Walking up the winding, narrow footpath, the group of Misfits were slowly ascending the mountain. Lia was spearheading their advancement while Raufon was taking up the rear as their guard. Aurora and Sion were constantly scanning their surroundings, extending their senses, looking for wild animals and traces of mana that would tip them where the Goldencrown Salamander may be.

"This reminds me of home!" Keily spoke up with a nostalgic and happy voice.

"Was your village in the mountains?" Ceiline asked as they were still in the wooded part of it, slowly reaching its edge as they headed upwards.

"No, but the forest was just as thick!" He answered, "We lived in a small clearing, and my dad worked as a woodcutter. I wasn't that good with axes and carrying big logs, but I was quick on my feet! So I was bringing news and food back and forth for them! I liked that…."

"Sounds peaceful!" Koa chimed in, watching Keily with a kind smile, walking up behind him and starting to rub his head, which he enjoyed very much so.

"It was…" He whispered.

"My village is the complete opposite!" Raufon added from the back. "We also live in the forest, but our tribe is… aggressive. Might is right, and there are constant struggles for the leading position. Me, being sensitive to magic, was something that nobody had expected, and I was almost assassinated three or four times before I turned one year old!"

"Geez!" Sion snorted, "What the hell?"

"It is what it is!" Raufon shrugged, "That is our way, and most of the other tribes around us act the same way. I am the only one capable of casting magic there. I was a potential danger to other tribes and to many inside my own tribe! My parents, luckily, are powerful and managed to keep me alive. When I was welcomed into the Academy, it was set in stone that I would be the next tribe leader! My brothers tried many things but this summer… I made them see they have no chance!" He finished with his muscly chest puffed out, laughing proudly.

"Did you tell them that on your first day, you were beaten down?" Koa grinned, but then Raufon furrowed his brows.

"To my recollection… I won."

"He is right!" Lia added immediately, taking his side. "I did lose that fight!"

"See?" Raufon smirked, but Koa just shrugged.

"Semantics."

"Facts, I would say!" Raufon countered, his grin widening.

"You two should have a rematch," Aurora added.

"Sure!" The two answered in a flash before laughing.

Their trip up the mountain was like a group of friends going on a hike, filled with chatter, laughs, and discussion about their group's future. It didn't take long to climb above the forest and see the trees disappear, giving way to tall grass as they were ascending the mountain. They managed to see horse-sized goats jumping around, fleeing from the sound of their footsteps, watching them from afar. Their wool was milky-white and looked like it was shimmering in the sunlight. The twirly horns on some of their forehead were golden, and occasionally, they spewed golden lightning into the air, especially when their eyes met with theirs.

"I have never seen goats like those!" Keily whispered, trying not to maintain eye contact, afraid he would cause them to turn aggressive.

"They are Sparkling Goats." Ceiline explained, who was well-versed in the field, "Their wool is superconductive! If they feel endangered, they lash out and not just headbutt you but blast you with lightning! Plus, they are extremely fast, like a bolt of lightning!"

"They could close the distance they are at now in a flash." Sion agreed, "When I was young, I visited a farm, breeding them for their wool. It is an expensive material… One of the bastards found it funny to flash behind me, headbutt me and send me crashing into the mud! The damned beast did it four times, and it was always so fast I couldn't dodge!"

"Pft~" Lia giggled at the front, followed by Keily's suppressed laugh.

"Laugh if you want!" Sion chuckled, "In the end, I enjoyed a delicious meal one night!"

"Ruthless." Koa whistled, elbowing him.

"I didn't say anything!" He raised his hands, wanting to say more, but then a loud cry from one of the goats made them stop in their tracks.

It was standing up on its hind legs before slamming its front hooves down, creating a loud blast that sent an electric shock in all directions, sweeping over the group.

"What was that?" Aurora asked, ready to battle, already holding two curved, black sabers.

"That is an alpha male… something is endangering his herd…." Ceiline explained, furrowing her brows, her violet eyes scanning for what they had missed. "It must be underground!" She exclaimed, watching the goat repeat its move over and over again while the others were scattering in all directions.

"It's shaking…." Raufon whispered, going to his knees and touching the ground. As someone with the element of the earth at his disposal, he was sensitive to its most minute changes. "Something is moving below us!"

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"Is it our target?" Lia asked, but Raufon was unsure.

"I don't think so." Ceiline answered instead of him, "Salamanders can dig, but they usually use the already existing tunnel systems made by other animals. Their main living space is in the lava. When winter comes, they head back, lay their eggs in it, and submerge in it, using it as an energy source while hibernating!"

"It's coming out!" Raufon looked forward, and a moment later, the earth cracked below the goat that was letting out loud cries of warning. A nasty, pinkish-red 'head' popped out of the ground, looking like a chrysanthemum. It was opening towards all directions, and in the middle, a ring of nasty, yellow teeth was clicking together.

"What is that?!" Keily exclaimed, feeling all his hair stand towards the sky, and even his floppy ears were raised.

"That is a Wormmole!" Ceiline said, recognizing it and watching as the goat flashed away, using its superior speed, avoiding being eaten alive.

The appearing wormmole was truly a repulsive sight to behold. Its body was filled with black, thick, and spiky fur, mud sticking to it in big chunks. Its front legs ended in big claws, perfect for digging or tearing up its prey. The nasty-looking head of it ended in a giant, fleshy mouth, capable of biting the goat in half as the creature was twice the size of its prey. Only, for the wormmole's misfortune, the goat was much faster and more experienced.

"It is a young one." Ceiline said, watching the goat escape its bite, "It screwed up the hunt."

"Hey…" Lia said, pointing towards the goat, flashing with electricity, "Why is it looking at us?"

"I know that gaze…." Sion grimaced, "The bastard!"

Before he could say more, the goat flashed forward, chased by the enormous wormmole, crawling after it with a surprising showcase of dexterity. The goat was heading straight for their group, passing by amongst them, and Lia could swear when their eyes met, the goat was grinning, handing down its enemy to them to deal with.

"Scatter!" Lia shouted, translating Aurora's hand sign in sync as they all jumped in different directions before the black monstrosity could crash into their ranks.

When the wormmole realized its original prey was already far away, watching them curiously, it let out a gurgling sound, showing its mounting discontent. Yet, even if it failed to catch its lunch, at least some snacks were here, and it re-focused its nasty-looking, squelching, round mouth towards the Misfits.

"Raufon!" Lia shouted, and he was already in motion.

Clapping, focusing on his bracelet, he raised the earth around the creature, forming a bowl-like prison out of it. Sensing the change, it clawed against it, managing to stick them through the spell with one stab.

"It is strong! Hurry!" Raufon said, reinforcing the holes as fast as he could.

"I'll help!" Keily arrived, hands stretched out, spewing bright, orange fire straight at the earth-prison, hardening its surface and also turning up the heat for the wormmole.

"Not enough! It is going to break through!" Raufon shouted, and the beast let out a gurgling roar, blasting Raufon's spell apart, shaking its head, and looking around a bit confused.

It tried to lash out toward Keily and Raufon, but the moment it landed, the ground was muddy and acting like a swamp, making it to be stuck and struggling to lift its limbs.

"Surprise!" Koa grinned, soaking the ground with water since the start.

"Got it!" Ceiline joined in, and two green tendrils emerged from the mud, wrapping themselves around its front arms, pulling them apart, further restricting its movement. Now it was panicking and thrashing its nasty head around, its teeth clattering, its saliva splashing everywhere.

"...!" arrived Aurora, without a sound, slashing, then disappearing, and the beast had itself been sliced open from top to bottom. With the pulling force that Ceiline was exerting on it, the monster was simply torn apart along its fresh wound, split straight down the middle.

It was dead by the time it crashed to the ground, spilling its nasty intestines onto the grass.

"Ugh!" Keily grabbed his nose, pinching it as the smell was unbearable.

"Eh…" Sion twitched his mouth, "I didn't even have a chance to step in…."

"Me neither…" Lia echoed his thoughts, feeling robbed of a fun exercise. "We are too strong…."

"Sssh!" Koa pinched her buttocks, "Don't jinx it!"

"Where are the goats?" Sion asked, wanting to blame them, but all of them were gone by the time they killed the wormmole.

"Leave them!" Lia sighed, rubbing her butt, pouting, "Ceiline, can we use anything from it?"

"Not really." She said, watching the stinking corpse, releasing its thick blood, soaking the ground. "The valuable parts of it have been damaged by Aurora's attack.

"Opsie." She wrote with her hair.

"I say, good!" Koa watched it with disgust, "I wouldn't want to carry anything that is related to this nasty beast! It would stain my holding bag for sure!"

"Sssh!" Raufon warned them, already kneeling, his ear pressed on the ground.

"What?" Lia asked, whisperingly, watching him.

"I feel… I hear something else moving down below… it is like… sneaking toward us. I feel the vibration it is making!"

"Another one?" Keily asked, looking at the ground, not wanting to be eaten by surprise.

"A mate, maybe? Or its parent?" Ceiline asked.

"Get ready!" Lia ordered them, sensing trouble incoming.

"See?" Koa grunted, "You jinxed it!"

"I did not-" She argued, then the corpse trembled, and the ground below it broke away. They only saw a lizard-like head covered in green scales pop out, grabbing one half of the wormmole and dragging down, scurrying away hurriedly. "Was that…?"

"A salamander…" Ceiline nodded, crossing her arms and scratching her chin. "And it looked to be a young one, and by the shape of its head, it was a Jade Salamander. It has a green fire that can burn away all kinds of toxins. It uses it to eat up carcasses of fallen animals!"

"Let's leave it; it is not our target," Sion said, but Lia was walking to the hole it disappeared to, thinking and furrowing her brows.

"Boss?" Keily asked, hopping towards her, throwing a small ball of fire into the tunnel, and lighting it up. They could see the bloody trail the salamander left, dragging half of the corpse with itself.

"A Goldencrow is the leader of the salamanders around it. I would bet it has subordinates." Lia murmured, "If we follow this one… we could find our target. The tunnel is wide… clearly, it was dug up by the wormmole, so we don't even need to crawl!"

"Follow it underground?" Koa moaned, fidgeting a little, "I'm not really keen on the idea, Lia! Especially if we end up in a river of lava!"

"We are far from that! I think!" She countered, looking at Ceiline, who nodded but was also not quite sure.

"Your choice." Aurora wrote, watching Lia, who only hesitated for a moment.

"Let's go! We follow it down and see if we can find its boss!" She said, burning away the remaining half of the corpse to ensure it wouldn't 'wake up.'

Nobody argued, not even Koa, who just shrugged and moaned but followed the group as they descended the tunnel, following the stinking, bloody trail of the jade salamander.