Chapter 277 – The Warm Cave

Chapter 277 – The Warm Cave

Digging inside the cave required more caution.

Mo Lan and Vasida’s digging efficiency dropped significantly.

After more than an hour of digging, they finally carved out a spacious cave. Once they set up a small campfire, there was still enough room for all three of them to lie down and sleep.

At last, they no longer had to crouch. They could stand up straight and move around inside the cave.

Green vines that Sylph had coaxed to grow covered the cave walls, their dense leaves concealing the uneven dirt surface.

She had also hung several Lantern Tomatoes from the ceiling. Their warm yellow glow made the entire earthen cave feel gentle and inviting.

On the ground, everywhere except where the small campfire sat, she had grown a carpet of cotton grass.

When the grass blades puffed up, they formed a soft, cushiony mat.

Sylph still wasn’t satisfied and brought out a gold-striped leopard hide to lay down as well.

While Mo Lan was carving thermal runes onto stones, she noticed Sylph kept adjusting the angle of the leopard hide.

But her hide wasn’t complete enough—no matter how she positioned it, it wasn’t large enough for all three of them to sleep on.

Mo Lan rummaged through her satchel and pulled out the gold-striped leopard hide she had obtained earlier. “I have one too!”

Sylph spread it over the grass mat. “Perfect! This way we can block the moisture from the soil, and everyone can sleep comfortably!”

Vasida was beside the small campfire, slicing mutton.

The cave didn’t have enough space for a large bonfire, so the whole roasted lamb inevitably had to be cut into smaller pieces and grilled in batches on an iron plate.

Hearing the commotion, she turned around, her eyes full of amazement. “Wow! Sylph, with all your decorating, I almost don’t want to leave. It’s so beautiful!”

Mo Lan agreed. “It went from a crude little dirt hole to a cozy, natural underground dwelling in an instant.”

Sylph’s cheeks flushed slightly at the praise. “I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s getting colder and colder. Sylph, come warm yourself by the fire!” Vasida said.

She and Mo Lan were both sitting by the campfire, but Sylph had been busy arranging the cave the whole time.

“I’m not cold! The firethorn leaves are still working!” Sylph instinctively rubbed her hands together as she sat down by the fire. Only after feeling the warmth of the flames did she realize that the firethorn leaves she had applied earlier were already struggling to keep up with the nighttime temperature drop.

Especially after starting the fire—to maintain ventilation, Mo Lan would periodically use wind-element magic to push the air inside the cave outward and draw fresh air in from outside, which meant the temperature inside wasn’t much higher than outside.

But Mo Lan had been preparing the stones for a temporary constant-temperature magic circle the whole time.

When the iron plate began sizzling with the fragrant aroma of oil, Mo Lan had just finished carving the corresponding runes onto several small stones unearthed during the digging.

She stood up and placed them in the corners of the cave, activated them with mana, and the constant-temperature magic circle took effect.

The cave warmed up immediately.

Even when cold air came in, it would instantly be converted to a comfortable temperature.

With the firethorn leaves still on them and the campfire right in front, it was getting a bit hot. They peeled the firethorn leaves off their bodies and stuck them onto the leopard hides instead, so they wouldn’t be cold when they slept at night.

This time, they finished dinner without any interruptions.

They extinguished the campfire and lay together on the soft cotton-grass mat, rolling around and gazing up at the warm yellow Lantern Tomatoes on the ceiling.

Outside, thunder rumbled frequently and rain mist hung thick in the air, yet huddled in this little earthen cave, they felt an unexpected sense of peaceful contentment.

“This is so comfortable! Even more comfortable than the dormitory!” Vasida exclaimed.

“Today’s experience was truly unforgettable.” Sylph could hardly bear to close her eyes.

Mo Lan floated the Grimoire above her head and turned to the section on 《The Prophecy Witch’s Spellbook》.

“Go to sleep! We still have to travel tomorrow!” Vasida and Sylph had been quite excited, but the moment they saw the dense text covering the pages, drowsiness hit them all at once.

“Remember to wake me in two hours!” Vasida said, hugging Mo Lan’s arm.

“Mm-hmm!”

Before long, the only sound left in the cave was Mo Lan turning pages.

She still had quite a bit of mana left from the day, so she cast a Silencing spell on both Sylph and Vasida to keep the thunder outside from disturbing them.

Two hours later, Mo Lan lifted the Silencing spell on Vasida, and she woke immediately. “Moira, go to sleep! I’ll keep watch!”

“Okay!” Mo Lan closed the book and fell asleep the moment her head hit the ground.

Vasida rubbed her eyes and sat up. With nothing to do in the middle of the night, and unable to really focus on reading, she took out her Projector Card to watch instructional videos. She wore one earphone, leaving the other ear free to listen for any sounds around them.

By the time she was most of the way through a video, it was about time for Sylph’s watch shift.

The next morning, when Mo Lan woke up, all she felt was a tightness in her chest and shortness of breath.

Vasida was clinging to her like an octopus.

Mo Lan sighed helplessly and carefully moved Vasida’s leg and arm off of her.

Sylph whispered, “I moved her several times during the night, but she always managed to find a ‘body pillow’ with perfect accuracy…”

Vasida, sensing the sudden emptiness in her arms, jolted awake. “Drumstick! My drumstick!”

Mo Lan was utterly defeated. “So that’s why I dreamed about a little pig that kept chasing my arm and trying to bite it! Was that you?”

Vasida looked at herself firmly latched onto Mo Lan and played dumb. “I have no idea!”

“Hahaha!” Sylph couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

Getting the second half of the night watch had been her good fortune.

Otherwise, she would have been the one turned into a drumstick!

Mo Lan tickled Vasida to free herself. “I can’t hear any thunder. Has the storm stopped? Is it light out?”

Sylph nodded. “The sky has returned to its normal color.”

“Then let’s pack up and get ready to head out!” Mo Lan said.

They rolled up the leopard-hide blankets, removed the wire mesh from the ventilation opening, and withdrew their mana. The earthen wall they had maintained through the night collapsed with a rumble.

“Let’s leave this cave as it is!” Sylph said. “Who knows—we might be able to use it on the way back!”

“Yes, yes!” Vasida agreed. “If the nights here weren’t so terrifying, and the land wasn’t unsuitable for farming, I’d want to move in here next year. There’s plenty of game around, and sleeping in the cave feels so safe.”

She was truly reluctant to leave the cave behind.

“If we can’t make it out of Greengrass Plains today, we’ll have to dig another cave before nightfall,” Mo Lan said.

“Really?” Vasida suddenly looked excited.

Mo Lan laughed. “You’ve actually fallen in love with digging caves to sleep in?”

“This isn’t just digging a cave to sleep in! This is a warm shelter that the three of us built together!” Vasida protested.

Sylph nodded emphatically. “It may be simple, but it’s really cozy!”

Mo Lan finally understood. It was probably similar to how children on Earth played house—that feeling of building a secret base together with your best friends.

But no matter how reluctant they were to leave, they still had to go.