Chapter 309 - Hollows and Pits
Chapter 309 Hollows and Pits
Since Hand of Magic could be reshaped through derivative spells, the magic apprentices’ first idea was to hold Hand of Magic above their head in the shape of an umbrella.
This did prevent them from being drenched for now.
However, Roland smiled from the pavilion; he did not think that it was a good idea.
It was true that Hand of Magic could be reshaped, but keeping it going could be very costly. Even though its magic cost was low, one would still be worn out if it was used for too long.
Even Roland would lose at least one-sixth of his mana if he kept a Hand of Magic of the same size going for a night even though his mana regeneration was doubled by Roland’s Zeal.
It was needless to mention those magic apprentices who had much less mana than Roland did.
It would already be a miracle if they could endure three hours.
But the clouds in the sky were thick, implying that the rain wouldn’t stop soon.
The magic apprentices took food out of the waterproof bags from the carriages and ate.
They sensed something wrong after they stood for a while.
It had almost been an hour, and they had lost half of their mana, but there was no sign that the rain was stopping.
More importantly… they were all starting to feel drowsy.
Probably in another hour, their Hand of Magic would be gone, and they would be awash with rainwater.
Besides, even if they could keep their Hand of Magic for a whole night, they would still need a place to sleep.
The ground was too wet to sleep on. But if they didn’t take a rest, the journey the next day would be exhausting.
None of the magic apprentices felt good.
Jerry, as an old man, had much more life experience than other magic apprentices did.
He cast his eyes to the stone pavilion.
It was a dark, rainy night, but the bright sphere hanging above the pavilion illuminated the whole place.
Even though owls were hooting in the darkness, it did not feel creepy at all. There was only a deep quiet and serenity brought by the rain.
Sitting straight on the rough stone chair, Roland was in a daze.
While Roland was on the forums, the apprentices, and even Andonara, always thought that Roland was meditating.
It was because Roland’s magic power would quickly regather when he was resting, which was also the corollary of meditation.
Jerry stared at the big pavilion, deeply fascinated.
He was quite impressed that Roland could use such a common spell so casually and marvelously.
It never occurred to him that Mud to Stone, which was only used to block enemies, had such a usage.
He was not dissatisfied by Roland’s decision to kick them into the rain and let them take care of themselves.
He even felt that it was how a qualified magic mentor should behave.
Roland was also the most responsible chairman that Jerry had seen in his sixty years of life.
So, Jerry was quite devoted to this trip. He did not want the chairman to think poorly of him because of any mistakes he made.
If possible, he wanted to learn and grow under the teaching of this young talented Mage for his whole life, even though he was in his sixties.
He stared at Roland in admiration for a while, before he turned around and whispered to his companions, “We’re going to be soaked soon. Besides, there’s no way we can sleep like this. So we have to try something else.”
Vivian frowned and asked, “How exactly are we going to manage? Our magic power won’t sustain us until the rain stops.”
“That’s why we have to cooperate, like how we helped those people build the docks in Delpon a few months earlier.”
Vivian’s eyes glittered. “Do you have an idea?”
Jerry nodded and proposed his plan. The other five magic apprentices’ eyes got brighter and brighter.
They then split up. Vivian and Domingo untied the horses and tethered them to a tree on the other side.
Of course, the coachmen, who were resting in the pavilion, helped them the moment they saw them. Those coachmen were of a low social status and had been hired. They dared not idly watch their bosses do the job.
After the horses were tethered, Vivian and Domingo pulled the carriages with Hand of Magic and arranged them in a circle of about four meters in diameter.
Very soon, the other four apprentices returned with a bunch of branches. They rubbed down the branches with Hand of Magic and removed all the leaves. Then, they placed the branches over the carriages, establishing a simple wooden roof.
In the end, Jerry took everybody’s tents out of the carriages and unfolded them on the roof, before he weighed the corners down with a few stones.
A simple waterproof shelter had been created.
The six magic apprentices were all relieved when they heard the raindrops splashing above their heads without reaching them.
But it wasn’t over yet. The six of them dug into the mud with Hand of Magic and soon made a huge pit.
The mud they dug out was pushed to the side of the pit and solidified into a round, half-meter-tall wall to resist water.
They kept digging, and after half a meter, the soil was finally dry. Then, they expanded the pit to about two meters in diameter and one meter in depth before they threw the bare branches they prepared earlier into the center of the pit.
At this point, everybody except Jerry had almost run out of magic power.
Jerry launched fire at the branches with Inferior Fireball, and the water in the branches was soon vaporized. After a few moments, they were smoking and burning.
Sensing the warmth of the fire that was driving their cold away, the six magic apprentices stayed in the dry pit and listened to the rain with a strong sense of safety.
Roland came to the pit at some point. A magic shield protected him from the rainwater. He looked at everyone and smiled. “Nice job.”
All the magic apprentices were very excited to be praised by Roland.
Andonara was standing next to Roland, a blue transparent umbrella in her hand.
It was made by Roland with Hand of Magic.
Andonara said in admiration, “If my teammates were as clever as them, my mercenary life wouldn’t have been that hard.”
Roland said, “Mages should create comfortable environments with their abilities. I personally think that Mages are entitled to a comfortable life.”
“If you were only as strong as them, what would you do?” asked Andonara curiously.
Roland pointed at the trees that were all over the place. They were very thick and mostly around one or two meters in diameter.
“I would dig a hollow in one of those trunks with Hand of Magic and hide in it. It’s much easier than to dig a pit.”