Elemental Cats

It was an early start at the camp of explorers aiming to exterminate pests. Those who managed to get up early enough had at least some time to swallow down a light breakfast before the Janitors pushed everyone to get to work.

Before they could establish an effective countermeasure for the rats, it was first necessary to find out more about them. How far did their range of operations stretch? Average strength? Communication methods? Motivation?

During the upcoming days, everyone would focus on gathering as much information on the rats as possible. Some had a deadline of two days to try and find how far away the wasteland reached. Others would experiment with different ways to deal with the rats, how they reacted to different kinds of magic and why.

As the results accumulate and effective methods of dealing with the rats are discovered, others would be in charge of developing efficient ways to use those methods on a large scale, as well as coordinate with merchants to acquire the proper tools and materials needed.

A few methods similar to what Toz and his group had done in the canyon and when crossing the wasteland, were found to be effective. Some others completely different were also discovered, but the deadline wasn't up yet, and there were plenty of opportunities to experiment wildly on the rats and their tunnel system.

Although most methods reliant on a unique inclination would be impractical, there was no one who said they only needed to use a single method.

They also used the times when the rats fled or moved around in the tunnels to discover how they communicated and what made them move in certain ways. It was difficult to determine something concrete since the tunnels stretched deeper down in the ground than first expected, leaving the mages with excellent sensing capabilities at a loss.

No matter how far down they tried reaching, the only things they could find were more tunnels and more rats. The one thing of note was how the tunnel system spread furthest at the surface, creating a cone-like shape of tunnels. But if the cone ended in a tip, it would stretch unbelievably far down, based on the angle of the descending tunnels, as well as the size of the wasteland.

Hopefully, the tunnels would only go down a bit farther than they could sense, and then the system evens out since that would be somewhat easier to deal with but since they can't base their plan on some flimsy hope, they made contingencies for all conceivable possibilities.

Another thing that had the explorers doubtful was the lack of stronger rats. Except for spirits, as far as is known, all other living beings begin at most at the first level when they are born and then get progressively stronger. Some beings get stronger quicker and easier than others, but it's generally the same for everyone.

And for beings who live in groups, there are always stronger ones leading the groups, or at least not all members of the race are of the same strength at the first level. But so far, only first level rats had been discovered.

Either there weren't any rats of a higher level, or they are hiding so deep underground that they can't be found, but in that case, what are they doing so deep down? Are they somehow communicating with the beasts at a distance further than the mages greatest at perception can sense?

The more they learned about the rats, the more mysteries they discovered.

One of the greatest mysteries they had touched upon so far was the food. Rats had not for a moment stopped popping out of the ground like zits on a teenager, and there were no signs of them stopping any time soon either.

The rats weren't jumping out in a small area either. About a hundred people had spread out wide and were investigating while being assailed by endless rats. When they moved spots it only made rats sprout out from there as well. There seemed to be an infinite supply of rats hiding in the wasteland.

With how vast the wasteland was, and how many rats there were in it, there was no way they could find enough food to feed themselves in the barren tunnels.

The only reasonable explanation was that the rats were eating the nourishment in the ground, how it is possible for the weak dumb rats to do something like that was another mystery that showed no signs of letting itself be solved.

Almost every one of the Forest Janitors actively participated in preparing against the rat extermination. Running experiments, investigating the wasteland, and preparing necessary supplies.

The only exceptions were the leader of the Janitors, Hugh, and his two twin subordinates.

The twins, while not directly interfering in the preparative work, oversaw the activities and made sure nothing went wrong. Keeping crazy people in line so they don't go over the budget and things like that.

Hugh, however, was barely seen in the camp. Aside from a few times when he was seen walking through the camp once a day, his presence went unnoticed.

Most of the stray explorers who had joined the campaign thought that he was busy drafting plans and concentrating on administrative duties only he could do as the leader of the extermination.

Others suspected him of just not wanting or being able to do the same things everyone else was doing, because of some sort of inflated ego. His little stunt at the manager's office wasn't exactly a secret.

There were also a few ideas of him not having the right set of skills to help prepare during this very explorative stage of the rat extermination.

Of course, none of them were right. When no one noticed, Hugh sneaked out of the camp and investigated the mountain range. The only ones who knew what he was doing were the twins.

Hugh was searching for traces of the orb rumored to be discovered by the wild beasts in the surrounding areas. Apparently, the orb had been so precious it had stirred the beasts into starting a frenzied fight, wild enough to pull down two mountains.

The ensuing worry and ruckus, caused by the mountains collapsing had gotten the Explorers Guild personally involved. After the guild sent mid level mages to investigate, rumors started to spread among those in the know.

Hugh, with his many years in the business, naturally heard a thing or two about a treasure appearing in a low level plane that was enough to entice several tens of thousands of wild beasts into fighting for it.

Even if it appeared in a low level plane, a treasure that managed to create such a stir would be attractive to even mid level mages. If the rumors exploded, or the situation had been even more chaotic and outrageous, even high level mages might have shown interest.

Although there were only rumors about what kind of treasure it might be, Hugh had gotten a hold of a drawing from one of the scouts that investigated the mountains. That scout had questioned a tiny bird who had entered the mountain range and spotted the treasure. After seeing the treasure, it realized it couldn't bring it away and fled the scene before it got wrapped up in something it couldn't get out of.

The scout had gotten a description from the bird and based on that description, painted a drawing. Through some lucky chances, Hugh had gotten hold of that painting.

He couldn't determine what kind of treasure it was just from the painting, but it looked valuable, and if he could find it, or at least some traces of it, he could get a nice amount of money. Money he needed to settle some old debts and buy new gear for his Janitors.

But Hugh couldn't just leave his base and start a wild goose chase in a random low level plane without his competitors finding out and joining him. He might be able to sneak away unnoticed alone, but that would put his Janitors at risk and possibly make them lose their position as the most explorer squad in their plane.

But if he dragged the entire squad with him they would lose a lot of credibility and jobs for nothing more than guesswork, with no guarantee of getting paid. His squad might listen to him and join him this time, but what about the future. He was the strongest currently, which had greatly helped him become the leader and increase the repute of the janitors, but there were several fourth level mages who weren't too far from breaking through.

If Hugh pulled this stunt and they ended up getting nothing, he might lose his position as the head janitor.

But right when Hugh was busy thinking about whether it was worth it, or if he should take the chance or give up, one of his two most trusted subordinates had brought in a request slip from the guild.

At first, he wasn't interested in a random extermination job in a low level plane since the pay might not be good enough for the effort required. However, as soon as he saw the name of the plane and the destination he instantly accepted.

It was a great opportunity to try and find that elusive treasure. He hardly even bothered reading the details of the mission, letting most of that fall onto his subordinates' shoulders while he focused on treasure hunting.

Hugh hoped for understanding as he ignored his duties as leader of the extermination and all the explorers who had gathered for the guild's request.