Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

How is that possible!

Well, Lynn didn't make such a trivial statement.

But Lynn's shock was impossible to hide. He felt like he had gone to buy an octagon on the street and then inexplicably entered an MMA octagon cage.

The organizers told him that his opponent's last name was Tai, but it turned out to be Taro.

That's amazing.

Things are universally interconnected, but is this connection too arbitrary?

Ruby's smile deepened, and she stroked her chin with feigned seriousness, replying briefly.

That's the truth.

"Lynn, just ask me questions. This is my specialty."

She sat on the stool and carefully observed Lynn's expression.

She now finally understood why, in alchemy lab classes, the instructor would always speak mysteriously about strange histories, glorious pasts, and great futures, instead of directly explaining the principles of alchemy.

It turns out that being a riddle teller, revealing your riddles in a roundabout way, and then watching others be amazed is such a wonderful thing.

That's awesome, so awesome!

And it feels even better if the person asking the riddle is also intelligent.

Lynn overlooked Ruby's smugness.

Just because something has shrunk doesn't prove it's a flying rod.

That's far too sloppy.

Worm-shaped and shrunken is not uncommon among magical creatures. Ruby herself has said that worm-shaped creatures are the most common form of magical creatures.

None of these are sufficient to constitute conclusive evidence.

Seeing that Lynn didn't speak, Ruby first placed the strange worm in the center of the experimental table, then grabbed an ordinary worm and approached the bright blue one.

"Alright, let me show you the most compelling evidence."

The ordinary worm swiftly grabbed the pool railing, its body shrinking back, and in its panic, it shocks its companion without hesitation.

They are novices at external struggles but experts at internal ones.

This creature doesn't look like a flying stick at all.

Ruby moved the bright blue worm closer, which terrified the ordinary worm.

It slowly curled up, burying its head in the corner at the bottom of the pool where secretions had accumulated, mimicking an ostrich.

"This is the reaction of a normal worm. It's afraid of this bright blue thing."

"That's... correct. But..."

"Oh, it's okay if you don't believe me, there's even more direct evidence. See this heart?"

Ruby gently flipped the bright blue worm's abdomen with tweezers and clamped a thumb-sized, translucent piece of tissue slightly below the center.

The tissue wasn't completely necrotic; it trembled slightly.

Its color is a semi-transparent shade between light blue and grayish-white, with a ring of fibers with dark spots around the edge.

"The heart, as a special energy organ of the electric worm, connects to the magical circuits throughout the body. You can try adding a little magic to it, and you'll see that my guess is correct."

Lynn immediately channeled magic into the worm.

The moment the magic touched that translucent tissue, the translucent heart began to pound rapidly and powerfully, like the sound of rain and drumbeats.

next second.

Blue and white light surrounded the entire body of the bright blue worm.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Because it lost control, these chaotic magical energies wantonly destroyed the worm's own body.

But, without a doubt.

The color, the brightness, the flash that obscures the inner form—it's exactly the same as the electric light that wraps around the surface of a flying rod when it's launched into the rain.

Its hidden body finally revealed its true form at this moment.

Without much thought, Lynn reached out and touched it through the blue algae.

The blue-light algae were cut by the electric arc, leaving nothing behind.

It was as swift as when the flying stick gnawed at his flesh.

He believed it.

This thing is a flying rod, but judging from its shape, it's a miniature, quintessential version of an electric worm.

These two may be two forms of the same species, similar to the giantification of blue-light algae.

Ruby, looking smug, put her hands on her hips and asked, "Lynn, do you have anything to say?"

Lynn looked at the small worm that was still glowing, and then at the ordinary worm in the corner that was still pretending to be an ostrich.

"So the abnormally high reproduction rate of the flying rod is probably because it is a mutated species of worm, hence its scarcity."

"Roughly speaking, yes."

"Furthermore, the flying rod didn't lay eggs on the ground... Was that egg mixed in with the worms actually a worm in some state?"

"Yes."

...

"Yes"

After more than ten questions were answered one by one, Lynn suddenly realized the truth.

Aside from the hail, the creature that has been making them feel insecure and anxious these past few days is actually the same kind of waste-generating worm.

The difference between worms is even greater than the difference between a human and a dog.

Ruby used tweezers to remove the heart from the flying rod and placed it in a small glass tube.

"To be honest, I'm starting to get interested in creatures like this too, undergoing large-scale mutations and evolving to become different levels within their ecological niches. That's very rare."

"Moreover, this is the first time I've ever seen a worm that can magically shrink its size."

"In that case, my research will be very valuable. I can give you a co-authorship later, no need to thank me too much, haha..."

Lynn scratched his head

"Whatever makes you happy, Ruby... Of course, I'd gladly accept some credit for it."

Ruby replied with great enthusiasm.

"You know, my thesis is..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Boom!

Boom!

Hail and lightning struck at the same time.

Lynn couldn't help but glance towards the door.

Several furtive figures, gleaming with light, arrived on the plain where the shelter was located.

A flying stick, and a flying stick in extremely poor condition.

A glint of greed ignited in Lynn's eyes, and she immediately interrupted Ruby, gesturing for her to look outside.

"Ruby, let's not talk about that now. Want to catch a few live flying clubs?"

"Alive?"

Ruby looked towards the door.

The hail is still falling.

Because of the cold, even in their native "thunder" environment, those few shimmering creatures moved unusually slowly.

It may be about 50% faster than a typical worm.

Unlike before, when they dominated the sky and were difficult to spot with the naked eye, Ruby noticed them immediately.

However, going out at this moment doesn't seem like a good option.

Ruby also revealed a greedy look.

"Going out on a hailstorm."

"I cannot cast spells yet."

"What should we do?"

Lynn crossed his arms and chuckled.

He may not be as experienced or knowledgeable as Ruby, but he is very quick-witted.

"We can use bait."

"What bait? We don't have many ordinary worms, and they might not even come."

Lynn shook her head.

The virtue of cannibalism is a fine quality of the Flying Staff.

Why not make something of it?

"What do you think about using the heart of a flying stick, plus a potato?"

"We started right after the hailstorm stopped..."

And so, Lynn and Ruby hastily made bait.

...

Meanwhile, on the wizarding planet, the sun shines brightly, and spring-like weather prevails year-round.

Unlike Lynn and Ruby, who were lost in the shadows and unaware that another day had passed.

Joe sat on a bench in the port waiting area, legs crossed, leisurely enjoying his afternoon tea.

Because they were setting off the next day, he declined his assistant job at the Materials Research Institute and focused on getting himself ready before the mission, while also checking on his teammates' equipment and the status of their spaceship one last time.

The college remained unchanged, and everything was as peaceful and stable as usual.

Joe took a sip of tea and thought he should take a break after returning from this mission.

He put down his teacup, and two travel-worn wizard apprentices came to meet him.

"Joe, let's go. Everything's confirmed."

"But didn't we say tomorrow?" Joe placed his teacup on the armrest of the bench.

"Arriving on Dune Planet a day later means incurring an extra day's living expenses. You don't want to suffer for another month just because you don't have magic stones, do you?"

Joe doubted.

"That's true, but why did you suddenly decide to set off...?"

The two answered

"Don't worry, Joe, we're just looking out for you. We'll follow your orders."

"And Joe, have you forgotten? The last time we were able to get through to them was eight days ago. Their signal has been down ever since. The situation is bad; we have to hurry."

These two free wizard apprentices are being a bit too enthusiastic.

Joe hesitated noticeably; something was wrong.

But he was desperately short of money.

They were desperately short of money, so much so that even selling him wouldn't fill the hole.

So he immediately agreed.

"Okay! Let's go now."