Khrx sighed, causing Lorin to glance down at the child in her arms. “What’s wrong?” she asked, slowing her flight as she spread her wings and glided with the sun bearing down on her back. She cast a large shadow over the hills, causing people to raise their heads.

“Collecting every skill is going to take forever,” Khrx said. “And I’m impatient.”

“Didn’t you say every little bit adds up?” Lorin asked.

“Bigger bits add up faster,” Khrx said. He bent his knee to his chest and reached for his toes, rubbing his foot through his onesie. “I hope I can find a skill that’ll help me find Fufu.”

Lorin raised her head, recalling the meteorite that fell the last time Khrx rubbed his feet. She squinted, making sure there was nothing flying towards her. Just in case, she summoned a barrier as well. “Did it work?”

Khrx shrugged. “Luck works in mysterious ways. Isn’t it weird how getting struck by lightning is considered unlucky, but getting struck by lightning when you want to get struck by lightning is considered lucky? It makes no sense.”

Lorin tilted her head. “Why would someone want to be struck by lightning?”

“That’s not the point,” Khrx said. “You’re missing the point completely. Think about it. What I’m trying to say is what one person considers lucky may not be considered lucky by another person even if it’s the same event and has the same probability of occurring.” He wrinkled his nose and muttered, “Like all those abusive blessings I got from the underworld.”

“I think I understand what you’re trying to tell me,” Lorin said, her face blanching. A shadow covered her body as a white object plummeted towards her from above the clouds.

“Hmm?” Khrx blinked as the shadow fell over his eyes as well. He raised his head, glancing up at the falling figure. It looked like a white and black blob with wings. It grew larger and larger as it fell towards the duo. Lorin increased the strength of her barrier as much as she could while flying forward at her top speed, yet the object was like a homing pigeon, intent on striking her out of the sky.

“Your luck is like a djinn’s wish,” Lorin said, swerving to the right. The object continued to cast its shadow on her. She shifted Khrx to her right arm and drew her shield, raising it over her head.

Before Khrx could respond, the falling object crashed into Lorin’s barrier and shield, shattering both instantly. The fallen angel gritted her teeth as she curled her wings around Khrx, shielding him as they plummeted towards the ground. The people below screamed as Lorin’s body crashed into the earth and created a crater, shooting grass and soil into the air. The object fell on top of her, audible cracking sounds jetting out of Lorin’s wings. She groaned as she rolled the object off and released her hold on Khrx.

Khrx sat up and shook himself off like a wet dog. He glanced to his right and froze when the white and black object let out a cry. It was a cow. A winged cow with one white wing and one black wing. It had a pair of red horns that curved out of its snout like a rhinoceros’.

[Quest acquired!]

[A cloud pusher from Duloc’s herd had a sudden wing cramp and fell out of the sky, obtaining severe injuries to both its wings! Duloc, the god of the sky, hopes you can restore his trusty servant to full health. Please note that cloud pushers are extremely tasty. It wouldn’t be surprising if, say, a world-ending beast catches its scent and decides to pursue it. It’s also important to note that a cloud pusher’s scent encompasses the world and can only be hidden when it’s pushing a cloud. Prevent the cloud pusher from being eaten and return it to the skies!]

[Rewards: Two mythic rarity skills. 10,000 Achievement Points.]

“Are you alright, Khrx?” Lorin asked. She winced as she sat up. Thankfully, it was daytime and she was flying over foreign soil, bringing her constitution up to 100. The only injury she had was from the cloud pusher landing on her wings, but other than that, she was fine.

Khrx nodded. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Both Lorin and the cloud pusher responded at the same time. Khrx finished reading the quest description. Then he stared at the cloud pusher. A faint scent tickled his nose, causing his stomach to gurgle and drool to pool in his mouth. He swallowed his spit and took a step towards the winged cow. There was just something so … enticing about it that caused Khrx to wet his lips with his tongue.

“T-the quest,” the cloud pusher said as it took a step back, its eyes wide and tearful. It tried to flap its wings, but only the black wing moved—the white one hung uselessly at its side. The cow whimpered and took another step back as Khrx advanced. “Protection quest!”

Khrx blinked hard and shook his head. He blinked hard again, but when he opened his eyes, they were pink. “Mm. Protection. Right. My stomach’s very safe, you know? No one’s ever taken anything out of there before. Let me show you how spacious it is.”

The cow let out a cry as it turned around and sprinted up the slope of the crater, tears streaming down its eyes. How unlucky was it to encounter a world-ending beast the instant it left its cloud, falling on it no less? What cruel creator designed cloud pushers to smell so alluring?

Khrx lunged forward and grabbed the cow’s tail, surprisingly bringing it down to the ground. With his added strength from Paradise’s guild champion bonuses, the cloud pusher didn’t stand a chance.

“Um. Khrx?” Lorin asked, hesitant to approach her master. “Didn’t you want the skills from the quest?”

“I’ve been tricked by too many high achievement point quests,” Khrx said, recalling the quests involving Lorin. “I’m not falling for it again. They’re clearly designed to fail.” He crawled up the side of the winged cow and straddled it, forcing it onto its side. “And I’ll definitely get something good from eating this!” The cloud pusher struggled, flailing its wings and legs, but Khrx lunged forward with his mouth wide open.

Lorin winced as she turned her head, a fountain of blood shooting into the air. The cloud pusher let out a frantic moo as blood pooled underneath its body. “B-but still,” Lorin said. “Shouldn’t you at least try?”

Khrx shook his head, unable to speak because of the mouthful of deliciousness stuffed in his cheeks. His eyes were completely red by this point, and he ignored the screens flashing by.

[You’ve slain a beloved creature of the god of the sky, Duloc. +1,000 Achievement Points.]

[The flesh of a cloud pusher is extremely beneficial. +10 Strength.]

[The blood of a cloud pusher is extremely poisonous. Your poison body resists the negative effects, benefiting you instead. +10 Constitution.]

[Title acquired: Myth Slayer]

[You’ve slain a mythical creature. Fear effects applied against you are reduced by 50%.]

[Title acquired: Brash]

[The one who slaps the face of a god, is he reckless or brave? +5 Strength, -20 Intelligence.]

[Title acquired: Cursed by Duloc]

[All clouds rain on you. As long as you are outside, a cloud will form above you. I hope you like water; if not, you better learn to enjoy it. Flight speed is reduced by 75%.]

[Not only did you refuse to help a god, you did the exact opposite of what he requested.]

[Skill acquired: Undaunted]

[Rarity: Mythic]

[Passive: All crowd control effects are reduced by 50%. This ability is stackable.]

[Your guild has incurred the wrath of a god. City-states, empires, and churches that worship Duloc automatically declare war against your guild. Current hostile factions (discovered): Great Tribish Guild.]

[The guild Great Tribish has declared war on the empire I Can Pick.]

Lightning flashed across the sky as the clouds turned black. Lorin gulped as she distanced herself from Khrx. She already knew what was coming next. Surprisingly, Khrx had managed to strip the cloud pusher down to its bones, completely unaware of his surroundings. Perhaps that was why he didn’t even make a sound as his body was incinerated in an instant by a black lightning bolt.

[You have died.]

***

Awakening Cycle 1,072,362: Day 21.

Dear Diary,

I thought cookies tasted like heaven. I was wrong, so terribly wrong. Today, I realized what heaven actually tasted like. I can’t even begin to describe it. The aroma. The flavor. The ecstasy. When I rescue Fufu, I’ll definitely bring her to [Resolution] to hunt cloud pushers. I know she’ll love eating them. I just hope no conflicts arise between her and Lorin. Lorin’s a bit possessive.

Love,

Khrx