10 - Episode VIII Digging

"Ugh. My body hurts. Sleeping on a rock is not a good way to wake up. I need to do something about my bed, or I'm going to get sick."

Last night, Sylphy led us for two hours to kill zombies and skeletons. I must have been so tired when I got back to the base that I fell asleep. I rose two levels, but my magic rank didn't rise.

I hope to raise it soon so that I can make a contract with a young spirit. Sylphy also said that avoiding ghosts and wraiths is inefficient for defeating them.

But first we need water and food.

Floating photoballs light up the room. I think with my freshly awakened mind. There are so many things I need that I don't know what to do. Let me try to organize them a little.

First goal: get water and food. I'm especially low on water, and I'm counting down the seconds until I can live on alcohol.

Second goal: raise the level of magic to D. If I don't make a contract with a young genie, I might be stuck if ghosts or wraiths appear.

The third goal is to improve my bed. My body hurts too much when I wake up.

Fourth goal: make dishes and cooking utensils. Eating a meal with a branch is so empty.

These are the things I want to deal with as soon as possible. The first goal is dangerous if we don't act now. The second goal is to actively defeat demons even in the daytime if there are any.

The third goal is that ...... plants are hard to find. The only solution I can think of at the moment is to dig a hole in the bedroom where we can sleep and cover it with sand from the beach. Sand is better than rocks. Though your clothes will be covered with sand.

The fourth goal is also important for a good meal, but I have to lower the priority compared to the threat to my life. I'll make it in between when I can afford it.

That's about it. The third goal is to make a sand bed soon, so I'll go to the beach later to get a lot of sand.

The rest of the time, my mouth feels bad. I want to brush my teeth, but I don't have a brush or even water to rinse my mouth out. Should I rinse my mouth out with a cup of tea?　It's not only wasteful, it's disgusting.

......Yes!　Let's cast a cleaning spell in your mouth. ...... worked. That's too convenient, the magic of cleaning. My mouth feels so clean and fresh.

Unwrapping myself, I head to the kitchen and finish my breakfast of plain bread and tea. I have one slice of bread with carbonara sauce and two slices of regular bread. I want to keep one of them in case it comes in handy when I go to town.

Now that the dreary breakfast is over, there is no time to dawdle. Let's get moving. I move the rocks out of the way and call out to Sylphy.

Good morning Yuta!

Sylphy is a cool beauty, even in the morning. It's hard to believe that she's childish inside.

Good morning.

The little genie is full of energy. She is happy and excited with a big smile on her face. She has an enviable youthfulness.

"Good morning, Sylphie!

"Yuta. What are you doing today?"

"Yeah. I need to gather water and food, but I'm having problems, especially with the scarcity of water. What do you think is the best way to get water?"

I thought about evaporating seawater to get fresh water. But even if we could make a distillation tool, it would be hard to find fuel to boil the water. I got some driftwood, but if I keep burning it, it will run out soon. I need to get a lot of water somehow.　

"Water. There is no place in the land of the dead where water springs. I think there is underground water, but you have to dig very deep to get it. Even the water spirits have given up on this land."

Ah, you mean we have to dig a well. Digging a hole is not a problem since we have pioneering tools, but where do we dig to get water?

"I don't have a problem digging a hole, but if I dig a hole in the ground there, will I get water?"

"I doubt it.　It's hard to know what to ask the water spirits."

"Can't we just have a water spirit come and check it out?"

"The land of the dead is the spirit of water. The land of the dead is the spirit of water. The land of the dead is an unpleasant place for the spirits of the forest who slowly lose their power. They can come as far as the sea. But they won't want to go on land to investigate.

How bad can a place be? You have to live in a place like that until you get to the next level. It's heartbreaking.

"Hmmm... I guess we'll just have to find a place where there might be water and dig on a hunch. Sylphy. Do you know where there was an abundant water source near here before this place became a death land?"

I don't know how to dowsing, and I'm just going on a hunch.

"Yes, you're right. Near here, there's a three-hour walk to what used to be a wetland. But you don't know if there's water?"

Wetlands. It seems more likely to dig a hole in a wetland, even if it is three hours away, than to dig a hole in the middle of nowhere on a hunch.

"I'm going to dig a hole in a former wetland, will you show me the way?"

"Once again, just because it was a wetland doesn't mean there will be water. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I don't have any other guidelines, and if it doesn't come out, I'll find another way.

In the meantime, we must act. Humans need water just to stay alive. If push comes to shove, we'll dig our way to the far side of the planet. ...... Is this planet round to begin with?

"Okay. Let's get going."

Sylphy leads us out of the base to the former swamp. It's a bit shocking to leave the sea without taking a dip in the water. We should have thought carefully from the beginning and made it a priority to secure water. I had no reason to think that I would be safe in the sea.

As we were walking along the beach, trying to bear the heat, a young genie suddenly flew away from us. I don't know what happened, but Sylphy doesn't care about it either. I started walking again, and the genie came back immediately.

"Yuta, look at me!

The young genie brought a ...... emerald green marimo-like object. It floats around even when the genie takes her hand away. What is this?

"Well, what is this?"

"Seirei. It's so cute!"

The young genie looks so proud. Floating in the air, Marimo ...... is she cute?

"Yuta. He is a floating spirit of the wind."

Is this marimo a genie too? The difference between a young genie and a genie is quite large.

Hey Sylphie. If I make a contract with her, will she be able to use spirit magic?

"That's a bit of a long shot. Animal or insectoid forms that have a sense of self can barely communicate with each other, but this girl is just drifting around, so there's no point in making a contract with her.

"I see. That's a shame."

I thought I could escape from being defenseless against ghosts and wraiths, but I guess it doesn't work that way. But when I stroke it, it's soft and silky to the touch.

"So the floating spirits can touch you, too. I doubt if Yuta is really a human being, even though he was just born as a spirit and is a very rare being. ...... I wonder if being from another world makes you more compatible with spirits?"

"I'm just touching them because they're right in front of me, so I don't know if I have any affinity with them."

If the genie is almost invisible to others, is it a one-man show situation? I'd be careful if you can get to a place where people are. It would be too sad if people think we are crazy in the place we have arrived.

I walk toward the marsh, fluffing up the fluffy floating spirits. I'm trying to control my fluids as much as possible, but I'm sweating so much that I'm afraid of dehydration. I have no choice but to drink water little by little, but every time I take a sip of tea, I feel uneasy.

**

"Here it is. There used to be a big swamp around here.

Sylphy's words made me look around ...... and see the same dry, reddish-brown earth as the others. The passage of time is scary.

"I wouldn't believe this place if Sylphy wasn't right when she said it used to be a wetland.

"Yes, it is. Humans are scary. Yuta, you have to take care of nature.

"Now I'm being killed by the harsh wilderness. ......"

"Oh ......, good luck surviving."

Don't look away. I stare at her, and Sylphy changes the subject.

"So, Yuta. How do you dig a hole?"

"Oh, you just use this."

He pulls out a magic hand auger from his pioneering tools.

Magic hand auger

Leave the digging to us. Just spin it around and you're digging!　Now you're an oil baron!　Flexibly resizable up to 2 meters. No weight on the handle.

We don't drill for oil. Well, if it can drill oil, it can drill wells.

"It's a strange tool. How does it work?"

Well, it's certainly an unusual shape, with a thin steel plate spirally attached under the T-shaped handle.

"Hmm?　You insert it into the ground and spin the T-shaped handle around to dig a hole."　

"Wow. What a strange tool. It looks interesting.

"Well, you'll see."

Insert the hand auger into the ground, spin it around, and insert it all the way to the base. This is where you make the hand auger the largest it can be. At the two-meter size, you have to be on top of the auger to turn the handle.

It is troublesome to lift up your body to turn the handle, but it does not require much strength to turn the handle even if you are on the top. The soil that comes up from the spiral can be stored and the hole can be dug easily.

I'm going to start digging now. I'm sorry, but could you just keep an eye on it to make sure no demons come?

"Yes, sir. Good luck."

"Te..."

With the support of Sylphy and the young genie, I get fired up and start digging a hole. I wonder if the spirit is cheering me up, but I'll be happy to think of it as ...... cheering me up.

The T-shaped handle is turned in a circular motion, and as the dirt that comes up to the surface is stored, it digs its way into the ground at a very high speed.

This is quite dangerous if it collapses. Well, since there is no vibration at all in digging the hole, I think the risk of collapse is small, but we should be cautious.

We don't have any materials to stop the earth, and if we hit the earth with a hammer, the rest of the site will collapse. I'd better get a shovel ready. If it comes crashing down, we can get under the shovel at its maximum.

I don't know if it will work that well, but we won't feel the weight of the shovel, and if we store the dirt on top of the shovel as much as we can, we can survive ...... probably.

If you dig a large mortar-shaped hole, you can dig deeper without getting caught in the collapse, but it will take time. If you take a long time and you run out of drink, you will die of thirst if there is no water. We should risk it here to secure a water hole.

With shovel on my back, I turn the handle of the hand auger, pushing down my fear. The occasional flurry of dirt sends shivers down my spine. Lord Water. Please come out soon.