The Mighty Mage
Chapter 312: Idea

Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Idea

But then, the chaos element wielder shook her head, her eyes narrowing with frustration.

"No, that’s a mistake!" she countered, her voice sharp, cutting through the hopeful chatter.

"It’ll put too much strain on them. You’re asking them to maintain water bubbles for every single person here! They’ll collapse under the pressure!"

"How dare you say that!" one of the earth magic users shouted back, glaring at her.

"You’re just trying to save yourself! We need those bubbles!"

The chaos wielder didn’t back down, her chaotic energy sparking more violently as her temper flared.

"I’m not trying to save myself! I’m telling you the truth! Do you even understand how much magical energy it takes to keep a water bubble stable, let alone for all of us? We barely have enough water mages as it is!"

The crowd erupted into arguments, their fear turning into aggression.

The water mages themselves looked terrified, their faces going ashen as the reality of the task ahead of them sank in.

Gu Jin watched as one of the water mages, a girl with trembling hands, nearly collapsed under the pressure of everyone’s expectations.

It was then that Long Yifan stepped forward with a grim expression.

"She’s right, you know," he said, backing up the chaos element user.

"If even one of the water mages fails or runs out of energy, everyone inside the bubble they created will be exposed.

The bubbles are fragile—too fragile for us to rely on in a situation like this. One mistake and we’re all dead."

The air inside the dome grew thick with dread as his words sank in.

Students glanced nervously at one another, realizing the precariousness of their situation.

Arguments died down as the cold logic of Long Yifan’s explanation settled in.

The silence that followed was almost suffocating. Everyone was at a loss, their earlier anger now replaced by cold, creeping fear.

It was in that moment of uncertainty that Gu Jin finally spoke up, her voice steady and clear.

"I have an idea," she announced, drawing all eyes to her.

The crowd grew silent, waiting for her to explain.

"Instead of relying on water bubbles that could collapse at any moment, we need something more stable, something that won’t disappear if someone loses focus.

We should build something—something that can carry all of us across the water."

"Build something?" a voice from the back echoed, skeptical. "We don’t have the time or resources for that!"

Ignoring the outburst, Gu Jin pressed on, her eyes gleaming with determination.

"We can use clay. There’s sand everywhere around us, and with the earth mages’ help, we can quickly turn it into clay. Then, we can shape it into a boat—something large enough to carry everyone."

There was a brief pause, a ripple of confusion spreading through the students. Professor Meng, who had been listening intently, furrowed his brow.

"Clay? You want us to make a boat out of clay?"

Gu Jin nodded.

"Yes, exactly. I’ve seen it done before. If we mix the sand with water and add pressure, we can turn it into clay.

Once it’s sturdy enough, it can float. Clay is dense, yes, but if we shape it correctly, it can act as a makeshift boat. It’s all about displacing the water, just like any other vessel."

One of the water mages, her face still pale from the earlier suggestion of water bubbles, looked skeptical.

"But that will take time! We don’t even know how long we have before that blue sludge reaches us."

Gu Jin turned to her, her gaze sharp.

"Which is why we need to act fast. The earth mages can start molding the sand immediately, but we’ll need distractions to buy us time.

That means we’ll need volunteers to draw the creature’s attention away from the shore."

The students broke into anxious murmurs, the idea of actively baiting a monstrous entity sending shivers down their spines.

"Are you insane?!" a boy with fire magic shouted, his voice breaking with hysteria. "You’re asking us to willingly go out there and face that thing?"

Gu Jin sighed,

"I’m not asking anyone to die. I’m asking for courage. If we do nothing, we’re as good as dead. If we work together, we have a chance.

The plan is simple: while the earth mages create the clay, another group will lure the slime away, giving us enough time to complete the boats.

Once they’re ready, we can escape over the water."

"Escape where?!" a girl with lightning magic shouted, her voice cracking.

"We don’t even know what’s out there!"

"Anything is better than waiting here to be devoured!" Gu Jin snapped, her patience wearing thin. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

"Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the best shot we have. The blue slime seems to be dissolving anything it touches on the ground, but if we can float on water, we might be able to get far enough to find safety."

The woman who has the chaos element stepped forward,

"She’s right. Staying here is a death sentence. We can’t defend this dome forever. If we don’t act, we’ll be surrounded."

Some of the students were beginning to come around to the idea, nodding hesitantly, while others still looked dubious.

"But even if we agree," a wind mage spoke up, "how do we make clay quickly enough? And how do we know it will float?"

Gu Jin turned to the earth mages.

"The key is to mix the sand with water and compact it using earth magic. If we compress it tightly enough, it will become dense and sturdy.

We can form it into a hollow structure like a raft or a small boat. Once it’s shaped, we can use wind magic to dry it quickly. If we can make it watertight, it should float."

A few earth mages exchanged glances, contemplating the feasibility of her plan.

One of them, a tall boy with a serious expression, nodded slowly.

"It’s possible, but we’d need a lot of sand and water. And we’ll need wind mages to harden the outer layer."

"We can do it," another earth mage, a girl with braided hair, added. "But we’ll need at least ten minutes."

"Then let’s not waste any more time," Gu Jin urged.

"We’ll need two teams: one to gather sand and water, and another to act as a diversion. The bait team needs to keep that thing occupied, whatever it takes. The rest of us will focus on making the boats."

"I’ll join the bait team," said the chaos wielder, her eyes gleaming with wild excitement. "I can create illusions to draw it away."

"I’m in too," said a student with wind magic, clenching his fists. "We can use wind currents to push the slime back, slow it down."

Slowly but surely, volunteers began stepping forward, forming two distinct groups.

The first group, consisting of earth and water mages, moved toward the shore to start gathering materials.

The second group made up of chaos, wind, and a few daring fire mages, prepared to face whatever horrors lurked outside the dome.

But not everyone was convinced.

"This is a suicide," Gu Aihan taunted. She didn’t want to put her life at risk at all. "We don’t even know if this plan will work."

"We don’t have a choice," Long Yifan retorted, "It’s this or die waiting. We either fight for our survival or we wait to be consumed."

Gu Aihan’s face turned black, but she knew that Long Yifan was telling the truth.

The dome erupted into organized chaos as the students scrambled into action.

Gu Jin joined the bait team too.

"Remember," she commanded, "your job is to distract it, not engage. Keep it away from the shore as long as possible."

"Yeah, yeah, we got it," the chaos wielder said with a smirk, her hands crackling with unpredictable energy.

Turning toward the construction team, she said,

"Just make sure you get those boats ready."

Gu Jin turned to the chaos wielder, giving her a sharp nod before taking her place among the bait team.

The chaos wielder—who everyone simply called Yan Mei—flashed her a confident grin, the sparks around her fingers flaring brightly.

The monstrous creature, an amorphous mass of undulating blue sludge, rippled and writhed as it pursued them.

It was far larger than they had imagined—its massive body expanding with each pulse.

The earth trembled beneath its weight as it moved, dissolving everything it touched.

Rocks, plants, and even the very ground disintegrated into nothingness as the slime oozed forward.

It let out a low, gurgling roar that sent chills down the spines of the students.

Fear gripped them, some hesitating, their resolve faltering as they realized the enormity of what they were up against.

With the removal of earth, water, and wind mage, the team was very weak.

Though there are many plant mages, the problem was, that the plant element was considered the weakest among all the elements.

As for chaos and undead, there was hardly any mage with those two elements.