Farmer Mage

Chapter 40: Uncertainty

Cal could faintly hear Seris’s stuttered answers to Tavia’s equally faint questioning. Still, he was more interested in figuring out how to fill the tub with the required amount of water.

Drex told him he needed to make a slurry composed of two parts water and one part powdered crystal.

That’s all well and good, but the issue Cal was having was forming a rain cloud small enough to have it work. He had tried multiple times to cast the spell while trying to concentrate it over a tub with minimal mana supplied, but it was almost like there was a minimum spend requirement.

I might have to go to Mariner’s Rest and speak to Vaela. I was foolish not to have picked an appropriate spell in Lumina when I knew it was necessary. I can create one by trial and error, but it will take me days at a minimum.

Cal figured a trip to town would waste at least an hour. That was not what he wanted when this was the last day of his [Tier] boost.

He scratched his chin as he considered the best way to go about this.

I could use [Rainfall] anyway. Make the clouds as compact as possible to reduce the water landing on the field. The leftover mini-pond from my tests of [Rainfall] has evaporated a little, but I don’t want to add too much to cause another potential headache.

Cal looked at the pond he was thinking about when he saw something he barely thought about anymore. The large hole the little beast dug up.

It had become such a regular part of my field that it has almost become invisible. It also helps that it is out of the way, so it can’t really interfere with anything to bring it to my attention.

What if I fill it with water? Will it be able to hold it properly? In the future, it could act like a reservoir for an irrigation system.

Cal removed the containers of powdered crystals from the tubs. He carried them to the accidentally created pond, again passing his house’s entrance where he pretended he couldn’t see Seris shooting him alarmed looks.

She’ll be fine. Tavia is kinder than most.

His thinking was backed up by the amused smirk he could see on Tavia’s lips.

Cal reached the edge of the pond and placed the tubs side-by-side. He supposed it didn’t matter since the storm cloud he would create would be far larger than all three of the tubs combined.

He retreated to a safe distance—near the hole the little beast made—and raised his arm to cast the spell. His mana eagerly reacted to do his bidding, and a familiar cloud began to form rapidly.

Cal did his best to make it as compact as possible, which was somewhat successful. Above the tubs, a storm cloud covering around a hundred square feet appeared. It was only two or three times larger than the combined tubs.

He considered that a huge success.

Cal didn’t hold back, supplied the spell with all the mana he possessed and waited patiently for the downpour to stop. A short time later, it did.

The tubs were overflowing with water, and the rest of the rainfall, which was not insignificant, contributed to expanding the existing pond.

… Wait a second. How is there a pond when the ground is mostly flat?

Cal walked past the filled tubs and walked into the pond. That walk turned into wading, which was a surprise since he knew for a fact that it shouldn’t be this deep.

After he initially tested [Rainfall], the water had been spread thinly, but what he assumed was rapid evaporation had instead been consolidation. He continued until he stood at the center, where the water reached below his knees.

Cal twisted his foot, expecting to feel his boot digging into soft dirt, but he felt the familiar hard surface instead.

This makes no sense.

“What are you doing?”

He wasn’t surprised to hear Tavia’s voice behind him. He heard both her and Seris walking over. “I’m trying to figure out how this pond exists.”

“I think you made it exist, boss. That was awesome, though! I never saw anything like it before.”

Cal turned to see Seris staring at him with sparkling eyes, putting him on a higher pedestal than he already was in her mind. “That was a simple spell. If you want ‘awesome,’ look at the person beside you. Tavia is a [Mage]. I bet she can show you something far more impressive.”

Seris clearly didn’t know what a [Mage] was. All Initiates were amazing to her, but his words were enough to switch her awestruck gaze to Tavia.

“Really!?”

Cal looked down as they conversed and twisted his foot again as if that would somehow break through the ground. It was like the water had depressed the ground to create a concave shape, and the only thing that could make it possible was the mana the water possessed since it was created by his spell.

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Drex did say using mana on the ground had a noticeable effect, and this could be one of them.

Even then, this is a stretch to believe. I will have to test this sometime later.

“—if I do?”

Cal realized that Tavia was asking him something and looked up. She had an amused smile on her lips. “What was that?”

“Seris wanted me to show her a spell. Do you mind if I do?”

“Ah, that’s fine. You don’t need to ask me permission for that,” Cal paused and added, “As long as you don’t damage something.”

“There’s nothing to worry about there. I just started learning this, so there’s little chance of that,” Tavia turned away from Cal and Seris and raised her arms.

I always wondered what element Tavia would specialize in. I never learned since she disappeared in my first life. My guess is Earth. She seems fairly grounded and stable.

Tavia clapped her hands. And the world was lit on fire.

He saw a flash of light, followed by a burst of flame that roared to life—thankfully a good distance away—and formed a twenty-foot wall of death. He could feel the heat clearly, even from a distance, while he stood in the water.

However, that wasn’t what attracted most of Cal’s attention. What Tavia did was impressive, especially when considering she had only gone through the Selection several days ago. But no, what caught Cal’s attention was her expression.

He couldn’t see it clearly since he could only see part of Tavia’s face, but it was more than enough.

Tavia’s usually calm, collected demeanor was shattered. The flames danced in her eyes, reflecting a euphoric, wild, and almost manic expression. Her cheeks were flushed, and the slight smile on her lips was more threatening than it had any right to be. It was like the fire had ignited something primal within Tavia.

Cal didn’t take his eyes off her when the fire spell was active. He still didn’t take his eyes off her when it ended several seconds later.

“That was amazing!” Seris squealed, getting close to Tavia. “You learned that only a few days ago?”

“That’s right. It will be even more amazing when I fully master it,” Tavia had a proud smirk as she gave Cal frequent glances. “You’re not the only one to learn a spell quickly, Cal.”

“Impressive,” Cal nodded. Nothing else could be said about it, but that disappointed her. It seemed she expected a more dramatic response.

“… Anyway, I interrupted whatever you are doing here to let you know we’re leaving for Lumina. I mentioned that I needed to go there to replace the furnishings, and Seris wanted to come with me.”

There was no question in those sentences, but Tavia clearly gave him the option to tell her that Seris would be needed for something else. And he thought of doing exactly that, but not because it was the truth.

I don’t think I’ve seen that look Tavia had on anyone except battle maniacs. I saw it in the Trainees of the invading guild. Even right before I killed them, they were enjoying the fight. I want to believe I was seeing things, but I’m not in a habit of fooling myself.

“I’m glad you’re both getting along, but are you trying to skip out on work again?” Cal raised his eyebrows at Seris. “You will be busy today. Besides, I told you I will take you the next time I visit the city.”

Tavia patted her shoulder in apology before saying, “You heard him. Maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” Seris muttered, looking more put out by the second.

This is probably my paranoia. Still, it’s better to be cautious.

“I’ll see you in a few hours, Cal! Try not to make another rock hill before I return.” Tavia went to the stable and the horses walked right to the carriage without any action from her. She hooked them on carriage and took a seat inside, which was apparently enough to get it to go in an all-out sprint.

“She’s so awesome,” Seris said in an awed whisper when Tavia disappeared.

“Hm,” Cal was still confused—and concerned—by what he saw. “What would be awesome is if you could draw the field's dimensions and take it back to Orrin. It might be of help to him.”

Seris stared at him as if she was making sure he was being serious. His expression didn’t change one bit.

“I don't know how to make it accurate, but I’ll try.”

Cal watched her go without a word. He didn’t care how well—or terrible—she did. This was mainly an excuse to get her away from Tavia. He still didn’t think his new housemate was dangerous, but he couldn’t let someone helpless like Seris go with her when he was just reminded of the battle maniacs he had killed.

As a plus, he expected that whatever Seris would make would confuse Orrin more than help. It would push him to visit the field earlier.

Cal frowned when the water he stood in seeped into his boot for the first time. He immediately walked out and went back to work.

He tipped the excess water out of the tubs and into the pond, leaving what was required based on Drex’s instructions. It took a few trips to get them over to the dirt patch, and his wet clothes annoyed him greatly with every step.

I will not change them. They will get dirty again later today.

Cal picked up a container of powdered crystals and removed the lid before tipping it carefully into the first tub. Two-thirds of the tub was water. The rest would be the powdered crystal.

Half of the powdered crystal’s container had been emptied when the tub was full, and it floated on top of the water.

I need to mix it.

Cal wasn’t going to do it with his bare hands. He put down the container and closed it before heading to the storage room.

He returned with one of the many spare pickaxes he had available. He used the wooden handle to stir the water and powdered crystal mixture into a slurry. It was not as easy-flowing as pure water, but it wasn’t too viscous where it would be an issue to pour out of the tub.

Drex didn’t really give Cal an instruction on how much to pour on the dirt patch, so he decided to cover it with enough slurry to cover everything. In his mind, more was better than less.

To Cal’s relief, it went smoother than he expected. Drex did say time was the most tedious factor in restoring the damaged dirt into farmable soil, but he had still expected issues.

One tub of slurry covered nearly half of the small, five-hundred-square-foot dirt patch. He would need two more rounds to complete this step.

Perfect.

Cal prepared the other two tubs and made the slurry before applying it to the dirt patch.

At the end, an odd, multi-colored, sparkling slurry covered what was previously a black, loam-covered dirt patch. It looked ridiculous.

He scratched his chin as he stared at it. Drex didn’t mention that he would need to wait for any specified amount of time before the next step, but he had also mentioned it would take days to complete just one round of repair.

Obviously, Cal needed to wait, but he just didn’t know for how long. After a few more seconds, he decided to wait for half a day, just like after the first step. Then, he could start the final step and still be within the [Tier] boost period.

“Boss! What should I note this down as?!” Seris’s faint voice yelled out from behind his house, a place he had neglected entirely.

Cal was half alarmed and half curious about what he had missed.