All things considered, I felt that my conversation with the mayor went fairly well.

Sure, I didn't actually get the chance to say anything, but I got the mission. I hadn't realized the job had been posted for three weeks. Although, I was sure that helped me. I just hoped that the infestation wasn't that bad.

I had no idea how bad the infestation could get in three weeks. In fact, I had no idea what a Rock Beetle was. Fortunately, I had a way to find out.

"CoreLink, what is a Rock Beetle?"

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Rock Beetle: Rock beetles are a gigantic, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carbidae that have evolved from past beetles that were warped by De. The Rock Beetle is a distinctive beetle owing to its black thorax, head and legs, and shiny grey abdomen that appears to resemble coke, a hard, porous coal-based rock with a high carbon content. They not only resemble the high-carbon rock, but its shell is also thick, increasing the protection from damage. However, the beetle's underbelly lacks any of its shell's protective aspects.

Adult Rock Beetles usually grow between .5m - .75m in length and can weigh up to 30lbs.

Rock Beetles are seen as a pest, but one that can be dealt with if caught early. The creatures are omnivorous and consume everything around the nest. The bigger the dead area, the larger the nest is. Nests generally consist of at least 5-6 beetles but have been known to be larger.

I continued to read for a few minutes to see if anything else could give me an extra advantage. The Rock Beetles didn't seem too bad as long as I didn't run into too many of them. I might have a little trouble with the carapace, but they did have a weak point.

I would just have to exploit it to the best of my ability. I'll just make sure to go slow and be careful. If I did that, I should be able to make it there and back before night and claim my money.

I could camp along the road on the way back to the city. In the morning, I could finish the walk back to the city, sign up for the tournament, get a free bank account, and then officially join the guild to make even more money.

I looked around to see if a road was leading in the direction the mayor had said. I spotted it down the street I was standing on and on the other side of a building. I walked along the road and down the path for a little ways. I kept on guard, looking for signs of the nest.

I walked about a mile down the road and didn't see anything to alert me to the infestation. It was just open fields that were in varying stages of cultivating. That made me think of my cultivation.

I reminded myself to check it, cultivate some more that night, and review my compatibility level. Ever since I came down the mountain, it slowed considerably. I needed to find out why.

Movement caught my eye at the far end of a field that looked like it had been plowed recently.

"Symbiotic Mode," I said as soon as I saw the movement. I didn't want to be caught unaware. I heard the now-familiar hiss of air being released and focused on the area where I saw movement.

My DTA program lit up, confirming my suspicions. It was difficult to see from that distance, so I slowly crept forward. My goggles lit up with movement, and six targets milling around the area that lit up with red.

My goggles had lit up targets before but never so many at once. I was happy I could get more use out of it than research and warnings. I studied the Rock Beetles and how they were moving, so I could devise a good plan to eliminate them.

I wasn't sure what they were doing while they milled around, but eventually, one of them moved off to the side. After depositing my pack in a low ditch I found so no one else could see it, I took my chance and circled around to get closer to it but further from the others. My goal was to only engage one beetle at a time; there was no point in being unsafe.

I moved slightly closer. My goggles highlighted the one I wanted to target in what appeared as a brighter red, or it could have been my imagination. I raised my spear and stalked forward slowly and smoothly.

I could tell when it suddenly noticed me. It had antennae that twitched when I moved forward, then its black head lifted and turned in my direction. It chittered louder than I was comfortable with, and I hoped the others didn't hear.

I didn't have much time to consider it deeply, though. The Rock Beetle started skittering forward quicker than I was prepared for. The newly tilled soil was loose under my feet, and as I tried to move back, it slowed me down.

As the beetle skittered forward, I dropped my spear to keep it between us. I realized I couldn't back up fast enough, so I planted my feet and thrust forward. My attack was too slow, and the Rock Beetle turned its body. My spear strike was solid and slammed into the creature with a loud metal ringing.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Rock Beetle barely acknowledged the blow. It was pushed back perhaps an inch or two, but then it turned again to face me. Its antennae swayed in the wind, and it loudly chittered again. I didn't wait for it to attack, but I thrust forward once more with my spear.

As I expected, the pest turned its body again to block my hit. I angled my spear lower, trying to hit the sweet spot between its body and the ground. My spear slid cleanly underneath the beetle. Once it was as deep as I could get it, I shifted my stance.

I lifted up on my spear's shaft like a lever. The Rock Beetle flipped over onto its back. I raised my spear and thrust down with all my strength into its exposed stomach.

My spear sunk in deep enough to bury the blade all the way. I was stopped from going out the other end due to the hard rock carapace. The Rock Beetle squealed and thrashed in pain. I twisted the spear, pulled it out, and then stabbed it down again to try and kill the creature quickly.

My second thrust ended the squealing and killed it, but some residual twitching still occurred. I did my best to ignore it while pulling my spear free and preparing for an attack from the other beetles. None were coming my way, though.

My DTA program picked up the other five, which were all still milling around. I repeated the previous process, watching and waiting for an opening. After a few minutes, I spotted my next victim.

Like the last one, I make a wide circle to attack it far away from the others. I slowly moved forward until it spotted me with a loud chitter. When it got close, I lunged forward with my spear. I didn't hesitate after it turned to the side.

My first strike hit in the side but only did minimal damage. I didn't want to change that attack since I wasn't entirely sure if it would follow the same pattern as the first, but it did. I immediately lunged forward for a second time, dug my spear under it and flipped it on its back. I thrust down multiple times in succession to ensure its quick demise.

It wasn't quick enough.

I heard two loud chitters coming in the direction of the other Rock Beetles. My goggles didn't give me any proximity warnings, so I knew that I wasn't in danger just yet. I swiveled my head toward the sounds, and the DTA highlighted two advancing beetles. They were almost parallel as they moved toward me, but the left one had a slight lead of a length or two.

I moved back as much as possible and struck out when the first was in range. It turned to the side, and my spear hit the ground right under it. I tried to do too much; I wanted to flip it over and use my spear to vault over it and out of the way of the second one.

Unfortunately, the second beetle was too fast, and just as I managed to begin flipping the first, the other was right at my legs. Its tiny mouth opened to try to bite me, and I instinctively kicked out. It was a straight kick forward, and the bottom of my foot struck the beetle square in the mouth.

It screeched from the attack and was pushed back, but the first beetle I tried flipping scampered off my spear. The beetles were on either side of me then. My DTA program let me know with a warning trill and flashing lights on either side of my vision.

I slashed my spear at the second one and sliced its face while simultaneously heel-kicking the first. My kick was more effective than I thought, and the Rock Beetle rolled over from the force of the blow. I moved quickly and stabbed it multiple times with my spear.

My goggles trilled another warning. In response, I spun and thrust with my spear. The beetle turned to block the strike, but I didn't lessen my momentum.

I stabbed downward, flipped it over and stabbed multiple times. I was awarded with a disgusting spray of green blood that shot up. I managed to dodge out of the way with a roll and immediately righted myself.

"Missed me, you -" My goggles screamed in my ear, and I was walloped from behind.

When I landed, my face dug into the loose soil, giving me a nice taste of the dirt. What worried me was the sharp pain in my back, which felt like water soaking into my shirt. Before I could get up, a considerable weight landed on my back.

I screamed in pain and rolled over. The weight moved with me but also shifted. When I turned around, the Rock Beetle that had hit me from behind was resting perpendicular on my chest.

It lifted its head and opened its jowls in preparation for taking a chunk out of my side. I brought my spear up and placed the shaft between its mouth so it couldn't clamp down. Its multiple legs were scratching me as it thrashed around trying to get purchase.

I placed my free arm under its body, and with a grunt of effort, I turned to my side and heaved. The monster flipped with me, and I ended up on top while it was underneath and upside down. I slammed my foot onto it and violently wrenched my spear free before stabbing it multiple times.

I looked around for the last Rock beetle, and my goggles spotted it at the far end of the field. It was not milling around, but it was moving at a high rate of speed out of the farm. I glanced at the multiple dead beetles strewn about the field. I wanted to take the time to gather the ambient De, but I would just have to hope that it would still be around after I took care of the last one; I didn't want it to escape.

I ran after it, my goggles informing me where it was the entire time, or at least its direction when it wasn't within line of sight. I was running as fast as I could maintain, which wasn't fast enough to catch up to it. I followed its trail through two more plowed fields. The trail eventually led over a small hill. When it disappeared on the other side, I considered calling off the search and regarding the job as done.

On the other side of the hill was a line of trees. My DTA indicated the Rock Beetle fled in that direction.

"Damn."

I didn't want to go in there, but something compelled me to finish my task completely. My father's influence meant I couldn't just leave it alone. With a sigh, I trotted off into the trees. I wanted to be cautious but didn't want to lose the last beetle.

I plunged into the woods. The trees themselves weren't too dense, but there was a lot of random foliage in the way. However, there was a small trail that I was able to follow that was caused by my prey.

The path again went upward a little. I leaned into it to get up faster. It was good that I looked down when I got to the top of the hill; if not, I would have been in real trouble. My run was abruptly halted as the trail not only stopped, but the ground and the whole forest gave way.

Spread out before me in a large circle was a huge crater. It wasn't so deep, perhaps ten feet in the middle, but the diameter must have been at least a hundred meters. Even though it wasn't that deep, I was stopped on the edge of a five-foot drop-off into the crater.

The DTA program indicated that the Rock Beetle moved in that direction. I looked around for it but couldn't see any signs. I wasn't going to go after it anyway. This job just went far beyond my ability, and I didn't think anyone would be able to handle it. Judging by the size of the area, this was a much larger problem than anyone realized.

The earth began to rumble below me, and the ground grew soft. I tried to steady myself, but the foundation was falling below me, and I wasn't the only thing dropping. All the trees and plants that had been precariously perched on the edge all started to tumble inward. I was forced to dodge and move, so the only way I could go was into the crater with them.