It was the fifth day since his return from the swamp. Again, it was a dull and dreary day, but Henry wasn’t complaining. It was better than getting besieged by hostile monsters or dark arts practitioners. As much as he loved to have something interesting happen, he wanted to at least have an uneventful week of rest and repose before he went back into any thrilling indulgence.

Unfortunately, a week's worth of holiday was too much to ask for from the whims of fate. Today was a day when the peace came to another tentative end.

Henry was returning from the pond after satiating his thirst. He was strolling through the forest with a smile on his face, greeting all the small rodents he came across. The small rodents had become friendly with Henry after he saved the weasel who ate a poisonous peach by having it consume a drop of his saliva. He then personally guarded the weasel until it could move again. Since that day, the small animals no longer ran away upon noticing his nearing presence.

Henry was waving at a chipmunk pair who had their mouths stuffed with nuts when a whiff of stench wafted into his nose. The odour came from the north and just as he turned his head in that direction, a strong gust of wind blew towards him.

Great… Holiday’s over. 

The chipmunks were thrown off their feet by the strong wind but Henry caught them before they flew far out of his reach. He then quickly put the chipmunks down by the roots of the trees and took off sprinting in the direction of the gust and stench.

The smell and scent were not something Henry recognised from the forest around him. However, it did smell familiar. It was the smell of the swamp.

Did some large monster come out of the swamp?

Considering Henry remembered how he literally caused a forest fire due to his frustration and vexation, he did think this line of reasoning was incredibly plausible.

Now, just what kind of monster came out—

His thoughts were interrupted by the answer he was seeking. Spider-ant monsters two sizes smaller than him emerged from the trees and bushes ahead. They were running towards him frantically. 

Bugs… really?

There were at least twenty of these spider-ants. They resembled ants but they each had eight legs and four pairs of eyes. Their mandibles looked sharp to give Henry the shivers. 

Henry roared at the spider-ants but that did nothing to stop them or even slow them down. They kept running without caring much about Henry’s presence.

They’re running away from something?

Even though they weren’t here for Henry, the spider-ants’ presence would disturb the balance of the fauna in this part of the forest. They had to be culled, Henry decided. 

He swings his claws, dicing up tens of spider-ants with just a single volley of aura blades. The spider-ants shrieked in terror but they weren’t stopping. Whatever was making them run, they feared that thing more than they feared Henry.

Henry drew a line with his fire breath and raised a long wall of flames. The spider-ants stopped before the flaming wall. Most of them, at least. A few were not pretty daring as they charged right through the flaming wall, turning themselves into cinders. 

Another strong gust of wind streaked through the forest then. The wall of flames was nourished by the wind and grew to even greater heights. The spider-ants shrieked and cried against the rising flaming wall and they began to turn around. 

However, right then, more spider-ants came spilling out from the trees and bushes. Their fear for their original hunter was reignited and they turned back around, charging right through the imposing wall of flames. 

As their numbers were many, some of the spider-ants were able to make it through but they instantly met their demise at Henry’s claws, fangs, and magic after passing through the wall. 

Just what are they all running from?

Another strong gust of wind swept through and this time, the cause of it came along. A large shadow took to the air and soared high up into the sky.

“Whoa…” Henry gasped. “Is that a… Dragon?”

Henry’s observation wasn’t too far-fetched as the silhouette of that thing in the sky looked just like that of a Dragon. It even had the wings of a Dragon. Upon a closer look, that thing’s appearance did look awfully similar to a Dragon. However, there was just something in the corner of his mind that was telling him that thing was no dragon.

Hmm… It only has a pair of hind limbs but no forelimbs like I do. Maybe the wings are its forelimbs… Could this thing be a Wyvern?

A handful of spider-ants were in the grip of the Wyvern’s hind talons. Henry could see torn spider-ants dangling off the side of its mouth. These spider-ants were the Wyvern’s food. And from the smell of it, the stench was coming off from the Wyvern, not the spider-ants. The Wyvern was a resident of the swamp and it was even more evident when Henry saw mosses growing on the Wyvern’s body. 

Henry vaguely remembered the Lavan Tribe Chieftain said something about the swamp having two titan monsters. Henry reckoned the Wyvern was one of the two. If it wasn’t, Henry didn’t even dare to imagine how much larger a monster classified as a titan would be.

Did it come here looking for food after I burned down a good part of the swamp?

Henry felt a tad guilty as he thought about that possibility. Anyway, putting guilt aside, the Wyvern was as large as a double-decker bus, around a few sizes larger than Henry. Moreover, it could fly. It was not a monster Henry wanted to make an enemy of.

The Wyvern took notice of Henry as it swooped down to catch its prey. There was a glint of interest in its gaze as it caught Henry in its sight.

Oh god… Was a week worth of downtime too much to ask for?

As if the Wyvern had found a better prey, it snarled gleefully at Henry. It began crawling towards him with a grin.

Fuck you!

Henry returned the snarl with his fire breath. The Wyvern immediately fended off the flames with a flap of its wings. It then soared right back up into the sky, avoiding the flames completely. Meanwhile, the spider-ants were scattering in all directions but Henry no longer had any leeway to care about those bugs.

The Wyvern sheathed its wings when it reached a certain height and it dove right towards Henry.

Henry fired off a firebolt but the Wyvern easily dodged the attack by doing a barrel-roll to the side. It was agile in the air as it should be considering it was a flying monster. It was snickering at Henry after his attack missed.

This fucker!

Henry braced himself by digging claws into the soil and unleashed a breath of condensed high-pressure air at the Wyvern.

Of course, the Wyvern dodged the jetstream breath easily too but it was caught off guard when Henry swerved its continuous jetstream breath after the Wyvern. The flying lizard screeched as the breath grazed its right wing. Its head would have been cut off if it didn’t roll away from the breath.

Damn it!

Henry cursed inwardly as the jetstream breath came to an end due to him running out of breath. Before he could recover his breath, the Wyvern swooped down on him. The tattoos around Henry’s limbs glowed as he leapt to the side to avoid the Wyvern’s talons but the Wyvern stretched out its long neck instead when Henry fell out of its talons’ reach. 

The Wyvern managed to grab Henry mid-leap with its jaws. It tried sinking its razor-sharp fangs into his flesh but it only ended up hurting itself. It swung its head and spat Henry out before he could claw at its head. Henry went rolling across the ground like a bowling ball from being spat out by the Dragon-wannabe monster.

Slamming his tail against the ground, he stopped his roll and flipped himself upright, just in time to see the Wyvern charging at him. It was trying to grab him with its talons this time around. Henry tossed himself to the side and easily avoided the Wyvern’s charge.

The Wyvern’s talons dug through the empty ground and it soared into the sky again. It was already turning back around for another swoop. Unlike the bird monster Henry fought before, the Wyvern was faster and it could fly higher.

When the Wyvern closed its mouth and its cheeks puffed up, Henry had a premonition.

A breath attack? No way, right? You have gotta be—

The Wyvern reopened its mouth with a roar and a ball of dark green goo shot out.

—shitting me!

Though it was no fire breath, Henry didn’t think the Wyvern’s breath attack was any less dangerous. Adhering to his instincts, Henry rolled to the side instead of taking the breath attack head-on. The ball of green goo exploded upon touching the ground. It was a small explosion but the outcome was devastating. 

“Corrosive breath?” Henry blurted out loud at the sight of the ground melting like it was doused with acid.

The Wyvern was outright chuckling when it saw Henry’s alarmed expression. 

Sadistic fuck.

Henry glared back in anger and disgust. He no longer felt guilty about destroying its home or whatever. “I am going to tear those obnoxious wings of yours off and gouge out your Murux Heart and eat it!” Henry shouted in his Murux Voice.

The Wyvern tilted its head in wonder. It didn’t seem to be capable of proper speech but it did appear to understand the words. It sneered in response to Henry’s declaration and started flapping its wings quicker than it was needed to keep itself in the air.

Henry unleashed a firebolt in a desperate attempt to stop the Wyvern but it was far too late as the wind blades smother the flames in a near-instant. 

Oh shucks!

Henry turned around and dashed into the trees as wind blades came spurting out from the violent flapping of the Wyvern’s wings. He didn’t even wait around to take a gander at the destruction. The sounds were enough for him to gauge the intensity and sheer power of such an attack.

It was akin to a machine gun. Henry could hear everything behind him being shredded into pieces. It was absolute mayhem and total obliteration behind him. All the while as he ran, he could hear the Wyvern snickering. It was enjoying this. 

As Henry ran, he kept rummaging through his memories, trying to find an ability he had acquired that would be effective against this accursed Wyvern. Eventually, he did find one. It was such a crucial ability but he couldn’t believe he forgot about it. 

Henry immediately turned around and faced the Wyvern with a grin. 

The Wyvern had a look of confusion but it didn’t stop his flurries of wind blades as that shredding volley approached the Dragon.

Henry conjured up a translucent barrier that was larger than the last time had used it. It was the spell shield that he had acquired after consuming the tiger-like beast’s Murux Heart in the bottom of the chasm. Now that he was significantly stronger than he was, the spell shield did not break easily even against the rain of wind blades. 

My turn.

Henry drew in his breath and his chest and cheeks puffed. And when he unleashed his breath, a thin stream of condensed high-pressure air cut through all the wind blades, streaking right towards the Wyvern.

The Wyvern stopped flapping its wings and tried to dodge but it was too late for that. Still, the Wyvern tried to dodge and the jetstream breath cut across its jaws. The Wyvern shrieked like thunder, filled with agony. Its lower jaw was severed from its mouth.

Henry was surprised that it was still alive in spite of such an injury and it flailed energetically in the air as its blood came pouring down like a light rain. It flew higher up into the sky to avoid being sliced into pieces by Henry’s jetstream breath.

Tenacious shit! Just die already!

The moment Henry ran out of breath, the Wyvern made its sharp and abrupt descent, diving towards Henry.

What the hell… What is it trying to do now? A last-ditch effort?

The Wyvern, at the verge of its death, was a horrifying sight, Henry had to admit. It was missing its lower jaw and blood was pouring incessantly from that grave wound. In spite of that, the Wyvern was still moving around with all the zest in the world. It did not look like a beast near the brink of death. 

Whatever it was planning, Henry wasn’t about to stay around and find out. However, as he moved, his world swirled and a terrible ache assaulted his head. He knew why. He had used two abilities at once and he poured a lot of his Murux into these two abilities. It would have been weird if he didn’t experience some dizziness at the very least.

That brief struggle was all it took for the Wyvern to catch up to Henry. It gripped the back of Henry tightly with its talons and soared high up into the sky. 

Henry screamed as his feet left the ground and the air brushed against his face and skin like he was up against a strong rushing water current. The Wyvern was dying and once it did, Henry would be released from its grip and he would be falling through a height that he couldn’t possibly survive.

Crazy bastard!

Henry kicked and floundered but Wyvern’s dying grip was strong. He could reach his back with his forelimbs easily but it was hard to properly use any strength in such a position. He could only lightly claw at the Wyvern’s talon as he was brought higher and higher up into the sky.

The Wyvern’s ascent was slowing down but it didn’t change the fact it was still ascending. However, this gave enough leeway for Henry to retaliate without being impeded by the opposing wind current. He drew in another deep breath, deeper than usual, while fighting off the accumulating fatigue. When he released that deep breath in the form of his jetstream breath, the recoil spun him around forcefully, wresting himself out of the Wyvern’s strong grip.

As he was already too high up in the sky, he grabbed the Wyvern’s hind limbs to prevent himself from falling. He pulled the Wyvern in and thrust his claws into its chest. The Wyvern shuddered violently for a few seconds before coming to a halt along with the movements of its wings. The Wyvern had died. 

Henry cared not of the Wyvern’s state nor that gravity was reclaiming him. He fumbled his claws around within the Wyvern’s body. His face lit up when he touched something coarse but hard inside the Wyvern’s body, the Murux Heart. He gripped it tightly and yanked it out with a single pull. He kicked the useless Wyvern’s carcass away and tossed the crystal clump into his mouth. He chewed on it and swallowed the Murux Heart of the Wyvern.

His fatigue was dispelled and he felt rejuvenated. However, he was still falling and he only had seconds before he hit the trees and the ground. The trees could break his fall but he was heavy and massive and he was falling from a great height. Those trees could do little to ease his fall.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Wings, come on! Wings, please come out right now!

It was a fool’s gamble as he wasn’t even sure wings were what he would be gaining from the Wyvern’s Murux Heart. He mostly gained the monsters’ abilities, mostly. He did grow ethereal fins and gills underwater when he consumed the Alpha Ruguth’s Murux Heart. But even those features took some time to show their results. 

Shit! Shit!!!

The wings had yet to sprout and he was mere moments away from becoming a pulp. He cast aside this foolish gamble of his and went with another gamble that was just as foolish. He gathered his breaths, as much as his lungs allowed. Remembering the feeling of how he acquired his Murux Voice, he applied that control to what he was doing. He gathered Murux to his lungs.

His throat bulged from the air and Murux he amassed. A vivid vermilion glow could also be seen within.

He was hitting the trees now, crashing through the branches and trunks that did little to ease his drop. The ground was just seconds away from greeting him.

In the final seconds, Henry unleashed the breaths he had amassed and he was unleashing them toward the ground. A vast mass of flames was discharged. It was just a simple breath of fire nor a simple spit of firebolt. It was greater than the two. It was a ball of inferno, created from the fusion of flames and strong winds. A combination of two of his abilities, his fire breath and his jetstream breath.

The recoil was many times stronger than a jetstream breath, strong enough to reduce the fatal attraction of gravity to a harmless degree. In fact, the inferno breath was stronger than he had expected. The shockwave of the vast explosion sent him flying through the trees and he went bouncing across the ground. He tried to stop his tumbling prematurely but there was too much momentum. He tried digging his claws into the ground but he only ended up digging a piece of the ground out.

He didn’t know how far he bounced and tumbled. He knew he went down a hill at some point and that only increased the momentum and he went tumbling further. His tumbling eventually came to a stop at an open field, the momentum completely exhausted. He was surprised that he did not just faint during mid-tumble.

His body was aching all over and he did not where he had tumbled to. He rolled to his feet, slowly and painfully, and scoured his surroundings. He had fallen to a whole new area of the forest. The terrains were unfamiliar. The scent too. He was picking up a lot of scents he did not recognise. The mountains he had ever seen in the distance were now a lot closer. 

The most significant change of all, the weather was colder than the one he was used to. It was like the temperature had dropped by tens of degrees.