The first real step for the Sacred Hunt required him to track his prey on an empty stomach and follow the cardinal rule. Each direction would require him to demonstrate different skills that the Omaha believed were necessary for anyone to be recognized.

North was to be the first, which worked just as well since he knew that was where the first matriarch he'd found watched over the herd's rear. He would have to demonstrate his stealth then, and wasn't allowed to attack directly.

East would follow, allowing him to launch a powerful attack to scatter the different groups that made up the herd. The main goal would be to control the land in his favor.

South was next, where he would face the main herd, where most of the alphas and matriarchs were. That would be the toughest part, as he'd need to launch a full-scale, frontal attack to demonstrate his power.

Finally, West came last. The final hunt involved taking down whatever remained of the herd before they could escape the ritual circle, and ultimately confronting the magic of the ritual, which would grow and follow him as he went through the steps.

Overall, this ritual would be the most involved of Nick's lives. He would need all his cunning and strength just to survive.

But the rewards... The Omaha wisemen believed it would 'close the thunder-gate,' allowing him to internalize the spirits of all the beasts he'd hunted within himself.

Nick wasn't sure how that would translate here, but he suspected his spiritual magic was about to get a major upgrade.

I'm starting to get excited now.

Indeed, a grin was tugging at his lips, and he found it hard to hold back a chuckle of delight. Nick had fought for his life several times, but never had he gone into it so willingly. It was a new experience, and he realized he didn't mind it much.

I might have gotten addicted to the thrill. Not exactly your typical Occultist, but then again, I was never one to follow conventions.

Tracking the northern tail of the herd on foot took a couple of hours. He could have easily sped things up by flying, of course, but he wanted to stick to the doctrine of the hunt as much as possible. Major Rituals weren't the kind of thing that should be messed with.

Not unless you are Marthas. That crazy bastard managed to hold one without preparation in just a single morning.

Finally, Nick crested a hill and spotted his target. Below him, the ground shuddered as hundreds of thunderhoofs plodded on, fearless of anything the grassland might hold with their numbers.

There was safety in being such a large group; that was undeniable. But Nick also knew that safety carried a cost: complacency. The matriarch had shown herself to be vigilant, but she didn't mind being temporarily separated from the herd to destroy anything that dared cross her path. That was a weakness he would eagerly take advantage of.

First things first, Nick needed bait. He briefly considered using the same tactics he employed with the first alpha he defeated, but puppeteering a single monster was one thing. For what he had in mind, he needed several, and more importantly, his full focus. He couldn't afford to be so arrogant as to think he could face the matriarch while his mind was busy controlling something else.

No, he needed to find something that would fight for him.

Fortunately, the grassland was teeming with battle-crazed critters.

It only took him a minute to find the ideal candidate. A nest of cracklers sat quietly behind a hill just half a mile away, conveniently in the herd's path.

Normally, even the insect-like monsters knew better than to attack such a large herd. Whether it was instinct or the crackler queen commanding them to stay still, he didn't know, but he strongly suspected they only kept quiet because the thunderhooves didn't really have any interest in them to begin with.

Even the matriarch, who was quick to fry a flock that got too close, would probably ignore the nest as long as the cracklers didn't show up while the herd passed.

And so, Nick only needed to provoke a response from the insects. As soon as the first monster dared to rear its head, the matriarch would fry it immediately, which would send a signal to all the other cracklers that the nest was in danger.

To do so, Nick first needed to lure them out. And he had to do it at the right time because doing it too early would mean attracting the entire herd's attention, while doing it too late would result in the matriarch only sending warning shots instead of taking the time to eliminate the threat.

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And so Nick waited. Hunts, after all, mostly involved waiting, observing the prey, learning its habits, and striking only at the right moment.

He took this time to inspect the herd. He had already done a quick scan earlier, but it was better to be sure about these things.

There really doesn't seem to be a single leader. The matriarchs each manage their own part of the herd and stay close to the center of their territory, while the alphas move around more freely.

Even beyond the immediate use he would make of this knowledge, it was very interesting for Nick to see how the thunderhooves had developed a clear social dynamic. He'd certainly not thought of them as smart enough to do so before.

That means the matriarchs are a completely different breed. Even beyond their size, which alone makes them stand out, their strength and intelligence far surpass the others.

Not enough to be called Prestige creatures, no. If that were the case, even Nick would have given up the chase. They didn't seem to be particularly close to the boundary, from what he could sense, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

I have improved at estimating power levels. It's not the same for every class, as mana levels don't necessarily match actual levels, but it's enough to get a general idea.

For example, Claudius, the mage mentoring Tim Poules, had significantly more mana than Steven Quack, the Master at Arms of House Quack.

That didn't mean he was more dangerous. If anything, Nick was pretty sure the latter would make short work of the first, especially if there was no time to prepare.

But in a beast like a thunderhoof, which Nick had no intention of approaching, mana levels served as a decent estimate.

The matriarch he'd been eyeing appeared to be one of the stronger ones, around what he would consider level sixty, maybe a bit higher due to her sheer size.

There were only two others who had more mana than her, and they each led the east and the south of the herd.

Surprisingly, the west wasn't very guarded, but he could attribute that to fewer threats coming from that direction.

It's time.

Taking a deep breath, Nick began shaping mana. His lightning affinity had waned a bit more than he would have preferred lately, especially with his newest abilities, but it proved very useful now as he needed to simulate a thunderhoof attack.

With so many electrically charged creatures moving around, it was very easy for him to leverage the atmosphere to his advantage.

Nick just needed to guide the charge through the air, transforming the formless into something purposeful.

It was somewhat risky to do it this way, as he suspected the matriarchs would notice, but once again, the sheer number of thunderhoofs around made everything easier for him.

He certainly wasn't the only one summoning lightning right now. Calves shot sparks at each other as they caroused. Alphas ionized the air threateningly to chase away suitors from their mates. It was chaos, and he took full advantage of it.

A minute later, after most of the herd had crested the hill, Nick finally released the spell.

The [Spark] that came to be was significantly brighter and more powerful than any he'd cast before. With the added benefit of the large amount of freely accessible charge in the air, it was almost to be expected, but Nick still gaped as he watched the bolt of lightning strike down from the sky, perfectly targeting the lone opening of the crackler nest and exploding on contact.

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td style="width: 99.0753%"

p style="margin-bottom: 0"strongCONGRATULATIONS!/strong/p

p style="margin-bottom: 0"strongYou have developed a new spell: [Lightning Bolt] [Beginner]/strong/p

p style="margin-bottom: 0"strong+5.750 Exp/strong/p

/td

/tr

/tbody

/table

The reward was paltry, but the results were not. Dirt shot a hundred feet in the air as the spell took effect, showering the entire group of thunderhoofs guarding the herd's rear.

More importantly, two crackler sentinels were killed instantly, reduced to a charred mess, which was enough for the nest to realize it was under attack.

The matriarch quickly grasped the consequences. She looked around, trying to find whoever had been careless enough to attack without her approval, but it was too late.

A minute later, the ground began shaking, and the first insects emerged from the soil.

Being attacked by an entire crackler nest would have meant a death sentence for an unguarded human caravan. Even one protected by D-rank adventurers would likely have suffered heavy losses in the ensuing fight, as the sheer numbers of monsters would overwhelm any resistance.

For the thunderhoof herd, such an attack was merely an inconvenience. Nick even saw an alpha cross back the distance from the main group to see what had just happened, only to realize that it was just the insects fussing and then returning to its position, lowing dismissively as it reached its matriarch.

A single alpha would have probably been enough to deal with the nest. A group led by a matriarch, made up of four alphas and two dozen regular thunderhoofs, wouldn't even suffer a single casualty fighting the cracklers.

But that was exactly what Nick wanted.

He watched as more insects emerged from the ground, digging holes and boldly rushing toward their doom.

Noticeably, the northern group didn't hesitate to start targeting the insects, launching bolts of electricity at anything that hopped. Yet, more and more kept pouring out, and the more that did, the longer the thunderhoofs remained where they were, as the main herd moved further away.

This wasn't a real problem. The matriarch could easily lead them back to rejoin the rest once the nest was excised, but it would take time. Time Nick would use to ensure they never got the chance to rejoin the others.

Hopping away from his position on top of the hill, Nick started helping the cracklers do more damage than they should have.

Their primary attack was sound-based, which, while not easy to replicate, was very vulnerable to wind magic. Once, he used his affinity to essentially no-sell the cracklers' magic. Now, he did the opposite, turning their attacks into something genuinely threatening.

The shift was minor but still noticeable. All of a sudden, attacks that the thunderhooves' tough hide would have shrugged off without issue started leaving marks.

Calves that watched the battle with curiosity began to be pulled back as their parents realized things were more dangerous than they initially appeared.

Of course, the matriarch didn't take this lying down. Bolts of pure gold blasted from her majestic horns, gouging holes in the ground and taking out several cracklers at once.

If she were allowed to go on, she would eventually reach the nest's core, where the queen was. And Nick couldn't let that happen. Not yet, at least.

More wind began to stir, as the cracklers' skills were pulled out of their control and amplified beyond what they could ever hope to achieve.

Nick started interfering with the battle in truth then, allowing the insects to cause much more damage than usual. Importantly, he pushed the thunderhooves together until they were grouped behind the matriarch, who acted as a shield, offering cover for the others.

Hundreds of dead cracklers lay at her feet, but it was all in vain. Even she would eventually grow tired after being forced to defend her herd from so many attacks.

She was beginning to get desperate, her emotions clouding the local ether. Nick grinned ferally.