Chapter 2 - 3 Years (2)

The ends of Scylla's lips could be seen rising as Jade caressed its mane. And, seeing this, Celestine smiled in delight.

"I'm counting on you. My safety is in your hands, okay?"

Neigghhh!

As if telling Jade not to worry, Scylla spread its grand wings and knelt forward to allow him on.

It was very similar to how a human knelt.

"Let's go to the Big Crows' nest."

-You're going to go rob the Big Crows? Sounds like fun since they love s.h.i.+ny objects!

"That's right. They have similar traits to a regular crow. If we're lucky, we might get our hands on an artifact since they have a lot of human objects with them."

Woos.h.!.+

As Celestine and Jade were talking, Scylla gently flew into the air.

Even with a half translucent body, Scylla carried Jade well and soon headed towards the Big Crows' nest.

Kkaaakkk! Kkaakk!

Before long, Jade could see the Big Crows.

They had the combined look of a magpie and crow, and just as its name described, they were quite big.

they were much bigger than regular crows.

If both of its wings were spread open, it would easily be longer than five meters.

-It's the Big Crows!

"Yeah, and they happen to have a leader amongst them."

-The leader is even bigger! If it's that big, it should be able to take out a Troll!

"Who do you think would win if they fought?"

-I don't think they'll ever fight. Big Crows don't eat Trolls. They have quite expensive taste buds.

Celestine spoke with confidence, because she knew how picky Big Crows were – different from their appearance.

At that moment, the group of Big Crows turned from their original direction.

It was because they had noticed Jade and Scylla in the air.

"Don't they look like they're salivating while they're looking at me?"

-Just as beasts like to eat human flesh, they do too. I think it's because you guys taste seasoned.

"Well, they are half monsters I guess."

Seeing the murderous intent within the Big Crow's beady black eyes, Jade prepared his bow.

This bow was very different from the bow he had when he first came to this world and appeared to be much tougher.

-I wonder if they'll notice that that bow is made from the bones and tendons of an Ogre?

"We're too far away for them to smell it, and even if they did recognize it, I don't think they'll think much of it"

-I think after today, they're going to run away every time they see you. They're quite clever, so I'm sure they're going to remember who you are.

"That's a blessing for me, since I plan on visiting them quite often."

Pingg!

It was difficult to find refined iron in the Great Forest, but there were plenty of other materials that were just as strong and that's what Jade had used to make his arrowheads.

Pungg!

Of course, mana coursed through the arrow, but the scariest thing about Jade's arrow was its accuracy.

With the help of the wind spirit, Jade never missed his target.

KKyaaaakkk!!

As the arrows penetrated the Big Crows' heads, they began to fall to the ground one by one, Yet, there wasn't a single one of them that stopped their advance towards Jade.

None of them showed fear even as their comrades fell left and right.

If anything, they were even more determined to reach Jade.

Neiiggh!!

Watching this, Scylla held back his sneer.

The Big Crows were the rulers of the sky, and even the Harpies made sure to stay clear from their territory. However, the moment Jade had appeared, there was a s.h.i.+ft in hierarchy.

"I'll stop practicing my bow skills now."

-This is more than enough!

"Yeah, I've run out of arrows too. Summon Sylph.", spoke Jade as he lowered his bow.

As he did, dozens of Sylphs appeared around him.

"Change form."

s.h.i.+ng!!

With Jade's command, the small fairy like Sylphs combined and changed into a different form.

They looked like a drill as they took on the shape of a triangular pyramid, and they began to rotate with tremendous speed.

-Fire!

Celestine clapped with joy as she knew what was about to happen.

Wiiinnggggg!

As soon as Celestine finished saying the word, the dozens of Sylphs split the sky in two.

They flooded the Big Crows with tremendous speed and the result was exactly as Celestine had imagined it to be.

Hoo doo dook.

The path that the Sylphs shot through were filled with nothing but the Big Crows blood and feathers.

There wasn't a single Big Crow that could block the attack.

"This is the best way to get rid of many of them at once."

-It's hard to see and super quick, and Big Crows also have weak feathers.

Big Crows had weaker defense compared to other monsters, hence the reason why they were unable to block the Sylphs' attack.

Boom boom boom!

The Big Crows were getting ma.s.sacred as Celestine and Jade continued to converse.

Jade could control each and every Sylph, because they were connected to his soul.

Kkaaak!

With a horrible shriek, the leader of the Big Crows charged forward. It had seen too many of its subordinates die.

-Are you going to kill him too?

"That would probably be for the best if I want them to really acknowledge my existence, right? Even if that one dies, another one will appear and take its place."

-Okay! Since we're doing it anyways, let's do it properly! Big Crows aren't necessary in the Great Forest anyways!

Tu tu tu tung!

Because of its size, the leader was able to somehow block the Sylphs' attacks.

It just meant that it didn't die with one shot - that was it.

It forced its way through the Sylphs' onslaught and was able to reach Jade, however, Scylla stood between Jade and the leader.

Rip!

The proud Scylla, with his neck lifted high, shot wind arrows at the Big Crow leader and ripped apart its wing joint.

It had become incapacitated with just two wind arrows, making it fall to the ground.

Booooom!

With a heavy sound, the leader could be seen wriggling on the ground. The body wasn't wriggling because it was still alive, but because of the shock it had incurred from hitting the ground.

KKaaakkk!!

Seeing what had just happened to their leader, the flock of Big Crows split up and flew off into the distance.

They realized that their death was unavoidable if they stayed, so instead decided to run as far away as they could.

Enjoying the scene that was unfolding before him, Jade thoroughly looked through the nests that were made within the cliffside.

-Is it their breeding season? They even have babies. Some eggs haven't even hatched yet. Don't you like to eat eggs, Jade? It's your favorite.

As Celestine spoke, the Big Crow babies cried for food not knowing that hey had just been cast aside by their parents.

There were still plenty of eggs inside the cliffside.

They were so big that even one egg was more than enough for Jade to use as a side dish for a while.

"Well, I don't even know how they taste, and I don't really have a reason to eat the eggs."

Not showing any interest in the obnoxious sounding babies, Jade continued to look through the nest.

He needed to see if there were any items that were worth taking, and just as they had thought, there were plenty of Jewelry and ornaments that were collected.

-So pretty!

"It would be perfect if we had a subs.p.a.ce artifact."

-We can just tell our little ones to carry them!

"Yeah, we can, but mana consumption is too much. If we had a subs.p.a.ce artifact, we would be able place all of these into it."

Jade smacked his lips, because the more he thought about it, the sadder he felt.

There wasn't much he could do about it, so Jade sorted out the items to the best of abilities and packed them up.

-We're rich!

"Money is money, but I wish we had found a Master's item instead. There aren't many military items here."

Unknown if they just didn't have any interest in weapons and armor, but there wasn't a single sword inside the nest.

At most, he had found a round s.h.i.+eld amongst the s.h.i.+ny objects.

-They don't seem to have anything you need……

Jade had gathered expensive jewelry knowing he would one day leave the Great Forest, but he still couldn't find the items he wanted.

His disappointment was just as big as his expectations.

"It's okay. At least this wasn't in vain. Even if we had found an artifact, we wouldn't know what it's enchanted with since that's not your expertise."

-We can still feel the energy though and can tell when something is enchanted with magic.

"Well, today isn't the only day and I still haven't mastered the mana technique and the sword art."

-I love it! You're so positive!

With her cute little hands, Celestine tapped Jade in the cheek.

It was her way of showing encouragement.

"Let's go back.", spoke Jade, as he tapped Scylla's neck.

Different from earlier, Jade's backpack was now filled to the brim.

As the sun dimly lit up the night sky, Jade dusted off the chair that was placed in front of his hut.

He was strangely very comfortable sitting on it.

It felt like he was able to acc.u.mulate his mana better.

'I need to improve the technique that I currently have. If I can't find a better mana technique, then I need to develop this one better.'

The mana technique that Jade was currently utilizing was the Imperial Knight's advanced mana technique.

And, through his explorations, he had also found a weapon with an advanced sword art.

However, Jade was not satisfied. He still felt weak.

He didn't know how he could meet a dragon, but he at least needed to be strong enough to survive against one.

Of course, he believed that it was impossible to put up a fight, but he was going to do whatever he could to get to that level.

'If I fully summon a Spirit King, I should be able to run away at least. And, if I summon at least two of them, wouldn't I be able to fight against the dragon?'

Jade wasn't just a simple summoner.

He had enough skill and physical prowess to be considered a Spirit Warrior.

He was also constantly finding ways to become stronger, and his result for doing so was phenomenal.

'I first need to begin with efficiency and be able to use my skills for at least 10 minutes.'

Jade pondered.

He was trying to figure out how to become stronger and how to become more efficient with his techniques, because he knew that was his biggest advantage.

'Perhaps this is the end. There may have only been a few that were stronger than the Imperial Knight, and that's exactly why I need to find a Master's relic…..'

He was sure that someone had mastered the mana and sword art he had acquired. However, he wanted to shorten the time to reach that level.

He was already 24 years old, and once a human turned 30 years of age, their bodies naturally began to regress. Before that happened, Jade had to rise to the Master cla.s.s.

'It's all to stop the body from aging.'

It wasn't that the body stopped aging once you became a Master. Only, their bodies regressed much slower than a normal human's.

'I wonder if an elixir or sacred herb will fall from the sky.'

Jade smacked his lips.

He had always looked for elixirs or sacred herbs during his explorations, because they were the best way to get strong quickly.

Especially because Jade was a Spirit Summoner who would grow much stronger with the growth of his mana.

BOOOOM!!

A sudden explosion could be heard from the distance as the ground shook with the sound.

It was as if the ground was shaking with the clas.h.i.+ng of two formidable forces.

-I think somebody is fighting!

"What the h.e.l.l is fighting exactly?"

The surprised Jade forced out a laugh.

It was because he was frightened by the immense force exuding from the inner part of the Great Forest.

Completed - Chapter 2 (2)