Chapter 224 224 Leave It

Chapter 224 224 Leave It

"I don't need to tell you that wireworms are exceedingly dangerous creatures. I feel like it's implied already. However, what I can categorically tell you is that they can be obscenely large."

"How large master?"

"Large enough to swallow you three times over, and still have room for your entire family."

She gulped. He continued;

"Obviously, their eggs are the prize. So, the obvious play here would be to kill them right?"

At the word kill, the fire mage nodded her head enthusiastically- bobbing up and down with obvious energy ramping up.

Nexus sighed;

"WRONG."

He watched her shoulders and facial features slump;

"Stacy, I have no doubt that you'd have any issues killing these monsters. I've seen you fight up close. But like I said- risk and profit. . .you need to find a way to reap the highest possible outcome, while expending as little risk as possible."

"So," she muttered slowly- trying to lean into his thoughts; "I'm not killing any wireworms?"

Nexus sighed inwardly.

At this point, he was convinced the only words in her head were; 'kill, kill, kill.'

But Stacy was really trying hard- really hard- to grasp this new pattern of thinking. She didn't just love killing- she was actually damn good at it. So, to her, the risk was low.

All she could see was the profit- certainly not the trail of wireworm corpses she would leave behind.

"Come on," Nexus turned- "Let's get outta here."

The silhouettes peeled away from the walls as they both retreated.

---------------

"How you gon' call yourself an assassin, and not know how to read a map?"

Out in the open air- they both trudged side by side on their horses- skipping through the airy greenery of the countryside.n(-OVelBIn

She shrugged; "I never really had any need for one. Every time I received a name, it always came with an address- and occasionally, a pencil sketch. So, I always knew who I was looking for, and where they would be.

"As cozy as that sounds, that's not how things work in the regular job market. . ."

It was barely theee hours since they had left the exchange.

Through a series of twists and turns, they had managed to find themselves on the outskirts of town- approaching the lower base of a circle of hills. Facing east, a long stretch of valleys- coated with rich red clay, dotted the landscape. To their west, a host of other unfriendly caves etched themselves deep in the crevices of the hills.

They were both heading west.

So, they had the full glare of the sun all to themselves.

"If you could read a map, you'd see that this whole area has been marked as wireworm territory. . ."

His long sleeved right arm shot outwards- spreading it in a wide arc as he pointed:

"These entire ring of hills, they're all marked 'X' on the map."

The student jerked herself up on her horse- eyes lighting up in excitement;

"We're close aren't we?!"

"Don't get your panties up in a bunch yet. These maps are hella outdated. Plus, as you can see, the heavy rainfall from yesterday has made this journey kind of arduous."

Stacy hadn't even considered it yet.

High up on her horse, the puddles of water remained beneath her. Her horse stumbled around each muddied pool, neighing nervously when the puddles went in more than a feet deep.

Sulking, her shoulders slumped as she leaned backwards into her horse.

"When do we get to do the fun stuff?" she asked disappointedly; "I mean, isn't the whole point of hunting monsters- to actually kill these monsters?!"

She echoed in rising notes;

"Technically, we'd be doing society a favor right?! We'd actually be making the world a whole lot safer- wouldn't we?"

"Nice try," Nexus chuckled- rolling up the map into a neat scroll; "I don't think I've ever heard such a positive spin on monster riddance before."

For a moment, as they entered the shadow of one of the looming hills, the golden ball disappeared briefly behind it.

She shrugged again; "I just hate being bored master."

Suddenly, her altitude dropped. She yelped. Her horse neighed.

Beneath her, the poor creature front right foot was lodged deep in a puddle of water. It looked shallow, but apparently, it was a hole that had been filled to the brim with rainwater.

From the girl's mouth, curses flew out in rapid sucession- each one more repulsive, and more salty than the other. She slid off the creature's back- face red, and nostrils flaring.

As soon as her feet landed on the muddied ground below, she shrieked again;

"Son of a motherfu**king pu**y ass bi**h!!! THE FUCK!!!"

The mud had splattered all over her boots- staining her dress, and the beige colored cloak. Nexus watched with a smirk as she stomped angrily- cursing aloud like a little firecracker. With her back to the horse, she dug her foot into the earth- and pushed back- hoping to leverage her weight and pull it out.

"Leave it," he said without emotion; "There's nothing we can do for it at this point. You can ride with me the rest of the way."

She jerked her head up- staring at him- then at his horse, then finally- down at her muddied boots. The master was right. The beast was done for.

Sighing in defeat, she pulled away from the beast.

"Damn it, I really liked that horse. . ." she grumbled as Nexus stretched out his big hand to her. Her little hand took it, and he pulled her up.

"Your first horse huh?"

She nodded absentmindedly. "Got it with my first pay. . .I killed a fat bellied hunter for that. . ."

-----------------------------

Mid afternoon began to gradually slip towards early evening. Her eyes darted across the span of hills- searching for any signs of a wireworm.

And once again, the question came;

"Master Ni Yang, you haven't asked me to search for anything yet. Are we headed in the right direction?"

Through the hilly pass, towering lumps of rock rose up on either sides- vaunting towards the sky like rocky sentinels.

"Tell me, what exactly do you plan to do- if you do run into a wireworm. . .?"

"I dunno," she whispered behind him; "Kill it I guess?"

"Interesting," his shoulders bobbed and fell along with the horse's; "Then how would you find its eggs?"

Her eyebrows arched.

Nexus pitched in;

"You're assuming the wireworm would be within proximity to its nest. . .that's a blunder. They, like other creatures, go out to feed. They're known to snack on the occasional eucalyptus leaves, but they won't mind snacking on any human careless enough to approach them without a plan. . ."

"I've got it!" her high pitched voice echoed through the hilly pass; "We track it!"

"Track 'em?" he blurted out; "You really aren't paying any attention aren't you?"

Behind him, he heard and felt her slump again. Her lips puckered out in a pout- skulking under her breath.

"Master Ni Yang, I feel like I'm going around in circles- and can't get anything right! Please tell me what I'm supposed to do!"

"Tell you what you're supposed to do?" he echoed; "That's the last thing you're supposed to be asking me right now."