Chapter Sixty-Two: The Academic Witch! [Happy New Year]
2017-02-10
Author: Floating Tower
Lulu Cat Girl’s Investiture, while not necessarily a major event, was nonetheless significant since she was personally made a True God by Soren. On that day, Modo held a celebration, and the busy crowd gathered to congratulate Lulu Cat Girl.
The little Cat Girl was still quite naive and didn’t fully understand how to be a deity, but fortunately, as Vivian’s handmaiden, she would quickly adapt with the guidance of two little girls. For a newly appointed deity with weak divine power, the number of believers wasn’t the most crucial aspect. As long as she fulfilled the divine task assigned by Soren, she would receive a portion of faith from Soren’s temple. Currently, Soren’s Grand Temple was undergoing expansion, which was a significant expenditure of wealth, and it was estimated that the entire temple would take about thirty million Gind to complete, covering roughly one-fifth of Modo.
The City Hall could not provide such funds, but fortunately, Soren already had a substantial amount, as well as wealth from other planes.
Preliminary calculations indicated that the Grand Temple would truly be completed by the end of the Saint’s Cataclysm. Even with the combined efforts of wizards and priests, along with the mobilization of numerous Golem Puppets, it would still take around half a year to achieve the initial completion of the temple.
The layout of the entire temple area was being redefined.
Once fully completed, the temple area would include—Soren’s Grand Temple, Vivian and Lilian’s Grand Temple, Lulu Cat Girl and Saruman’s Core Temple, and the domain temple of the Whip Maiden.
Moreover, some space would be reserved for future developments.
Currently, Modo faced a massive workload, starting with Soren’s temple, followed by Vivian and Lilian’s temples, in addition to the fifth phase of Modo’s renovation project and large-scale farmland development.
After obtaining the friendship of the Agricultural Goddess, Modo’s expansion speed increased once more.
However, this time the expansion focused primarily on agriculture; the growth of the population would always rely on food. In the future, Soren planned to establish Modo as a gigantic city with a population exceeding one million, so some farmland development was necessary beforehand. Even with magical assistance, the initial cultivation of land would only yield decent results; to truly achieve abundant harvests, the land must be transitioned into arable land.
……
Modo City, Great Library.
Dina Vara, dressed in standard witch robes and wearing a pointed hat, carried a large book as she emerged from inside. She was a mature woman about thirty years old, possessing a beautiful face and a voluptuous figure. As a mid-tier witch who advanced at a young age, Dina Vara focused most of her energy on arcane studies, which made her physique somewhat frail. However, this was not a concern as witches had plenty of means to assist themselves with physical tasks. Outside the Great Library, a small clay Golem awaited her, soon coming over to take the books from her hands while also carrying some materials on its back.
Dina Vara clapped her hands and softly said, “Rafa, all done. We can head back now.”
The clay Golem replied in a muffled voice, “Yes, Master.”
Witch assistants, like Golems, possessed a certain level of intelligence, roughly equivalent to that of a twelve- to fifteen-year-old human.
This clay Golem was something Dina Vara had exchanged for with her contribution points. Compared to ordinary citizens, they enjoyed certain privileges and could access many things that regular people could not.
She cherished this clay Golem not only because it was worth an astonishing three hundred contribution points but also because it was an important assistant. The Golem could perform various tasks like cleaning, transporting, and even fighting, and some dangerous experiments could be replaced by it as well.
“Dina Vara!”
At that moment, another young witch came running up to her with a joyful expression.
It was a delicate half-elf witch, and from her race, one could tell she was a newly promoted witch, as most mid to high-tier witches in Modo City were humans from the Northern Tower area.
Dina Vara smiled at her; this was her friend Tinars, a half-elf from Leaffall City.
“Thank you for your notes.”
The young half-elf witch handed a notebook to Dina Vara, expressing her gratitude, “I was just about to return this notebook to you. Thank you so much! Without your help, I would not have mastered the [Fossil to Mud] spell so quickly.”
Hearing this, Dina Vara smiled and affectionately caressed the young witch’s cheek, saying, “That’s also because you worked hard enough.”
“Have you already learned the [Fossil to Mud] spell?”
“In that case,”
“You should be able to take on the City Hall’s land reclamation task. The contribution points for that task are much higher than others.”
City Hall was currently reclaiming new farmland.
Not only farmland but there was also a third phase of greening projects, which required a large number of witches and Druids.
The effect of the [Fossil to Mud] spell was straightforward; it turned rocks into soft soil. Since Modo City was an island, the range of rocky layers was quite extensive. The tasks released by City Hall were organized by area, and any witch who mastered the [Fossil to Mud] spell could take on a designated area as their task workload. They would turn those lands into soft soil in batches, and eventually, City Hall would receive the final product and distribute rewards. After that, it was the Druids’ concern because of the alkalinity and acidity of the soil, which would need to be balanced by them, resulting in land that was initially arable and needed to be carefully cultivated over time to become fertile.
This method of reclaiming farmland was much faster than in the past.
As Lady Gloria said, the true essence of the arcane is not merely for combat; it can change our lives and ultimately benefit everyone.
“Hmm.” The young half-elf witch nodded, “I’ve already taken on a one square kilometer task, and if all goes well, I should be able to complete it by next month.”
Witches usually tended to be a bit reclusive.
The two friends had a lot to catch up on since they hadn’t seen each other for a while, so they strolled back along the original path.
Suddenly, Dina Vara seemed to remember something, and quietly said, “By the way, I heard from others that City Hall is planning a three-supplying project. You might want to prepare in advance; there should be plenty of good tasks.”
Three-supplying project?
The half-elf witch pondered for a moment and asked, “Is it for water supply, electricity, and heating?”
“Yes.” Dina Vara nodded, “This should be a significant operation; it’s not just for Modo City, but also likely includes the Port Area and the other twelve towns. The workload seems substantial.”
The half-elf witch remarked, “Oh, I see. Looks like I really need to prepare ahead of time.”
Now Modo City already had quite a few witches.
Witches needed to acquire the resources and knowledge for their studies by themselves, and the most crucial way to do this was through contribution points. Taking on construction tasks from City Hall was one of the safest and efficient methods.
As for combat-related tasks, these academic witches probably weren’t suited for them just yet.
Not everyone could adapt to the bloody battlefield; roughly three or four out of ten witches might become combat witches, while most others were academic type—capable of fighting but not particularly adept. Generally, academic wizard organizations tended to have greater numbers, while combat wizard organizations had fewer members, with a very high elimination rate. This was a shameful waste in Soren’s view since even those talented enough to become witches, even if not skilled in combat, could still have a tremendously significant impact.
……
