Exiled Villainess: They Threw Me Out, Now Every Beastman Wants Me novel Chapter 105

Chapter 105: Digging For Civilisation

Tera had already decided on two channels, not one.

The system had been surprised when she settled on this during her recovery month, but Tera’s reasoning was practical. The clan would grow. More members meant more water. And beyond the settlement’s daily needs, the farm on the plateau required a reliable source too.

Two channels would be more than enough for that. It was more work upfront, but it would save them from having to dig another channel later when the demand outgrew a single supply.

Tera had spent a portion of the first month mapping both routes using the system’s blueprint feature and scan, charting the terrain between the stream and the settlement with painstaking care.

And what she had found had been a bit discouraging.

The terrain between the stream and the settlement was even flatter than she had initially thought. In some sections, it was almost perfectly level, and in others, there was actually a slight upward slope leading toward the clan. Gravity alone would not carry water to the settlement. It would pool, slow to a crawl, or simply sit there doing nothing.

This had been a persistent headache throughout the planning phase.

Tera had considered digging a well. The stream and lake were close enough that the water table was likely shallow, and tapping into it directly beneath the settlement would eliminate the need for channels entirely. But she didn’t have the tools for it, and boring straight down through compacted earth to reach groundwater was a different undertaking altogether. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

And even if they managed to dig one, a well came with its own problems. It was an open pit in the middle of a settlement full of curious cubs. The risk of someone falling in, especially a cub who couldn’t climb out, was enough to make Tera’s stomach turn. Then there was the water quality. Groundwater would need to be purified, and she didn’t have the resources or knowledge to set up a reliable filtration system with barely any materials.

Besides, a well wasn’t even what the task required.

The system had specifically asked for a water transport system, not a water extraction system.

Tera spent more of her nipples purchasing additional hoes from the system shop, enough for every male in the digging team to have one.

The digging teams were assembled, and to Tera’s surprise, two females had volunteered to join. The extra hands were welcome, and the rest of the females remained in the settlement to supervise the nursery and the cubs.

Xavi and Ermin had made it very clear that Tera was not to touch a hoe, lift a rock, or do anything more strenuous than pointing at things and telling people what to do. She had grumbled about it, but didn’t entirely mind.

Before the first hoe hit the dirt, Tera had thick pieces of bark wedged firmly against the edges of the stream where the channels would start from. The bark served as temporary blockers, keeping the stream’s water from rushing into the unfinished trenches prematurely. They would only be removed when both channels were fully excavated and ready for the first test.

Looking at the scope of what needed to be done, Tera could not help but feel tired.

This amount of work would have been a quick job of a week or two in the modern world with proper machinery and tools. Here, with hoes and beast strength and nothing else, it was going to take considerably longer.

But she would make do.

Since gravity would not cooperate on the mostly flat and occasionally upward-sloping terrain, Tera had devised a practical workaround during her planning month. Every slight continuous drop in the ground, no matter how small, was enough for gravity to assist with the flow of water. The key was to make the channel exploit every one of those tiny natural advantages.

Where the ground rose, even by the smallest amount, they would dig the channel deeper, carving out artificial downward slopes that countered the natural incline.

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