Chapter 118: Diving for Clams

"You mean this small shovel?" Kandisi took out that small shovel.

It was very obvious that this small shovel was not needed for mining.

"Yes, that's it; it's called a diving shovel." Instructor Sha Hu said blandly.

"If you don't want to mine, it's not that there are no other choices."

"You can also go down to the water to collect clams."

"In this water area under Kuli Cliff, a rare creature inhabits, the Maid Clam."

"The Maid Clam is one of the magic auxiliary materials for the magic potion corresponding to the 1st-circle spell 【Comprehend Languages】."

"And 【Comprehend Languages】 is almost one of the spells that every 1st-circle magic user will learn and master, so the Alchemy Department's demand for Maid Clams has always been very large; they take as many as there are."

"For every Maid Clam found, it can be worth 50 kilograms of water-gold ore."

"However, I still want to give you a warning."

"So far, the average time spent by students who completed the enrollment task by mining is 61 days..."

"And the average time spent by students who completed the enrollment task by pearl collecting is... 103 days."

"Ah?!" Kandisi was puzzled.

"The reason, it's very simple." Instructor Sha Hu was indeed very responsible and explained to everyone patiently.

"Maid Clams only hide in the mud and sand at the bottom of the river, so to collect clams, you must dive to the bottom of the river to search."

"First, this requires excellent swimming skills; this is not a capability that everyone possesses."

In this world, there are far fewer people who can swim than in Gao De's previous life.

Because there are no physical education classes in this world, let alone interest classes, and most importantly, certain spells can completely replace the skill of "swimming."

So unless it is a special profession that lives by the water, few people will specifically learn the skill of swimming.

"Second, the temperature at the bottom of the river is low, and the field of vision is limited, and the bottom of the river itself is extremely chaotic. The superposition of these three factors greatly increases the difficulty of finding Maid Clams hiding in the mud and sand."

"And the process of repeatedly surfacing to breathe and diving to the bottom of the river to search for clams consumes no less physical strength than mining."

"Most importantly, mining is that as long as you go to dig, there will inevitably be a harvest."

"And clam collecting, you might spend a whole day searching and still have nothing. Of course, it is also possible that you harvest a full pot on your first trip down."

"How to choose, decide for yourselves."

"My opinion is, all honestly go mining." Instructor Sha Hu gave his advice based on his own experience; as for whether everyone listened or not, it was none of his business.

His task was to be responsible for leading the team and supervising.

"Oh, there is one more thing I want to tell you."

"Although this enrollment task has no time limit requirement, if you can complete the task within 30 days, the academy will give you an extra reward of 1 credit, and if you break the record, you will be rewarded with 5 credits."

"Instructor Sha Hu!" Just then, Luo Yasi, another girl among the six new students besides Jielika, also raised her hand to ask.

"Speak."

"Must we dig enough 3000 kilograms of water-gold ore? Is there no other room for maneuver?"

Luo Yasi's question was also the question of all the new students present.

Instructor Sand Tiger chuckled and gave the answer, "The current record holder for completing the enrollment task the fastest is the previous Dean of the Sairisi Magic Academy, Jia Wen Hoge."

"He took 25 days, taking the mining route."

Hiss—

Once these words came out, everyone on the field could not help but gasp. They were shocked by Dean Jia Wen Hoge's time, and even more shocked that even the dignified Dean of the academy had honestly mined at the bottom of Kuli Cliff back then.

After explaining everything that needed to be explained, Instructor Sha Hu was also very responsible and led everyone down from the winding cliff path to the bottom of Kuli Cliff.

Below the hundred-meter-high steep cliff was a river beach covered with gravel.

Just going down the mountain, without even much burden, the six new students, except for Gao De who had been exercising for half a year, all had somewhat disordered breathing.

It is conceivable that carrying dozens of kilograms of water-gold ore and climbing up the mountain would be a great tempering for these pampered "second-generation magic users."

And as soon as they arrived at the bottom of the cliff, everyone saw that there was a huge cave entrance on the cliff wall at the bottom of the cliff.

A part of the sunlight shining down hit the cave entrance, making it possible to see a little light at the entrance.

Sunlight and shadows intertwined, forming mysterious light and shadows.

But deep in the mine cave, where the light could not reach, even during the day, it was a pitch-black place, as if it were a bottomless abyss, making people feel frightened.

However, on the cliff wall next to the cave entrance, many special safety helmets could be seen hanging, made of metal minerals, and some complex magic patterns could be seen on the surface.

Instructor Sha Hu picked up a special miner's helmet and gently touched the finely carved magic patterns on it: "These miner's helmets are made by the Alchemy Department, equipped with 【Light】 and automatically triggered 【Blade Protection】."

"The latter can protect you from possible falling rock damage above the mine cave, and the former can provide you with light in the mine cave."

He clapped his hands, "Alright, everyone, start working!"

As Instructor Sha Hu's words fell, everyone took a deep breath.

Lu Ke and Kaplan exchanged a look; these two second-generation magic users from the Hains family had sparks colliding in their eyes.

Both regarded each other as their own competitors, and driven by the desire to win, they were the first to take a step.

They each took a miner's helmet from the cliff wall, put it on their heads, and then walked through the cave entrance one after another, entering the deep mine cave.

With Lu Ke and Kaplan taking the lead, the remaining boy Luo Yasi was not to be outdone and followed.

The next to enter the mine cave was Jielika. She waited in place for a moment, glimpsed Gao De still standing there motionless, and didn't say anything. After a hint of imperceptible encouragement flashed in her deep eyes, she picked up a miner's helmet from the cliff wall and put it on gently.

Then she stepped into the mine cave with a firm and calm pace, her back soon swallowed by the shadows in the mine cave.

Kandisi saw this scene, her face showing a tangled expression. She hesitated for a moment, stomped her feet hatefully, ran to the cliff wall, picked up a miner's helmet, and followed in.

Outside the mine cave, only Gao De remained unmoved.

"Why haven't you acted yet?" Instructor Sha Hu also felt a little surprised.

Among the six, Gao De was dressed the most plainly, but also the most capable, looking like he should be the one most able to endure hardship, so why was he the slowest one now? "I don't want to mine." Gao De gave an answer that exceeded Instructor Sha Hu's expectations.

"To complete the enrollment task, you must mine; you don't want to enroll..." Instructor Sha Hu's reminder stopped abruptly.

Because Gao De had already started to take off his clothes.

Seeing Gao De's action, how could he not understand Gao De's plan?

Soon, Gao De took off his outer clothes, leaving only his inner clothes.

He quickly crossed the gravel river beach and then slowly waded into the water.

Clearly the sun was like fire overhead, but the river water was slightly cold.

And the deeper he dived, besides the increase in pressure, the water temperature would also continue to drop.

It is conceivable what the biting cold of the river current at the bottom of the river would be like.