Chapter 375: Excavation
I always felt this magic was useless and put off learning it until last, only studying it out of necessity. Yesterday, I went to Old Golden Tooth to buy materials specifically to learn this one spell.
It’s called the Fossil to Mud Technique, but I actually think “Fossil to Sand” or “Earth to Slurry” would be more descriptive. This magic can soften hard ground, creating a loose, easy-to-dig hole. The Witch once used this spell to find hidden Witch’s Notes buried beneath our hiding place. However, it’s indeed a supportive magic.
My experience with ghouls taught me that no magic is useless; it all depends on how you use it. Now, holding my magic wand and pointing it at the ground ahead, I squeezed a ball of soft materials—creature mud, rich loam, solutions from beast-eating flowers, and so on—and chanted an incantation.
The dead end ahead suddenly collapsed, creating a large direct opening, as if a secret room had suddenly appeared. Sunlight streamed into the dark underground, making us feel momentarily disoriented.
I looked up. It turned out my spell had too wide a range, hollowing out the top layer and creating an open-air pit. There was no helping it; this spell was originally meant for digging, and I had only just learned it, so I wasn’t very good at controlling it.
“Are you crazy? We’ll be discovered like this! All our previous work is for nothing!” Sherris shouted anxiously.
“Ahem, I just learned it and accidentally used too much force. It’s fine, I can fix it.” I pointed my magic wand at the hole above. A handful of yellow earth flew to the top layer, guided by my wand, sealing the gap again. To prevent the hollow space below from collapsing, I specifically reinforced it with magic.
“It’s that convenient?” Sherris looked at me in surprise as I repaired the ceiling. The tunnel was dark again. There were no such meticulous spells in the ghoul magic.
Actually, it’s a complete set. The Fossil to Mud Technique itself has the function of digging a pit to trap enemies and then instantly filling it with earth to bury them, so the spell includes a restoration method.
Furthermore, this magic has other affiliated functions. For example, to prevent powerful enemies from breaking free, the soil can be reinforced into incredibly sturdy rock, or a hollow can be dug underground with only a thin layer of fragile mud on the surface acting as a trap.
I used both of these functions. The ceiling above was reinforced, and below was a pit. Fossil to Mud is actually quite useful. I had previously misunderstood it as a purely auxiliary magic. The Witch’s Notes also contained personal opinions that this magic was difficult to use, but I believe the Witch simply didn’t know how to use it.
“Alright, let’s continue,” I said, waving my magic wand. The Fossil to Mud Technique felt quite fun, and I couldn’t wait to use it more.
“But we were supposed to dig a tunnel to infiltrate the village, not a pit! And what if we hollow out the ground again?” Sherris looked at the large empty space around us, which was very different from the tunnel she had envisioned.
“Never mind, never mind, I can control it. We just need to dig deeper, right? Even if it’s a hollow space, as long as we keep digging forward, the path will extend infinitely. The target village is ahead, and we’ll get there sooner or later,” I said.
“Parul is saying things that don’t make sense again,” Jayad said helplessly. Parul occasionally said things that sounded profound but were unintelligible.
“Okay, let’s keep going!” I waved my magic wand downwards. This time, at the end of the pit, another cavity was opened, deeper than before. It wasn’t broken through the top.
I continued forward, pointing my magic wand into the depths. Cavity after cavity opened up, like a string of connected spheres. Sherris watched my efficiency with envy, as it was much faster than her digging with her hands.
I was also slowly getting familiar with the casting and adjustment of this spell. Before, they were large, round hollows. Now, I could create a rectangular one, then slowly compress it into a square, and finally truly turn it into a passageway.
I was starting to get the hang of it and deeply appreciated how much having a magic wand helped with spellcasting. It made things much more convenient and smooth, especially in terms of control.
Originally, the Fossil to Mud Technique required touching the ground or wall to use without a magic wand. But with a magic wand, it could be used remotely and was very convenient, saving a lot of magic power.
Then there was the spell’s control. I had only learned this magic yesterday and hadn’t even practiced it. I wanted to use it today, thankfully giving me a chance to put it into practice. Looking at it now, I still have a long way to go before mastering it. If I were to use it directly against an enemy, many unexpected accidents could occur. Fortunately, I now have many opportunities to practice.
As we dug through the tunnel, we moved forward. Sebastian sighed, “Walking through this passageway is much more comfortable than crawling through that small hole earlier.”
“Sorry, my skills aren’t good enough!” Sherris retorted. After all, she had only dug a path she could crawl through. Enlarging it would have doubled the workload, and she didn’t have the time.
Sebastian wasn’t really trying to mock her but rather to use banter to make Sherris feel a little better. The closer we got to the village, the more nervous she became, especially since she was about to face the person who killed her father.
It did have some effect. Sherris had been fighting alone all these days. Now, having someone by her side to talk to made her feel much more at ease, realizing she wasn’t fighting alone.
She continued to focus on guiding me. In the dark underground, with no landmarks, I couldn’t tell direction at all. Only Sherris, with her ghoul talent, could determine our position and direction.
“I sense it. There are evil creatures above. Not very strong, but quite a few of them,” Jayad said.
“Then we should have entered the village’s vicinity. Be careful, don’t make too much noise, and don’t let the people above hear us,” Sherris said.
“Speaking of which, where are you taking us?” I asked as I cleared the path. I could now cast spells continuously by just holding my magic wand, and all the earth along the way moved aside as if alive, leaving a one-person wide, level path for us.
I could even take the time to reinforce the upper soil to prevent the ground from sinking due to the hollow space beneath, or from collapsing if stepped on.
“What place? Inside the village?” Sherris asked, confused, not understanding my question.
“Where in the village? Where do we pop out?” I asked.
“That’s just ahead. We’re here,” Sherris said. As soon as she finished speaking, the earth ahead collapsed, revealing a basement. A foul stench hit us.
