Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

[Badger lvl 95]

“How confident are you about restraining that thing while I come up with something to take it down?” I ask the most pressing question we currently face.

Unlike the petite cousin of the hungry enemy I faced shortly after landing in this wilderness, this behemoth is no joke. The pair of horns on its head, the thick fur with a metallic gleam, the bone ridges running on its back, and last but not least that maw, probably able to fit my head whole… This thing is worth like twenty meals.

“I don’t go down that easy but can you even kill it?” Valka replies with a question.

Fair. My educated guess tells me the big guy is probably of the metal attribute, simply judging by its outer coat, in which case my job will be infinitely harder. But my options will also increase.

Tired of the pointless standoff I fire off a streak of lightning straight at its ugly snout, grasping the initiative instead of letting the beast dictate the tempo. Thankfully my new meat shield is quick to react, dashing forwards the moment the blueish arc connects. The energy spreads through the glistening strands, dancing on their surface like moonlight across rain droplets but thankfully that’s not the end of their performance.

The badger goes still for a moment before its legs buckle and it hits the ground, twitching in the dirt like a dying bug. It’s quick to recover yet not quick enough to react to my companion's fist bashing into its face. The impact is deafening yet barely enough to make the massive creature grunt and slump back to the ground, asking for more.

One more cracking line of the storm’s rage, a crushing blow for Valka with fists locked together right on the back of its neck, a lance of stone digging into its side… The beast takes quite a beating but all that ends when it finally recovers enough to take a swing at the unsuspecting warrior right in its face. The claws on its paw grow significantly larger as the hefty limb sails through the air, becoming the size of short swords by the time they meet the hastily raised arm, swatting Valka away while probably tearing her to shreds.

“No!” I yell as a life is extinguished in front of my eyes after only one simple swipe.

Fuck, I just got her. She was irritating and simple-minded and really fucking difficult to see eye to eye with but… it was so much better than alone. How am I gonna sleep now?

With blood running down its visibly retracting tricky bone claws the badger slowly pushes itself up again, wholly confident in its victory now that one of the two flies bothering it has been vanquished.

Two questions remain. One, what tricks does it still have up its sleeve, not that it has sleeves, and two, how do I escape?

Then as if possessed the creature stops in its tracks, its head whipping in the direction Valka’s remains disappeared in the greenery. I take this opportunity to bring my hands together and let the heat build up until it's about to burst, shaping the frothing white flames into a spear of dazzling light.

My glorious feat of course does return the badger’s attention to me, only for it to witness the weapon leave my hand and slam straight into its left shoulder. The tip disappears completely, sinking through the metal and flesh, only for the secondary effect to come into play. Armory of the Arcane allows me to make some pretty crazy weapons and this one is no different.

With the tip firmly lodged into the beast roaring and thrashing in pain the shaft begins to shrink. The spear is quickly being eaten up with a sound very similar to water boiling in a kettle along with fresh meat being grilled right from the wound. Naturally, if I spend my mana on the entire spear’s worth of flames then I’ll use all the Gods' damned flames and so all the mana is forced right into the depths of its flesh.

The badger is basically crippled but I don’t want to push my luck and go for the kill. It still hasn’t shown me everything. The cornered rat is the most dangerous one. Just for good measure, I command the earth to grab hold of its still-functional front leg, in case it wasn’t satisfied with the meal it already has, before turning to leave.

“Nice one!”

No fucking way.

Valka burst through the bushes like a white meteor, landing another devastating punch right at the downed badger’s eye. Her right arm is hanging limp with blood flowing in rivers down to her fingertips, her clothes mostly shredded and deep groves carved into her side.

But she still has her arm.

To top it off the incapacitated limb seems broken rather than torn to pieces. And they’re actively closing!

With both its front paws occupied the badger resorts to opening its terrific maw wide, biting at the insolent creature that dares to cause it pain. Valka has learned her lesson from her earlier mistake, approaching the fight a bit more cautiously and taking a step back the moment the badger snaps at her.

“Have you come up with something already?” I’m asked the question while still trying to cope with my astonishment. A rookie mistake I’d get a lot of scolding for if Martha were around.

Something to break through basically a layer of armor as thick as a tower shield and deal significant damage… The spear worked but I’d need like five of those to take this monstrosity down.

Metal… hmmm.

“I need to get close.” After letting the idea ripen a little I finally give my answer. “Keep it off me!”

Then instead of waiting for a reply I jump into action straight away. I was stating facts, not making a request, and if Valka can’t realize even that much by herself then I have no use for her. The beast clearly notices my approach, wary of my presence ever since I basically melted through one of its shoulders but when it tries to get up using its remaining three legs my loyal helper steps in.

Actually, she just kicks out the back leg on the same side as the crippled one to make the badger hit the ground again but it's more than enough. Upon reaching the armored side I simply place my hand on the slightly warm and very metallic coat similar to a scale armor.

The first step is fire. While the beast is struggling against Valka in a battle of strength for its freedom I keep my palms on its side rapidly aiding the gray surface to earn an ever brighter crimson hue. My touch carries not only heat, however.

Chaotic Touch is pulling its weight by likely nullifying any Skill that might work against me by reinforcing the natural armor and… honestly, I never tried the Skill on the living before. It could mess with mana regen, control or even Skill use… Maybe my new assistant would be a willing test subject.

Melting through metal is hardly an effective way of breaking the armor because it’s both time and mana-consuming. I wouldn’t mind really but judging by the two men's chorus of roars and strained grunts I doubt Valka can hold on much longer.

When my work is satisfyingly red I turn serious. Timing and output are critical for the next step if I don’t want my palms burnt off my hand.

The surface I’m touching is searing hot and even though the heat is a product of my mana, the metal isn’t. Thankfully thermodynamics, whatever that means, is on my side. My mana and thus my palm is hotter than the metal, which means I win this tug-of-war… no, more like push-of-war of temperatures.

That is until I swap to cold, freezing very fucking cold to mess up its inner structure. The metal squeals as the expanded material is violated by the sudden change in temperature, basically lurching with the rage of its host trying to get me at all costs. Thankfully I have my trusty meatshield and mana to protect my frail damsel body while taking a thousand tiny steps a second towards snuffing out this vile thing’s life.

“Hurry!” The cry draws my eye to the struggle right next to me and almost makes me faint where I stand.

Valka is still holding the beast, using both her hands to pin down its remaining paw while the head… the head is currently biting down on her shoulder. The massive teeth slowly dig deeper through her skin and muscles, making the girl wince and frown in pain while saliva soaks her remaining clothes. The two remain in a deadlock, Might against Might, metallic resilience against the endurance of the flesh… Then Valka retaliates by literally biting back.

I could keep watching this charade all day if it wasn’t for the crack signaling the end of my work and most likely a timely finish to the fight. I’ve reheated and cooled the metallic coat three times in a row, totally unconcerned about any order or duration and simply focusing on intensity. Now it’s time to crack the shell.

To do that though I first need my hammer back. With a precise strike, a hard rock pillar slams into the throat of the growling bundle of indignant fury that is the badger. It’s not nearly enough to kill the beast but does the job of freeing Valka from its hold, at which point I take over the job of keeping it occupied.

“You’re up, hit it as hard as you can!” I don’t go into details and thankfully I don’t have to.

The white-haired warrior quickly backs off, leaving the badger swinging at nothing but thin air and finally free for my attacks to have no collateral effects. An involuntary smile crests my face as energy crackles between the strands of my hair, slowly growing in intensity as the badger finally changes its target.

“Let’s dance big boy!” I taunt the creature and crouch under the first swipe of its massive paw.

The swing is fast and incredibly heavy, outclassing me in every category, except for wits that is. I saw it coming the moment the muscles twitched under the massive shoulders and layer of armored coat, it’s child’s play.

To return the care I simply tap the limb passing over me, sending the built-up charge straight into the massive growling body accompanied by a fiendish giggle. Yes, I’m basically torturing an already dying beast and I find it funny… That’s messed up huh? No, I’m right, messing with the big bad badger is funny, it bit my pet.

Sadly I don’t get to have my fun much longer as something flies past me with a deafening warcry and impact humbling anything I’ve ever achieved in my life. Okay, maybe not the time I demolished half the courtyard.

For a split second, the weakened layer holds defiant with its rigidity increased… Only for a second though. The sight of fur, skin, and flesh breaking like a sheet of ice with blood pouring from the gaping wound is probably one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen. The arm delivering the final strike buries itself almost all the way up to the elbow inside the badger’s battered body.

“Mom, Dad, bear witness to my first prey!” Valka yells to the skies before yanking her hand out of the body with something firmly in her grip.

“Please tell me that's not a heart.” I mutter, slightly petrified by the brutal display.

Please don’t eat it raw, please don’t eat it raw.

[Your group has triumphed over the enemy [Ironclad Tremor Badger - Metal lvl 95] - [Silver Blade Bearer - Metal lvl 23].]

[The Class Skill [Armory of the Arcane] has reached lvl 69.]

[The Class Skill [Arcane Focus] has reached lvl 69.]

[The general Skill [Serene Spellcrafting] has reached lvl 56.]

[The general Skill [Martial Instinct] has reached lvl 5->7.]

Oh, this stupid thing picked two Classes of the same element. I heard there’s a possibility for the two to complement each other with all sorts of passives and synergies and all that crap but I think it’s just straight-up stupid. More importantly…

“Are you alright?” I rush over to the warrior basically bathing in the blood of her kill. “I have a few healing potions if it hurts-”

“No need, I can heal.” She replies dismissively.

The lack of wounds on her limb and shoulder does confirm that statement but the limply hanging arm at her side would probably like to differ. Eh, at the end of the day, I’m fine, we have our lunch and I even got some progress into those pesky Skills.

“So what was that about?” I raise an eyebrow after letting Valka have her moment for a little longer.

“I’m finally an adult,” She sighs to the skies. “I wanted my parents to witness this.” Her voice is solemn yet filled with pride.

I know my first kill had quite a bit more meaning to it, my first offering to Malor and the moment the weight of a life first fell on my shoulder. It’s heavy but not that difficult to digest. The second and third kills are nothing in comparison, especially if you can accept death as an inevitable part of life. Every moment of our fleeting existence is just a coin flip whether you live or don’t.

Maybe I should tone down the snarky remarks while she processes the… severity of her actions. Especially the ‘ripping the heart out’ part. And although this time’s catch could feed us for days I don’t like the idea of staying-

“What the fuck are you doing?!?” I instinctively yell as Valka’s jaws close shut on the piece of meat still steaming and dripping with blood in the clutches of her hand.

“I’m hungry.” She declares offhandedly.

I can’t help but facepalm, my hands executing the action on their own as if they were suffering alongside me. I’m beginning to believe she’s actually from the farthest corner of the world or whatever because even beastmen aren’t foolish enough to feast on uncooked meat. Plagues lead to more deaths than conventional wounds.

Then she takes another bite.

“Stop that you moron!” I finally snap and pull my knife out.

This sudden move makes Valka flinch, drop the meat, and take a fighting stance, ready to face me at a moment’s notice. Despite fighting side by side less than a minute ago, covering each other’s backs almost admirably, like a practiced team, now her eyes hold only distrust and wariness toward me. Almost like a stray dog on the street, one that only suffered abuse and the darkest side of human nature.

I quickly freeze, realizing my mistake, and remain motionless for a few more seconds while looking for a way to make things look a little less bad. She’s not a woman of words and likely not the trusting type…

“Don’t eat like an animal, would you?” So I decide to go the sassy route.

What’s more believable, a half-assed apology or some good old mockery to play with her nerves? Me personally, I’d pick the latter one even if some great sage told me it’s not the way.

To reinforce my words with actions I swallow my disgust and plunge into the corpse, still warm and tender after the beating it received. My knife work is as sloppy as ever, especially because the meat of this one is tougher than anything I’ve ever worked with but in the end, I do manage to carve out a piece for educational purposes.

Lifting the meat for my lousy pupil to see I call some water from the nearby body of water to wash off the blood before sitting down on a small dirt stool that appraised just conveniently under my bum and start cooking. Literally.

I found using some gentle flames, Maintained Magic, and a few stone skewers to be the most convenient way of preparing a meal. While waiting for my bribe’s luring effect to come into play I finally look up at the now hesitantly observing girl visibly chewing on her lip with eyes glued to my makeshift grill.

“So, care to tell me how you’re still alive?” Redirecting the spotlight, another classic move to avoid taking responsibility. Yeah, I’m just this good.