Flubber danced under the moonlight. Bouncing on the ground, making circles at the big bad bird. A slight hiss sizzled here and there as Flubber spat its Corrosive Spit, eating away those black feather armor that protected the One-eye Nightraven.

Al stood and watched over the madness of its familiar. Standing still like a statue, clueless on what to do over Flubber reckless bravery. He used Identify, and still the level shown was still a bunch of question marks further solidifying that this bird was still out of his range. Yet he couldn’t just leave.

Left, and right. He tried to see what he could do in this situation. On the ground there were only grass and a few pebbles here and there. Even in his dimensional storage, the loot he gathered over the dead slimes had nothing that could be of used. One more transparent boot wasn’t going to help in killing a big bird.

Then he remembered.

A flashback of killing the bludhound. Al looked for a stick and snapped at the end into a jagged pointy tip. It was now or never, and his target was that damn crimson red eye. Yet he was still frozen in place. Hands shaking, and lips growing blue. His body itself knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy task.

Fear of death started to cloud his mind, and Al tried hard to fight back those pessimisms. Then his heartbeat spiked.

The One-eye Nightraven had enough playing around, and flapped its wings wide. Knocking the annoying green ball right out of the ballpark. Al raced at the sight of Flubber getting further away into the distance as he felt his chest tightened.

By chance, he met eye with the One-eye Nightraven, and the sense of dread overwhelmed him. Beads of sweat rained down his temple and his forehead as goosebumps crawled all over his skin. Whatever it was, Al regretted not making a run for it while he had the chance. He should have known that a Smile Slime had no chance against a creature like this.

He spun and ran. Bursting into a sprint. The flaps of the giant wings of the killer bird subtly rang behind him as the the gust it made sway the grass in a single direction. Al kept his focus in front, daring not to look back.

In the nick of time, he reached the edge of the forest. He went past a tree, and it snap. The tree behind him splintered into pieces as a part of the trunk hit Al right on his back. His pale face fell forward as Al rolled on the ground, grimacing. He turned and looked, and he saw the aftermath of it did.

The One-eye Nightraven plowed through the trees like it was a damn tractor, clearing the edge of the forest like it was nothing. Again, the giant killer bird flapped its wing. Hovering a few meters away from the ground, searching for that little rat that escaped its attack. Its heat vision saw that little red dot among the bluish black background.

Al staggered a few times, staring at the bird in sky. Yet it wasn’t time to gawk. He turned tail, and ran again. Taking cover underneath the thick canopies of the forest.

The flaps of wings grew fader, yet something else came to rumble Al’s eardrums. Every now and then, he heard the trees behind him splintered and shattered. Out of anxious curiosity, Al took a look and saw the bird swooping from above, making a hole right through the canopy and at the ground. It was gaining on him, Al had to think of a way.

But out of nowhere, a force rammed at him right at the flank. His feet left the ground as he plummeted back a few seconds later. Pain rattled from his arm as he glared at the sudden ambusher. It was a bludhound, mauling at his arm like a rabid dog. Glaring at the dog, Al yelled and struck its eye with the end of his pointy stick. It went straight through. Pouring a gush of liquid of brain matter and blood as Al received his reward.

[Congratulation! You have reached level 9]

[Congratulation! You have reached level 10]

[Congratulation! Tamer level have reached level 6]

[Congratulation! Tamer level have reached level 7]

[Congratulation! Tamer level have reached level 8]

It was like a festival, showering him with all the goods in the world that could give him. But Al wasn’t smiling. He was far from being out of danger, yet a shiny glimmering thing floated above the carcass of the dead bludhound. He questioned the link between the item and the bludhound, but now wasn’t time for useless tinkering.

Al grabbed the thing in his hand and aimed right through the space between the tree canopies. It wasn’t a gun, nor was it a bow. Primitive as it was, the slingshot in his hand was far from being redundant. His eyes saw the One-eye Nightraven looming above, and both of them saw each other. Al stretched the elastic band to its utmost limit even without a projectile in its pocket. Yet that was the beauty of this item.

[Iron-Will Slingshot. A slingshot made out of the desperation of a smith trapped in between a war. With no resource and suitable materials, he used what was provided mother nature, and imbued his spirit and quintessence into this fine weapon. Effect: Critical damage if hit a weakness spot, and damage will multiply if uses the unique skill of the slingshot.

Internal Skill: Iron-Will Bead; Manifest a strong iron bead with the user quintessence that could go through armor even if it was the toughest steel.

Quintessence Cost: 1 per bead.]

“Iron-Will Bead,” Al said. Channeling his quintessence into the slingshot as an iron bead manifested inside the pocket.

The One-eye Nightraven dove for the attack, and Al bid his time. His hands were trembling, keeping the slingshot steady. He distributed three points to strength, and his aim sat still. Yet it wasn’t enough. He pumped another two points to dexterity just to make sure he did not miss this shot.

Then the bird broke through the canopy. Rustling the leaves, breaking the branches. Then Al let go.

For the first time, the silent bird made a sound. It squawked. The bird fell through its form, winds sprawled wide and its eye no longer in existence. Yet it was still falling at breaking speed, and Al was in its way.

He rolled to the side, but it hardly made a difference. In that instance, only a word flashed in his mind. Shit.

Out of the blues, he saw his vision turned to a blur as he felt something dragged him to the side. He was saved. Seeing firsthand the one-eye or no-eye Nightraven plummeting to the ground. Dust and debris scattered and Al found shelter under a bush. He didn’t know how many times he was saved by a bush, but he made a mental note not to forget these generic, unnoticeable bushes around the world.

A cackle rang beside him, and he saw who it was. “Flubber,” he said, smiling. He went for a hug as the squishy slime squashed between his arms and body. The feeling felt like a bag of marshmallow oozing in between the crevice. He parted, staring at Flubber in jubilant.

“I can’t believe you’re still alive,” he said.

Flubber cackled in its half-ass voice as if its vocal cord hadn’t completely formed. Its innocently smiled, and although it was creepy, it warmed Al’s heart.

“Thank you,” Al said.

Yet the heartwarming scene was cut short. The squawking of the killer bird rang from outside the bush, rampaging around the place it fell. It was making a scene, smashing every trees with its heavy wings like a child having a tantrum.

“Damn it, how the hell is it still alive?” Al questioned. Peeking from inside the bush.

“Should I give it another shot?” he tightened his grip on the slingshot’s handle. His last shot hit clearly right into its the bird’s red eye. But he doubted if he could make a dent over those thick feathers.

“Fuck it,” Al made his mind. Pulling the empty slingshot, targeting the frantic moving head.

“Hey, Flubber,” Al said. “Ready to make a break for it.”

The iron bead manifested, and the tension band snapped forward. It hit and the bird stopped. Slowly, its head turned, facing where Al was. Yet without its sight, it couldn’t see.

“It’s trying to listen. Trying to find me,” Al said, whispering. He commanded Flubber to make a distraction on the other side, and its cackling laugh drew the restrained madness of the One-eye Nightraven.

Another tree fell victim to the maddening rush of the bird, and Flubber silently returned back to Al’s side.

“That shot I made barely did a thing, unless I hit again at its blinded eye,” Al said. Thinking of a way to do the impossible. But something else came in mind.

“I don’t whether it would work or not, but I guess I’ve to try.”

Al and Flubber escaped from the bush and headed further into the woods.