Hera slept for five hours. Even though it wasn't the equivalent of a full night of rest, when she woke up, she was feeling great. She took a quick bite and got ready to leave, but as she left the rest area, Hera noticed that Peaches was nowhere to be found.

"Peaches? Are you here?" even after calling the guide didn't reply. Looking back at the clock, she still had over 14 hours to finish the test. It should be more than enough, but waiting around wasn't something she was keen on doing. Peaches should be just doing something else. She couldn't expect him to be waiting for her to wake up like a butler.

Hera walked over to the green door and entered it once more. She looked around, but this time, there was nothing in the air. Looking towards the slope that she climbed the day before made her remember the feeling of free-falling through the clouds. That wasn't something Hera wanted to experience again. Looking to the other side, there was a tall wall to climb, but above it, there seemed to be something close to a path. It would still be very hard to climb, but at least if she fell, she would hit solid ground and not fall from the mountain. She started climbing, and in a few minutes, she was already on the trail above. Looking around, she noticed a small rodent looking in the distance, sitting on top of a large rock.

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Mountain Biome – 1st task

The creature that lives in the mountain is very shy and fearful of others. When threatened, it will do anything it can to avoid the danger.

Capture the monster or follow it to its nest

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Hera activated her [Hide] and moved closer to the creature. Since she had to capture it, her paralyze spell could be perfect. However, if she missed, the monster would run away. In that case, she wanted to be close enough to try to catch it. She moved while crouching until she was about 5 meters away. She got ready to fling her spell, but as she aimed, her handaxe scraped against the rock, causing a loud sound. The monster turned around. Now that Hera was closer, she could see that the creature was a grey chinchilla with blue eyes and a yellow circle in the middle of its forehead.

The moment the creature saw the human, its entire body froze up, and it fell backward.

"What? No, no, no, no, no."

Hera tried to catch it, but the chinchilla was already falling towards the clouds. A few seconds later, there was a loud thud noise, and another notification appeared.

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You have failed the Mountain Biome tasks

Leave the mountain Biome in order for it to reset and change the monsters inside.

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"Really?" Hera kicked some rocks, "What the hell was I supposed to do?"

Hera left the biome, still feeling like she was cheated. The creature jumped off a cliff after it saw her. There was nothing she could have done to stop that. Well, maybe using her paralyze spell sooner, but she could miss, the affliction could not take hold, or the rodent could've fallen in the same direction, anyway. It was like the entire biome was already set up to be against her.

"Bad luck again, kid?" Peaches asked.

"Yeah, but that one was mean. It wasn't even my fault," Hera walked back to the reception to drink some water and cool off before heading in. She had learned while playing games that retrying a level she had just failed while frustrated would only make things worse.

"Sometimes things are like that, and that task is among the hardest ones I ever saw," Peaches replied.

"Really?"

"Yep. As you saw, the monster is so easily scared that it can even have a heart attack and die if you spook it."

"That sounds like a really miserable life," Hera replied.

"Well, you guys have to do things you don't want to get a piece of paper to buy food. I have to talk to explorers all the time, but even if I like one, I can't talk to them again even if I want to. I think we are all a bit miserable. It's about being happy despite that," Peaches replied.

"I guess so. You can be very wise sometimes, you know that?"

Peaches chuckled, "You don't have to tell me. Anyway, ready to go back in?"

"I want a few more minutes to cool off. Mind if we chat some more?"

"I don't see the problem. What do you want to talk about?"

"Where were you? I mean, I don't imagine you can stay here all the time, but you vanished without saying anything," Hera sat on the couch.

"I actually stay here until you are done. This was a special occasion, I guess," Peaches explained.

"How so?"

"Well… I got called by the system."

"What? Really? Does that happen often?"

"First time it ever happened. It had to tell me something."

"Just you? The other guides weren't there?"

"No, no. Everyone was there, even the Scouts."

"Scouts?" Hera asked.

"Pretend I never said anything about that."

"Oh, c'mon. You can't leave me hanging like that. Who are the scouts?"

"Not gonna happen."

"Pleaaaaaseee."

"Stop pushing."

"You do know that's really annoying when you start something and don't finish, right?" Hera asked.

"Fine, let's make a bet then. If you finish the entire role test with more than two hours remaining on the clock, I'll tell you. If not, I'll take one of your strikes from the guide skill," Peaches suggested.

"I'm not gonna risk one of my strikes. Do you think I value you guys that little?" Hera huffed.

"Ok, I bet you can't finish with five hours remaining on the clock. If I win, you have to bring me a cake the next time you come to a test."

"What kind of cake?"

"Triple layered chocolate with sprinkles, strawberries, and peppermint whipped cream."

Hera stared at peaches for a moment, "That's oddly specific."

"It's my favorite cake. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal, as long as the strike thing is out of the picture."

"Deal," Peaches pointed its body towards Hera and asked her to shake his head. That was the closest thing to a handshake he could do.

"Well then, I'm going. I can't waste too much time," Hera got up and headed to the green door, and as soon as she got inside the biome, a notification appeared.

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Mountain Biome – 1st task

A monster capable of changing the landscape lives in the mountain.

Find the monster that changes the area.

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"Ok. This is different," Hera looked around. At least the mountain range still looked the same.

The entrance was also the same as it had been the last two times she came here. Meaning that to her left, there was a wall to climb and head to the side trail. Despite her previous failed attempt, that path still felt like the best way to go about it. In a few minutes, she had already passed the point where the chinchilla fell to its death, but whatever was her target was still nowhere to be seen. She followed the trail for some time. As she expected, there were several moments where the path was interrupted by walls and areas she had to climb. However, it felt much safer to move around here. None of the walls or slopes seemed to lead directly to the abyss, and standing just by the edge was unnerving.

Hera looked up towards the peaks of the mountains. They still were very far away, but she noticed a smaller piece of rock that seemed to be moving around. She placed a finger in front of it and waited with one eye closed. After a few moments, that small stalagmite in the distance appeared from behind her thumb. The movement didn't seem to be coming from a landslide or something natural.

"Maybe that's the monster I need to be looking for. I mean, some crustaceans live in seashells, right?"

Hera started to look for a way to reach the moving rock. She couldn't see a trail leading to it, but she would at least avoid any slopes if she began to climb. Although there was one area that already seemed very tricky to traverse. It was a point she would have to move horizontally while grabbing the wall, and under it, there were several jagged rocks. Hera trusted herself to cross that, but she still wanted to make sure there weren't any better ways to reach that area.

While she considered her options, the moving rock changed directions and started getting farther away. Not wanting to lose her target, Hera began to climb through the only path she saw. She went up several walls, doing her best to not rush and end up screwing up her footing. When reaching the jagged rock area, instead of following the route she considered, Hera kept moving straight to where she had last seen the moving rock. At this point, the monster was already gone, and the place where it had vanished from was hard to keep track of.

Moving in a straight line proved to be less complicated than she expected. After climbing for a bit, Hera was starting to understand how to move through the mountains. At first glance, it was a treacherous place, but when paying attention, it wasn't much different from going to a rock-climbing wall. While that made Hera happy, she also felt it was unnatural. A real mountain wouldn't have that kind of pattern. It was like this part of the mountain had never seen a single drop of rain.

"It must be something just for the test. I can't get used to mountains being like that."

Hera kept climbing, and in twenty minutes, she arrived at the area where she saw the moving rock. It didn't take long for her to find a trail leading deeper into the mountains. After following the tracks, she arrived at what seemed to be a valley leading to the other side of the highlands. In the distance, she could see that it didn't go all the way through. However, the mountain at the end of the valley seemed to be shifting at the same time. The trail was heading inside the canyon. Hera kept going until she found the moving rock.

It was a massive creature, almost the size of a suburban house. As she suspected, the boulder seemed to be working as its shell, but it didn't look like any animal she has ever seen. It had five purple spider-like legs and several tentacles coming out of the giant boulder on its back. She still didn't know where the monster's head was, or even if it had one, but before anything, she triggered her [Observe] and, at the same time, a notification appeared.

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Talaruk – Level ???

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You have completed the Mountain Biome – 1st task

Mountain Biome – 2nd task

You have discovered the creature responsible for changing the landscape of the mountain.

Watch the creature to learn how it is able to modify the environment

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"Oh, that's neat!" Hera gasped when she saw the notification.

Hearing the noise, the Talaruk spun around and faced Hera. It had eyes like that of a spider and a long beak that resembled a parrot, but several spiral rows of teeth were revealed when the creature opened it. Hera gulped, ready to run away, but the monster made a small bow to her, closing all of its eyes.

Unsure what was going on, Hera did the same in response and started to back away. The monster got up and opened its beak in a way that almost looked like a smile and turned around, going back to its work. It was like it greeted Hera as she appeared in its office. As the Talaruk moved its tentacles, the surrounding rocks shifted and opened a path. It was almost as if it was parting a sea of stone. It made a circular motion with its appendages mirroring how one would mold clay.

Hera watched it work for a few minutes before trying to use her pulse to read its mana. She could feel another five dozen mana tentacles coming out of each of its limbs. Each of those magic appendages seemed to be responsible for something. They were shifting the mountains, pulling them apart, holding the pieces in place, and melding them back together in another location. In a way, it was almost like a well-choreographed dance.

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You have completed the Mountain Biome – 2nd task

Mountain Biome – 3rd task

The Talaruk uses mana to move the stones around and create a new path for them to travel.

Create a spell using what you've learned

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"What?" Hera gasped while staring at the notification.