Chapter 56: Each One’s Solution #2

Chapter 56: Each One’s Solution #2

In front of the west gate of Garden settlement.

I came to the mound of earth that Maria had told me about.

‘Is it here?’

Beneath this lies the corpse of a Nitro Bird that died not long ago.

“I’m sorry to disturb your rest. Please lend me your strength for a moment.”

I closed my eyes and stroked the grave.

Pitch-black magic seeped into the grave, and after a moment.

Thump-

Pushing aside the mound of earth, a half-rotted corpse raised its body.

Drip, drip.

Rotten flesh fell off the bones on its own.

The jumbled bones began to assemble themselves like parts of a plastic model.

-Kikikik.

The revived skeleton Nitro Bird stretched its neck and looked up at the sky.

It looked like a dinosaur model that might be displayed in a natural history museum, but the difference is that this one actually moves.

In other words, it can reproduce the Nitro Bird’s incredible running speed.

“Please take care of me.”

As I patted its head, the skeleton Nitro Bird shivered as if pleased.

I climbed onto its back.

There was no saddle, and it wasn’t a beast modified for humans to ride, so the ride wasn’t very comfortable.

‘I didn’t anticipate this problem.’

My butt hurts especially.

The hard bones poked my small backside in various places, causing discomfort.

‘Well, I can’t help it.’

I’m not in a position to complain right now.

What I expect from this creature isn’t a comfortable ride, but speed.

“Let’s go.”

I kicked the skeleton Nitro Bird’s flank with my foot.

After a few stomps, the creature began to run forward.

Tadadak.

I almost fell off the back due to the sudden speed.

The scenery before my eyes changed relentlessly, as if I were in a supercar.

‘Was it this fast?’

I barely managed to lean forward and held onto the Nitro Bird tightly.

Even with the power of the Holy Reliquary activated, I could barely control it.

It took over six hours to get here, but it took less than thirty minutes to return on the Nitro Bird.

“Senior!”

I saw Flora in the distance. I waved my hand with all my might.

“Operation commence!”

As if understanding my shout, Flora drew a large circle above her head.

With Flora’s gesture, the skeleton monsters dispersed to their positions in perfect order.

A little later.

Doggy No. 1 ran over with a green flag in its mouth.

It was a signal that a Nitro Bird had been spotted.

The location was to the north.

“Let’s begin.”

Riding the skeleton Nitro Bird, I ran in the direction Doggy No. 1 had come from.

Tadak, tadak.

The skeleton Nitro Bird doesn’t get tired.

Its heart and lungs had long since rotted away; the only fuel that makes it run is my magic.

It doesn’t falter over rough terrain with protruding rocks or steep hills.

“There they are.”

I climbed onto the hill and looked down at the flat plains of the wilderness.

I saw the Nitro Birds in the distance.

Not just one, but two.

Judging by the difference in their size, they might be a mating pair.

Snap.

As I waved the flag, the skeleton monsters began to herd the Nitro Birds towards me.

Of course, with the skeleton monsters’ sluggish speed, they couldn’t even chase the Nitro Birds’ tails.

The Nitro Birds showed no signs of alarm and fled leisurely, as if on a stroll.

“Run! Go catch your friends.”

At my shout, the skeleton Nitro Bird kicked up a dust cloud and descended the hill.

They still hadn’t noticed me.

Even as we descended the hill.

Lucky. They still haven’t noticed.

Just a little more, just a little more…

And now.

One of the Nitro Birds, which had been running lightly, glanced back at me.

-Kyarek.

Seeing me charging through the wind, the Nitro Bird was startled.

It leaped in place and began to sprint at a speed far beyond anything before.

The real race had begun.

‘But you guys are already too late.’

No matter how fast their legs are, their brains are still limited by their avian nature.

They allowed me to get too close.

Hwada-dak-

Against the backdrop of the wilderness, two birds and one dead bird ran side by side.

I had closed in on them by taking advantage of their complacency, but the distance no longer narrowed.

‘As expected, I can’t catch up to the speed of a living bird.’

Even though the skeleton Nitro Bird is fast among monsters, it can’t match its speed in life.

I’m barely keeping up by forcing it to its limits.

Crack, crack. CRACK-

The sound of the skeleton Nitro Bird’s bones grinding could be heard as it ran without regard for its own body.

Meanwhile, the Nitro Birds ahead still looked energetic.

-Kyarik!

-Kyar-kyar.

The Nitro Birds looked back at me and bobbed their beaks.

It was as if they were mocking me.

They had felt a sense of crisis for the first time since being released into the wilderness, but now they seemed relieved.

They probably figured out the situation. That I couldn’t catch up to them.

‘Yeah. I knew I couldn’t catch up.’

I raised my palm towards the Nitro Birds, which were slowly getting further away.

‘I never expected to catch up anyway. Getting this close was all I needed.’

The only means to overcome the unbridgeable gap.

“Telekinesis.”

Formless magic emanated from my palm.

With speed incomparable to the Nitro Birds’ running, the magic shot out in an instant.

-Kyaak, Kyarek!?

The running Nitro Bird was lifted into the air as if grabbed by an invisible hand.

The other Nitro Bird belatedly realized the anomaly, but its fate was the same.

-Keruk⋯.

The Nitro Birds flapped their wings in vain in the air.

I’m sorry, but the outcome was decided from the start.

Once I allowed them to be within telekinesis range, I could already see this result.

Capture complete.

***

As Estel easily captured two Nitro Birds.

Mitchell and Wagner were still struggling.

Even with two people, brilliant ideas don’t come easily.

However, there was one clear difference compared to being alone.

They no longer gave up easily.

Even in a situation where they would have given up alone, when together, they somehow felt motivated.

And if their spirits aren’t broken, they will eventually reach their destination, no matter how much they wander.

“⋯Bear.”

“What is it?”

“Perhaps the premise was wrong from the start?”

Mitchell muttered, her eyes filled with exhaustion.

In moments of extreme hardship, when the mind is completely blank.

Brilliant ideas often emerge when the brain is pushed to its limits.

“This exam was designed so that we couldn’t catch the Nitro Birds by chasing them from the start.”

“Oh?”

Wagner also seemed to have a flash of inspiration upon hearing Mitchell’s words, and straightened his back.

“We have to think in reverse. Instead of chasing the Nitro Birds, we need to lure them to come to us…”

“Yes, yes! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

As the path became clear, their tired bodies were re-energized.

Mitchell and Wagner put their heads together to devise a trap to lure the Nitro Birds.

Food that birds like, trap design, placement location…

They clumsily but earnestly sought their own answers.

“If it were the kid, she would have made traps quickly.”

“She certainly would have. I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

“Me neither. But there’s no use regretting it. We just have to do our best with what we have.”

After making the traps, they entered a period of uncertain waiting.

While waiting, Mitchell’s head drooped, and she eventually leaned on Wagner’s shoulder to rest her eyes.

‘She must be very tired.’

Wagner didn’t wake Mitchell.

Strangely, he felt at peace, as if it had always been this way.

Wagner gazed at Mitchell’s sleeping face.

He harbored no romantic feelings.

He knew well that she was too good for him.

If he harbored expectations, the resulting hurt would be just as great.

He was content with just occasionally lending her his shoulder and adventuring together.

“Ah… What time is it, Bear?”

Mitchell, finally awake, rubbed her sleepy eyes.

“Aish, why didn’t you wake me? I fell asleep without realizing.”

“It’s no big deal. There’s no need for both of us to watch. I judged it more efficient for one person to keep watch while the other rests.”

“Is that so? ⋯Well, thanks to you, I slept well. I feel a bit refreshed now.”

Mitchell stretched her arms forward like a cat.

Her smooth arms, with clearly developed muscles. Wagner averted his gaze from them.

He had always told himself not to see Mitchell as a woman, but somehow he kept noticing them.

“Huh? Bear, look over there!”

“⋯What?”

“There, there! Isn’t that a bird coming?”

“Ah!”

“Damn, are you looking somewhere else? Were you even watching properly?”

Mitchell glared at him.

Wagner sheepishly scratched the back of his head and focused on the trap.

Peck, peck.

The suspicious Nitro Bird did not rush towards the bait.

It pecked at the dirt with its beak, cautiously circling the area.

As Mitchell and Wagner watched, their anxiety grew.

“It’s eating.”

Mitchell whispered.

The Nitro Bird finally began to peck at the bait.

“One, two.”

Mitchell swallowed hard, and Wagner quietly pulled the rope.

-Kyarek!

Flap.

The startled Nitro Bird flapped its wings vigorously.

However, it was too late. The snare made of rope tightened around its ankle without a gap.

“It worked?”

While Mitchell marveled, Wagner quickly got to his feet.

“Let’s hurry. The rope won’t hold for long.”

It was as Wagner said.

The Nitro Bird, which had been flapping and kicking in place, was now using its sharp claws to tear at the rope.

Snap, snap-

As the Nitro Bird desperately gnawed, the thick rope began to fray.

“We can’t let it get away!”

Opportunities like this don’t come easily.

Once tricked by a trap, the Nitro Bird won’t be fooled again.

If they miss this chance, they might not get a second one before the exam ends.

Mitchell and Wagner, without a word, ran towards the Nitro Bird.