Chapter 399: Crosswind

Chapter 399: Crosswind

The fourth portion of moss came from beside the Anvil on Wednesday, teased out of a warm crack a few fronds at a time. Glitch had to lie flat to reach it. Flicker watched from his horns, leaning forward whenever his claw emerged.

"It’s not disappearing," Jin told her.

She leaned further.

He used the second portion on Thursday. By then the avatar was already sustaining longer flights, with fewer corrections between shelters. The development records showed the change continuing after the first portion had been absorbed. Jin checked them against what he could see. Her Ember Shot held together better when she fired after a dash; she no longer needed such a wide recovery curve afterward.

On Friday she began turning differently too. When a gust pushed her sideways, she angled her wings and sent a brief current against it. Her flight bent sharply. She landed on the spur looking as surprised as Jin felt.

He watched her try again before closing the Engine. The next attempt was clumsy, but deliberate.

After the third portion on Saturday, the motion became repeatable.

[Flicker (avatar) — skill acquired: Crosswind Turn]

[A brief directed gust redirects flight sharply, retaining speed.]

[Repeated use strains wings and stamina.]

Jin grinned at the screen. One portion remained in storage. He left it there and moved Flicker to a clear stretch above the first fissure.

Her first turn carried her almost a meter beyond his intended line. She kept flying rather than force a landing, circled back and settled on the spur with her feathers ruffled.

He shifted the marker. On the next attempt she swept around the bend and emerged facing the far wall, still moving fast.

Oh, that’s going to be useful.

He tested a left turn followed by a right, leaving space between them. The second gust was weaker. Flicker landed with her wings held away from her body, breathing quickly.

[Status: wing strain]

That was enough. He let her recover and reviewed the record. The avatar’s developing fire–wind control had brought its Quality close to the next threshold; the new skill was one visible result of changes he’d been watching all week. Real Flicker still needed the transfer, and neither of them needed it tonight.

On Sunday, with both avatars recovered, he brought Glitch onto the Anvil. Its top stood beside the eastern crossing, low enough for the drake to step down without jumping. Alcove Two lay behind him across the second saddle.

Flicker flew toward the roost, then curved back toward that shelter.

One of the two 9-Star bats dropped after her. It cut across her flight line, aiming to meet her before she reached the eastern wall.

Jin waited until it folded its wings into the interception.

"Turn."

Flicker redirected north along the gallery, retaining her speed. The bat swept across her old line and over the Anvil. Glitch rose against the block and caught it with Rending Dragon Claw.

The other three dropped before the body hit the floor.

Jin sent Flicker low along the eastern wall. Glitch backed off the Anvil and onto the saddle, keeping his armoured head toward the pursuit. One bat crossed above him toward Flicker; her Ember Shot forced it wide, buying her room to reach Alcove Two.

Glitch followed, bracing as the second bat struck his shoulder. The last circled beyond his reach. Under the overhang he could protect the opening without turning, and Flicker had room behind him to land.

The bats made two more approaches, then climbed away.

[Hookwing Bat — defeated: 1]

Jin waited for Flicker’s breathing to settle before withdrawing. The route had worked, but she had used more effort escaping than making the turn. He marked the exposed stretch beside the saddle.

On Monday the remaining 9-Star refused to follow her over the Anvil. It stayed high while the two smaller bats approached from either side.

Jin called her back early. From shelter, he watched them return to separate perches. The larger bat now watched the block whenever Glitch moved.

Fine. Keep watching it.

He brought Glitch down behind the Anvil, then south to the saddle’s inner end. The eastern wall hid most of the drake from above. Flicker crossed farther west this time, leaving the block well outside her return line.

The two 8-Stars came after her. The larger bat waited until she approached the second fissure, then descended to cut off the western lip.

She couldn’t land there. Jin sent her toward the eastern saddle instead.

One smaller bat was already closing that route. Flicker fired across its approach and climbed just enough to pass above it. The 9-Star followed her south, committing when the crosswind steadied behind them.

Crosswind Turn bent her flight toward Alcove Two. She cleared the saddle low; her pursuer came down after her and met Glitch’s jaws at the wall.

Jin barely had time to register the kill. The two smaller bats converged behind Flicker. She turned once more, sharply enough to pass between their approaches, and dropped into shelter. One bat broke upward. The other followed too low and struck Glitch’s horns as he swung his head.

It fell onto the saddle. He pinned it before it could crawl over the edge.

The survivor climbed to the roof. Flicker was breathing hard, her wings trembling when she folded them. Jin left her in the sheltered corner and watched until the trembling eased. He didn’t send her out again that evening.

On Tuesday, after Flicker’s condition and flight had recovered, the last bat stayed above the eastern route, diving whenever Glitch approached the third fissure. Jin let him retreat twice while Flicker remained under cover.

On its next descent, Glitch held his ground. The bat flared to avoid his jaws, exposing its side as it climbed. Flicker came out from Alcove Two and struck it with Ember Shot before it regained height. It fell against the wall; Glitch reached it first.

[Fissured Gallery — passage secured]

[Four Hookwing Bats defeated]

[Combined encounter and route rewards: 60,000 Coins]

Jin sat back. Three days of fighting for a route he’d thought might take one.

He split the reward equally. The family earmark reached a hundred and thirty thousand; thirty thousand went to operations. Five Lives remained.

Before closing, he checked the shelf around the third fissure. Flicker inspected its edges while Glitch advanced in stages along the wall, stopping whenever grit moved underfoot. It carried them to the far passage. Jin recorded the entrance and brought them back. That was enough new ground for now.

On Tuesday afternoon, before that final expedition, Verrick had checked the real Flicker. She flew readily, landed evenly and objected when he held her wing open to examine it. His maintenance report recorded no concerns.

That night Jin compared the report with his own observations and the Engine’s transfer panel. The avatar’s brief final attack had left no injury or strain. The accumulated development was ready, and so was the real bird.

[Controlled Sync — Flicker]

[Recipient readiness: good]

[Projected result: Rank 1, 7-Star → Rank 1, 8-Star]

[Projected Quality: Silver (Middle) → Gold (Low)]

[Skill transfer: Crosswind Turn]

Gold. The sparrow who’d once been too weak to hold her head up was ready to become Gold.

He sat beside her perch in the private stall, with Glitch resting along the back wall, and confirmed the transfer.

The warmth gathered through the bond. Flicker stopped picking at the perch and held still. Her sun mark brightened until it cast a small, clear shadow behind her head.

Jin kept his hand nearby without touching her. The russet tips of her flight feathers deepened toward copper; when she shifted, the light caught a sheen he hadn’t seen before.

For several minutes she did little except breathe. Then the brightness softened and her feathers settled.

[Controlled Sync — complete]

[Flicker — Rank 1, 8-Star]

[Quality: Gold (Low)]

[Skills: Gale Dash, Ember Shot, Crosswind Turn]

She shook herself, hopped onto his knee and looked up at him. Jin offered his hand. She pushed her head into his palm, demanding the familiar scratch behind her crest.

"Look at you," he said softly.

He scratched where she liked it, and she closed her eyes.