《Welp, Time to Spray Vinegar (and Salt) Upon the Terrors of the World》 Reincarnation The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Salt is the Best Substance for Slimes! This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. System Interference Is Just Plain Annoying This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The Almighty War Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The Almighty War 2 Stolen novel; please report. Behold! A Chicken Appeared! Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Side Chapter (1) Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Lets Kidnap Some Chickens! The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Chicken-Sitting Zaelen poked the white egg. CRACKKKKK! The white egg split in two and a wet, feathery head poked out. ¡°Chirr!¡± cried a baby chicken. Its eyes focused on Zaelen. ¡°Mama!¡± What is that? It doesn¡¯t even look like a chicken. More like a slime chicken. Three more eggs split. ¡°Mama!¡± ¡°Mama!¡± ARGHH, MORE SLIME CHICKENS. |||Pffft, you got called mama... ahahaha!||| Kierin (x3) registered as [Servant] Kierinis registered as [Servant] And why is there a kierinis? Is that a different species of kierin? A subspecies? Eh, it looks similar to the others too. All of them are slime chickens. |||That¡¯s... to be expected. Have you never seen a bird hatch?||| Why would I? Give me the sub-slime chicken stats. |||...Is that supposed to be the kierinis?||| Baby Kierinis (Obsidian) Name: -- Level: 1/50 HP: 30/30 MP: 15/15 SPD: 6 STR: 2 Skills: [Screech Lv1] [Peck Lv1] Resistances: None |||Wow, I¡¯m surprised it understood you and gave you the stats||| ...It¡¯s so... weak! |||It just hatched, give it some slack...||| But it¡¯s my key to slime-murder... Zaelen eyed the chickens. I¡¯m gonna have to fatten them up. How long is that going to take?! |||How am I supposed to know again?!||| ¡°MAMA!¡± shrieked the black chicken. ¡°I¡¯M HUNGRY!¡± shrilled the white kierin. ¡°FOOD!¡± screamed another. I am going deaf. Zaelen put his paws over his ears. The other wolves seemed to be only hearing shrill screaming, but that wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant either. I mean, who wanted to hear sounds like metal screeching against metal, only ten times louder and more ear-piercing? ¡°FOOOOOOOOD!¡± they all screeched in unison. ??^?/-\?^?? The chicken babies hopped around on Zaelen¡¯s back as he stalked through the long grass of the plains, searching for slimes. Zaelen figured that after the chickens leveled up, they¡¯d be of more use. The kierins had grown rapidly, and the golden drake figured that they could fight now. A wolf skidded to a stop in front of him with a furiously squirming slime in her jaws. ¡°Okay, now kill it,¡± said Zaelen, dropping the white kierin in front of the slime. ¡°Chirrr? Mama? Foooood?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s food,¡± decided Zaelen. Wow, these chickens are obsessed with food. |||Like you¡¯re obsessed with slime murder?||| They take after their father. I¡¯m so glad. |||You mean their mother. Hehe||| Old man, you need to check your hearing. |||Wow, you avert everything to me being an old man?||| ¡°Fooood!¡± cried the kierin and launched itself at the slime. It burbled as it sunk into the slime. ¡°Errr, are you sure they won¡¯t... die?¡± asked the wolf. Zaelen nodded, though he wasn¡¯t so sure himself. But then, the kierin opened its mouth and started to efficiently tear off small parts of the slime with its small beak and gobbling it down. Since the kierins are technically slime chickens, isn¡¯t this cannibalism? |||...What if they aren¡¯t slime chickens and you¡¯re just delusional?!||| ¡°S-squeee?!¡± cried the slime. Zaelen winced. Ughh, that¡¯s like eating slugs. |||You know that birds DO eat slugs?||| Well, yes, but I can¡¯t imagine why. WHY IS THE CHICKEN STILL EATING THE SLIME. IT¡¯S DEAD ALREADY. Zaelen picked the kierin chick up and put it back on his back. ¡°Foooood!¡± cried the kierin plaintively. ¡°Moreeee!¡± More wolves arrived, all carrying slimes in their jaws. Soon, there was a ring of wolves all watching the fight between the kierins and the slimes with intense interest. ¡°FOOOOOOD!¡± screamed the chicks and lunged. It seemed they had learned from the first one. They ferociously ripped off chunks of the slimes. Zaelen checked their stats. Kierinis (Obsidian): Lv 5/50 Kierin (Silver): Lv 4/50 Kierin (Blue): Lv 8/50 Kierin (White): Lv 6/50 They¡¯re leveling up nicely... thought Zaelen as the kierin¡¯s levels rose further. Eventually, the wolves all arrived. Zaelen curled up and watched as the kierin chicks destroyed the slimes. They would have to keep at this for a while, however. |||Aren¡¯t you worried about slime extinction?||| That would be wonderful. ??^?/-\?^?? Kierin (Blue) has reached Lv 50/50 Kierin (White) has reached Lv 50/50 Kierinis (Obsidian) has reached Lv 50/50 Kierin (Silver) has reached Lv 50/50 Would you like to choose their evolutions? (Y/N) I get to choose? That¡¯s a nice perk. Zaelen sent the rest of the slimes up into the air with [Wind Surge] before scorching them into cinders with [Dragon Breath] [Wind Surge Lv1] -> [Wind Surge Lv2] [Dragon Breath Lv2] -> [Dragon Breath Lv3] Yes, of course I will. ¡°Mother, what are you doing?¡± asked the black kierin. Or, rather, kierinis. Actually, who cared about the species name? They would always be slime chickens to Zaelen. Or at least chickens. As they¡¯d grown, their language had grown as well. It seemed that they¡¯d picked up upon the wolves¡¯ language instead, so the wolves could understand them as well. ¡°Zaelen is not your mother!¡± reprimanded Iceria, her fur bristling. Zaelen ignored the commotion. Showing Evolution Options for kierin (White): -> Upper Kierin Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Aetherin Showing Evolution Options for kierin (Blue): -> Upper Kierin Aquaerin Show Evolution Options for kierin (Silver): -> Upper Kierin Mystirin Please choose an option: The one that¡¯s not upper kierin. FOR ALL OF THEM. Cause I don¡¯t want to see more of the same chickens everyday of my LIFE. |||Thought you wanted to eat chicken tenders?||| ...Well, it¡¯s not like I can eat these chicken tenders. Sadly. There was a sudden bright flash of white that made Zaelen squeeze his eyes shut. When he opened them again, the chickens... were still chickens. However, they¡¯d grown even bigger. The white kierin now was something called an aetherin. The chicken had kept its ethereal white plumage, but in the quickly darkening sky, you could see a blue glow emanating from the feathers. There were shimmering, iridescent highlights of silver and pale blue, giving the chicken a starry quality. The keirin had also gained a crest of white feathers that resembled a crown of light. Some could call the aetherin majestic and elegant, but to Zaelen, they would always just be chickens. |||Of course they are...||| The blue kierin had become sleeker and more streamlined, and of course, even bigger. Does becoming bigger mean that they¡¯ll eat even MORE?! Its feathers had become a gradient of blues and teals, like the ocean. Its feet had become webbed, and its beak was sharp with a slight curve. The long, flowing tail feathers somehow resembled the appearance of cascading waterfalls. Its name had also become more complicated. Hey, system, do you think that the aquaerin tastes more like chicken, or duck? |||Why do you even think about these things?||| Cause I want to eat something good. |||I thought you said you wouldn¡¯t eat them?||| There can be... exceptions. |||... ... ...||| Zaelen saw that the black ¡®kierinis¡¯ had transformed too. Seriously why¡¯s it a kierinis and not a kierin? There¡¯s not a difference between them! Its name had become fancier too; something called an eldirin. Why not just call it a sub-slime chicken? |||HOW. DOES. THAT. WORK. IN. YOUR. DEFORMED. BRAIN||| Its wings were a mix of silver and deep gold, reflecting some kind of glow. The eldirin¡¯s head also had a crest of feathers like the aetherin, except these looked like a crown of stars instead of a crown of light. Intricate star-like patterns trailed all over its body. The last one, the silver kierin, had become black, and its plumage was adorned with intricate, arcane patters and runes that glowed softly. The wings looked quite delicate with a translucent quality that made them look like they were made from stardust. The tail of the mythirin, as it was now called, resembled tendrils of magical energy. The wolves curiously padded around the chickens, sniffing. ¡°They look... different,¡± commented Iceria. ¡°Like when we evolved.¡± ¡°This must be the alpha¡¯s work!¡± asserted Cryos. ¡°After all, he is the alpha.¡± Another wolf snorted. ¡°And a good one too, unlike Nyx and Aurora.¡± Murmurs of agreement followed. ¡°Mother, tis¡¯ your doing?¡± asked the eldirin. ¡°Yes. And for the hundredth time, I am not your mother. Anyway, let¡¯s get back to hunting slimes. Can you find them?¡± |||What will you do if they don¡¯t...?||| Zaelen froze, his mind considering that question. What will I do...? However, his doubts proved to be false as the aetherin stepped forward. ¡°I believe that there are slimes some way from here. There are none in the close vicinity,¡± replied the aetherin. Zaelen was impressed by how much their speech had matured. ¡°How do you know this?¡± ¡°I have a skill called [Sense],¡± affirmed the aetherin. ¡°Would you like me to lead the way?¡± Zaelen bobbed his head. |||Why do your plans actually work out...?||| ??^?/-\?^?? Zaelen had decided that he wanted to fly. No, not fly by riding one of the chickens. Actually fly. By himself. Which meant breaking the curse that wasn¡¯t actually a curse, if you asked the system. Why? Because it stopped him from evolving. He¡¯d found out that there were a few ways to break the curse. The easiest ways (which weren¡¯t all that easy) were to go to the three places; some sort of sanctum, a nexus (whatever that was), and a spire. Which meant delaying his mission to execute slimes. However, the system had pointed out that after he¡¯d gained flight and possible other perks that came with reaching the places, he could more efficiently kill slimes. So Zaelen had decided that yes, he would. Turns out the wolves were more knowledgeable than they seem. Alright, let¡¯s go to the moldy pancake. |||WHAT. JUST WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?||| Moldy pancake? |||HOW...||| How what? |||Let¡¯s get this straight. How do you relate the Obsidian Sanctum with MOLDY PANCAKES?!||| Not moldy pancakes. Just one. Moldy pancake. |||A-alright. I¡¯m not arguing with you anymore||| Zaelen cackled aloud, and a few wolves sent worried glances his way. He called for them to start traveling. ??^?/-\?^?? Zaelen glared furiously into the forest. What was the problem? Well, it was that while they were in the middle of chasing down a group of slimes they¡¯d come upon while heading to the moldy pancake, some sort of wasp flew in and saved the slimes. Saved! Zaelen roared in fury after the quickly disappearing wasp. Creature: Aurexcarapax ...Why are all the species names so... FANCY?! And why¡¯d it save the slimes?! Zaelen curved his neck to look at Iceria. ¡°Do the slimes and wasps have some sort of pact or something...¡± Iceria blinked in surprise. ¡°You truly are wise to know the happenings so far away! We have only heard glimpses of this strange occurrence.¡± (Yes, they¡¯d traveled a decent distance so far) |||If only she knew...||| Heh. But she doesn¡¯t. |||Eh, I guess the wasps are doomed||| |||Nothing to do about it||| ¡°Let¡¯s go kill some wasps. We can put the journey on hold.¡± Zaelen turned. ¡°Aetherin, find the hive and lead us to it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I must intrude. Do you mean we are to storm the aurexcarapaxes¡¯ hive without a plan? They are an intelligent species, you must know.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I have a plan.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± prompted Iceria. ¡°Why should we have to kill the entire hive? If we cut off the head, the body falls by itself,¡± smirked Zaelen. ¡°And smoke isn¡¯t exactly hard to find.¡± ¡°...smoke...? I understand the rest of it, but what about the smoke?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see soon enough. Aetherin?¡± ¡°Yes mama?¡± chirped the aetherin. |||I¡¯m impressed how your brain can make decent plans||| Unlike you? |||When did I ever say that?!||| Hush now, old man. Stress isn¡¯t good for your mental health. |||Wha-?!||| |||I¡¯m not the one whose mental health you should be concerned about here! Maybe take a look at yourself!||| Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m perfectly fine. After all, you acknowledged that the impromptu plan I just made was decent, didn¡¯t you? |||How do you ALWAYS manage to find a way to turn the conversation against me!||| I¡¯m built different from you. Heh. |||Yeah, I highly doubt that||| Aww, are you jealous, system? |||For the last time, STOP making your weird inferences about me!||| Last time I saw, inferences meant a conclusion made with reasoning and evidence. So you¡¯re basically agreeing to what I¡¯m saying. |||What--||| Zaelen paused. Eh, never mind. We¡¯ll talk about this later. I have to go smoke out some wasps. Zaelen poked his head out of some bushes. He¡¯d expected something like a beehive, but in reality, the entrance to the wasps¡¯ hive... was... a burrow. WHEN DID WASPS LIVE IN BURROWS?! EXCUSE ME?! |||Does it matter?||| Yes. I wanted honey. |||Pretty sure that just because wasps live underground, that doesn¡¯t change their entire way of life||| |||Also, since you plan to smoke out the wasps, wouldn¡¯t the honey be unsafe to eat?||| You just need to boil them. |||I think that¡¯s for killing off germs, not smoke itself||| ...How do you know that I plan to smoke them out anyway? |||I can read your mind somewhat||| Somewhat? What do you mean by that? |||...Oh look! There¡¯s a wasp!||| Zaelen swung his head around to see the yellow insect crawling out of the hole. It promptly got drenched in water by the aquaerin. Then, of course, a slime was thrown with [Wind Surge] onto the wasp. Yes, a slime. Now, you might be asking, why would Zaelen do this? Turns out that the slimes¡¯ acidity can melt the wasps¡¯ armor fairly quickly. And not that the slime would get spared after it had done its job. No, the aquaerin would just kill the slime after with a very useful skill it had gained called [Osmosis]. Yes, Zaelen had somehow managed to create a skill that was solely purposed for killing slimes. |||Shouldn¡¯t you be the one to have the skill, not the water gun?||| Now, ignoring the system¡¯s comment, the wasp was easily burnt to a crisp with a few fire spears. Smoke billowed up from the sizzling wasp. Zaelen used [Wind Surge] to shove the wasp into the hole, and then used the skill again to keep the smoke from drifting out. Learned new skill: [Wind Barrier Lv1] [Wind Surge Lv3] -> [Wind Surge Lv4] Soon, a few wasps started to crawl out of their burrow. And then more. And more. And more. A stream of wasps soon poured out of the hive. Wolves sometimes sent driftwood and other foraged vegetation falling down to join the burning wasp corpse so the fire wouldn¡¯t stop. It seemed like the wasps either didn¡¯t care about the random things falling from the sky, or they didn¡¯t notice in their panic to get out. Once it slowed to a trickle, Zaelen motioned furiously for the large heap of underbrush they¡¯d prepared before the fight (the things that had been thrown before were foraged after the fight started) to be thrown. As soon as it was, the fire roared up. Zaelen stopped blocking the smoke and heavy, black plumes of it drifted into the sky. The wasps, having settled and started to edge back towards the burrow, scattered again, disappearing into the forest. A few more wasps managed to escape the burrow, and then the fire had become a wall, blocking any other aurexcarapaxes from coming out. Or coming in. Zaelen suspected that most of the hive was gone. Now, this might¡¯ve proved a problem for how the wolves would¡¯ve entered, but keep in mind that their fire resistance was very high. To keep the chickens from boredom, Zaelen had stationed them to keep watch over the blazing entrance in case the queen escaped. Then he and the wolves slid into the tunnel. The blazing flames only took one tick of his health, and from what he observed, the wolves didn¡¯t seem to be affected much either. Zaelen saw that the smoke had taken up most of the burrow; it was so thick that he could barely see anything. However, Zaelen simply used [Wind Surge] to blow all the smoke out. While his MP was going down quickly, it didn¡¯t matter. The wolves would fight the queen, not him. A yellow shape suddenly appeared down the tunnel they were following. In a split second, it was brought down by several wolves. While the wolves¡¯ claws couldn¡¯t slice directly through the wasps¡¯ armor, it didn¡¯t matter how strong the armor was if it wasn¡¯t protecting all of you. There were gaps at the wasps¡¯ joints, and the underbelly¡¯s armor was much softer. The eyes, antenna, and mouth were also an option. Zaelen smirked as the wasp soon went limp under the barrage of wolves. They continued on, deeper into the hive to find the queen. They met quite a few aurexcarapaxes on the way, not that the insects posed a problem to the little ¡®expedition¡¯. And then, there were startled yelps, and wolves suddenly disappeared in front of Zaelen¡¯s eyes. He craned his neck to see what had happened to them... and he fell in too. And of course, if he, the alpha, fell, the other wolves came charging after him and inevitably fell too. Zaelen realized that the smoke, while he had thinned it out somewhat, was still thick enough to block a tunnel opening in the ground that was almost vertical. Eventually, it flattened out somewhat, creating a slide. Zaelen sat up and enjoyed the ride. Almost feels like I¡¯m flying again. Like I did before I died. |||So, you get alarmed when a few wolves fall, but you don¡¯t get alarmed when you yourself falls?||| |||Incredible logic there, I must say||| Old man, stop your squabbling. |||Back to me being an old man again...||| The slide suddenly ended and practically spat Zaelen out. However, since he had been sitting, he landed upright. |||Are you sure you aren¡¯t a cat?||| Hush. Zaelen glanced around to see other wolves standing up, with more shooting out of the tunnel. Iceria skidded to a stop beside him gracefully. ¡°A-are you okay, alpha?!¡± she cried. Zaelen nodded. He had HP Regen anyways. HP: 285/300 A few wolves suddenly gave howls of alarm. Zaelen sat and looked on as an obsidian black wasp much larger than the others skittered into view. Eight wasps followed. ¡°That¡¯s... a bit larger than expected,¡± commented Cryos. Aurexcarapax Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Side Chapter If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Alright, Lets Become Ice Blocks! A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Great, One of my Chickens is a Celebrity?! Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I鈥檓 Too Young To Die! My Chickens Are Even More Too Young To Die! Zaelen hissed, his eyes warily flitting around the landscape around him. Well, the three feet of landscape he could see. The rest was covered by gales of what was more snow then wind, so thick that nothing else was seeable. And of course, the thing that was hiding among the snow, which was much worse. He could sense its presence, and from the expressions and movements of the others, they could sense it too. The elderin squawked nervously, backing up until its feathers brushed Zaelen¡¯s scales. The same magic circles as before glowed faintly above its head, a beam ready to strike anything that appeared. Light Beam, likely ¨C Zaelen had spared a quick glance towards the elderin¡¯s stats and skills. However, it likely wouldn¡¯t be enough to stop whatever was there. |||Keep your defenses up, alright?||| Can¡¯t you see what I¡¯m doing? Zaelen attempted to get a clearer view of his surroundings by using [Wind Surge] combined with [Dragon Breath]. But while it worked and did its purpose for a few fleeting seconds, the snow and wind soon overpowered it. Zaelen deemed it a waste of MP. Then something flashed inches from his snout. He jerked back, aiming a [Flame Claw] at it. But it had disappeared. What had appeared and stayed was four bleeding gashes on his snout. ¡°Well...¡± muttered Zaelen, ¡°At least we know it has four claws now.¡± The mystirin shuffled up to him, emitting several worried squawks. In that one moment, right as its attention turned to Zaelen, a black shape leaped onto it. Blood splattered onto the ground. Zaelen moved instantly, sending a [Dragon Breath] toward the shadow. The aetherin gave a screech of alarm, bringing down talons wreathed in a purple aura down on the creature. The aquaerin sent a swirling beam of water blasting toward it. The elderin released several beams of white and golden light. Velwraith lunged, ice-covered claws ready to tear. Fyrn gave a growl and sent sharp spears of ice soaring. As soon as the attacks were fired, the thing was gone. Zaelen broke his flames and dragged the mystirin out of the way. It gave a weak chirrup, looking at Zaelen with baleful eyes. Deep gashes had been dragged through its neck; precise and lethal. And as if it had done its job, the snowstorm swirled into a gently patter of snowflakes; the fierce winds from before gone as if it had never been there. Blood flowed out of the mystirin like a surging flood, a puddle of the red liquid quickly forming on the ground. Zaelen tried to stop the flow until Velwraith pushed him out of the way. ¡°I have healing abilities,¡± he said, though the dark expression he had said that he wasn¡¯t sure if that would be enough. A glowing green light like the healing wolf from before ¨C Lyri or something ¨C formed around Velwraith¡¯s paws, though it was evidently dimmer. |||His abilities probably aren¡¯t as strong as Lyri¡¯s||| Zaelen suspected the same thing, because it seemed to take ages for the blood to stop. The rest of the chickens and Fyrn stood watch, though they kept looking to see how the process was going. Finally, the blood came to an end and the wound scabbed over. Velwraith fell back, panting heavily. Zaelen glanced at the mystirin¡¯s HP. His mood, which hadn¡¯t been exactly good, fell even more. [Mystirin] HP: 34/215 Status: Poisoned, Weakened [Warning]: The selected creature is in critical condition Velwraith took one glance at Zaelen and knew something was wrong even though the wound had stopped bleeding. ¡°What?¡± the wolf asked grimly. Zaelen didn¡¯t have to ask what Velwraith meant. ¡°Poison,¡± he answered. Fyrn gave a horrified gasp. ¡°Does that mean that they¡¯ll die?¡± The aetherin prodded the mystirin, which had fallen unconscious. It nudged it with its head. When its sibling didn¡¯t wake, it nudged harder. The elderin chittered behind it, then joined in the nudging. The aquaerin came to inspect the wound, then drew back, horrified. Then the chickens turned to stare at Zaelen with round eyes. It occurred to Zaelen that the chickens had never seen true death. Sure, they might¡¯ve killed things, but they had never lost anything, or rather, anyone that they had known. Even in the battle where the wolves had gone into the aurexcarapax hive, they had been stationed outside, so they didn¡¯t see the deaths of the wolves. And killing the gigantic wasps weren¡¯t the same. After all, everyone killed something, whether it was a gigantic aurexcarapax or a tiny insignificant ant. To be honest, this was worse, considering that they had to watch as the mystirin¡¯s chest slowly slowed, its death drawing painstakingly closer with every breath. ¡°Momma, what¡¯s happening?¡± asked the aquaerin. Its voice was small and scared. Zaelen knew, but he supposed that telling them the truth wouldn¡¯t make the situation better. And there was a small chance that the mystirin could live. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally, Fyrn stepped in. ¡°They¡¯re sleeping,¡± she crooned. ¡°They¡¯re not waking up because they¡¯re very tired. Let them rest, you wouldn¡¯t want to be woken up when you were very tired, would you?¡± The wolf ushered the chickens away and Zaelen gave a relieved sigh. Velwraith spoke. ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll... survive?¡± ¡°...To be honest, no. Not unless we find someone who has, well, better healing abilities.¡± The gray blue and white wolf winced but he nodded. ¡°Do you know someone like that?¡± Zaelen thought back to Lyri. ¡°I mean... I do but there¡¯s no way that we¡¯re going to be able to find her.¡± |||What about Servant Chicken?||| What? I thought you didn¡¯t agree with me calling them chickens? Much less servant chickens ¨C even I don¡¯t like calling them that. Makes it sound like they¡¯re my slaves. |||No, I don¡¯t agree with you calling them that too but THINK. USE. YOUR ONE BRAINCELL BRAIN||| Zaelen scrunched up his face, trying to scrounge up some memory from the depths of his mind. Cetalis Sicarious Name: Servant Chicken Level: 236/1500 HP: 3000/3000 MP: 1000/1000This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. SPD: 2850 STR: 2900 Skills (Condensed): [Nightfall Lv11] [Final Eclipse Lv7] [Shadow Slash Lv21] [Blade Strike Lv19] [Human Transformation Lv15] [Telepathy Lv13] Resistances: [Poison Lv4] [Bleed Lv7] [Darkness LvMax] [Light Lv4] [Weakened Lv3] [Paralyze Lv4] [Fire Lv2] [Ice Lv5] Zaelen blinked. ¡°Oh. When did that exist?¡± |||ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!||| |||I THOUGHT YOU AT LEAST HAD ONE BRAINCELL!||| Well, ¡®Servant Chicken¡¯ isn¡¯t going to help anyway! He doesn¡¯t have any healing skills! |||He could CERTAINLY do a better job than SOMEBODY on finding the wolves||| When¡¯d I say I wanted to find the wolves?! |||Hmm, MAYBE A FEW MINUTES AGO!||| And how do I even call him? |||Oh, I WONDER what telepathy does||| Hey, he didn¡¯t have that last time I checked his stats! |||So now you happen to just conveniently remember?!||| |||I thought you were worried about the chicken!||| Aha! You called it a chicken! You agree with me! |||What ¨C no! Just get it over with and call Servant Chicken here!||| What ¨C fine! And what am I supposed to do, just say: ¡®Servant Chicken, come here¡¯?! Velwraith prodded Zaelen with a paw, jolting him out of his argument with the system. He turned to look at the wolf, who in turn directed his gaze toward the mystirin. It looked worse than before, its breaths coming shallow and fast. HP: 25/215 Zaelen was reminded that the lethal poison was still working its way through the mystirin¡¯s system, slowly and agonizingly consuming its life. Zaelen sighed. Despite all his bravado in the argument, he truly was worried for the mystirin. Yet what could he do? He walked forward and sat beside the mystirin and its siblings. They squawked and nestled closer to him, as if trying to find comfort in him. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, right?¡± asked the aetherin. Its voice was small and quavered, as if scared of the answer. Zaelen leaned closer and ruffled the feathers on its head. ¡°Of course. Of course.¡± The aetherin and other chickens instantly relaxed and Zaelen realized they trusted him with all their hearts. If he told them to jump off a cliff with their wings clipped, they would probably do it. He sighed, when Fyrn gave a warning growl. Zaelen¡¯s head jerked up from watching the mystirin, eyes focusing on a distant shape on the horizon. It was rapidly growing closer through the soft mist of snow that still fell. Soon, they could all make out it was a bird. Then it landed in a flurry of beating wings, sending snow flying up around it. Zaelen gave a yelp as the white particles flew up in his face, franticly using [Wind Surge] to blow them back. Fyrn gave a fierce growl and leaped, claws outstretched, ready to rip and tear. Before she managed to even nick a feather, the new arrival somehow already had her pinned under one of his feet, his sharp talons digging into her flesh. Fyrn writhed and struggled, but it was to no avail. Velwraith darted from behind Zaelen a second later in a blur of white. A few seconds later, he was pinned by dark chains of shadow that had erupted from the ground. The bird turned to look at Zaelen. He frowned. ¡°...Ohhhhhh. Servant Chicken?¡± Zaelen gasped, finally realizing. |||A round of applause to Zaelen, please!||| Shut it. Servant Chicken coughed and stared at Zaelen with an injured expression. ¡°I come back after this long and the first thing you say is ¡®Servant Chicken¡¯?¡± ¡°No, it was ¡®oh¡¯,¡± corrected Zaelen. Servant Chicken smacked his forehead with a wing. ¡°I swear... what did I do that all for?¡± he muttered. Zaelen blinked, realizing that Servant Chicken had changed from before. Well, his species name was different too. Guess he evolved? Instead of the normal pastel hues from before, his feathers had changed into a pure midnight black with red highlights. The long wings feathers on his wings ended in sharp, glinting blades. ¡°So, what did you call me here for?¡± asked Servant Chicken, releasing Fyrn from under his talons. He flicked a wing and Velwraith¡¯s chains sank back into the ground. Fyrn leaped away, fur bristling. She glared at Zaelen. ¡°Why do you talk so... relaxedly with him?!¡± she snarled. ¡°And why is he here?!¡± Zaelen tilted his head. ¡°He¡¯s gonna help the chicken.¡± He motioned toward the prone figure of the mystirin on the ground. ¡°And how would he do that? He¡¯s obviously made for killing.¡± Fyrn cast a wary glance at Servant Chicken, who watched her with a placid expression. ¡°I could¡¯ve killed you while you were under my talons. And the other wolf too.¡± Servant Chicken paused as he surveyed the condition the mystirin was in. ¡°So what do you want me to do, Zaelen?¡± ¡°You remember the wolves, right?¡± Servant Chicken snorted. ¡°As if I could forget. What about them?¡± ¡°Find them. To be more specific, find Lyri. Or some other healer.¡± ¡°I thought it was weird that they weren¡¯t near. What happened?¡± Zaelen gulped and looked away. ¡°You can... find that out later.¡± ¡°By god, you are impossible,¡± said Servant Chicken, rolling his eyes. Then he flared his wings wide and set to the sky. ¡°I¡¯ll be back!¡± ¡°You better!¡± called Zaelen. Then he turned to Fyrn, who was still glaring at him. He was pretty sure that she if she could¡¯ve pierced a hole through him with her eyes alone, she would¡¯ve. ¡°How much have you not told us?!¡± she snapped. Zaelen scrunched up his face in thought. ¡°Ummm... a lot?¡± Fyrn glared even harder. ¡°Then you better spit it all out. NOW.¡± ¡°Hey, Fyrn, it¡¯s not like he -¡± Velwraith tried to comfort the fuming wolf, but Fyrn wouldn¡¯t have it. She whipped around to face him, fangs bared. ¡°How can you not be angry, Velwraith?! We¡¯ve kept helping him, first giving him shelter, then following him out to this barren wasteland of a tundra! I don¡¯t understand why that darned serpent let him stay in the first place!¡± Velwraith flinched back, eyes wide in shock. ¡°You mustn''t slander the Master like that!¡± ¡°Master? Master?? It''s just an undignified snake!¡± screeched Fyrn. ¡°It doesn¡¯t deserve such a title, not after holding reign over us for years. We¡¯ve been bowing and cowering to it ¨C like some slave or servant.¡± ¡°He. You well know that, yet you decide to address Master like some... animal?!¡± Velwraith bared his fangs in return. ¡°What, like you could do better! There¡¯s no way you¡¯d be able to defeat him ¨C and you well know that that¡¯s the only way to take the place of the ¡®true¡¯ alpha.¡± Fyrn snorted. ¡°He then. And who knows, Velwraith, who knows.¡± She smiled, though it wasn¡¯t exactly comforting. Velwraith flinched. ¡°...What do you mean?¡± Zaelen squinted. Yo, is that the signs of a conspiracy plot, system? |||How am I supposed to know?!||| Fyrn simply smirked. ¡°All I¡¯ll tell you is that his reign is coming to an end. Once and for all.¡± ¡°Fyrn. Do not speak nonsense!¡± snapped Velwraith. His claws dug into the dirt, as if he wanted to rake them across Fyrn¡¯s face. Woahhh, this is getting intense. I feel like I¡¯m watching one of those drama movies. If only I had some popcorn. |||...||| Fyrn narrowed her eyes, twitching her tail in irritation. ¡°Stop acting like that thing is some immortal being from heaven!¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not acting any better! What, is he some demon from hell then?!¡± Fyrn answered with a hiss and leaped at Velwraith. Before she got halfway, Servant Chicken dove down and clutched her in his talons. ¡°Woah, woah, now what¡¯s happening? I go away for a few seconds and when I get back, some sort of conspiracy plot or something is going on!¡± yelped Servant Chicken as he nonchalantly kept a writhing, fuming frost wolf pinned under him. ¡°Exactly my thoughts,¡± agreed Zaelen. ¡°Anyhow, have you brought Lyri?¡± Servant Chicken bobbed his head. ¡°Look, there she comes now.¡± He pointed a wing at a fast-approaching wolf, followed by many more not far behind. ¡°Though, I have to say, I almost got my head cut off the second I landed.¡± Zaelen squinted at the shapes in the distance. ¡°Very nice,¡± he muttered absentmindedly ¨C he was trying to discern which of the wolves were Lyri. Lyri saved him the trouble, spotting him and, more importantly, the mystirin before he spotted her. Zaelen turned to see, with mild surprise, that Lyri had already somehow arrived, and was already treating the mystirin with that faint glow. The healthy chickens crowded around. ¡°Hey, give her some room,¡± called Servant Chicken. ¡°How do you expect her to work as cramped as she is right now?¡± The chickens reluctantly stepped back, realizing the sense of Servant Chicken¡¯s words. Lyri stayed like that for several minutes, gently moving her paws around the mystirin. Then, just as the first of them arrived, she stepped back. [Mystirin] HP: 126/215 [Mystirin] Status: Sleeping, Recovering Zaelen sighed, feeling the tension he hadn¡¯t known was there seep from his muscles. The mystirin¡¯s breaths had smoothed out into a steady rhythm. Then he turned to face the wolves. He frowned. The wolf leading the pack wasn¡¯t Iceria or even Cryos. It was ¨C what was his name again? Yes. It was Fenrir, the wolf which had been ¡®displeased¡¯ with him, to put it lightly. ¡°Why are you here? Where¡¯s Cryos and Iceria?¡± Zaelen glanced at the pack again, but neither of the wolves mentioned were found. Fenrir sneered. ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡± Oh, They Went Into a Death Trap? This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Alright, Let鈥檚 Follow Them Into a Death Trap! If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. conveniently slithered in. "Sooo, maybe you should''ve listened to me?" Zaelen broke the shocked silence with a smug look at Lyri and Aeries.