Chapter 108 - Falcon!
Chapter 108: Falcon!
“Let’s get out of here, quickly!”
A gentle wind allowed the group to land on the ground gently. It took a lot of energy to maintain Group Flight. Gloria looked up at the sky and said, “Let’s get into the forest first, something is off about the eagle in the sky.”
The Fly spell had obvious downsides, so without the incorporation of other spells to help in the flight process, the user remained rather weak.
Wizards that flew regularly liked to use [Conjure Avian Wings] or [Conjure Dragon Wings]. It was difficult to rely on magic energy to directly fly. Only Wizards above legendary grade wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the stress. Additionally, the flexibility and mobility of the spell Fly were poor. So, you would be an easy target for long-range units.
Melee fighters also had little fighting power in the sky because there was no ground for them to push off from. It was impossible for the melee fighters to exert their strength while in the air. (Authors note: If one could use one’s left foot to step on the right foot to exert power, can’t one already fly to the stars?)
Soran looked up into the sky and confirmed that there was indeed a strong falcon flying above them.
It had circled above them for a while now, but it didn’t leave. It still continued to hover in the sky. It was highly unusual because wild falcons didn’t fly above people for no reason.
Aladdin also looked up at the sky and complained, “There was still a little time left just now. Why are you in such a hurry? In a second or two at most, I could have picked up more than ten gems. That’s thousands of Gold Derahls!”
Soran glanced at him and said in a cold voice, “Well you need to be alive to spend the money you earned. The rock giant that just emerged was close to legendary grade, so our attacks won’t be able to hurt it at all. Even Gloria could only be able to defend herself if she was faced against it. I think you’ve already taken a fair amount, at least a few dozen gems, right?”
The Halfling giggled and said awkwardly, “I just feel a bit wasteful since those are still money!”
He looked up at the Falcon in the sky while following Soran into the forest. Then he opened his Multi-dimensional bag and counted the items. “I took about forty or fifty stones. There are some Gold Derahls in it as well, but I didn’t bother to get them. I prioritized picking up things that looked valuable and put them in. How much do you think they are worth?”
He probably doesn’t have very high Appraisal since he couldn’t even tell how much the gems were worth.
Although the skill Appraisal did not seem powerful, it was a useful skill for some critical moments. Soran remembered when he had gone to a Dragon Cave with people to steal things. They were only able to lure the Dragon away for less than ten seconds, but in just ten seconds, his partner had stolen three valuable things from the five-meter-high treasure hill. Almost any of which was worth more than 10,000 Gold Derahls.
This was the value of the ability, Appraisal. Adventurers often encountered unexpected situations so they might not have time to clean up the loot slowly. Sometimes, people had to grab what was present.
In the end, it depended on the person’s evaluation capabilities and luck.
Soran took a look inside the Multi-dimensional bag. The gemstones inside were an assortment of gems, but the total value must have been more than 7 to 8 thousand Gold Derahls, because they were all gemstones of good quality.
Elemental planes were rich in gemstones and minerals. Sometimes if you were lucky you could even find Obsidian, Bullhead Gold, open-air ores and so on. Aladdin got some high-end goods. With the initial Elemental cores, there would still be thousands of Gold Derahls after a three-way split.
The Elemental Planes rejected anything foreign. Even high-grade Wizards had a hard time entering it, unlike the other planes which were relatively easy to enter.
The plane with the most minerals was the Fire Elemental Plane, but, the average temperature there was about 100 degrees. Ordinary physique professions would get roasted when they entered and would start to smell like meat. Without magic, people would never be able to move freely in these Planes.
Basically, the four Elemental Planes had similarities. Although the Earth Elemental Plane was not harsh, it was a hypergravity world. Physically weak Wizards like Gloria would only be able to walk a kilometer or two at most. Additionally, it was a place where the legendary professions in hand-to-hand combat entered the most because they could train their strength.
People who entered the plane for the first time would also receive a penalty that halved their fighting strength, due to being in [Hyergravity Domain]
Gloria glanced at the gems, and her eyes lit up. She took out two precious stones, which looked like crystals, and slowly said, “I want these two since they are the materials I need. You guys can split the rest.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“Vivian should also receive a share since she had contributed today.”
The little girl looked up at him. Her eyes were big, shiny, and beautiful. She seemingly also had an interest in the gemstones. Aladdin saw two women watching him then rubbed his forehead and said, “Of course! Of course! Since Vivian has joined us, she can also get 10% of it. That’s the old rule among adventurers.”
One high-grade gem was roughly worth hundreds of Gold Derahls.
This adventure which earned the Halfling thousands of Gold Derahls and didn’t have too many risks. It was enough to let him relax for quite some time.
Halflings were the ultimate hedonists, and at least half of the money they earned was spent on making themselves more comfortable. Especially their houses, which, if they were financially well-off, would be decorated as much as possible, sometimes even with some high-end works of art.
Soran had traveled to a lot of places, and when comparing their living environments, it was estimated that only the Elven Capital could be comparable to that of the Halflings places. Elves were a bunch of morbid aesthetic pursuers, while the Halflings only wanted practical comfort.
The Halflings also had another virtue, which was the fact that they always had good food. It was popular among adventurers to visit Halflings just for their food.
…
After they entered the forest, the Falcon couldn’t follow them.
The thick forest, which housed ten-meter tall trees affected the Falcon’s sight. The group continued to advance for a long time before they came out of the forest.
Gloria suddenly stopped in place, looked up into the sky. She then frowned and said, “This is bad, that Falcon is on to us again!”
Soran looked up!
Indeed, there was a Falcon circling around above them.
It turned out that the Falcon did not leave the area but expanded its range of search after the group entered the forest and had been patrolling over the forest. Now that it saw them, the Falcon flew over again, hovering over their heads from time to time.
Soran presented killing intentions and asked, “Are you able to hit it?”
Gloria thought with a slight frown and whispered, “It’s hard. It’s flying high, beyond my magic range. Also, the Falcon looks like it has intelligence. The eagle is the king in the sky. Even if I used Fly it would be hard for me to catch up with it. Maybe it’s a Druid’s animal companion?”
The Halfling took out a ruler like thing, measured it a bit, and then exclaimed, “That bugger is a big fellow! It’s so far away from us yet it’s that size. I’m afraid if it comes down it should be nearly four or five meters in size. It must be a Druid’s animal companion. Ordinary Falcons don’t grow that big!”
Aladdin probably had studied Alchemy before, since only those who studied Alchemy in the world would be attuned to such geometric calculations.
Gloria glanced at the Falcon for a while then instructed the group in a soft voice, “Come close to me.”
All the others came beside her.
Soon after she chanted a spell and a glow of light surrounded them then all of them disappeared.
“Ten Feet Invincibility.”
Their figures became unclear and soon disappeared in place. The hovering Falcon in the sky suddenly lost its target and immediately lowered its altitude, but it dared not fly too low. It emitted a loud hawk call, rose to its original height and flew in an elliptical trail.
Soran looked at the sky and said in a soft voice, “There must be a Druid nearby, we should get out of here soon.”
The others glanced at each other and quickly headed out.
Shortly after the group’s departure, a muscular figure landed in the forest. It was a tall Druid with paint all over his body. He didn’t seem to have contact with civilization for a long time. His face was long and unmanaged, almost looking like a savage. Behind him, another smaller figure landed. This was a beautiful Half-Elf Druid with a beautiful Nightingale on her shoulder, carefully combing its feathers.
The savage like Druid inspected the footprints on the ground, then frowned and spoke, “They’ve gone!”
“These people stirred the sleeping Elementals, and almost woke up the Earth Spirit. Nightingale, you’d better tell His Majesty Earth Walker about this. Only he can soothe these angry Elementals.”