"Okay." Hol dropped his things and sat down.

He really was tired. The Needle-Spined Rodents' hides were so tough his arms ached from smashing.

Axina frowned. "What are we doing with all these tails—carry them forever?"

Each tail was half a meter long, the base as thick as a wrist, and weighed at least five jin (about two and a half kilos). Awkward to haul.

But leaving them wasn't an option.

"If we don't bring them, how do we get points?" Luo Wei lifted a tail. "Either dry them with a fire spell or inscribe a few Weight-Reduction Runes. Throwing them away isn't on the table."

Runes were easy for her—she could carve as many as needed.

Axina had no wish to waste mana on "that stuff." "We could just keep the tips."

"Tail tips alone aren't worth much," Hol objected. "Their tails are prime bone whip stock. A whole tail sells for twenty silver coins."

"Twenty silver coins!" Jack gasped. "I've got two—so forty silver coins?"

Sick. Absolutely sick—lugging filthy, stinking things just for a handful of coins!

A vein throbbed at Axina's temple. "Fine. However much they're worth, I'll pay you. Now throw them away, all right?"

"Since Axina says so," Luo Wei looked at Hol and Jack, "go with her plan. Too much cargo hurts combat."

Axina shot her an annoyed glare. So she understood—why not say it earlier?

Luo Wei drew her dagger and unhurriedly sliced off the tail tips.

Wasn't she the aloof loner? Look at her—shouldering team burdens, cutting weight while keeping earnings.

They rested on the riverside slope a little over ten minutes. Once stamina returned, they stood to move on.

Luo Wei shut her eyes, entering her mental space. The map's light points still flickered. "Two kilometers north—several medium magic beasts."

They'd warmed up on small ones; time to loosen joints on something larger.

A medium beast was worth twenty points—equal to twenty small ones.

They crossed the river slope and headed north into the forest.

"Grrk—skraa—"

A piercing cry ripped across the canopy—like a hammer caving bone and a crow shredding its throat. Vertigo, earache, nausea hit all at once.

"Uugh—" Gladys, extra sensitive to sound, vomited.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Cover your ears!" Luo Wei clamped her tragus and looked up.

Light flecked through leaves as a huge black shadow skimmed the treetops, emitting a call even harsher than a crow's while banking behind them.

"Saw-Beaked Vulture," Hol said, swallowing bile. "Blood stink from the rodents probably drew it."

Compared with other large magic beasts, its size was on the small side.

Wingspan only three meters; rank low-level. Still, the tournament classed it as a large beast because its voice was brutally destructive.

Magic beasts differed from ordinary animals: they held mana; higher ranks held more, and many had special talents humans lacked.

The Saw-Beaked Vulture's talent was its voice—rupturing eardrums, inducing vertigo, vomiting, loss of direction—then easy capture.

Gladys wiped her mouth, face pale. "Do we… kill it?"

"How?" Axina groaned, still covering her ears. "We can't stand the sound at this distance. You want to sprint to your death?"

Gladys gagged again, eyes watery but resolute. "Fifty… points."

One large beast meant fifty points.

Axina: "If you want to kill it, go. I'm not."

The vulture had already flown farther off; the screech weakened. They gradually lowered their hands.

"Let's go. Kill more small beasts—we'll make the points back." Axina took a few steps forward.

No footsteps behind. She turned; except for Jack's one tentative stride, no one had moved.

She laughed in exasperation. "You seriously want to hunt the Saw-Beaked Vulture? Get some self-awareness. It's low-level, sure, but hits harder than some medium beasts. They didn't put it here for us to kill."

Obviously a showcase for the Divine College—those students were all dual-element mages; only they had the strength. Built for their highlight moment.

Luo Wei stared after the vanished vulture, ears auto-muting Axina's ongoing blah-blah.

Killing it wasn't impossible. Judging by their bodily reactions, its sound resembled infrasound.

Infrasound could be isolated by a vacuum barrier—or canceled with an opposite-phase, same-frequency wave.

If neither—there was the simplest brute-force method: make it mute.

If it couldn't emit it, problem solved.

First they had to confirm the emission site—was it the throat?

Many creatures produced infrasound by varied means: butterflies by wing vibration; elephants by stamping or low rumble; crocodiles by vibrating their backs at the water surface; giraffes via chest, lungs, diaphragm.

The vulture could produce it in flight—likely wing vibration, vocalization, or abdominal resonance. Those could be narrowed down.

For example: if it produced infrasound without calling or wing movement, then it was abdominal.

Luo Wei pivoted. "Let's go back and watch."

"Knew it," Hol grinned. "I want to see how strong it really is."

Gladys gripped her sword, eager. "Luo Wei brave. We all brave. Kill—kill it!"

Jack, nervous but remembering his vow, chimed in. "Okay. Kill it—get those fifty points!"

Axina stared. "Are you all insane?"

Gladys gave her a disdainful look. "Axina—not brave."

Heat flashed up Axina's spine. "Idiot. I'm weighing risks. Unlike you, I don't just charge."

"Axina," Luo Wei said, eyes narrowing dangerously, "mind your mouth. Don't forget—this is the arena."

Overhead, surveillance bees kept circling—steady buzzing, lenses on every face.

Axina froze. Right. Constant audience.

Her image!

Heart bleeding, she still had to apologize—to the wolf girl she least liked. "Sorry, Gladys. I got a little emotional. I was too worried about everyone's safety. Will you forgive me?"

Gladys looked at her oddly, seemed to think of something, then nodded hard. "Forgive you, Axina. Let's go kill the Saw-Beaked Vulture together!"

Axina: …

She cursed Gladys a hundred times inside.

"Good. I'm glad you'll forgive me," she said at last with a forced smile.

Luo Wei beamed. "That's better. Unity. Let's earn points."

Jaw tight, Axina fell in with the four.

Outside the arena, spectator stands.

"Youngsters—too impatient. They think a Saw-Beaked Vulture is easy? Careful they all get wiped," said the Pengjato Academy instructor, shaking his head, schadenfreude plain.

"Competition just started and they're already eyeing large beasts. Confidence is fine; overconfidence isn't," remarked the Taslonte Noble Magic Academy instructor.

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