Lionel stared in the direction where the bird had disappeared, and even after a few seconds had passed, he still looked impressed by it.

"That speed is ridiculous..." he muttered under his breath.

Just by looking at it, he could already tell that it was far beyond what an ordinary bird should be capable of. Even messenger hawks trained by the empire would never be able to move like that.

He knew it because he also used messenger hawks in the past.

"And it’s only been seven days since I fed it mana. Imagine how much stronger it would be if I continued it," Lionel slowly lowered his arm and looked at the greenery everywhere.

"I really picked up something useful." Lionel’s lips slowly curled upward.

He remained inside the greenhouse after that. Since the bird was still gone, Lionel decided to prepare the next part of the training.

If the bird were only fast, then it would simply become a messenger. Useful, yes, but it’s still limited.

However, if it could attack too...

Lionel’s eyes narrowed slightly at that thought.

He stood up and walked around the greenhouse, and eventually stopped in front of a wooden support pole near the middle.

"This should work."

Lionel raised his hand and gathered a small amount of mana at the tip of his finger. A faint glow appeared on it before a tiny orb shot out and struck the pole.

*Tap!

A shallow mark appeared right on the wooden pole.

Lionel stared at it for a second, then nodded.

"Yeah, something like that..." he muttered thoughtfully. "I wonder if the bird can imitate mana release, too?"

Unfortunately, there was no answer to that question yet.

Around an hour later, Lionel suddenly heard a familiar chirping sound. When he looked up, the bird flew right at the opening of the greenhouse. It hovered in the air before...

"Tweet! Tweet!"

A streak of light shot through, and Lionel could barely react when it landed straight on his shoulder.

"You’re back already?" he asked with widened eyes.

The bird puffed its chest proudly.

"Tweet!"

’I found them, Mater!’

"Huh? That fast?"

"Tweet! Tweet!"

"Yes, Master. I found your friend, Rylan."

Lionel’s forehead creased. He couldn’t believe that it only took an hour to find Rylan somewhere in the capital, deliver the note, and come back here.

And the craziest part was, the bird still looked more energetic than ever. Lionel carefully picked it up and looked at it closely.

"You don’t even look tired."

"Tweet tweet!"

’I’m strong now, Master!’

"You really are." Lionel let out a laugh. Then his expression shifted.

"Alright," he said. "Now let’s see if you can attack."

The bird tilted its head.

"Tweet?"

’Attack, Master?’

"Yes," Lionel pointed toward the wooden pole nearby, the one he had attacked earlier.

"Now that you have mana, you can try releasing the mana inside your body."

The bird turned toward the pole obediently. For a moment, the bird just stared at it. However, a second later, a tiny glow gathered around its beak.

"Oh?" Lionel’s eyes widened slightly.

The bird chirped loudly and suddenly shot forward.

*Swishhh!

A thin streak of light flew from its beak and struck the wooden pole.

Tak!

The impact was tiny and barely noticeable, but it still left a visible scorch mark on the wood.

"It actually worked..." Lionel muttered in disbelief as he stared at the mark.

The bird fluttered in the air proudly after the attack, circling around Lionel once to show how happy it was.

"Tweet! Tweet!"

’I did it, Master!’

"You actually did it," Lionel laughed softly. "That’s amazing."

However, just as he finished speaking, the bird’s movements suddenly slowed down. Its wings faltered midair.

"Tweet...?"

The small creature wobbled weakly before dropping straight down.

"—!" Lionel’s eyes widened.

"Tweet..."

’Master... I feel so weak...’ The bird crashed against the grass below with a soft thud.

"Hey!" Lionel immediately rushed forward and knelt on the ground. He carefully scooped the bird into his hands. His heart loudly thumped as he felt the bird’s body go limp.

"Oh shit..." Lionel’s expression stiffened instantly. "What have I done?"

A second ago, it was perfectly fine, but after releasing that mana attack, it suddenly collapsed.

Lionel quickly checked its breathing, and thankfully, it was still alive. However, it looked tired and so drained. He also noticed that its feathers had dulled slightly, and even the glow around its body was gone now.

"Hey. Wake up," Lionel muttered, gently shaking it.

But he got no response. That’s when Lionel panicked a little.

"System, hey," he called out immediately in his mind. "Give me help here."

[Ding!]

A translucent screen instantly appeared before his eyes.

[Analyzing bonded creature’s condition...]

[...]

[Analysis complete.]

[Bonded creature is suffering from mana exhaustion.]

"Mana exhaustion?" Lionel frowned.

[The bonded creature has only recently awakened mana capabilities.]

[Its mana core is still unstable and underdeveloped.]

[The creature forcibly released mana beyond its current limit.]

[Result: Temporary collapse due to severe mana depletion.]

Lionel stared at the screen before lowering his gaze toward the unconscious bird in his hands.

"So it overused itself..." Guilt suddenly consumed him.

He could only blame himself. He had gotten too excited. He forgot that the bird had only awakened its mana today.

"That’s my fault." Lionel clicked his tongue softly.

[The system recommends a solution.]

[The host can transfer a small amount of mana to stabilize the bonded creature.]

[However, excessive mana transfer may damage the creature’s body.]

"You mean, I can transfer mana directly?"

[Yes.]

Without wasting another second, Lionel carefully adjusted the bird in his palms.

"Alright," he muttered quietly. "Just hold on."

He slowly gathered mana into his fingertips. Unlike before, this time he controlled it carefully, making the flow as gentle as possible.

A small light appeared around his hand. Then the mana slowly seeped into the bird’s tiny body. The bird twitched weakly as it received a sudden energy.

"Tweet..."

Lionel let out a deep breath when the bird made a sound, though its eyes were still closed.

"You scared me there."

= = =

A/N: Thank you for all the readers who are still reading the novel!

Shout out to mcvamulv! Thank you for dropping a Golden Ticket.