Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

Two days later, in the early morning, the damp sun finally sparingly cast its rays upon the earth.

Near the delta, the blue algae, unable to sense the lightning and with the sky half overcast and half sunny, retracted their snowflake-like tentacles to reduce their energy consumption.

Lynn chewed on a pale blue protein bar and observed his surroundings in the light for a while.

Open your eyes wide and raise your eyebrows slightly.

to be frank

He felt incredibly lucky.

The airship landed outside a riverside cave, which had only one entrance.

Ruby's test station is not visible from the back of the cave.

In other words, if Ruby had taken a wrong turn, veering slightly north or south, she wouldn't have seen him at all, let alone been rescued.

"How lucky! We swam in the right direction."

Lynn sighed, coughed, and stood up.

He walked to the shallow water at the cave entrance, scooped up some river water with his hands, and drank two mouthfuls.

Feeling unsatisfied, he tore open another packet of dried worm powder and poured it into his mouth.

Dried worm powder is made from worms and is the best way to eat worms.

Although the hard shell fragments weren't completely removed, Lynn was already quite satisfied that she didn't have to eat soft, tasteless boiled worms, which were even less appealing than boiled chicken breast.

However, after accidentally eating a worm's fang that hadn't been chewed properly, Lynn still coughed and choked.

He stubbornly continued to defend the dried worm powder.

"Okay, eating worms isn't a great experience, but it's better than swallowing them whole."

Ruby still had some mineral oil on her hand, which would make the meat smell quite good when fried, but that stuff was poisonous.

After a short while, Lynn looked at the panel.

Stamina 0.85, Magic 0.7

Two days of eating restored stamina by 0.15%.

But that's where it ends.

The insects are eating too little, so their nutritional supply is insufficient.

This is still in a state of no exercise.

If there is strenuous exercise, it is estimated that even 0.15 cannot be added.

Ruby's response regarding food distribution was that she had taken Lynn's rations as a young male knight's squire into account, but she didn't have any extra food.

Sufficient reserves must be made for worm power generation and oxygen production.

The torrential rain, imbued with magic, seeped into the earth, and the magic no longer increased.

We can only say we're alive; there's no greater hope in sight.

The sun rose higher.

Lynn dumped all the worm powder and looked out from inside the house.

The wreckage of the airship was scattered less than 20 meters outside the cave entrance. The hull was broken in two. Ruby took a three-meter-long curved bulkhead panel, leaned it against the cave entrance, and fixed the bottom with stones to make a simple windproof door.

The river flows from the north, makes a bend in front of the cave, and flows south into a tributary of the delta.

The delta's mouth is less than five kilometers to the southeast, where you can vaguely see the gray-black mudflats reflecting the sunlight.

To the north are rolling red hills, while to the east and west are tributaries where the river branches off.

"Knock knock".

Someone knocked on the bulkhead twice.

"Open the door."

"Here you are, Ruby."

Lynn pushed the bulkhead away from the inside.

Ruby stood at the cave entrance, wearing a red robe with green trim, her lips pursed on her delicate oval face.

Holding a metal oxygen cylinder in her hand, she bent down to put the cylinder on the ground and panted with her hands on her hips.

"Lynn, you've rested for two days, it's my turn now."

"If you want to survive, you should go herd sheep."

"grazing?"

"Yes, grazing, just like raising cattle and sheep requires grazing, worms also need to be raised, fed, and then they grow up, that's grazing. If we don't graze, what will we eat?"

Ruby dragged a metal chair with small wheels out from behind the door.

The chair back was rusty, and a simple oxygen cylinder holder was welded to the back of the chair, with a small oxygen cylinder stuck on the holder.

"This wheelchair is for people with disabilities. Take it with you when you go herding livestock. Sitting while working can alleviate symptoms of oxygen deficiency."

"If you weren't a knight's squire, perhaps the consumption wouldn't be so great."

Ruby had hoped to have a few newborns, but now you see the situation.

This wheelchair is only good for the frail Lynn.

She then pulled a leash from the sink in the house and tucked it into Lynn's hand.

A bunch of worms were wriggling at the end of the rope under the house.

"I'll take you there once, and then we'll take turns."

Adhering to the principle of saving as much as possible, Lynn sat in a wheelchair.

Without making a sound

"Okay Ruby, that's fair."

...

On the shallow beach at the estuary, the sea breeze stirs up a sweet mist.

The red continental shelf gradually fades as it extends to the coastline, becoming covered by gray-black silt.

Ruby led the way, pulling on the leash. Dozens of worms followed behind her.

She pulled the rope to the left, and the first few worms turned around, followed by the rest after a brief delay.

The grayish-black mud surface is covered with a grayish-green fungal carpet, about two centimeters thick, with a texture similar to jelly.

The worms lowered their heads, their mouthparts pressed against the fungal carpet as they moved forward, scraping off the carpet layer by layer.

After eating one piece, the ground was bare, with no green at all.

Ruby pulled on the rope, driving the worm swarm fifty meters north to a new patch of fungal carpet, where they ate for a while. Then she turned back and handed the leash to Lynn.

"As you can see, our goal is to get the worms to eat the fungal carpet in an orderly manner."

"On Wizarding Planet, this kind of 'take it all and leave it' is already considered overgrazing."

"But there are only two of us on this planet. Theoretically, this place belongs to our colony."

Ruby shrugged.

"So don't worry about the environment, just go for it."

Lynn took the tow rope.

"Wait, let me finish explaining the precautions."

Ruby kicked one of the worms with the tip of her boot.

The worm lowered its head in grievance.

"These worms were all wild ones that I caught in the cave, not experimental subjects from the airship. They are very wild. But they are social."

She kicked it again, this time at the largest one, which was almost dragging the end of the rope as it ran away.

The worm was kicked and rolled over, then became docile.

"If you tame one of the disobedient ones, the others that are watching will listen to you." Ruby patted the mud off her hands. "The method of taming is very simple."

"snort."

"Like this."

She grabbed the most unruly worm, held its segments with both hands, and pulled it apart.

This is a general spell called Wizard's Hand.

It can be mastered during a wizard's apprenticeship. It uses magic to create an invisible hand, but it doesn't have any other advantages; it's simply very strong.

"Use the spells you know on them, and they will obey your commands."

Several pieces of flesh lay on the fungal carpet. Blue blood splattered everywhere.

Lynn looked at the few still-moving worm remains on the ground.

He got it.

It means to strike hard against those who don't obey.

The others obeyed.

Ruby patted Lynn on the shoulder with great satisfaction.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you now. I need to rest and then do some research."

"Okay, ma'am."

Ruby's figure disappeared into the distance.

The leash trembled slightly in Lynn's hand.

Dozens of worms lay on the fungal carpet, their bristles scraping the surface of the mud intermittently. The one closest to him was raising its head, sniffing his scent.

Lynn tugged at the rope gently, unable to suppress her laughter.