He looked at the dead beasts they had around them, killed by his teammates while he lured the hoovensore to its death.
He looked at the carcasses, thinking about how their fat could create lard or animal oil. It also had a lower flash point than vegetable oil.
He didn’t know much about chemistry, but he knew a lot if it was food-related.
He also knew that animal oil wouldn’t burn as easily as petroleum, nor would it be explosive, but it was a welcome assist.
At this, Finn turned to Leiah and also to Reesa, who were both mages.
"I’d need your help."
...
Finn made a tense gulp as he touched the rope on his waist. He tested its sturdiness a few times before looking at the rest of the team.
Except for Durgan, Miya, and Leiah, the rest of them were focused on guarding the place, taking care of the beasts that were attracted by their scents. Of course, many were also close enough to rescue Finn in case of an emergency.
The four of them stood about fifteen meters from the nearest vine. They also created a small bonfire and heated Durgan’s shield (it was metal and was therefore treated as a pan).
They stared at the pan being heated, but they weren’t putting anything on it.
"What are we doing again?" Durgan asked, confused.
"I’m not sure either," Finn said, not taking his eyes away from the pan.
"..."
They then watched him pour the oil for a few moments.
This oil was made from animal fat. Because these weren’t from Earth, it did take a bit of studying to determine which parts had the most lipids, but it was easy to guess after a while.
He used dry rendering this time because it was faster, and he didn’t have to be too delicate when he wasn’t cooking actual food. Of course, the actual process gathered a few mobs, but Victor, Marcus, and the rest were sufficient to keep them at bay.
"Reesa, make a waterball, please," he asked, and the brunette raised her hands facing each other, leaving a void in between.
Reesa was the team’s healer, and she had a water affinity. Though her main skills were related to healing, she was able to control small amounts of water, especially when she wasn’t the one to condense it from thin air.
At this, Reesa took her water bottle and poured it into a space. Instead of falling down as gravity would rule, it stayed inside this void as if there was an invisible glass ball inside.
Technically speaking, Reesa could condense water from the air, but that’d take a few minutes and a bit of mana. For water users, it was most practical to have water ready, because then minimal amounts of mana would be needed for a similar effect.
"I will add the oil there, and try to keep it in the center of the waterball," he said, eyes on the forming water ball.
"On my signal, throw it to the vines, and spread it as much as you can, okay?"
Reesa had no idea how this was going to help them, but she followed his requests anyway.
Because Reesa’s water ball didn’t need as much energy, she could control it at a farther distance. On the other hand, Finn was limited to entering at around 5 meters, which explained the rope.
With a deep breath, Reesa pushed the water ball as a fast projectile, targeting the vines. She made sure to let go before contact so that, as instructed, it would spread a bit more.
Finn dashed forward, waving his spear. A relatively large blade of fire followed right after the waterball, hitting the vines at the same time.
Bang !
Everyone flinched and gasped when they saw an ignition of fire. Finn heaved a breath of relief, relieved that it actually worked. He learned this in the kitchen, when he almost burned it down, and when water didn’t actually kill the fire created from oil, but spread it out further.
He researched the topic, and he never made the same mistake, though he never would’ve thought he could use it here.
They watched a portion of the vines squirm in pain, the rest trying to avoid it, but their roots were called roots for a reason! He then took this chance to swipe at the monsters, knowing that the vines wouldn’t rush to him by instinct, because he was near fire.
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[...]
He also sent another blade of fire whenever the cooldown was down, as well as his other fire-related skills. His eyes sparkled as he saw a few monsters die every few moments!
He turned to look at the gaping half-elf who was currently perched on a tree branch. "Leiah, can you spread the fire as far as you can?"
Leiah shook her head from the shock and used a wind skill to gently spread the fire farther.
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[...]
It was a small area, though, and he feared the flame would die out as long as the succeeding vines would avoid it long enough. If only they had more oil—
ROAARR!
He watched from the side as the rest of the team dealt with the monsters. He blinked.
Now that he thought about it, they kind of do have a relatively endless supply of oil.
He turned to the mob and immediately jumped over, attacking them. "OIL THOSE MONSTERS!!"
Durgan went over with his axe and shield, and Leiah jumped up the trees to shoot them down, and they did the process over and over again. While lard was heavier and harder to spread, it retained heat better and clung better to those damned vines! With their current state, it was really the best choice they had.
Although reaching a thousand was taking time as they were still burning, the team had finally gotten some breathing time too, even using the lean meat from the monsters they ’oiled’ to start a barbecue.
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[...]
Finn hoped that this mission could be over with this ’colony’ and considering how many they killed every square meter they burned, it was actually possible.
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[Killed! Thornspawn (awakened)]
[...]
This went on for hours, with the vines crippling and dying, but because Finn was beyond their scope, they couldn’t do anything about it!
That was until, somehow, the dying vines attracted more of their kind!
Vines couldn’t walk like tentacles...right? Wrong .
Imagine a worm cut in half. They could still move, right? These damned things were just like that, and it made their stomachs tumble in disgust.
ROAAAR!
Worse, they could even attach to a host, like parasites, and they could move as fast as the host, making it doubly gross!
They saw about two small clusters of vines coming in attached to monsters! They couldn’t control them, but the way they squeezed the monsters caused them to move in a direction.
It was a creepy sight, and he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like long-term if they were allowed to reproduce more than now. It was no wonder he was given a mission to cut them down!
The thing was, this meant they were a bit slow. And the size of the cluster was enough to be handled decently. Besides, Finn wasn’t alone. He had a team with him! With a strategy on hand, the danger level had greatly reduced and increased their efficiency by folds.
This went on for a few more hours, with them camping over the night at the side, with a few taking rest for a few hours in rotation, but otherwise, everyone was awake.
Kill, Oil, Burn, Kill again.
Until, finally—
[Cleared! Active Mission ’Clear the Thornspawns’ has been completed!]
[Received! +10,000 Hearth Points]