Chapter 11

Spinning the magic hand auger to dig a hole. Pushing forward to dig a large hole with a diameter of two meters.

Spinning to store, spinning to store, spinning to store, repeating endlessly. Digging forward mindlessly.

"Yuta, good job. You've dug quite deep in a short time."

"Ah, Sylph. The hand auger is amazing, so I can dig smoothly. Is something the matter?"

"No, I just came to check on you because I peeked into the hole and saw how deep it had become."

When Sylph spoke, I looked up and saw that the hole's entrance was quite far away. I must have dug about fifty meters deep.

"That's right. It's quite deep, isn't it? But there's no sign of water yet."

"Hmm. The soil around here is dead, so there won't be any water. How much deeper do you plan to dig?"

The soil is dead... That's a scary term. I've broken through a couple of bedrocks, but the soil is still dead. What kind of intense conflict must have occurred here? It's over the top.

"The soil is still dead. I plan to dig until I reach the limit. If the soil is dead, I want to reach where the soil is alive."

"Digging until the limit? That's scary because you don't know where the limit is."

In Japan, they dig over a thousand meters for hot springs. Fifty meters is still not that deep. I want water to come out, but a hot spring would be fine too. Oil would be difficult to use, so I'd rather not.

"I won't push myself too hard. I want to dig at least until I reach where the soil is alive..."

"Try not to overdo it."

"Yeah. Physically, it's not that hard, but I'll try my best without overdoing it."

When the hole gets deep, the risk of oxygen deprivation is scary. I'd like Sylph to send some air, but she said direct assistance isn't allowed, so it's probably not possible. Well, with a diameter of two meters, air should still come in.

Also, Sylph came down on the wind, so the air gets mixed, which helps. I should ask her to come down occasionally.

"Hey, Yuta. How do you plan to get out of here?"

"Hmm? If no water comes out, I'll release the stored soil to fill the hole and get out. If water comes out, I plan to dig a spiral staircase to climb up."

It would be great to dig a spiral staircase and get out.

"You've thought it through. That's good."

"Sylph, do you think I'm stupid? I've thought it through."

"Hehe, I don't think you're stupid. I was just a little worried, sorry."

Oh, she's cute.

"Thanks for worrying. It's a good change of pace. It would help if you could come to check on me occasionally."

"Sure. But the next time I come, it will be that girl. Try not to get angry at her noise."

That girl... the young elemental spirit. She's bright and fun, so it would be a good change of pace.

"I won't get angry, but if she makes too much noise and the walls collapse, that would be scary. Please tell her to be careful."

"Oh, that's dangerous. I'll make sure to tell her, so don't worry."

"Thanks."

After parting with Sylph, I immersed myself in digging again. Spinning to store, spinning to store, how many more times will I repeat this?

***

"Kya-ha-ha. It's dark."

While I was focused on digging, a laugh echoed from above. The young elemental spirit must have come to play. It's dark... yeah, it's dark. I didn't notice because I was so focused, but it's so deep that no light reaches here. I should light up the area. I cast a magic light ball.

"Ah, I caught it!"

The young elemental spirit rushed in from the other side of the light ball. Can she stop at that speed? I brace myself to catch her. What's the mass of a spirit?

As I braced, the young elemental spirit suddenly slowed down and floated in front of me. Spirits are amazing.

"Yuta, are you happy?"

"Yeah, I'm very happy."

"Very, very."

She's flying around the light ball, laughing. I have no idea what makes her happy.

"Is digging holes fun?"

She stopped abruptly and asked. I can't keep up with the pace.

"Ah, well, it's not fun. I'm digging hard because I want water."

"Ah, I see. Water is important."

She put her hand on her chin and nodded. Does she understand? It seems like she's just imitating someone. There's no point in correcting her, so I'll let it go.

"That's right. Water is important."

"Wind is important too."

"Yeah, wind is important."

Is this about the pride of a wind spirit? I pet her head and praise the wind. She seemed happy to be praised and laughed, then flew off at high speed. She said she's going to report to Sylph. Well, I've had a good change of pace. Time to get back to digging.

Spinning to store, spinning to store. After digging for a while, the soil coming up from the spiral changed to rock. Another bedrock.

Even with bedrock, I don't need to change the force I apply. The magic hand auger is amazing. It grinds up the rock and digs forward. This bedrock is quite thick.

The rock that was coming up stopped, and soil started coming up again. I must have broken through the bedrock. I was digging and storing soil when I noticed something odd.

Looking closely at the soil, it wasn't the reddish, dry soil I had seen before. It had turned into the black soil I had seen in Japan. My spirits lifted, and I dug further. The soil turned into sand mixed with small stones. When I picked up the sand, it was slightly damp.

Suppressing my excitement, I slowly spun the hand auger. After a few rotations, water started seeping out. To be safe, I spun it half a turn more and stored the hand auger. Water started pooling in the hole.

I wanted to shout in joy, but I held back to avoid a collapse. I was about to fill a water bottle with the water when I noticed it was turbid.

I remember that wells need to be lined with stones or gravel to create a filter. And the turbidity needs to settle for about a day.

My spirits, which had risen, quickly fell. But don't be sad. Water has come out, so the risk of dying of thirst is gone. As long as this water isn't toxic, I can get water with a little more effort.

The water has risen to my knees. The water flow seems good, and there's hope. I need to stay positive. Water has come out. It's quite deep and hard to get water, but at least I can survive. I was trying to cheer myself up when Sylph appeared in front of me.

"Water has come out. Yuta, that's amazing. Hmm? You don't seem very happy. What's wrong?"

"Ah, Sylph. I'm not unhappy, but I'm a bit blue because of the turbidity, the water quality, and the difficulty of getting water."

"Hehe, if that's the case, it might be solvable."

"What? What do you mean, Sylph?"

Is there a good solution?

"I told you before to prepare the environment. I'll bring a water spirit. If the spirit decides to stay, it will solve several problems. It might not like it here, but it should at least clean the water."

Wow, spirits are amazing. Just cleaning the water would help a lot.

"That would be a huge help. Please do it."

"Sure. I'll bring it in the morning. But Yuta, you need to hurry and make the stairs to get out of here."

"Huh? Why do I need to hurry? I can make it by morning, right?"

"I don't mind taking it slow, but the sun will set in two to three hours. Zombies and skeletons will start moving, and if they fall into the well, it would be terrible. Do you want to drink water from a well with zombies in it?"

Zombies... That's the worst. I need to get out and seal the hole quickly.

"I'll do my best. Thanks for the advice, Sylph."

"Hehe, I think that's a good idea. Good luck."

Sylph left, so I hurried to make the spiral staircase. I carefully cut the steps with a saw to prevent the walls from collapsing.

If it collapses, it would be tragic, so I need to be careful. Making a neat spiral staircase in a circular well is difficult. Cutting and storing is repetitive, but it's easier knowing the goal.

The fear of not finding water after digging so deep was a significant pressure.

I repeated cutting and storing while entertaining the young elemental spirit who came to play. I couldn't stop because of the time limit, but she cheered me on without complaining. It was touching.

Encouraged by Sylph and the young elemental spirit, I finally reached the surface. It was dark outside, but only about twenty minutes had passed since sunset, and the zombies hadn't come out yet.

I placed the large rock I had cut earlier to seal the well. I'm glad I cut it large because it was a hassle.

"Yuta, what do you plan to do next?"

"Hmm, what should I do? You'll bring a water spirit in the morning, right? It would be a hassle to go back to the base and come back here in the morning, so I want to rest nearby... but there are no rock mountains nearby because it's a wetland."

"Then why don't you make a place to sleep on the large rock sealing the well? You don't need a big hole just to sleep, right?"

"Wow, Sylph, you're a genius."

"Genius!"

If I cut a large rock to make a room, I can create a mobile base. The possibilities are endless.

Thank you for reading.