After I reentered Vesperia, I was back in the same dungeon as before. My plan was to farm biomass from the monsters that still remained in this intricate space.

But unfortunately, my plans were destroyed when I realized that most of the monsters in the dungeon were already dead.

The players that were here must’ve wiped them out before they left.

Still, I could pick up on signs of life. Though it was faint and wasn’t anywhere near where I currently was in the dungeon.

With the new upgrades done to my wings, I could now travel 90 mph through the dungeon. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

My antennae would pick up information regarding the prey I was tracking, but soon I began to pick up signs of something else.

I could feel strong vibrations coming from a certain tunnel, along with the tracks of several different creatures.

When I was close enough, I stopped flight and landed on the ceiling. I made sure to stick to the darkest area of the dungeon and crawled my way forward.

Soon, another slightly wider section of the dungeon opened up before me.

What I saw was a monster that looked like a crane. The white-feathered beast stood on one leg, with the other positioned in the air to strike at any moment.

Its beak was like a well-sharpened spear, and based on the holes and claw marks on the rocky surfaces of the dungeon, its claws and beak were powerful enough to pierce through rocks.

There was also a strong gust of wind circling the crane, which told me it had wind affinity.

This strange monster was being encircled by a group of kids.

Judging from their appearance, the kids surrounding it were outmatched, and if they continued circling the beast, they would most likely get themselves killed.

There were five of them. Each was skinny and looked as if they were on the verge of collapse. If I had to guess, the youngest was about 5 years old, while the oldest was probably 13, and he seemed like the leader of the group.

While the others stayed back, he was the one to step up, holding a jagged clump of metal that couldn’t even be considered a sword.

The boy was tall and skinny. His white hair was messy and looked a bit discolored.

But the most striking thing about this group of kids was the black horns sprouting from their heads.

Behind the boy with the sword stood another boy who held a stick sharpened to resemble a spear. He had dark, black, oily hair and also had black horns protruding from his head.

Behind them was a girl, roughly the same age as them. She took a protective stance in front of the other two children, who were a young boy and girl that looked like twins.

They had the crane backed into a corner and were slowly approaching it while the crane stood as still as possible.

Anyone seeing this could see that it was a trap. The crane was just waiting for the boy to get within striking distance of its raised foot.

I imagined one kick from such a powerful monster would be enough to relieve the frail boy of his head.

This was suicidal, but the boy pressed on regardless.

I watched the event patiently until the moment the boy stepped into range. The crane’s foot exploded outward, ripping the air around it as it traced a path toward the boy’s head.

The moment the crane’s leg extended, I attached a tiny strand of googum to its feet and tugged it so its attack was slightly off course, missing the boy completely.

But the powerful wind released from the attack was enough to send the boy flying.

That was dumb.

For a moment, I thought the boy was going to pull off the impossible, hence why I didn’t stop it earlier.

Seeing the boy helpless on the ground, the crane didn’t let up and charged forward.

At the same time, I used my earth control spell to shift the ground beneath the crane’s feet, knocking it off balance.

The crane stumbled and used its wings to balance itself so it didn’t fall.

At the same time, I fired my Fire Bolt spell. The attack moved through the air in a zigzag pattern similar to that of a lightning bolt.

In response to the attack, the crane hopped on one leg and stretched out its wings before twisting its body and swinging its other foot as if performing a roundhouse kick.

A powerful wind blast shot out from its legs and impacted the Fire Bolt. Both attacks canceled each other out.

All while the kids watched with stunned faces. The white-haired boy got to his feet and raised his sword once again.

In a panic, his eyes drifted back and forth between the crane and me. He wasn’t sure which monster posed the most danger.

The other children visibly shrank from the sight of me.

They were clearly more terrified of the giant centipede than the crane.

The crane slowly took a step forward as if to stake its claim on the children before it.

Its movements were slow. When the silence in the room was almost deafening, the crane exploded forward toward the children.

Its talons were ready to cut them in half with a single attack.

But at the same time the crane burst forward, I activated my earth control skill and raised an earth wall between the monster and the children.

The crane was unperturbed as it leaped over the wall, and while in mid-air, the beast kicked the air, creating several slashing attacks all aimed toward the kids.

[Fire Bolt]

[Fire Bolt]

[Fire Bolt]

In response, I fired several bolts of fire which intercepted all of the crane’s wind attacks.

Activating my mold skill, I created a long and pointed stinger made completely of obsidian.

Then, by manipulating the mana inside my body and directing it toward my wings, I released a controlled sonic blast that propelled me through the air at supersonic speeds.

I ripped through the crane’s chest, creating a large cavity where its heart was supposed to be.

[You have slain an F-ranked Wind Crane]