To trap a bird, one must first think like a bird. Rino was never one to delve into such cliche philosophical verses, but he was trying his best thanks to Noir's classy influence.

They did not look too good lying in the shrub to spy on the feathery creatures who appeared very carefree as they flew, sang, hopped and picked at berries from trees. If anything, Rino's subordinates would tell him that he looked ridiculous. How could the lord of darkness stoop to spying on birds lying on the ground on his exposed ribs?! Not to mention, there were stray strands of grass covering his black cape.

Noir's pupils were widely dilated as he stared at the birds, entranced by their movements. The usually lazy cat was now tense like a spring ready to shoot. Rino could only follow his reliable master hunter's lead and lie low. 

Yes, he was finally dealing with his daily quest of crafting a bird trap so that Noir did not have to do the honours, not that the cat looked like he minded.

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Daily Quest #13

Objective: Build a Bird Trap

0/1 Simple Bird Trap

Time Limit: 2 Days.

Tutorial here.

Reward: Trapping Skill

Penalty: Deduct 24 hours of sleep upon failure and [Curse of Overtime] until quest is forcefully completed.

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The simple bird trap design wasn't finalised yet because Noir claimed that birds were not as stupid as people thought. Hence, they observed the birds for a whole day to determine which trap was more suitable for catching these fluttering creatures.

Rino spent the whole day from dawn to dusk hiding in bushes in the forest and bird watching with Noir. He was positive that the cat took a nap in between secretly while Rino played corpse, but he did not point it out. Noir would be embarrassed, and he did not want to put the cat on the spot.

In a nutshell, birds were smart and had fast reflexes. However, their flighty instincts were something that the hunters could use for their downfall.

Programmed to seek food, twigs, shelter and other friends, these birds did not have any inhibitions about going for what they wanted. They also have poor eyesight because of how their eyes are located at the side of their heads and not the front. The lich witnessed their innate clumsiness to bump into objects right in front of them from time to time. It was amusing and frustrating. Why trap a bird when they were easily shot?

Then again, it would make sense to build those bird traps. Rino did not need to send his hunters out to hunt for small game like birds if it worked. Instead, they could work on bigger games like king toads.

Rino read through the tutorial as he trekked back to the farmhouse with Noir perched on his shoulder. Honestly, he doubted that was a comfortable spot for the cat, but Noir claimed it was better than dirtying his paws when he could hitch a ride. There was no way RIno could refute a cat's logic, so he became Noir's personal lich chauffeur without receiving a single dime. He was more than content at having a cat on his shoulder, perching like a parrot.

The bird traps in the tutorial ranged from simple to needlessly complicated, and Rino had no idea what their catch rate success was. Some traps were for all birds, while other traps were specific. Rino did not know if he had much use for the smaller birds if he caught them. Honestly, their feathers would be too tiny to be of use, and they would have more bones than meat for a meal. Noir might appreciate the occasional small bird as a treat, but those birds were not going to contribute to the things Rino wanted in the long run.

He wanted feathers for fletching and various luxury items such as a pillow, some quills and maybe even fishing lures. Rino had no idea if there were fishes in the swamp that could be baited using feather lures, but he heard that there were fishes in his previous world that were bigger and would go after those types of fake baits. Honestly, Rino thought that it would be a good investment to use the feathers to catch fishes as an alternative form of food. The undead army and faes might not need food to survive, but it was different for Kragami, who was still mortal.

After deliberating his options, Rino decided on the most basic of bird traps he could find. The bird trap worked in a very subtle manner that made use of the bird's natural clumsiness. Birds weren't able to see in front of them very well, and with their poor vision range, the trap worked perfectly to catch them unaware. At the same time, Rino did not have to worry about the birds breaking free from the trap or getting hurt. Some traps killed on the spot, but this basic trap did not. Rino could arm it with different treats to entice different birds, and if the wrong bird fell for the trap, the hunters could easily release the poor fool and reset the trap.

It was brilliant!

All Rino needed was a small rock with a decent weight and some woven linen thread strong enough to hold the weight of the rock. Then, he scouted some regular bird perching places, especially for the bigger birds like hawks and storks, to set the trap up.

Nothing much looked out of place, and he covered the linen rope with some vines. Nothing should give it away, and there was even a convenient bird treat hammered on the side of the tree where the bird could perch in the spot Rino wanted.

Unlike the conventional trap in Rino's tutorial, he did not make an effort to set the whole elaborate mechanism of having a weighted perch. Instead, he used some of his harvested paralysing poison from the king toads heavily diluted to act as a spray. When the bird landed on the spot, the magic circle would activate and trigger two things. First, it would spray a mist of diluted paralysis poison. Then, a blast of air will knock away the stick holding the rock in place so that the ropes can catch the unsuspecting and paralysed bird's feet.

With this newly devised trap, Rino lay in wait for a whole night while claiming his new trapping skill. He had high hopes for it, even if Noir thought it was an overkill and utter waste of magic. The lich had a feeling Noir would be saying a different thing when he finally ate some of Kragami's special herb-roasted bird.