Wizard: Starting with Symbiosis with Algae

A few days later, 125 kilometers north of the cliff, downstream of the lake.

Dark green algae (Tetraphyta) took root here, spreading along the riverbed and silently covering the exposed rock layers.

This body of water is a place where one can barely escape the wind and rain.

The sky in the distance was overcast, but thankfully it wasn't snowing anymore.

It's warmer now, but letting the cold rain soak you all day can still make you feel chilly.

Joe, in his wheelchair, slowly pulled himself back from the shallow beach near the entrance, using the rope as a guide.

He was holding a dozen worms in his arms, dripping with slime, and he was laughing happily.

"New harvest: twelve worms. And a bunch of worm eggs. Not bad."

"I didn't expect there to be so many worms in the north."

Over the course of a few days, they conducted a small test flight, which went smoothly, proving that the engine's protection was not a major issue.

If they can reduce the fuel consumption during startup and acceleration, they will have more fuel left over.

It's important to know that the higher you go, the more drastically the temperature drops, and there are also risks of oxygen deprivation and falling.

At that time, the engine's built-in protective magic must be activated. However, activating that magic itself is a significant expense.

Lynn returned from the south with a similarly large harvest.

In the coldest places, worms can barely move, lying stiff in the mud like frozen twisted dough sticks.

However, if you move just a little away from that extremely cold region, which happens to be the mating area of ​​the worms, the situation becomes completely different.

The worms there were completely unsuspecting, each one excessively fat, lazily swimming and enjoying themselves in the hot spring.

"Let me see, what a group of strong young men."

The accumulation of available technology allowed the group to unlock a nomadic herding rhythm.

Change the location every other day, and use it on the fungal carpet and wild algae by the roadside as if it were mud or sand.

Lynn only discovered after going around in circles that all the materials had actually come in handy.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Previously, when making flour, the older worms with poor meat quality tasted terrible. We only selected those that were weak in generating electricity and had just passed their prime. But now it's different. In order to obtain high-energy soil, all the old worms deemed useless have come in handy.

The replacement of worms with more airship fuel came at the cost of almost all of the group's food being replaced with potatoes.

If he could eat potatoes every day, Joe would be willing to return to civilized society.

So how are potatoes grown?

Lynn naturally figured out a solution.

Ash Cloth is responsible for eroding the rock wall, Blue Light Algae is responsible for stabilizing the soil, and then a layer of river mud is sprinkled on top, and they are left to grow wildly on their own.

This wild, almost primitive way of farming means there's no need to worry about being eaten by wild animals.

It has a sense that everyone is a loyal subject.

Inside the experimental vehicle, Ruby gently pulled old worms out of the sand one by one.

Then, the old guy spat out a large chunk of fluorescent soil from its mouth, the brightness of which was almost the same as that of high-energy soil.

She said

"Here's some more good news."

"Some worms, when they get old, have a very small chance of transforming into flying clubs before they die naturally."

Lynn and Joe finished counting the worms and looked up when they heard this.

"Will they regain the lifespan of the flying rods?"

"That's definitely not going to work."

"Look at this one, it's already like a candle flickering in the wind. The more magical it becomes, the more it will harm their lives."

Joe asked, "So... what's the value of these flying sticks? They can't fight, can they?"

Ruby shook her head. "These flying rods that only transform in their old age can produce a small amount of high-energy soil. That's really rare. It's worth something, I suppose."

Lynn and Ruby had never raised worms to death naturally before; it was simply not worth it.

This discovery was purely accidental.

……

"Let's go, let's go to the next stop."

Thirty-five kilometers to the north, the temperature is warmer and the scenery is slightly greener.

The test station began to shake.

Some of them had even considered going to the vicinity of where Joe crashed to scavenge some more airship hull material.

But after calculating, there wasn't enough time, and the more materials there were, the greater the consumption of flying would be, and the fuel simply couldn't support such an ascent.

Lynn stood up and operated the device.

In front of the test station, a glass-sized barrier was disguised as a window.

It is somewhat useful, but most of the time, it only blocks the sand and dust that come into view.

Joe and Ruby sat on the floor, their bodies swaying gently with the rise and fall of the carriage.

After becoming proficient, Lynn was able to control two devices simultaneously by wrapping them with vines.

The synchronization rate is even higher than when two people are working together, saving time on ignition correction and resulting in a faster start-up speed.

Thunder rumbled over the distant mountains.

Blue and white lightning silently flashed and died down among the clouds, carving out the outline of the mountain ridge from the darkness time and time again.

The more frequent the lightning, the more vigorously the crops grow, and naturally, the more worms appear.

Now that he had some free time, Qiao spoke up.

"We've already tried test flights. We were able to fly. So, if we can get a little more energy... or find an initial acceleration solution for flight, maybe we can give it a try."

Lynn thought it wouldn't work

"Regarding fuel, we can wait a few more days. We recently harvested another batch of potatoes, and we'll soon be entering a high-speed resource accumulation zone."

Joe and Ruby both agreed.

Ruby ate some potatoes, and after a short while, she began to speak to herself.

"I have a theory about the worm that shot down our airship. It's very likely related to some kind of ancient worm I've studied."

Lynn subconsciously maintained the strength of the vines until the test station was running smoothly, then he looked up and gazed towards the direction of the thunderstorm in the distance. Something black seemed to be falling from the sky. Completely black.

He turned around and asked as he drew closer.

"What's your guess, Ruby?"

Ruby heard the noise and stood up.

"Those red worms are a type of worm that has long been extinct. 'Little Red Dragon,' scientific name: Piketia pallida."

Joe was puzzled, since discussing academic matters was pointless at the moment.

"What does this have to do with our plan? Does knowing their names mean we can defeat them?"

"It possesses a heat fin, capable of breaking through magical defenses, and has a slight ability to affect the mind. And coincidentally, they are also afraid of the cold."

She gazed at the sky outside the window, her eyes calm.

"I'm wondering... is it because of their radiation that flying rods and worms naturally evolved social behavior and fear of cold?"

Lynn didn't turn around. The scene before him confirmed Ruby's guess.

From the northeast, after those black objects fell into the air, they suddenly flashed with a blue light.

The moment the light was turned on, Lynn finally saw their figures clearly.

Flying rods. In the vast sky, thick, cotton-like clouds filled the air, and countless flying rods were falling from the sky.

The waves in the distance were pushed higher and higher, and worms on the shore were thrown over.

One crop after another.

Insects fell like rain.

A red shadowy figure was wriggling freely.

And its direction was precisely towards those people.