Chapter 108
The journey wasn't too far. Before the sun set, they arrived at the clearing camp. The area around the camp was covered with low thorn vines, extending much further than the camp. From a distance, it even looked somewhat orderly. Approximately one square mile of land was enclosed by a grid of thorn vines. Their developed roots also anchored the sandy soil, enhancing their water retention capabilities.
"Teacher..." Sylas suddenly called out in a soft voice, pointing to the northeast and saying, "The wind went there."
They could always "see" a large air duct in the sky, winding its way into the distance. Countless small gusts of "wind" would race past them, merging into this massive and dazzling turbulent flow.
But the wind in this area didn't directly join the air above. Instead, it entered another stream, flowing in the direction Sylas pointed to, carried by her running companions. This stream crept along the ground, appearing to merge into the air duct only at the horizon.
It's as if something is attracting them to linger on the ground. Could it be the earth's energy?
This is also Xerath's question, she said to Virgil, "Should we set up camp first or go take a look first?"
"You seem eager. Over there is the excavation site of dragon bones. I suggest we don't get too close at night, as it might cause unnecessary disputes. I'll go check the hotel."
Virgil left first, Xerath stood up and sat on the Water Lord. Hyectra turned into a water mattress and placed the Archmage on top. Sylas, for some reason, remembered the feeling of lying on a water mattress for the first time. She squeezed next to Xerath, feeling safe like being in an impregnable fortress.
But honestly, the Water Lord wasn't anything special. She, too, had a Water Lord. Leunen transformed into a flattened cushion, carrying Sylas low in the sky, flying back and forth restlessly.
"Can you fly a bit higher?"
"You know I can't, I'm just water. I'm not wind." Leunen jumped slightly, passed through a thicket, then landed back to its original height. In that respect, it was much more useful than an Earth Child. However, this useful Water Lord refused to carry people, claiming it wouldn't do such a simple task.
Sylas leaned on it, focused on writing her experiment steps. Xerath leaned closer and asked, "Not done yet? Sometimes delaying doesn't make your plan more perfect. Don't worry about being all-encompassing. We still have plenty of opportunities to correct any mistakes before measuring."
Sylas said, "Teacher, I have an idea, but should I say it now...? It feels like saying it would make our measurements useless."
"It's fine to say it. I always admire your keen observation skills."
"If wind gathers because of Earth's energy, wouldn't it be more effective for us to observe 'wind' in order to better understand the strength of Earth's energy?"
"First, we need to determine if there is any correlation between them, preferably if there is a cause-and-effect relationship. Secondly, if you think that 'wind' can be seen so clearly, it should be measurable too, right? Unfortunately, it can't be. This is just our subjective perception and cannot be presented to others."
"Oh..."
"But at least we can roughly determine the range of Earth's energy."
"I can't wait anymore!" Sylas eagerly leaned against the edge of Leunen's body, her sparkling eyes looking at Xerath.
Xerath couldn't help but smile. The little creature loved this kind of toy, which was a good sign. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we have to wait for Virgil to come back."
Reluctantly, Sylas pulled back. Leunen hovered low in the air, and Xerath said behind her, "Subjective feelings cannot be used as a judging criteria. Throughout history, many great wizards have tried to explain what they see and feel to the general public, but most of them failed. Everyone wishes elemental perception can be quantified, but this feeling is elusive, so it cannot be written into academic papers."
"Of course," Xerath said, "It is the basic requirement of the 'community' that everyone can obtain the same results from experiments and reach the same conclusions from deductions. However, when it comes to elemental perception, about half of the people are unable to replicate the measurements or observations. Xerath seemed troubled by this issue, as shown by her melancholy expression.
Finally, Virgil returned. He crossed through a thorny thicket, his long legs proving to be of great help. Before he even reached them, he shouted loudly, "It's gone. There are no empty rooms left. We'll have to camp outside, and you can teach your little creature how to say goodbye to a life of luxury."
Xerath happily agreed, "Since that's the case, let's go and see the crystallization before sunset." Before anyone could agree, she dashed to the front, with her Earth Child following closely behind, rumbling.
The Earth Child clearly had an advantage in this thorny area. Its heavy body could push through the thorny vines without getting scratched, protecting the baggage on its broad shoulders. However, it was much slower than the water lord's air bed.
After walking a while, they emerged from the grid of thorny vines. The amount of sand in the air suddenly increased as they entered the vegetation-free desert interior. They were getting closer to the colorful "tributary."
Describing it as colorful isn't quite accurate. Overall, it was transparent, with various colors mixed inside. However, it looked a bit obvious due to its thickness. Virgil couldn't see anything, anyway.
The tributary was originally located above the ground, but now the two of them could clearly see it falling straight from mid-air. The nearby "winds" were excitedly saying, "Let's jump down and bounce!"
They circled on the ground just to "jump down and bounce."
The dragon bones also revealed menacing rib cages. The wind became livelier after the bounce, eagerly passing through the holes in the ribs, playfully flying into the sky, merging with the turbulent currents of the western winds.
Some of the "winds" purposely made a loop around them, calling for them to join in.
Sand grains floated in the wind. The archmage tightened her headscarf and dismounted from Hyectra's back. She held a damaged measuring stone in her hand and approached the chaotic edge of the "tributary."
She didn't know when she got a thin rope. While walking, she wrapped it around the rocks a few times, and then hung the rocks near the ground by her feet. Earth Child was left behind by her.
As the water lord walked forward, he waved his hand in front of his eyes and complained when he reached Xerath, "These naughty kids keep pulling my beard!"
Xerath looked at it for a moment, maybe not understanding where the "beard" was. "Can you be affected by the earth's energy?"
The water lord shook his head, "I am not one of these mischievous troublemakers who don't know how to be serious. I am a respectable water lord."
"So, do you feel any of the earth's energy? These 'winds' are activated, but what about water? Not at all?"
The water lord snapped his fingers and several small water droplets appeared in the air. They then scattered into smaller ones and flew away with the wind.
"No, but the tiny water droplets can be blown away. It's all because the 'winds' are too mischievous."
Sylas also leaned over, imitating Xerath by wrapping herself up completely, to the point where the archmage reached out to hold her hand and couldn't help but ask Hyectra, "Am I like this?"
The deep blue gentleman (now murky) honestly nodded. Sylas looked at her and sincerely asked, "Teacher, are you checking if this is the crystallized boundary?"
Yes, you take a piece and stand in that spot." The spot she picked was in the middle of the blurry boundary of "wind," and the spot she pointed to for Sylas was at the outer edge of the active range of "wind.
Sylas caught the rock that Virgil threw and then took the thread roll from Xerath's hand. She tied the rock securely and let it hang close to the ground.
The wind here is so strong that even the rocks could almost be blown away.
"You look unhappy, hmm?"
Sylas slowly shook her head, "No, why would you think that?"
"I saw that you had come up with several plans for measuring the boundary along the way, but I didn't expect it to be this simple. Aren't you disappointed?"
Sylas suddenly laughed, her eyes forming crescents and her gaze gentle and calm. Every time Xerath looked at her, she would tilt her head slightly, which softened Xerath's mood.
"A little bit."
"Thinking about the work might make it a bit easier, and we can also return home earlier. Maybe it will feel slightly better?"
Her students still looked at her with a smile, "Maybe, you're right. But, have there been any Earth Child crystallizations? Has anyone tried it?"
Xerath blinked in surprise, "It seems like there haven't been any relevant records. The study of crystallization only started in the past few decades and hasn't made much progress. Do you want to try it? Bury an Earth Child here, come and observe its changes when you have time, and make sure it doesn't get bored and run away. I've also wondered, are there no Earth Child sleeping near the crystallization? Won't their bodies shatter without the crystallization energy?"
"Then let's bury one," Sylas's eyes became excited, as if it were the eve of a prank.
Xerath also became enthusiastic, "Okay, after we determine the scope of the crystallization, we'll bury one."
Sylas suddenly pointed at a slightly tilted stone that had been blown by the wind, "Wow, it has changed!"
Xerath collected the stone and noticed that the edge of the yellow cloudy crystal seemed to have been infiltrated by a different material, becoming opaque.
"How long did we say it would take?"
Sylas looked at the hourglass hanging from her waist, "About the time it takes for an hourglass to empty."
"Have you also read the instructions for that measuring device?"
"Yes, I saw it on the first day and reviewed it again last night."
"The crystallization reading requires the measurement of three hourglasses."
