Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

Lightning crackled.

The cracks in the airship flashed with lightning. Several small cracks were visible in the bulkhead.

Strange red streams of light gushed out from the broken pipe.

The pressurized water vapor was also dyed red.

Short, powerful, and threatening.

The two wizard apprentices, swaying unsteadily, didn't recognize what the red light was at all.

The rain and dew dispersed into smoke, and then felt slightly numb when electrified.

Joe hummed a little tune, but after being shocked by the lightning, his magical organs seemed to slump and stop functioning properly.

He was drowsy and finally closed his eyes completely, intending to get a good night's sleep.

However, there were some things he knew.

Lightning isn't normally red. So it must be red wine. Raindrops generally have no taste. So it must be mustard.

It seems like they encountered something.

But what is it? And why is it "we" instead of "I"?

Joe touched the wall; its coldness told him he was all alone.

Curiosity compelled him to open his eyes, which were stuck together, again.

There seemed to be small mushrooms and flies floating around at the edge of my field of vision, sometimes large and sometimes small.

It's somewhat like the symptoms of floaters.

However, his eyes are perfectly fine; they're original.

He shook his hand, which had just been released, and felt a burning sensation on it.

In a flash of inspiration, he understood.

Therefore, the mushrooms, flies, and mosquitoes are all illusions.

Although these hallucinations were so realistic, he could smell the laundry water on the mushrooms.

But he's a smart man.

He will not be fooled by illusions.

He wouldn't engage in similar drunken misbehavior.

"snort.."

Since you're hallucinating, just lie there a little longer.

Speaking of which, the competition at the wizarding academy is fierce. After working there for six years, my position as a full-fledged assistant was snatched away by a third-level wizard apprentice...

Speaking of which, that female student at the academy has quite fair skin and nice legs, but since she's not a junior wizard apprentice, she's not a good match...

Speaking of which...

"Joe, wake up! We're going to die!"

Qiao Hu's body trembled.

Who? Who's speaking?

He squinted, and his hand seemed to have been released.

It seems like those two rude little kids in front of me did it. They were the ones who said those words too.

But, death is impossible.

Joe felt like he was about to fly.

This slightly weightless feeling is tingly and numb, like being carried upwards by a warm cloud.

It was so cool.

But, awake?

These two little guys are really strange.

He was perfectly lucid. More lucid than anyone else on this wrecked airship.

Where does the word "awaken" come from?

In the cluttered cabin, papers fluttered, and red and blue lights flashed alternately.

Joe, following the exhilarating feeling of weightlessness, leisurely slid off the seat and slowly rolled into a corner inside the airship.

He curled up, lay on the ground, found the easiest position, and went straight to sleep.

The body's functions were once again reduced to their lowest level due to the complex effects.

His blood flow was too slow, he wasn't getting enough oxygen, and his body temperature dropped.

The small sticks flying in front of me were gleaming.

One, two, many.

They were all attacking the mushrooms and flies.

Did he not attack because his body temperature dropped?

He grinned and fell into a deep sleep.

No matter what

"All things under the frosty sky compete freely. At least it's quite lively."

Amidst flashing lightning, the airship could no longer withstand the brutal tearing. The metal let out a final, mournful cry as the main structure snapped and the bulkheads crumbled.

Joe, who was in the corner, was thrown into the sky by that irresistible force.

A wizard descended from the sky.

……

Sulfur algae absorb geothermal energy and sulfides, converting it into bioenergy.

[Endurance +0.02]

Seaside Cave No. 3 is located 650m southwest of the landing site and is a smaller cave than the landing site cave.

Lynn reached out from the hot spring, his stamina returning to normal. Just a few days ago, the spring couldn't even hold a drop of water.

Considering he would be coming here often in the future, Lynn separated a giant blue algae plant that he had already cultivated and used it to stabilize the soil, reducing the tedious work required for frequent composting.

Potatoes were previously grown inside this cave.

However, because the cultivation of giant blue algae was too slow at the time, it was unsuccessful and could not produce enough soil, so it was abandoned by him.

Now things are different; the blue-green algae have been successfully cultivated.

However, Lynn arrived here with a sense of trepidation.

Saying I'm nervous isn't quite accurate. After all, these are rescue team members facing the direct test of nature.

He was just worried for them. But there was nothing he could do. He could only prepare for the possibility of a long stay.

"We can only hope that someone will be alive when we communicate again..."

Lynn sighed and then extended his hand.

The vines spread out from the palm of my hand, their green tendrils crawling along the ground, precisely sweeping over the potato vines that had grown black spots.

The black spots fell off the moment the vine touched them, revealing the barely healthy stems and leaves underneath.

This is something I haven't seen before in the cave at the crash site.

It's probably some kind of fungus.

Lynn didn't think much of it, planted the potato seeds, and turned over the soil.

He has plenty of ways to deal with common fungi.

The biggest problem with this land right now is that it's too small to be suitable for using a tractor like the worm, which is very mobile.

So, Lynn used vines instead of fingers to turn over the surface layer, squatted down, pressed the seeds in one by one, and then covered them with soil. With repeated actions, she gradually became more and more skilled.

As for the leachate, based on previous experience, a ratio of 1:1000 of metabolites from common worms to water is acceptable.

But adjustments are still needed. The proportions alone are not enough; we also need to consider light, magic concentration, and a richer variety of organisms in the soil.

The lighting conditions are definitely better than before, and there's also the loss of biological resources. The required concentration may need to be slightly increased.

One cannot take too big a step at once. Lynn only increased the concentration by about five percent.

After finishing his work, Lynn stretched.

The waves in the distance were crashing against the rocks, their rhythm heavier than usual. The air had grown a few degrees colder.

A notification appeared in front of Lynn.

[A tetrad of algae, successfully propagated: a combination of blue-light algae, red-winged algae, sulfur algae, and cold-resistant algae, exhibiting greatly enhanced cold resistance, but with a slight decrease in basal metabolic efficiency. It possesses the synthetic characteristics of all daughter algae, but its basal metabolic efficiency is relatively low.]

Lynn straightened up, glanced at the notification that popped up on the panel, and remained expressionless.

He had a feeling that this thing would be useful in the future, but for now, he needed to accumulate knowledge quickly and didn't need something inefficient.

Lynn's mind stirred.

Before long, as he had envisioned, a small patch of algae, about 6cm tall, grew on his palm. It was dark green in color and quite large on its own.

It is significantly higher than that of ordinary blue-green algae.

Lynn was fairly satisfied with this, and the Tetraphyta algae were multiplying faster than he had expected. At this height and rate of reproduction, it certainly wouldn't be as difficult as cultivating giant blue-light algae.