The creature clearly had tendencies towards dark and moist places. Originally he had considered it would nest near the swamplands far to the west, but that made no sense, given the frequency of sightings this close to the city. The area around the city rarely ever received rain, and there were vast salt flats spread across the territory. So why were they here?
In hindsight, he should have realized that underground caverns were far more likely. There was a rather large aquifer located under the bedrock below Saltbrook, and the earth that deep was littered with porous rocks and openings, so there was no lack of suitable dens.
The strange worm-like monsters seemed to pop up basically overnight. It was just another point on the ever-growing mountain of evidence that the disruptions to the north were indeed caused by a growing Portvale. Randell had long since lost track of the number of invasive species barging into the local ecosystem. Beasts that had no place in this biome, or even this continent, were suddenly being found under every rock.
Randell looked back at the sketch of the worm on his desk. It was a crude piece of work, clearly done by someone trying to draw it from a secondhand description rather than a direct sighting. A name was scribbled along the top. The local adventurers that hung around the Travelers Guild had taken to calling the things Acid Burrowers. Randell rolled his eyes at the terrible naming sense and slid the paper away.
It was a misleading name, in his opinion. At least for a monster. Most casual adventurers and caravan guards never took the time to memorize the details about the potential monsters lurking nearby. Just a quick glance at the name and a rough drawing. Having a name that more accurately depicted the real dangers of the creature was far more likely to end with the combatants surviving the encounter.
Sure, they had acid, but that was more for melting and digging through the rock than something offensive. The carnivorous little bastards primarily seemed to attack by burrowing up from underneath their target and biting off a sizable chunk of flesh.
But, of course, why would any of these young fools choose a name? No, the first thought in any of their minds was always about the flashiest thing.
Like all beings with Essence, they had a hidden ace that was rather nasty.
Essence was the source of all Mana in the world, and Mana was a force that enacted a change in the world. As a being collected more Essence, increasing in level, more Mana was generated for them to use. But in a state of desperation, a being was capable of burning away their Essence and sacrificing their levels to supercharge their Mana. This was exceptionally dangerous for higher-level beings, as they had a lot more Essence to burn. Backing a monster into a corner, especially a high-level one, was a bad idea.
These Acid Burrowers, as they were apparently called, had a nasty habit of making their desperate last trick as spectacular as possible. When it became clear that the worm was going to die, it tried to get as close as possible to its target before burning all of its Essence to enhance its acid to critical levels as a final middle finger to whatever killed it. The rest of their kin would then swarm the potentially melted target and drink whatever was left of it.
Now, the worms weren't particularly bright. Even when covered in dozens of lethal wounds, very, very few even realized they were about to die. So in practice, this outcome was incredibly rare. And the worms weren't very tough, either. Most of them went down with a single good stomp.
But the rare times it did happen, it was always a show. Thus, the stupid nickname.
He straightened his glasses and shook his head with a deep sigh. He glanced at the large grandfather clock in the corner of the room. He still had some time before his meeting with the city council, but not much.
He pushed away from the desk. With the conundrum of the missing worm nests concluded, he figured he might as well try to squeeze in a bit of work on some of his personal projects. He mentally went over the various side projects he left shoved into the corner while focusing on more urgent matters. He realized he hadn't interacted with Rythica in a while, but the nanny he hired had kept him updated on the day-to-day happenings. He hadn't had time to do as many practical tests as he would've liked.
Well, there was no time to set up the speed maze today. Or the strength test. Eh, maybe next week or so.
He'd have to settle with just a simple Essence scan, then. It had been a few months since his last checkup, and it would be good to keep an eye on her status. Mind made up, he strode out of the room.
A bubbly, young maid greeted him as he exited with a slight bow. "Master Randell, I trust your work was productive?"
"Productive enough, Miss Bella."
"That's good to hear. Shall I fetch your coat?"
"Not yet. I'll be leaving soon, but have a personal task to attend to, first. Bring me my Essence Reader, please."
Bella hurried off as Randell continued down the hall. As he was nearing the door to Rythica's observation room, the maid returned holding the small device.
Bella handed the reader over happily, before less-than-subtlety glancing at the door.
"Thank you."
"Of course. Is there anything else I can do for you?" She glanced back at the door, her gaze burning with curiosity.
"No, that will be all." The man waited, but she didn't immediately move. She practically vibrated with eager curiosity.
Randell always had a soft spot for the curious mind. It was why he did lectures at the local academy. It was why he donated funding to local libraries. It was why he took on apprentices at little benefit to himself. But there was obviously no way he was going to give this particular secret away.
He was fully aware that the staff had been practically bursting at the seams trying to pry into the big secret. A few tried a little too hard and found themselves permanently removed from the premises.
And that wasn't to mention his own relatives within the estate. If it weren't for their overwhelming apathy for anything that didn't directly involve their personal research fixations, he would be in serious trouble. Well, most of his relatives, anyway...
Randell cleared his throat gently, startling Bella. She jumped and gave him an embarrassed glance. He pointed his head to the side, making the dismissal clear.
The girl bowed low and scampered off.
He really needed to figure out a better arrangement for the Vex. It was only a matter of time before someone figured something out. He had rushed into this, eager to seize the rare opportunity, not having taken the time to think things through.
The staff pushed their limits further with each passing week. His younger sister, Elara, still respected his requests for privacy, as he was technically the head of the house, but there would be nothing he could do if her curiosity overtook her meager respect for his position.
He knew she had cornered Julia at least a few times about what was behind the door. Julia had proven herself loyal, but it was only a matter of time before something slipped through. If Elara used her Silver Tongue skill against Julia, she would fold instantly.
Stolen story; please report.
What if one of his other relatives got bored and simply took it upon themselves to investigate? He knew the younger generation wouldn't hesitate for a second to disobey his direct orders to stay away.
As he had dreaded for so long, he imagined himself hanging at the end of a rope, a sign marked "treason" tied to his chest. He should back out now while there was still time. He should just get it over with and euthanize her-
A will that was not his own ripped out the thought before it was even fully realized.
Randell blinked, confused. Why was he just standing here? And why was he sweating? He glanced around the room, confused. The temperature was actually a bit chilly, so it couldn't be that. Perhaps he was just a bit out of shape. His heart rate was elevated, so maybe he was just walking too fast. He wasn't a young man, anymore. He needed to pace himself more.
Randell dismissed the oddity and moved through the reinforced door. Julia looked up at him as he entered the room. She was sitting at the small table within, reading a book. She stood up quickly.
"Oh, hello, Master Randell. I wasn't expecting you here, today."
Hearing voices, a tiny Rythica popped her head into view behind the window, observing the situation.
"Yes, it's a bit of an impromptu visit, but I'm just here to take a small Essence reading." He held up the device. "It should only take a moment. Would you mind?"
Julia nodded. "Of course." She turned towards the window and called out gently. "Rythica! Food! Are you hungry? Want a treat?"
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of honey jerky. The Vex clacked her jaws in anticipation at the sight and chirped happily, before rushing into the feeding enclosure.
Randell watched the interaction, impressed. The nanny had been a natural at training the creature. The last few months had been exceptionally fruitful. He had no idea what changed, but he was somewhat convinced the woman had a lesson in beast taming at some point.
He failed to remember that she was a mother and had raised kids of her own.
He eyed the water mister sitting on the table. He remembered quite vividly when she had practically barged into his office a few months ago, almost demanding it for her work. The woman had looked seconds away from exploding at the time, so he didn't question her too much. It seemed it was far more effective than anything else, so far.
The small Vex devoured the treat as Julia closed the doorway, sealing her in. Rythica paused, suspicion written on her features, but after confirming neither of them was holding a water bucket or cleaning rags, she didn't make too much of a fuss.
The young hatchling was now approaching six months in age, and she had mellowed out somewhat. That wasn't to say she was an angel by any means, she certainly wasn't, but the tantrums had become less frequent, and she had become more accepting of the humans' activities.
Mostly.
She still threw quite the fit from time to time. Sometimes the tantrums would go on for hours on her worst days, but they were thankfully getting rarer. He still felt a bit bad for the nanny having to deal with that, but that's what he paid her for, so he didn't feel too much sympathy. It was an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.
He was just happy that the monster no longer shredded all of the clothing they put on her. It turned out that Vex really didn't care much for the stuffy and restrictive nature of clothes. It had taken a bit of training, and far too much wasted cloth, but Julia had finally gotten her to wear something without it being instantly destroyed.
Of course, they had to cheat. Randell had once again been forced to dive into his personal coffers to satisfy the little money sink. The sleeveless dress she currently wore had been made with an incredibly expensive and durable cloth that was essentially impossible for the Vex to rip or tear. It was sewn in such a way as to be very difficult to put on or remove without help, as it was tied in the back where Rythica couldn't reach. Being effectively a toddler, Rythica simply didn't have the mental capacity to puzzle it out, leaving the dress right where it was.
She was, needless to say, quite unhappy with the arrangement, and had made her displeasure known for weeks afterward. Loudly.
Randell slipped on his thick leather gloves and held up the Essence Reader, checking to make sure the crystalline quartz surface was clean of any grime or dirt that may tamper with the reading. Validating that everything appeared to be in order, he approached the small feeding area connected to Rythica's main enclosure.
Having finished her small treat, the small princess was no longer interested in participating in anything further now that she was properly fed. Her eyes narrowed to slits as Randell slid open one of the openings a crack, and pushed his hands through. She backed away.
"Oh, don't be difficult, girl. I've done this before. You know how this works."
She hissed at him.
Randell sighed. "If you want to make this difficult, that's on you."
The man reached in and snatched her hand too quickly for her to react. Being much stronger than the tiny bug girl, he had no issue holding her in place. She quickly began to squirm around in his grasp, hissing in annoyance. Julia failed to hide a snicker from the side.
Randell rolled his eyes and ignored them both. He held the reader to the back of her wiggling hand, and the glass window came to life with a soft glow.
Unlike most humans, beings with innate magic tended to have a somewhat instinctual understanding of their Mana from birth. Mana wasn't something that could be directly observed or felt, but its effects could be. Learning to recognize one's own Mana within themselves was something that came with practice and a complete understanding of one's own body. This process was much easier as the being grew in level, and the effects of their Mana were magnified.
An Essence Reader worked by pulling a bit of the target's Mana out and scanning that. Since Mana was a reflection of the Essence that created it, reading one's Mana was enough to learn about their Essence.
Due to all this, Rythica was somewhat aware of her Mana being siphoned away, even if she didn't understand what was happening. It made sense that the process was slightly uncomfortable for her. For a Vex, the loss of some Mana might manifest as an extremely subtle feeling of fatigue or mental cloudiness for a few seconds. The expression on her face made it clear she felt changing within her, but it was too distant to really understand.
Brilliant lights and colors flashed across the device as it scanned her Mana. The blur of changing symbols flickered for a moment as it calibrated, and then began to settle into more recognizable letters and digits. After a few moments, the image stabilized.
Randell skimmed through the information quickly. He muttered to himself as he read.
"Hmm, you gained another level over the last three months. Interesting. That seems to confirm the class does indeed grow as you mature. Fairly common among magical beasts, but it's nice to see that confirmed. However, your affinity has dropped slightly. It would appear keeping you away from a proper hive is having an effect."
If her affinity continued to fall, her leveling speed would drop off rapidly. It wasn't a problem. Quite the opposite, in his opinion, but it was worth noting. Having a Vex queen grow into a high-level monster would definitely be an issue for everyone, everywhere.
But the question was tugged away before the words manifested.
He nodded and pulled his hands back from the cell, closing it fully. He jotted down the notes in a small book and dropped it back into his pocket. He turned back to Julia who remained sitting at the table nearby.
"I'll be taking my leave now, Miss Julia. You may resume your duties."
She nodded in understanding. She went back to the smaller enclosure and opened the door leading back into the main enclosure. Rythica wasted no time in resuming playing with her wooden blocks.
Randell watched as the young girl built up a stack of blocks in a small tower, then proceeded to kick a ball halfway across the room to knock the structure over. It smashed into the tower with force and sent the wooden cubes flying in all directions with a loud crash. The girl giggled maniacally as the structure was obliterated.
He felt that weird sense of disconnect in his mind again. The same odd feeling that had always cropped up when trying to compare the image of the monster he knew she was with the sight of the small child playing with toys. That small fogginess crept through his thoughts as he tried to remind himself that she was not a person, but a creature to be studied and then put down for the good of humanity. But he failed to pull the thoughts forth.
The smallest corner of his mind knew the feeling wasn't natural, it wasn't his own. That... urge to protect the child. Ever since the day she had hatched, that tiny voice in his head sounded oh-so-slightly different.
But as it had so many times in the past, as soon as he had the realization, it faded without a trace and left no memory of its passing. That mental block that stood in his mind disappeared as if it was never there, waiting until the next time the small,
The fear went away just as quickly as the odd feeling. His mind was exactly as it should be. What was he resisting? Why fear his life's purpose? As long as he was protecting Rythica,
He shook away the fog in his mind, not sure what he was thinking about. Maybe a bit of caffeine would do him some good. It was going to be a long day, today.