Chapter 153 - 152: Entering the Mountains to Hunt Birds

Chapter 153: Chapter 152: Entering the Mountains to Hunt Birds

On the 30th of the Frost Gold Moon, the final day of the month, Gaode had a rare day without classes. Of course, Jose’s private Rune tutoring would not stop, but it only took half a day, leaving Gaode with a free afternoon. He wasn’t about to waste this free time; he planned to head into the mountains to hunt some birds.

Just as Mage Falon had said, Magic was not just about finishing the construction of a Magic Model. One had to cast it repeatedly and use it in actual combat to gradually master its essence and details, thereby improving proficiency and Control Power. Compared to spending money at the Magic Experiment Field to practice against a Trial Puppet, using Red-Eyed Sparrows as live targets was obviously much more practical.

Additionally, Gaode’s savings had dropped to seventy-one Gold Coins and twelve silver coins. He was in desperate need of opening new revenue streams to secure a fresh source of income.

Every Red-Eyed Sparrow was worth one Gold Coin, and according to the description of the Mountain Patrol task, the Magic Pet Department had lost a massive number of escaping Red-Eyed Sparrows. Since they used the word "massive," there had to be more than a hundred of them, right? Furthermore, if he hunted down seven Red-Eyed Sparrows, he would obtain another point of Origin. Killing three birds with one stone like this was naturally something Gaode was happy to do.

Most importantly, according to the task description, Red-Eyed Sparrows were not very aggressive. This meant the real difficulty of the task lay in finding them within the vast expanse of the back mountain, rather than actually killing them. Luckily, tracking was exactly what Gaode excelled at.

The back mountain of Cyrus Academy was not dangerous. It was not some desolate wilderness, but rather a developed Scenic Mountain. After round after round of purges by the Academy Mages, not a single Earth Vein Creature remained in the mountains. For the most part, the back mountain’s purpose was to provide a suitable natural environment for certain Magic Plants cultivated by the academy. Besides that, it served a purely aesthetic, landscaping function.

This was also why the job of clearing out the Red-Eyed Sparrows was issued to the students as a Mountain Patrol task. The assignment was essentially a chore rather than a combat mission, and it wasn’t urgent in the slightest. The academy’s only concern was that the Red-Eyed Sparrows might disrupt the ecosystem of the back mountain.

It took Gaode half an hour to officially cross from the teaching district of Cyrus Academy into the back mountain area.

Unlike the untamed wilderness—where withered leaves littered the ground and danger lurked at every corner—the academy’s back mountain was completely safe. Because mages frequently came and went, there was even a man-made trail winding through it. Of course, to hunt birds, simply following the trail wouldn’t do; he had to venture deep into the forest.

The task came with a supplementary document detailing the habits of the Red-Eyed Sparrow. The most crucial pieces of information were its preferred habitat and diet.

"Areas close to water sources, rich in fruit..." This was the Red-Eyed Sparrow’s preferred habitat.

"Wild fruits and berries growing on bushes, as well as plants rich in Magic Power..." This was its favored food.

There were quite a few Magic Plant cultivation areas opened up by the mages of the academy’s Magic Potion Department in the back mountain, but they were all protected by corresponding Barriers or Magic Arrays, preventing the Red-Eyed Sparrows from getting near them. Therefore, he only needed to consider the former options.

Gaode gradually strayed from the man-made trail, his footsteps taking him into the denser parts of the woods. The surrounding scenery shifted accordingly. The trees grew taller, their branches and leaves thicker, and the air filled with the fresh scent of mixed soil and foliage.

Gaode looked left and right, afraid of missing any Red-Eyed Sparrows lurking in the branches. Faint Spiritual Light flickered in his eyes. Upon entering the back mountain, he had already cast Detect Magic+. This was his true reliance for bird hunting. While the detection range of Detect Magic+ wasn’t particularly wide, its ability to detect the Magic Spirit Light of living creatures would definitely give him a higher chance of finding the well-hidden Red-Eyed Sparrows than other students who had accepted the task.

As Gaode ventured deeper into the forest, he kept a map of the back mountain in hand to cross-reference his location. Firstly, he was afraid of getting lost, and secondly, he wanted to avoid wandering into the restricted zones designated by the academy.

Not long after, Gaode discovered a clear, babbling brook. Various wild flowers and fruits grew abundantly along its banks. This perfectly matched the preferred habitat of the Red-Eyed Sparrow.

Gaode immediately slowed his pace, carefully surveying his surroundings.

Suddenly, a speck of Spiritual Light appeared in his vision. It originated from a dense bush not too far away. Even though he was drawn to the Spiritual Light, at first glance, Gaode saw nothing but layers of green leaves, unable to spot the source of the glow. However, he noticed half-pecked fruit remnants hanging on some of the bush’s branches.

His heart stirred; he was already eighty percent sure.

"Truly skilled at hiding," he muttered softly to himself.

Without any hesitation, in a flash of lightning, Gaode cast Flaming Arrow+ and shot it straight at the bush. Among the Magic he had mastered, Flaming Arrow was not only the most powerful but also boasted the longest range and fastest flight speed, making it the perfect choice for bird hunting.

A brilliant streak of blazing fire instantly tore through the air, trailing a gorgeous arc as it shot toward the bush radiating Magic Spirit Light.

However, just as the Flaming Arrow was about to flawlessly strike its target area, a blue-gray sparrow with red eyes suddenly darted out of the bush at breakneck speed, on the verge of escaping. It perfectly aligned with the task description’s introduction to the Red-Eyed Sparrow: specially trained and highly alert.

But to Gaode, this was futile.

He willed his magic with a slight mental shift. The explosive Flaming Arrow abruptly made a sharp, dramatic turn right at that moment. It carved a jaw-dropping arc through the air, shooting diagonally upward in a highly unscientific trajectory to close in on the panicked, fleeing Red-Eyed Sparrow.

The sparrow was so terrified that its feathers nearly stood on end. Its wings flapped frantically against the air, desperately trying to dodge this sudden threat of death. But no matter how well-trained or fast it was, it simply couldn’t react in time at such a close distance.

BOOM!

With a crisp crack, the Flaming Arrow accurately struck the Red-Eyed Sparrow, instantly engulfing it in a blaze of fire. It plummeted downward like a kite with a snapped string. Upon hitting the ground, it struggled and fluttered its wings a few times before quickly falling utterly silent. All that remained was a wisp of slowly dissipating gray smoke and a charred scent wafting through the air.

Origin:

0th Ring — [Red-Eyed Sparrow] (1/7).

Looking at the newly appeared entry in the Origin panel, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Gaode’s eyes.

But he wasn’t done yet.

Gaode walked over to the corpse of the Red-Eyed Sparrow. He pulled out his Hidden Mist Fang and deftly extracted the pair of slightly scorched red eyeballs from their sockets.

"Red-Eyed Sparrow. 0th Ring Earth Vein Creature. Its bloodline originates from the 2nd Ring Earth Vein Creature, Red Eyes Fierce Feathers, but it did not inherit the ability to control flames..."

Simultaneously, the knowledge he had learned in the Mage Basics class a few days ago flashed through his mind. Earth Vein Creatures placed great emphasis on bloodlines. In most cases, if one traced the bloodline upward, they could find their ancestors at a High Ring.

Honestly, Gaode found this highly illogical. Did reproductive isolation not exist among Earth Vein Creatures? But whatever existed was reasonable, so he silently accepted it.

The Red-Eyed Sparrow had only inherited its bloodline ancestor’s night vision capability. The only remarkable thing about its entire body was this pair of eyes, which possessed excellent vision and happened to be the hardest part of its anatomy. It was precisely because of this superb vision, combined with its weak aggressiveness, that the Magic Pet Department had selected the Red-Eyed Sparrow to be cultivated for high-altitude reconnaissance.

Gaode carefully placed the extracted eyeballs into a cloth bag he had brought along, stowing it safely on his person before finally feeling at ease. These were the proof required for the task settlement. Without them, the academy would not recognize his kill count.

Gold Coin +1!

Where there was one, there was bound to be a second. Since he could find one Red-Eyed Sparrow here, there was a high probability that more were roosting nearby. Gaode pressed forward and resumed his hunt.