At the very top of the Sky Nest.
A massive nest touching the clouds.
Skain, the Lord of the Sixth Forest, guarded the egg in the nest as he gazed at the Tablet.
A special Tablet bestowed upon the Lord.
With it, he could instantly grasp the overall situation of the forest.
‘Is it still not over yet?’
Even after the giants killed the Five Monarchs and returned, it should have taken less time than this.
Skain stepped toward where the Tablet was placed.
- Activated the Tablet to check the information.
But what unfolded before him was entirely different from what he’d expected. The Giants and Pursuit Unit, who should have killed the Five Monarchs and returned, had vanished from the map.
“…What is this?”
It wasn’t the work of the Five Monarchs.
Three were already dead.
The remaining two had been reduced to lifeless husks.
Even if they were barely alive, those two couldn’t possibly have slaughtered the Giant Tribe and the Wyvern Pursuit Unit.
‘Did the Giants betray the Pursuit Unit for the Inner Core?’
That made even less sense.
If that were the case, the Giants would still be visible on the map. Yet now, on the Tablet’s map, neither the Giants nor the Pursuit Unit appeared.
“A third force?”
Given the alliance with the Fifth Forest, the only ones who would dare invade here were the Seventh Forest.
The wolf cubs who had betrayed their Lord, the Witch.
But that one hadn’t fully inherited the Lord’s power, nor was he capable of crossing into other forests.
“…Strange.”
Skain’s brow furrowed at the unfamiliar situation. Once again, he searched the Tablet for information on this bizarre development.
There were no suspicious movements.
No matter how much he racked his brain, an answer wouldn’t come here. For now, he needed to go to the scene himself to gather information.
Skain left the Tablet and gazed at the egg.
Normally, he would remain to guard the egg until it hatched.
But now was an emergency.
‘There shouldn’t be any problem.’
He wouldn’t be gone long—just a moment to go down, give instructions to his subordinates, and return.
Nothing serious should happen in that short time.
As Skain stepped out of the nest, a tremendous explosion echoed in his ears.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
A deafening roar nearly split his eardrums, and the trees of the Sky Nest shook violently.
At the same time, a surge of heat was felt.
Skain’s gaze naturally drifted below the trees. Thick black smoke billowed upward as brilliant flames spread in all directions.
The fiery touch moved relentlessly, ensnaring the wyverns.
They were charred to pitch-black.
Their nests, too, were burned black.
It was infuriating enough, but Skain accepted the situation calmly.
Those were expendables anyway.
They’d be replenished with time.
What mattered most to Skain wasn’t them, but the egg combined with the Inner Core within the nest.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
Another massive explosion rocked the Sky Nest.
Thud!
Something fell with a cracking sound.
Skain’s gaze turned inside the nest.
The egg had fallen and shattered on the ground.
At that sight, Skain’s whole body began to tremble. It was as if something in his mind snapped, and rage took over every fiber of his being.
“How dare you… How dare you!”
Grinding his teeth, Skain sought out the culprit.
Figures cut through the searing flames and black smoke, flying his way.
Eagles, hawks, and wyverns.
The fact that his own kind—the wyvern—had betrayed him added another layer to his rage.
Crrrack.
Why were the eagles and hawks still alive?
Why hadn’t they shown up on the Tablet?
At this point, the reasons didn’t matter.
The only priority was to kill those who had murdered the new leader meant to guide the future of the Wyvern Tribe.
“I will kill you.”
[That’s the one.]
At the eagle’s words, he raised his head to the sky.
A giant wyvern appeared.
Should he say it was nearly as large as the Corrupted Dragon he’d captured with Irellin?
It was clearly unlike any ordinary wyvern.
“You’re even bigger than me.”
[…That one’s the weird one.]
The slightly daunted Wyvern King grumbled, yet quickly moved, shaking off the other clinging wyverns.
Goooooo!
As the enraged Lord of the Forest flapped his wings with a furious expression, the surrounding winds turned into blades, pouring down toward them.
He blocked the attack using Absolute Barrier.
Kagagagang!
Watching the Lord’s face twist even more after his attack was blocked, he activated the Gold Dragon’s Eye.
[Activating Gold Dragon’s Eye.]
[Skain, Lord of the Sixth Forest (SS)]
– Leader of the Wyvern Tribe and Lord of the Sixth Forest.
– Currently enraged.
– Overall Stats: SS
– Potential: SS
– Possessed Item: Wyvern’s Inner Core (SS)
– Possessed Skills: Supersonic Flight (SS), Breath (SS)… Blessing of the Wind (S), Lord of the Forest (SS).
As Lord of the Sixth Forest, he was under special buffs within the forest.
Even if his rank was SS, he could exert power beyond that.
‘Still, he’s not quite at the level of the Corrupted Dragon.’
Though the presence he exuded was overwhelming, compared to the SSS-grade Corrupted Dragon, he was a bit lacking.
Still, he was a worthy opponent to take on with my current abilities.
I took out an elixir Anne had made from the Dragon Lair.
Supreme Mana Recovery Potion.
With this, I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of mana. The only issue was its short duration.
‘But I just have to finish before that happens.’
Popped open the potion and poured it into my mouth.
A cool, refreshing sensation flowed through me as I drank the potion and leapt down from the wyvern’s back.
I used Teleportation Magic to move above Skain’s head.
Clenching both fists, I gathered flames.
“Burning Impact.”
I slammed my fist down toward Skain’s head. The fire erupted in an explosion, pouring onto Skain.
KWAANG!
Black smoke billowed thickly.
‘Missed.’
I could sense his condition from the presence inside. With a light flap of his wings, the black smoke cleared away.
At the same time, he cast a spell.
Wind energy gathered like orbs and flew at me. The orbs exploded like bombs, sending powerful shockwaves.
PUH-ONG!
PUH-ONG!
With such wide-ranging shockwaves, the only choice was to block them with Absolute Barrier.
Within the semi-transparent shield, I watched his magic.
[Through Blessing of Magic (EX), you comprehend the principles and structure of Air Buster magic.]
[Your understanding of magic is extremely high.]
[Your elemental comprehension is average.]
[Adjusting rank.]
[You have acquired Air Buster (S).]
Skain’s attack wasn’t over.
Realizing I could block his attacks completely, he began preparing another spell.
‘What now?’
I waited, not attacking first, to steal his magic.
[I don’t know where you appeared from, but you’ll regret challenging me in this forest.]
Skain spread his wings wide.
Though he had only two true wings, green wind energy formed into the shape of wings.
Six wings in total.
Wooooong!
The wings glowed brightly, radiating outward. Tens of thousands of banners formed of green light surrounded me.
The banners formed a giant sphere that slowly began to close in.
‘Heaven’s Net.’
A net with no escape.
As the net of wind tightened in the sky, a crushing sense of pressure built.
A heavy sensation inside.
Maybe because the spell wasn’t finished, Blessing of Magic didn’t activate.
Skain opened his mouth wide and prepared Breath.
Wooooong!
Green Breath poured out.
I used Teleport to dodge the spell.
KWA-A-A-AANG!
But my body couldn’t cross the barrier of wind.
The moment I hit the barrier, a massive shockwave surged in, shaking my body.
If it weren’t for the Dragon God’s Body, I would’ve been shattered on the spot.
[There is nowhere to run. Dying to my Breath is the only painless way out. Just die!]
As Skain spewed Breath in rage once more, I dodged with Fly Magic.
Wooooong!
The wind prison in the sky absorbed the power of Skain’s Breath.
Faster.
Stronger.
The wind prison accelerated and shrank rapidly.
‘This is a cheat, isn’t it?’
Even if Skain’s Breath missed, there was no risk to him. The wind prison grew stronger the more Breath it absorbed.
“I definitely have to learn this.”
But first, I needed a way to evade his attacks. Learning how didn’t matter if I died.
Teleport wasn’t enough to cross the barrier.
But I had one more way to cross space.
Portal.
To test it, I cast the spell.
“Burning Impact.”
Aimed my fist forward, matching the timing of Skain’s Breath.
KWA-A-AANG!
Flame-filled winds surged in all directions, obscuring the surroundings with heat and fire.
In that moment, I created a Portal.
Seeing the view beyond to the Dragon Lair, I stepped in briefly and returned.
Satisfied that it worked, I erased the Portal and focused on the wind barrier to steal his magic.
‘I can feel it.’
As I concentrated on the faintly sensed magic, its structure became clear.
How it operated.
What effects occurred.
The closer the wind barrier got as Skain spewed Breath, the clearer I sensed the magic.
The wind prison shrank at tremendous speed.
When it had shrunk to the size of a car, a message appeared.
[Through Blessing of Magic (EX), you comprehend the principles and structure of Wind Prison magic.]
[Your understanding of magic is extremely high.]
[Your elemental comprehension is average.]
[Adjusting rank.]
[You have acquired Wind Prison (S).]
Now that I’d learned the magic, it was time to end this.
‘I was going to make him a Guardian originally…’
I had made a promise of revenge as I made the eagle and hawk into Guardians.
That, at the very least, I would kill Skain.
And, since the eagle and hawk would help rule this forest, not having Skain or the Wyvern King didn’t matter much to me.
Besides,
I coveted the Inner Core he possessed.
‘Let’s get started.’
I used Portal to escape the Wind Prison.
Shuaaaa!
Beyond the portal, I saw the wind prison compress and vanish entirely before I returned to the battlefield.
[…How! How did you get out from there…]
Seeing the utterly flustered Skain, I drew mana from the Dragon Heart.
“Wind Prison.”
I returned the spell I’d just learned from him.
The six wings I felt at my back flared with wind, weaving an inescapable net around Skain.
[How can you use that magic? That’s my unique spell…]
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use.”
If Skain had Breath,
I had the Dragon Fang Spiral Spear.
Wooooong!
Mana surged rapidly thanks to the potion.
I poured it all into chanting Dragon Fang Spiral Spear.
“Yong Anaseon Spear: Rain.”
Though smaller in size, hundreds of wind arrows shot toward Skain.
KWAANG!
KWA-AANG!
The faster Skain tried to dodge the Dragon Fang Spiral Spear, the stronger and quicker the Wind Prison shrank.
Even the wind magic Skain used in his struggle only sped up the Wind Prison’s contraction.
Wooooong!
Wooooooong!
The Wind Prison shrank at an incredible speed.
[Ah… No!]
[P-Please! I’ll do whatever you say.]
“No need.”
Then I stepped out of the Wind Prison and ended the spell.
Shuaaaak!
The fully compressed Wind Prison shrank to a dot and vanished.
[You have defeated the Lord of the Sixth Forest.]
[You inherit the authority held by the Lord of the Sixth Forest.]
[You have become Lord of two forests.]
[All Lords of the Sleeping Forest are now aware of this fact.]