Chapter 10

“Hoo-ah-“ The view from the edge of the sheer cliff was breathtaking. “This is no joke. It takes your breath away.” The altitude was so high it made her ears pop. Whoosh- Her hair fluttered in the strong wind. Someone with a fear of heights wouldn’t even dare to look down, and might already be crying and soiling themselves. “If you fall, they won’t even find your body.” Erica looked ahead. The view was vast. All of Lyzis could be seen at a glance. It was a majestic sight. Gazing at the grand spectacle of nature, she wanted to just stay still and watch the sun rise and set. You couldn’t see a view like this anywhere else. ‘In ancient times, was this one giant connected mountain range?’ The terrain was that unique. The cliffs jutting up sparsely like spires were bizarre. Though their shapes varied, the dizzying height was enough to give you goosebumps. Perhaps the Creator God had chopped up a massive mountain range out of boredom. Come to think of it, Erica liked the unique topography of Lyzis. If there was one thing she disliked, it was- The smell of Demonic Beasts. “Keeeeek-!!!” Whoosh- A wyvern quickly swooped past overhead. “Shit, I almost lost my head.” Her scalp felt chilly. She had nearly departed for the next world while absentmindedly admiring the scenery. Erica hurriedly pulled the bow off her back. She tugged the hem of her top to use as a cloth and wiped the bow a few times. Though her smooth abs were exposed as her clothes stretched, there was no one around to see. Not that Erica would have cared anyway. After finishing the habitual bow maintenance, she securely fastened the quiver to her back and prepared to run. ‘Thirty arrows.’ Wyvern requests were normally settled as a daily wage. There was no bonus per wyvern, but Erica set a goal for herself. Use all thirty arrows for precise one-shot, one-kill! ‘If I miss even one, I’ll skip dinner tonight.’ She made the harshest pledge to herself. That’s what made it thrilling! Erica scanned the sky with her eyes. Numerous wyverns were flapping their wings and flying about. ‘There!’ Target spotted ahead. Ta-da-dat- Erica ran swiftly. She took a running start and leapt high from the edge of the cliff. Whoosh- She flew through the sky. Thud! She landed on the wyvern’s back. “Grrk? Keeeek-!” Wheeee- The wyvern she mounted sliced through the wind as it flew through the air. Wobble wobble, the wyvern flew roughly, trying to shake off whatever had latched onto its back. Then suddenly, it plummeted at a rapid speed! “Hnngh-!” The fierce wind made it hard to breathe. As they fell rapidly, about to crash into the ground, Erica wrapped a rope around the wyvern’s neck and yanked. Changing direction upwards, they soared back into the sky. “…Yee-haw!” Exhilarating. The wind was whipping against her cheeks! She squinted her eyes. The wind roared in her ears. Only the flapping of the wyvern’s wings could be heard clearly. Her long ponytail streamed behind her like a tail. Before she knew it, they had reached a dizzying height. Being up in the sky made her feel dizzy, every nerve tingling with excitement. The view was on a whole different level compared to looking from the cliff. She could see people on the ground, tiny as dots. An ordinary person couldn’t handle this. “What…? Ride a wyvern and do what?” Even among the Lyzis Knights, half couldn’t do it, and among high-ranking mercenaries, no one would risk their life to try. If you fall, you die instantly. Not just die - your body would never be found. That’s how high up it was. Insanely high, enough to make your ears hurt from the pressure. Once they reached a certain altitude, the wyvern began to fly slowly. Flap flap, flap flap. They were among the flock in the sky. “Kweek, grrrk.” Wyverns had low intelligence. So much so that it quickly forgot something was riding on its back. ‘I picked a nice, simple one.’ In the middle of the widely spread wyvern flock in the sky. All around, wyverns flapped their bony wings, flying swiftly. Kiririk, kik, keeek, their eerie cries could be heard. Her ears were already numb from the high altitude, so the Demonic Beasts’ sounds weren’t too bothersome. “Phew…” Erica raised her bow. She nocked an arrow and aimed at the empty air. She took a deep breath. Slowly, she drew the bowstring. Even after it was taut, she held her breath for a long while. The wyvern flew rapidly without rest. Ordinary dynamic vision couldn’t keep up. But the trained Erica could do it. Twang! As soon as she released the bowstring, the arrow struck a distant wyvern’s neck. Thunk! “Keeeeeek-!!!” The sound of the wyvern plummeting could be heard, and she immediately aimed at the next target. Whoosh. Thunk! “Keeeek-!!!” Whoosh. Thunk! “Kik!! Guek!” She hit two more in succession. Nice. Her condition seemed pretty good today. She didn’t even glance at the wyvern corpses falling limply from the sky. Instead, she nocked another arrow and aimed. But soon. “…” She lowered the bow again. The wyvern she was riding was a living Demonic Beast. It didn’t move according to Erica’s will. Once it left her field of vision, it wasn’t easy to get the timing right. Woong- Woong- She circled aimlessly in the sky several times. As she was surveying the situation again- “…?” In the distance, she spotted an unusually large wyvern. She looked up. It was even higher in the sky than Erica. “What’s that? The king?” It was twice the size of the other wyverns. The color was oddly different, too. The king of wyverns? King Wyvern? Damn, it must be a King Wyvern! Though no such scientific name existed, Erica, who had arbitrarily named it, began to target the King Wyvern. ‘Come on! Get a little closer!’ If only it would come a bit nearer! She slowly drew her bowstring. ‘…This won’t work.’ The distance was still too great. But she couldn’t let it go. Fwip-! “Ack, damn it!” She missed. Shooting the arrow into empty air by a hair’s breadth, she felt frustrated. She had pledged to herself to skip dinner if she wasted even one arrow, but now that didn’t matter at all. ‘I’m going to catch that thing. I’ll catch it no matter what!’ As if her inner thoughts had reached it. The wyvern she was riding began to move closer in that direction. Soon, it positioned itself below the King Wyvern. “Kweek- grrrr.” Though still quite far, it was closer than before. She slowly drew her bowstring upwards. The biting wind stung her skin terribly. But Erica’s grim expression was even more frightening. ‘Will it pierce its belly?’ Wyverns had thick skin. The neck was relatively thinner, which is why Erica usually aimed for the neck. She had never targeted the belly from below like this before. ‘What if the arrow doesn’t stick in the belly?’ What if it deflects the arrow? Will it run away? Should I wait a bit longer and aim for the neck? Under the shadow of the massive wyvern. As Erica was briefly pondering- Crunch-! “Keeeeeek-!!” Splat-! Suddenly, blood sprayed. A red rain showered down from the sky, filling her vision. “…?” The King Wyvern let out a shriek that could tear one’s eardrums. “Keeeeeek-!!” Crunch!! Splat-! Red blood sprayed like a fountain once more. Droplets of the Demonic Beast’s blood splattered on Erica’s face below. “Kik, eek- keeeek…” Flutter. The King Wyvern fell limply. It plummeted towards the ground. A sword was embedded in its crown, from which red blood sprayed. ‘…A sword?’ As Erica stared blankly at the sight- Thud-! Suddenly, someone leapt onto Erica’s wyvern. From behind. She startled. “…?!” Erica whipped her head around. A man who had jumped on, embracing her as if to protect her. “…?” “Hello.”