Elemental Cats

The group had, in total, spent several months on First Ignition. in Yellow Sparks and the adjacent wilderness. Not a long time, but it felt longer with everything that had happened, yet some things remained the same. Not the mountain range, though. That one had changed. But the feeling of walking through a sea of grass. The sound of a rushing river a short distance over to the side. A lush forest on the other side of the river, that looked the exact same as the first day Toz walked along the flowing water.

Toz was the only one with any deep reflecting thoughts. Lucy had already seen the view several times by now, and was tired from tormenting the Scorched Earth Rat King in its last moments. so he was sleeping without a care in the world.

Nil had entered the familiar space so he could train in peace.

And while Mindle looked like she was deep in thought, she was mostly mimicking Toz while thinking about how they hadn't had any breakfast before leaving for Yellow Sparks.

It took the group two days to reach the town. After they reached the town and Toz talked with Amber, they bid farewell to Yellow Sparks.

However, not everyone could just pack up and leave when they felt like it.

Only a few days after Toz left the town, Hugh entered it. And he brought shock with him as he contacted the fifth level manager first before doing anything else. It didn't take long for all evacuation processes to be halted, and messengers from almost every single organization arrived at the Explorers' Guild branch office in Yellow Sparks. It was where the news that the Scorched Earth Rat King had been defeated, and that its body would be sold to the highest bidder as soon as possible originated from.

Like Toz had expected, there were several investigations about how, where, and when the Rat King had been defeated, and it took a while for that to settle down. Then there were a lot of people who wanted to pressure Hugh into giving up the pieces of the Rat King's body for research, the greater good, and several other selfish reasons. All in hopes of not wanting to pay a veritable fortune and to get their hands on valuable materials.

Thankfully the Explorers' Guild had Hugh's back as they sent reinforcements strong enough to not want the corpse for themselves and to hold an impartial auction without interference from the other organizations. Although there were a few attempts at either stealing the body or first killing Hugh and stealing the body, Hugh eventually sold the pieces of the Rat King's body to several different guilds.

The Alchemists' Guild got the eyes, brains, and a few obscure internal organs. A research-driven organization got a few other organs and some parts of the skeleton. Most of the bones, teeth, pelt, and claws went to the Craftmanship's Guild. And the muscles and whatever remained went to the Gathering of Gourmets, an unofficial subsidiary of the Merchant's Guild that only focused on food and all food-related businesses. The alchemists and crafters were especially sad to see the precious pieces of the Rat King's body get bought by a bunch of foodies, who would wastefully consume those pieces for a moment's satisfaction.

After the sales of the Rat King's body finished, Hugh went back into the wild, where he met up with the rest of the Forest Janitors. He had been hiding in the branch office all that time in order to protect himself and his fortune. But after selling the pieces and depositing the wealth with the Merchants' Guild, he headed back out into the wild.

Although the Scorched Earth Rat King had been defeated, and Hugh technically didn't need to finish the job since he already had as much money he could ever want, Hugh was in such a good mood that he didn't mind joining all the other exterminators in the monotonous work of eradicating every last rat.

The messenger that had told Hugh about the Scorched Earth Rats and the Scorched Earth Rat King had done a good job of spreading the warning all throughout the plains and the wasteland so a lot of people had either evacuated to the town, or fled in the closest direction away from the center of the wasteland after it became obvious that was where the Scorched Earth Rat King was coming from.

Although the wasteland and the wilderness had been pretty empty by the time Hugh returned to Yellow Sparks to bring news of the Scorched Earth Rat King's death, by the time Hugh left the town again, a lot of people ready to continue exterminating returned. With an appropriate danger compensation fee, of course.

But not everyone returned, and although there weren't any traces of their deaths or any bodies to bury, those who didn't return were eventually all presumed dead. Almost everyone who didn't return should, according to their schedules and routes, have been in the path between the center of the wasteland and Yellow Sparks. From that, any further investigations would be unnecessary as their fates were obvious.

All the merchants, mages, and fighters who had died when the Scorched Earth Rat King knew that operating in the wilderness was never completely safe, but both the Forest Janitors and the Explorers' Guild, who had hired everyone compensated the families and honored the ones who lost their lives. The request had been marketed as a relatively safe and risk-free one. A request suitable for beginners or people wanting to relax a bit. But several of the ones who were only looking for a quick buck doing easy labor died tragically, without leaving any remains.

But death was a common part of everyone's lives, and although there weren't any bodies to bury, the memories of smiling faces would be buried in the hearts of those who remembered. Or those who were left of a family or relationship to remember at least. Some who died, died together with their near and dear, leaving only names on a paper and a trustworthy friend's tears as proof of their existence.

After giving their dead their due respect it was time to celebrate the defeat of the Scorched Earth Rat King. And then get back to work to make sure another one isn't born from the Scorched Earth Rats' next generation.