"Kraa!" The three-meter-tall eagle flapped its wings, sending dozens of sharp feathers flying. They reached Lin at incredible speed!
"Fast." Lin stepped aside, and the place where he had just stood was instantly pierced by a feather, embedding itself into the rocks!
Dozens more feathers hit the rocks, creating shallow holes in them. Yulan, pressed against the wall, quickly turned her head and saw a small hole appear just a millimeter from her head!
"C-close!" She immediately rushed toward Lin, feeling that she had a better chance of surviving by his side.
Lin paid no attention to Yulan, instead looking coldly at the eagle and mentally calling up his status:
[Status:
— Physical health: 83%
— Mental health: 98%
— Distortion: 31%]
Seeing his stats on the blue screen, Lin thought:
"I have only one chance to kill this eagle. If I can't kill it using the skill, I feel the battle will definitely not go in my favor," Lin reasoned and prepared for the eagle's next attack.
"Kiiirr!" The eagle screeched and flew over Lin, brushing against a small snowy ledge. Snow fell down rapidly, but Lin remained as calm as water. He quickly ran to the side, barely avoiding the small avalanche, and then pulled a feather from the cliff. He needed it to show this eagle that he's not the only one who can throw them.
Examining the feather as sharp as a needle, Lin smiled widely and looked at the eagle in the sky, who was clearly not pleased that a human dared to touch its feather!
"If you want to kill me, first try not to die yourself!" Lin threw the feather back at the eagle with incredible force. The eagle roared and tried to dodge to the side. But as it thought it had evaded the attack, another feather appeared, flying straight at it!
Whoosh.
"Kiiirr!" The feather instantly pierced the eagle's wing, making it scream loudly. Bright red blood gushed from the wound, and the eagle, furious that it was attacked by its own feather, glared at Lin and roared with wild rage!
Lin, expecting this, prepared to take the eagle's strike.
The eagle spread its wings, several meters wide, and then folded them close to its body to reduce air resistance and accelerate to incredible speed.
It instantly flew hundreds of meters and was already near the snowy path where Lin stood!
Lin smiled and activated his skill: Slow Motion Perception!
In an instant, time within five meters around Lin slowed down. The snow in the air seemed completely frozen, and the eagle, flying at unknown speed toward Lin, moved like a snail in this zone!
Lin smiled and swung his sword horizontally at the eagle's mouth. At the same time, he decided to check the eagle's stats:
[Distorted Creature: Mountain Eagle.]
[Rank: Beast.]
[Abilities:
— "Blood Rage (Lv.2)".]
[Description: Mountain eagles are rulers of the mountain territories. With their three-meter bodies, few creatures dare to fight them. And with their speed and feathers thrown like darts — their opponents are doomed!]
Seeing the eagle's stats, Lin was slightly surprised that the eagle had a skill. Out of curiosity, he wished to view the eagle's skill.
[Skill Name: Blood Rage.]
[Skill Type: Active.]
[Description: After receiving significant damage, the eagle's blood begins to boil, making it stronger. Its physical stats increase, while its once-stable mind breaks down, becoming more insane.]
Lin's eyes widened, but before he could react, he slashed the eagle's lower jaw and beak with his sword!
The eagle's lower beak slowly fell down, and seeing the eagle's skill, Lin immediately made a decision and began slashing the eagle wherever he could!
"Blood Rage is a dangerous skill. If I can't kill it now, I'll definitely be dead. When my skill ends, Forgetfulness will trigger, putting me in danger for several seconds. And this eagle, if I don't kill it, will easily kill me during that time!" Lin's eyes flashed brightly, and he struck the eagle rapidly with his sword, his mind focused on one thought:
"Kill! Kill! If I don't kill it, I'll die! Kill!"
A few seconds later, when the skill's effect ended, Yulan, who had been standing aside watching — saw Lin slowly sinking into the snow, his eyes darting around like a child in a candy store.
But then she quickly shifted her gaze to the eagle and was shocked by the scene.
The previously intact eagle now had hundreds of red lines across its body. Its lower jaw had slowly separated from the upper with blood, its eyes were cut into several pieces, its once-large wings were now dozens of small, bloody fragments. The once-whole eagle was now a butchered piece of meat!
"...How is this possible?" the girl wondered. She knew Lin was fast — he had even saved her. But to completely turn a three-meter eagle into minced meat in just a few moments? She simply couldn't comprehend it.
She watched for a moment, then decided to approach the confused Lin.
"Lin?" Yulan asked.
Lin suddenly turned toward the sound and saw an unfamiliar girl. He quickly stood up and pointed his sword at her:
"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I in unknown mountains?"
The girl froze at these questions. Then she slowly replied:
"What do you mean where? We're in the Magic World. Did you forget?"
At first, Lin didn't understand, but then his expression suddenly changed, which Yulan noticed. He slowly shook his head and said:
"The Price... My Price is Forgetfulness."
Hearing Lin's words, Yulan quickly understood and decided not to ask further questions. She simply nodded and thanked him for saving her:
"Thank you for saving me..." saying this, she quickly turned away and looked at the snowy ridges.
Lin glanced at her briefly, then turned away. He wasn't particularly interested in her gratitude — she was already on his hook. He looked at the pile of flesh and feathers and smiled slightly:
"Autosuggestion is the perfect stimulus for something. If I hadn't convinced myself that I would die if I didn't kill the eagle, I might be lying here instead of it. But that no longer matters, because what's important now is — the loot," he looked at the meat and moved toward it to find what he needed.
He slowly began clearing away the meat and feathers, hoping to find a Soul Shard or a Beast Chest. After several minutes, he held a strange chest the size of a human head in his hand, but no Soul Shard was found.
Lin sighed.
"Unfortunately, there was no Soul Shard inside, but at least I was lucky with the Beast Chest," he looked at the surreal chest in his hand and smiled.
He didn't want to open it here, preferring to find a more secluded place where opening it would be more enjoyable than in the middle of snowy mountains and a dead eagle.
Lin looked at Yulan and said:
"Yulan, help me gather the feathers and meat; they'll be very useful for this journey."
Yulan hesitated a bit, realizing she'd have to mess with the dead eagle and its organs:
"Uh, and you?"
Lin looked her straight in the eyes, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
"I'm very tired. I need to rest."
Yulan quickly nodded and got to work. She awkwardly picked up feathers, trying not to touch the eagle's meat or organs under any circumstances. The scene seemed amusing to Lin.
"If she gets used to it, she'll make a good porter."