The Chaser of the Wild #1

 

Nitrobird is famous for two unique features.

First, it is a dumb bird that cannot fly even though it has wings.

The Nitrobird’s large wings are used solely for balance when jumping.

It would not be surprising if they became extinct long ago, having lost their greatest weapon, the ability to fly.

God is fair.

Although Nitrobird cannot fly, it is gifted with another ability to survive in nature.

That’s the second feature.

It is said to be the fastest bird on earth.

Nitrobird’s speed is faster than any animal that can run on land.

Even among hunters, there is a saying:

Nitrobird is said to be faster than a flying arrow.

There is even an incredible story about a person who shot an arrow at close range with great precision, only to have Nitrobird laugh and dodge the arrow as it came right in front of him.

‘Jack, this guy pretends to be polite, but he has a bad temper.’

The difficulty of the test was quite high.

Most of the adventurers who participated in the test will fail this first task.

“Don’t ever show yourself in front of me again, you stupid idiots.”

Maria gritted her teeth as she untied the leashes of the five Nitrobirds.

Tudadak—

As soon as they were released from their bonds, the birds ran out in all directions.

It was like having a rocket engine attached to its rear, a truly explosive speed.

A sandstorm was brewing, and Nitrobird was already far away.

“No, why is it so fast?”

“You want me to catch that…?”

The adventurers’ mouths dropped open.

“Fuck, I have to try!”

An adventurer gritted his teeth and ran after Nitrobird.

Impatience is easily contagious. Starting with that adventurer, everyone else was running without a second thought.

“If you miss once, it’s over. Chase with all your might!”

“There’s no need to catch it. Just follow it and pick up a feather it drops.”

The crowd of people continued to form like the starting line of a marathon.

“See you later, kiddo! You guys have to pass too!”

Mitchell jumped up and down among the people, waving his hands.

Elf, who was very fast, quickly took the lead.

“Good luck. That’s all for now.”

Wagner carefully examined the map and walked steadily along a different path from the other adventurers.

“Aren’t you guys going?”

Test tube Maria came closer.

He spoke in a tone that seemed to be filled with the intention of provoking someone.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

“Oh, you’re so frustrating. Do you have the will or not? If you’re lacking in ability, you should at least be diligent. Do you have time to be leisurely like that?”

I’m so excited.

This is why he is not a test tube, but just an annoying trainer.

“The exams are just starting anyway. There’s still two weeks left. It’s not first-come, first-served, so there’s no need to rush.”

“Anyway, he’s just talking nonsense.”

Maria pouted.

I guess he wanted to see me running around like other adventurers, impatient.

But such shallow tricks don’t work for me.

‘At this point, there’s no one who can catch Nitrobird anyway.’

It’s hard to catch them on their own, but the Nitrobirds are just now being released and their health is still intact.

Even if you ask Jack or Maria to catch it themselves, it will be difficult.

It’s impossible unless you’re a monster like Michael.

At least, there’s no one to catch among these.

“Senior, let’s go. Let’s go slowly at our own pace.”

“yes!”

I ignored Maria, who was still grumbling behind me, and continued walking.

***

“Ms. Estelle, do birds come to places like this?”

Flora tilted her head.

This is the place you reach after crossing the rocky plateau for about two hours from the main gate of Garden.

Also known as the ‘red sand dunes’.

“no.”

I said it without leaving any room for doubt.

“Huh? Then why are you here⋯.”

Flora trailed off.

Although it didn’t show on the outside, Flora seemed to be anxious on the inside.

The goal of the test right now is to retrieve the feather of the Nitrobird, but I’m wandering around in a completely unrelated place.

“Don’t worry, senior. I have a plan.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Yeah. It’s pointless chasing those Nitrobirds right now anyway. You saw them earlier? All those people running.”

“There were so many.”

The biggest factor that sets me apart from other adventurers in “Nine Stars”.

That is, I know the strategy of conquering this world.

So I wasn’t surprised when I heard the content of this test.

“It was the most difficult of the seven exams, but that’s okay. I can definitely pass.”

I wasn’t worried about how I would pass the test.

What I’m interested in is how to spend these two weeks.

“Look, senior. There’s no one there.”

“Well, right now we’re in the middle of an adventurer’s exam. Everyone’s probably tracking Nitrobird, so they probably won’t bother coming all the way here, right?”

“That’s why we came here.”

Flora blinked her large eyes twice.

Flora looked around the desolate plateau.

“Oh, I see!”

Oh. Is this kid surprisingly quick-witted?

I think you have a sense of why I came here.

“Originally, this was a very competitive hunting ground with lots of adventurer parties flocking here, but now there’s no one here!”

“Right, right.”

“It’s likely to remain the same for the remaining two weeks.”

“That’s it.”

“Now I understand, Miss Estelle. So, instead of giving up on the test, you planned to hunt monsters and make a profit!”

Oh, right.

It was going well, but it ended up going wrong.

Somehow, I felt like Flora understood everything so easily.

“No, senior. I won’t give up on the exam. I’m just waiting for the right time. Until then, we plan to hunt here.”

I looked down at the rocky plateau from the hill.

Well then, shall we begin?

I took out the skeletons I had prepared in advance from the ring of storage.

‘Please take care of me.’

Rattle rattle.

As magic power was injected, the skeletons that had been scattered about in disorder began to move and wiggle.

“Necromancy” is a technique that gives life to a corpse that has already died a long time ago for a short time.

The bone fragments assembled themselves, forming the shape of three sleek dogs.

“Estelle, this is-”

“It’s an application of telekinesis.”

“aha.”

Flora was convinced by that and showed no doubts.

It’s fortunate that he’s a bit slow at times like this.

“Now, I’ll give you my orders. Doggie 1. You go around the north in a large circle and gather the monsters. Doggie 2, go west, and Doggie 3, go east. Now, get moving!”

As I stomped my feet, the skeleton dogs shot forward like bullets.

After a while, Dog No. 2 returned first.

—Wake up!

Behind Dog No. 2, who was running out of breath, a swarm of monsters followed.

Wild boar, rock scorpion, man-eating cactus.

One of the strongest monsters in the Garden Wilderness.

And, these are monsters that give good rewards.

“Let’s get started, senior!”

Flora fired a barrage of magic arrows along with my shout.

Dismissal, dismissal—

There is no need to aim at each one.

Just aim at a group of monsters and spray them.

Flora stretched out both hands and fired a hail of arrows like a machine gun.

‘I think this will do.’

I focused my telekinesis on the rocks piled up on the hill.

Kurur—

The rock shook slightly, then slowly rolled down the cliff.

Kwarrur!

The rock that descended the slope of the hill swept away the monsters with acceleration.

Powerful monsters are unable to resist and are turned into rat traps.

On the other hand, we cannot even approach them as they are on top of a high hill.

A one-sided hunt without taking even a speck of damage.

‘This is it.’

After rolling a few more rocks, Flora finished off the remaining monsters and the first round of hunting was over.

“Wow—it’s nice, but I wonder if this is okay. It feels like I’m cheating.”

Flora wiped the sweat from her forehead as she drank herbal tea that restored her magical powers.

“It’s hard to do in the first place. There are other adventurer parties, so if you just blindly attack the monsters like this, it’ll be a huge nuisance.”

The hunting grounds have their own rules set by the adventurers.

One of them is that we should not artificially create groups of monsters like we do now.

Even a skilled adventurer would likely die suddenly if swept away by a large swarm of monsters like this.

‘Let’s hold on tight while we can.’

At this time, everyone was chasing Nitro Bird’s butt.

I take advantage of that gap to monopolize the hunting grounds.

The plan was going smoothly.

“Senior, there’s no time to relax. The next wave is coming.”

In the distance, a gray cloud of dust rose.

I stood up from my seat as I watched Dog No. 3 run away, chased by a monster.

***

“Maria, don’t get in trouble. Don’t forget that you’re a test tube—”

“Oh, I get it. Are you my dad? Don’t nag.”

Maria shuddered as she climbed onto the Nitrobird.

I felt like Jack’s nagging would just go on forever if I hesitated, so I quickly ran out into the wilderness.

“It’s a little better now that it’s cooler.”

The moonlit wilderness had quite a charm.

Maria quickly became addicted to the thrill of speeding through the wilderness on a high-speed Nitrobird.

Occasionally, adventurers would recognize Maria and greet her.

“Oh, you guys are working hard.”

Maria answered dryly and looked around.

“Everyone is having a rough time.”

Maria swallowed a laugh inside.

It was something that was already expected.

Despite being told in advance that they would have to spend two weeks in the wilderness, most of the adventurers were woefully unprepared.

We couldn’t even properly pitch a tent, and all we could do was bury ourselves in our sleeping bags.

The food was also poor.

Watching them gnaw at the hardened preserved food with their teeth, Maria was reminded of the rat pups.

“The first day is quiet. It’s not fun.”

Is it because no one has yet obtained the feather of the Nitrobird?

There were no bloody clashes between adventurers, which the Adventurer’s Guild was wary of, and which Maria secretly hoped for.

The examiner wouldn’t want such a fight to break out, though.

“I guess we’ve roughly looked at everything.”

Maria unfolded the map.

Thanks to the magic badges distributed to participants in advance, everyone’s location was marked on the map.

“Oh, shit. What are these guys? They’re the only ones crawling all the way to that corner.”

Maria grumbled, looking at the two dots on the map.

I couldn’t understand what he was thinking at all. With so much time to chase after the Nitrobirds, what was he doing out in the middle of nowhere?

Let’s take a look at what kind of guys they are.

Suddenly, Maria smiled.

I thought I knew who they were.

“Those cheeky guys, huh? Yeah, right. I haven’t seen them before.”

I remembered the face of the little girl who had dared to talk back to me so presumptuously.

Maria increased the speed of the Nitrobird.

That’s a good thing.

I got a chance to laugh out loud while watching the guys struggle.

Surely, they too, like other adventurers, are shivering in the cold of the night and feeling miserable.

“Is this it?”

Maria got off the Nitrobird.

A rocky plateau. It seemed like they had made their home somewhere in a cave.

If I just tucked myself away in a hole like a rat, I could avoid the wind. But I guess I’ve put some thought into it.

“Even so, it’s just the same.”

Maria snorted and approached the rock cave.

“uh?”

Sniff sniff.

Maria wrinkled her nose.

A fragrant smell was coming from inside the cave.

Warmth. The shadow of a flickering campfire.

Occasionally, a laughter could be heard from inside.

Gulp.

Maria swallowed hard.

Somehow, I became hungry.