The ground suddenly disappeared beneath me, and instinctively I pulled my head and limbs into my shell. Black Carapace Guard immediately spread across my shell, yet nothing happened.
"...Huh?" There was no rebound. No impact. Whatever had caught me wasn't trying to break my shell—it had simply grabbed me and lifted me into the air. A violent gust of wind roared past as I was carried higher and higher.
Great... so this is how I die? Becoming some bird beast's lunch?
Earth Sense never even warned me. Right... it couldn't. The attack came from above, and the skill could only sense through the ground. I clicked my tongue. So that's its weakness. Then another thought crossed my mind. If it can carry me this easily... this beast is definitely not weaker than me.
The powerful grip around my shell suddenly loosened.
THUD!!
I slammed onto the ground and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
"...Ouch."
I remained hidden inside my shell, listening carefully. The moment I touched the ground, Earth Sense spread through the surroundings. Only a single Beast Qi signature remained nearby. No other beasts... no hatchlings. Then why bring me here?
After waiting a few breaths, I cautiously stretched only my neck out of my shell.
A massive nest rested atop a narrow mountain cliff, built from enormous branches and broken boulders. Instead of being filled with only beast bones, countless strange objects were scattered throughout it—shiny stones, colorful crystals, broken weapons, polished skulls, rusted armor fragments, and things I couldn't even recognize.
"...What kind of nest is this?"
My gaze slowly shifted toward the beast standing a few meters away.
It looked more like an enormous raven than a hawk. Its glossy black feathers reflected a metallic sheen beneath the sunlight, its hooked beak was thick enough to pierce rock, and a pair of cold golden eyes stared directly at me.
Appraisal activated.
Razorbeak Raven
Realm: Peak Ferocious Beast Rank
Beast Qi: Wind
"...Peak Ferocious Beast Rank."
"The same realm as mine... and it has already awakened Wind Beast Qi."
The raven remained motionless, tilting its head slightly as it stared at me. Then its eyes suddenly narrowed.
It had realized its mistake.
I wasn't some shiny trinket.
I was another beast... inside its nest.
"SKREEEECH!!"
Its furious cry echoed across the mountains as it lunged without hesitation. I instantly withdrew my head back into my shell.
BOOOOOOM!!
The entire nest trembled violently.
My shell didn't move an inch.
CRACK!!
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the nest.
"SKREEEECH!!"
The raven staggered backward, violently shaking its head. I remained hidden inside my shell without moving.
The rebound worked...
The raven glared at my shell for a long moment. Instead of attacking again, it slowly circled around me, its cracked beak opening and closing as if trying to understand what I was.
Then it lowered its head.
Its beak slowly slipped toward the opening of my shell, trying to look inside.
Closer...
Just a little closer...
I held my breath, waiting until it entered my range.
The instant it did, Beast Qi surged through my neck.
Mountain Bite!
CHOMP!!
My jaws snapped shut around its already cracked beak.
CRACK!!
The fracture spread all the way through the tip of its beak.
"SKREEEEEEECH!!"
The raven screamed in agony and desperately flapped its wings, yanking its head backward. My jaws were forced open by the difference in strength, but the damage had already been done.
Fresh blood dripped from its broken beak as it stumbled backward, glaring at me with fury and pain.
Even a beast of the same realm couldn't break my shell. The raven didn't rush me again. Instead, it slowly walked around me, its sharp eyes examining every inch of my shell as if trying to understand what kind of creature I was. Several times its claws lightly touched the shell before pulling back again.
It had clearly realized that attacking me head-on wasn't a good idea. I didn't dare expose my head again. If it had another way to deal with me, I wasn't about to help it figure it out.
A few moments later, its talons clamped tightly around my shell once again, lifting me off the ground.
...Again?
Cold wind rushed past as it carried me away from the nest. It carried me only a short distance before coming to a stop. I couldn't see anything from inside my shell, but the mountain wind suddenly grew fiercer.
Why did it stop?
Then I felt it.
A violent surge of Beast Qi erupted around the raven.
The howling wind became sharper and sharper. ...Wait. Don't tell me—
WHOOSH!!
"AHHHHHHH!!"
My body shot forward like a cannonball, the roaring wind drowning out everything else.
BOOOOOOM!!
My shell smashed into the mountainside, cracking the rock beneath it. Before I could even feel the impact, the rebound launched me toward another cliff. My body spun uncontrollably inside the shell, and when I realized my belly was facing the next impact, my heart sank.
At this speed... I can't change my trajectory. I could only force Beast Qi around my abdomen.
BANG!!
The collision knocked the breath out of me. The Beast Qi softened the blow just enough to keep my abdomen from being ripped apart, but the impact still felt like it had crushed everything inside me. Blood filled my mouth as my vision slowly began to blur.
I was still sliding down the mountainside, so I instinctively stretched out my limbs, desperately trying to slow myself down. It wasn't enough. Gritting my teeth, I thrust my neck out and managed to latch onto a thick tree branch.
The sudden resistance finally brought me to a stop, but the pain nearly made me black out. Through my fading vision, I spotted a narrow crevice between two massive rocks not far away. Just beside its entrance, a small pale-green herb swayed gently in the mountain wind.
Appraisal activated on its own.
Stone Vein Herb
Grade: Low-Mid Medicinal Herb
Effect: Gradually repairs internal injuries and restores a small amount of Beast Qi.
If I pass out like this... I don't think I'll ever wake up again.
I didn't hesitate. I bit off the herb and swallowed it whole before using the last bit of strength I had left to drag my battered body toward the crevice. Every movement felt like my body was being torn apart, but somehow I managed to squeeze my shell into the narrow crack.
Only after I was completely hidden did the little strength I had left disappear.
Darkness swallowed me.
A dull ache spread through my body as consciousness slowly returned.
"...Ugh..."
My eyelids felt unbelievably heavy. Every breath still hurt, but it was nowhere near as unbearable as before. For a few moments, I simply lay there inside the narrow crevice.
My eyes snapped open.
"...I'm alive?"
A familiar blue screen appeared before me.
[Host unconscious duration: 7 days.]
[Stone Vein Herb successfully assimilated.]
[Internal injuries greatly reduced.]
[Beast Qi partially restored.]
I let out a slow breath. "...Seven days..."
I slowly stretched my neck before testing my limbs one by one. They still ached, and a sharp pain lingered around my abdomen whenever I moved too much, but at least I could move again.
"...Looks like that herb saved my life."
Only then did I finally look around the narrow crevice that had sheltered me for the past week.
I slowly crawled toward the entrance of the crevice and looked outside.
...
The mountainside stretched endlessly beneath me. Looking down, the ground wasn't even visible. In my current condition, trying to climb down was no different from courting death.
A tired sigh escaped me.
"...Seriously..."
"Only three Beast Cores... and I already had one foot in the grave. I need to be far more careful from now on."
Shaking my head, I turned back toward the crevice.
"...Huh?"
It didn't end where I had been resting. Instead, it stretched farther into the mountain.
"...There's still more?"
Crawling deeper inside, another Stone Vein Herb growing from a crack in the rock caught my eye.
"...Another one."
A little farther ahead, several more came into view. For a brief moment, temptation stirred within me, urging me to crawl deeper into the crevice. But reason quickly won. What if there's some powerful beast living farther inside? Looking down at my battered body, I let out a dry laugh.
In my current state... I'd just be delivering myself as its midday meal.
I shook my head.
"Better recover first."
"Once I'm back to full strength... then I'll see what's deeper inside."