Life was more of a dick than it had to be, so instead of savoring the few precious moments, she got roused from her drowsy state by a bell ringing and Ghost’s voice yelling for them to get ready. She quickly woke up Angel, before they both ran into their rooms to get their gear.

A few minutes later they were at the gate. With the barracks being nestled against the wall fortification meant the city gate was right outside the courtyard. The whole group soon gathered, Jic and Zic sat in the driver's seat of a large cart holding the reins of a massive beast who Ana assumed to be Bessy. Pops and Nimble rode on the horse like animals the party of mercenaries she fought had.

The food was packet checked the night before, everyone already had their gear ready when they gathered. A second smaller cart with some kind of a two-legged lizard creature pulling it was also there, and it got filled with everyone’s luggage, spare weapons, and utilities an expedition this size would require.

It was a quick setup before they left through the open gates. There wasn’t any ceremony to their departure besides some children who looked with curious eyes. Remembering something she ran to Ghost who was checking a few straps on his side. Not knowing to either say sir or how to talk to a commander, she just stopped there with a slightly opened mouth and a half-raised hand.

“Just call me Silv or Ghost, your choice. No need to twist yourself, little had changed from before.” Ana nodded and took a breath.

“One of the things I didn’t show is that I can tell what direction is north, just so you know that if we get lost I can still tell using magic.”

“Sweet, might come in handy later, for now, we travel by road. Thanks, Silver.”

Turning around the nickname stopped in her tracks. “Silver?” She whispered and the man shrugged.

But she wasn’t the only one to hear the nickname and so the group exploded as her time had come. Silver was passed around a few times, Hammer adding Little to the Silver part, causing Lia to laugh her ass off. Rose also bounced around. Leaving the city the discussion continued, but the group couldn’t settle between the two options, Angel preferred Rose, while others like Sunny liked Silver.

After an hour of bickering, betting, and being rowdy, a concession was made, one that Ana recommended. They could just call her whichever name they preferred, which got grunts of approval, but after she recommended her name, she only got grunts of disapproval.

Still, Silver or Rose were not half bad choices, one represented her new life here and the other her old one. The group had a faster pace than she imagined, but being responsible for hunting monsters she didn’t argue with the speed, plus with her trained body it wasn’t easy to get her tired.

As it was discussed earlier, she held a solitary position near the carts in the middle, so in case they got ambushed she could respond with as much force as she could and not be worried about friendly fire.

The first break they took was around noon, and it was a quick bathroom and lunch break before they continued. Thankfully the road was heading into the forest, so going to the bathroom was somewhat private. Even the food was awesome, as the mice chefs had a small number of perishables such as bread that had to go first.

After taking a few bites they were already heading out, finishing up as they walked. The whole thing reminded Ana of the nature walk Nicole had dragged her to once, except now she easily kept up with the group.

A lot of walking to what seemed like a nice forest but turned into a creepy one as soon as the sun started to go down. But by then they arrived at a clearing that had signs of being used. Confirming that they were gonna camp here it was her time to shine.

Using magic to shape earth was possible but the problem was that it was still dirt one was shaping, and even with some strengthening a few showers of rain were enough to ruin whatever wizard built. Still, it would last the night unless a storm hit them.

Shooing everyone away from the clearing she went to work. The clearing was big enough to make what she wanted, so placing herself in the center she focused on the earth around her. Making something quite so big took time, and it took a few minutes for her to get enough momentum. But after those few minutes of her doing the exercises that helped her focus, which looked similar to a dance, the earth two dozen meters around her began to churn.

Walls slowly rose leaving trenches on the outside of the circular fort. At that point, it was easy to add crenelations and stairs to the walls, but the hard part was the gate. Anyway she built it, it would be a weak spot and it had to be big enough to let the carts through. Crumbling one part nearest the group was the easiest option, and once everyone was inside she could reform that part of the wall. She lifted herself on a pillar to get a better perspective on the construction.

One way to reinforce the wall was to pack them with as much force as she could, which was already done. The other way was to introduce fire. While building the walls she made sure to expel as much plant matter as she could and to mix the clay in the dirt as thoroughly as she could.

The fact that she didn’t like using fire didn’t mean that she couldn’t bring it when it was called for, but the biggest problem in this situation was to generate the heat necessary. Using the trick that was tried and tested she started blasting the walls with intense fire, causing several trees that she was pointing to with her other hand to freeze over.

It wasn’t a perfect solution but it was the best she could think of. But the group was amazed nonetheless. It meant a safe spot to sleep in that took less than ten minutes to finish. Once everyone got in she raised some more dirt, blocking the entrance. One more bonus she added to the outer walls was spiked protrusions. They would most likely be the first to crumble but it was intimidating and cool. Nimble and Pops were missing from the group, using their speed to scout ahead and to see if any trouble was around.

While waiting for her to finish the others collected firewood and with so many of them on the task, they had collected more than enough. Two fire pits were soon built, and several tents were being raised. It didn’t take long for the two scouts to come back, Ana having to recreate the gate to let them in. Seeing the spiked fort had startled and exited them, praising Ana as they entered.

All the tents were neatly arranged by then, with the food being cooked. It seemed odd that they weren’t hiding the fires or keeping quiet and Ana understood that if any monsters were lurking around it would make their job a lot easier if they were defending a dug-in position instead of fighting throughout the cluster of trees and bushes.

But the night passed uneventfully, and because of the fort, Ana was exempt from a rotation on watch, a decision that had heavy support. Everyone wanted their heavy hitter well-rested, but she had a suspicion that no one wanted to try and wake her up for her rotation. They left the fort standing, wanting to see if it would survive their way back, and it could also help any travelers that find themselves on this road.

It took them the entire day to leave the forest, making the same fort on a hill overlooking the forest. But that morning things changed as they weren’t heading out and Ana was asked to create a few more defensive structures around the makeshift fort. A dozen members went in groups of three in four different directions while Ana added another set of trenches and with some help a few pit traps with spikes at the bottom. She built the second line of fortifications in the shape of triangles that weren’t touching, having the pit traps be between the opening of the triangle-shaped walls.

Those walls were heavily spiked with dirt, mostly used to herd anyone headed that way towards the pit traps. With Ana’s earth magic it didn’t take long to set up the traps, so the group that was staying was huddled around the fire drinking tea as they waited for the scouting parties to return.

No trouble found the group in the fort, but one of the scouting parties had returned being chased by a giant-looking ant creature, being so big it struggled to catch the experienced hunters.

They were informed by Dice who first noticed that Mane, Coal, and Ice were being chased by the giant creature. Climbing next to the man she saw that they were leading the creature towards one of the pit traps, skillfully avoiding the sluggish movements of the oversized insect.

Sunny, and Artillery got on the other side of the pit trap while Ana brought her spell into focus once again. While the trio was getting the beast's attention, Ana created an opening in the triangular wall, letting them escape before closing it back again, driving the beast forward towards the trap. Just in case, she jumped over and ran towards Sunny and Artillery creating spikes behind the creature.

Looking around the beast wasn’t stupid but Ana increased the size of the spikes, even if they were not that strong they looked dangerous which lead the creature straight towards them and directly into the pit.

At least half of its body as it was too large to ensnare completely by the pit. A lot of things happened at the same time, a mighty swoosh from the large crossbow to her side had pierced the ant's head, which was struggling to get free from the pit. Several other arrows hit the as well, Ana taking the opportunity took a few steps forward just as Sunny had struck with a war pike forcing the head to the right and in front of Ana’s new position.

She released the wild magic within her, not wasting much time with control, she just released it in a cone in front of her, turning half of the beast's head into dust. Some more trashing and a few more arrows for good measure and the creature was dead.

Cookie was ecstatic that the pincers were undamaged, and the cute little woman got to dissecting with the help of Hammer and Mane. The pincers were almost two meters in length, lightweight, sharp, and as strong as steel.

To Ana, it seemed easy and in truth, with the level of preparation, the sudden attack wasn’t that difficult to stop. It’s why most hunts ended with luring the monster into a trap, and with Ana here setting up the trap was a breeze.

The rest of the day went by slowly, not having much to do Ana paced and helped with the collection when she was needed. The teams went a few more times, making sure there wasn’t anything else in the surrounding area.

In the morning they collapsed the pit traps, leaving the rest of the fort standing once again. And they were off. The next day was rinsed, repeated and they continued, not encountering anything special. Nimble did bring fresh meat which allowed them to get some barbecue. But with how many of them there were, that only lasted two meals.

On the fourth day, they reached their destination, a walled-off village that had reported the ant harassing their farmers. She knew where they were headed but it was still a surprise to see a thriving community after hearing all the monster stories and actually seeing a monster for the first time.

But if one was smart and careful, one could survive almost anywhere, especially when you count on the tenacity all living beings have. The villagers had chased the ant away, unable to stop it, so seeing the pincers displayed in the cart roused a cheer.

The settlement already had walls, Ana had lost her job for that evening, which meant more time to walk around and talk to the settlers. She learned how simple life was there, even monsters who had only in recent decades become a nuisance wasn’t that big of a deal to everyday life.

They didn’t linger in the village too long, leaving the next morning to continue. For the next week they traveled, stopped, made camp and traps, and continued without much change, visiting a few villages to check-in and not finding trouble.

On a ninth day, they arrived in a more mountainous area, as they were heading around a mountain. They went to set up camp a little earlier than usual at Ana’s request, the stone being much harder to shape than dirt, she didn’t want the night to catch them while she worked.

And it did take her a while, almost an hour of slowly shaping rock into the fort-like structure the group got used to. But using stone meant that the structure would indeed be much more resilient, but it also meant that Ana was tapped out after finishing.

For the gate this time she made an archway, leaving it open. She had an idea of how to fill it but for that, she had to rest. While the group settled in Ana took a quick nap, which was in no result of her passing out.

She did wake up a few hours before dawn, which left her some time to complete what she had in mind. If the group was going to use this fort for the next few days while they checked the surrounding area, she wanted a convenient way to make the gate for the archway.

With the help of Pops and Nimble, she went around faster on their mounts, focusing on extending the range of her magnetic spell. It took them half an hour before she found what she was looking for, some twenty meters below ground.

Pulling the vein of iron proved to be a simple task, but reshaping it was quite the opposite. She needed heat to properly mold the metal, but not wanting to exhaust herself she settled for a shabby gate. Even being weak, there was enough iron to make a thick layer to cover the archway. With some earth magic, she embedded it into the stone, crafting a spooky and spiky gate that could be locked with a bar from the inside.

It wasn’t going to be winning any pageant shows but when coupled with the stone wall it resembled an actual castle. The rest of their time there she spent getting to know the other members that were taking breaks. But all that time wasn’t wasted as she was learning some basic skills, details like what to look for when keeping watch.

They spent three nights in the fort, while the scouts were trying to pinpoint another monster. They found tracks and pieces of animal carcasses that indicated that there was one around, but it was either avoiding them or it had left upon noticing them.

On the fourth day, Ghost decided to leave but suspecting an ambush he prepared accordingly. Artillery set up his crossbow on one of the carts holding their gear, while Dice, Rock, and Bard were in the other. Both carts hiding their deadly passengers. Angel was next to Ana in the back. The plan being to lure the ambush towards the weak seeming carts, when the bolts would surprise anyone attempting such an action, and others could rush in for an attack.

The groups behind and in the front of the carts bunched up to seem like a smaller threat. Ana who was in the shadow of Hammer along with Angel doubted that anyone could even see her this close to the giant.

But she was still bummed out a bit, as her job in case of an ambush would be to create a temporary shelter for them to retreat to. She understood that the danger of friendly fire was real with this many people around, and having a place to retreat to meant survival in case things went sideways.

A few hours passed as they slowly moved, reducing their speed and stopping several times. While the monsters were somewhat smart, they were still animals who were changed with magic.

The attack came once they stopped for lunch. They had made a stop to eat the already prepared food each of them was carrying when a shout brought everyone to their feet. From the left, a large beast resembling a mix between a lion and a porcupine was barreling towards them.

The monster chose a good spot for the ambush, leaving only a few seconds before it was noticed and when it reached the carts. But it was also smarter than they anticipated as it was headed towards the smaller group in the front.

It took only a moment for the crossbows to fire, but Ana didn’t look as if they had hit. Turning around she ran until she was far enough from the group to do her part. Bringing her spell into focus she watched the beast ran through the first group, sending Ghost, Mane, Sunny, and Gramps sprawling with the force of its body.

She saw a small bolt sticking out of its neck, having barely pierced the skin. The sheen of the spikes was positively metallic, and even this far away she could feel the iron within them.

Hammer, Ice, Frost, and Coal rushed from behind to engage the monster, as the front group rolled back to their feet. As luck would have it the beast went for Sunny, not realizing that there was a hard carapace on his back. Throwing Sunny to the side it went for Ghost who just got back onto his feet.

But then he just disappeared in a puff of smoke, the monster biting nothing but air. She had sensed when they first met that he had a little wisp of magic in him, but that being the first time meeting his race she didn’t think much of it.

That did give the group from the back enough time to get there. The creature was smart enough to avoid Hammer, the man being as tall as it was, going around them instead. But that brought Ana into its sight, and seeing a small lonely pray away from the group looked like an easy meal. Ana shivered once she saw the beast lick its lips.