Chapter 258
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Alpha Wyvern
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“Ughhh!”
After traveling along the Mana Rapids for a total of two days, they finally arrived at their destination.
The moment they stepped out, Eleanor and the others started dry-heaving, including her.
Jun felt the same queasiness in his stomach.
Thanks to his [Unyielding Will], he managed to avoid the worst of it.
“Urgh……”
Mana Rapids enabled instantaneous long-distance travel.
Accompanied by severe motion sickness.
Riding the currents created by mana made their entire bodies churn with magical energy.
That was why it had taken two days.
Even one ride turned their stomachs inside out, and two left them dry-heaving like this.
A third would likely knock them out cold.
“But it was fast, right?”
“I seriously want to kill you right now……”
Eleanor's piercing glare stabbed at him after she finished retching on an empty stomach.
Jun calmly accepted it.
Unlike Jun, Aiden, and Maya, Eleanor got nothing out of this ordeal except experience.
Guess I’ll snag her an expensive artifact later……
This place happened to have materials that the artifact master Shylock would love. Bringing them back should net a pretty decent piece.
I’ll make it a surprise.
First things first: confirm their position.
“Alright…… See that? The black dot.”
“It’s too hazy. I can’t see shit.”
“That’s because you’ve got your eyes covered with that cloth, Eleanor……”
“Oh, right. Yeah, I see it. Isn’t that the Layer Terrace?”
“Yep. We crossed over ten mountains in just two days.”
The Mana Rapids' mobility was outstanding.
“If only it didn’t come with this godawful nausea.”
Eleanor let out a light sigh and scanned the surroundings with her [Bright Eyes].
“I sense an incredibly powerful aura. That’s gotta be the alpha wyvern the captain mentioned, right?”
“Yeah. Stay sharp. It could strike anytime.”
This was now its territory.
The moment they stepped out, they had to assume its claws could slash down at any second.
“The nest…… Up there, as expected.”
A steep hillside. Rocks everywhere, covered in vicious claw marks.
Territorial markings of the alpha wyvern.
“Let’s climb.”
They stayed vigilant in all directions, especially watching the skies.
Jun gathered as much intel as possible from the landscape.
Wyverns basically wield elemental powers. And the alpha wyvern’s element resets with each season.
When facing wyverns, spotting ambushes and bracing for breath attacks was key, but identifying its element was crucial too.
There it is.
Soon, signs of its hunt appeared: a skeletal animal carcass with scraps of hide and flesh clinging to the bones.
Singed marks? Fire attribute?
But the burns looked irregular somehow.
At the same time, Jun felt the hairs on his neck stand up.
“Heads down!”
[Shield]
[Iron Rampart]
Without time to respond, his comrades ducked as Jun conjured [Shield] over their heads, then raised a massive wall from the direction they’d come.
Next, he enveloped both barriers in water-affinity mana using [Mana Absorption].
And then—
Kwarrrrrrung—!!!
Powerful sparks explode everywhere!
A massive bolt of lightning crashed down, yellow sparks erupting in all directions, rattling their eardrums.
But thanks to Jun’s preparations, the brilliant yellow lightning fizzled out harmlessly against the mana-absorbing barriers.
As the first assault ended, Eleanor whirled around and chanted a holy spell.
[Pierce of Light]
A summoned golden spear of holy light shot toward the attacker.
The alpha wyvern.
A murky-skinned beast silently swooped from above, dodging the golden spear with ease.
For something with a body massive enough to blot out the group in shadow, its movements were astonishingly agile.
“Of all things, lightning attribute.”
Its breath was tricky to block without Jun’s help, and it was faster than regular specimens.
It had lower defenses as a trade-off, but wyverns were tough precisely because they ruled the skies.
Defense wasn’t the issue.
They just had to evade ranged attacks like that one.
“It’s coming again!”
Yellow sparks flickered around its massive maw once more.
Jun threw up barriers again to block it.
Whoosh—!
With a thunderous flap of wings, the beast fled far into the distance.
“Huh……?”
Eleanor, mid-chant for another spear, wore a dumbfounded look.
It was understandable. Monsters fleeing from humans weren’t a common sight.
“Cunning bastard. It retreated without hesitation once the ambush failed.”
Of course, a monster’s murderous intent toward humans was nothing to ignore, so it would return.
As a high-tier monster from layer 7, its patience would be formidable.
“Tch. This is gonna be a pain.”
It would probably come back leading other wyverns.
Wonder how many it’ll bring.
A carpet bombing was incoming.
The timing would be when the group was most fatigued.
“It really sneaks up without a sound.”
The terrain was all sheer cliffs.
Their steps were cautious, nerves on edge more than usual.
Which means we’ll tire out faster.
Similar yet different from the rocky wind-swept plains.
Now they had to scale this sheer mountain while wary of ambushes from the sky kings.
Conversation naturally dwindled; faces hardened.
Aiden and Maya knew they weren’t much help right now.
So they constantly checked surroundings, glancing skyward every few seconds.
“Not that it helps to say it, but don’t overexert. It’ll come down to the ground if pushed.”
If they countered properly, it would realize breaths were useless and land.
That’s when Aiden and Maya could shine.
“We’ll do our best.”
“Understood.”
The silent march resumed.
Soon, the alpha wyvern appeared again.
Eleanor, chewing her meal, grumbled irritably.
“Even outer wolves don’t bother you while eating.”
Eating casually in this environment was tough, so she munched on meat powder while walking.
Kieeeek—!
Three wyverns breathed from above.
They saw the group not as prey, but clear enemies.
The alpha wyvern’s doing.
Well, this is its turf. Other wyverns being around isn’t weird.
What bugged him was no alpha among these three.
Truly sly one.
Send fodder to wear them down, then finish personally. Clear intent.
“Eleanor.”
“Got it.”
She summoned another golden spear.
The wyverns sensed danger and tried to evade, but Jun’s magic was faster.
[Detecting Target]
[Mana Guidance]
[Target Lock]
Aerial monsters called for hit-assist spells first.
[Lightning Whip]
Lightning-fast cast speed + Multi-cast
He swung the lightning whip he’d favored in the past.
Why skip high-circle spells for lower-power low-circle ones?
Lightning-quick cast speed.
Chzzzzzzzzzzt—!!
And the dreamlike multi-cast it enabled.
“Ahh, that’s the stuff.”
Just like that video from the user who hid the ‘Dreamlike’ route even after getting it—to troll the community forums, deleting posts and vanishing.
Low-circle spells fired in droves.
Enemies so far had ways to block low-circles or better options existed.
But wyverns were different.
Low defense due to high mobility.
Quantity over quality.
Sure enough, dozens of lightning whips shredded one wyvern, electrocuting it mid-fall. Eleanor’s golden spear finished it.
“Hot damn! Whew!”
Some pent-up stress released, Eleanor snorted in satisfaction.
“Phew…… How many more waves like that?”
Aiden sighed in relief after confirming safety.
“At least until we get near there.”
A cloud-shrouded peak.
About two more days of climbing.
“This’ll be…… quite the trek.”
The alpha would keep summoning its minions for ambushes, draining their strength.
But not the worst case.
“Still better than back then.”
Dark, damp tunnels without sunlight for over a month.
That hell had forged their mental resilience.
Tough as it would be,
it didn’t feel hopeless like before.
Aiden and Maya still fretted over the rear somewhat, but not as bad as the wind-swept plains.
Growth, plus time healing wounds.
Aiden had gained confidence controlling the ominous mana of the first emperor.
Maya’s mana reserves swelled from recent elixirs.
If we keep overcoming crises like this and growing, we can aim higher.
He and Cloi were nurturing a long-term plan with care.
Likely wrapping up by season’s end at latest. Then……
Our party will toughen up another level.
Time passed; wyvern ambushes persisted.
Sometimes silent dives with claws to snatch them, other times toppling rocks for landslides, or dropping boulders from above.
Yet the group calmly neared the summit.
Jun watched wyverns plummet with pitiful shrieks.
Five this time, descending after breaths failed, only to fall to Aiden and Maya’s combo.
“Tch.”
Their magic stones were high-quality, but most tumbled into the abyss, unrecoverable.
In-game, I’d use a ranged item-pickup artifact.
Money wasn’t an issue now anyway.
Anyway.
Guess it’s finally showing itself.
Storm clouds in the distance flashed with thunder.
The alpha wyvern was surely gathering power within.
The end of this journey was near.