Chapter 108: Hawk! (400 Monthly Tickets for Extra Update.)
2014-12-08
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
“Hurry up and leave this place.”
A gentle wind element allowed Soren’s figure to land softly. The consumption of the group flight spell is substantial. Gloria looked up at the sky and said in a serious tone, “Let’s get into the forest first. That hawk up there seems a bit off.”
The drawbacks of the flight spell are quite apparent. Without a significant amount of specialties to support, one becomes extremely vulnerable while in the flying state.
Wizards who frequently fly prefer to solidify spells like [Wing Spell] or [Dragon Wing Spell]. Relying purely on spell energy to fly is inadvisable; wizards below legendary level simply cannot endure it, and their flexibility and mobility while flying are quite poor, making them easy targets for ranged units. Melee classes have little combat power in the air since there’s a saying: ‘Power rises from the ground.’ There’s no way to produce force while floating in the air. (If you could push off from the left foot to right and achieve lift, wouldn’t that mean you could fly to the Astral Realm? [囧])
Soren looked up at the sky and indeed spotted a strong hawk circling above them.
It had already made a complete circle above their heads, yet it didn’t leave but continued to hover in the sky. This was highly unusual; wild hawks don’t fly above them for no reason.
Aladdin also glanced at the hawk in the sky, muttering, “We still have a bit of time. Why are you all in such a rush? Just one or two more seconds, and I could pick up over ten more gems. That’s thousands of Gind!”
Soren shot him a glance and coldly replied, “Having money is one thing, but you need a life to spend it. What just appeared is a rock giant close to legendary level, and our attacks wouldn’t even harm it. Even Gloria can only protect herself in front of it and can’t look after us at all. We’ve already gathered quite a bit. I saw you collect no less than dozens of gems just now.”
The halfling chuckled awkwardly, “I just feel it’s a pity. After all, that’s all money!”
He looked up at the hawk and followed Soren into the forest. Then he opened his dimensional bag, counted a bit, and said, “I took about forty or fifty gems, and there are some Gind inside, but I didn’t have time to grab those. I picked out a few things that looked valuable and shoved them in. How much do you think they are worth?”
The halfling’s appraisal ability didn’t seem high as he couldn’t estimate the total value of these gems.
Although the appraisal skill may not seem impressive, sometimes it is extremely useful. Soren recalled when he once teamed up with someone to steal from a dragon lair. He had just managed to distract the dragon for less than ten seconds. In just that time, his partner managed to steal three good items from a treasure mountain towering five meters high, with nearly any of them worth over ten thousand Gind. That’s the effect of appraisal; adventurers often encounter unforeseen circumstances and may not have the time to slowly sift through their spoils. Sometimes you have to grab something randomly and stuff it into your pockets.
Ultimately, whether it’s valuable depends on your eyesight and luck.
Soren took the dimensional bag and glanced inside. The gems were a mixed lot, but their total value was certainly over seven or eight thousand Gind because they were all of relatively good quality. The elemental planes are rich in gem minerals, and sometimes if you’re lucky, you can find obsidian, bullhead gold, and other materials on the surface. Aladdin had got hold of some mid-to-high-end items. Plus, with the elemental core they obtained earlier, the three of them could split a few thousand Gind.
The elemental planes repel the outside world. High-level wizards find it challenging to enter, unlike other planes where the entrances are much easier.
The fire elemental plane is the richest in minerals, but the average temperature is around 100 degrees Celsius. Ordinary professionists get cooked if they enter; one can soon smell the scent of roasting meat, and without enhancing spells, they cannot move about freely. The four elemental planes are similar; the earth elemental plane, while not as harsh, is classified as a supergravity world. A frail wizard like Gloria could only travel one or two kilometers at most. Among the four planes, the earth elemental plane is where melee-type legendary professionists visit the most often because they can use the supergravity of the space to enhance their strength.
However, when entering, their combat power would drop by more than half! [Supergravity Field]
Gloria glanced at the gems. Soon her eyes brightened as she took out two crystal-like transparent gems and said slowly, “I’ll take these two. They’re exactly the materials I need. You all can divide the rest.”
“By the way.”
“Vivian should also get a share, after all, she put in effort today.”
The little girl looked up at her. Her beautiful big eyes sparkled, seeming very interested in gems. Aladdin saw both women looking at him and rubbed his forehead, saying, “Of course! Naturally! Since Vivian is here, she can also take one-tenth. That’s an old rule among adventurers.”
A good gem is worth hundreds of Gind.
They didn’t encounter too many risks during this trip and easily earned thousands of Gind, enough for him to enjoy for a while back home.
Halflings are standard hedonists; they spend at least half of what they earn on making their lives more comfortable. Especially their homes, if their finances allow, they will decorate to the highest standard possible, occasionally acquiring some high-end artworks. Soren has traveled to many places, and from a living environment perspective, only the elven capital could compare with halfling homes. Elves pursue a somewhat pathological aesthetic, whereas halflings are practical and comfort-oriented.
Oh, right.
They also have one advantage: there’s always good food available when you visit a halfling’s home. It’s quite popular among adventurers to bum meals off halflings.
………………
After entering the forest, the hawk lost their trail.
The dense woods severely impacted visibility, with towering trees reaching over ten meters. The group continued for a long while before they finally exited the forest.
Suddenly, Gloria stopped in her tracks, looked up at the sky, her brows furrowing, “Not good! That hawk is after us again!”
Soren looked up!
Sure enough, he saw the circling hawk reappearing above their heads.
It turned out that the hawk hadn’t left; it had simply expanded its range after they entered the forest and was patrolling the skies nearby. Now that it had spotted their trail, the hawk circled back, occasionally swooping down above their heads, causing a sense of unease.
Soren’s face showed a hint of murderous intent as he said in a deep voice, “Can we sh**t it down?”
Gloria frowned slightly, pondering for a moment, and said softly, “It’s difficult. It’s flying very high, beyond my spell range. Also, this hawk appears to have intelligence. Eagles are the rulers of the sky; even with the flight spell, I can hardly catch up to it. It seems to be a druid’s animal companion?”
The halfling took out a ruler-like object and indicated with it, surprised, “This hawk is really not small!”
“It’s so far away, yet I can see that it’s this large; when it lands, it must be close to four or five meters. This definitely is a druid’s animal companion; ordinary hawks don’t grow to this size!”
Aladdin had likely studied alchemy; only those who research alchemy in this world are sensitive to geometric calculations. Wanderers use some small and exquisite tools; it could be traps or something similarly elaborate. The more advanced these items are, the more precise they need to be, as often there’s little room for error.
Gloria stared at the hawk in the sky and said slowly, “You all come closer.”
The group walked over to her side.
Then she began to chant a spell, and a magical aura appeared, causing everyone to suddenly vanish from sight.
— “Ten-foot Invisibility Spell.”
Their figures gradually became hazy, and then they disappeared without a trace. The hawk circling in the sky lost its target momentarily, descended slightly, but dared not fly low. It emitted a sharp cry and quickly soared back up to its original height, flying in an elliptical trajectory.
Soren looked up at the sky and said solemnly, “There must be a druid nearby; we should leave now.”
The others exchanged glances before quickly heading outside.
Just after Soren left, a lithe figure landed in the forest. It was a tall druid covered in paint. He had no idea how long it had been since he last mingled with society; the hair on his face was long and unkempt, looking like a wild man. Another agile figure landed behind him, a beautiful half-elf druid, with a lovely nightingale perched on her shoulder, meticulously preening its feathers.
The wild man druid looked at the footprints on the ground, frowned, and said, “They’ve escaped!”
“These fellows disturbed the sleeping elements, and the spirit of the earth is also showing signs of awakening. Nightingale, you’d better inform Sir Earthwalker; only he can appease these angry elements.”
…………… (To be continued ~^~)
