Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

"Okay, this is just ridiculous." I complain, surveying our objectives after two long days of travel, slightly further north. The hills are indeed moving, and they're huge.

And yeah, we most likely walked our legs off for days, camped under the clear night sky, and ate poorly cooked and seasoned food just for this. I don't know how hedgehogs like these four come into the world, but they have entire trees for spikes and look like they can eat entire towns for breakfast.

Not to mention there's probably layers of soil, rock, and beast hide we need to dig through.

"Their bellies should be softer." Victor stands beside me. Rubbing his chin, he's already cooking up a plan I just can't see working. "Kayla might be able to placate them. How confident are you in your firepower?" He turns to me and asks.

Very, but maybe not that much.

"No need to get bloodthirsty. Our task is not their extermination." Old man Alvaro points out the details on that specific contract. "If anything, these creatures are beneficial for uprooting deep beast dens and preying on insectoid creatures."

And the farmlands and cows, apparently. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here now.

"So not even a few probing shots? For the Skill levels?" I remember my personal priority for the summer break.

"You wouldn't be the first." Dad glances at his wife knowingly. "Although I can guarantee it won't bring it down, and will make your job more difficult." He speaks like back when he taught me how to swim.

He's serious. And that's so very much like Mom, shooting the massive beast…

"Alright, I'm listening." Crossing my arms, I open my ears to wisdom.

However, an amused smirk is all I get. "Just redirect them. Towards a smaller lake, if possible, they hate the summer heat…" And the walking hills are not alone. "It might take a day or two, but not every job can be done by spilling blood."

No, I'm pretty sure killing all four would solve the problem all the same. But since I don't hear any more pearls of wisdom being added to the pile, I guess we're on our own.

"We could reshape the terrain. Maybe change their path with a fake forest fire." I offer my ideas into the great pot of solutions where plans brew.

Victor nods and adds. "Bait could also work. I bet those things don't move around too much. Now that they're migrating, they'll need to eat more.

"I could also gather some live animals." Kayla chimes in. "It might be easier than setting up carcasses along their way. And we could even ask for the nearest big puddle."

Huh… This is going better than I had hoped. Shaping their path and playing with their desire does sound like a solid plan. It's what manipulative people do all around the world every single day, so it's bound to work.

Kayla and Victor both have their specialties, and allowing them to utilize these specialties will yield the best results. We need to learn that. And not only that, we need to adapt. Now that I think about it, all these jobs the old goat accepted are a little unique.

Herding beasts, looking for a monster hiding amongst humans, working on an actual crime that once again doesn't involve killing beasts… The wolves finally do sound like the usual stuff, although that type of description, weird wolves… It sounds familiar.

Now that we have the outline of a plan, I think about our first move while Solaire is still high. "I'll scout ahead, you deal with the beasts? We meet back here in an hour?"

Victor's brows did a funny twitch. "Shouldn't I be doing the scouting? You know, it's a Ranger thing."

"Yeah, but you're slower, and I'm gonna do the terrain remodelling." This shuts him up for a moment. Which is also when I catch a hint of worry on my parents' faces. "Oh, c'mon, it's not like I'm gonna die in a short hour. What could go-" No, let's not finish that sentence. "I'll be careful."

Speak now or remain silent forever? Nobody? Sweet, I missed flying anyway!

With a vague outline of a plan in mind, I tuck my arms in straight and ignite the air below me. This time around, I'm especially careful, not only to preserve my traveling clothes but to avoid singeing anyone. Lots of dust, a big boom, and I'm already up in the air.

Flight is another specialty of mine that is a little… shaky. Picking a general direction and leaving a trail of flames behind is something I'm already proficient at. Cornering, maneuvers, aerial combat, landing, even? Not so much.

So I take this opportunity to improve my flight from an arrow fired straight to something more elegant. Spotting the hills creeping west in the distance is easy, I'd have to be literally blind to miss them. Even now, while the tiny forests on their backs experience severe earthquakes, some animals stick stubbornly to their dwellings.

"I can't even Identify it. It's all dirt and greenery." I shake my head at the brand new problem.

To build roadblocks, I first need to assess what I'm working with. My straight-line blaze through the clear summer skies takes a nosedive, and I aim straight for the big guys. I know, flying close is the exact opposite of careful, and I'm already breaking my promise, but… those trees are such a brilliant obstacle course.

From here on, I no longer focus on maintaining speed. That's advanced stuff for people with a dedicated Skill. When a tree approaches fast, I tilt, tilt the winds around me as we, and adjust thrust unevenly. The tricky thing is… the next tree doesn't give me any slack, even with attention divided into plenty of pieces.

Left, right, right, right again, then down to dodge some thicker branches, and I increase altitude again. It's difficult, a little dangerous, but it's also exhilarating. When steering becomes too much, I return to the basics that Magnus has taught me. No more thrust, just explosion.

This aerial acrobatic show gets me to the front of the smallest walking hill, right above the beast's head. To keep their vulnerable parts protected, these creatures dig up the ground in their path, using the earth itself as protection. I can't see the head, nor the limbs.

"Fire is out of the question then." I conclude. These behemoths would just walk right through the flames. "Still, I at least want to take a peek."

Descending on the hillside, I create a ledge right where the soil gets folded up like wet paper. Falling down there would be a death sentence, but from what I can see, these beasts don't use any mana to dig. It's just pure, ridiculous physical might.

"That means all the earth is up for grabs. I could control it, maybe." An idea is already brewing in my head. "A big hole in its path? Or just… Nah, let's not waste much time with it."

And so, I jump.

Okay, I slide, but it's basically the same. The wave of earth folds right below me like waves in front of a ship, except this ship is ridiculously gigantic and the waves are soil and stone.

"If Val were here, she'd jump after me. Like that dumb saying about a well or something…" I chuckle. Really not the appropriate place or time, but I really miss my brute. "And I bet she's massacring things right now, get ahead of me… It's so unfair."

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Fueled by that momentary frustration, I don't hesitate any longer and push myself away, right into the grinder. To prevent myself from getting crushed on both sides, I first dig up the earth in front, creating a wedge, while on the hedgehog's body, I shape stairs into the earth.

And so, step after step with the ground groaning all around me under the immense might, I descend. It's like walking into the beast's maw, except the danger doesn't even know I'm here. I'm a mosquito, and getting slapped into a bloody splotch is not part of the plan.

I need to understand these beasts better for any plan to work. A complete forest fire might deter them, but that might get us executed. A simple wall won't even make them flich, much less slow down, and… Honestly, what are Victor and Kayla meant to use as bait, a deer? For something this massive?

"The more and more I think about our plans, the more stupid each and every idea sounds." I lament our inexperience. "Although the adults really could've at least given us a few hints."

Too big to stop, too big to feed, too big to kill… This is just ridiculous. And I hope the damn reward for the job is at least similarly massive.

I walk for quite a while on the narrow steps I make, down, and then down some more. To the point where there's no longer any light peeking down below the ground. There's only my tiny spark of light magic. Sometimes, a handful of dirt or a few pebbles make it through my barrier of which keeps me alive, and they all end up in my hair.

But with due time, I finally find signs of an actual creature, of skin. And that skin is marred by wounds so deep I could comfortably lie down in them. Even now, it's oozing pus through all the dirt stuck to it, and that deep groove is just one of many.

When I'm about head even deeper, the earth beneath me crumbles and collapses, pushed away by a force even double my attributes could not ever halt. Hugging the dirty hide and pulling my earth magic closer, I manage to weather the collapse, only to catch a glimpse.

A stumpy head, beady eyes, massive, clawed paws, and even more injuries.

"These creatures aren't migrating…" I come to a frightening conclusion. "They're fleeing. All four of them were driven away, and no amount of bait or terrain remodelling will help."

There's nothing more I can do here. Hell, I don't know if there's anything I can do at all.

Armed with this new shadow of knowledge, I quickly ignite my feet and push the earth above me with one big punch. Explosions rock the ground, and I burst through the surface. The walking hill, on the other hand, doesn't seem bothered at all.

There's still time left before the agreed rendezvous, but all I have is bad news and some worse news. In hopes of discovering some miracle, I pump some more juice into those flames and accelerate towards the horizon. A lake or river might do it, maybe even a larger forest as well.

I'll burn that place to the ground and ditch before- No, no, that wouldn't work. How would I claim the reward then? Let's just assume there is a way. And if there isn't… Well, then, tough luck for the farmers in the way.

***

I return to camp ahead of time, none the wiser. The adults are chatting, enjoying the weather, watching the large earthen mounds migrate in the distance, and enjoying an afternoon snack. It's pissing me off a little.

Here I am, worrying about a job and whatever horrid thing could've caused those injuries, like a damn fool. From above, I spot the duo of beast whisperer and born gambler approaching as well.

"We have a slight issue." I announce cutting the flames and dropping to the ground.

A few more sparks, a slight earthquake, and maybe a tiny explosion, and my entrance would be spectacular. On the other hand, Victor and Kayla are arriving on foot. With an entire herd of squirrels, boars, and smaller birds in tow, like an entourage.

Victor has heard me clearly and activates his visionary abilities. "Let me guess… They're scared."

I'm not quite awed. "Wounded, battered, and fleeing. You need to work on that a little."

Mom tilts her head. "And you know that… How exactly?" Not the important question right now.

"So wounded and frightened?" Alvaro hums to himself languidly. "You're in luck."

"Is that so?" My temper flares, but I keep it in check for now. Dad hands me a cupcake he's been hiding somewhere, which helps a lot. "We're not gonna get any hints, right?"

Alvaro just grins.

You're just as unbearable as Bennett. All the crapy, decrepit knights of the Fist are damn weirdos. I don't care if I'm generalizing. Two is already a pattern.

Kayla is still chatting in her circles, so I approach our squad lead. Even if the squad is down to half its numbers. "What do we have?" I ask, ignoring his gaze wandering onto my snack.

"Some talk about a storm, others mention large fangs, roars, and horror… It's not exactly easy to learn anything from them." He nods towards the gathering of animals. "If it weren't for Kayla stopping for a quick chat, we'd be pretty clueless."

Honestly, I'm really starting to worry about whatever caused to injuries instead. Now all we have are four town-sized beasts, blinding be fear and most likely unresponsive to anything else. Yeah, fear… only fear.

"Hey, Mister Kantor." I turn to the man, watching us with an unreadable gaze.

"Yes?"

"Are those things docile?" I ask and receive a modest, so-so nod. "And if everything went south, could you kill them?"

Amusement fades from the elderly face, but his lips remain smiling coldly. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have picked the job." He replies without a hint of jest.

The implications are frightening. I can't even begin to imagine how I'd tackle a force of nature like those hedgehogs. Even if they stood completely still and allowed me to go wild…

But if things go well, we won't even need to hit them.

"You think what I'm thinking?" I ask my leader, who I know is sharp enough.

His expression isn't great, the idea is mine after all, and those rarely go without any hiccups.

He has no better idea, I can see it on his face. "Kayla? Could you ask around, see what more they can tell us about that storm and all?" Relaying the request, he basically just agreed to my idea.

We're gonna spook those big guys and pray they don't lash out.

***

We had to wait until nightfall to complete all our preparations.

Thankfully, the monumental beasts didn't cross any inhabited lands in those half a dozen or so hours. We trailed after them, gathered as much info as our witnesses were able to share and planned out play accordingly.

The darkness of Solaire's absence was the last piece that we were missing. Now that everyone is in position, I'm only waiting for Victor's signal. This is our job, our first proper job as a semi-squad. If all goes according to plan, this is what our future should be about.

"First as a squad, then a solo specialist." I can already see the image of my older self. Cool, drop-dead gorgeous, and traveling around, looking for a job worthy of my talent. "Power and fame be damned, we're in it for the money."

Daydreaming is nice in the darkness of the night, made imperfect only by the not-so-distant rumbles of the four moving hills. Then a chain of thunder shatters it all, literally.

A chain of thunderous rumbles shakes the skies, filling the night with the light of the storms. Moments later, a bestial roar booms from the very same direction, reverberating with a thousand voices, making my hair stand on end.

And now comes my part.

Relying on a large web of inscriptions I prepared in advance, I take my position in the center. Mana floods through my body, enough to make steel melt if I wanted to, to turn day to night if I wanted to… Most of it seeps into the arcane lines on the ground, while the rest make sure they know we're here for them.

Mana from the lines and symbols seeps deep underground. I can feel it, all the mana, symbols, and operations reaching their crescendo… And the ground trembles. Creating an earthquake of a noticeable scale is beyond me. I'm level 144, and those things are the size of a small city… But I can imitate one with enough preparations and roundabout methods.

My empty hands shape the wind. They stretch the air, stroke it with movements light as a feather, causing trees to tilt and groan around my modest clearing. Mana gathers above my crown like a halo, and my gem of western winds resonates with my magic.

Once ready, a wheel of tempest reaches way about the treeline and bolts through the air. It's large but unpolished, not meant to cut, but rather to serve as a… shoulder tap. Sounds, visuals, tremors, and warcries, everything we learned from the fleeing beasts. Since the target is already panicked, all we need to do is stoke that fire a little.

Kayla has her choir of beasts singing as one while Victor uses her traps and some of my inscriptions to summon a storm. Combine that all with earthquakes, and it's a full-blown declaration of war.

We roar and rumble one-sided for only a few seconds. The largest hill in the back is tilted and rises until that very same stubby face I observed peeks over the treeline, covered with dirt. In the large, beady eyes, I can see the reflection of thunder even from a distance.

A beast of that scale wouldn't bother with simple rainstorms… No. We've cast the line and already got something on the hook.

The beast begins to turn, steering right and away from us. It's exactly what we wanted, mission accomplished. But instead of picking up the pace to flee, something else rises above the surface. A long limb covered in enough stone to make it seem like a stone serpent lashes out.

"A tail?" I mutter my only conclusion, watching the devastating wave of trees, animals, and earth consume all in my sight.

It's just way too massive. Evidently, the hedgehog is trying to put up a face when presented with the threat. It lashed out in fear, and now our bluff has been called.