"Allen!"
Amidst the roaring wind stirred up by the royal griffin's wings, Mary suddenly stood up from the bushes. She stared in terror at the young witcher, hanging precariously from one of the griffin's talons, swaying as if he might fall at any moment.
Her heart pounded, leaping into her throat in an instant.
What on earth was Allen thinking?
The injuries on the griffin weren't severe enough to be life-threatening or to leave it exhausted. Even if Allen seized the opportunity to go airborne with the beast, what good would it do?
The sky belonged to flying monsters, and Allen couldn't fly. Could his experience in aerial combat really surpass that of the royal griffin?
Besides…
Arthur's Water Shield and the Quen sign didn't negate fall damage...
If… if he were to fall from such a height, the consequences would be disastrous...
At that thought, Mary's face turned pale, and in her fearful state, she didn't even consider her own safety as she rushed toward Vesemir.
"If I'd known this was going to happen, I would've spent more time practicing gliding spells," Mary lamented.
Vesemir was equally shocked by what he saw. For a moment, he thought Allen had lost his mind.
Humans belonged to the earth; griffins belonged to the sky. Even on the ground, fighting a flying monster was difficult enough, but following the beast into the sky was madness. However, unlike Mary, who was experiencing her first battle alongside Allen and had only heard tales of him, Vesemir had fought alongside him many times.
So, after the initial confusion and concern, Vesemir found himself oddly anticipating what Allen would do next.
"Screech—"
The griffin, upon realizing the witcher was clinging to its talon, tilted its head in confusion, its dark eagle-like eyes widening. It had never encountered prey so eager to die. But the next moment, a sharp pain shot through its talon.
Startled, the griffin flew higher into the sky while trying to swipe at Allen with its other talon as he dangled beneath it. The wind howled in Allen's ears. Everything around him swayed violently.
Hanging ten meters in the air, Allen gripped the base of the griffin's right outermost talon with his left hand, while his right hand held Elsa tightly. Before the griffin could react, Allen swung his right leg, hoisting his body upward.
As half of his body was pulled onto the talon, his blue eyes locked onto the joint between two talon bones.
Thrust!
Blood spurted out like red threads from Elsa's blood groove.
[Monster Hunt] Progress: 91%
"Screech—"
A screech so sharp it could rupture eardrums echoed from above. The swaying intensified, and with the griffin's left talon constantly attacking, Allen was like a tiny boat in a storm, tossed about, ready to be flung off at any moment.
But...
The young witcher planted his feet firmly on the griffin's unstable talon, no bigger than a square meter, steady as a rock, using Elsa as his anchor. Seeing this, both Vesemir and Mary, who had been chasing the griffin on the ground, felt their hearts clench. Even the not-so-bright griffin was baffled.
"Thanks to Brett for the Cat School's two-handed sword," Allen thought.
When it came to balance, Cat School apprentices were trained from a young age to walk tightropes. With his Cat School two-handed sword upgraded to level 5, Allen could leap across rugged terrain the size of a palm, staying as stable as a wildcat. That was his confidence in chasing the beast.
Of course…
He also had no choice but to chase it.
The duration of Monster Hunt was down to less than 30 seconds. After all the effort to charge up the progress, if the griffin flew too high, there wouldn't be enough time to fill it before the mark expired. If that happened, the progress would reset, and all the near-death efforts Allen and Vesemir had made so far would be wasted.
And…
If the griffin began its game-like pattern of dive attacks, flying into the sky, then diving again… under such conditions, it would be impossible to fill the mark's progress. Even if he leveled up twice, it wouldn't be enough. Plus, they were near a city, where the terrain was flat, offering nowhere to hide.
If things went wrong, they might actually die here.
"Screech—"
Ignoring the panicked screeches in his ear, Allen had already gotten used to the griffin's rhythm.
Schwing!
Blood gushed as he drew his blade, a large amount spilling out. Standing on the trembling, blood-soaked talon, Allen slashed twice more at the griffin's muscular leg without bothering to aim.
[Monster Hunt] progress: 92%
[Monster Hunt] progress: 93%
Given how casually he was attacking, each strike only increased the progress by 1%. That made sense. But Allen didn't care.
Dodging another swipe from the griffin's left talon, he continued to attack its legs the same way.
Monster Hunt progress: 94%
Monster Hunt progress: 96%
---------------
Monster Hunt progress: 98%
"Screech—"
The griffin roared in fury.
It couldn't understand why this insignificant prey was so hard to catch. Nor could it fathom why he was so obsessed with its calluses, which would soon heal.
In truth…
It shouldn't have cared about these minor wounds. Like a lion ignores the fleas crawling through its fur, it could have simply flown higher. It wouldn't even need to attack; the bone-chilling cold of the upper atmosphere would freeze its prey to death. That's what it had always done when faced with tough or armored prey.
But now...
The griffin didn't dare delay any longer. A sudden, inexplicable fear gripped its heart, terrifying it into letting out a series of heart-wrenching cries. Instinct and magical intuition both screamed warnings at it. So, the griffin stopped ascending.
It dipped its eagle-like head and began flapping its wings wildly, diving toward the ground at full speed. It wanted to slam the strange, terrifying creature on its talon into the ground!
They were already 100 meters in the air, and falling at full speed would cause the griffin some injury, but Allen would surely die.
Unfortunately...
In mid-air, there was a flash of silver.
Schwing!
[Monster Hunt] progress: 100%
The roaring wind stilled!
In the near-frozen moment of time, Allen gazed calmly at the rapidly approaching grassland below.
On that grass stood Vesemir, holding back a tearful, frantic Mary, who was screaming, "Allen! Allen!" like a little madwoman.
A thought flashed through Allen's mind. He turned his gaze back. Scarlet footprints and sword marks floated in the sky. He gently stepped on the griffin's talon and launched himself into the air.
With no thoughts or emotions, his body instinctively spun in a circle. The silver sword blade sliced heavily into the griffin's right leg.
"This should increase the mark's progress by 20%..." A dull thought passed through Allen's mind.
The force of the slash propelled him away from the griffin, sending him plummeting toward the ground. The distance between them widened, seemingly too far for another encounter.
But the next moment…
A sudden pain shot through the griffin's brain, and its body instinctively convulsed.
With a flick of its wings. As the wind shifted, the broad back of the royal griffin suddenly appeared before Allen's eyes. He lightly stepped down. Right onto the blood-red footprint in the middle of its wing.
Then.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Following the bloodstained prints, after a dozen or so steps, the eagle head of the griffin appeared.
Allen took a deep breath. He planted his right foot down, spun twice fiercely, and slashed down!
Spinning Slash!
The sword had not yet fallen.
"Skreeee—"
As if sensing something, the royal griffin raised its head and let out a tragic cry. And then.
Shlick~
A silver light flashed. Its head separated instantly. Scarlet blood sprayed into the air, as if it were raining blood.
Ding.
[Monster "Royal griffin" defeated!]
[Reward calculation:...]
Exiting his demon-hunting state, Allen ignored the system notification ringing in his mind. He grabbed the bloody head of the griffin with one hand and glanced below him.
The ground quickly enlarged in his view.
At this speed, even with the royal griffin cushioning the fall, death was certain. However, Allen was unfazed. He activated [Monster Hunt] once more. Then, looking toward Vesemir, who had been chasing the royal griffin on the ground, he shouted: "Aard Sign!"
"Aard Sign!"
Following his words, his mental energy quickly influenced the flow of all the magic in the mutated organs of the Witcher master. Then, with a sudden bend of his right middle finger, he pointed fiercely at the direction of the griffin.
Boom!
The air between them rapidly distorted.
In the next second. The falling speed of the royal griffin suddenly slowed. However, before it could roll over due to uneven force, it crashed into the ground with a loud bang.
Bang!
The enormous sound was deafening.
Massive clumps of yellowish-brown dust were smashed loose from the ground and scattered in all directions. It was impossible to see what was happening inside.
"Allen!"
"Allen!"
Before the dust could settle, anxious shouts quickly approached the crash site. Vesemir watched as Mary rushed into the cloud of dust and didn't stop her. He had seen clearly that while the griffin was flying, Allen had miraculously cut off its head. So Mary wouldn't face any danger rushing in now.
As for whether Allen himself was injured...
Vesemir shook his head in awe.
"Aard... he really thought of that."
His full-strength Aard had slowed the griffin, and combined with Aesirith's Water Shield and Quen...
As long as Allen wasn't crushed beneath it, he wouldn't be seriously hurt.
Of course.
He was somewhat worried.
But…
Sometimes, in certain places. What a boy needs is a warm hug from a nice-smelling girl, not concern from a similarly filthy old man. Vesemir smirked as the dust began to settle, and a scene suddenly appeared in his mind.
"How did he anticipate the griffin's reaction?"
Vesemir frowned in thought. He had seen it clearly from below. When Allen slashed the griffin's right leg, the force had pushed him away. Both should have fallen to the ground.
At that moment, cold sweat had instantly broken out on Vesemir's back, and Mary had almost fainted from fear. But the griffin had flapped its wings and, somehow, positioned its neck right under Allen's sword.
This maneuver...
Vesemir couldn't understand, but he was deeply shocked. The more he thought about it, the more profound it seemed, and he gained great insight.
"How did he do it?"
He muttered, questioning himself. Bypassing defenses was due to the Witcher's Eyes being able to see the flow of magic. But to predict a monster's reaction after being hit, even before swinging the sword...
Was it swordsmanship? Magic? Prophecy? Or perhaps another use of the Witcher's Eyes?
At this moment.
The yellowish dust was gradually clearing.
Beside the headless, massive body of the griffin. The young Witcher, carrying two swords, was clutching a head almost as large as himself, his face filled with astonishment as he was tightly embraced by a long-haired girl.
"Tsk tsk~"
With arms crossed, Vesemir clicked his tongue, smiling as he sighed: "Ah, youth!"
--------------------
[Monster "Royal griffin" Lv84 defeated!]
[Reward calculation: Overcoming the enemy, base rating D, defeating a higher-level opponent +3—C, decapitation intimidation +3—B]
[Final rating: B]
[Loot received: Royal griffin's Heart Essence1, Experience Orbs9, Royal griffin's Treasure Chest*4]
[Ding! Hunting Quest: Royal griffin I (Kill Royal griffins 0/5) activated, would you like to accept?]
With the familiar sound of a school bell ringing in his head, Allen clutched the wet, bloody head in his right hand. His nose was filled with the scent of oranges, and he felt the warmth through the leather armor.
The heart that had been pounding from the thrill of dancing on the edge of a blade, and the joy of successfully hunting the monster, instantly calmed down in the presence of this scent and warmth.
"Could I get this kind of reward every time the results are calculated?"
A strange thought popped into Allen's mind, and he accepted the quest without thinking.
Mary stepped back. Her large, watery eyes were really filled with tears this time. Two dirty tear streaks ran down her fair cheeks. A bit comical, yet also cute.
"You... how... how could you do something like that?" Mary, with a sobbing voice, puffed out her cheeks and shouted angrily, "You almost died, do you know that?"
"I... I didn't die though, did I?"
Allen turned his head, feeling somewhat guilty for some reason.
However.
Although this time had indeed been a bit risky, the danger had actually been within his control.
"You still dare say that!!!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say it again!"
Feeling like Mary was about to bite him, Allen immediately surrendered.
"Next... next time, you can't take such risks again. If anything happens to you, I..." Mary realized she was about to say something wrong and paused before correcting herself, "Lady Vera would be so heartbroken!"
Allen, being emotionally intelligent, didn't argue.
"Got it," he smiled and nodded, "Thank you for caring about me so much."
"Who's caring about you!" Mary froze, blushing as she hastily pulled back her arms from the embrace. "I was just scolding you on Lady Vera's behalf!"
"Alright, alright~"
Allen smiled and nodded repeatedly.
"You're scolding me for Lady Vera's sake, don't worry. I'll be more careful next time!"
For some reason.
Mary felt uneasy when she heard Allen admit her reasoning.
However.
Just as she was about to say something more, a middle-aged man walking down the road in the distance caught their attention. As the man got closer, he hesitated, glanced in Allen's direction, but eventually approached Vesemir.
"Excuse me, did you kill this monster?"
Vesemir sized up the man but did not answer immediately, instead asking in return: "Who are you?"
The middle-aged man realized he hadn't introduced himself.
"Apologies," he smiled apologetically and said: "My name is Dyson, from Toussaint..."
....…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
227. What is a Killer Whale?
228. The Scent of Conspiracy and Love.
229. Big Explosion and the Law of Surprise.
230. The Unexpected Child.
231. The Woman in His Mind.