"Withdraw Gold!" He cried at the top of his lungs, the rest of the command completed by his mind.
Hundreds of shimmering gold chips rained from a ball of light that hovered and flew as they moved, pouring on the monstrous bird.
KAW KAW.
It cried, the hard coins hitting its bald skinny head and eyes. The coins rain on its back, its neck, and even some hit Mark and he was forced to squint his eyes in fear not to lose them.
He tightened his grip on the bird's toes, and waited in earnest. Soon enough, the bird was disoriented, and it spun, falling in hope to escape the golden rain.
It didn't give up on Mark however, it wasn't letting go of its meal.
Mark hated to see the gold that he had accrued rain below, the god was getting back his gold.
He continued the rain of gold coins with his mind, consciously aware of how they left his inventory.
Then, the bird loosened its grip diving even faster–it was falling.
The rush of the coins had knocked it out, and instantly, Mark knew the force of gravity.
The bird threatened to fall atop him as he was trapped in between it, his strong grip on the edge of slipping.
This wasn't what he had intended, what should have happened, and the gold coins had stopped raining once it recognized his dire situation, he wasn't consciously initiating their descent any longer.
"Oh mother." He blurted, finding strength to pull himself up and swing to the side of the bird as it tumbled in his air.
He could see the green flat ground and picture the imminent impact that would splatter them both, he needed to do something, and quickly.
His attention caught the fluttering wings and there, an idea struck. If the beast wasn't needing its wings, then it wouldn't mind him borrowing them.
He got to work fast.
'Withdraw Silverine Fanged Spider fangs, 1!'
He held out his arm unsure if it would heed his instruction as he hadn't done so before, but it did, the Silverine Fanged Spider fang appeared in his hand as he had wanted and he grabbed it, going for a stab in what he guessed to be the joint between the wing and its back.
The bird's eyes shot open with a loud cry, Mark froze and the bird turned its gaze to him, glaring its large orange eyes.
It took control of its flight, and maneuvered itself, Mark strongly holding its plentiful feathers so as not to fall off, but even his grip wasn't strong enough.
His hand slipped and he was flung into the air. The spider fang got flung in the struggle and his foodbelt slipped off as he fell.
He watched it zoom away while he swung his arms, the bird then turned from its trajectory, and approached Mark from its right flank, with its large black beak opened.
'Oh shit.'
Was that it? Was he going to die here?
He closed his eyes, accepting his fate–his death in this new world. He never got to explore an inch of it, but he had survived more than he thought he would, and supposedly, it was noteworthy of him. He had very few regrets.
"A Spirit Guardian keeps their word." A spunky voice intruded.
Mark opened his eyes, it was the spirit guardian hovering right above him, with a grin that went past the corners of its mouth, almost going across its whole face.
He threw up an arm, and the blue cat apparition gracefully drifted to him and held him, pulling him up and away from the bird's mouth.
The two zoomed up above and then to the side and finally a dive down to where it was safe.
It placed him by a shrivelled tree and watched him hyperventilate, his chest expanding and deflating like a balloon.
He got up and was forced to arch as he almost spilled the contents of his stomach, retching.
"A Spirit Guardian keeps their word always." The feline spirit said with a smug tone almost causing Mark to burst a forehead vein.
He was angry but advised himself against yelling as he was in a way under the cat's mercy for it could withdraw its word and keep him here, after all, all it wanted was entertainment, and he was too exhausted, not to mention his wounds that burned.
The trials were proving to be challenging to overcome. The first had been overcome by large luck and a little wit, and he almost died in the second in just a short time, he was sure that the next was going to be impossible.
Then, the guardian asked the question he had been hoping it'd ask.
"Do you want to continue the trials or do you want to forfeit now? You still get to keep the gold if you forfeit." The spirit explained.
'The gold.'
Speaking of the gold, almost all had been poured in Mark's plan to disorient the beast, and he had failed, an utter waste.
"There's no gold." He said with sadness in his voice.
"That's right, you used a large amount in stopping the creature."
"I assure you, the rewards and treasures only get higher from here… and so does the danger."
He visualized his sheet and looked at his inventory. He spotted the gold still available, he had no idea of how trade worked or how the civilizations around worked their way with valuables, but his intuition told him that the gold with him would still be of use, and he had an ample, just enough compared to what he had hoarded earlier.
"So what is it going to be? Are you going to risk your life once again with my help or do you give up? The trials ahead will be harder, but as I have said, also much more rewarding."
In order to survive in a world, especially one that's hostile, one needs to have an edge, an advantage.
And Mark needed an edge.