Chapter 65: Transforming Mud into Stone
2015-02-16
Author: Zhuseng Floating Tower
The busy construction is still ongoing.
Soren is quickly chopping down trees himself, while the pirates responsible for transporting and processing the logs have increased to over a hundred. Logs are sent back to the camp, where craftsmen or skilled workers cut them into timber. Some are directly driven into the ground to build a fence, about five meters high with a rudimentary arrow tower. The pirates often establish camps on overseas islands, so many of them know how to do this work.
While Soren is busy chopping wood, he also practices his sword intent techniques.
Vivian, after reading for a while, felt bored. She took out a scroll to look it over, then directly walked out of the tent. Many pirates have learned to respect this cute little girl, primarily because those who disrespected her were thrown into the sea to feed the fish by Soren. Secondly, this seemingly harmless little girl is a formidable wizard. Her status is independent of the pirate group, even the Half-Elf First Mate respectfully answers her questions.
“Mm.”
Vivian tilted her head to observe the busy slaves and pirate henchmen outside. To be honest, their labor efficiency is not high; although this world has alchemical devices similar to excavators, those are only affordable for high-level spellcasters. Currently, the entire camp’s construction relies entirely on manual labor, using only some simple tools. The drainage ditch running outside the tents was dug up by hand with hoes. In this situation, it’s easy to imagine the construction efficiency is not high and the human resources consumed are considerable.
After watching for a while, the little girl suddenly pulled out a thick book, about as thick as a Xinhua Dictionary, with somewhat strange title on the cover, but the general meaning can still be read. The cover states “Guide to the Construction Techniques of the Wizard Tower* and Golem Guardians**.” This book seems to have been poorly preserved initially, with some ink worn off the cover and some stains in the front sections, indicating it has been around for quite a long time.
The knowledge of wizards is extremely valuable, especially the books they need. These books are usually not printed; they are generally handwritten word by word.
This is the accumulation of their life’s wealth!
Soren respects knowledge greatly, so although the little girl doesn’t particularly like reading, she takes good care of books.
She is a good child who listens to her brother!
Vivian found a random place to sit down, closed her small knees together, and opened the thick book that was heavier than her small face. She flipped through the pages quickly. In a short time, she flipped through about a hundred pages, then stopped on one page, raising her pale little finger to point at a line of text. She then turned to the next page, which had many words and patterns. The little girl frowned as she read for a moment. Then, she murmured, “The best material for constructing wizard towers is not any stone, but blocks made from the Mud to Stone spell, which are quite sturdy. With simple enchantment, they can reach a solidity superior to marble.”
She read on to the second page, continuing: “If combined with the crafts left from the Arcane Empire period, the Mud to Stone spell can make the blocks achieve the solidity of steel. ******** This technology requires some special materials ********** parts of the process are recorded in *********.”
It’s unclear if it was deliberately erased by someone or unintentionally damaged over time.
All the information regarding the Mud to Stone spell that produces stone blocks turned into a barely readable smear, making Vivian frown deeply at this point. She couldn’t help but angrily exclaim, “Which j*rk did this!”
She raised her small hand and flipped through the pages rapidly; however, the following pages only detailed the layout of the Wizard Tower, without any mention of the overall construction materials. The little girl, frustrated, tossed the thick book into her dimensional pouch and supported her chin with her small hands, sighing, “It’s a pity my spell slots are still insufficient; otherwise, I could help my brother build the camp with Mud to Stone.”
“Mm.”
“It seems that the book Sister Gloria showed me recorded that this spell transforms soil according to the caster’s level and strength, apparently about 2 cubic feet per point. I wonder how large an area I can transform?”
“Mm. I’ll have to try it sometime.”
The little girl tilted her head and murmured for a while. She seemed to feel a bit drowsy and headed back into the tent.
Recently, she has been quite drowsy, but she is happy that she has grown taller.
“Mud to Stone [5th Ring Spell]: The caster can transform soil into rock, and this transformation is permanent. Each point of spell strength can transform 2 cubic feet of soil. Many building materials, including the structure of the Wizard Tower, are composed of Mud to Stone. The effect of this spell persists after use and cannot be dispelled by spells like Dispel Magic.”
…………
“Ha!”
Soren took a breath and retrieved his curved blade from the ground, having felled a large number of nearby trees. Perhaps due to needing to start everything from scratch, he felt an inexplicable sense of returning to the era of slash-and-burn agriculture and timber clearing. Actually, the quickest method still relies on the power of wizards, but since he currently has no spellcasters, he can only use this most rudimentary method to develop the camp. The wizard has a 5th Ring spell called ‘Mud to Stone,’ which can directly transform soil into rock.
There were casters from well-off guilds that used spells to build a city wall in a day.
However, spell slots are still a significant limitation.
If the Goddess of Magic dies, spell slots will convert into mana; at that time, although the spellcasting ability of wizards will be weakened, their casting will become much freer. If all mana is poured into the 5th Ring spell ‘Mud to Stone,’ only a small number of wizards could achieve astonishing results. The pioneering tactics of that year, especially for outer planes and abyssal hell, relied heavily on the creative power of wizards.
Soren sheathed his blade and looked behind him, seeing the pirate henchmen still busy transporting logs.
He took a deep breath and glanced at his displayed data, discovering a new line has appeared:
“Training Successful!”
“You have acquired partial information about [Sword Intent: Horizontal Slash]!… ”
“Training Successful!”
“You have acquired partial information about [Sword Intent: Horizontal Slash]!… ”
“Training Successful!”
“You have mastered the combat skill [Sword Intent: Horizontal Slash]!… ”
…………
Sword Intent [Horizontal Slash]!
A relatively basic sword intent combat skill, in fact, it belongs to the prerequisite mastering technique of Sword Intent [Waist Slash].
This is the sword intent skill easiest to master during lumbering; its combat effect is comparable to Sword Intent [Heavy Chop], with the power now heightened to Soren’s standard, especially after his attributes have improved. These relatively basic sword intent abilities have integrated into his normal attacks, as this technique no longer imposes a heavy burden on him. With sufficient attributes as a foundation, he slightly bypassed the previous charging requirements and can incorporate it into normal attacks as long as he doesn’t use it consecutively.
There are actually many kinds of sword intent.
Essentially suitable for nearly all weapon attacks, melee professionists need to train enough combat skills if they haven’t trained their specialties.
It’s said that there are over a hundred types of sword intent; the path to becoming a Sword Saint legend fundamentally relies on comprehending these basic sword intents!
Soren does not impose strict demands on sword intent, but mastering a bit more is undeniably an increase in combat strength. Moreover, many powerful combat skills in the future will require basic sword intents to complement them. For example, mastering Sword Intent [Horizontal Slash] will greatly enhance the effect of comprehending and using Sword Intent [Beheading] in the future, as many sword intent skills are interconnected.
…………
Clouds of yellow sand swirl in the air.
A slightly stooped figure trudges along the edge of this vast desert. Looking at his face, he seems not very old, but his countenance is full of weariness and hardship. His hair seems to have not been washed in a long time, and he has the beginnings of stubble on his chin, with dust scattered throughout his hair. He wears patchy armor, with kn*fe marks on the shoulder piece, and bandages wrapped around his arms, from which faint bl**d seeps. The originally bright silver armor appears a bit dim now, likely due to not being properly maintained for a long time, making it look quite worn down. He carries a longsword at his waist, occasionally looking up into the distance, his hand always poised above the hilt, ready to draw his sword and fight at any moment.
This is a young Paladin.
Or rather, he used to be a Paladin; now, he is just a wandering warrior.
It seems he has been walking for a long time.
Even his sturdy and durable boots are almost worn out, yet he continues onward, as if something immensely important awaits him ahead.
A strong wind kicks up the dust, quickly covering him in a haze of dirt.
The young warrior shook off his clothes, letting the dirt fall to the ground, then silently continued forward. His lips are chapped, with bl**d from the cracks at the corners, but he hasn’t drunk any water, as his supplies are running low. He walked on like this, continuing to move forward, stopping to camp when night fell, eating some hard, dry rations, and he didn’t need a tent—he just slept leaning against a corner, still clutching his sword close to his chest.
It’s unclear how long he’s been walking.
Until an aging middle-aged man appeared before him, he finally stopped his steps. Kneeling on one knee in front of him, he plunged his longsword into the ground and placed his hand on his chest, performing the Paladin’s salute. The other man seemed to have anticipated his arrival, only speaking in a hoarse voice: “What have you learned during this journey?”
The young Paladin lifted his head.
In his eyes, there seems to be a trace of sadness, but more than that is determination, as he slowly spoke, “There is something called justice, and justice requires powerful strength!”
…………
(PS: There were many things today; it took me a long time to write this one chapter. It’s day 11 of quitting smoking, and I gained over a pound.) (To be continued ~^~)
