Listening to Haus’s analysis, Pierce and Sylvia exchanged a glance, then nodded in agreement with the decision.
Layla, standing nearby, also voiced her support.
But once again, Layla was faltering.
Her legs trembling, she leaned on her staff for support.
Her gaze toward Haus carried a hint of apology as she explained that she was currently unable to walk.
“…” Haus looked at her pale face, colorless lips, and her entire body weakened to the point of near-collapse, falling silent for a moment.
The continuous magical exertion and successive perilous incidents had already overwhelmed this young adventurer.
“S-sorry…” While Haus was quietly assessing her condition, Layla mistakenly thought he was silently blaming her for slowing the team down.
She quickly lowered her head, apologizing in a faint voice.
“Huh?
Oh, no.” Snapping out of it, Haus gently shook his head, indicating that Layla didn’t need to apologize.
They were a team.
When facing difficulties, they shouldn’t choose to apologize but should think about how to solve the problem.
At that moment, Pierce stepped forward, his tone restrained yet steady: “How about this: you and Sylvia go hunt that monster.
I’ll stay behind to look after Layla and guard this place.” As he spoke, he took off his armor and handed it to Haus, suggesting that Haus wear it for safety while pursuing the creature.
It seemed Pierce wasn’t all recklessness.
Haus gave Pierce an approving look but then waved his hand in refusal.
Pierce’s armor was custom-made and wouldn’t fit him properly.
He could, however, borrow the longsword.
Without wasting much time, the group split into two parties after making their decision.
One was Pierce and Layla, who stayed behind to collect loot and guard their belongings.
Haus and Sylvia went to track down the bird-like monster and eliminate it completely.
…
Haus and Sylvia tracked their way and soon arrived at the general area where the bird-like monster had fallen.
After searching around, Haus noticed a particular spot.
Scattered across the ground were messy, dark feathers, with large patches of dark red blood soaking into the soil.
A faint, intermittent trail of bloodstains extended deep into the dense forest.
Seeing this, Haus frowned.
To think that after falling from such a great height, not only did it survive, but it still had the strength to flee.
Monsters truly are no simple matter.
But judging by the state of things, it likely couldn’t have gone far.
Calling Sylvia over, Haus continued the pursuit.
Following the faint blood trail and scattered feathers, the two ventured deeper into the forest, eventually stopping before a thick tree trunk.
Faintly, Haus seemed to hear something whimpering.
‘Could it be that bird?’ Sylvia beside him turned her head toward Haus, silently asking with her eyes.
Haus nodded, gesturing for Sylvia to look upward.
At that moment, the bird-like monster that Sylvia had shot through the wing stood on a branch, its head buried in a hollow in the tree, seemingly engaged in some unknown activity.
From a distance, Haus blinked, and upon closer inspection, finally got a clear look at the species of the avian monster that had attacked them.
A creature resembling a falcon.
But unlike the ordinary falcons Haus knew from his previous life, this monster that looked like a falcon measured over 1.4 meters in length.
Its wingspan was impossible to judge due to its hunched posture, but it was estimated to be at least two meters, possibly even three.
The entire creature was more than twice the size of the largest falcon Haus had ever heard of in his past life.
Without hesitation, Haus immediately patted Sylvia’s arm beside him, silently signaling her to shoot an arrow and eliminate the monster for good.
Sylvia nodded, then drew her bow, channeling the Mana within her body.
To ensure a one-hit kill and leave no chance for escape, Sylvia even activated her skill, [Precision Shot].
The arrow, infused with mana, shot through the air, piercing the fragmented light filtering through the forest, heading straight for the falcon-shaped monster, whose head was buried in the tree hollow and whose body was completely defenseless.
Thud!
A heavy, muffled sound echoed from the distance as the arrow brutally pierced through both the head of the falcon-shaped monster and the sturdy tree trunk that had been shielding it.
To Haus’s surprise, the arrow Sylvia had fired was so terrifyingly powerful.
He had assumed Sylvia was aiming for the creature’s chest, given that its head was buried in the tree hollow and blocked by the trunk.
He never expected Sylvia to shatter the wood and blow its head apart with a single arrow.
In terms of raw power, Jack probably couldn’t match her.
Haus turned to look at Sylvia beside him, only to find that after firing that arrow, her expression visibly sagged.
Her arms hung limply, and she began to pant heavily.
Clearly, that last shot had taken a significant toll on her Mana and stamina.
“Can you still use detection?” Haus whispered.
Sylvia shook her head.
To completely eliminate the falcon-shaped monster, she had drained all her Mana to condense an exceptionally powerful Mana-infused arrow.
After that one shot, her Mana was depleted, and without any replenishment, she wouldn’t be able to use any skills for the rest of the day.
Hearing Sylvia’s explanation, Haus had no choice but to take the risk and approach himself.
Time was of the essence; Pierce and the weakened Layla were still waiting back at their original spot.
In the Misty Forest, once a team scatters, the danger each person faces multiplies exponentially.
Haus gripped Pierce’s five-gold coin longsword tightly, slightly crouching down, cautiously testing each step as he slowly advanced forward.
Finally climbing onto the treetop, he arrived before the falcon-shaped monster and, without hesitation, swung his sword down, cleanly severing its head.
The corpse fell from the treetop.
Only after confirming the threat was completely eliminated did Haus finally let out a deep sigh of relief.
Just as he was about to retrieve the magic falcon’s head from the tree hollow and leave with it to reunite with his companions, another mournful cry sounded.
This time, the source was crystal clear, unmistakably coming from inside the tree hollow.
Haus’s heart skipped a beat.
With one hand gripping the treetop and the other holding his sword, he reassumed a combat stance.
Then, he used the longsword to pry the magic falcon’s head out of the tree hollow.
The moment the magic falcon’s head was pried out with the longsword, Haus’s gaze suddenly froze.
The sharp beak was not only stained with dark red blood, but wedged in the crevice of its tip was a tiny, barely alive fledgling.
At the same time, the scene inside the tree hollow unfolded before Haus’s eyes.
Dry straw was arranged into a crude yet orderly nest, and at its center, a fledgling was trembling and curled up.
This fledgling was covered in fine wounds, its dark brown down feathers matted into clumps by bloodstains, with crimson beads of blood still seeping from the injuries.
Haus instinctively compared it to the dead adult magic falcon beside him and instantly understood that this injured fledgling seemed to be a young magic falcon.
Looking at the barely alive fledgling before him, Haus felt a stir in the manual in his mind.
[Favorability +10] [Race: ???
(Insufficient knowledge, unable to obtain)] [Favorability: 10/100] [Condition: Lightly injured, fearful] [Option 1: Take out the healing medicine from the backpack and bandage ???’s wounds — Favorability +20, condition slightly improves] [Option 2: Turn and leave, letting ???
fend for itself — Favorability -10, condition continues to deteriorate] “???” What’s going on?!