Aghhh!!

Another harrowing scream echoed louder than before, causing the two young men to halt their conversation and hastily leave the area.

The area around Chang Long was clouded in dust as she writhed in agony, feeling something sharp slowly piercing through her skin. Kitsune tried to help his master but could only fend off the attacking beast, drawn by Chang Long's screams.

"My back, my back!"

Chang Long cried out. Kitsune and Davy-chan noticed something unusual on her back — something was emerging...

'What's that!'

Davy-chan exclaimed in shock, seeing an odd sprout protruding from Chang Long's back.

The strange spout continued to grow out, but it halted after extending about 1 foot on each side. The blood-soaked wings began to dry, their feathery appendages weakly fluttering up and down.

"What's on my back, Kitsune!"

Chang Long managed to sit up, asking in a weary voice.

"Wings, Master."

Kitsune replied, still stunned by the sight.

"The integration process of the raptor wings is complete. Player Chang Long can now fly without using mana as when using other flying devices,"

the system announced right after Kitsune responded.

"I had no idea the integration process would be this painful..."

Chang Long muttered softly, catching her breath. She washed her dusty face with water from her water bottle; her wings were still hurting and not very mobile. After waiting a bit, she decided to attempt flying with her new wings.

'Will these small wings be enough to fly?'

Davy-chan looked skeptically at the blackish gray downy fledgling wings fluttering slightly on Chang Long's back.

"It's indeed like the wings of a fledgling,"

Kitsune agreed.

"Why wouldn't they be enough? I'll try flying right now,"

Chang Long declared, walking to a tall tree, and climbing to the top.

"The sacred beast Flame Fox Kitsune has reached level 45 and threshold for evolution stage 2. Would the player like to commence the evolution now?"

Before Chang Long could leap, the system issued a reminder. She had heard her level-up and Kitsune's evolution notifications several times before but had not felt like responding, allowing the system to repeat its alerts.

"What bad timing for a notification,"

Chang Long grumbled as she climbed down, agreeing to the evolution only after making sure Kitsune was at a safe distance.

Kitsune returned to his true form for the evolution, exhaling a big fireball that enveloped him, transforming him into a fireball. The fire encased his figure, lifting him about a meter off the ground. Davy-chan watched the evolution process with awe, while Chang Long sought refuge at a distance.

The Evolution Process was underway, the fiery orb that enveloped Kitsune expanded rapidly. The flames swirled around Kitsune like fierce lava currents before exploding massively. Fortunately, the area was open enough to prevent the fireball from igniting nearby trees. They did not need to flee from the fire after the evolution again.

"The evolution process is complete. The divine beast Flame Fox Kitsune has acquired the Heavenly Flame skill and the Silent Movement skill,"

the system announced. Kitsune, in his evolved form, touched the ground and immediately ran to Chang Long.

After the evolution, Kitsune appeared larger and slimmer, nearly the size of a large calf. His orange-golden fur became longer and shinier. His mature facial appearance made Chang Long wonder if evolution was akin to aging.

Chang Long and her companions paused for lunch before she attempted her first flight. After allowing some time to pass, she felt somewhat scared. So, she needed some time to gather her courage, Davy-chan and Kitsune realized her fear but decided not to voice their thoughts.

'It's showtime, then,'

Davy-chan teased when Chang Long, after finishing her meal, still hesitated to fly.

"I know, okay!"

Chang Long, still a bit peeved, climbed the same tree but not too high, fearing a painful fall.

Chang Long tried flapping her wings to ensure they could move well, though she doubted they had the strength to lift her. Taking a deep breath, she jumped.

'Wait,'

Davy-chan interrupted, causing Chang Long to lose her focus and almost fall.

"What now?!"

Chang Long shouted angrily at Davy-chan, who floated beside her. She nearly fell face-first, but managed to grasp a branch, the prospect of falling from such a height was terrifying even with Kitsune below ready to catch her. Who would want to risk falling from such heights.

'Weren't you higher up last time?'

Davy-chan inquired with false innocence. Chang Long, after a moment of silence, climbed up until she was nearly at the tree's top. The view of the entire forest floor of Royal Cliff unfolded beneath her. Chang Long steadied herself once more before leaping, hoping the extra height would give her more time to flap her wings.

"Ahh! Why am I plummeting like this? Flap harder, stupid wings,"

Chang Long screamed as she accelerated toward the ground, regretting giving in to Davy-chan's taunt. At such a height, a fall could be fatal.

Chang Long's hope seemed dim as her small wings exhaustedly ceased flapping, nearly causing her to faint. Yet, before she hit the ground, a loud hawk's cry echoed, as large talons lifted her high into the air once again.

Chang Long was stunned silence, gazing up at the enormous hawk that had secured her firmly with its talons, its feathers matching the color of her wings. The creature was massive, about six meters from head to tail, with a wingspan nearly fifteen meters wide, overwhelming Chang Long with the realization of her impending fate.

The hawk, according to the system announcement, was a sky hawk beast king. It was bringingt Chang Long to its nest on the top of the cliff, where only beast kings resided. Chang Long watched the vast sky, recalling the feeling she once felt when she just entered the game. She spread her arms gladly, ready to fly along with the sky hawk, forgetting all her fear of getting eaten by the beast.

The sky hawk beast king carried Chang Long higher into the sky, eventually reaching a large, leafless tree on the Royal Cliff. There, a giant nest housed another adult sky hawk and five squawking chicks. The sky hawk beast king gently dropped Chang Long among the hungry shape-beak chicks awaiting her.

Thump!

"Ouch, that really hurts,"

Chang Long complained as she stood, surveying the nest. The hawk family eyed her intently, while Davy-chan, who could only stay in the fifty-meter radius from Chang Long, felt anxious for her.

'Missy, you're going to get eaten for sure,'

Davy-chan whispered overly quietly.

'Where's Kitsune? Davy-chan...'

Chang Long looked around the nest but could not find her loyal pet, growing worried.

'Don't know. I automatically got dragged after you when the distance got too great. As for your little fox, he would have to run after you with his own legs.'

Davy-chan speculated. Suddenly, the unexpected happened: the mother hawk approached Chang Long, who scrambled to the edge of the nest.

"Kwak! (So you think you could run away from mama, huh!)"

The mother hawk called out.

"Wait... am I hearing things, or did that bird just speak my language?"

Chang Long was shocked to understand the hawk's speech.

"Kwak, kwak? (Don't you dare sneak out of the nest again. Baby, you can't fly well yet, you know?)"

The mother hawk screeched again, and this time Chang Long was certain she was not imagining things; she truly heard the bird speaking human language. Even more astonishingly, it seemed to address Chang Long as its own offspring.

Chang Long nodded to the mother hawk watching her intently. Acknowledging the gesture, the bird affectionately tapped Chang Long's head with its wing before attending to its other chicks. The one caressed found herself lying sprawled on the nest floor, mouth smeared with blood.

'Missy, that thing won't eat you right? Or is it planning to beat you up first?'

Davy-chan inquired, puzzled by the mother hawk's screech.

'No, it sees me as one of its chicks,'

Chang Long responded, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth.

'How do you know that?!'

Davy-chan asked, astounded.

'I understand its language. But why, I have no idea,'

Chang Long replied, pondering why she could comprehend the sky hawk beast king.

'But when your little pet was in its fox form, you understood it, didn't you?'

Davy-chan pointed out, recalling Chang Long's communication with Kitsune.

'Didn't you also talk to Kitsune?'

Chang Long looked at Davy-chan curiously, remembering their interactions.

'That was when your little fox was human. In his fox form, I could only hear his barking,'

Davy-chan explained, furrowing his brows.

'Oh, I thought you were so capable, being a Prate King and all. You can't even understand animal language,'

Chang Long teased, making Davy-chan pout and distance himself, prompting her laughter.

"Hmm? Animal language, right! I have the animal language skill, that's why I understood the mother hawk,"

Chang Long remembered she has a special skill: Animal Language. That was why she could converse with Kitsune in his flame fox form. She did not think that the skill also applied to other non-pet beasts.

Resting in the nest, waiting for the parent hawks to be distracted, Chang Long watched the father hawk leave to hunt beasts for the chicks. She noticed a clear orb, containing white fog in the middle of its forehead, possibly another eye of element, which Davy-chan agreed might be true.

While the mother hawk tended to her noisy chicks, Chang Long attempted to escape but was thwarted every time, sending her tumbling from the nest edge, which was three meters high by the mother hawk's gentle wing slaps. Beaten and bruised, she abandoned her escape plans, much to Davy-chan's amusement, who offered no aid.

As the sun hung low in the sky, the father hawk returned to the nest with a large cliff deer beast, the nest erupted in joy, except for Chang Long who was sweating profusely. Then, she had to feign excitement to appease the mother hawk.

"What should I do? The meat is raw!"

Chang Long grimaced as the father hawk dropped the prey into the nest, the mother hawk quickly tore it to pieces to feed her voracious chicks. Davy-chan laughed on, oblivious to Chang Long's distress.

'Won't you help me?'

Chang Long chided Davy-chan, who laughed heartily as the mother hawk pushed a bloody morsel toward her.

'How could I possibly help with... Pff! Ha ha ha ha,'

Davy-chan burst into uncontrollable laughter upon witnessing the mother hawk diligently trying to feed Chang Long, who desperately resisted, her face smeared with deer blood.

"Tch!"

Chang Long grabbed the meat the mother hawk was pushing towards her and pretended to enjoy it. Without her backpack, which she left with Kitsune, she had no choice but to save the meat for later, unable to stomach eating them raw.

After enduring the grisly dinner, the sky hawk family settled into sleep, lulled by the chirping birds and cool breezes. Chang Long feigned sleep in the mother hawk's warm embrace, then sneaked off to the nest's edge to grill the stashed venison.

"Flaming Burst..."

Chang Long invoked, lifting her Sovereign Sword's blade to the sky. A golden flame burst from the sword's eye of fire. She quickly roasted the venison over the gentle flames, fortunate that the orb's power was waning, so the family of hawks merely stirred slightly in their sleep.

The meat smelled very nice, forcing Chang Long to eat quickly, wary of waking the family. However, she faced another problem: the absence of water, she had to endure a thirsty night while plotting her escape.

Kwakkk!!

The mother hawk's piercing cry woke Chang Long. All the young hawks were perched at the nest's edge, and she was pushed to stand beside them, utterly bewildered.

"Kwak (Today, all of you must fly),"

the mother hawk commanded determinedly. All chicks were seemingly as determined as their mother. Except for Chang Long who was still unable to grasp the situation.

The mother hawk pointed her wing forward. The chicks, brimming with resolve, leapt from the nest, spreading their wings, and flying away, despite the short distance. Chang Long was inspired by them, regardless of her previously disastrous attempt. Chang Long gathered her courage and jumped after her siblings. Her small wings flapped furiously, granting her about 30 seconds of joyous flight before she plummeted. She screamed as she fell, which called for the mother hawk to hurriedly follow to scoop her up.

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