Hera used her pulse spell one more time, trying to figure out how the Talaruk was shaping the mountain. She was there for half an hour already, but aside from the odd movements of the creature's magic, she still didn't know what it was doing to shape the rocks. She tried to make her mana mirror what the tentacles were doing, but the task was too mana-consuming. Creating two 5 centimeters tentacles was already enough to make her spend 50 mana per second. Frustrated, Hera tried to physically change how the mountain looked while she waited for her mana to recharge. Talaruk was still working on its path, but the noise caught its attention. The monster turned around and saw Hera trying to dig with her own hands.

The explorer didn't realize she was being watched, and after a few moments, a large tentacle appeared above her. It carved through the rock almost like it was butter, and then, using another tentacle, Talaruk picked the stone and moved it to the side. A third tentacle appeared, and it almost looked like it was petting the rock. Hera stepped aside to give the creature more space. From the side, she could see that Talaruk was touching the mountain and the boulder. As it moved its appendage, the stones melded together almost like they were made of clay. However, the process was much slower than Hera had previously thought. Each time the tentacle moved from one side to another, a small layer of the stone was melded back into the mountain. After five minutes of making the same motion, Talaruk stared at Hera and nodded towards the rock it was using.

"You want me to do that?"

Talaruk nodded and took a step back. Hera kept staring at it. The monster was much smarter than any creature she had ever seen before, not to mention friendlier. It was the first time she had an interaction with a non-humanoid creature that seemed capable of some form of communication. Not counting the guides, of course, but they were a special case.

After pondering for a moment, Hera stepped forward and placed her hand on the rock. It was already mostly stuck to the wall. All that was left to do was to make it smooth like the rest of the path. She first made a similar motion as the one Talaruk made, trying to understand the concept before trying anything else. The rock felt wet, not drenched, but as if it was in a place with a lot of moisture. That was odd. The area wasn't dry, but there wasn't enough water in the air to create that feeling. It could be some sort of liquid from Talaruk, but the tentacles didn't look slimy at all.

"Maybe it uses water?" Hera mumbled to herself. She didn't have any water spells, but she took a pottery class once upon a time. It wasn't very fun, but she remembered that to mold the clay, she had to use water. Instead of making some water and then using it on the rock, Hera picked her water bottle and wet her hands. She followed that by placing one hand into the stone and made the same motion Talaruk did while focusing her mana into making the mountain behaving like clay. As her hand moved, a small clump of rock formed in her hands. Hera kept going, excited that her idea had worked so well. She wasn't the only one. Talaruk also seemed excited. It let out a cry and did a little dance while moving side to side.

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Spell acquired

Stone Clay

Rank: Advanced

Allows you to shape stone as if it was clay. Magic imbued rocks will be more difficult to shape. This spell can be used by multiple casters to increase its effects.

Base duration: 1 minute

Base cost: 100 mana

Base cost with water as a catalyst: 30 mana

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"I thought I couldn't get any spells here," Hera said before another notification appeared in front of her.

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You have completed the Mountain Biome – 3rd task

Mountain Biome – 4th task

The Talarak uses mana to create new paths near its lair. By creating shortcuts in the area, it can live more comfortably.

Help the Talarak to complete its new path across the mountain.

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"Hey buddy, can I help you finish this?" Hera turned to the creature that just taught her a new spell.

The Talaruk nodded and turned back to its path. Looking up, Hera could tell that it shouldn't take that long to finish. They were already past the mountain peak. As the two started working together, Hera kept using water to save up mana. Thanks to her mana regeneration skill, she could maintain that spell up as long as she had water.

Going to work, the human and the creature continued to open a path. Even though Hera had just acquired the spell, it already made a big difference in their speed. The human could remove larger chunks of stone now that she worked in the same area as the creature. If she was alone, this would take days, but Talaruk was much more proficient than her. Just by having another caster using the same spell, its speed nearly doubled. Hera understood why that happened. Her mana could seep deeper into the rock. It seemed that the stone became less resistant, while more than one person used that spell at the same time.

"I wonder if that's how the dwarves make their houses. I know they use a spell."

Hera kept thinking about that while she and Talaruk worked. She didn't have to use much water for it to work as a catalyst. However, she had to reapply the water every time the spell ran out. She tried to use more water for a longer duration, but that didn't work. Instead of just spending 60 mana for 2 minutes, she spent over 150 to make it last that long. Her water lasted for just half an hour. If she used it anymore, she wouldn't have enough to drink while working. Despite seeming like it wouldn't take that long, she kept working for three hours, having to take breaks every 8 minutes when she ran out of mana.

Finally, they arrived on the other side of the mountain, then a notification appeared.

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You have completed the Mountain Biome – 4th task

Mountain Biome – Final Task

You have enough information about the Talaruk

Return to the plaque and set up the data as it is required.

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Hera smiled, but as soon as she looked back, her heart sank. She had to go all the way back to the door and climb back down. With a sigh, she turned back to Talaruk, "Thanks for all the help, buddy. Now I have to go."

The creature looked at her and shook its head. It pointed its tentacles towards a path to the side and looked back at Hera.

"You want me to follow you?" Hera kept staring at the creature that nodded in response. Despite its odd appearance, Talaruk reminded her of a dog. A very big dog with a boulder as a shell, but a dog still, "Ok, but I can't be long."

The creature walked over to the cave, stopping at times and waving at Hera to follow it. She did what it was asking, but halfway through it, a thought popped in her head. What if the creature was luring her to a trap? It didn't seem hostile, but it was still a monster. Then again, it could have attacked her during their work. She ran out of mana several times. Talaruk had more than its fair share of opportunities where she wouldn't be in her peak condition.

She heard some noise coming from the cave. It was almost like dozens of legs moving through rocks. Hera pulled her handaxe and got ready for a fight. She didn't want to waste all the work she had put in this biome, and having to restart this would mean she would lose the bet. Talaruk seemed excited and rushed inside the cave. There were some loud noises of several legs moving about until the source of the sound appeared. The Talaruk walked out of the cave, and about a dozen smaller versions of it were all on top of its shell. Each had a different size, going from tiny creatures that could stay in the palm of her hands to bigger ones that were about the size of a football.

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Infant Talaruk – Level ???

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"Oh, are these your babies?" Hera asked.

Talaruk nodded and stretched one of its tentacles towards Hera. A tiny version of it walked over the appendage and reached out to Hera. Unlike the one Hera worked with, the infant could easily stay inside her hand. Even a hamster would be bigger than it. It was incredible thinking about how a creature this small could end up being bigger than a house.

"They are adorable," Hera gasped as the one who reached out to her rubbed its shell against her finger.

Talaruk danced again and gestured for Hera to go inside the cave.

"Oh, sorry. I really need to get out of here."

Talaruk shuffled and started creating something in the cave's wall. There was a very realistic recreation of a door in front of the creature in less than a minute. It pointed to the door and then towards the cave.

"What, there is a door in the cave?"

Talaruk nodded and walked inside.

Hera sighed, "Well, I'm already here, and it's not like I would die."

She followed Talaruk inside. As they walked, the smaller ones all rushed to the end of the tunnel. Hera was still on edge and tried to use her pulse spell to scan ahead, but the cave was too deep for her spell to reach. The babies were also gone, leaving her and the big one to walk together. It wasn't the most chatty of strolls, but it was fun. Talaruk would look back and do a little dance when it saw she was still there. Oddly enough, even though there was no light inside the cave, she could see the path with no issues. The tunnel seemed to be basked in moonlight coming from above, but the cave didn't have any holes from where the light could peek through.

After walking for around fifteen minutes, they arrived in the area where the small Talaruks were. They were all in a frenzy, doing the same type of magic its parent had used to create a path in the mountain. The only difference was the scale of it all. Instead of being a passage large enough for the big Talaruk to go through, it was a much smaller tunnel, just enough for Hera to pass.

She was a bit worried about going inside that passage, but suddenly, light broke through. It wasn't simply the weird moonlight she had seen before, but proper sunlight that seemed to come from the other side of the tunnel. Hera opened her map and could see that she was very close to the door that lead back to the reception's corridor. The path the small Talaruks were making should drop her right in the area she had arrived in. Hera turned back to the giant Talaruk once more.

"Did you make this path for me?"

The creature nodded and pointed towards the smaller tunnel once more. The smaller ones had just finished and were scurrying away from the light.

"Thank you so much," Hera patted the Talaruks' shell and walked towards the exit. Taking one more look back, she saw the family gathered in the small opening waving at her. She waved back, "You guys are way too cute."

She walked back to the green door and came out in the corridor. As much as she wanted to thank the Talaruks, they were just like dungeon monsters. She couldn't hang out while doing her test. She had a lot of time to win the bet with peaches, but if there was a hidden quest like the assassin's test, she had to spend her time wisely.

"Hey, kid. How did things go?" Peaches asked from the reception.

"It went well, but I got a new spell. Didn't you say I couldn't get new skills here?" Hera was going to the rest area to wash up and get some water.

"You can't get skills in the reception. Inside the biomes is another thing, and no, going there hurting yourself and coming here won't work. Besides, I said nothing about spells," Peaches replied.

"Ok, but the way you phrased it before was very sketchy."

"Well, sue me, but it's not like I lied."

"Fair enough, and you're about to lose a bet, anyway. So, I'll let that slide."

Peaches chuckled, "We'll see about that kid. You still have the plaque to worry about."

"I'm good with tests. Especially if it's a subject that I like. The Talaruks were adorable, and I paid as much attention to them as I could."

"Then put your money where your mouth is kid, let's see you finish that plaque."

"Give me ten minutes. I want to take a shower real quick. I sweated a lot there."

"Take all the time you want. No rush," Peaches replied.

"Haha, really funny," Hera rolled her eyes before closing the door of the rest area.