.

It's just that by then, the wheelchair will be completely unable to support it.

On the sand, the ice shards are melting.

The figures circling above those black islands in the distance, near the sea, have disappeared.

Ruby is right.

Being hit by a flying stick can indeed be quite unpleasant.

Ruby sat in her wheelchair, covering her ears, which were red from the cold.

The two walked for nearly half an hour before returning to the shelter they had set up.

Lynn suddenly noticed a dead, bright blue worm at the doorway. It was smaller than a normal worm, but its feeding habits were similar.

Because it was eating potatoes that Lynn had accidentally dropped on the ground before it died.

The potato was bigger than a fist, and worms were wrapped around it.

It started gnawing on the potato from the middle and has already eaten almost three-quarters of it, leaving only the skin.

Lynn paused slightly, his mind focused.

There's no habit of wasting anything; this is definitely the corpse of an electric worm.

Consider it a snack, something different.

"What's wrong, Lynn?"

Lynn grabbed the small, bright blue worm and tossed it to Ruby.

"Ruby, what do you think of this worm?"

Seeing this, Ruby observed carefully and replied...

"It has some value. I'll take a look after I rest and get bandaged up."

"it is good."

"Let's clean the house first."