PEAK
Ali slowly raised his head, his black eyes scanning the craggy edge of the summit where the wind howled with a quiet violence. Above him, nestled in a cavern carved naturally into the face of the mountain, was a massive nest—an enormous hollow woven together from the thickest branches and ancient roots.
Inside it rested the Storm Eagle.
The creature was majestic, monstrous, and deadly. Its silver feathers shimmered faintly in the moonlight, each plume as sharp and solid as forged steel. Thunder crackled subtly in the air around its form, the faintest arcs of blue lightning dancing along its wings with each breath.
Ali narrowed his gaze.
'So that's a Storm Eagle… Just like the one Shadow devoured back in the forest. Looks identical. Which means—'
'I've killed one before. Should be easy.'
His eyes scanned the perimeter. He didn't see any sign of a second eagle.
'A single parent…? Or maybe the one I killed was its mate. Doesn't matter. The egg's got to be under it.'
Ali ducked low again and pressed himself against a ledge just below the nest's edge, where he could stand and balance. The wind battered his back, but he remained rooted like a shadow.
'It's sleeping. Then it's time I use a technique I haven't touched in years…'
He exhaled slowly. Calm. Still. Cantered.
Ali closed his eyes, leaned the side of his head against the cold rock, and let his arms fall limp at his sides. His chest rose and fell slower. Slower. Slower still. His pulse slowed with each moment until even the air around him seemed to forget he existed.
This was no ordinary trick.
It was a technique few had ever mastered:
Silent Heart.
A method used by assassins to play dead—sometimes for seconds, sometimes for minutes. But Ali had taken it further. With the help of his healing cells, he could push his body into a near-death state indefinitely, compensating for the slowed circulation by self-regulating his internal systems.
It turned him nearly invisible to all senses.
A ghost.
A whisper.
A death that had not yet been noticed.
Ali opened his eyes and silently pulled himself into the Storm Eagle's nest.
The texture beneath his feet shifted—twig, bark, feather. The nest was massive and meticulously built. Thick branches wove together like iron rebar, layered in dried leaves, pine needles, and forest bedding. A cradle built for a titan.
He took one step. Then another.
Every movement calculated. Balanced. Gentle.
The eagle didn't move. Its head remained tucked beneath its wing, unaware of the death now standing just a meter away.
'It can't sense me. Not through Silent Heart. Its instincts are completely neutralised. That's how dangerous this is.'
Ali crept to its side, eyes scanning for a gap in the feathers. And there—it was. A small slit in the blanket of silver plumage.
The space between the wings.
Ali slipped into the gap like water through a crack. He moved without a sound, resting his feet atop solid wood, creeping forward until he stood directly above the eagle's resting head.
Then—
[Personal Mission: Kill the Mother Storm Eagle (0/1)]
Ali smiled.
'Free rewards. Just how I like it.'
His hands hovered over the Storm Eagle's sleeping face. Every nerve in his body was primed. He began restoring his heart rate—very slowly—and yet the eagle remained asleep. No stir. No alarm. His stealth was second to none.
Then, with a quiet murmur—
"Force LIGHTNING."
The eagle's eyes snapped open in an instant.
But it was too late.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
A torrent of crimson lightning exploded from Ali's hands and slammed into the eagle's skull. The force of the lightning was immediate, unstoppable, and devastating. Electricity surged into the beast's brain, frying neural tissue, scorching its senses, and melting the inside of its skull in a single terrifying burst.
Ali didn't stop.
He pushed more Spirit into the lightning—two points—then three. His hands sparked violently against the bird's head as smoke began to rise, feathers sizzling, bone cracking beneath his grip.
And then—
The body slumped.
The beast collapsed, its gigantic frame falling to the side of the nest with a heavy, lifeless thud against the mountain wall.
[Personal Mission: Kill the Mother Storm Eagle (1/1)]
[Reward: 0.1 Attribute Points in Speed]
Ali stepped back, breathing only slightly heavier.
'Not bad. A bump in speed. That's always welcome.'
He turned to the massive corpse, sleeves rolled up.
"Now to move the mother and find the egg."
With a deep breath, Ali wrapped both arms around the eagle's neck and began to push. Muscles flaring, his core braced, he summoned the Force to assist in shifting the massive carcass.
"Come on—" he growled under his breath, straining.
The beast groaned against the stone… then rolled.
With a final shove, Ali managed to slide the mother's body aside and expose the bottom of the nest.
And there it was.
"There it is."
A massive white egg, nearly the size of Ali—smooth, glowing faintly, warm to the touch. A perfect creation of magic and nature.
But that wasn't all.
Ali's eyes darted past the egg.
Behind the nest, something shimmered.
'What the fuck…?'
He stepped around the carcass, moving to the far end of the nest—and froze.
Behind the eagle's bedding was a hoard. A pile of treasure.
Armour. Bones. And wood…
He crouched low and lifted a helmet impaled with an arrow.
"Human armour. High quality… And there—bones. Carriage wheels. Debris…"
He swept away a section of the broken wood and found two massive iron-bound chests, both still shut tight. Resting atop them was the shredded robe of a merchant, and below that—his skeletal remains.
Ali opened both chests at once.
GLINT
A smile spread across his face.
They were filled to the brim with silver coins. Thousands of them—each stamped with the same royal crown emblem he'd seen on Stork's pouch.
"Good. Very good," Ali said to himself, eyes gleaming. "All this silver… I can use this before I tap into my gold reserves. The armour's not bad either. I wouldn't wear it—but maybe the three brothers could. Call it a reward."
Ali stood, eyes scanning one last time before returning to the nest. He reached down and carefully picked up the giant white egg, cradling it with both arms as he carried it to the edge of the nest's cliff.
[Personal Mission: Steal a Storm Eagle's Egg (1/1)]
[Reward: 0.1 Attribute Points in Body]
Free AP: 0
Strength: 0.4
Body: 0 > 0.1
Speed: 0.4 > 0.5
Spirit: 5.1
Intelligence: 0
Luck: 0
Passive Skills:
Tengen's Blessing
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