This was the thirteenth day since Roussel and Lucia fell into the Abyssal Chasm. The supplies left in their backpacks were only half a bag of water and a loaf of bread. According to their original plan, they should have returned to the nearby Gold-Panning Town four days ago, so they only had ten days' worth of supplies with them.
Looking at Lucia's chapped lips, Roussel could not bear to see her like this. He handed her the half bag of water and said gently, "Drink some."
After the Abyssal Chasm invaded, the environment of the Margan Desert became even harsher. The surface temperature continued to rise, and the two's water consumption also increased significantly. The water they brought had long been drunk, and the remaining half bag was made by Roussel using magic.
Unfortunately, the water elemental particles nearby were too scarce. Just the simplest level-one water magic, Water Arrow, consumed one-third of Roussel's magic. Magic recovery here was especially slow compared to the outside world, so the academic director had to use it sparingly.
Lucia shook her head and refused the half bag of water. She looked sad. "I … I can't do it anymore. Grand Magus Roussel, don't worry about me. I've calculated your magic consumption. If you're alone, you can at least last for another ten days. There's no need to bring a burden like me."
Roussel was amused by the female magician. He had long heard that Lucia, the Archmage of the Laurel Academy of Magic, was an academic magician. She did nothing other than teaching and doing research. She was already in her thirties, but she was still as innocent as a piece of white paper. How could she still be in the mood to calculate his magic consumption at this time?
The academic director snorted. "Don't you want to finish your thesis?"
"Ah?" Lucia was stunned. She whispered, "Is this the time to pay attention to the thesis?"
"Since you know it's not the right time to talk about this kind of thing, just drink the water."
"Oh." The female magician's greatest strength was that she was obedient. She obediently pulled out the cork, but she only moistened her already dull lips a little before returning the water bag to Roussel.
However, the latter did not reach out his hand. Lucia felt uneasy. She replayed what had just happened in her mind, wondering if she had done something wrong again. She was no stranger to this kind of situation. Since she was young, similar things had always happened. Because she was not familiar with the ways of the world, she did not know when she would do something wrong or say something wrong.
Although she couldn't find the reason, Lucia was still wondering if she should admit her mistake first. In the next moment, she saw Roussel suddenly raise his staff, and six earth spikes flew towards her without warning. The female mage was completely scared out of her wits. Lucia had little experience in fighting, and she could only stand there stupidly in the face of this sudden change. Fortunately, the six earth spikes flew past her face and into the yellow sand behind her.
Before the female magician could rejoice at her narrow escape from death, she saw a burst of blood where the Earth Awl had pierced.
An ugly monster with the head of an antelope and the body of a crocodile screamed from below. There were three bloody wounds on its body, but black liquid flowed out of them like ink.
The thing looked at Roussel with hatred in its eyes. It clearly knew that the person who had just injured it was the man not far away. Unfortunately, it was destined to have no chance for revenge. The next magic flashed, and its head was separated from its body.
"What … What is this thing?" Lucia was still in shock.
"A sheep-head crocodile, a creature from the Abyss. Its strength is about level-4, but this is their home field, so it can probably increase by half a level." Roussel frowned.
The reason why the natural environment of the Margan Desert was constantly deteriorating was because of the pollution of the Abyss. The appearance of the cracks not only brought endless monsters, but also gradually changed the geographical environment at the border. Therefore, after discovering the Abyssal Cracks, they had to deal with it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the difficulty would continue to increase, and the price to seal it after the transformation was completely completed would be terrifying.
Fortunately, this crack had not appeared for too long, only slightly more than a year. Of course, the premise was that they could leave this place and report the news to the Magic Association and the church in time.
"What I fear has really come." A bitter smile appeared on Roussel's lips again.
The next moment, even Lucia felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. The female Magician nervously asked, "Is it an earthquake?"
"No, it's a hunt."
"Hunt? What hunt? Aren't there no creatures here anymore? "
"There weren't before, but there are now," the academic director said softly.
"Where …" Lucia suddenly realized something halfway through her sentence, and could not help but gasp. "They're coming for us?"
"Prepare for battle." Roussel did not waste any time. He cast a shield in front of each of them. Within the area of effect of the Abyss, the magical elements would more or less be affected to a certain extent. However, in comparison, the magical elements of the water element were the most affected, and the earth element was much better. Roussel now mostly used earth magic in battle.
Lucia's hand that was holding the staff trembled involuntarily. She could already see the dust and sand rising from the distance rapidly approaching them. It was as if there were thousands of horses and soldiers galloping at them.
The female Magician sobbed. "But … but I don't know how to fight. Why don't you just leave me and run? This desert is very big. You can use Phase Shift to deal with these monsters."
Roussel ignored Lucia's suggestion and directly said, "Later, I'll be responsible for blocking the monsters in three directions. The pressure from the back is the least, so I'll leave it to you. Don't be afraid. These things only look fierce. They are not as high as you. As long as you don't panic first, you'll be fine."
Lucia didn't even have time to raise any questions before the battle began. The female magician was in a daze for the last half of the spell. She didn't know how she got through it. She only felt that she was surrounded by the shadows of monsters. At first, she was still afraid, but after releasing the first spell in a flurry, she had lost the ability to think. She desperately waved the staff in her hand under her survival instinct, and she didn't even know that her magic power was exhausted.
After an unknown amount of time, when she came back to her senses, there were no longer any monsters around her. Lucia then came to her senses and shouted excitedly, "We did it! We did it!!!"
Roussel, who was at the side, clutched his lower abdomen and grunted.
Only then did Lucia notice the blood between Roussel's fingers.
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