“Alright, like we practiced,” I say as I tap Anemone on the neck from my perch on her back. She doesn't answer me; instead, she flaps her wings and releases a concentrated wave of mana that seeps into a nearby cloud. The cloud then begins to tail Anemone. A flight of a hundred [Gale Wyverns] follows us.

“Good. Now dive.”

Anemone does. Her wings shift as she swoops down, stopping several meters from the ground of a floating island. Then, she glides over it, trailing the cloud right behind her. We do this several times until the cloud becomes thoroughly negatively charged in energy.

“Alright, we are ready. Let’s attack that island.”

Anemone roars and the [Gale Wyverns] respond as they quickly enter the charged cloud in the four-finger formation that they had learned over the course of the week.

About ten minutes pass before we find our intended target, an island located in the central western side of the whole floor. This island is larger than the one Anemone calls her home and is currently occupied by a single [Incinerator Wyvern] and an acceptable hundred [Blaze Wyverns].

The island was once home to the Garuda and was used as a forward base for invading the once highly contested central islands.

“Attack is coming. Defend our home!” I hear the [Incinerator Wyvern] roar in the draconic language before taking flight from its perch.

I smile as the wyvern turns toward us, seeing only Anemone and choosing to fight back. It clearly thinks it can win since we seem epically outnumbered.

And it probably could… were we not prepared.

“Remember Anemone, keep him busy. If need be, I can take him out myself.”

“This had better work,” Anemone growls as she creates a cyclone of wind around herself, then speeds up.

The [Incinerator Wyvern] takes a deep breath and releases it towards Anemone, but the [Tempest Wyvern] strengthens the cyclone and uses it as a shield. Her speed increases as she slams into the [Incinerator Wyvern] and almost knocks me off her back. Thankfully, I had created a saddle of bone and strapped myself in.

Then the cloud catches up and engulfs the [Blaze Wyverns] completely. A moment after, lightning can be heard and seen, followed by screams and pain.

Electricity is caused by negatively and positively charged particles of air meeting and becoming energized. Normally, the bottom of the cloud would be negatively charged and the top would be positively charged, which causes a lightning storm. With enough time and build up, the charge forms due to friction within the storm.

Which is where my plan comes in. Apparently, air wyvern scales repel lightning, so they could fly into thunderstorms and be relatively safe. But, here's the real kicker. [Gale Wyverns] have a breath attack that can blast and blow concentrated air to push enemies away. What’s surprising, however, is the attack is positively charged. For whatever reason, they naturally positively charge the air in their lungs before releasing the attack.

In a negatively charged storm, that creates lightning.

I listen with glee to deafening thunderclaps as the [Gale Wyverns] release strikes of lightning upon the woefully unprepared [Blaze Wyverns]. The lightning strikes with potent force making muscles spasm and nervous systems fail. Not even half a minute elapses and every [Blaze Wyvern] is dead or dying while the [Incinerator Wyvern] looks on in confusion.

But it only stays distracted for a moment. Anemone is still a potent threat and a distraction could ultimately lead to death.

“The plan is going perfectly. The cloud will reach him soon. Let's keep him occupied.”

Anemone snorts but compiles.

I watch as mana is directed around her, honing to a dangerous edge before releasing pressurised blades of wind that the [Incinerator Wyvern] blocks with a superheated blue flame that covers its scales. Overall, the [Incinerator Wyvern] is barely over level three hundred and in a normal fight, would lose to Anemone quite easily. It lacks the experience and understanding that a slightly higher level [Incinerator Wyvern] would have.

Which is good, or it might have ruined my experiment.

Eventually, the cloud floats over the [Incinerator Wyvern] and the [Gale Wyverns] act. They open their mouths and release their attacks. Lightning blasts from the cloud, striking the [Incinerator Wyvern] with impressive effect. Explosions go off as the streaks of electricity make contact with the resistant wyvern’s scales. One lightning strike wouldn’t be a threat to a monster over level three hundred, but several dozen strikes in a second, coming down continually, will destroy enough resilient scales to hit the [Incinerator Wyvern]’s unprotected internals. The wyvern roars as its wings stop flapping and it crashes onto the island. It hits the ground with a terrible impact, yet still tries to stand, but the [Gale Wyverns] do not give it the chance. Lightning falls from the clouds, repeatedly striking the wyvern for several minutes before I finally signal the [Gale Wyverns] to stop. The [Incinerator Wyvern] had died slowly. Its levels and high stats had allowed it to live while the repetitive discharges kept it paralyzed and burned it from the inside, sintering the flesh along its bones, stopping and restopping its heart, torturing it unto death.

“Alright. Now that was a success. See, I told you it would work.”

Anemone grunts, annoyed at my words, but I can tell she is deeply impressed by her slightly open mouth and her tail which swishes left and right, a weird expression of happiness that reminds me of a dog.

“This is indeed useful, but it only works when on the offensive. It takes time to create this… storm cloud as you call it.”

I chuckle at her ignorance. “Anemone, that's the point. Attack first and attack constantly. As long as you are always on the offensive, they will not be able to attack your home. Clear out all hostiles near you and continue to invade the center.”

Anemone bobs her head slightly, a movement that dictates she is unsure but not against the idea.

“What of food? We must hunt instead of constantly fighting.”

I raise an eyebrow towards the wyvern, trying to ascertain if she is serious. Her continued silence has me rolling my eyes.

“Anemone, you won't have a food shortage for a while. Please look down.”

Anemone does and I feel a shudder go through her body. The reaction is new to me, so I can only think of it as a surprise.

The [Gale Wyverns], having eliminated all the threats, are now gorging on the dead with glee. They will eat their fill and then they will take as much as they can back to the nest to feed the young.

“As you can see, you now have a very viable and effective food source. Just keep invading and slaughtering.”

Anemone stays quiet, but understands what I am saying. She slows down and hovers over the battlefield, allowing me to crack my fingers and begin spending mana.

“[Skeleton Creation], [Missile].” I say, activating both skills together.

My mana leaves my body as bonedust rises from the skeletons of the dead. Many of the [Gale Wyverns] screech in annoyance, but I ignore them as I focus my mana.

Within a moment, something similar to a [Bone Wyvern] is created, but it is modified to the extreme. It has no legs or claws. The tail elongates and its head morphs into a giant armored spike while its body is aerodynamily sculpted for extreme speed. The undead is finished and I gaze at its status.

“Your creations are disturbing,” Anemone says as she stares at my undead.

I chuckle at her words but do not refute her answer. What I created was an undead whose sole purpose is to ram into a powerful enemy like the [Incinerator Wyverns] and then blow up with my [Corpse Explosion] skill.

I have yet to try it on a living target, but my last one had penetrated stone… and then went out the other side. Hopefully that won't happen again.

As my mana recharges quickly, I make more of them. Five more, specifically.

I groan, annoyed at the system message that keeps getting waved in my face. I really badly want to choose a class already, but waiting would be most beneficial. Still, it’s hard, especially considering how close I am.

I’m one level away from a better enchanting class, and it’s a level I’m taking forever to obtain. The biggest problem is the lack of crystals. Awakened monsters are extremely rare and the stupid wyverns actually eat the crystals. Like, shouldn't that cause indigestion? Who the hell eats crystals… and why do they supposedly increase wyvern levels? I don’t get how the fuck that works. It’s stupid. Really stupid.

“Are you okay? You are squirming a lot.”

“I’m not salty, Anemone. I swear.”

“I have not consumed your species, so I can only take your word for it.”

I groan and continue to construct an army. I just hope baby wyverns don't need a lot of calcium to grow.

_________________________________________________________________

Jessica gazes up, watching with interest as Alba instructs the [Gale Wyverns] to fly in the various formations that Quasi wants them to learn. To her, it does not look very impressive. She doesn't understand how a formation is supposed to make them better at fighting in the air, but who is she to complain to the [Hero] that has not yet made any mistakes…

Well, that's a lie. He has made mistakes, but nothing truly horrid. Granted, he almost died... maybe…

Okay, nevermind. He has made mistakes, but she feels that those were born of ignorance instead of incompetence. After all, he comes from a world without classes but with knowledge of natural phenomena that can bridge the gap between levels.

Jessica sighs as she looks down at the book, or more like loose papers held together by a bit of string and covered by leather. He wrote [Human Anatomy] on it, and she can barely follow along. But she reads, and she levels because of it. She still doesn't fully understand the Periodic Table that he emphasises, especially because he supposedly has never heard of Adamantine or Mithril before.

She moves her eyes away from the book, taking a moment to watch the wrestling match between Darrow and the several [Gale Wyverns] dogpiled on him while the rest of the Gejan watch on, amused. Darrow is stronger than the wyverns, but he is outnumbered. They pull and push him around, thankfully unable to penetrate his scales with their sharp claws. Although, considering Darrow, he probably wouldn't care. He would still wrestle and then expect her to [Heal] him.

She then looks to Nyxina, who is currently teaching the male wyvern, Deros, how to speak. Apparently, Deros is a third the age of Nyxina and has never met a Garuda. He is young, and thus has not learned to speak common or even produce the sounds.

Apparently, Jessica had made a connection with him, though she lacks the how or when. She feels nothing, but Quasi was adamant that she indeed did.

As she stares at them and feels magic emanating from their maws, they both stop moving and then turn towards the east. Jessica, confused, follows their gaze and finds Anemone returning with her flock and a dead, boneless [Incinerator Wyvern] in her claws. It seems that Quasi’s plan was a success, considering the orderly squadrons tailing him.