Farmer Mage

“Why does Human Cal dislike his own creation?”

Nibbles looked down from her perch on the golem’s shoulders, sneering at the old wolf having to use his legs. “Mind your own business, oldie. How would you know what the god is thinking anyway?”

She patted the golem’s thick neck in comfort, sure there was a reason behind the god’s actions.

“As impudent as ever,” the wolf huffed.

Nibbles rolled her eyes at how easily riled up the wolf gets. She noticed how he lorded over his underlings at every opportunity, and there was zero chance she would ever allow that to happen with her.

Not only was she naturally above the old wolf in the god’s pecking order, it wouldn’t be long before she could beat him in a one-on-one fight. Not that she would fight the old wolf. The god liked him.

However, the old wolf’s underlings were easy targets. They were still disobedient, only backing away after the old wolf demanded it.

The first thing Nibbles would do after becoming stronger was to teach the wolf underlings a lesson. They didn’t only have one boss, but two.

There was a lull in the conversation, with only the loud footsteps of the golem filling the space. Nibbles shifted on her perch in boredom. “Why did you want to bring the golem? It’s strong, but also very slow.”

Nibbles looked at the old wolf in a new light. She had sensed the golem’s stillness bored it, but she did nothing.

“You’re not so bad, old wolf.”

The wolf rolled his eyes in response. “I don’t need your praise. Tell the golem to get ready. We’re almost there.”

Nibbles narrowed her eyes as she looked around. The land changed little, but there was a pile of boulders in the distance. It looked like a fun place to play, when plenty of nooks to hide in.

She stared at it for a long minute and decided that she would ask the god to build her something similar as a reward for making the new tunnels.

“Lurkers! You tried to attack the sacred land after I gave you my final warning! Give up your elders and I will spare the rest. If you want to fight to the end, I don’t mind that either.”

Nibbles was curious about these beasts. In her opinion, she thought there was something wrong with their heads, so they would do whatever was the opposite of the best.

That explained why they refused to give up on trying to occupy the god’s land. The old wolf beat them away with such casualness that they should be ashamed to ever show their faces again.

As Nibbles expected, the lurkers chose the worst option: to ignore the old wolf.

“Little thing, tell the golem to smash the rocks.”

It took a second for Nibbles to realize the old wolf was addressing her. She glared at him, but did as requested since she wanted to see that happen too. “Golem, attack those big rocks.”

Her fur stood in anticipation when the golem lumbered forward. She didn’t jump off its shoulder, preferring to get a close-up view of the action.

There were no movements within the spaces of the boulders, despite the ground rumbling from the golem’s heavy steps.

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The golem’s slowness bored Nibbles, so she yelled back to the wolf. “Are you sure they haven’t run away?”

The wolf was also lying on the ground with his eyes close. His favorite position. “They’re there.”

Nibbles believed the old wolf, so she questioned her own capabilities. She didn’t feel that she was too far from the wolf’s strength, but she couldn’t sense any beast near the boulders.

She was tempted to rush in herself and study these lurkers to see what made them so sneaky, but it was the golem’s job. It wouldn’t be nice if she took something so rare from it.

The golem disturbed Nibbles by raising its arms as it prepared to attack. She moved from its shoulder to the top of its head. The new spot would give her a better view, anyway.

She waited eagerly for the rock below them to shatter when the golem chose instead to slowly lower its arms. “Hey! What’re you doing? Smash the rocks! Hit them! Break! Destroy!”

Nibbles was still trying to think of similar words to tell the golem when it climbed the boulders. The confusion that rose froze her speech.

As large as the golem was, the pile of boulders was ever taller. Despite the challenging size, it could scale up the boulders with little issue. The golem created holes to grab onto and pull itself until it was standing right at the center.

“You want to start from the middle? I guess that’s fine, too,” Nibbles said, scratching her head as she wondered if there was a difference.

The golem was in no rush to start. It tapped several boulders lightly with a foot, though with its size, that still created a shockingly loud sound.

Nibbles saw why the god didn’t let the golem do too much work. It was too unreliable. She should have known there was a reason for his actions, like always. She sighed and sat down on its head, her anticipation fading away.

The golem halted its testing stomps. It slowly bent its knees before jumping without warning, almost throwing Nibbles off its head.

She grabbed onto a protruding rock on its head to stabilize herself and watched with wide eyes as the golem descended onto the boulder below with its fist leading the way.

Her ears flattened on her head from the ensuing boom. The boulder shattered into tiny pieces, the shrapnel spreading in all directions and creating a chain reaction.

Nibbles gasped as the boulders shattered one-by-one, originating from the center where the golem broke the first one. Less than a minute later, the pile of boulders were gone, leaving behind rubble and dust.

The golem stood in the center and looked around as if it was appreciating its work. Nibbles did the same. “I’m sorry for rushing you.”

The golem didn’t seem to mind and waited for its next orders. Nibbles knew that wasn’t necessary since the old wolf had achieved his goal.

“Where are your elders?” The wolf prowled closer to the newly created rubble. Lurkers were crawling out, their coats covered in powdered rock.

There was no answer, and Nibbles realized that this was because all of them were too young and weak. The beasts hadn’t gained the basic ability to communicate with other races.

“A promise is a promise. If there are no elders among you, I will spare you all. If I find even one hiding among you, it will mean the end of everyone.”

Nibbles twitched, fighting her impulse to stop the cranky wolf from killing all of them. She was fine with the ones attacking the land to be destroyed, but there were better options for these lurkers. Besides, they were harmless.

She had to remind herself the wolf wasn’t dumb. It was his show to direct, so she forced herself to be patient.

“Wait,” a weak voice spoke out from the middle of the lurkers. They parted to reveal a lurker in a wretched state, with clumps of fur missing and bites taken from its ears. It had clearly been in a fight for its life. “I’m the only one left.”

The wolf strode into the group of lurkers without a hint of wariness and stared intently at the sole elder. “You actually showed yourself. What happened to the other elders?”

“Gone. After they took more of the young ones to slaughter, I had to take over. If you need my life, so be it. But spare the young ones. They had no say in those attacks.”

Nibbles felt the tension as everyone waited for the wolf’s response. Even she could feel how pivotal the moment was. Of course, she was preparing to intervene if the old wolf went power crazy.

“You don’t need to die,” the wolf huffed. “But you work for me now.” Nibbles was stunned, but the lurkers were even more so. The wolf walked out of the group, muttering, “Maybe this will let me sleep in peace.”

Nibbles blinked continuously as she stared at the retreating wolf. He wasn’t as bad as she thought he was.

“What are you all waiting for? Follow me back!” the wolf said in a loud growl.

Nibbles ordered the golem to return to the farm, with nearly a hundred lurkers tailing behind. It took nearly half a day to get to the lurker nest, and she suspected it would take longer to return to the farm.