Chapter 6

After obtaining the druid's address, Henry discussed with Kegan and decided to visit the druid lady early the next morning to accurately understand the detailed situation of the burrowing worms in the village. After nightfall, Henry returned to his room, copied two divine spells he hadn't used during the day onto scrolls, and then lay on the bed and opened the system.

Human, male, 14 years old, absolutely neutral, profession: Wizard 1st level, experience 1063/2500, Druid 1st level, experience 1062/2000

During the day, each burrowing worm contributed up to 975 experience points to Henry. The goblins only provided 35 experience points. This clearly showed the ferocity and difficulty of dealing with the worms, no wonder ordinary adventurers didn't come here. Killing three more would allow him to level up to 2nd level in both Wizard and Druid. He hoped the news tomorrow wouldn't be too bad; if the numbers were too high, they would have to turn and run. After thinking for a while, Henry began to prepare his spells and divine spells, prayed, and then took off his clothes to rest.

Jetti woke up early in the morning. She had been feeling very anxious lately. The number of burrowing worms was too high, and her animal companion, the cloud eagle, told her that there had been more than three incidents of worms attacking passersby this month. If this continued, the entire forest would have no other animals. It was only a matter of time before the village was attacked by the worms.

Suddenly, someone shouted from outside the house: "Is Druid Jetti here?" Hearing the call, she immediately opened the door of the treehouse. She saw a dwarf and a young boy standing under the tree. They were Kegan and Henry. The female druid quickly climbed down the vine next to the treehouse and asked, "What do you need?"

Henry briefly observed the lady. She wore black leather armor, carried a spear over two meters long, had brown hair, brown eyes, and slender limbs. She also had a pair of pointed ears. Wait, pointed ears? This was an elf or half-elf.

He stepped forward and bowed to the female druid. "Hello, beautiful elf lady. We are adventurers here to hunt burrowing worms. Yesterday, we heard from Brown that their numbers have been particularly high in recent years, and we came to confirm this."

Jetti thought for a moment and said, "Their numbers are indeed high, with at least 50 in the entire area. Also, I am just a half-elf." Seeing that the two were here to help, her attitude improved significantly. "If you are here to hunt the worms, you need to kill at least 25. Bring proof of their deaths to me for a reward. 200 gold coins per worm, and I can give an additional magical item to the young druid."

The dwarf muttered, "It's a good deal, I think we should take it." Upon hearing the generous reward, Kegan immediately became excited. Henry thought for a moment; 25 worms would earn them 5000 gold coins in rewards and an additional magical item. The shells from the worms could be sold for 12500 gold coins, making the profit from this mission directly 20,000 gold coins.

"As you wish, we will bring the heads of 25 worms as proof within three days," Henry finally agreed.

"West of Brown's farm, there is a large cave where most of the burrowing worms mate. You should start from there," Jetti said, pleased that they had accepted the task and reminded them.

After a half-hour walk, Henry and Kegan arrived at a large cave with a diameter of over 5 meters. The inside was pitch black. "I think we should go back to the village to buy some torches," the dwarf suggested, realizing they were unprepared.

"Light," Henry cast a 0-level cantrip on the dwarf's axe. Kegan's large axe emitted a soft light, and he extended it into the pit, finding it could illuminate about 7 meters. "Magic is really convenient," Kegan remarked and found a large tree to tie a rope and jumped into the cave. Henry followed and climbed down the rope.

The cave was not very deep, only about ten meters from the surface. The tunnels inside were spacious, about four meters high and three meters wide, making it easy to run and fight. The pixie Louise, holding a small stick with a light spell, was sent to scout the cave. Such a small creature would not attract the attention of the burrowing worms.

Henry and Kegan organized their equipment and prepared scrolls at the cave entrance. In less than ten minutes, Louise returned and began reporting to her master. Henry frowned, feeling the pixie's thoughts and calculating. The cave was not small, and the burrowing worms were distributed throughout. Most were in groups of two or three, with a large one over four meters long and four others about 3.5 meters long in the deepest part.

After a brief discussion with Kegan, they decided that a direct assault was not feasible. They decided to lure the worms to the cave entrance and burn them. With the plan set, they began to act. Kegan collected firewood, and Henry went back to the village to buy some oil to aid in the burning. After an hour and a half, the area ten meters below the cave entrance was covered with a thick layer of firewood and dry grass. Henry returned from the village with a torch and two clay jars of cooking oil, weighing about twenty pounds. He spread the oil on the branches, completing the fire trap. When the torch was lit and thrown down, the area from the cave entrance to ten meters inside would become a death trap, and the burrowing worms would be trapped. Henry then cast an "Oily Ground" spell to ensure none could escape. Kegan rested for a while, removed his helmet and armor to reduce his load and run faster.

"Why do I always have to be the bait? Being chased by a bunch of big worms is not a pleasant experience," the dwarf grumbled as he climbed down the rope.

"Think about the reward after completing the task! Kegan, that's 20,000 gold coins," Henry's words immediately lifted the dwarf's spirits.

"Yes, 20,000 gold coins! Oh, how much wine that can buy. I can't wait to complete the task and go to Belgorst's tavern to buy all the rare wines," Kegan's mind began to wander uncontrollably.

"Blessing," Henry used a divine scroll on the dwarf before he climbed down, making their weapons more likely to hit the target's vital points. He then lit the torch with a flint and held it in his hand.

"Kegan, run fast, I'll back you up," Henry shouted into the cave.

"I'll run as fast as I can, don't worry," the dwarf replied and walked into the depths with his axe, which had been enchanted with light. A few minutes later, Henry felt the ground tremble slightly, indicating that Kegan and the worm army were approaching.

Henry suddenly felt a bit nervous. After taking a deep breath, he prepared the "Oily Ground" spell. He saw the dwarf leap from the cave, grab the rope, and shout, "Go!" as he began to climb up. "Oily Ground" was cast, and a large area of oil covered the firewood below. He threw the torch down and started pulling the rope.

A loud explosion came from the cave entrance as the oil-soaked firewood burned fiercely. The dwarf, still on the rope, was also affected. His clothes, shoes, hair, and his proud beard were all set on fire. After being pulled up, the dwarf immediately rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames. "Create Water" was cast, and two gallons of water were poured over the dwarf, extinguishing the fire.

Kegan now looked disheveled, drenched, with his pants burned off below the knees and his hair in a mess. His once beautiful, waist-length beard was now only half its length. But he had no time to worry about these things. After the fire was extinguished, he quickly put on his helmet and armor, not knowing when the worms might charge up.

With Henry's help, the dwarf was fully equipped in less than two minutes, holding his shield and axe, nervously watching the cave entrance. Henry suddenly felt a danger behind him, pushed the dwarf away, and rolled to the side. A large, blackened worm leaped from where they had been standing. "Damn, I knew it wouldn't be that easy," the dwarf cursed, getting up and rushing forward with his axe. He successfully blocked the worm's jaws with his shield and cut into the gap in its armor. With a "thud," the worm's head was cut in half, and green fluid splattered all over Kegan. After a successful hit, he followed up with another strike, and the worm's head fell off, killing it. Kegan wiped the green fluid from his face and said, "Damn, these disgusting things are hot. I bet the others are cooked down there."

Henry walked over and examined the corpse, telling the dwarf, "The burrowing worms' bodies are soft and mostly water, so high temperatures are fatal to them. This one is already cooked by the high temperature and wouldn't have lived long even if we hadn't killed it. The heat didn't damage the shell, so there's no need to worry about it being unsellable. How many did you attract?"

"At least 20. We'll count them after the fire dies down. If there are any left, we'll have to act again tomorrow. I'm exhausted today; this is not an easy job for a 300-year-old dwarf," the dwarf complained.

Henry nodded and continued to be on guard. The fire in the cave burned fiercely for about fifteen minutes before it started to die down. The intense smoke blackened the cave entrance. After the fire was extinguished, they approached the cave entrance and looked inside. The remaining embers illuminated the inside. The cave entrance was blocked by several worms. It seemed that the burning had driven the worms mad, and they were desperately trying to escape, causing five worms to be stuck in the three-meter-wide cave.

Seeing no danger, they re-tied the rope and descended into the cave. Looking at the blackened burrowing worms, who would have thought that so many powerful creatures could be killed by a simple burning trap? Henry suddenly remembered a line from a book he had read before his穿越: "A true wizard always solves problems with wisdom, while one who always solves problems with force is just a barbarian who uses magic."

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