Ryan wasn't used to hunting flying animals. It was much more complicated hitting flying targets because one would have to consider several things before shooting. Not only that, failure wouldn't result only in his death. Because of it, Ryan panicked.
"Shit… it can't be helped," Ryan pointed his left hand toward the pterodactyl and then cast Flame Arrow.
As expected, the magic projectile flew in a straight line and hit the monster's face. Ryan had noticed that magic projectiles worked in a different manner than physical projectiles when he first saw Cole's group. Regardless, the pterodactyl didn't stop because he couldn't change his trajectory after having half of its face burned.
Congratulations! The skill Flame Arrow has leveled up.
Flame Arrow Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Summon and fire a Flame Arrow without having to use a bow. The damage caused will be (dexterity plus your intelligence) x 10%.
Cost: 05 mana
You obtained 01 status point.
Ryan and Tristan hurried to leave that area, and somehow they managed to escape the impact… but pterodactyl destroyed Cole's garage's entrance. Ryan approached the creature that was unconscious and then fired a wooden bow on its head.
You obtained eight coins.
"Mmm… I didn't expect I would be able to level up Flame Arrow so soon… Anyway, it looks like both velociraptors and pterodactyls are equally dangerous."
When Ryan turned around after confirming that the monster didn't drop anything, he saw Tristan looking at him with his mouth wide open. It was only a natural reaction given that Ryan just used magic, but with that kind of reaction, it was kind of hard to imagine him adapting fast enough to survive.
"… Magic? For real?" Tristan said, astonished and his loud voice almost woke up his sister.
"No. Talking!" Ryan raised his voice a little.
Tristan panicked but then relaxed when he saw Ryan looking around and confirming that the path ahead was clear. At that point in time, there was no point in questioning that, so it was clear that even ordinary monsters concentrated on areas that had a lot of people. However, now and then, a lone pterodactyl would pass above them and make Ryan sweat cold. He only had enough mana to use Flame Arrow once every five minutes. Although that much was enough for him to defeat those beasts once every five minutes, their squeaks were too loud and could attract monsters. So, it was better to avoid them as much as possible.
After walking for ten minutes, Ryan, Tristan, and the unconscious Natalia finally left that residential area. Although Ryan had said to Tristan that they wouldn't stop to rest, he was the one who had to stop because his arms were tired. Pulling a heavy motorcycle like that was tiresome, and with his arms tired, he wouldn't be able to hold the bow steadily.
"Can we talk now?" Tristan asked. "I can't hear the sound of any monster nearby."
Ryan sighed; it was only normal that someone would want answers in that kind of situation. Ryan himself had many questions, so it was unreasonable of him to get angry at Tristan. He could only hope that been betrayed by his best friend didn't turn him into an asocial person so fast, but given that dragons appeared and monsters were eating humans, so everything was possible.
"I'm taking you two to the place where I learned that spell," Ryan said. "Eventually, if you survive, you will learn something at least similar."
After that, Ryan gave Tristan a brief summary of the things he did in the last few hours. Although he was worried about his sister, given his age, he couldn't help but feel excited about the possibility of obtaining power like a videogame character. Ryan couldn't understand that, but he was aware that such power wasn't something that he had obtained on his own. The same way he obtained, he could easily lose it. So, there was no point in getting too excited about it.
"You mentioned the word dungeon before, but I thought it was just a figure of speech," Tristan said after recovering from the surprise. "So, we only have to kill the boss and obtain access to that treasure box, and then everyone can obtain a class?"
"Yeah… only that," Ryan sighed. "It will be a piece of cake to kill a slime that was bigger than a car and could spit Fireballs that can melt rocks."
Tristan gulped after hearing that, he could see part of Ryan's head dirty with blood, and some of his clothes had been burned, so he could imagine that Ryan almost died a few times in the last few hours.
"I forgot to ask, but how do you kill the giant bee that wounded your sister?" Ryan asked.
"I didn't kill it. My sister did," Tristan replied. "She strangled the monster before losing her consciousness thanks to the pain."
Ryan frowned when he heard that. It was hard to imagine that woman doing something so reckless. Then again, Ryan knew nothing about her, and drastic situations need drastic measures. That made Ryan think if he could learn some skills like karate, judo, or boxing. That also made Ryan wonder if he could learn some combat skills by sparring with other humans. He would have to try that later since Tristan was carrying his sister.
After a few more minutes, they resumed their walking. Although they weren't in open terrain, Ryan couldn't lower his guard because even though the surroundings trees could offer them some visual protection against the pterodactyls, the inverse also could be said. The trees could protect the monsters from Ryan. He wouldn't be able to see or hear them unless they get really close, and he wouldn't be able to attack either.
Congratulations! The skill Alert has leveled up.
Alert Lv 1 ➞ Lv 2
Effect: Increases the effective range of your hearing outside battles by one meter per level in order to avoid ambushes.
You obtained 01 status point.
Regardless, at least that would be good training for Ryan.